Persona Teases Seven Announcements To Celebrate 25th Anniversary

Atlus has revealed some plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Persona series with seven announcements over the course of the coming year.

The company announced a new website dedicated solely to the celebrations and the upcoming announcements where they thanked fans for their support in pushing the series to sell more than 15 million copies. The website continued on to promise that there will be seven announcements that will include “25th commemorative goods, various events, collaborations, and of course game information.” The celebrations will kick off in September and will run until Autumn 2022.

That's pretty much all the details they revealed on it but let's speculate a little on what they could possibly show.

I think it's highly likely we'll see Persona 5 Royal or Persona 4: Golden come to other platforms either this year or early next year. At least I could see P5R coming to PC with a possibility of it also hitting Xbox consoles or Nintendo Switch, look I've played Persona 5 three times so I'll probably play it again if it came to Xbox. Lastly, I could see them teasing a Persona 6 with a short trailer similar to how they originally teased Persona 5, so a non-discript trailer basically tells us nothing. Hopefully, they'll finally have some big game news to share with Persona and not just look here buy some merchandise.

PlayStation's Next State Of Play Announced

Sony has announced the new State Of Play for July 8th that will feature 9 minutes of gameplay for Deathloop as well as some info for upcoming Indie titles.

The Deathloop gameplay will apparently feature one of the main characters Cole showcasing his abilities in both stealth moments and all-out guns-blazing combat. The show will also show updates on some exciting indie and third-party games which kinda feels like a reaction to the recent discussion around PlayStation's lack of support of indie game developers and the PlayStation storefront.

They also confirmed some games and hardware that won't be at the showcase which go as followed:

the next God of War

Horizon Forbidden West

next generation of PlayStation VR

I don't understand why PlayStation isn't showing what we'll have to play this year on PS5, the obvious conclusion is that they don't have anything. Most of the gaming companies have seemingly revealed there hand of what's coming this year and EA is planning to over the course of the next month. But PlayStation, one of the biggest platforms in the space hasn't shown anything, i really hope they have something but if your a PlayStation player i wouldn't get your hopes up.

If you wanna check out the 30-minute show, it will kick off at 2 pm Pacific / 5 pm Eastern / 11 pm CEST and will be viewable on both Twitch and YouTube.

Casey Hudson forms Humanoid Studios

Casey Hudson who previously worked on Mass Effect is now forming a brand new independent studio called Humanoid Studios.

Hudson announced the studio on Twitter by saying the following:#Today we are announcing a new independent videogame company built to unleash the creative freedom of developers – bringing innovation and artistry to players through an all-new IP.”

Little is known on what the new studio will be creating but the website states that the studio is still searching for key development roles such as Senior Gameplay & Level Designers, Environment Artists, and a Senior Creative Director.

It's always exciting to see a new studio’s form of known talent from the industry and I can't wait to see what the folks at Humanoid end up making.

Blizzard's Cross-Play Update Has Arrived In Overwatch

Blizzard has announced that the cross-play update is now available on Overwatch for all platforms.

To play with other platforms, you’ll need to link your console to your Battle.net account. Crossplay is sadly not available in the Competitive mode. it is however in Quick Play, Arcade, and Custom. All players that log in during 2021 will be gifted with a Golden Loot Box, which as you would guess gave me a skin I already own. Thanks for the currency I can't use until the next event.

Lastly, the update came with a new limited-time Ashe’s Deadlock Challenge event but they've made unlocking the skin take longer with it now being 27 played matches with a win counting as 2. Players can earn rewards such as player icons, sprays, and a Legendary Deadlock Ashe skin before the event ends on July 5.

The cross-play update is for Overwatch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Cyberpunk 2077 returns to the PlayStation Store

CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 has finally returned to the PlayStation Store after a newly launched patch.

In the announcement tweet, the studio confirmed that the game is playable on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and that a free next-gen upgrade is still coming towards the second half of 2021. However, they also warned players that they “may continue to experience some performance issues with the PS4 edition while we continue to improve stability across all platforms.”

Both the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter page and PlayStation's Twitter account have encouraged players to play on either a PlayStation 4 Pro or PlayStation 5 console to get the best possible experience.

I personally played the game at launch on the Xbox Series X and I did have an okay time with the game but I also ran into a ton of bugs throughout. I can comment on the state of the game today but some of the standout issues I had with the game was missing out on important story points due to a cut scene bug. Overall I still went to get the full 100% of the achievements but I can't see myself returning until a substantial DLC is launched.

PlayStation Plus Games For June Announced

PlayStation has announced three upcoming games that will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers during the month of June.

