Category: Video Games

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Will Complete Its Currently Announced Roadmap, but Warner Bros. Quiet on What Happens After

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will complete its currently announced roadmap, publisher Warner Bros. has confirmed to IGN.

After Rocksteady’s live service shooter flopped to the tune of $200 million, some players called into question Warner Bros.’ support for the game and the prospect of additional content beyond the already released Season 1.

Players asked even tougher questions after a report from Bloomberg into Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s troubled development, with reporter Jason Schreier writing on X/Twitter Rocksteady was currently giving the game “some barebones support, definitely not as much as they’d originally planned.” According to Schreier, Rocksteady is helping out with a director’s cut of Warner Bros.’ smash hit Hogwarts Legacy while management pitches a return to single-player.

But Warner Bros. told IGN that Rocksteady will see out Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s first year of support, while declining to comment on what happens afterwards. “We are not yet discussing anything that is not announced,” a spokesperson added.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was panned by critics upon launch and has extremely low player numbers on Steam. Some of the frustration stems from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League not being another Batman game from Rocksteady, despite being set within the Arkhamverse. The developer’s single-player Arkham series is much-loved by fans, with 2011’s Batman: Arkham City in particular held up as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, superhero video games of all time. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, on the other hand, is a live service third-person shooter in which Batman is a villain. Soon after the game’s February 2024 release, publisher Warner Bros. admitted the failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League contributed to a $200 million hit to revenue.

So, what can players expect? Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s current roadmap includes four seasons’ worth of content. Seasons two, three, and four are each set to add a new playable character, three new playable environments, new weapons, themed gear sets, activities, and mid-season updates.

Rocksteady recently teased the introduction of Mrs. Freeze as a playable character for Season 2 after Season 1 added the Joker. Datamining has suggested playable characters on their way include Mrs. Freeze, Lawless, and Deathstroke. Based on Warner Bros.’ comment, players now know they will see this content.

Will this be enough to spark renewed interest in the game? After Season 1 and the Joker’s arrival failed to move the needle on player concurrent numbers on Steam (Microsoft and Sony do not make player numbers on Xbox and PlayStation public), it seems unlikely the following three lesser-known DC characters will do so.

Indeed, thoughts have already turned to Rocksteady’s next game, which many fans of the studio hope will play more like the Arkham games.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Chef RPG is a foodie Stardew Valley where you brew your own drinks and try to keep the critics happy

Chef RPG is Stardew Valley but for restaurants instead of farms, the ‘plate’ side of the hypothetical ‘farm to plate’ bundle that Steam may one day sell. Even the set-up is similar to the farming game. You rock up all chef-like off the train, and you’re soon greeted by your guide Hazel, yet another Boba-clutching robot. I might be misremembering Stardew. Fry yourself off a nice chunk of trai-loumi below.

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Do a drive-by shooting from the back of a bear in Streets of Rogue 2 this summer

“Deus Ex but tiny and hilarious” is how I pitch the first Streets of Rogue to people in elevators. Then I kick the elevator control panel to pieces, climb out the hatch, and cut the cord with a buzzsaw I smuggled in earlier. “It’s also total chaos!” I yell, as the elevator plummets. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Streets of Rogue 2 is looking similarly chaotic. But one thing has been brought to order: its release date. It’s coming to early access on August 14th, while a new trailer (below) shows horse riding, flame throwing, and speed boating. My favourite moment is when a man pumps magic gas into a room full of people doing zumba, and it turns them all into giants, and they freak out and start smashing the walls in a panic.

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Starfield’s June 2024 Update Introduces the Creation Kit

After teasing that a brand-new update would arrive in Starfield later today, Bethesda Game Studios has officially released the June 2024 update for Starfield, which introduces the Creation Kit, new Trackers Alliance missions, and more.

In a new blog post, Bethesda has detailed all the new features coming into Starfield update 1.12.30. Most notably, this month’s update introduces Creations, an editing tool that allows players to create mods and share them with other players via Bethesda.net. Players can pay for these mods via Creation Credits. The Creation Kit has been featured in several Bethesda Game Studios-developed titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.

More interestingly, Bethesda notes that those who purchased the Premium Edition of Starfield will find 1,000 Creation Credits available on their account after installing the latest update. While it seems odd to provide those select players with Creation Credits, given the tool was just released, in an interview with KindaFunny in April, Todd Howard revealed that a Creation Kit for Starfield was given to some creators.

The announcement comes hours after Bethesda’s parent company, Xbox, held a Summer Games showcase. At the showcase, the developer also provided the first official trailer for its upcoming story expansion, Shattered Space, which will be released sometime later this year.

You can check out the full patch notes below.

