Here’s What We Know Won’t Be at Summer Game Fest

The final countdown to a week of game announcements, trailers, updates, in-person activities in Los Angeles, and general shenanigans is upon us. One of the major lynchpins holding it all together is Summer Game Fest, a showcase put together by Geoff Keighley with the aim of uniting the game industry around a summertime shebang of video game news. But as he does every year before this and other hosted events like Gamescom Opening Night Live and The Game Awards, Keighley is trying to temper wild fan expectations by clarifying some of the things we absolutely will not see at Summer Game Fest on Friday.

In a live question and answer session hosted on Twitch over the weekend, Keighley answered some burning questions from fans about the upcoming showcase, including a long list not just of what we should expect to see on Friday, but also what we shouldn’t.

As far as what will be there, Keighley confirmed we’ll see plenty of updates to existing games, such as Palworld and Kingdom Come 2: Deliverance. We’ll also see trailers for already-announced games, including Supermarket Simulator, Monster Hunter Wilds, Metaphor: Refantazio, Batman: Arkham VR, and Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO. He also confirmed we’ll be getting something from Blumhouse Games, and a new trailer for the Among Us animated series.

But in an interest of keeping surprises to himself, it’s no surprise that the list of what won’t be there is a bit longer:

No new GTA 6 trailer

Sorry, but anyone who was expecting another GTA trailer so soon after the last one needs to bring the expectations waaaaay down.

No Kingdom Hearts 4

Keighley said that a lot of people have been asking him about this for some reason, but that those expecting such a thing are “setting themselves up for failure.”

No The Wolf Among Us 2

No new news on this, but Keighley says it won’t be at SGF. Last we heard, it was delayed, and a collaboration with Deck Nine to work on a pre-production script for the game was cancelled. The game is still in production at Telltale, as of earlier this year.

No Def Jam game

This question came out of nowhere, but no, Keighley won’t be showing one.

No Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Unlikely from the jump given Keighley’s criticisms of Konami.

No Judas

We saw Ken Levine’s next game revealed at The Game Awards in 2022, but Keighley doesn’t have an update at this year’s show. If you’re hungry to see more of Judas, though, we did run an extensive gameplay overview on IGN this past March.

No Beyond Good and Evil 2

Keighley claims he doesn’t know any more than we do about where this game, announced way way way back in 2017, went. Even if it were going to be announced during this time, Ubisoft has their own show they’re almost certainly want it in.

No Five Nights at Freddy’s

Help Wanted 2 came out last year, and non-VR ports are still planned for later in June, so that’s probably the main attraction in that universe for now.

No Hollow Knight: Silksong (probably)

Keighley actually didn’t directly say this, but when it came up on stream, he chuckled and said, “I think it’s gonna be a while.” So that doesn’t sound exactly promising. Don’t get your hopes up.

Probably no Nintendo games

Keighley didn’t specifically say Nintendo wouldn’t have anything in this showcase, but he did chat briefly about Nintendo’s ongoing absence from Summer Game Fest despite historically being interested in The Game Awards, and his tone definitely points to another Nintendo no-show. Nintendo usually has some sort of digital showcase of its own in June, so while we shouldn’t expect anything at SGF, there’s probably plenty to come later this month. And SGF will almost certainly have third-party games that will be available on the Switch…or whatever its successor ends up being.

No music acts, No Josef Fares, no “one more thing”

Though not explicitly games, Keighley confirmed a few other elements SGF would not be using. There won’t be any musical acts (save that for The Game Awards), and the notorious Josef Fares won’t be showing up to make any spicy, clippable remarks. We also won’t get a “one more thing,” an industry tradition of sorts where showcases conclude with a “and now, we have one more thing to show” remark from a host followed by a massive, exciting announcement to wrap things up. Keighley doesn’t care for this trend.

