Smite 2 developers Hi-Rez Studios have laid off an unspecified number of workers, as part of what they call a “internal reorganization and reprioritization”. The layoffs would ultimately benefit Smite 2, claimed the company’s boss, who added that the cuts “disproportionally affect” those working on cosmetic skins and game “system features”, as well as people in marketing and publishing roles.
Download this major update today!
Nintendo is still rolling out new content updates for its battle royale racer F-Zero 99, with the Switch Online title today receiving all sorts of additions.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Download this major update today!
Nintendo is still rolling out new content updates for its battle royale racer F-Zero 99, with the Switch Online title today receiving all sorts of content.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The party is just getting started.
Super Mario Party Jamboree lands on the Switch later this month and another lot of impressions are now rolling in.
So far think everything is pointing towards this new entry being quite the get-together. It’s certainly looking to be the biggest and most feature-packed version of Mario Party to date.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
If you thought it was too early for this game to go on sale, guess again. Woot! (owned by Amazon) is offering The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for Nintendo Switch for only $51.99. This is a good deal only if you’re an Amazon Prime member because you get free shipping. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay an additional $6 for shipping, which makes it just a few dollars cheaper than buying it elsewhere.
This is a physical copy and includes a 90-day Woot! warranty. Woot! mentions that copies may or may not be imported, but all Nintendo Switch games are region-free so you’ll be able to play the game regardless. Also, you won’t have to worry about language either, since that setting is determined by your Switch console.
Check out our The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom review and see why this game earned an “Amazing” 9/10 score. In it, writer Tom Marks states “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is far greater than a gimmicky spinoff led by Zelda instead of Link. Its echo summoning is a clever concept used to combine the expertly crafted dungeons, puzzle rooms, and item progression you’d expect from a classic-style 2D Zelda with the borderline unhinged freedom provided by Tears of the Kingdom. This experiment doesn’t produce an entirely perfect result, with a little bit of clunky menu management and combat that simply isn’t quite as compelling, but it’s an impressively successful one all the same. Echoes of Wisdom is also a glowing proof of concept for how a modern 3D Zelda could recapture some of what fans like me miss about the series before Breath of the Wild without sacrificing the intoxicating creativity it introduced. Creating echoes aside, if this is the future of Zelda, I can’t wait to see more.”
For more discounts on games, check out the best Nintendo Switch deals today.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
“I think it’s safe to say what the outcome is.”.
Months after it closed down Yuzu, Nintendo has forced another Switch emulator offline.
Development on the open-source emulator Ryujinx will end, and it will no longer be available for download.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Castlevania veteran Shutaro Ida has announced that he will be stepping back from work on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2 following his recent cancer diagnosis.
The game developer, who worked on a long list of entries in Konami’s Castlevania series and more recently directed 2019’s Bloodstained, announced the news in a post on X/Twitter. He says he’ll be offloading some of his responsibilities with the rest of the team at developer ArtPlay now that he has begun his cancer battle.
“I, SHUTARO, also known as Curry Boy and Curry Sage, have been diagnosed with cancer and have begun my battle with the disease. I have already started talking about the sequel to Bloodstained, and have ideas for the game and such. From now on, the responsibility [for game direction] will be shared. Thank you for your support,” Ida wrote in a post translated by X and verified by IGN.
Ida has been instrumental in the Bloodstained universe and had planned on continuing it with a sequel. Bloodstained 2 was originally announced back in 2021, though no additional details about its progress have arrived since then. At the time, publisher 505 Games touted the action RPG as a success that managed to reach “generally favorable” reviews from both critics and fans on Metacritic.
これまで、DSシリーズやブラッドステインドは実質的にSHUTAROディレクターを中心に制作を行ってきました。
正に彼の作品と言えるでしょう。
そんな彼がプロジェクトから遠ざかるのは大変な痛手ですが、それに負けぬよう頑張ります。
また一緒に仕事ができるまで回復することを期待します。 https://t.co/YirZi5fYYD— IGA (@KojiIGA) October 1, 2024
Longtime Castlevania producer and ArtPlay president Koji Igarashi re-posted Iida’s remarks. While acknowledging Iida’s contributions to the series and gaming as a whole, he assures fans that the rest of the team will push through until Ida is able to work with them again.
“Up until now, the DS [Castlevania] series and Bloodstained have essentially been produced primarily by Director SHUTARO. It can truly be called his work. It is a great blow to have him step away from the project, but we will do our best not to be defeated by it. I hope that you will recover quickly enough to work with us again.”
Ida led the charge on Bloodstained and made a game that we ranked as the fourth best Metroidvania of all-time. In our 8.8/10 review, we said, “The wait was worth it. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a whole new castle to crash full of unexpected monsters and mysteries in the vein of classic Castlevania.”
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.
It looks like popular Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx is no more.
One of its developers, riperiperi, announced the news on its Discord server today, saying that lead developer gdkchan “was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization and all related assets he’s in control of.”
“While awaiting confirmation on whether he would take this agreement, the organization has been removed, so I think it’s safe to say what the outcome is,” riperiperi continues. The message, which you can read below, was also posted on Ryujinx’s X/Twitter account.
— Ryujinx (@RyujinxEmu) October 1, 2024
It also came just hours after some users raised concerns, noticing that Ryujinx’s Github page currently leads to a 404 message. Others pointed out Ryujinx’s download page also wasn’t loading, sparking more concern for the emulation project. Amid the speculation, one of the Discord’s mods assured fans that an announcement was coming, asking them to not spread misinformation in the meantime.
As it says on its website, Ryujinx is an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator written in C# for Windows, Linux and macOS. It began as a single-developer project in 2017, collecting a small team of developers along the way.
Today’s news is only the latest in Nintendo’s ongoing crackdown on emulators following its lawsuit against Tropic Haze, creators of the popular Switch emulator Yuzu. Tropic Haze paid $2.4 million in damages in the settlement, and Yuzu was shut down entirely. Nintendo claimed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was pirated 1 million times before its release in the lawsuit, and issued a takedown notice for more than 8,500 copies of code of Yuzu in May.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
(Boss) Key to my heart.
Last year, hot off the back of Tears of the Kingdom, I wrote a piece expressing my love for Zelda’s ‘Modern’ dungeons. These puzzle-centric areas had been a little hit or miss, sure, but I found that there was a lot to like in each once I got past the general terminal-activation-ness of it all.
I thought I was over Zelda’s ‘Classic’ dungeon format — moving from one room to another via a series of puzzles, opening chests of increasingly flamboyant design and picking up unique items along the way. I thought the series was striding towards something new and I was excited by the prospect of that. I thought the Divine Beast formula was the future and I was ready to welcome it with open arms.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
We are thrilled to invite Xbox Insiders on Xbox Series X consoles to join Off The Grid – Pioneers starting today. But wait, don’t chop your arms and legs off yet. There are a few things for you to know before jumping into the action. Read on for full details on how to get your free ticket to Teardrop Island.
Dive into the most extreme Battle Royale ever created! Three global gaming companies have set aside their differences to develop the ultimate adrenaline rush for pro gamers on a dystopian tropical island scarred by a history of corporate warfare.
With a seamless blend of PvP and PvE elements, this cyberpunk Battle Royale envisioned by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will set a new standard for the genre.
Experience the Off The Grid: Pioneers as we release our first locations, weapons, limbs and game modes and prepare yourself for an immersive narrative campaign on Teardrop Island while simultaneously surviving a Battle Royale — no problem for an elite gamer such as yourself, right?
Build your ultimate character by extracting high-value gear from the Island and empower them with unique abilities by modifying your body with cybernetic limbs during the gameplay session.
If you want to learn more, please visit the Off The Grid Official Website.
Cyberlimbs
During play, players can loot unique cyberlimbs, granting powerful abilities to aid in combat. But here’s the kicker, you can swap limbs anytime during the game to adapt your playstyle. You can even shoot them off and steal them from your opponents. Unique abilities include toxic gas, trip mines, increased running speed, auto-missiles, jetpack jumps & much more.
Teardrop
Welcome to the star of the show and the centerpiece of everything the game is about. Teardrop Island. Players will be able to explore the following regions.
Customization
Off The Grid provides a wide range of weapon and attachment customization options. It also offers up to 3 free loadout slots to accommodate your unique preferences and playstyles.
NOTE: Matchmaking is available daily from 6PM CEST (9AM PT / 12PM ET) to 2AM CEST (5PM PT / 8PM ET)
NOTE: Limited space is available and offered first-come first-served.
NOTE: This playtest is only available on Xbox Series X consoles.
NOTE: This playtest is only available for Xbox Insiders in the regions below.
Jumping into the playtest means you’re stepping into a version of Off The Grid that is still evolving. You might run into the occasional bug or see something that’s not quite finished – and we welcome all the feedback you’ll send our way about your experience. Our teams will continue packing in features and improvements to craft the most exciting and innovative battle royale ever!
If you experience any issues while playing Off The Grid, don’t forget to use “Report a problem” so we can investigate:
Want to join the conversations with the Off The Grid community and share your experience? Join us on any of our social channels: X/Twitter || Instagram || Tiktok || Discord
For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit.
The post Off The Grid Playtest is Available Today! appeared first on Xbox Wire.