Starfield Update 1.12.30 Update Notes

Update Highlights

  • Creations are here! Creations are now available in Starfield. What does that mean? You can now access and play new content in Starfield. Creations may include new missions, gear, skins, weapons, and more! You’ll also find Bethesda Game Studios Creations including one of the new Trackers Alliance missions, The Vulture. You can find Creations via the in-game menu. For those of you who own Starfield’s Premium Edition, you will also find 1000 Creation Credits within this menu.
  • If creating your own content for Starfield is something that interests you, you may also now download the Creation Kit for Starfield on Steam. Note, this is a separate download from the game download and is only available on Steam.
  • Trackers Alliance Missions Available New missions have been added to Starfield as part of this update. Trackers Alliance establishes the first of several missions enabling you to live your best bounty-hunting life. The first mission, The Starjacker will have you in contact with a mysterious Tracker located in settlements throughout the Settled Systems. From there, let the hunts begin!
  • The second Trackers Alliance mission, The Vulture is available within the new Creations menu. And what bounty hunter is without their trusted methods to get the job done?
  • Bounty Scanning and Mission Boards! This update also introduces the bounty scanner system that enables you to seek and destroy (or peacefully resolve…?) those targets with bounties on their heads. If you still want more, you can also check out the Elite Trackers Alliance mission board.
  • Armed and Ever Ready! Those of you who appreciate being extra crafty may now find new melee weapon tiers and the ability to modify melee weapons when crafting. For those that prefer the firepower approach, ammo crafting has also been added with this update. You can research your preferred ammo at a Research Station and craft them at an Industrial Workbench!

Bug Fixes

  • General: General performance and stability improvements
  • Gameplay
    • Gameplay Options: Addressed a sustenance issue that caused sneak attack damage to be too high.
    • Ship Decoration: Nova Galactic All-in-One 2×1 Habs will now declutter properly.
    • Ship Decoration: Items can no longer be placed on ladders.
    • Addressed an issue that could cause Guards to give up their chase too easily.
    • Fixed an issue that caused visited space locations to appear undiscovered.
    • Addressed an issue that could occur when modifying the player’s ship at The Key.
    • Addressed a rare issue that could cause some objects to behave as if they were in zero-g.
    • Fixed a crowd character issue that could appear when loading a save.
    • Removed the “Fast Travel to Ship” button from screens where it could not be utilized.
    • Fixed an issue that could occur when opening photo mode at the start of a conversation.
    • Fixed an issue that could occur when trying to exit the pilot seat while landing.
    • Addressed an issue with incrementing the “Ships Modified” stat when entering ship builder.
    • Quest Trackers should highlight the correct NAT station when traveling to the Lodge in New Atlantis.
    • Cora Coe should now accept books even if the Main Quest is skipped after entering the Unity.
  • Graphics
    • Fixed an issue which could cause a bright light when loading a save into New Atlantis.
    • Fixed an issue that could cause some objects to become hidden when they should be visible.
  • Outposts
    • Resolved an issue where the Power Management Robot could unintentionally reduce power.
  • Quests
    • Background Checks: Fixed an issue where the player could receive an unintentional trespassing message.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on October 25. This installment brings the sub-series up to the early 1990s, with in-game representations of world leaders like George H. W. Bush, Saddam Husseine, and Margaret Thatcher. As usual, it will include a single-player campaign, multiplayer, and zombies. It’s now available for preorder at all the usual retailers. Below, we have full details about where to buy it and how much it costs. Let’s dive in.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

PS5

Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One

PC

PS4 / PS5 (Cross-Gen Bundle)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Vault Edition

The Vault Edition of Black Ops 6 gets you the base game, plus these digital upgrades:

  • Hunters vs. Hunted Operator Pack (4 Operator Skins: Adler, Park, Brutus and Klaus)
  • Mastercraft Collection (5 Mastercraft Weapons)
  • BlackCell (1 Season) -(Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
  • GobbleGum Pack for Zombies (12 GobbleGums of high rarities)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Vault Edition Upgrade

The Xbox- and PC-exclusive Vault Edition upgrade is for people who either are playing Black Ops 6 on Game Pass, or bought the standard edition (perhaps because you wanted a physical copy). It upgrades your standard edition to have all the extras in the Vault Edition.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Will Be on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Day One

If you don’t want to drop $70 all at once to play the new CoD, you can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, because the subscription service will get Black Ops 6 on day one.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Trailer

Other Preorder Guides

Boozy management sim Ale Abbey puts you in the sandals of a beer-brewing monk

The god of video games news is vengeful, for this weekend He has sent forth a flood of game announcements to wipe out any remaining game journalists from this earth. Come at me, God! What have you got? Ah. It’s Ale Abbey, a management game about brewing beer in a monastery of medieval monks, and between making craft ales the priests get tipsy on their own supply. You can’t fool me, god of game reveals, this one has been openly in the works on GameJolt for 2 years. But, yes, I suppose now that the developer is teaming up with the Northgard creators as a publisher, the people must know.

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Unpacking Dev’s Musical Puzzler ‘Tempopo’ Is Coming To Switch This Year

Quite my Tempopo.

Witch Beam, the Brisbane-based dev team behind BAFTA-winning indie hit Unpacking, has revealed that its next project — a musical puzzler by the name of Tempopo — is coming to Switch sometime in 2024.

With Cult Games on publishing duties, the initial trailer debuted in the recent PC Gaming Show, but you can check out the “Director’s Cut” of it above. We recommend watching the whole thing, as the gameplay clips at the end do a better job of explaining the chill vibes and puzzle gameplay than the tone-setting opening.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Addresses Studio Closures – IGN Live 2024

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has addressed the recent closure of a number of studios at Microsoft’s gaming business, insisting he has to make “hard decisions” to run a sustainable business.

Speaking to IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey at IGN Live, Spencer briefly commented on the shock decision to shut Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks.

“The closure of any team is hard obviously on the individuals there, hard on the team,” Spencer said. “I haven’t been talking publicly about this, because right now is the time for us to focus on the team and the individuals. It’s obviously a decision that’s very hard on them, and I want to make sure through severance and other things that we’re doing the right thing for the individuals on the team. It’s not about my PR, it’s not about Xbox PR. It’s about those teams.

“In the end, I’ve said over and over, I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make.

“We will continue to go forward. We will continue to invest in what we’re trying to go do in Xbox and build the best business we can, which ensures we can continue to do shows like the one we just did.”

“Sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love.

Microsoft announced to staff in May that it would be closing Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios would be absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios. The move led to shock and anger throughout the industry, especially considering one of Xbox’s most successful recent exclusives, Hi-Fi Rush, was developed by Tango, a studio that was absorbed by Microsoft via its acquisition of parent company Zenimax in 2021.

It’s the first time Spencer has commented on the studio closures since they were announced, and follows similar comments from other Xbox executives who were asked about the decision.

A few days after the layoffs, Xbox President Sarah Bond was asked about them at a Bloomberg conference, where she insisted the Xbox business remains healthy for the long-term during what she called “this moment of transition.”

Microsoft announced it would be laying off 1,900 staff from its video game workforce back in January. It was only one of a number of devastating cuts that the industry has been hit with over the past year, with other companies including Sony, Riot, and Epic laying off hundreds of staff.

For more, read our report exploring the recent uptick of layoffs across the video game industry. And for everything announced during the Xbox Showcase, check out our roundup.

Thumbnail credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Stormgate Sets Steam Early Access Release Date for August

Frost Giant Studios took the time to announce a PC via Steam Early Access release date of August 13, 2024, for its sci-fi fantasy RTS, Stormgate, during the June 2024 PC Gaming Show.

The date arrived alongside a new trailer, a one-minute video also reveals that the game’s third faction is the Celestial Armada. It’s described as a “race of highly technologically advanced interstellar travelers” that seeks to challenge the Infernal Host faction for control of Earth.

Frost Giant says its playtesters have called the Celestial Armada the “most original RTS faction they’ve ever played.” You can dive into the details of this powerful new race here.

Stormgate is free-to-play but offers a trio of Early Access bundle deals for those looking to sweeten their RTS experience. You can read more about them, as detailed by Frost Giant, below:

  • The Early Access Pack ($25 USD) includes the Amara Human Vanguard Hero, the first Chapter of the Vanguard campaign, and the Gold Vanguard Army Accent.
  • The Deluxe Early Access Pack ($40 USD) includes everything in the Early Access Pack plus the Maloc Infernal Host Hero, the Auralanna Celestial Armada Hero, and the Chicken Pet.
  • The Ultimate Early Access Pack ($60 USD) includes everything in the Deluxe Early Access Pack plus Chapters 2 and 3 of the Vanguard campaign (available sometime after August 13) and the Firestorm Fog of War Shader.

Each pack comes with its own variety of goodies, but the real benefit comes from the preview access. Every bundle grants owners two weeks of preview access, meaning you can play Stormgate as early as July 30, 2024. Progress made during these two weeks will not be reset upon the full Early Access launch.

“Launching Stormgate in Early Access represents a major milestone for our team and our community,” Frost Giant CEO and Production Director Tim Morten said. “We believe Early Access is a better way to make games, as it allows us to form a true partnership with our players. Their feedback and participation have already been invaluable in shaping the future of Stormgate, and we can’t wait to see what future contributions they’ll make as together we forge a bright future for the real-time strategy genre.”

Stormgate was revealed as Frost Giant’s debut video game in 2022. Its team is comprised of former Blizzard Entertainment developers with experience on titles like StarCraft 2 and WarCraft, and that background shows in their work. Late last year, we put Stormgate under the microscope to see what makes it tick and what sets it apart from other RTS titles.

While we wait for Stormgate to launch into Early Access, you can read our interviews with other ex-Blizzard developers who went on to start their own companies. You can also learn more about the developer who helped write Stormgate’s story before eventually heading back to Blizzard.

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.