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All Articles: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Google’s game streaming service will be known as Google Stadia
While Google tried to play it off as a big secret, the search giant finally unveiled their long-awaited game streaming service today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Officially known as Google Stadia, the service won’t require a console of any kind, and will instead offer game streaming through a large number of devices, including laptops, desktops, Chromecast dongles, and select phones and tablets.
According to Stadia’s official website, Google is promising the service will offer 4K resolution gaming with no lag, provided your Internet connection is powerful enough. Stadia will also hook up with the YouTube Gaming livestreaming platform, and players will theoretically be able to jump from watching a stream right into playing that same game “in seconds”:
- Game where you want, when you want – Play across multiple devices, including laptops, desktops, and select phones and tablets. (High speed internet connection required)
- New ways to play through YouTube and beyond – Go from watching a video to playing a game in seconds, with even more innovative experiences to come for select games.
- Up to 4K HDR at 60 FPS – Enjoy gaming the way you love, with beautiful HDR graphics and smooth frame rates. (4K HDR at 60 FPS are dependent on your bandwidth. Gameplay experience may vary based on quality of internet connection.)
- Play instantly – No updates, no downloads. Jump right into the game.
- Always getting better – Stadia’s cloud based infrastructure evolves to meet the demands of players, developers, and YouTube creators.
On the surface, Google Stadia will offer a lot of the same features as Sony’s PlayStation Now streaming service, but it’ll have its own unique set of bells and whistles to make it stand out.
Google Stadia will be controllable with compatible third-party controllers on a PC, but players will also have the option of using the official Stadia Controller. Closely resembling a standard Xbox One controller, Google’s gadget will include an Instant Capture button for streaming to YouTube, a Google Assistant button powered by a built-in microphone, and a direct wi-fi connection to whatever device you’re using.
But what games will you be able to play on Google Stadia? That’s a bit of a question mark. So far, only Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and id Software’s Doom Eternal are confirmed to be coming to the platform. Additional games, which will be exclusive to the platform, will be produced by the company’s new Stadia Games & Entertainment division, which will be lead by Jade Raymond.
It’s currently unknown if Google will sell individual games through Stadia or offer a monthly subscription to access the service’s entire library or some combination of both. But we do know that it’s currently scheduled to launch sometime in 2019.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Doom Eternal, GDC 2019
God of War receives ten nominations and leads the way at 2019 BAFTA Games Awards
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominees for this year’s BAFTA Game Awards and Sony Santa Monica’s God of War lead the way with ten nominations, including an unprecedented four nominations in the “Performer” category (one each for the actors behind Kratos, Atreus, Freya, and The Stranger). Boy!
Naturally, God of War is also in running for the “Best Game” Award, and it’ll be competing against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Sony’s Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, Matt Makes Games’s Celeste, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, and Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn
The BAFTA Game Awards will be held at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on April 4, and the ceremony will once again be hosted by comedian Dara O’Briain. Fans across the globe are encouraged to tune in to a livestream of the ceremony at BAFTA.org.
The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Kingdom Hearts III, Resident Evil 2, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe unsurprisingly lead NPD’s list of best-selling games from January 2019
Kingdom Hearts fans were kept waiting more than a decade for the third game in the franchise, but Square Enix finally rewarded their patience with the launch of Kingdom Hearts III last month. As you might have guessed, fans purchased the game in droves, pushing it all the way to the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from January 2019.
Two highly-anticipated re-releases, Resident Evil 2 (#2) and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#3) were close behind, and Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (#7) and Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (#12) also cracked the top 20.
However, while several games had strong starts on the sales chart, the industry overall suffered a decline last month versus January 2018. All together, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that total sales (hardware, software, and accessories) were down 19% to $893 million.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from January 2019 after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts III, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tales of Vesperia, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered will come to the PC, PS4, Xbox One on March 29
Ubisoft will continue to remaster the earlier entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise this Spring with the release of Assassin’s Creed III Remastered on March 29.
The compilation will include a graphically-enhanced remaster of the original Assassin’s Creed III, as well as the Tyranny of King Washington expansion, and the handheld spinoff Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation:
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered – Players will embody Connor, a master Assassin born of the beauty and brutality of 18th-century America. As a bloody revolution draws near, your tribe is threatened by a powerful group seeking to crush the American Revolution and control the thirteen colonies. Shocked into action by the devastation of your village, you pledge your life to the cause of freedom and embark on a decades-long quest to achieve it.
Assassin’s Creed III: Tyranny of King Washington – Explore an alternate history where one of America’s greatest heroes, George Washington, succumbs to the temptation of infinite power. The new King is born and his reign leaves no one untouched. Players must return freedom to the land by dethroning the tyrant our hero once called a friend.
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Remastered – Follow Aveline’s story as she battles Spanish forces in the American south to win freedom for her land and people. A woman of conviction, Aveline fights for freedom in 18th-century New Orleans, a city on the brink of a rebellion as the Spanish Empire imposes its new rule. Embark on an epic journey that will take her from the crowded streets of New Orleans to voodoo-haunted swamps and ancient Mayan ruins.
