PlayStation 4 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Electronic Arts has announced a new single-player Black Panther game from a team composed of developers who have worked on Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Halo Infinite, God of War and more.The game is in the hands of Cliffhanger Games, a new triple-A development studio based in Seattle, Washington, and the studio is collaborating with Marvel Games.The aim of the currently untitled game is “to build an expansive and reactive world that empowers players to experience what it is like to take on the mantle of Wakanda’s protector, the Black Panther.” Additionally, the announcement coincides with the 57th anniversary of the character’s comic debut this month.Marvel Games and EA’s latest studio Cliffhanger Games are proud to announce a new, original, third-person, single-player Black Panther title in development! Read more now: https://t.co/kBS0MTsFbH pic.twitter.com/7aQEdYo7Qg— Marvel Games (@MarvelGames) July 10, 2023Studio lead Kevin Stephens – who came from Middle-earth developer Monolith Productions – expressed his excitement for the reveal in a press release and shed a little light on what comic book fans will look forward to in the final game. “We’re dedicated to delivering fans a definitive and authentic Black Panther experience, giving them more agency and control over their narrative than they have ever experienced in a story-driven video game,” he said.“Wakanda is a rich Super Hero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do,” continued Stephens.“It’s an incredibly rare opportunity to build a new team around the values of diversity, collaboration, and empowerment.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.GamesRadar reported on the use of artificial intelligence tool ElevenLabs for these mods last week, and the response continues to rumble on. Twitter user Robbie92, who drew attention to those actors whose voices have been subject to this software, said that the actors have been “abused by the modding communities” through “AI voice cloning to create and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornographic content.”With the rise of AI voice cloning, voice actors are being abused by the modding communities.

Sega has now stepped back from its previously planned blockchain initiatives for fear of “devaluing” its strongest gaming properties, saying the technology is yet to show its maximum potential.In a new interview, the company’s co-chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi said that the move to blockchain might have been viewed as an interesting investment, but Sega’s motivation is to be ahead of the masses.“For the majority of people in the video game industry, what blockchain advocates say may sound a bit extreme, but that’s how the first penguin has always been,” he told Bloomberg, making a metaphor about risk-takers. “We should never underestimate them.”Nevertheless, Sega will be “[withholding] its biggest franchises from third-party blockchain gaming projects to avoid devaluing its content.” As a result, that doesn’t affect the present plans for Three Kingdoms and Virtua Fighter characters to be turned into non-fungible tokens or the newest Sangokushi Taisen blockchain game from developer Double Jump Tokyo.Sega is also “shelving plans to develop its own games in that [blockchain] genre, at least for now.” Utsumi continued to criticise play-to-earn games too, calling them “boring” and pointless for pulling the “fun” out of gaming.The company is not the only business to be dabbling in blockchain, NFTs and web3.

Capcom has neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, saying that the publisher is in the midst of “discussions regarding the future expansion of the series”.GamesRadar first reported the find from a Q&A session after a general shareholder meeting that was held today (July 6).In it, a shareholder queried if Capcom is considering “providing high-end visual remakes of only the main numbered entries in the Resident Evil series”.Capcom replied that it’s “carrying out discussions regarding the future expansion of the series so it can be enjoyed by a wide audience”.The wording seems to suggest that Capcom might be mulling it over. Remakes of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 have proved successful for the company, commercially and critically, with Resident Evil 4 becoming one of the fastest-selling entries in the entire history of the series when it released in March.If Capcom isn’t properly considering a remake of the 2000 title, it would likely upset fans who took on the task of a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake for themselves.Late last year, the company contacted the team and asked that the project be cancelled owing to the use of Capcom-owned characters and the Resident Evil trademark.At the time, Capcom emphasised that this wasn’t in relation to an official remake.