So that’s what we know, leaving four days left to wildly speculate about what we don’t know. For more info on how to watch Summer Game Fest, check out our guide, as well as our guide to all the other events around Summer of Gaming.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, Creator’s Diary

Happy Birthday, Neurodiver

It’s a few days before we submit our game to certification. Our release date announcement trailer is behind us and we’re adding in the last few updates to Read Only Memories: Neurodiver. For the eyecatch sequences, I give the Neurodiver itself a birthday: May 16, 2024, and we proceed to let it go out into the world.

The Day After

May 16 has come and gone and the game is out now. I’ve been working on this with several others who have come and gone for the past six years. A lot has happened with MidBoss, our team, and the world during this time, but the game is finally out and a wave of relief washed over us, followed quickly by a lot of anxiety. The game, after all, is shorter than our previous one, and its story is brisk. I still find myself playing and enjoying it in my off time, though, and I’m proud of what our team accomplished. I got to work and collaborate with a lot of wonderful people.

Past and Present: Planning the Game

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver is a very personal project, both in its story– however brief it may be–and in its development. I was the original director and lead artist/animator for 2064: Read Only Memories. It’s a game I have a complicated relationship with. A lot happened with it, the original team, and myself. I’m finally comfortable sitting with my housemates and watching them play it as we celebrate the release of our current game. My head is spinning at all of the interactions it has and the logistics involved now. It’s very impressive that we pulled it off. I’m proud of that game just as well, but its development was at a great cost.

We couldn’t aim for the same scope as the previous game. It was simply out of the question. But after working out the initial story planning, , we were delighted with the result: an engaging] light and brisk adventure. A pseudo-sequel with an established protagonist that can dive into memories, chasing a rogue psychic that hides within them. Whose memories would we be exploring? I wanted to revisit some old friends from the original game, a chance to see how they’re doing five or six years later.

Dive into the Details

Luna Cruz de la Vega, or ES88, is a young and ambitious psychic agent working at Minerva. The only one bonded to a special genetically engineered esper called the Neurodiver. This Neurodiver allows her to not only view and interact with memories, but also repair them. Each day she wakes up diving directly into work. ES88 wants to prove something to herself and her peers, and though she has confidence in her abilities, she still questions herself.

A psychic entity called Golden Butterfly is haunting people’s memories, fragmenting them, causing lingering anxieties to bubble up. These fragments range from something as simple as a lost password, all the way up to forgetting where you left off with someone important to you. It’s ES88’s job to repair these fragments and drive out Golden Butterfly. It’s a big task. Could it be too much? How much is she willing to push herself?

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver is a capsule filled with a lot of the things we love. ES88’s days play out like an episode in an anime, commercial bumpers and all. She dreams of herself as a magical girl. The soundscape is filled with glossy, vibrant FM tones reminiscent of old Yamaha powered sound cards. It was a joy animating every expression. Every character is voiced exactly how we imagined them to be in our heads. And it’s all framed within an homage to Japanese adventure games of the past.

Read Only Memories: Neurodiver is a game that’s filled with our enthusiasm for the things we love. It was a chance to spend time with some old friends again while meeting some new ones, and while it’s a brief journey, I hope it’ll continue to stay in your memories.

Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER

Chorus Worldwide Games

☆☆☆☆☆
3

★★★★★

$14.99

Get it now

ES88 is an esper tasked with capturing Golden Butterfly, a psychic entity hiding in the memories of others. Play as ES88 and join her cyborg colleague GATE, and the creature known as a NEURODIVER to help repair the memories Golden has damaged and stop them in their tracks in this “psy-fi” adventure!

You Are A Psychic Agent
Take on the role of ES88, a young esper employed by MINERVA, a powerful organization specializing in information science, neurotechnology, and extrasensory phenomena. She has been tasked with tracking down Golden Butterfly, a mysterious psychic entity hiding in and fragmenting the memories of Neo-San Francisco’s citizens. Who are they? Why are they doing this? And how will you stop them?

