Latest News
Sep 24
SteelSeries Unveils a Strong Apex Pro Gen 3 Series Keyboard Lineup
Sep 21
The Live-Service Game Structure Cannot Keep Going Like This
Sep 13
Zenless Zone Zero Tour de Inferno Update to Appear in September
Sep 9
9 Top Battle Royale Games to Play On Your Morning Commute
Sep 8
Valve’s Deadlock Will Have to Take a Major Decision Right Now if They Wish to Not End up in the Same Drowning Boat as EA’s Apex Legends
Sep 5
The Failure of Concord Highlights the Flaws of the Live Service Gold Rush
All News
Apex Legends Update 2.68 Released Today For Minor Bug FixesThis morning, Respawn Entertainment rolled out a new update 2.68 for Apex Legends on both PC and consoles. The update focuses on several key improvements across gameplay, visual issues, and system performance. Notably, the update resolves problems with Support and Assault Perk Bins, ensuring that their icons are correctly displayed and only visible on the […]
The post Apex Legends Update 2.68 Released Today For Minor Bug Fixes appeared first on TwistedVoxel .
Sep 25
SteelSeries Unveils a Strong Apex Pro Gen 3 Series Keyboard LineupInnovative brand in gaming peripherals, SteelSeries, has just given fans a look behind the curtain at their new Apex Pro Gen 3 keyboard series lineup.
Sep 24
The Live-Service Game Structure Cannot Keep Going Like This
When Jim Ryan departed his role as CEO of Sony, he left behind him an intense commitment to Live-Service games. Most of them have not panned out. in production games from studios like Guerilla and Naughty Dog have been in development for some time. The purchase of Bungie signified a tilt by Sony towards leaning into the Live-service market. It has not, from what I can see, paid off.
Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online was canceled in December of 2023, and many of Sony's other projects either have had no updates or were similarly shut down, namely the most recent release: Concord . Sony is not the only studio and publisher leaning into the Live-Service system, of course. Capcom has also made forays into it, testing the waters with things like Monster Hunter World 's time-limited event quests, daily login bonuses, and seasonal events, a first in the series. Their biggest push, Exoprimal , ended its updates after 4 seasons, nowhere near the 10-year plan many of these types of games are pushing for. But Exoprimal and Monster Hunter World at least get to stay playable. The hype for Monster Hunter Wilds understandably has drawn many players back along the Return to World campaign. Many games are much less lucky.
Square Enix's bevy of live service offerings, including mobile games and the Splatoon-adjacent party shooter Foamstars have suffered their own closures and shut downs. On April 29, 2024 Nier Reincarnation closed its doors after ending its story. A story that no one will be able to experience outside of YouTube videos as there are no plans for an offline version of the game. Following that, Square Enix announced that the global version of Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius will be shutting down in October 2024, taking its collaborations with the likes of popstar Ariana Grande and Lara Croft of Tomb Raider with it, unless you can download and play the Japanese version. Foamstars also is no longer retailing for its $29.99 price tag starting October 4, 2024, shifting to a free to play model entirely.
There have been many incidents in the past year alone of Live-Service games failing to either find their audiences or not doing anywhere near the amount of success that they were intended for. Destiny 2 released a highly acclaimed expansion in The Final Shape , the culmination to a 10 year long story arc that had begun all the way back in Destiny when it first released. All that critical acclaim did nothing to shield the workers at Bungie from layoffs that occurred in October 2023, before the expansion launched, and in July 2024, just after the beginning of the first big story arc of the new year plan for Destiny ’s world going forward.
The thing this is bringing to mind for me is, how tenuous it all is. Entire games could, either for reasons of losing staff and being unable to meet the previous standards or complete shutdown of the game itself, disappear entirely, vanishing from people’s consoles and phones and computers like dust in the wind. Years of people’s lives suddenly vanishing into nothing. It feels like such a phenomenal waste; both of people’s time and hard work, and money.
Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia shut down in February 2024 . A mobile game centered around a celebration of Final Fantasy ’s history, a la the previous Dissidia games, featuring characters beloved and obscure. One story chapter could be about Judge Gabranth from Final Fantasy XII bonding with Gau, the wild child from Final Fantasy VI . Another would be Aerith talking in person to Kadaj, the Sephiroth clone from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children , and trying to get him to be his own individual self. None of this excellent character interaction (in my opinion at least) or its turn-based turn manipulation JRPG gameplay saved it.