Microsoft has alleged that Sony is planning to launch a slim model of the PlayStation 5 before the end of the year, according to a court filing in the continuing case between the technology corporation and the Federal Trade Commission.IGN noted that the document’s argument is that the Nintendo Switch is a competitor to the Xbox Series consoles and the PlayStation 5, based on the upcoming handheld PS5.“PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point,” claimed Microsoft. “Sony is also anticipated to release a handheld version of PlayStation 5 later this year for under $300.”Late last year, when Famitsu pressed Sony’s vice president Hideaki Nishino on the possibility of a console upgrade, he did not outright deny it.

EA Sports boasted that there will be an innovative level of immersion in its upcoming EA Sports FC, as well as offering fans a first look at the game and its features that aim to “blur the line” between virtual and real football.During La Liga’s Nueva Era showcase (via The Loadout), fans found out about the latest iteration of the HyperMotion V technology that forms the foundation of the players’ animations.EA Sports FC vice president David Jackson explained that the technology uses more than 590 million frames of real-world football game capture that then leads to the most advanced in-game animation that the studio has created in its history of sport simulations.In other words, that is 80 times the data that was involved in the development of FIFA 23.

Persona 3 Reload, the 3D remake of Persona 3 from 2006, has gotten a new trailer and set of screenshots out of this year’s Anime Expo convention, showing off Atlus‘ efforts to totally transform the original title.The trailer features the English voice cast for Persona 3 Reload for the first time, showing off Alejandro Saab as Akihiko Sanada, Suzie Yeung as Fuuka Yamagishi and Allegra Clark as Mitsuru Kirijo.Rounding out the rest of the cast is Aleks Le as the playable protagonist Makoto Yuki, Heather Gonzalez as Yukari Takeba, Zeno Robinson as Junpei Iori, Dawn M. Bennett as Aigis, Justine Lee as Ken Amada and Justice Slocum as Shinjiro Aragaki.Fans were treated to new screenshots of the game’s turn based battles and dialogues as well as renders of the characters Akihiko, Fuuka and Mitsuru.

Diablo 4 has reportedly leaked online, showing approximately 40 minutes of gameplay from Blizzard Entertainment’s forthcoming action role-playing game.Diablo 4 was originally announced back in 2019 and, earlier this year was confirmed to be arriving in 2023.According to a user on Reddit, two videos were uploaded online over the weekend (September 18) containing gameplay from the upcoming game. One video was around five minutes in length, while the other was approximately 38 minutes long – both appeared to have been recorded from a private Discord stream.PC Gamer reports that the footage was heavily watermarked, while objects like bridges and buildings within the game world appeared untextured, suggesting that the footage had come from a test build of Diablo 4.

Gamescom 2022, a new hybrid rhythm-fighting game was announced in the form of God Of Rock.God of Rock will see the universe’s “greatest musicians” competing against one another in rhythmic fashion to secure the title of musical supremacy in a game that feels part Guitar Hero, part Street Fighter.Rhythm-based gameplay combines with fighting game mechanics in 1v1 matches, with a dozen unique fighters to choose from. Each fighter has their own design, attack style and mechanics to familiarise yourself with, as well as building up a “meter” by hitting normal moves accurately to the beat of the song.

MultiVersushas debuted as the highest-grossing game of July 2022, beating out the ever-present Elden Ringfor the month.According to the latest NPD sales report, free-to-play crossover fighting game MultiVersus was the highest-grossing game of July, its debut month. Despite the game being free-to-play, the game’s Founder Packs drove sales.

Kena: Bridge of Spiritswill be receiving a huge anniversary update that coincides with the game’s release on Steam next month.On September 27, Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be arriving on Steam for the first time. Kena, originally released in September 2021, was previously an Epic Games Store exclusive. Accompanying the Steam release will be a free update that’s available to all players.The update will be entitled “anniversary update” in honour of the game’s one-year anniversary which falls on September 21.

Evil West has been pushed back by a couple of months for a November release. The delay was announced via publisher Focus Home Interactive’s official Twitter page, with its multiplatform and multigenerational release being a stated reason for the delay.The post reads “Evil West releases on five platforms, including multiple generations of consoles. Giving our game more polish is crucial to provide our players with not only good but lasting memories.” It continues to explain that to ensure “it reaches its full potential” it has been delayed to November 22.pic.twitter.com/OrgZq3Lk80— Focus Entertainment (@Focus_entmt) August 16, 2022Thankfully the delay isn’t too long, with the game originally being slated for a September 20 release.

