25% of 2014 research cash accounted for by new IP.
Activision has a pretty solid late 2014 line-up - the inevitable Call of Duty sequel, Bungie's much-anticipated Destiny, hit card game Hearthstone for tablets and PC, and team brawler Heroes of the Storm. The publisher has yet to announce any particular games for 2015 and beyond, but there's evidently much to tell - according to chief financial officer Dennis Durkin, around a third of its total expenditure this year is on games that will release after 2014.
Age of Empires? Halo Wars 2? Viva Pinata?.
Paging all armchair generals - please wax your moustaches, don your monocles and, er, plump your armchairs. Microsoft appears to be working on a new instalment of a classic strategy game franchise, as per a job ad spotted by NeoGAF.
NetherRealm creative director hinting at a June 2nd reveal.
He's a master troll, is that Ed Boon. But though the Mortal Kombat co-creator and creative director at NetherRealm Studios is known for pulling a prank or two on his community, surely he wouldn't go so far as to tease something this huge in the lead up to E3 season?
Sequel? DLC? Life-sized Titan? EA and Respawn won't say.
EA and Respawn are working on "new Titanfall experiences", as revealed by EA chief executive Andrew Wilson during an investor call last night. What exactly this amounts to is anybody's guess, but if you recall, "sources" do opine that EA has won the rights to publish Titanfall 2.
New titles to include a "major new game" from a "flagship developer".
Isn't that always the way? You wait around for months for news of a new games and then hey presto - six come along at once.
However digital sales are unaccounted for.
EA's chief operating office, Peter Moore, confirmed that the publisher shifted 925,000 copies of Titanfall in U.S. retailers during March. That figure, revealed during its recent sales conference, only counts physical sales on Xbox One and PC, and doesn't factor in digital sales nor the Xbox 360 version which launched in April.
Known and unannounced Xbox One games to feature.
Oh goodness gravy, it's almost time for E3 again. Microsoft has dated its conference presser, tantalisingly titled "Game on" - it'll be streamed on Xbox.com, Windows Phone and Xbox Live from 9.30am PDT on 9th June 2014, and will be pre-empted by half-an-hour's pre-show coverage. We'll be there, Tweeting waspishly about queue lengths and the music. Will you?
It wasn't forced on Black Tusk Studios in place of a new IP, insists Ken Lobb.
Gears of War for Xbox One won't be the same old warren of chest-high walls, shredding animations and fist bumps - according to Ken Lobb, creative director for Microsoft Studios, new developer Black Tusk aims to take the IP to some interesting places.
Scourge Outbreak and Sacred Citadel also cheap.
This week's Deal of the Week is like a beautiful golden goblet with a few spoonfuls of muck in the bottom. You probably shouldn't get excited about Scourge: Outbreak, a Gearsy shooter Aoife treated to a severe drubbing, or Sacred Citadel, a fantasy side-scrolling brawler. But Fez? You should probably take an interest in Fez, if you haven't already.
Five new screens include two of forested theatre of war.
Titanfall is a predominantly urban and industrial game - geometrical factory floors and close-knit streets are easier to transform into parkour playgrounds, after all, than organic settings. Still, there's room here and there for a trip to the countryside. Take Swampland, the third and final map you'll get as part of the game's forthcoming Expedition DLC.
"We remain committed to Xbox and the millions of Xbox fans around the world".
Following numerous whispers that Microsoft's new head of devices and and studios Stephen Elop would see the company selling off the Xbox brand, Microsoft is making moves to assure Xbox fans that it remains committed to keeping things unified, even after its founder seemed to suggest otherwise.
We have no further words.
Capybara's Super Time Force hits Xbox 360 and Xbox One on 14th May, as per a launch trailer that will, let's be clear, make you cry hysterical tears of irrepressible joy. Put it this way: there's a character called Dolphin Lundgren and he is indeed a dolphin. You'll also throw lightsabers at a giant robot shark, and fight as part of a horde of dimensionally disparate, technically undead soldiers.
"May should be a good month for news".
Writing on his Twitter feed over the last week, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has confirmed that Microsoft will announce 'a couple of things' before this year's E3 in June. Engage HYPE.
Characters, areas and events teased in hopefully satirical promotion.
Argh, the post-Bank-Holiday sunlight! It burns! It burns almost as much as OverCharge Delirium XT, "your new favourite drink" according to a Sunset Overdrive teaser website that also suggests the Xbox One exclusive will be on show at this year's E3 in June. No real surprises there - but what's all this talk of areas and characters? Read on.
New gameplay engine, stars Troy Baker, with terrorist activity on a "global 9/11" scale.
This year's Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the first to go through a three-year development cycle, and developer Sledgehammer Games has put next-gen at the forefront with a new engine, better visuals and futuristic in-game tech.
Design notes and images from Respawn's first map pack.
Runoff is the second of three maps that comprise Titanfall's first map pack, Expedition, and it's been explained in more detail. This smaller map still allows for plenty of high-speed mobility if you're a pilot and a few places for Titan brawls - as well as ways to escape from an impossible fight in the guts of the level.
So you know how OXM is your favourite magazine ever?.
I'll be honest with you guys - I have no idea what the May Day bank holiday is actually in aid of. Therefore, henceforth, I dub it "Save on super awesome magazine subscriptions Day," because that's what this news piece is about.
"Unique things" promised for multiplayer.
Worried that Insomniac's forthcoming open world Sunset Overdrive will be one of those persistent multiplayer dealios? That other players will continually intrude on your fun? Cease that worrying, right this very minute - according to Insomniac's Twitter, the game's campaign mode is single player only.
"All next gen" but not next gen only.
A very good afternoon to you all, and a very big hand for Amazon - the retailer has just posted gameplay and platform details for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, this year's Call of Duty outing from Sledgehammer Games.
Get some cash in the bank.
Rockstar are offering Double GTA$ and double RP on GTA Online for today and tomorrow, organised and highly disorganised crime enthusiasts. Clear your calendars, Los Santos and its citizens simply aren't going to terrorise themselves.
