2023-09

Nintendo has consistently been a fan of airing Nintendo Directs during September, with the usual September Directs being some of the most exciting of the year. And the company will continue that streak in 2023 as it has announced a Nintendo Direct will air tomorrow, September 14. The company revealed this on Twitter today, stating that the direct will run for "roughly 40" minutes at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET on September 14.  Tune in on Sept. 14 at 7 a.m. PT for a #NintendoDirect livestream featuring roughly 40 minutes of information focused on #NintendoSwitch games releasing this winter. Watch it live here: https://t.co/tUb8vyZNfx pic.twitter.com/WJcQ5ZQl1b — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2023 As for what to expect, there's a lot of unknowns circling this Direct. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the big upcoming release from Nintendo, but that just got its...

Update, 9/18/23: Last week, Unity announced per-install fees that would affect virtually every developer that uses Unity's engine to develop its games. It resulted in widespread concern from developers around the world (more details on that in the original story below). Now, roughly a week later, Unity has issued a statement apologizing for the changes, stating that another update will arrive in a couple of days and that changes are coming.  "We have heard you," Unity writes on Twitter. "We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical feedback."  We have heard you. We apologize for...

Update, 9/13/23: Unity posted an FAQ on its forums to announce its changes, which will go into effect on January 1, 2024.  "[We will introduce a new Unity Runtime Fee that's based on game installs," the forum post originally began. "We will also add cloud-based asset storage, Unity DevOps tools, and AI at runtime at no extra cost to Unity subscription plans this November." It then links to its original announcement blog post and subsequent FAQ.  Yesterday evening, a Unity spokesperson made an edit to the forum post, "Highlighting some of the question/answer pairs from this thread [of forum users and developers concerned] below for visibility."  Here are those question/answer pairs, in full:  "Q: How are you going to collect installs? A: We leverage our own proprietary data model. We believe it gives an accurate determination of the number of times...

This morning, popular game-engine creator Unity Software announced an update to its pricing and packaging plans, which will go into effect on January 1, 2024. The new pricing plan introduces a fee that activates and charges developers of high-performing games each time the title is installed by a user or player. The justification is that each time a game is installed, Unity Runtime is also installed.  Unity Runtime Fee Starting in January, games will qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee after the game has passed a minimum revenue threshold in the last 12 months and passed a minimum lifetime install count. Unity says it has intentionally set high revenue and install thresholds to avoid impacting smaller developers. Unity's current threshold for Unity Personal and Plus is set for games that have made $200,000 or more in the last 12 months and...

Apple held a special keynote event today to reveal the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, new Apple Watches, and more. While new iPhones aren’t exactly surprising given the company's annual cadence, what is surprising is that Apple has also announced that Resident Evil 4 (Remake), Resident Evil Village, Assassin's Creed Mirage, and Death Stranding are coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as reported by IGN.    While details were sparse, Apple showed a few screens of the games on a virtual version of the iPhone 15 Pro during today's event, stopping short of showing gameplay of these games running on the newly announced phones. It's unclear what the gameplay experiences for these games will be like on the iPhone 15 Pro and Max; considering it's already possible to...

Microsoft has announced a new Xbox Series X/S controller with a deep purple color scheme on the front and a bright white back. Aptly, this new controller is titled "Astral Purple." It looks great and is available for preorder now before its September 19 release date.  Xbox says, "This rich purple color has a distinct regal look to spice up your gaming setup and bolster your collection," noting that the dark purple theme carries over to both thumbsticks, all four face buttons, and the three menu buttons in the center of the controller. The triggers, bumpers, and d-pad feature a matte black finish, and the back case is a bright white.  Like most other Xbox Series X/S controllers, the Astral Purple edition will cost $64.99. It's available for preorder and releases on September 19. As expected, it features all the usual...

NetherRealm Studios' latest 2D fighter, Mortal Kombat 1, is right around the corner. Premium and Kollector Editions of the game go live this Thursday, September 14, and the regular edition goes live next week on September 19. Ahead of the game's release, NetherRealm has released the official launch trailer, featuring four minutes of new gameplay, fatalities, gore, and more.  Today's trailer also features our first look at gameplay for Shang Tsung, whom you get if you preorder the game, more of the story, which centers on a rebooted Mortal Kombat universe by way of Fire God Liu Kang, and Reiko, General Shao's second-in-command. Check it out for yourself below: Shang Tsung is still a sorcerer and his moveset in the trailer reflects that, with fiery projectiles, massive combos, and the ability to morph into other fighters. Reiko, on the other...

Earlier this year, developer Webbysoft and publisher Armor Games Studios revealed that its pirate adventure game, Bilkins' Folly, would be releasing on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch alongside the already-announced PC version. However, the teams stopped short of revealing when we can expect the game to hit those platforms. Now we know; Bilkins' Folly will be released next month on October 2.  Alongside today’s release date news, Webbysoft has also released a new Bilkins' Folly trailer showcasing some of the swashbuckling and mystery that awaits players in the final release. You can watch the Bilkins' Folly release date trailer for yourself below:  "Join Percival 'Percy' Bilkins and his beloved dog Drayton on a treasure-hunting, puzzle-solving, ship-wrecking romp across a series of open islands in search of Percy’s mother and grandfather, who mysteriously vanished without a trace," a press release reads. "Together with Percy and...

Fortnite Battle Royale’s v26.10 update is now live in-game and it brings with it some returning My Hero Academia items, three new heroes, and a new Shoto Todoroki-inspired item. Alongside Todoroki, Eijiro Kirishima and Mina Ashido are in the Item Shop available for purchase.   With Todoroki on the island, developer Epic Games has added his Ice Wall as an item to the game. With the Ice Wall, you gain the power to summon glacial shields that stand taller than players anywhere. It has a large pool of health and remains in play until its health is depleted. Plus, when you use it, everyone around it is knocked back. They also gain icy feet, which will cause them to slip and slide all over the place. You can find the Ice Wall in regular and rare chests and...

Alan Wake 2 is a radical sequel that looks brave enough to conquer the shadows of survival horror....