Here's the list of games:

Operation Tango (PS5)

Star Wars: Squadrons (PS4)

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (PS4)

All three games will be available on PlayStation Plus from June 1, and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown will be redeemable for the next two months. However, Operation Tango and Star Wars: Squadrons will both leave the service on July 5.

Final Fantasy Origin Reportedly A PlayStation 5 Exclusive

A brand new Final Fantasy title called Final Fantasy Origin is apparently expected to be revealed at E3 and is being developed exclusively for PS5 by Team Ninja.

the rumored game will be an action RPG similar to Nioh and Dark Souls and could possibly take place in the same universe as the first Final Fantasy game.

The rumored title will also apparently be a PlayStation 5 exclusive, with a PC release "further down the road". Allegedly the game is possibly far enough along that it could also have an alpha demo this summer which is said to be entitled 'Stranger in Paradise.

As of writing, nothing has been confirmed by Square Enix or Team Ninja but E3 is mere weeks away so we'll find out shortly if it's true.

You could always just play Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade instead which is due to release on PlayStation 5 on June 10.

Gearbox Could Be Developing A New Franchise Releasing By April 2022 According To Take-Two

Take-Two has revealed some interesting details in its latest financial results earnings call and how it has plans to launch a new franchise from Gearbox Software during the next fiscal year.

the company announced it hopes to release 21 games during the current financial year from April 1, 2021, through until March 31, 2022. Out of the 21 games, there will be four "immersive core" games with two of them from already existing franchises. The other two games are completely new IP and CEO Strauss Zelnick comments seem to confirm that one of them is from Gearbox.

No more details were given on the project sadly, hopefully, we'll find out some more details shortly at E3 2021.

I'm personally not a huge fan of Gearbox games but I do hope they end up making some new and fresh and not another Battleborn or Borderlands spin-off game.

GTA 5 Release Date For PS5 And Xbox Series X|S Announced

Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto V is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 on November 11. also the standalone edition of GTA Online for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will release the same day with PlayStation users are getting a special bonus.

As announced previously, GTA Online is free on PS5 for three months, ending in February 2022. PlayStation Plus users on PS4 will be able to claim GTA $1,000,000 every month until GTA Online comes to PS5.

The new versions of GTA V and GTA Online for next-gen have "new features and more," but Rockstar has yet to give many details on how it will take advantage of the next-gen hardware for the game.

Rockstar recently said the following while discussing the possibility of the new enhancements coming thanks to next-generation tech.

"The new generation versions of GTAV will feature a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements to take full advantage of the latest hardware, making the game more beautiful and more responsive than ever,"

Lastly, Rockstar is celebrating the 20th anniversary of GTA III with "even more fun surprises," with some of them being specifically for GTA Online. Fingers crossed there'll also have something more like maybe a GTA III remaster or remake, that's how it works right? put it into the universe and then a mega-corporation will start developing it.

Here's the full quote from the Rockstar blog post: "In honor of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto III, we'll have even more fun surprises to share--including some specifically for GTA Online players."

PlayStation Adds In-Game Content To It's Play at Home Program

PlayStation is adding more value to their Stay At Home program with the addition of a ton of cool in-game content for free on May 17.

the following content will be added to the PlayStation Store and it will be available for free.

Rocket League PlayStation Plus Pack - includes four unique customization items including Blue Notch Wheels, Blue Smoke Boost, Blue Rocks Trail, and the Trimpact BL Player Banner.

Brawlhalla: Play at Home Pack – includes the Rayman Legend Unlock, Sir Rayelot Skin with Axe and Gauntlet Weapon Skins, Shrug Emote, and Grimm Sidekick.

Destruction AllStars - 1100 Destruction Points

MLB The Show 21 - 10 The Show Packs

NBA 2K21 The Play at Home Pack – includes MyTEAM Series 2 Amethyst Damian Lillard, 5,000 MyTEAM Points, and more.

Rogue Company: Play at Home Pack – includes the Kyoto Undercover Ronin Outfit and 200 Rogue Bucks.

World of Tanks/World of Warships Twice the Courage Pack - includes five x1.5 Silver Boosters, five x2 XP Boosters, 7 days of Premium Account, and more. For World of Warships: Legends, this bundle includes Tier III battleship Arkansas, 7 days of Premium Account, and 5x Rare Boosters of all five types.

Warframe: Starter Bundle – includes 100 Platinum, 100,000 Credits, 7 Day Affinity Booster, Essential Base Damage Mod Bundle, and more.

