AlexanderTheGreat

Last year, we brought you an interview with the team behind The Precinct - a game we described as a mix of old-school GTA and Police Simulator - but at the time, it didn't have a release date for any platform.

That's all changed today though! The release date for The Precinct is officially May 13th on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (along with PS5 and PC), and it's getting both a digital edition and a physical edition.

We're really excited to get our hands on this one - everything we've heard about it sounds fantastic, especially in terms of the procedurally-generated crimes that were described to us by The Precinct's team last year:

"The Crime Generation system generates crimes all over the city. Some are reported over the radio while others are discovered by patrolling the streets and back alleyways.The core loop of the game is handling these crimes and following the main plot of the game. Players can progress by earning XP for good police work which can be used to unlock new vehicles, weapons, and patrol types. The game has upgrade trees as well. The long-term goal for the players is to take down the gangs controlling different parts of the city."

If you're interested in checking it out ahead of time, The Precinct actually has a demo on Steam for PC right now, and we're hoping it might get an Xbox one eventually too. Sadly there's no Xbox One version as you might have guessed.

It's well worth checking out that interview for more details on what to expect, but we're also going to throw the official blurb for The Precinct down below, along with a few screenshots that are grabbed from the Steam store.

"You are Officer Nick Cordell Jr. As a rookie beat cop fresh out of the Academy, you’re on the front line of defence for Averno’s citizens. Dive into a world of thrilling car chases, sandbox crimes, and a healthy dose of 1980s noir as you protect the populace and solve the mystery of your father’s murder in the line of duty.

A love letter to classic cop movies, The Precinct combines police sim with action sandbox spectacle. Patrol the streets and respond to callouts to fight criminals petty and powerful. Choose your own tactics in thrilling chases and shootouts. Feel the shifting power struggles of Averno's gangs in a living city full of sandbox crimes, from parking infractions to bank heists, street racing to drug deals."

It's been announced today as part of Minecraft Live that Minecraft will be getting a graphics upgrade in the near future known as "Vibrant Visuals", and it looks set to be released on a variety of devices including Xbox consoles.

Vibrant Visuals is designed to provide "improved visual elements such as directional lighting, volumetric fog, and more" while also remaining true to the team's creative principles, and the result is said to be pretty spectacular.

The result is dazzling – shadows move as the sun arcs across the sky, water reflects the landscape around it, and clouds appear infinite as they stretch far into the distance.

Improvements including volumetric lighting mean you’ll be able to watch the sun’s rays carve across the Overworld, and every block will cast its own shadow. Light will shine through your windows, and you’ll be able to see reflections in water and on the surface of metallic blocks, while subsurface scattering brings a gentle glow to leaves and grass. Mobs and items will also have more of a glow – spider’s eyes will be even more menacing in the dark, and torches will cast a radiant path back to your build. You can see this in action in the deep dark, too.

As things stand, there's no word on a release date for Vibrant Visuals in Minecraft just yet, but testing will begin for select Minecraft: Bedrock Edition devices in the near future. Mojang Studios says its hope is to bring Vibrant Visuals to "as many devices as possible" (either fully or partially), but no specifics have been provided thus far.

For those who are wondering, the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft is the one that's available on Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, PC and various other devices, while the Java version is limited to PC. With Minecraft being a first-party title under the Xbox Game Studios banner, Vibrant Visuals is surely in the pipeline for Xbox consoles soon!

Anyone for another roundup of Xbox Game Pass rumours? The latest comes courtesy of EA, as it appears that both Dragon Age: The Veilguard and EA Sports FC 25 are being prepared for Xbox Game Pass at some point in the future.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the most surprising one here, as the game's only been out for just under six months, but as spotted by the likes of Knobel and Xbox Era, an apparently new Xbox Store listing has appeared on PC with the words "PC Game Pass" alongside it. Here's a closer look:

The bit we're unsure about here is that the "PC Game Pass" mention might just refer to the free EA Play trial that's included with the game, but the fact that it's supposedly a new listing suggests something bigger might be in the works.

