All Articles: Destiny 2

Only 12 games will be available to buy through Google Stadia at launch

Posted on November 12, 2019 by John Scalzo

Back in June, Google said they were expecting to launch their Google Stadia game streaming service with at least 25 games, but it looks like the search giant has had to cut that number as we get closer to the service’s November 19th launch.

All Stadia Pro subscribers will still receive a free copy of Destiny 2: The Collection as part of their subscription, but according to the official Google Blog, the Stadia Store will only include 11 other games for purchase on “Day One” (on top of the $10 per month subscription cost). This launch lineup will include a Stadia-exclusive horror game from Tequila Works, Gylt, as well as Mortal Kombat 11, Red Dead Redemption 2, and a handful of other titles:

Games Available at Launch for Google Stadia

  • Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
  • Destiny 2: The Collection
  • Gylt
  • Just Dance 2020
  • Kine
  • Mortal Kombat 11
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • Samurai Showdown
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • Thumper
  • Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

While they won’t be available on launch day, Google has promised that an additional 14 titles will be added to the Stadia Store before the end of the year:

Games Set to Launch Before the End of 2019 for Google Stadia

  • Attack On Titan 2: Final Battle
  • Borderlands 3
  • Darksiders Genesis
  • Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
  • Farming Simulator 19
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • Football Manager 2020
  • Grid
  • Metro Exodus
  • NBA 2K20
  • Rage 2
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
  • Trials Rising
  • Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Google Stadia’s “free” tier, Google Base, will be available sometime in 2020. However, users will still need to purchase titles on an individual basis before they can stream them.

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Google Stadia will launch on November 19

Posted on October 16, 2019 by John Scalzo

Google has announced (via the official Google Blog) that the Founder’s Edition Bundle for their Stadia game streaming service will be available on November 19. Stadia’s online storefront will open its doors on the same day and all users will receive a free copy of Destiny 2 as part of the deal:

Stadia Founder’s Edition will start arriving on gamers’ doorsteps on November 19, 2019. If you were one of the first gamers who pre-ordered and have received your Founder’s Editions, you’ll be able to buy and play your favorite games beginning at 9AM PST/5PM BST/6PM CET on November 19.

Whether you ordered Stadia Founder’s Edition or Premiere Edition, you’ll have three months of Stadia Pro, with access to Destiny 2: The Collection. Using the included Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller, you’ll be gaming in up to 4K HDR with 5.1 surround sound when playing on your TV.

Stadia Founder’s Editions and Stadia Premiere Editions will begin shipping in the same order that pre-orders were received. You’ll get an email when your package ships, and soon after, will receive a code to activate your Stadia account and Stadia Pro.

According to Google, Stadia will offer instantaneous game streaming with no downloads required. However, players will also need to subscribe to the Stadia Pro service (priced at $9.99 per month) to receive access to the the Stadia storefront. Prices for individual games have yet to be announced, but they will likely be comparable to competing digital game merchants. A free Stadia Base tier will be available in 2020… but you’ll still have to purchase individual games through the service.

If you still have questions about Google Stadia, the search giant has uploaded a brand new “What is Stadia and How It Works” video that answers most of them, and it’s been embedded above.

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Google Stadia will launch in November for $10 per month (but you’ll have to buy new games separately)

Posted on June 6, 2019 by John Scalzo

Google has been teasing their Google Stadia game streaming service for months now, and after a short tease back in March, the tech giant stepped back into the spotlight earlier today with an even more in-depth look at what it’ll offer.

The big news is that Google Stadia will launch in November, but the company also revealed a lot more information about how the service will work, including confirmation that players will need to individually purchase most of their games through the service.

The streaming service will be split into a Pro tier and a Base tier, and Pro players will pay $10 per month to stream games at 4K resolution, but they’ll also receive access to an “ever-expanding library of free games.” The Base tier will offer free access to Google Stadia, but it’s not scheduled to launch until 2020, streaming quality will be limited to 1080p, and players will need to purchase every game they wish to play individually.

That pricing plan is a tad surprising, but Google also said that players who want to be there from the beginning will need to purchase a special Founder’s Edition Bundle. Priced at $129.99, the bundle will include an exclusive Night Blue Stadia Controller, a Chromecast Ultra dongle, a copy of Destiny 2: The Collection, and a three-month subscription to the Pro tier.

That said, the streaming service will receive support from a large number of publishers and developers, and Stadia players will be able to stream games such as Borderlands 3, Darksiders Genesis, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and many more at launch (or shortly after). The complete list of confirmed titles can be found after the break.

And in case you missed it, the Google Stadia Connect livestream where all these announcements happened has been embedded above. (more…)

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Spider-Man swings into view as the best-selling game from September 2018 (and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever)

Posted on October 24, 2018 by John Scalzo

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, sells much better than 2K can… Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!

Insomniac’s Spider-Man was already swinging pretty high prior to its September 7th launch, but according to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz) the superhero game is also the best-selling game of last month and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever. Oh, and it also performed 37% better than “the combined launch month sales for all other Spider-Man games released since 1995.”

Wow.

Spider-Man trounced the competition in September, beating out a ton of new releases in the top ten including NBA 2K19 (#2), Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (#3), FIFA 19 (#4), Shadow of the Tomb Raider (#5), Forza Horizon 4 (#7), Super Mario Party (#9), and NHL 19 (#10).