If you own the Season Pass for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, you’ll receive Assassin’s Creed III Remastered for free. And everyone else will be able to purchase it as a standalone game for $39.99 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered will feature 4K and HDR support on the PC, PS4 Pro, and Xbox One X, along with “higher resolution textures, a new graphics engine, and several other graphical enhancements” on all platforms. A new Comparison Trailer that contrasts the visuals from the original release with the upcoming Remastered version has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Red Dead Redemption 2 cowboys up as the best-selling game of 2018
A wise man once said, “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.” And that’s exactly what Rockstar Games did with Red Dead Redemption 2.
The publisher’s western epic has been nine years in the making, and it blew away all expectations (and chased every other big release away from its October 26 launch date) as the best-selling game in November. Now, The NPD Group has revealed that it’s also the best-selling game for all of 2018.
Activision’s mighty Call of Duty franchise claimed the #2 spot with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and many of the other usual suspects can be found throughout the top ten including NBA 2K19 (#3), Madden NFL 19 (#4), Far Cry 5 (#7), and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (#10).
It was also a good year all around for single-player games as Spider-Man (#6) and God of War both cracked the top ten. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was also able to break into the top five (at #5) after only being on sale for a few weeks. Finally, the surprising success of Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World helped the latest entry in the franchise come in at #9.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, the NPD Group said that the entire game industry generated $16.7 billion in sales in 2018, a 13% increase over 2017. That includes a 33% increase for accessories, as a 7% increase for software, and 8% for hardware. On that note, the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console of 2018.
The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2018 (in handy list format) can be found after the break. (more…)
Steam’s Top Sellers for 2018 include PUBG, GTA5, Rocket League, more
After more than a decade of dominance as the most-popular digital storefront for the PC, Steam was challenged on all sides in 2018 from both established players (GOG, Origin, and the Humble Store), as well as shiny upstarts (Discord and the Epic Games Store). But Valve’s online shop still sold a lot of games this year, and they recently shared their Top Sellers of 2018 with the public. But instead of ranking the games, Steam chose to split the list up into four tiers “as measured by gross revenue this year.”
As you might have guessed, you’ll find plenty of heavy hitters among the 12 games featured in the Platinum tier. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was slightly overshadowed this year by other “Battle Royale” shooters, but it made the cut, as did new releases like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Monster Hunter: World, and perennial favorites such as Grand Theft Auto V, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Rocket League…
Steam’s Top Sellers of 2018 – Platinum Tier
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
- Civilization VI
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Far Cry 5
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Monster Hunter: World
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Rocket League
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
- Warframe
Steam partitioned off the next 12 games as the Gold tier, and followed that up with 16 more games in the Silver tier. The remaining 60 games were included in the Bronze tier.
There’s plenty of recognizable titles at every level, including Ark: Survival Evolved in Gold; Subnautica, Final Fantasy XV, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider all in Silver; and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dark Souls Remastered, and Nier: Automata in Bronze.
All the titles from Steam’s Top Sellers of 2018 can be seen on… you guessed it… Steam.
CoD: Black Ops 4 comes out on top against Red Dead Redemption 2 in October 2018’s ranking of best-selling games
Once Red Dead Redemption 2 staked a claim on October 26, game publishers ran screaming in the other direction. Ubisoft notably subtracted three weeks from the usual late October launch for the new entries in the Assassin’s Creed series, and Activision pushed the release of the latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise up a full month from its typical early November slot.
But it looks like Activision’s gamble paid off, as The NPD Group has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was last month’s best-selling game. And at #3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey also performed well in its earlier launch window. Red Dead Redemption 2, which was only on sale for nine days during the sale period, galloped away with the #2 spot.
The NPD Group further noted (via GamesIndustry.biz) that Black Ops 4 is now the owner of the eighth-best launch month (in dollar sales) since they began tracking video game sales in 1995. As you might have guessed, that means its also currently the best-selling game of the year. And it’ll probably hang on to that title through November and December, but it’s hard to completely count out Rockstar Games.
A complete look at The NPD Group’s list of the best-selling games from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Party, WWE 2K19
Multiple nominations for Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, and God of War will make this year’s Game Awards an EPIC event
It’s been a big year for super-sized games like Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 and Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, and it looks like they’ll be front and center (alongside a few other epic titles) at this year’s Game Awards show on December 6.
Rockstar’s western and Sony’s Norse fable tied for the most nominations (eight apiece), and they’ll both be competing for “Game of the Year” against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Insomniac’s Spider-Man, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World, and Matt Thorson’s Celeste.
This year, fans will be able to make their voices heard in the balloting by joining the official The Game Awards Discord server, and voting for their favorites in all categories. Voting through the Discord server is now open and will be available through December 5.
The Game Awards will kick off at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) on December 6, and fans can watch the show through their favorite video streaming service or at TheGameAwards.com. As usual, we can also expect to see “exclusive game world premieres” and “new game announcements.”
The full list of nominees can be found after the break.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, Celeste, Dead Cells, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Florence, Fortnite, Forza Horizon 4, Game Awards 2018, God of War 4, Into the Breach, Monster Hunter: World, Overcooked 2, Overwatch, Red Dead Redemption 2, Return of Obra Dinn, Spider-Man, The Messenger