EA Sports FC 25 makes a lot of sense, of course, as those games are always added to EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate somewhere around the May-June time period. We expect that to be the case again this year.

Don't take either of these as confirmation for Xbox Game Pass yet, but we'd say EA Sports FC 25 is very likely for the next few months, and we're hopeful but not entirely confident about Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Don't forget NHL 25 will probably be added for console players alone at some point in April or May as well!

Ubisoft is considering the launch of a fresh business unit, part-owned by outside companies, that could manage its biggest video game brands.

That's according to a new Bloomberg report, which claims that Ubisoft shareholder Tencent is being considered for a minority stake in the new venture.

The move would likely include lucrative franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six and Far Cry. These series would then be owned by this new entity, rather than Ubisoft directly.

This business tactic could see Ubisoft's new entity valued higher than the company itself currently, Bloomberg's report states. At the same time, the Ubisoft mothership would remain owned by its founding Guillemot family - something that has reportedly been a sticking point in discussions over Ubisoft's future so far.

Earlier this year, Ubisoft confirmed it was undertaking a strategic review to help right-size the business, following years of falling share prices and a string of disappointing game launches - most notably including big budget new hope Star Wars Outlaws.

The company's next big bet, Assassin's Creed Shadows, has been delayed twice to ensure it arrives next week in the best possible state.

At the same time, Ubisoft has cut jobs repeatedly across the business, and closed several studios - including its UK based Leamington team. Overall, the company has cut its total staff from 20,279 people in 2022, to 18,666 in September 2024, before its most recent round of redundancies.

"As we mentioned during our Q3 sales, the review of various transformational strategic and capitalistic options is ongoing," a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer this week.

"The Board has established an ad-hoc independent Committee to oversee this formal and competitive process, so as to extract the best value from Ubisoft's assets and franchises for all stakeholders. Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materialises."

We've been intrigued by 33 Immortals ever since it was announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2023. It promises to be the first 33-player online co-op game, a very unique number. Players will become damned souls and then team up with others to participate in large-scale raids against huge hordes of enemies and massive bosses. All that, plus Roguelike progression, promises an addictive multiplayer experience. The game will finally arrive (in "early access" form) on March 18, so the wait is almost over.

Features:

• 33-player co-op combat against hordes of enemies and massive bosses.

• Instant “Pick-up and raid” matchmaking gets you straight into the action.

• Ultra-fast runs through a streamlined distillation of the MMO raid experience. Randomized foes, challenges, and rewards ensure no roguelike run is ever the same.

• An epic arsenal of weapons empowered by sins and virtues, each with their own unique combat style.

• Hundreds of upgrade combinations and character builds.

• Customize your character with a wide variety of cosmetics.

• Beautiful hand­-drawn art and animation.

• A richly textured world inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Let's hope the matchmaking performs as well as Thunder Lotus claims. Hopping right into a large-scale battle with other gamers sounds like tons of fun.

33 Immortals will cost $19.99 when it arrives on Xbox and PC on Tuesday, March 18. It will also be available on Game Pass.

You can watch the Release Date trailer here.

A while back I posted about making a solo tabletop game in the Mass Effect universe. I got the green light from E.A (with some caveats obviously). Ive been slowly working on it since.

I could really use some help from people with experience in tabletop games with looking over the rules, abilities, gear, stuff like that, to make sure it's all balanced and fun.

Although it is being built from the ground up for solo play it could also be coop or GM'd. That's why I'm hoping to make things balanced, fun, and tactical.

If anyone is interested shoot me a message.

NetEase Games, the studio behind Marvel Rivals, is being sued by State of Decay co-creator Jeff Strain and his wife, Annie Strain, both of whom own publisher Prytania Media, for the princely sum of $900 million.

The lawsuit alleges that NetEase's defamation and unfair trade practices led to the demise of Prytania and its subsidiaries, including Crop Circle Games – which NetEase owned approximately 25% of.

As reported by Polygon, the couple filed a lawsuit in January before NetEase pushed for the case to be moved to federal court earlier this month. A letter from Steven Griffith Jr., who is representing Prytania Media and the Strains in court, sent to NetEase CEO Ding Lei, outlines their claims against the Marvel Rivals developer. In it, Griffith alleges that NetEase "spread false and defamatory statements that caused the demise of Prytania Media."