Resident Evil Village update that is releasing alongside the Winters’ Expansion adds welcome accessibility options to the survival horror game.One of the biggest accessibility features being added is the ability to customise the game’s subtitles. The player will be able to change the colour, size and background of Village’s subtitles in the game’s options.

EA has shared a first look at FIFA 23 in action, and detailed all of the new features that are coming to the series. While the game will also be releasing on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the current generation versions of FIFA 23 (including PC and Stadia versions) will have some improvements that won’t appear in the versions for the older hardware.This includes HyperMotion2 technology, which uses advanced 11v11 match capturing and machine learning to create “over 6,000 authentic true-to-football animations, transferred directly from the real world pitch to the game.”The match capturing has resulted in over 9million frames of data for the machine learning algorithm, which is the most motion capture data for a FIFA game yet. As a result, an increased amount of animations will make FIFA 23 look more lifelike than previous titles.The advanced match capturing technology is stated to be the backbone of many of the game’s different aspects.

Capcom’s San Diego Comic-Con appearance, the publisher announced that classic Street Fighter 2 downloadable content (DLC) costumes would be added to the upcoming Street Fighter 6. The announcement was accompanied by a Twitter post that reads: “Ryu, Chun-Li, and Guile’s classic looks make their return in Street Fighter 6! Perfect to remind everyone what legends they are.”The tweet also included pictures of the three in their old-school outfits, and it’s reported that Chun-Li can also perform her Street Fighter 2 taunt, which retains its hit detection.Ryu, Chun-Li, and Guile's classic looks make their return in #StreetFighter6! Perfect to remind everyone what legends they are.

BlueTwelve Studio’s debut title Stray replaces the vocal cat’s adorable meow with the highly memed “Jason!” yell from Heavy Rain. The replacement lines come from a scene in Quantic Dream’s interactive drama action-adventure title where the main character, Ethan, loses track of his son Jason within a mall in the opening hours of the game, prompting the character to repeatedly call his son’s name over and over.While the idea of a potential child kidnapping is frightening, the delivery along with the frequency in which “Jason!” can be shouted by the player has led to it becoming a running gag for anyone who’s played Heavy Rain.It’s a natural (and comedic) fit for Stray, where the player can make the cat meow at any time during play with a dedicated button press. Roleplaying as the world’s most aggravating kitty certainly provides its own entertainment value, but the unintentionally hilarious nature of the Heavy Rain shout makes it even better.The mod, whose description reads: “Replaces the user inputted meowing with a pleading call to find your lost son, you terrible father” can be downloaded here.Stray ended up being the biggest PC launch ever for publisher Annapurna Interactive, which is an impressive feat given that it’s also published acclaimed titles such as Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, and Sayonara Wild Hearts just to name a few.

Resident Evil: Village’s upcoming Winters’ Expansion has received a trailer, featuring a playable Lady Dimitrescu.Announced last month, the Winters’ Expansion is adding a ton of new features and content to Resident Evil: Village. The biggest addition to the expansion is the Shadows of Rose story content, which continues the story of Rose Winters 16 years after the events of the base game.

Ubisoft has shared that the development of Splinter Cell VR, Ghost Recon: Frontline and two other unannounced titles have been cancelled.This was revealed during Ubisoft’s recent earnings call, where chief financial officer Frederick Duguet revealed Ubisoft would be undergoing “sizeable cost optimisation” in the upcoming fiscal year. With this in mind, Ghost Recon: Frontline, Splinter Cell VR and the two unannounced games have been cancelled so Ubisoft can put more resources into the company’s “biggest development opportunities” (via PC Gamer).Splinter Cell VR was announced in late 2020 for release on Oculus devices.

Player First Games’ crossover fighting game MultiVersus will enter open beta on July 26.The open beta will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Additionally, the beta will have full cross-platform functionality including cross-progression, meaning your progress will save even if you play on two different platforms.

