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Frostpunk developer 11 Bit Studios has laid off an unknown number of staff following the cancellation of its console game codenamed Project 8.

Project 8 kicked off in 2018 and at least 37 people were working on it by the end of September 2024. The studio has invested "more than" 48.4m PLN in the game over that time, the equivalent of around £9.4m or $11.8m.

However, the studio said in a statement that although it achieved "noticeable quality improvements in certain areas", "several critical aspects of the game and its development process remained problematic despite multiple iterations". This caused delays, and "with each milestone", the project's budget grew.

The decision to shut it down finally came after 11 Bit reviewed Project 8's progress and found "unresolved issues and challenges that would require further extensions of the production timeline and corresponding budget increases to address. This, coupled with revised sales forecasts, largely reflecting the changing market environment, raised significant doubts about the project’s overall profitability".

This meant management lost confidence in the project and its "quality level", resulting in the termination.

"Our vision for Project 8, which was intended to be our first title designed specifically for console gamers, was bold and exciting," said Przemysław Marszał, president of the management board of 11 Bit studios. "However, it was conceived under very different market conditions, when narrative-driven, story-rich games held stronger appeal.

"With Project 8, we experienced both breakthroughs and setbacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, stabilising the development team proved particularly difficult, yet progress continued. While we achieved noticeable quality improvements in certain areas, several critical aspects of the game and its development process remained problematic despite multiple iterations. Over time, delays accumulated, and with each milestone, the project's budget grew."

Although "more than half" of the current Project 8 team have been reassigned to other internal projects, Project 8's closure would result in a "reduction of staff involved in its development" with those impacted receiving unspecified severance packages and "psychological counselling and assistance in finding new employment".

The studio said it was still commitment to "several key projects", including Frostpunk 2 and The Alters.

The number of game developers impacted by job losses in 2024 alone now stands at around 14,600 people.

EA has announced that Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition is free on Xbox, but only for a limited time. That's right, those with a Game Pass Ultimate or an EA Play subscription can now bag a free copy of the Xbox shooter and start working their way through the Star Wars Battlefront II achievements.

Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition free for Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play members

Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition includes all currently available cosmetics, emotes, voice lines, and victory poses in the game.

Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition is free for one day only Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One

The EA Play Holiday Countdown is in full swing and has already brought us one freebie in the form of Battlefield 1 and all its DLC. Now, for one day only, Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play members can claim a free copy of the excellent Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition. from the Xbox store. Much like the Battlefield 1 freebie, Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition should appear as a 'Just for You' deal.

Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition now free with Game Pass Ultimate video The Celebration Edition of Star Wars Battlefront II includes the base game and automatically unlocks over 350 cosmetics and customization options currently available in the game. While it doesn't include any extra premium content, this version essentially eliminates all the grinding to unlock things such as skins and emotes. It's a nice time saver, especially for free.

While Star Wars Battlefront II is known primarily for its multiplayer with maps and characters that span all three Star Wars eras, it does have a short but decent single-player campaign that will fully immerse you in the Star Wars universe. It's absolutely worth checking out if you haven't done so already.

As for the Star Wars Battlefront II achievements, you'll need between 60 and 80 hours to earn the game's full 1,045 Gamerscore. A fair chunk of that Gamerscore can be earned by completing the single-player campaign, but the majority comes from the game's multiplayer.

Will you be claiming a free copy of Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition? Let us know down in the comments. If you missed it, Game Pass Ultimate members can also claim a $70 bundle for a free Xbox game with Game Pass Ultimate Perks.

GSC Game World has released the first major patch for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which addresses over 1800 issues and fixes to the game's A-Life.

Read more...

Death Stranding has been a clear hit.

We've heard a lot this year about Xbox games jumping over to PlayStation, but we've also seen a fair few ex-PlayStation exclusives arriving on Xbox as well - two particularly notable examples being Death Stranding and Genshin Impact.

And, according to Windows Central, this trend is set to continue in 2025. The outlet is stating today that as per its sources, we'll be seeing "even more" former PlayStation exclusives launch on Xbox next year:

Read the full article on purexbox.com

Sony has increased its shares in FromSoftware owner Kadokawa as the two companies agree to form a "strategic capital and business alliance".

Anyone have a recommendation for a good pdf editor I can download on Android to use with my eReader?

Anyone know where to get good battle mats for kill team? Located in Canada preferred but I can do international if that's all that there is.

But how did she drink a witcher a potion???

No, your ears were not deceiving you. That was definitely Geralt voice actor Doug Cockle popping up at the end of the Witcher 4's reveal trailer last night, and yes, the white-haired monster hunter will absolutely feature in some way in the upcoming game.

How did she drink a witcher potion doe???

Astro Bot has won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024.

Beating off competition from other wonderful games like Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, and Elden Ring's The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Team Asobi swept up the top prize, along with awards for best game direction, best action/adventure game, and best family game.

LocalThunk's stellar Balatro also secured several awards, including best mobile game, best debut indie game, and best independent game.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Game of the Year: Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Best Game Direction: Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Best Narrative: Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Art Direction: Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Score and Music: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (Square Enix)

Best Audio Design: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Performance: Melina Juergens, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Innovation in Accessibility: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft)

Games for Impact: Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Best Ongoing Game: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Community Support: Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

Best Independent Game: Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best Debut Indie Game: Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best Mobile Game: Balatro (LocalThunk)

Best VR/AR Game: Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)

Best Action Game: Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)

Best Action/Adventure Game: Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Best RPG: Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Fighting Game: Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Best Family Game: Astro Bot (Team Asobi/SIE)

Best Sim/Strategy Game: Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)

Best Sports/Racing Game: EA Sports FC 25 (EA Sports)

Best Multiplayer Game: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Adaptation: Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)

Most Anticipated Game: Grand Theft Auto 6 (Rockstar Games)

Content Creator of the Year: CaseOh

Best Esports Game: League of Legends (Riot Games)

Sony has confirmed its interest in aquiring FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa.

The PlayStation manufacturer cleared the air regarding reports that it was looking to pick up the gaming and anime mega company in a recent interview with Yahoo Japan. It’s acknowledgement of what could be a bombshell moment for entertainment fans everywhere, but until a deal is finalized, it is probably best to keep expectations for a potential buyout at a minimum.

“It is true that we have made an initial statement of intent,” Sony said regarding its interest in Kadokawa (translated via DeepL). “We would appreciate it if you would allow us to refrain from further comment.”

Rumors that Sony may soon acquire Kadokawa first emerged from a Reuters report last month. It stated that talks between the two companies were ongoing, with one of its sources adding that, should negotiations proceed in a positive direction, a deal could be signed soon. Today’s confirmation from Sony suggests that talks remain active, though it’s unclear where things sit now.

Kadokawa oversees a number of entities that could no doubt benefit Sony in the long run. One that many gaming fans have their eye on is FromSoftware, which helped launch gaming into the 2010s with its critically acclaimed Dark Souls series. The developer also found tremendous success with 2022’s George R. R. Martin collaboration project, Elden Ring, with its follow-up DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, launching earlier this year. Kadokawa also owns other gaming studios such as Spike Chunsoft (Danganronpa), Acquire (Octopath Traveler), Gotcha Gotcha Games (RPG Maker), and more.

While some experts believe that bringing the media company under Sony’s wing may prove to be difficult, Ampere Analysis research director Piers Harding-Rolls previously explained to IGN that news of the company’s interest shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It already owns about 14% of FromSoftware thanks to a deal made in 2022.

“At the time, Sony mentioned a broader interest in cross-media development of anime and games IP to support its other media businesses,” Harding-Rolls said. “So, in that sense any deal for the parent company Kadokawa, which also operates extensively in manga and anime, is a natural extension of this earlier deal. These other areas align nicely with Sony’s anime businesses.”

There’s no telling when or if the deal will proceed for now. While we wait for any updates, you can read about why FromSoftware isn’t currently interested in making Elden Ring 2. You can also learn about the ransomware attack that hit the game developer earlier this year.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Rocksteady is pulling the plug on new content for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League after Season 4, with the developer announcing its plans to end support for the troubled online game in January 2025.

Rocksteady revealed the news in an official blog detailing Suicide Squad's final season, which will include the release of an offline mode and a new playable character in Deathstroke. While Rocksteady doesn't plan to release any new content, Suicide Squad's story will remain playable via offline mode and it will be possible to play co-op with friends. Previous seasonal content will also continue to be available.

Elsewhere, Rocksteady said Suicide Squad will remain available for purchase and that its in-game store will continue to function after Season 4 along with its in-game LutherCoin currency. Rocksteady didn't indicate how long it plans to keep Suicide Squad online after it finishes releasing new content.

A difficult release for Suicide Squad Suicide Squad Season 4 will mark the end of what has been a fraught release for Rocksteady. It struggled with mixed reviews when it came out back in February and never really recovered its momentum. We wrote in at the time, "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a thoroughly frustrating game to play. There are things to enjoy here, with combat that’s snappy enough to carry it through a genuinely good DC comics story artfully dressed in high production values. But everything else just falls down around it."

Suicide Squad ended up struggling on the sales front, spurring a double-digit decline in revenue for Warner Bros. gaming. It joins several other online games that have struggled in 2024, including Concord and XDefiant.

Suicide Squad's final season will begin with the release of Episode 7 on December 10 and will conclude with the release of Episode 8 next month. For more, check out our full explanation of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's endgame.