Image via Square Enix
The Global version never even got to read all the story content released in the original Japanese version. The servers were separated by about a 6-8 month delay so global server players got a glimpse of what was coming, and in this case, what they would never see. I do not know the reason for the closure of Opera Omnia and I may never. It could have been anything from not quite being profitable enough for Square Enix or simply not having any where for the game to go. For all my praise, it is me mourning the death of a gacha game. I spent money on this game. And now, everything I spent it on is gone, lost to the digital abyss. Thankfully, they have stated that all of the conversations and cutscenes from the game will be preserved on the official Square Enix YouTube Channel, but who knows how long that will remain.
This is a fate that awaits any and all of these mobile games, or digital experiences with monetization. People can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to get a single character or an outfit or a piece of gear (Apex Legends’ extremely costly and grind-heavy heirlooms come to mind) and then as soon as you get it, you could get an announcement saying as much as “Sorry, all your effort and investment is gone. We’re shutting down the servers in two days.”
All this can happen to a game you like or a game you don't. Things you love can go belly up in different ways than just shutting down. In chasing the money of these kinds of Live-service endeavors, their identity can be compromised in favor of more cosmetic real-money transactions, battle passes where you have to pay money to get the full rewards, or even just by trying to make it so as many people as possible play it, trying to please everyone and ending up pleasing no one, or at least no longer pleasing me, in the case of Destiny 2 .
Screenshot via Siliconera
I watched the game prioritize doing repetitive missions and extremely mind numbing collection activities. Progressing seasonal storylines and leveling up the season experience was simply centered around doing the same activity on higher or lower difficulties, hearing the same voice lines, over and over and over. And, to add salt on the wound, Bungie announced that they would be reviving their single player sci-fi first-person shooter series Marathon as, of all things, an extraction shooter.
It’s enough to start driving away even the most die hard players when they feel that everything they're doing or looking forward to is not a priority in the industry at large. It's made even worse when any sort of challenge reward is nothing more than a funny little label to hang over your character, or an in-game weapon that will be outclassed in a couple months anyway. Power creep, feature creep, attention creep all factor in. After all, when you have one game that already takes daily job-like clocking in and clocking out, where are people who have other, real-life responsibilities going to fit in your new time sink ritual game? People stick with what works.
The success of something like Astro Bot Rescue Mission , Elden Ring and its DLC, and smaller projects that sweep the awards every year, like a Signalis or Dave the Diver shows that there is good money to be made in things that don’t feel like they are trying to nickel and dime every person who interacts with them. It’s on publishers to realize that.
The post The Live-Service Game Structure Cannot Keep Going Like This appeared first on Siliconera .
Sep 21
Zenless Zone Zero Tour de Inferno Update to Appear in September
HoYoverse has announced that Zenless Zone Zero Version 1.2, titled Tour de Inferno update will release on September 25, 2024. This update will introduce a new area in Elly City known as the Suburbs and bring various system improvements. The story continues with the proxy venturing into this devastated area alongside characters from the "Sons of Calydon" faction, such as Caesar and Bernice.
In addition to the new storyline content, Zenless Zone Zero: Tour de Inferno will introduce a survival shooting mini-game at the game center "Godfinger," offering a roguelike challenge. The update also includes various quality-of-life improvements, such as switching in-game time zones, storing stamina, and saving team formations. This information was revealed during the Zenless Zone Zero Version 1.2 "Tour de Inferno" Special Program Recap .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06mu0uWaep0
Several new characters will appear in the game as part of the update. This includes Caesar and Bernice. Caesar, a Class S Physical Defense Agent, can shield allies and debuff enemies, while Bernice, a Class S fire-type agent, wields flamethrowers to deal significant fire damage and burn effects.
Concerning merchandise, the upcoming figures for Billy, Nicole, and Nekomata are still in the unpainted prototype stage. There is no clear indication of which of these figures will be released next after Anby. Images of these prototypes were shared by Apex-Toys on their Weibo account following the event, giving fans an early look at the designs.
Zenless Zone Zero is currently available on PS5, PC, and mobile platforms. The Tour de Inferno update will release on September 25, 2024.
The post Zenless Zone Zero Tour de Inferno Update to Appear in September appeared first on Siliconera .
Sep 13
9 Top Battle Royale Games to Play On Your Morning Commute
Battle royale games emerged as a sort of experiment from a genre that is no longer as popular as it once was. The industry changed forever, leading many titles to adapt to this model. With globally recognized games like PUBG, Apex Legends, and the most well-known, Fortnite, the battle royale genre, although no longer as […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Sep 9
Valve’s Deadlock Will Have to Take a Major Decision Right Now if They Wish to Not End up in the Same Drowning Boat as EA’s Apex Legends
Deadlock is an ambitious online multiplayer developed by Valve for the PC platform. The game has been in active development for a while and the developers formally announced it last month with no details regarding the official release date. More and more online multiplayer games are coming out of the woodwork, and the recent discovery […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Sep 8
The Failure of Concord Highlights the Flaws of the Live Service Gold Rush
Sony’s latest attempt at live service success has proven to be the exact opposite, as Concord has been shut down after only two weeks of its release. Initial reports on its sales were not promising, with player counts for the Steam version barely breaking 700 concurrent players.