The NEURODIVER
The Neurodiver is a bioengineered psychic creature made to assist in boosting an esper’s natural abilities. With its help, you’ll be able to collect clues and thoughts in your subject’s memories in an effort to piece together distorted fragments inside them, pushing Golden Butterfly out!

New And Old
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER is a return to the vibrant sci-fi world of Neo-San Francisco from 2064: Read Only Memories with a whole new story, and a whole new cast of characters. It’s an adventure that newcomers can easily dive into, but those familiar with the original game might notice a lot of familiar faces making a comeback!

An FM Sound Sensation!
NEURODIVER’s soundtrack is inspired by the OPNA/YM2608 sounds of the PC-8801 and PC-9801 series of computers, brought to you by Scarlet Moon composer and sound designer, Ken “coda” Snyder (Tree of Knowledge)!

If you love the sharp and glossy tones generated by late 80s and early 90s FM chips found in a variety of old computers, sound cards, arcades and consoles, then you’ll be right at home here. Long live the power of FM sound!

The post Read Only Memories: Neurodiver, Creator’s Diary appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Just Cause Developer Avalanche Shuttering Two Studios and Laying Off 50 Workers

Just Cause franchise developer Avalanche Studios is laying off 50 employees as it moves to shutter its New York and Montreal locations in what it calls an “exceptionally difficult decision.”

The company announced the news in a post on its website, saying that the layoffs in these areas affect nine percent of its worldwide workforce. It says the decision is “necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company.”

“Our focus is now supporting all Avalanchers through this challenging time,” the studio says. “We’re grateful for the invaluable contributions of those leaving and remain committed to creating incredible gaming experience for our players.”

It’s currently unclear how Avalanche will be supporting those affected. The closure of its New York and Montreal spots leaves three remaining office locations in Stockholm, Liverpool, and Malmö. Its Montreal location opened only about eight months ago in October 2023, and its New York location opened in June 2022.

A Damaging Trend Continues

Layoffs at Avalanche, which is also responsible for helping create games like 2015’s Mad Max, Rage 2, and the upcoming Xbox-exclusive Contraband game, add to a growing list of layoffs sweeping the industry over the last year. It’s estimated that more than 10,000 developers lost their jobs in 2023 alone, with gaming giants like Sony, Microsoft, Riot, and EA going on to lay off large numbers of staff in 2024 as the year rolls on.

More recent examples saw Take-Two Interactive laying off 579 workers in April and Microsoft closing Bethesda’s Arkane and Tango Gameworks studios in May while Square Enix prepares for its own cost-cutting moves in the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, 100 Avalanche developers managed to join Swedish trade union Unionen last October, and in April, the company agreed to sign a collective bargaining agreement with those who have unionized.

For more, you can read up on why some developers think layoffs have hit as hard as they have over the last year. Then be sure to learn more about the people they layoffs are affecting most.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

The Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass in June 2024 Have Been Revealed

Xbox Game Pass is losing High on Life and more on June 15, Microsoft has announced. Revealed on the Xbox website, High on Life is one of five games leaving the platform in June in the regular rotation of games available on the subscription service. Here are some of the most notable departures.

High on Life

High on Life is a bizarre first person shooter where players take on the role of an intergalactic bounty hunter that uses living, foul-mouthed guns to fight aliens. It launched straight onto Game Pass and quickly proved popular, immediately breaking three records for the biggest launch of 2022, the biggest third-party game launch ever, and the biggest single-player launch of all time.

Rune Factory 4 Special

Rune Factory 4 Special is a very different kind of video game with farming, dungeon crawling, romance, and more. “With dozens of hours of gameplay (and the option of playing well after the story ends) Rune Factory 4 is definitely a good time,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Bramble: The Mountain King

Also leaving this month is Bramble: The Mountain King, which joined Game Pass in June 2023. This adventure horror game inspired by Nordic folklore sees players embark on a journey through the dark world of Bramble and encounter towering bosses along the way.

