Complete project reboot also possible.
Bad news, fans of highly coordinated assaults on terrorist-infested complexes. Gamestop has delisted Rainbow 6: Patriots and is no longer taking preorders for the game, implying that Ubisoft has canned it.
Four new maps, new armour and new gametype to be released in June.
Epic Games has revealed Gears of War: Judgment via their official website. You know, it's been two whole months since that game's release, and that missing 'e' still stings.
Once unto the sun-drenched beaches of Los Santos.
New GTA 5 screenshots surfaced overnight, providing photographic evidence for the very first time that there will, in a shocking twist, be grand theft auto in Grand Theft Auto 5. There will also be submersibles, which is possibly more shocking.
Full video coming 20th May.
Warner Bros has released a teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins, the prequel in development at Warner Bros Montreal. You can look forward to the full version of the video on 20th May.
Promises this won't come at the expense of quality, new IPs.
Not only does Ubisoft think it's conquered the dreadful spectre of franchise fatigue with Assassin's Creed - the publisher is convinced it can release both more regular and higher quality sequels on next generation consoles. That's according to CEO Yves Guillemot, via Gamespot.
Assassin's Creed tops Halo, which tops Battlefield.
Activision's commitment to a small number of strong-selling franchises might be risky long-term, but the publisher's cleaning up in the here and now. According to data published by Ubisoft, via GamesIndustry.biz, Activision accounted for 19.5% of worldwide boxed video game sales in 2011, up from 15.7% in 2011, and Call of Duty is this generation's best-selling franchise.
"Key contributors on an unannounced title" needed.
Lionhead's just advertised vacancies for an animation director and a core engine programmer. Successful applicants will be "key contributors on an unannounced title", and desirable application criteria for the programming job include a familiarity with Unreal Engine 3 and/or 4.
Creative director's mysterious project halted "for an undisclosed time".
As we reported the other week, creative director Patrice D#233;silets has parted ways with Ubisoft for the second time in his career, and contradictory accounts from both parties suggest that the split was anything but amicable. As a consequence of that break-up, seemingly, Ubisoft has shelved one of the projects D#233;silets had been working on - the ambiguously titled 1666.
Game's total budget "is less than competitors spend on cutscenes".
Former THQ president Jason Rubin has written an impassioned article over at GI on the subject of "incredible" working conditions at Metro: Last Light developer 4A Games, now a subsidiary of Koch Media. According to Rubin, the developer laboured in cramped, unheated offices in the face of frequent power outages to get the job done, not helped by "irrational" business decisions on the part of THQ producers.
"We've listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.".
From this moment on, new EA releases won't require you to own an online pass in order to access all of their multiplayer content.
Look, it's that Edward Kenway again. He's causing a ruckus.
Ubisoft has released a new Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag trailer, a gameplay-heavy affair that should be of interest to both landlubbers and practised sailors. The former get to marvel at the new cities, which appear closer to those of the pre-colonial Assassin's Creeds than the lowly ports of Assassin's Creed 3. The latter get to watch ships exploding. Variety is the spice of life, and all that. Death too, actually.
Is the "microstudio" approach key to winning the next gen indie battle?.
Indie developers! There's been a lot of light on them lately, thanks to rhetoric at certain console reveal events and the continuing befuddlement of so-called AAA gaming at large. Microsoft attracted censure this spring by discontinuing the XNA toolset on which all Xbox Live Indie Games are built, but according to Press Play's co-founder Mikkel Thorsted, nurturing and supporting independents remains a key priority for Xbox.
Sources suggest shift to cash transactions and gift cards.
Microsoft is getting rid of Xbox 360's long-running Microsoft Points system, according to sources close to the Verge. The manufacturer will announce the demise of Points at E3, we're told, following the reveal of the next generation Xbox console on 21st May.
Four player co-op planned starring Jake the Dog and Finn the Human.
Oh. My. Glob. Cartoon Network and D3Publisher have revealed plans to launch a new Adventure Time game for autumn this year. The companies also have game adaptations of Regular Show and Ben 10: Omniverse in the pipeline.
Major Nelson to host a special next gen post-reveal show exclusively via the streaming service.
Twitch have launched a new app that allows Xbox Live Gold subscribers to view gaming livestream content through their Xbox 360. It's only available in the US so far (boo, hiss) and as yet, you can only view, not broadcast. Could that be about to change with whatever revelations Microsoft unveil come 21st May? Our home page countdown clock ticks ever closer to the moment of truth.
Boxed Xbox 360 version to accompany launch on XBLA.
In addition to a downloadable release on Xbox Live Arcade this summer, Payday 2 - the sequel to 2011's PlayStation exclusive Payday: The Heist - will receive a physical boxed release on Xbox 360.
Cloud computing, 3D imaging experts also sought.
Hey ho! I'm back from another Magical Rainbow Tour of Microsoft's careers site, armed with yet more snippets of insight as to forthcoming Xbox hardware. Let the between-lines reading begin.
In the navy...
Capcom has revealed three console exclusive unlockable costumes for Jill, Chris and Keith in Resident Evil: Revelations via the Official Resident Evil Facebook page. Say Ahoy to Pirate Jill, Ninja Keith and a rather fabulous Sailor Chris.
"There is an extreme talent pool over that we want a part of.".
Mere months after laying off staff at its Los Angeles and Danger Close studios as part of the "complex and challenging" console transition, EA has announced a new DICE studio based in the city, which will work primarily on Star Wars games.
Game itself out on Friday in the UK.
Once again, a publisher has thrown my brain into terrible confusion by releasing a "launch trailer" for a game that isn't out yet. Oh, I know Metro: Last Light is out in the US, but this is the "UK Edition" video we're talking about. What is wrong with the world? And why must everybody rip off the Inception soundtrack?