The shutdown of Concord is almost certainly some kind of new record. The only game I can think of with a launch this bad was Crucible . Don’t worry if you don’t remember it, I’m sure I’m one of a handful of people who do. That said, I don’t remember anything about the game itself, just how badly it did. Released in May 2020 as the first game from Amazon’s publishing division, Crucible was pulled back into closed beta a month later and then canceled entirely by October. And yet, it still lasted at least two weeks longer as a public release than Concord .
There are many things that led Concord to do this poorly. The characters were bland and uninspiring, revealing little about the character personalities (if any). Its most prominent trailer was misleading and suggested a narrative-driven experience that the game wasn’t going to deliver. It charged money up front as a new IP in a market full of free-to-play alternatives. All these reasons are contributors to Concord ’s demise, but mostly, it’s simply a victim of the realities of the live service gold rush happening within the games industry.
Image via Sony
Big companies are desperate for their own live service game. It’s easy to see why from an executive perspective. A quick glance at the billions of dollars being made by the likes of Fortnite is enough to make any investor ask why their money isn’t going towards the same thing. When a live service succeeds, it can be a huge earner, bringing in a lot of regular income. However, these seemingly obvious calculations frequently collide with the cold, harsh reality of the market they’re trying to get into.
The truth is, the live service market has proven itself to be a gamble. Sure, there have been big success stories. But for every game that makes it, there are significantly more live services like Concord , crashing and burning within months, and now even weeks, of their release. I already mentioned Crucible , an uninspiring hero shooter with PvE elements, but the list goes on.
Let’s not forget the likes of Anthem or Babylon’s Fall , where studios known for single-player games were forced into making live service games that no one cared about. What about Hyper Scape , where Ubisoft boldly asked, what if Fortnite had exactly zero personality? Even within the last twelve months we’ve seen mass indifference to Foamstars and the cancelation of Sega’s Hyenas after it became obvious that no one was going to pay much attention to it if it did release.
These games are just the tip of the iceberg. There is a parade of live service games that have been sent out to fall right into a mass grave sitting off to the side of the games industry. The live service market is one where success can be lucrative, but the failures are crushing and much more likely to happen.
Image via Sony
The live service market is wildly oversaturated. Not just because everyone’s chasing after Epic’s V-Bucks but also because the nature of live service games means that there simply can’t be that many out there at any given time. Live service games demand your constant attention, with daily login bonuses, time-gated events and other requirements to keep coming back and make the game your exclusive forever game.
When a standard single-player game releases, the time commitment is only as long as the game’s story. An RPG may be a long experience, but once it’s done it’s easy to hop into another game in the genre. For something like horror games, their shorter length means horror fans can easily jump from one game to the next. And what’s more, a lack of players at launch isn’t a death sentence, as players can discover the game months or years later while still getting the exact same experience.
For any given live service game, you have to convince people already invested into the existing similar games to simply stop playing and move over to your project. Players certainly don’t have the time to play more than one, maybe two, at a time, so if your game doesn’t match up, it will simply be ignored. And without enough other players, these games simply aren’t worth playing. The fewer players there are, the quicker those players will disappear and accelerate the game’s demise.
Image via Sony
It’s not impossible to succeed, just highly unlikely. Fall Guys and Helldivers 2 show that having a unique enough hook can bring people in, while Valorant and Apex Legends show the importance of good community engagement during development or around launch. But even some of these games are operating at significantly reduced player numbers from their hugely successful launches, while other games which could have succeeded, such as the unique dodgeball battler Knockout City , failed to achieve much success at all. The idea that there is a magic formula for success has simply not played out in reality.
The live service gold rush has been a disaster, and Concord is merely the latest casualty of it. Talented developers have wasted years of their lives working on canned projects, resources have been funneled away from games with more community interest and the few players who have paid into these have simply lost their money to a game they can no longer play. It’s an unsustainable strategy driven entirely by the pursuit of short-term profits. Profits that also have failed to materialize, raising the question of who, if anyone, has gained anything from this strategy.