In addition to the games listed above, Xbox Game Pass is also losing Spacelines from the Far Out and The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales. Those who want to play the handful of games should therefore do so before June 15, 2024, though all Game Pass titles can be bought outright and kept for good for 20% off their normal price.

For more, check out our guide to the Xbox Game Pass plans as well as all the rest of the biggest games coming out in 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Helldivers 2 Major Order turns planet into black hole as rumours of returning Illuminate faction intensify

Honestly, I turn my back on shooter-of-note Helldivers 2 for (checks calendar)… one, maybe two weeks, and you all go and transform a planet into a black hole. “You” being the players who completed the metagame’s last Major Order and successfully pumped the Terminid supercolony of Meridia full of an experimental “Dark Fluid” – which Super-Earth, incidentally, pinched from the Illuminate faction during the First Galactic War, aka Helldivers 1.

Now, Meridia has imploded and become a radiant, wailing, purple-fringed disc of pure nothingness, with triumphant players rudely ejected from orbit via emergency hyperspace jump, but subsequently allowed to return and gaze into the dark heart of their victory. Great work, Inferno-plungers. I’m sure the consequences of this will be neither cosmic nor horrible.

Feature: “This Isn’t Just Yars, It’s A Love Letter To Atari” – How WayForward Is Breaking The Mould With ‘Yars Rising’

From Revenge to Rising.

WayForward Technologies has worked on several well-known franchises over the years, including the likes of Contra, Silent Hill, The Mummy, Transformers, and even Aliens. Despite this, the reveal that the developer would collaborate with Atari on a brand new Yars entry came as a genuine shock to many, this writer included.

Not only is Yars’ Revenge one of the most beloved Atari 2600 games of the early ’80s, but the game, along with its sequels, is fundamentally an arcade shooter. So when WayForward introduced Yars Rising as a Metroidvania starring charismatic hacker Emi Kimura, you’d be forgiven for raising an eyebrow. How could such a drastic departure from the original possibly work? Would snippets of classic Yars gameplay sprinkled throughout the experience be enough to satisfy old-school fans?

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Five Exciting New Features Coming to Destiny 2 With The Final Shape, Launching June 4

Category: Games

June 3, 2024

Five Exciting New Features Coming to Destiny 2 With The Final Shape, Launching June 4

Danielle Partis

The Final Shape has almost arrived in Destiny 2 – the highly anticipated expansion that sees the Guardians fight off against The Witness, the universe’s greatest threat to date.

Ahead of its launch tomorrow, we spoke with several developers at Bungie to ask about The Final Shape’s major new developments, including a brand-new playable location inside the heart of The Traveler, the fearsome new species lurking within, and the new Supers that Guardians can wield to take them on. There’s a lot to cover in The Final Shape, so we’ve broken down five of its most exciting new elements, with commentary from the team on how they came together.

Closer to the Heart

The Final Shape transports players to The Pale Heart, a brand-new location inside the heart of the Traveler. According to Dave Samuel, Art Director on Destiny 2, the studio’s aim was to encapsulate the profound memories that players have made along their decade-long journey with the game. Familiar locations and artifacts that fans of all tenures will recognize are woven into the surroundings – this is the visual culmination of your adventure in Destiny’s universe.

“We envisioned the original Destiny’s Tower as a beacon of hope and life, embodying a sense of purity amidst the metal and concrete, adorned with lush foliage and greenery,” Samuel says, to demonstrate an example of this. “This visualization serves as a poignant representation of the hope and genesis of the player’s expedition.”

However, as The Final Shape’s narrative progresses, these recollections begin to darken as The Witness and its darkness takes hold. Samuel describes the Cosmodrome, where the original Destiny story began, which is now fragmented and twisted. The Tree of Silver Wings, a symbol of Light in the universe, is now marred by the presence of the Hive. This isn’t just a representation of everything you’ve experienced – it’s also a vision of the world you’re here to save.