Lastly, on May 20th, Players can get five 60-minute Double XP tokens for Call of Duty: Warzone for Season Three. The Double XP tokens are accessed exclusively in-game through the Message of The Day.

The Stay At Home program is a fantastic way to reward your player base during a really tough time, it's been nice to have a company give back while everyone been stuck at home and possibly struggling. I know for sure if it wasn't for the constant string on Yakuza games being added to Xbox Game Pass. I would have struggled so much more than i did.

Knockout City Is Free At Launch But Only For 10 Days

EA has announced that Knockout City will be going free for ten days from launch as a free trial their calling the Block Party.

the full game will be available on all formats for ten days starting from May 21, allowing players to check out all four of the game's launch modes that include Team KO, Diamond Dash, Party Team KO, and Face-Off. Additionally, every map will be playable and players will be able to start unlocking cosmetics for their character.

if you decide to purchase the game during the Block Party event, you'll get some bonus content and keep everything you've unlocked over the course of the event.

Knockout City Season 1 will launch on May 25, with the theme of "Welcome to Knockout City". It'll add a new location to the game, and a ton of Contracts for both Crew and Weekly Crew list. A new Playlists and League Play will also be unlocked where you can raise your Street Rank and unlock even more cosmetics.

Knockout City will be free for ten days from launch on May 21 until May 30 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Sony Has 25 New PlayStation 5 Games In Development

PlayStation has confirmed there are currently 25 first-party games in development for the PlayStation 5 and more than half of them are possibly brand new IP.

PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst was talking to Wired for a feature about the PS5's first six months: "There’s an incredible amount of variety originating from different regions," which, he claims, include "big, small, different genres."

The games we know that are coming to PlayStation 5 are Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, God of War: Ragnarok, and Horizon: Forbidden West. PlayStation also has two partnerships with other studios that include Haven Studio which is Jade Raymond's new studio and a multiplayer project from Firewalk, a studio founded by Bungie developers.

Later on in the feature, PlayStation's CEO Jim Ryan went on to try and play down previous reports of PlayStation 5 stock issues for the foreseeable future, saying "We’re working as hard as we can to ameliorate that situation. We see production ramping up over the summer and certainly into the second half of the year, and we would hope to see some sort of return to normality in terms of the balance between supply and demand during that period."

The interesting note is if this generation lasts along long as the previous generation, 25 games only works out to be 3 games a year. The fact that almost half are new IP which would mean they would need more development time than say a squeal is somewhat telling that these games are for the entire generation. If that is so, it's kinda lackluster with Microsoft owning 23 studios with each studio working on multiple projects. That is all speculation though, Hopefully, the 25 games are not including already known titles and we'll see a ton of cool games coming to PS5 in the future.

Skull & Bones Is Delayed Into 2022-2023

During Ubisoft most recent earnings results last night, the publisher revealed that "Skull & Bones will now be released in 2022-2023" with the chief financial officer Frederick Duget elaborating on it further by saying: "We strongly believe in the team’s creative vision and they have been given an increasingly ambitious mandate for the game. Production led by [Ubisoft] Singapore has been advancing well over the past 12 months and the promise is better than ever. The additional time will allow the team to fully deliver on its vision."

on a positive note, Ubisoft seems to still be confident in the project, with CEO Yves Guilletmot saying: "What we have been doing to make sure they could really come strongly with Skull & Bones is we increased the associate studios that are working with them at the moment so there’s a good and big team now working on the game and the last 12 months have really been good in terms of the way things were coming along, so we are confident they can really bring something really exceptional for the market."

As someone who found the pirating aspect of Assassin's Creed Black Flag the worst part of the game, I'm personally not really interested in the game but it makes sense to continue development, especially after the success of Sea of Thieves. It shows there is a demand for this type of game, it's just not my cup of tea.

EA Teases Battlefield 6 reveal for June

EA and DICE are seemingly teasing a reveal for Battlefield 6 coming next month according to the game's official Twitter account.

In an extremely brief teaser, they tweeted "Words that rhyme with Soon: June. Boom." My guess would be that the game will show up at E3 2021 and i think it'll be available on Xbox Game Pass. Notable the EA Play addition on Game Pass Ultimate shows on the app to claim by 02/06/2021 which could mean when EA Play leaves the service but that's speculation. Hopefully, I'm wrong on that one but it wouldn't surprise me if EA Play was removed from Game Pass Ultimate and then Ubisoft Plus is added.

