2023-12

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<p><img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2023/12/21/1b702f5b/biggestgamingstories.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p>With the year almost behind us, it's hard not to look back at 2023 with conflicted feelings. It was a fantastic year for gamers at home with great tentpole releases from PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, and some excellent indies, too. For years to come, we will all likely argue that 2023 was one of the best – if not the best – year for games. But it was also a terrible year for the people who make games, with more than 10,000 developers laid off, studios closed, and more.&nbsp;</p> <p>Between big video game releases, a heartbreaking amount of layoffs, record-breaking acquisitions and box office reports, and more, 2023 contained plenty of news stories that had us talking for weeks, speculating on the future of the industry, and reshaping how we view game...

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While most of the major gaming companies released player-specific wrap-up stats earlier this month, today Valve decided to share some platform-wide statistics, highlighting the most played Steam games of the year. To avoid divulging specifics, the entries are not ranked individually but by category. The top twelve games are in the platinum section, the next 13 are in the gold section, the next 25 are in the silver section, and the last 50 are in bronze. Within those categories, however, entries are "randomly sorted," so it's unclear which specific game came out at the top of the heap in any specific category. Still, it's interesting data. Hogwarts Legacy, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield, and Sons of the Forest each make the platinum category of almost every list they qualify for. Baldur's Gate 3 nearly completes a full sweep, but it doesn't...

2024 is right around the corner, and what better way to kick it off than to get some complimentary games from your PlayStation Plus subscription? As announced in the PS Blog, this month's selection of games is headlined by A Plague Tale: Requiem, Asobo Studio's 2022 tale of sickness and siblings. While he thought it dragged on a bit in the second half, our reviewer said, "Calling Requiem a standard sequel is a disservice; Asobo has created a Plague Tale epic." You can read that full review here and take a look at the other two offerings below. The other two games are Evil West and Nobody Saves the World, each also released in 2022. Evil West is a third-person shooter set in a world that's a fusion between a classic Wild West and gothic horror and one that reminded one...

Upcoming DC movies, TV shows, video games, and comics for 2024 include the next Joker movie, the final season of Superman & Lois, and the long-awaited Suicide Squad game....

Valve has released its annual "Best Of" list highlighting the top-performing games on Steam measured by gross revenue and player engagement. The categories are top sellers, best-selling new releases, most-played games on PC, most-played games on Steam Deck, highest-grossing early access games, most-played using a controller, and best-selling VR titles. The top 12 games in each category earn Platinum status, while everything below them is grouped into a descending ranking of Gold, Silver, and Bronze. It's a fun snapshot of the games Steam users dug into most this year and a reminder that games seemingly on the downtrend or long in the tooth (like, say, Destiny 2) clearly have a lot of players still logging in to play.   You can view the complete list here, but we’ve listed the Platinum-ranked games alphabetically in each category (Valve does not rank these...

Now that Tekken 8’s 32-character launch roster has been unveiled, Bandai Namco has been releasing gameplay trailers for the fighters that didn’t get one the first time around. It's Kuma's turn now, and the fighting bear is embearrassing challengers left and right. Sporting a sweet headband and rugged gi, Kuma looks to be an unbearably challenging opponent. His furious paw swipes show he has no problem bearing arms, even against his perennial crush, Panda. In fact, she could bearly stand up to him! But don’t take my word for it. Bear witness to Kuma’s grizzly carnage by watching the trailer below.  Tekken 8 launches on January 26 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Check out our recent hands-on preview of the game's story mode here. ...

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It's December 26, which means Christmas has come and gone, and other seasonal holidays are underway while we all wait for the new year to kick off next week. Everyone knows that the days between your winter holiday and New Year's Eve are for gaming, right? At least, we hope you're doing some gaming today, tomorrow, and the day after! Or maybe you're kicking back with a good book, or watching a new movie? We don't know what it is you're doing but we want to! In fact, we want to know what video game presents you found under the tree or in a beautifully wrapped gift box this year, too. Did you get a new console? Did you get some games to add to your never-ending backlog – we're all still catching up on 2023's frankly absurd gauntlet...