2024-01

There are few things the internet is hungrier for than news about the Switch successor. With relative silence from Nintendo, folks have been left to grasp at straws and theorize what it will look like, how it will be played, and when it will be released. Today, thanks to Digital Trends, we might have an answer to that last question, and it came from a rather odd place. Back in the day, GameShark was known for making cheat code cartridges in video games. You could plug it into your system, download cheat codes, and use them to become the master of games on your N64, PlayStation, or Game Boy. However, in recent years, the company has decided to take a turn in the direction of the company. Renamed "AI Shark," it's now a software-agnostic program designed to provide "personalized hints...

This week, HBO has been on a string of cast reveals for season two of their Emmy-winning adaptation of The Last of Us. Today, the live-action roster grows even more, adding Isabela Merced as Dina. We can't wait to see Isabela Merced's portrayal of Dina in @TheLastOfUsHBO Season 2! ❤️ https://t.co/Iqz10g0urU — Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) January 11, 2024 Merced is best known for her role as Dora in the live-action feature Dora and the Lost City of Gold, but gamers might also know her as the voice of Keyblade Master Ava in Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover. She's also set to appear in both the Marvel and DC universes as Anya Corazon in Madame Web and Hawkgirl in Superman Legacy. In her upcoming role as Dina, we expect her to be spending a lot of time on screen with Bella Ramsey's Ellie,...

Paramount+ released the first season of its live-action Halo series back in 2022 and while the initial premiere showed promise, the show was ultimately a letdown, both as the Chief's first foray into the live-action television space and as a Halo story. Now, the subscription streaming service has released the official trailer for Season 2 of Halo: The Series and it promises the fall of Reach, plenty of Covenant and Energy Swords, and more of Master Chief without his helmet on for some reason.  I'm not completely sold on returning to this series – I didn't even finish the first season – but I'd be lying if I said this trailer didn't pique my interest. Perhaps I'm a sucker for the staples of Halo and the story of Reach, or maybe I have a terrible memory; perhaps it's a combination of both. ...

TeamKill Media, the developer behind last year's Quantum Error, has revealed Son and Bone, its PlayStation 5-exclusive first-person shooter where you kill dinosaurs. It's due out some time this year and you can watch the announcement teaser below.  "When a local farm in Patchwork, MT is attacked by a group of notorious bandits, Sheriff Sam Judge sets out to bring them to justice by any means necessary and save the hostage they have taken," the teaser's YouTube description reads. "But on his journey, through the mysterious motives of those he pursues, Sam finds himself transported to another world overrun with prehistoric creatures and dinosaurs and must fight for his life to make it back to earth."  Check out the Son and Bone announcement teaser for yourself below:  As you can see, TeamKill Media is aiming to fill the Dino...

The 27th D.I.C.E. Awards return next month to Las Vegas, where the industry-only event celebrates the best games and achievements in games of 2023. Unlike The Game Awards, which are hosted and produced by Geoff Keighley, with votes from media outlets and the public in some instances, the D.I.C.E Awards are voted on exclusively by game developers.  Basically, it's the awards show where the people who made the games you played last year determine their favorite games of last year. It's an awards show of The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, with D.I.C.E standing for Design, Innovate, Communicate, and Entertain, and amongst the awards, the academy typically inducts someone into the Academy of Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame – we spoke to Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon about it in 2022.  Like in previous years, Kinda Funny's Greg Miller...

A retailer listing of a "V2 DualSense" controller for the PlayStation 5 has been spotted online, and it boasts an "exceptional" 12-hour battery life. That's a much longer battery life than the standard version of the DualSense controller, which averages between 6 to 10 hours (and many players would argue less).  More specifically, players spotted a Best Buy Canada retail listing for a "PlayStation 5 V2 DualSense Wireless Controller – White," as reported by Eurogamer. Curiously, this V2 DualSense controller looks identical to the white ones that launched with the PS5. But in the "About This Product" section of the controller, you'll find, "Exceptional 12-hour battery life, on a full charge, supports long gaming sessions." This section also states the controller includes a DualSense charging station that "offers easy click-in charging."  Game Informer has reached out to PlayStation to ask about...

Naughty Dog and HBO have cast Young Mazino as Jesse for The Last of Us' second season. This follows yesterday's news that Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, No One Will Save You) will play Abby in the show's second season.  For the uninitiated, Jesse is one of the characters that Ellie calls a friend in The Last of Us Part II and without spoiling anything, his character goes on quite the journey in the name of friendship. Manzino starred in Netflix's Beef series that aired last year, and he was featured in the music video for "Snooze" by SZA. Other credits include Prodigal Son, Drama High, Trinity's Triump, and Good Boy.  We're so excited for Young Mazino to step into the shoes of Jesse in @TheLastOfUsHBO Season 2. 🎉 https://t.co/GurthEHRZU — Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) January 10, 2024 Fans of Naughty Dog's Last of Us series on PlayStation eagerly...

Video game engine creator Unity is laying off 1800 employees, or 25% of its workforce, according to a report from Yahoo! Finance. The company announced these layoffs in an internal memo sent out on Monday, January 8. These job cuts follow a turbulent 2023 for the company after it attempted to introduce per-install fees to developers using its game engine before later walking it back.  Unity is expected to lay off 1800 people by the end of March and once complete, it will be the company's largest round of layoffs ever. It will be its fourth round of layoffs since July 2022, as noted by Yahoo! Finance. The job cuts are expected to affect all departments at Unity.  These impending layoffs at Unity join an ever-growing list of layoffs that made last year one of the worst ever for game developers...

Last year was one of the best years for game releases but easily one of the worst for the people who made them, with more than 10,000 workers laid off by various companies, including Microsoft, Epic Games, BioWare, Bungie, Naughty Dog, and many more. Unfortunately, it seems this heartbreaking trend is continuing into this new year as yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Amazon-owned streaming company Twitch is set to lay off 500 employees, or about 35 percent of its staff.  These layoffs follow two rounds of layoffs Twitch experienced last year. Bloomberg expects the layoffs to be announced today. As for why, the publication says running Twitch is extremely expensive and the company has struggled to financially get on top of the cost to support billions of hours of livestreamed content. Just last year, Twitch's chief revenue officer, chief content officer, chief customer...

Last September, SAG-AFTRA union members voted yes to authorize a video game strike. Reasons why included a desire for better wages, increased safety precautions, and protections around exploitative uses of artificial intelligence. Now, just a few months later, SAG-AFTRA has signed an agreement with Replica Studios, an A.I. voice technology company, to allow game developers to use A.I. voices, as reported by Game Developer.  Various video game voice actors, like Yong Yea, the new English voice of Kazuma Kiryu in the Like a Dragon series, have publicly stated that they and other actors they know were not aware of this. "Evey voice actor I know not only didn't approve this," Yea writes in a tweet. "[They] pretty much heard about this for the first time today on Twitter."  Every voice actor I know not only didn't approve this, they pretty...