Finji has announced that the upcoming indie title I Was A Teenage Exocolonistwill be coming to Nintendo Switch. The coming-of-age narrative RPG will be coming to Nintendo Switch on August 25, alongside its release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Mac, and Linux. The game also has a demo available on Steam from today (July 7) until July 10, 4:59pm BST / 11:59 ET, and it can be wishlisted on Steam.Additionally, there’s a new trailer 90-second trailer for the game that shows off more in-game footage that highlights some choice-making, exploration, and character interactions.Northway Games, developer of I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, already has a few titles under its belt (including PC, mobile, and VR games) with this being its seventh release so far.

PlayStation title God Of War: Ragnarok now has a confirmed release date, and it’s coming this year despite rumblings of a potential delay. The release date is accompanied by a new 30-second cinematic trailer titled “Father And Son”, with the game releasing November 9 for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The different versions of the game have also been revealed, with a Digital Deluxe Edition, a Collector’s Edition, and a Jötnar Edition all being available alongside the standard version of the game.An unboxing video for the Collector’s Edition and Jötnar Edition has also been uploaded on the official PlayStation YouTube channel, so hardcore fans gunning for the most expensive versions of the game can get a good look at exactly what they’ll be buying.

EasySpeezy recently undertook the challenge of speedrunning Cuphead while simultaneously climbing a mountain.By duct-taping a gaming laptop to a backpack, EasySpeezy was able to play Cuphead with a wired controller by closely following behind an accomplice wearing the backpack.The team’s strategy included Easy’s brother calling out obstacles in the speedrunner’s path so he wouldn’t have to look away from Cuphead while climbing. If a particularly challenging climbing section was ahead then Easy would pause the game to focus on climbing and continue after the section had been passed.The mountain in question is Mount Mansfield, the largest mountain in the state of Vermont.

Konami has managed to make an exclusivity deal with Italian football club Inter Milan for eFootball. This information came via a press release that stated that the club would only be appearing in eFootball from July 2024 and “no other video game.” Additionally, a post on the Inter Milan website notes that starting with the 2022/2023 sports season, the eFootball logo “will appear on the back of the men’s, women’s and youth teams first team training kit, as well as on the pre-match kit”.This means that key competitor FIFA (which will be changing its branding to EA Sports FC following the release of this year’s title) will need to come up with a fake name for the club. This isn’t the first time EA has had to make this pivot, renaming Juventus to Piemonte Calcio following Konami’s exclusivity claim on that club.Konami itself has needed to use fake names for certain clubs in previous Pro Evolution Soccer games and eFootball, with Manchester City being dubbed Manchester B in their current football game amongst others.Inter Milan will be making its debut in eFootball with the release of the 2.0.0 update for the game.The free-to-play Pro Evolution Soccer successor was originally released on September 30 last year and was met with immediate backlash.

FromSoftware (Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Dark Souls) has announced that it is hiring staff for several new projects, one of which is in the “final stages” of development.The announcement comes via FromSoftware’s Twitter account in a post that reads (via Twitter’s translation): “We have started recruiting staff for a wide range of occupations for multiple new projects. We look forward to working with you on making games with FromSoftware.” The post also links to a Japanese careers page.複数の新プロジェクトに向けて、幅広い職種のスタッフ募集を開始いたしました。フロム・ソフトウェアで一緒にゲームを作ってくださる皆さんを、お待ちしています。よろしければぜひ、特設サイトをご確認ください。https://t.co/p9FvoxnB9T pic.twitter.com/rvDKkipjQA— FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr) June 24, 2022While there is currently no confirmation as to what FromSoftware is working on, a recent interview from 4gamer with FromSoftware president and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki sheds some insight into what we can expect.When asked if an unannounced title created alongside Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was still on the way, Miyazaki responded by stating: “Yes.

