Rumor: Destiny to Feature Micro-Transactions

An Activision employee’s LinkedIn profile has been updated to include certain information of his work on Bungie’s upcoming Destiny.  Said employee, one Ryan Wener, is listed as “Senior Director, Product Management” with Activision and is “leading marketing activities for the hotly-anticipated new gaming universe Destiny.”  Beneath that bullet point, however, is listed his work in “monetization modeling.”  This has led to some speculation as to whether Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi shooter will feature micro-transactions in its business model.

Nothing has been announced, but given that micro-transactions in games are more and more common these days, it wouldn’t be a surprise.  Activision is publishing Destiny, so an in-game monetization platform would be a shock to no one.

Destiny is currently in development at Bungie for Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4; a version for the next Xbox has not been officially announced, but it would be safe to assume that it’s headed there, too.  No release date or window has been given for the game at this time.

 

Sources:  Destructoid, LinkedIn

Rumor: Respawn Entertainment’s First Game to be Xbox-Exclusive

Respawn Entertainment Logo

Respawn Entertainment, the product of a long-winded battle between Infinity Ward creators & staff and Activision, has been rather quiet regarding their debut title since the studio’s founding.  Rumors are now circulating that their first game will be an Xbox-exclusive.  Sources are stating the next Xbox as the primary system with a focus on online gameplay requiring an always-on connection.  An Xbox 360 version is possible, but ports for Nintendo and Sony consoles are not being considered.

The game is said to be set in the future and will have players facing off in David and Goliath battles.  “Davids are heavily armed foot soldiers. The Goliaths are giant exoskeletons–Titans–that these soldiers can pilot.”  It’s worth noting that Respawn recently filed a trademark for Titan.

According to these sources, Respawn is working on the Xbox 720 version which will utilize a modified Source engine with the developer outsourcing for the Xbox 360 port.

Microsoft will unveil its next-generation Xbox on May 21 with E3 following shortly thereafter, so the legitimacy of this rumor will likely be sorted out in the near future.

 

Sources:  Kotaku, Gamespot

Techland Announces New First-Person Slasher

Dead Island developer Techland has announced Hellraid, an upcoming first-person action game featuring a single-player campaign and multiplayer offerings.  The single-player experience will let players “fight, develop skills, collect loot and craft weapons while exploring a world devastated by demons.”  A four-player co-op mode and “system-generated online challenges, loot and enemy spawn points make the game playable for hundreds of hours!”

Hellraid is currently in development for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 for a late 2013 release.

Source:  Destructoid, Techland

Next Xbox Reveal Coming May 21

Microsoft has confirmed that it will be unveiling its next-generation videogame console in nearly a month.  With the date set for May 21, we still have quite the wait to find out what they have in store for the future of Xbox, but it’s nice that they’ve finally said something about the inevitable Xbox 360 successor.

The reveal is set to take place just 19 days before E3, so hopefully their E3 conference will focus more on the games and less on the system’s new features (it’d also be refreshing to have a conference that doesn’t flaunt Kinect and all the terrible games that have been made for it).

According to Major Nelson’s blog, the conference will focus on the future of Xbox and give us a “real taste of the future.”  The conference will stream on Xbox Live, xbox.com, and be broadcast on Spike.

Sources:  Facebook, Major Nelson

Bethesda Reveals Shinji Mikami’s “The Evil Within”

Bethesda’s been teasing a new game for a while now and while many speculated that the teases were for a new Fallout title, those rumors were quickly denied and have now been proven wrong.  Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has been working on a new horror game for Bethesda and we now have a teaser trailer (featuring shots from Bethesda’s teaser teasers) for this new game.  The Evil Within was originally announced as Zwei and is being developed by Shinji Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks.  The game has been given a vague 2014 release and is headed to current and next gen consoles as well as PC.

The teaser doesn’t reveal much, but it’s twisted, disturbing, and intriguing.  Have a look for yourself:

From the official website:

EVIL TAKES HOLD 2014

Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within™ – a game embodying the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC and next generation consoles and is slated for release in 2014.

Microsoft may Resurrect Series “Heroes”

Despite reception of the superhero show Heroes having a steady decline following its first season all the way to its end, rumors are circulating that Microsoft may bring the show back in a new iteration as an Xbox exclusive series.  This new vision of Heroes will feature new characters with the original cast being confined to cameos.

While it’s been no secret that Microsoft has been interested in creating Xbox-specific programming, one has to wonder if pursuing Heroes is really wise.  Having an existing brand can be good marketing when it’s a big name, but the IP lost its following and now isn’t very highly regarded.  Right now this is all just speculation, but maybe Microsoft can restore the show to its former glory with a new cast of heroes and accompanying story arc.

 

Source:  Gamespot

Castle of Illusion Remake to be Released this Summer

A 2.5D remake of the classic platformer Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is headed to consoles and PC this summer.  This remake is being developed by Sega Studios Australia and features environments and characters modeled in 3D on a playable 2D plane.  Trailer below:

 

Source:  Eurogamer

State of Decay Coming to XBLA this June

Upcoming open-world zombie survival game State of Decay has a new trailer and a June release date.  The game is being developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios.  Synopsis and trailer below:

The end is here. Life as you knew it has gone to hell after the mother of all zombie outbreaks. Now you and the few scattered survivors must band together to survive and rebuild in a 3rd-person action game set in a dynamic open world. You choose where to make your stand, designing and fortifying your home base, performing daring raids for food and ammunition, and rescuing other playable survivors with unique talents. The open, sandbox world develops in real-time, shaped by your actions, dynamically generating content based on your choices and the ever-increasing zombie threat.

 

Source:  Undead Labs

Spring Sale Coming to Xbox Live

Xbox Live is hoping to start spring strong with a large sale of downloadable games and expansions.  The sale has the first episode of the excellent The Walking Dead game available for free with each subsequent episode available for half off (800 MSP or $10 for the entire season); the Skyrim, L.A. Noire, and Max Payne 3 expansions are marked down 50%; and select games including two Hitman titles, Just Cause 2, and Dead Rising 2 are discounted from 33 to 67% off.  The entire list can be viewed at Major Nelson’s blog.

Bungie’s Destiny Revealed

Bungie has finally stepped out from the shadows to reveal their first post-Halo console project.  Set in a future where Earth has been all but destroyed, Destiny places players in the boots of a soldier–a guardian of the city built beneath “The Traveler”–tasked with saving the city.  What little is shown in this video looks incredibly promising, it’s great to see Jason Jones again, and Bungie will, no doubt, deliver an amazing gaming experience over the next decade.  Destiny Awaits: