That Nintendo has been battling Palworld developer Pocketpair over "Pokémon-style monster capture and throwing mechanics" for a while now isn't a secret. The results (so far) aren't what the Japanese platform holder would have hoped for, however. Over the past few days, Nintendo has been dealt another blow after trying to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent. That Nintendo has been battling Palworld developer Pocketpair over "Pokémon-style monster capture and throwing mechanics" for a while now isn't a secret. The results (so far) aren't what the Japanese platform holder would have hoped for, however. Over the past few days, Nintendo has been dealt another blow after trying to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent.
Though we'd known about it for quite some time, breezy life simulator Paralives has managed to become one of this month's surprise hits. With over 250k copies sold in less than eight hours, it was off to a great start on Steam earlier this week, and now the developers are promising no paid DLC will be released.
Why is CD Projekt Red making a third expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, more than a decade after the original game was released? A newly revealed sales milestone of 65 million units probably has something to do with it. That's a hell of an installed base to sell to.
So the rumours were true: CD Projekt Red did originally plan to release Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past this year, but it changed its plan to 2027 to achieve "the best possible result".
IO Interactive's Bond origin game 007 First Light has already reached an impressive milestone.
Here is a game that feels like an adventure. And it feels like it was an adventure to make, too. Mina the Hollower took six years to design and build, six years that took it from what sounds like a kind of coding doodle to a panoramic journey across a richly imagined island, taking in platforming and combat, puzzle-solving, and sheer immersion in the world building. It's Zelda and it's Bloodborne. It's smacking bosses and reading the in-game newspaper. All of which is to say that those six years of design work are apparent throughout, in the complexity of the landscapes you travel, in the density of the secrets and the lore.
Developers at Rockstar Games have publicly announced a union known as the Rockstar Game Workers Union (RGWU), which is a subsidiary of the wider Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB). It comes as the IWGB is preparing to take the Grand Theft Auto 6 maker to court over the firing of staff members in a move seen by many as 'union busting' in October last year, which sparked protests as well as legal action.
The new James Bond game, 007 First Light, seems to be enjoying a very positive response. We were charmed in our 007 First Light review, and judging by the impressive 007 First Light launch sales, many of you were too. The chances of developer IO Interactive realising that James Bond trilogy dream one day seem strong. But even so, the next game from IO probably won't be a James Bond game at all, or a Hitman game - that other series the studio built its reputation on.
Earlier this week, Valve announced a steep price increase for its Steam Deck OLED models. In the UK, would-be-buyers saw a rise of over £200 for the company's chunkier 1TB Steam Deck OLED model, which increased from £569 to £779. Its lower-tier 512GB Steam Deck OLED model, meanwhile, increased by £170. Its price rose from £479 to £649.
Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we've been playing. This week, Marie pootles around Japan in whatever season it happens to be; Victoria suspects her husband of breaking their TV; Chris walks the one-way street of Warhammer 40K miniature addiction; and Bertie enjoys being a secret agent.
Tweet
The 1.09.00 Patch for Crimson Desert has arrived, just one week after the last patch - proving that developer Pearl Abyss is moving at a rate of knots when it comes to fixing and updating its massively popular RPG.
Microsoft's recent decision to cut the price of Xbox Game Pass seems to have done what it was designed to do and increase Game Pass subscriber activity.
I will hold my hands up and say I did not expect Lego Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight to be this good, or to throw so many references to the Caped Crusader's vast history into your adventure around Gotham.
Comment