Hunt: Showdown developer Crytek is aware of a bug with the LeMat revolver and has warned players against exploiting it, threatening consequences for those who do so.Hunt: Showdown is a multiplayer first-person shooter, with both a cooperative mode and a battle royale mode. An easily repeatable exploit involving the LeMat Mark 2 Revolver has been discovered which gives those using it an unfair advantage.As reported by PC Gamer, the bug involves the weapon mode switching mechanic of the LeMat.

The Sims 4 has added an innocuous small telescope that can also cause the untimely death of the Sims’ using it. The pocket-sized telescope is small enough to fit into a Sims’ pocket and is useful for stargazing among other things. The catch is that the user will be susceptible to being crushed by a flaming meteorite, although there will at least be a warning before it lands, giving the player a chance to move the character inside and out of harm’s way.

Sonic Team has been insistent on referring to its upcoming Sonic Frontiers as being “Open Zone” as opposed to open-world, and now director Morio Kishimoto has specifically clarified the differences between the two terms.“Level-based platformers often have a world map. Our Open Zone is a world map, only we’ve made it entirely playable,” Kishimoto stated in an interview with IGN.

Fall Guys is having a crossover with Halo, as revealed during the 2022 Xbox Games Showcase Extended.READ MORE: Have we had enough of battle royale games yet?The announcement trailer parodies Halo 3’s iconic Believe trailer, and hints at some of the costumes that will be included in the crossover, including a Grunt, Brute Chieftan, and of course, Master Chief.The event is titled Spartan Showdown, and will run from June 30 to July 4. The description reads: “Complete challenges in Spartan Showdown to unlock rewards.” This is likely in celebration of the game releasing on Xbox platforms later this month.This comes following the announcement last month that Fall Guys would not only be coming to more platforms than just PlayStation 4 and PC, but would also be adopting a free-to-play model.

Koei Tecmo has announced that its supernatural thriller game Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is also coming to PS5 and PS4.During the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase on June 12, Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja unveiled their new game and announced that it will be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Game Pass day one in early 2023.Today (June 14), the developer has confirmed that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will also be coming to PlayStation consoles.Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty follows the story of a nameless militia soldier fighting to survive in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms.In this story, players will fight off enemies using swordplay based on the Chinese martial arts, as well as styles based on the “Five Phases”, and attempt to “overcome the odds by awakening the true power from within.”The game will feature sword practitioners of Chinese martial arts that will showcase the shift between offensive and defensive manoeuvres. “Overwhelm opponents with a flurry of force in a series of intense and bloody battles while learning the precision and skill necessary to become a true master of the sword,” Koei said.Development of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is being led by Team Ninja producers Fumihiko Yasuda, who directed Nioh and its 2020 follow-up Nioh 2, as well as producer Masaaki Yamagiwa.

PlayStation Store is to be believed, Tactics Ogre: Reborn could be coming to current-gen platforms.Despite trademarking Tactics Ogre: Reborn in Japan earlier in the year, Square Enix has not officially confirmed the existence of such a game. A leaked PlayStation Store listing doesn’t provide any in-depth details about the new title, but does provide the name, icon art, promotional art and the genre: a role-playing game.There’s no specific platform information on the store page, but appearing on the PlayStation Store does suggest a possibility of the game coming to PS5, which would be the biggest update for the franchise since the Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together remake in 2010.In a tweet that surfaced on June 13, a user has provided the “dummy” page for the PlayStation Store listing that appears to show some artwork from Tactics Ogre: Reborn.

PlayStation Store is to be believed, Tactics Ogre: Reborn could be coming to current-gen platforms.Despite trademarking Tactics Ogre: Reborn in Japan earlier in the year, Square Enix has not officially confirmed the existence of such a game. A leaked PlayStation Store listing doesn’t provide any in-depth details about the new title, but does provide the name, icon art, promotional art and the genre: a role-playing game.There’s no specific platform information on the store page, but appearing on the PlayStation Store does suggest a possibility of the game coming to PS5, which would be the biggest update for the franchise since the Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together remake in 2010.In a tweet that surfaced on June 13, a user has provided the “dummy” page for the PlayStation Store listing that appears to show some artwork from Tactics Ogre: Reborn.