With Concord shutting down in such a short space of time, I hope it’s the final nail in the coffin for the live service gold rush. While I don’t believe it’s the end for these games altogether, I hope the sheer numbers of them get reduced. And in the process hopefully more publishers will allow developers to build on their strengths and make much more appealing games for their audience.
The post The Failure of Concord Highlights the Flaws of the Live Service Gold Rush appeared first on Siliconera .
Sep 5
ALGS Year 4 Championships is coming to Japan in 2025
Following the final match of the ALGS ( Apex Legends Global Series) Split 2 Playoffs 2024, it was announced that the Championships tournament, the final event for ALGS Year 4, will be taking place in Sapporo, Japan, in late January to early February 2024.
The ALGS Year 4 Championships are slated to run from January 29 to February 2, 2025, at the iconic Daiwa House Premist Dome. The competition makes the very first ALGS LAN tournament in Asia and will see the top teams worldwide come together to compete for a colossal $2 million prize pool. Tickets aren't on sale just yet, but anyone hoping to attend can keep track of when they're available by following the official ALGS Twitter account .
ALGS comes to Asia at last
Image via ALGS
Apex Legends is an internationally renowned franchise, and it’s incredibly rewarding when we get to show up in the hometowns of our players and fans around the world. The ALGS has a massive community in Japan, and we’ve seen all of the comments asking us to bring the program to the country, which is why we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate the marquee event on our competitive calendar at the iconic Daiwa House Premist Dome.
John Nelson, Sr. Director of Esports, EA Entertainment
It's true that Apex Legends has a huge community in Japan. The move to host an event in Asia feels right for the competition, and Sapporo is a great city in which to do it. Fans will be able to enjoy more competitions online as teams fight for their place at the Championships before attending to soak up what is always the most exciting event of any year for ALGS.
This news comes after what has been the best-attended ALGS event in Europe . Fans packed out the SAP Arena's seats in Mannheim, Germany, and the crowd was absolutely wild. I've attended a few ALGS events, and this one was the most lively by a country mile. It's the closest we've had to the noise and enthusiasm that English football fans bring to stadiums every week but without any of the fighting.
Of course, Japan is a long way to go for some ALGS fans, and we won't know which teams are even attending until much closer to the time of the event. This makes pre-booking flights and accommodation risky or irrelevant if you only want to go and watch one team in particular. However, to caveat the sting of your team not qualifying, you could extend your stay and enjoy Sapporo's Snow Festival , which takes place the week following the ALGS Championships.
The Premist Dome has a maximum capacity of roughly 53,000 people. Depending on how many purchase tickets and plan to attend, the ALGS may need to rework its player stands so fans can watch it from either side. Currently, the events have focused on showcasing games and players for one side of a venue's seating because there haven't been so many fans that more has been required. The year 4 Championships could change that, though.
The post ALGS Year 4 Championships is coming to Japan in 2025 appeared first on Destructoid .
Sep 1
Honkai: Star Rail Qingque Figure Revealed
Another Honkai Star Rail figure is available for pre-order, this time it's Qingque. The figure is available for pre-order and will ship sometime in April 2025. It will cost 5,170 yen or approximately $35. Consumers can pre-order it from AmiAmi , with international shipping on the figure available.
You can view images of the Honkai Star Rail Qingque figure below.
Images via AmiAmi
The Qingque figure will come with a special stand, but the accessories shown in the image are not included. The figure is also 1/10 scale and is pre-painted. As mentioned previously, international shipping will be available for this figure through AmiAmi.
A March 7th figure is also set to release in 2025. Pre-orders for the figure will remain open until September, with the release slated for sometime in July 2025. This figure will come from Apex Toys, however, unlike the Qingque figure it is not available internationally outside of Japan. This figure is also significantly more expensive than the Qinque figure, as it will cost 28,160 yen or somewhere around $176.
Honkai: Star Rail is available for PC, PlayStation 5, Android and iOS. The Honkai Star Rail Qinque figure is available for pre-order and will release in April 2025.
The post Honkai: Star Rail Qingque Figure Revealed appeared first on Siliconera .
Aug 22
Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto Robbed Us of Another Rinnegan User in the Series Who Should Have Technically Awakened the Greatest Dojutsu With 1 Tweak
Masashi Kishimoto’s concept of Rinnegan stands as the apex of visual jutsu, a dojutsu of rare power. The mystic technique was first wielded by the Sage of Six Paths. From then on it became a cornerstone in the Naruto series’ most crucial moments and its most formidable characters. The origin of Rinnegan and its specific […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Aug 18
Apex Legends Patch Still Doesn’t Fix the 1 Thing Everyone Needs
Apex Legends players have had a rough start to Season 22 with many issues from Battle Pass to Ranked being completely broken. And while Respawn Entertainment has rolled out patches addressing some of the issues, Ranked play remains broken. One of the biggest problems that the new update brought is the sudden and early reset […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Aug 14
Did Apex Legends rank reset come early?No, it did not.