Ubisoft Games Are Now Known As "Ubisoft Originals"

Ubisoft will now be branding all it's games made by internal studios as "Ubisoft Originals".

when Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy's The Division: Heartland last week the new name was attached but now we know exactly what that means.

a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer today that, "Moving forward 'The Ubisoft Original' mention is attached to all of Ubisoft's games created in-house by our talented developers."

This brand-new change could be a way to define Ubisoft made games from other games they publish, maybe it's just publishing games from outside studios or a way to make games in collaboration with other companies like they did with Nintendo for Mario X Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

PlayStation expect PS5 shortage to continue into 2022

Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki has recently said that the shortage of PS5 consoles will likely continue due to the demand even if they manage to boost their current output of the supply.

"I don't think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PS5 next year, our supply wouldn't be able to catch up with demand," Totoki told investors, Bloomberg said.

"We have sold more than 100m units of the PlayStation 4 and considering our market share and reputation, I can't imagine demand dropping easily," he added.

On a more positive note, Sony recently confirmed they've sold 7.8m PS5 consoles during its last financial year to 31st March. It hopes to sell at least 14.8m during the current financial year

I'm personally own a PS5 and I don't think it's currently worth rushing out and buying but I think that'll change with the launch of Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart.

The Yakuza Series will continue to be a turn-based RPG for the forseeable future

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has seemingly confirmed that the Yakuza games will continue to use the turn-based RPG mechanics from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

in an interview with IGN, Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Kazuki Hosokawa confirmed the change would be permanent, saying: "The Yakuza series has been transformed into a turn-based RPG. On the other hand, over the years, Ryu ga Gotoku Studio has accumulated resources and know-how of making flashy and exhilarating action games that are effortless to enjoy. We decided that we should let our signature action gameplay live on through Lost Judgment"

I personally welcome the change and I feel it fits better with the themes of the Yakuza series. Yakuza Like A Dragon was a breath of fresh air that showed that you don't need a single overpowered protagonist to steer the ship of the story but more so it can be a joint effort. That's can only be a good thing as RGG Studio makes some of the most compelling characters in games to date. That and they can do wacky stuff like Majima running down the side of a skyscraper for a special attack.

Lost Judgment Announced By SEGA

Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio has announced a sequel to Yakuza spin-off Judgment in the form of Lost Judgment coming in September.

The game will follow the main character from the first game detective Takayuki Yagami as he is thrown into a new murder investigation that begins on the streets of Kamarocho but will eventually take him to the Ijincho distrct of Yokohama. (the location of Yakuza Like Dragon)

Players will have to search for clues, chase down criminals and deliver the delicious dish of justice in the form of Tak's Fist.

Investigations return with the usual tailing, chasing and cross-examining suspects, however, Tak gets some additional tricks that include new stealth moves, wiretapping, and acrobatic skills.

On the punching side of things, Tak has gained a brand new fighting style in the form of the Snake, where it's described as using the foes moves against them. Crane and Tiger style also both return but let's be real, we're all gonna use the new fighting style.

In regards to the story, players will go undercover at a local high school, and it looks to be where you'll get to experience the side missions which have formerly been renamed in Lost Judgment to School Stories. They will apparently be just as wacky as prior games with mini-games that range from dancing to controlling battle robots.

Lost Judgment will be launching globally on September 24, 2021, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4

The Division: Heartland Announced By Ubisoft

Ubisoft has announced a new free-to-play game set in The Division universe called The Division: Heartland.

Red Storm Entertainment who developed the original Division game will be heading up development but the game will be standalone from the main series. The Division: Heartland is currently planned to release on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in the 2021-2022 release window.

Sadly details are on the slim side but Ubisoft did say that it will be an "all-new perspective on the universe in a new setting", though.

There are some details on more future projects set in the Tom Clancy The Division universe though, a roadmap of what's to come is located in the below image.

PlayStation files trademark for Sunset Overdrive

Sony has seemingly filed a trademark for Xbox exclusive Insomniac Games Sunset Overdrive. The trademark was filed at the US Patent and Trademark on April 26 but sad,y there were no details regarding a possible sequel or remake.

Interestingly enough, this was shortly followed by a leak that suggests that a remake of Sunset Overdrive is on the way in the form of Sunset Overdrive Refreshed Edtion coming in the fall to PS4 and PS5. That’s not all the leak contained though, it also had listed a new project called Sunset Apocalyse coming to PS5 in the future. Recently the game director of the first game rejoined the studio after working at Microsoft, that could also be a sign of more fuel added to the rumor fire.

I personally hope the series gets to live on in some capacity even if that means a PlayStation exclusive, fingers crossed it isn’t platform exclusive and Sony does right by the players of that first game.