Fallout 76’s development claims that the game’s disastrous launch led to hours of mandatory crunch, which was further exacerbated by poor management.The report comes from Kotaku, which spoke to 10 former Bethesda employees for the purpose of the rather extensive article. The anonymous workers shared a range of stories that alleged mental and physical exhaustion, unnecessary overtime, and a lack of coherent direction all providing context for the game’s mixed reception at launch.According to the report, 60-hour work weeks in the lead-up to the game’s launch were frequent, with testers being coerced into partaking in additional weekend shifts to work on the game’s downloadable content (DLC). One source claimed, “I remember seeing one of my co-workers stand up, look at the person who was in charge that day, and scream across the room: ‘Why are we here? We gave up our day for this.

Sonic Frontiers to receive a delay past this year.This campaign has come from the “#DelaySonicFrontiers” hashtag, which was briefly trending on Twitter recently. At the time of publication, over 13 minutes of footage has been released via IGN’s YouTube channel as part of the IGN First coverage of the game, with the videos receiving ire from fans due to the performance, Sonic’s animations arguably being stiff and unnatural, a seeming lack of momentum, and combat that appears to be sluggish and dull.One YouTuber, LegitimatNoodle, posted on Twitter: “For the sake of Sonic Team I pray to god that it’s just a pre-alpha build”, while another, LonelyGoomba, stated: “Sonic Frontiers looks like they made an open world game automated.

Death Stranding, seems to have confirmed a sequel in a recent interview.The interview comes from Leo Edit where Reedus is questioned about Death Stranding when claims “we just started the second one.”When asked about how the collaboration between Reedus and Death Stranding’s director, Hideo Kojima came about, he recalls the story of how the two met through film director Guillermo Del Toro.According to Reedus, Del Toro told him “’Hey, there’s a guy named Hideo Kojima, he’s gonna call you, just say yes.’ And I go, ‘What do you mean just say yes?’ He goes, ‘Stop being an asshole, just say yes.’ Then I was in San Diego and Hideo came with a big group of people, he’s from Tokyo, and he showed me what he was working on on a game called Silent Hill. I was blown away by what he was showing me, and I was like, “Yes, let’s do this.” It’s not Ms.

number of grants of £16,300 ($20000) and £4075 ($5000) are available from a pool of £97800 ($120000). Draknek & Friends is providing half the sum from its profits, with the rest coming from Astra Fund, a philanthropic organisation that supports the development and promotion of thinking games.The grant is open to women, LGBTQIA people and people of colour, and anyone else from a background they consider under-represented in game development.

Sega says it has multiple new titles, remasters, remakes and spin-offs planned for the next fiscal year ending in March 2023.The company talked about its upcoming strategy in a fiscal year results presentation for the last year (published on May 13), which also looked forward to what Sega has planned over the next 12 months (via VGC).In a segment about prolonging product life cycles, Sega said it has a series of “remake/remaster, spin-off [and] change of theme[s]” planned for its franchises. The company adds that last year these approaches netted it 4million unit sales, with it expecting 5million in the next fiscal year.Sega also provides examples of the types of games it is talking about, referring to remaster Sonic Colours: Ultimate, remastered collection Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania and Yakuza spin-off Lost Judgment.Whilst Sega doesn’t directly reference what this upcoming year’s games will be, it’s safe to assume that Sonic Origins – a collection of the original Sonic The Hedgehog games remastered for modern consoles – is part of this strategy.Particular mention is also made of expanding Sonic’s brand awareness, which has happened over the last couple of years thanks to the films, the character’s 30th anniversary, and the upcoming Sonic Frontiers game.Not all is going well for the hedgehog, however, as recently Sonic content creators have found YouTube marking their work as “made for kids”, which is greatly hindering the work’s reach, regardless of any themes or imagery inappropriate for children aged 13 or below.“Your video is tossed into a pool of other Made for Kids labelled content that is of poor quality, so you’re made irrelevant,” explained channel Balena Productions’ Steven Page.