The post Did Apex Legends rank reset come early? appeared first on WIN.gg .
Aug 12
Unleash Epic Content in Apex Legends Season 22: Don’t Miss This Freebie!Article Reading Time: 3min As a gaming enthusiast, I’m always on the lookout for exciting new content in the gaming world, especially when it comes to freebies! Apex Legends has consistently delivered thrilling action with its unique blend of hero abilities, smooth movement, and dynamic gameplay. Now, with Season 22 dropping, there’s even more reasons […]
The post Unleash Epic Content in Apex Legends Season 22: Don’t Miss This Freebie! appeared first on WePlayGames.net: Home for Top Gamers .
Aug 9
Here’s how Apex Legends rank rest work in Season 22All you need to know.
The post Here’s how Apex Legends rank rest work in Season 22 appeared first on WIN.gg .
Aug 7
Zenless Zone Zero Anby Figure Will Come Out in July 2025
A 1/7 scale figure of Anby Demarra from Zenless Zone Zero is open for pre-orders in Japan. It will come out in July 2025.
The Zenless Zone Zero Anby Demarra figure is from Apex, which had worked on multiple figures for HoYoVerse games in the past . It costs 22,400 JPY, which is approximately $153.90 . AmiAmi has warned that the shipping costs may be on the pricier side for this figure, as it’s quite big and heavy.
Anby is looking like she’s ready for battle in this figure. She’s got a hand on her sword and her other one outstretched. Her expression is her usual neutral one. Apex seems to have put a lot of care into the sculpting, between all the details of her outfit and the way her skirt billows around her thighs. The stand for the figure looks like a film reel, with the welcome slogan for New Eridu on it.
Image via Apx
Anby is the poster girl for Zenless Zone Zero (in that her face is on the icon like Paimon in Genshin Impact and March 7th for Honkai: Star Rail ). When you start the game, you can get a copy of her for free. She’s a member of the Cunning Hares along with Billy Kid and Nicole. Though she’s usually very stoic and quiet, she has a bit of a silly side. For example, she sometimes conflates movies with reality.
Zenless Zone Zero is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. The Zenless Zone Zero Anby figure will come out in July 2025.
The post Zenless Zone Zero Anby Figure Will Come Out in July 2025 appeared first on Siliconera .
Aug 5
1 Apex Legends Character is the Perfect Inspiration for a Helldivers 2 Stratagem That Could Prove Devastating
Helldivers 2 is an online multiplayer game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 and PC platforms. The game was a massive triumph and appealed to the gaming community through its ambitious nature and mature themes of intergalactic warfare as players fight for democracy. The gaming community […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Aug 4
“With Omnimovement coming they’ll never do that”: Call of Duty will Likely Never Follow Apex Legends’ Revolutionary PC to Console Nerf Thanks to Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is around the corner. This highly anticipated title is set to be released on October 25, 2024. This game will bring some new features, which the franchise fans have never seen. For example, Activision is going for an overhaul change in the movement mechanics in Balck Ops 6. But […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Aug 2
Apex Legends: Shockwave Update is Bringing a Feature That Changes the Game Forever
Apex Legend’s upcoming season Shockwave is set to switch things up with a new map, Akimbo weapons, and lots of balance changes. While there’s no new Legend to look forward to, this seasonal update hopes to bring major gameplay improvements. The online shooter’s next season kicks off on August 6, and will also offer new […]
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
Aug 2
Apex Legends Season 22: Shockwave Gameplay Trailer Shows Off Akimbo Pistols, New Battle Sense Features And MoreA new gameplay trailer for Apex Legends coming Season 22: Shockwave shows off new additions to the game like akimbo pistols, battle sense features and more.
The post Apex Legends Season 22: Shockwave Gameplay Trailer Shows Off Akimbo Pistols, New Battle Sense Features And More appeared first on PlayStation Universe .
Aug 1
Apex Legends: Shockwave Arrives August 6 – With New Map E-District, Automatic Respawns, Loot Refreshes and MoreThe post Apex Legends: Shockwave Arrives August 6 – With New Map E-District, Automatic Respawns, Loot Refreshes and More appeared first on Xbox Wire .
Aug 1
Apex LegendsApex Legends is the award-winning, free-to-play Hero Shooter from Respawn Entertainment.