“Our creative intention was to present these potent memories in unexpected and unsettling ways, each transformation growing increasingly distorted and disconcerting as your odyssey leads you towards The Monolith,” Samuel adds. “The journey through The Pale Heart is intended to challenge and evoke a range of emotions, encapsulating the evolution and transformation of your experience within Destiny 2 over the past decade.”

A Dreadful Encounter

Once inside The Pale Heart, Guardians will discover the Dread – the first new species to be uncovered in the Destiny universe since the addition of the Scorn in 2019’s Forsaken expansion. The Dread are the most devoted followers of The Witness, and their design is mirrored to reflect the twisted and unsettling innards of The Pale Heart, and the grip that the darkness has on them.

Samuel takes us through three main keywords used to craft the visuals of the Dread – Pyramid, Vampiric and Chimeric. Via these inspirations, the team has taken core elements of the Witness’ design and adapted it to fit the Dread – abstract shapes, infusions of aristocratic elements, and subtle opulence. These creatures are unfamiliar and threatening, clearly molded in the Witness’ vision.

“Building up to this climactic confrontation in the heart of the Traveler was a big goal for us. We wanted it to feel like the Witness was pulling out all the stops, that it was arraying its grandest and most formidable army,” adds James Tsai, Creative Director.

The Dread are not only formidable in their appearance, but in their abilities too. We’ve already seen them in action as the Tormentors – fast, hulking enemies that launch devastating projectiles, and can finish you off entirely in little more than one hit if they get hold of you. Each type of Dread enemy is built to feel like a similar threat – they’re made to feel like this is truly The Witness’ last line of defense and who will not go down without a fight.

“There’s a lot that goes into designing a combatant – or an entire encounter, for that matter,” Tsai explains. “You want that initial impression and that silhouette that appears on the horizon to be intimidating, if not terrifying, so you often lead with a strong attack or attention-grabbing entrance from that enemy. After that, it’s less about setting up an impregnable defense and more about creating a puzzle of sorts that can be figured out.”

Tsai adds that this can be a tricky challenge in Destiny 2 because the player has so many ways to approach the fight: different weapons, different abilities, supers, grenades, and incredible mobility: “As the Transcendent Guardian wielding Light and Darkness simultaneously, you have a lot of powerful tools – the Witness is sending its best to stop you.”

A Class of Your Own

In The Final Shape, Guardians will be able to wield the Prismatic Class, which allows Guardians to combine elements and abilities from existing Light and Darkness subclasses to craft unique, powerful combinations. While Prismatic is primarily a combination of existing skills, it’s built to feel like a new subclass with its own identity.

“The Prismatic subclass connects abilities and powers that were previously insulated from each other, so the player can generate very novel builds from that interplay,” Tsai explains. “Being able to combine the crowd-control properties of Stasis with a destructive Solar force, for instance, can lead to entirely new approaches in combat.”

The team began with fantasy statements for the first Prismatic builds: “We talked about the different ways the player would engage: ‘slow ‘em down, then blow ‘em up,’ or ‘get amped and go berserk.’ Even though the individual abilities were familiar, they pushed towards distinct styles in those initial combinations to elevate new strategies. But we know the community is going to find even more amazing combinations and tactics, especially once they start using the new Aspects and Fragments.”

Feeling Super

Destiny 2’s existing subclasses are also getting an exciting revamp in the form of several new Super abilities. Titans come armed with Twilight Arsenal, a potent new void Super, Hunters are freshly equipped with Storm’s Edge, a deadly new Arc ability, and Warlocks are bringing the heat with Song of Flame.

Much like the surroundings of The Pale Heart, these Supers also incorporate elements of classic Destiny abilities. For example, Storm’s Edge is described as similar to the Bladedancer ability for Hunters in the original Destiny.

“We wanted to deliver an experience that felt like it connected back to that classic Arc Hunter fantasy while also providing an aggressive, high-mobility playstyle,” says Samuel Dunn, Gameplay Feature Lead. “We knew we wanted to incorporate elements like the Arc Blade weapon itself as well as the powerful spin attack, but with the ability to rapidly zip in and out of trouble in the blink of an eye. Together, with the new air move from Ascension, you can chain together powerful aerial movement combos to keep your enemies on their toes.”

