Skyblivion, that massive Oblivion remake mod which was originally set to release last year, finally seems to be on the verge of arrival. While they've still yet to put a full release date on it, the mod's creators have announced that they're looking for voluteers to join their comms team and contribute to a final push to get the word out about their creation.
Former Thief: The Dark Project designer, Ion Storm game director, and sometime Spielberg collaborator Randy Smith Evergreen has shared his probably-incendiary view that photorealistic videogame graphics need not have advanced any further than Remedy's original Alan Wake. For context, Alan Wake released back in 2010, when some of you people were screaming babies. Every touted breakthrough in visual fidelity since that golden year? A pointless indulgence and a reckless travesty. A middle finger jammed up the nose of god.
Smith Evergreen is entirely wrong, of course: videogame graphics actually topped out with PS1's MediEvil, still definitively the most faithful and convincing portrayal of an incompetent walking skeleton known to science. That said, this is an OG Thief designer we're talking about. Let's hear the poor soul out.
Up until now, Rockstar Games have kept mum about what plans they have for the future of Grand Theft Auto multiplayer once GTA 6 releases on consoles in November. Thanks to filings submitted by the studio as part of the final hearing in a legal battle over the firings of 34 developers last year, that silence appears to have been broken.
Life is Strange developers Don't Nod have acknowledged that there's "material uncertainty regarding the company's ability to continue as a going concern beyond January 31st, 2027", as they kick off negotiations with the union representing staff who could be laid off as part of a "transformation project". The proposed cuts, which could see up to 90 jobs eliminated, are the latest development in the studio's efforts to make their financial future look less like a road to ruin which might run its course either this year or very early in 2027.
The latest beefy expansion mod to hit Skyrim is an adventure to the Argonian homeland of Black Marsh, complete with hist trees and humid swamps. Though, its creator seems to be hoping the trip to the southern tip of the mysterious province will do more that just entertain, serving as a reminder that it's still possible for solo modders to make ambitious works happen for free without resorting to using generative AI.
My only experience of Left 4 Dead 2 is a handful of sessions in my youth where a friend handed me a controller (me, a person whose shooter experience extended to Ratchet and Clank at the time), told me nothing, and let the chaos unfold. I did not do a good job. But it left a lasting impression! Though perhaps that impression would have changed had I seen its cinematic trailer as soon as Valve had wanted to release it. The problem was, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board weren't so hot on the game, including its marketing materials, so that left Valve with one option: leaking the trailer themselves.
Yep. I know. GTA 6 is still on the list of storied crime games without a PC release date. GTA 5, though, is out on PC and has long been the place folks who love Rockstar's crime sandboxes so much they want to pretend they live in them go for a spot of GTA roleplaying. Rockstar appear to be sticking to Guh Tuh Ah Vuh for that sort of thing in the near future too, since they're currently trumpeting a new version of the modded roleplay servers run by Nopixel Studios.
Unionised Bethesda Games Studios staff embroiled in Microsoft's latest round of mass layoffs have expressed further doubts about the company's ability to create games at the "quality level" of the very bestest Elder Scrolls and Fallout projects, as they continue to haggle with Microsoft over severance terms.
It is unfortunately that time of day again (because this truly does seem to be a daily occurrence at this point). Back in June, things weren't looking so hot for Life is Strange studio Don't Nod, as it appeared that they'd be out of cash come this November. Now, it looks like the studio is preparing for layoffs.
Under Microsoft's ownership, it was probably a safe bet that Double Fine would never get to make a Brutal Legend 2, even in this IP-obsessed world we find ourselves in. However! Microsoft don't own Double Fine anymore, and so the once again indie developer can more or less do what they want. Which they're already doing, in fact, as they're currently hosting a game jam Kickstarter that includes a stretch goal that'll see them making Brutal Legend 2. If you give them $100 million.
Skyblivion won't be following the lead of Bethesda's Oblivion Remastered with a sudden shadow drop of its own, the folks behind the massive Oblivion remake mod have confirmed. Instead, they've plans to reveal a new release date for the mod, which was previously being aimed to arrive late last year, when they're ready.
Earlier this week, South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games shared word that they now own all of the publishing rights to their games, a welcome update in light of the ongoing BDS boycott against Microsoft and Xbox. And now, another studio is joining the realm of boycott freedom, this time Psychonauts studio Double Fine, as CEO Tim Schafer has confirmed that they too now own the publishing rights to their own catalogue.
We Happy Few and South of Midnight developers Compulsion Games have announced that they are fully broken up with Microsoft and Xbox, after completing a management buyout. They now once again own the rights to all their own original intellectual properties. Amongst other things, this means that you can buy South of Midnight – summarised by Brendy (RPS in peace) as "a beautiful folkloric tale" and a "plain and unambitious" action-adventure – while still taking part in the BDS boycott against Microsoft's Israeli military connections. When you buy the Steam version of South of Midnight, all your money (after Valve's revenue cut) will go to Compulsion.
It appears that August is the month for having thoughts on the success of immersive sims! Earlier this month, one of the original designers behind Thief: The Dark Project shared his feelings on developing imsims at triple-A scale, coming to the conclusion it doesn't really work. Just yesterday, Arkane veteran and Dishonored director Harvey Smith revealed his new studio that's entirely dedicated to the genre. And now, Smith, alongside fellow leads at the new studio Ben Horne and Ricardo Bare, answers the evergreen question: are imsims dead?
Right, just a couple more location overhauls and there we go. A fresh Skyrim load order created for my first modded toe-dip into Tamriel for quite a while, outside of grabbing the odd article image. Phew, now to relax and sink another 50 hou-wait. Fallout 4 and Skyrim updates are inbound, say Bethesda? Well, that would be my luck, wouldn't it?
Broadly speaking, it's fine for something to exist as a niche. Whatever form of media a thing might be, to fulfil a niche is to meet the expectations of at least a handful of people with a particular taste that many others don't, and I think that's a delightful thing to do. In video games, immersive sims might not be the most niche genre in the world, but they've historically not done gangbusters sales wise, meaning that triple-A takes don't quite make their money back. If you ask Randy Smith Evergreen, a designer on Thief: The Dark Project, perhaps avoiding the world of triple-A is the way to go for immersive sims.
Two months ago, That's No Moon, a studio made up of former Naughty Dog and Infinity Ward devs, revealed Crossfire, a cinematic military shooter with a sci-fi flair. The team first formed around five years ago, but now it appears that there's layoffs before they've even managed to get their first game out the door.
I’ve been scrolling through Nexus Mods near enough every weekday morning for three or four years now. On a good day, I might spot a couple of new mods potentially worth writing news about and a couple, usually Skyrim player homes, I might fancy checking out in my free time.
Historically, browsing for mods was largely just a matter of gauging which looked complex or unique enough to be worth investigating further, and making sure nothing about them appeared offensive or otherwise dodgy. Usually, new quests, new mechanics, or substantial overhauls which can turn a game on its head got the nod. Then, a few years ago, AI-generated voices started popping up in the former. Skyrim, being the most actively modded game, was ground zero.
Login