Below the top ten, several popular titles continued to prove their resiliency. Grand Theft Auto V (#13), Mario Kart 8 (#14), and Minecraft (#20) have all been hanging around the top of the charts for the last four years, and their new-generation re-releases have likely cemented their spot among the best-sellers for another four.

But you can find the full list of last month’s best-selling games after the break. (more…)

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New Retail Releases: Spider-Man, Dragon Quest XI, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, More

Posted on September 3, 2018 by John Scalzo

Summer is (unofficially) over and we’ve reached the fine month of September. But this calendar flip is also wrapped up in the very official start to the “Holiday Shopping Season” and game publishers have begun stocking store shelves with a bumper crop of new games this week. Ready? Because here we go…

Sony and Insomniac Games are starting things off in a big way with the long-anticipated release of Spider-Man. The PS4-exclusive aims to take the wallcrawler’s video game adventures in a new direction, and Sony is giving non-PS4 owners an easy in with the Limited Edition Spider-Man PS4 Pro 1TB bundle.

Another staltwart video game franchise will get a new lease on life this week, as Square Enix is gearing up to launch Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age for the PS4 (and digitally for the PC). The massive turn-based RPG will include (as always) dozens of hours of gameplay and artwork by Akira Toriyama.

Over on the Xbox One, Microsoft has teamed up with PUBG Corp to launch the “Full Product Release Edition” of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Unlike the earlier retail package for the battle royale game, this version includes a fully-updated copy of the game on a disc.

This Fall’s NBA season won’t tip off until the end of October, but 2K Games and EA Sports don’t want to wait. Both publishers will release their new basketball simulations, NBA 2K19: 20th Anniversary Edition for the PC (download-only), PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and NBA Live 19 for the PS4 and Xbox One, later this week.

A decidedly different kind of competition will take place in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, but the one-on-one fighting game will launch for the Switch this week (and on the PS4 as a PS Store-exclusive). And Bungie will crank up the action in Destiny 2 with the game’s first major expansion for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Destiny 2: Forsaken.

Finally this week, a slew of other titles will also be added to store shelves, including Hinterland’s The Long Dark (PS4, Xbox One), 704 Games’s NASCAR Heat 3 (PS4, Xbox One), Konami’s Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars (PS4), Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher (PS4, Xbox One), and Nicalis’s Blade Strangers (PS4, Switch). NASCAR Heat 3 and Blade Strangers will both also be available to download for the PC.

A full rundown of this week’s new retail release can be found after the break.

(more…)

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice wins “Best of Gamescom” at Gamescom 2018

Posted on August 25, 2018 by John Scalzo

Gamescom 2018 closed its doors for the last time today, and From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice slashed its way towards the coveted “Best of Gamescom” award.

There were a wide range of winners at this year’s expo, with all three consolemakers predictably winning “Best Game” on their respective platforms. In case you were wondering, those awards went to Spider-Man (“Best PS4 Game”), Ori and the Will of the Wisps (“Best Xbox One Game”), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (“Best Nintendo Switch Game”). Nintendo’s fighter also collected the audience-voted award “Most Wanted Consumer Award.”

Other platform-specific awards were claimed by Ubisoft’s Anno 1800 (“Best PC Game”) and Madfinger’s Shadowgun War Games (“Best Mobile Game”).

The complete list of nominees and winners can be found after the break. And it’s never too early to start planning for next year’s expo. Gamescom organizers announced that next year’s show will begin on August 20. (more…)

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Call of Duty: WWII was the best-selling game for all of 2017

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: WWII earned a spot at the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games for both November and December, and now the tracking firm has confirmed that Activision’s shooter was also the best-selling game for all of 2017.

It looks like Activision had a pretty good year, especially with Destiny 2 checking in at the #3 spot, but Nintendo was the publisher with the biggest presence on the NPD’s Top 10. The consolemaker can claim three games in the Top 10 including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#9), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#10).

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, The NPD Group also confirmed an uptick for the industry as a whole. Gamers spent $14.59 billion on their favorite hobby in 2017, an increase of 11% over 2016.

Sony’s PS4 was the best-selling console of the year, but the Switch and Xbox One have also benefited from brisk sales:

“Combined sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One continue on a record-setting pace,” [NPD Gaming Analyst Mat] Piscatella said. “Over the first 50 months in market for each console, the combined hardware installed base of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now exceeds that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by 18 percent, and that of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox by 4 percent.”

The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)

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Call of Duty: WWII repeats as the best-selling game of December 2017

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII has reenlisted for a second tour of duty as the best-selling game of the month. According to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), the shooter was the best-selling game in December 2017, besting Star Wars: Battlefront II (#2) and Super Mario Odyssey (#3).

The holiday season dominated last month’s list, as several games that were tailor-made for gift-giving ranked high in the Top 20 including NBA 2K18 (#4), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#5), Madden NFL 18 (#6), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#9). But perhaps most surprisingly, the Xbox One debut of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds landed at #7 after just a few weeks on sale (PC sales weren’t included in the NPD Group’s calculations).

You can find The NPD Group’s complete list for the Top 20 best-selling games from December 2017 after the break. (more…)

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