The Warlock Song of Flame Super also shares DNA with an original ability from Destiny – Sunsinger, which significantly improved all of the player’s other abilities while active.

“It felt fitting to echo that same gameplay here, by supercharging both versions of the Dawnblade melee with extra projectiles and creating a stylized, sentient-feeling ‘firebird’ grenade that will hunt down multiple enemies,” Dunn explains. “We also knew we wanted to create another support alternative to Well of Radiance, with a different and more mobile flavor that could integrate well into the rest of the Solar Warlock kit and provide powerful utility for allies via ability regen and Scorching weapon rounds.”

The Next Episode

The Final Shape’s epic campaign is just the start of another huge journey for our Guardians. After the events of the story mode, more tales will be told in the form of Episodes, which will replace Destiny 2’s existing seasonal structure. Three episodes, titled Echoes, Revenant and Heresy, will deal with the aftermath and consequences of the events of The Final Shape’s campaign.

Each Episode will contain three Acts, and will tell their own standalone stories that focus on other factions’ scramble for power in the wake of the Guardians’ showdown with The Witness. Acts will provide the same level of rewards found within Seasonal content – including new activities, quests, weapons, as well as the seasonal Artifact Mods that Guardians can use to fine-tune their playstyle.

“We wanted to ensure the events of The Final Shape had a lasting impact on the world,” says Robbie Stevens, Assistant Game Director. “Episodes introduce a new content cadence for Destiny 2 so that it’s clearer than ever when the next major update will occur.”

This is just a snapshot of the exciting updates heading to Destiny 2 with this expansion. Experience the explosive conclusion of the Light and Darkness saga when Destiny 2: The Final Shape launches on June 4.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape

Bungie

☆☆☆☆☆
24

★★★★★

$49.99

Pre-order

Pre-order now to unlock the new Pyramidic Vessel Exotic ship, Exotic Ghost shell, and Legendary emblems.

The Standard edition of The Final Shape includes the new story campaign, three new Supers, a new destination, new weapons and armor to collect, and the first Episode in the year of The Final Shape.

Prismatic Subclass
For the first time ever, Prismatic empowers you to combine Arc, Solar, Void, Stasis, and Strand into a custom subclass of your design. Light and Darkness have no quarrel within you, Guardian.

Campaign
The Final Shape looms—a nightmarish calcification of reality into the Witness’s twisted design. Embark on a perilous journey into the heart of the Traveler, rally the Vanguard, and end the War of Light and Darkness.

New Supers
Defeating the Witness will require untold power. Arc Hunters, Void Titans, and Solar Warlocks; master a new Super within your arsenal and confront oblivion.

New Destination
Adventure through an impossible landscape that bends time and space. Follow the Witness and behold what lies within the Traveler.

105 GB hard drive storage space required as of November 10, 2020. Subject to change. Requires broadband internet. After November 10, 2020 see www.destinythegame.com/size-requirements for current requirements prior to purchase.

Destiny 2 may contain flashing patterns and images that may produce adverse effects for a small percentage of people sensitive to them.

Bungie, Inc. makes no guarantee regarding the availability of online play or features and may modify or discontinue online services with reasonable notice at any time. Using the software constitutes acceptance of the Destiny Software License Agreement available at www.bungie.net/sla.

The post Five Exciting New Features Coming to Destiny 2 With The Final Shape, Launching June 4 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Players’ Choice: Vote for May 2024’s best new game

May saw a wide variety of games, from indie retro horror to mascot brawlers and fast-paced shooters. What did you enjoy most out of the diverse lineup of titles?

How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. After the polls close we will tally your votes, and announce the winner on our social channels and PlayStation.Blog.

What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? Note: re-released games don’t qualify, but remakes do. We define remakes as ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds such as Resident Evil 4 (2023) and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

How are nominees decided? The PlayStation Blog editorial team will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll.

