id Software Unknown Project Rated By Aussie Classification Board

A rating has appeared online for an untitled project by id Software which was on the Australian Classification Board yesterday.

It was registered under the codenamed 'Project 2021B' but it's currently unknown what this game could possibly be. The code name is similar to a prior 'Project 2021A' which ended up being DOOM 3 for PSVR.

The listing was rated 'M' for Mature, has online interactivity, and is down as a multiplatform release. This is significantly different from Project 2021A which was rated as R18+ and was classified as a Virtual Reality game.

I personally don't think it's another DOOM game as I think it would have gotten the same rating as prior games. It's more than likely related to Quake, especially with QuakeCon being in August this year. Maybe it's along the lines of a collection of older games remastered or maybe a brand new reimagining of Quake. They did it for DOOM, so I trust them to be able to do the say for Quake. Either way, we'll probably find out more in the coming months.

Starfield Possibly Exclusive to Xbox & PC

Bethesda's Starfield will apparently be an Xbox and PC exclusive, and won't be coming to the PlayStation according to recent reporting.

This comes from VentureBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, who said via Twitter that "Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Period. This is me confirming that."

Jeff Grubb later quote tweeted the following "@BlessingJr

You are right about Starfield release date." this is in reference to Blessing saying it would most likely release in Q1 of 2022, which in my opinion makes a ton of sense when you think about their game lineup for the next year.

My guess would be that Forza Horizon 5 drops in September/October followed by Halo Infinite in November and then have Starfield to kick-off 2022. They could also shadow drop Psychonaunts 2 around E3, that's a ton of Xbox games on Game Pass day and date and that's not including the possibility of third-party deals.

Jeff Grubb has a pretty great track record of being correct with these rumors though, where he previously reported on the Perfect Dark reboot and Mass Effect Legendary Edition before they were officially revealed.

Lastly, Grubb mentioned we should see more on Starfield during E3 2021 next month, hopefully, we'll get a confirmation of the release window and see some gameplay.

Xbox Will Celebrate 20 Year Anniversary With Virtual Fanfest Event

Xbox is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has announced it will be hosting a virtual Fanfest.

Announced via the Xbox Wire, the original Xbox was launched on November 15, 2001, in North America, so Xbox will be celebrating with the community via social media with the hashtag #Xbox20 and also launching a themed merch line.

Xbox Fanfest makes a return and will run between now and November but sadly details are a little slim. It'll probably include similar events and sweepstakes like last year which had chats with key Xbox members and developers, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S competitions and so much more.

In addition to this, Xbox has some Halo anniversary-themed wallpapers to download, a special 20 Year gamerpic, an Original Xbox Gamertag background, and The Original Xbox dynamic theme available in the Personalisation menu of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Lastly there's a curated list of Xbox games called ‘20 Year Collection’ currently on the Xbox Store.

Sega, Square Enix, Bandai Namco and Gearbox confirmed for E3 2021

E3 has announced a ton of new additional partners who will be showcasing their games at E3 2021 from June 12 to June 15.

The latest companies who have signed up for the show include Sega (who plans to announce something Judgment related tomorrow), Square Enix who's currently developing Final Fantasy XVI, Gearbox, and Bandai Namco who are currently publishing Elden Ring.

They'll also be joined by XSEED Games/Marvelous USA, Freedom Games, Devious Eye Entertainment, Turtle Beach, Verizon, and Binge.

No specific details were given on what possible games will be at the show but we won't have to wait much longer with E3 happening next month.

E3 2021 will kick off on June 12 at approximately 8 pm UK time and will be hosted by Greg Miller, Jacki Jing and Alex 'Goldenboy' Mendez.

Bethesda Officially joins Team Xbox

Xbox has announced that the Bethesda acquisition is completed, and confirmed some additional details on the partnership.

a statement from both parties was posted on the Xbox News Wire blog, with Xbox's Phil Spencer kicking things off by saying "Now that everything is official, we can begin working together to deliver more great games to everyone. At every step building toward this moment, I’ve been inspired and motivated by the creativity, insight, and community-first approach of the talented people at Bethesda. Our goal is to give these teams the best foundation for doing their greatest work and to learn from them as we continue to build Xbox into an inclusive platform for all players."

Spencer also reiterated his previous statements on the deal, saying that "Xbox consoles, PC and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games" and continued by saying "Some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players" but sadly did not confirm any exact games that these could possibly be.

on Bethesda's side, Pete Hines' posted his own statement on Bethesda's website saying "First, let me say that we’re not making any landmark announcements or changes right now. As we’ve all shared, the expectation is that Bethesda Softworks and our studios will continue as we have in the past, just with more support and resources than we’ve ever had before. Obviously, Game Pass has been an important initiative for Xbox, and we’ll be working on putting even more of our games into Game Pass than ever before. Beyond that? Stay tuned, we’re just getting started together."

Lastly, Spencer went on to say "We are bringing addition Bethesda games into Xbox Game Pass this week" and to "Stay tuned for more details"

Microsoft & Bethesda deal Approved By The EU Commission

Microsoft's $7.5 billion USD deal of Bethesda parent Zenimax is looking to be close to the finish line, as the EU Commission has finally cleared the deal with no concessions following a preliminary review process.

the agreement between the two companies has officially been approved as it "does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market".

a similar ruling has recently come from the US Securities & Exchange Commission in which they published their own 'Note of Effectiveness' which assures both parties and investors that they've looked through the details of the deal, and have found no reason to say the acquisition cannot proceed.

It's looking like the deal is set in stone and hopefully, we'll hear more on it in the near future, fingers crossed that's sooner rather than later.

Indiana Jones game In The Works At Machine Games & Bethesda

Bethesda has announced that developer MachineGames (Wolfenstein Series) is working on a brand new Indiana Jones game.

Details on this project are super sparse apart from that it will be "an original story" not based on any of the films, and will be executive produced by Todd Howard. The game will also be created in collaboration with the newly-rebranded Lucasfilm Games.

a short teaser trailer was released on Bethesda Twitter, which also confirmed that it'll be a while before the studio has more information on the project. It's currently unknown what platforms we'll see the game come to but it'll probably be on Xbox, considering their recent purchase of Bethesda and all its studios.

On a personal note, I'm super excited to finally get an Indiana Jones game from a studio known for making great games. I'm pretty intrigued to see what type of game we'll get in the future.