Helldivers 2 Players Win the Day and Birth a New Black Hole, But a Creeping Worry Is Overcoming Some

Helldivers 2 players have succeeded in their mission to destroy a Terminid supercolony by turning its host planet into an all consuming black hole, but are now growing concerned at what might step through.

The creation of the black hole has been brewing since Helldivers 2’s first major order — large scale missions which shape the game’s overall narrative — as it saw players “liberate” a string of planets from the claws of a bug-like alien race known as the Terminids.

This mission, dubbed Operation Valiant Enclosure, allowed for the creation of a network of termicide-dispensing towers which were later activated in a March campaign that was also, seemingly, successful.

These scientists boasted about removing a whole planet from the space
But what about after that?
It was artificially created and there is High chances it’s not even a black hole!
It could be a passage or even door to endless horrors!
The planet was maybe moved not destroyed!
— Rokirtech (@Rokirtech) June 2, 2024

But the introduction of the termicide forced the aliens to evolve and create a super colony on the world of Meridian, where they reproduced at an uncontrollable rate. Super Earth’s brightest decided the only measured and reasonable way to stamp out the colony was to inject masses of weaponized “dark fluid” deep into the planet’s crust, where it would merge to transform the world into a fledgling black hole.

Many in the community have taken to social media to celebrate the the birth of their new cosmic child, but others have been left pondering if their latest win will come back to bite them in the long run. Super Earth’s campaigns have an unpleasant habit of accelerating the arrival of an ever greater, previously hidden threat, after all, and some are even questioning whether the dark expanse is even a black hole at all.

Those unsettled players have pointed out the suspected black hole is missing certain elements seen in its real life counterparts, such as a ring of glowing debris known as an accretion disk or a photon ring. Others have theorised that, black hole or n, it may even be a portal through which a new enemy could emerge.

Its impossible for anything to emerge from a black hole’s event horizon in real life, of course, but the existence of legions of murder robots, instantaneous travel between star systems, and countless other sci-fi elements have shown that developer Arrowhead Studios and its galaxy master Joel aren’t necessarily bound to realism.

The portal theory seems perfectly plausible in that regard, and even more so when considering the “dark fluid” used to create the black hole was a form of synthesised exotic matter recovered from a technologically advanced alien race called the Illuminate, who featured in the original 2015 Helldivers title but have yet to make an appearance in its sequel. Many in the Helldivers 2 community are adamant the Illuminate’s reveal is imminent after the appearance of mysterious blue beams sniping players out of nowhere (and a series of leaks revealing enemy models).

Joel only knows what will happen next, but for the time being Helldivers will likely be asked to return to Automaton controlled space to win back the planets lost last month. Super Earth scientists are working on a new and improved termicide formula in the meantime, because why learn from the mistakes of the past?

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Here’s a demo for Megacopter, a Desert Strike parody with a splash of Mars Attacks

In EA’s Desert Strike – released way back in the dim salvages of 1992 – you are a helicopter pilot scooting around a Sylvester Stallone reinvention of Iraq, shooting down tanks and fighters with guns and missiles while rescuing VIPs and fretting constantly about your wafer-thin armour and espresso-sized fuel reserves. It was a no-frills piece of Gulf War fanfic, complete with George Bush ending cameo, and a well-made shooter that used to drive me nuts on Sega Mega Drive.

Megacopter: Blades Of The Goddess is Desert Strike, but heavily Blood-Dragonified and with a big dollop of Airwolf to boot. Here, the enemy troops are naughty Reptoid aliens, the writing is scattershot-satirical (upgrades are bought with pizza tokens) and your helicopter houses the soul of a blood-drinking “AZ-TECH” goddess. Is it a nuanced parody of the Strike series? It doesn’t feel like it. Did I enjoy the demo? Yes. Does it have a crawling tentacle boss called Queen Oildusa? Also yes, and will you please stop asking questions so I can write the rest of this article.