The lawsuit, according to Griffith, sees the Strains seeking $900 million in damages – triple a previous $300 valuation of the company. He also claims that NetEase, particularly employee Han, circulated "defamatory rumors" that implied Prytania Media had committed financial fraud. As alleged by the couple, NetEase is to blame for any problems they encountered – and also didn't comply with United States Department of the Treasury regulations.

"I can share details in our next call, but the high level message is we want to keep away from the radar of [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] which can be quite tricky," Griffith attributes to a NetEase representative in his letter. "Geopolitical stuff is already causing trouble to our business efforts in North America." The Strains allegedly tried to ensure that NetEase was compliant with U.S. law with its Crop Circle Games investment.

However, NetEase representatives "became increasingly hostile and aggressive," according to the couple. The Strains state that NetEase "dodged confirming its compliance" with U.S. law because it'd have to "identify owners and board members that are Members of the [Chinese Communist Party] and their position within the CCP, as well as the existence of its CCP party organizations, it [sic] members, and the control it exerts over NetEase."

In response, NetEase tells Polygon that the Strains' allegations "are wholly without merit." The company is prepared to "vigorously defend ourselves against them," too. "Our record as a global gaming company speaks for itself, and we remain committed to conducting business with integrity. We are confident that the legal process will vindicate our position and shed light on the real reasons behind the demise of the Strains' studios."

Ubisoft has detailed the changes coming to its evergreen team shooter as part of its big Rainbow Six Siege X update - dubbed the game's most transformative change yet.

Set to land on 10th June, the update will be headlined by Dual Front, a fresh six-vs-six mode with area control gameplay set on a new map, District.

With the launch of Rainbow Six Siege X, the game will essentially go free-to-play, with access to Dual Front, Unranked and Quick Play modes and the ability to "earn up to 26 operators through progression", Ubisoft says. Trailer can be seen here.

The game's Ranked Mode and Siege Cup, as well as access to more operators, will then be part of the game's premium editions.

Other big changes coming to the game include a visual refresh for classic Siege maps Clubhouse, Chalet, Border, Bank and Kafe, with three further enhanced maps rolling out in each future season.

As well as "up to 4K" textures, these updated maps will also include destructible items, more fluid rappel navigation, and boast better audio cues.

There's a new anti-cheat system, too, dubbed R6 ShieldGuard, that is designed to add "live security updates that will occur without the need for scheduled maintenance, making cheats difficult to create".

If all of that sounds interesting, there's a closed beta for Dual Front live now until 19th March which you can play on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, you'll have to watch content creators play the game on Twitch to earn a closed beta invite, which sounds a faff - there's more detail on how it works on Ubisoft's website.

They've been coming out fine for about 700 hours (of print time, not light on time) now on my Photon Mono M5s Pro. Now it looks like someone craved a chunk out of it with a knife or something. Here & here.

Edit: Looks like a dead pixel

If you love Lovecraft, publisher Nacon will be hoping you also love the two Lovecraft games it's lining up for its 2025 slate - one of which is a "thrilling investigative adventure" from the team behind The Council and Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong.

Starting with that one, it's called Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, and cast players as Noah, an agent of a secret Interpol division that specialises in occult cases. Noah's investigating the mysterious disappearance of miners in the depths of the Pacific Ocean - a quest that'll eventually lead to the labyrinthine prison of R'lyeh, where Cthulhu has been contained.

All this plays out as a mix of investigate adventure and first-person psychological thriller, with progress requiring players to solve "complex puzzles", make choices that'll shape Noah's fate, and resist the mind-corrupting influence of Cthulhu. And if that appeals, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, from Big Bad Wolf Studio, launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S next year.

The Cosmic Abyss | Reveal Trailer (UK | PEGI) Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss announcement trailer.Watch on YouTube

Which brings us to the second of Nacon's newly announced Lovecraft games, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu. Developed by Zeno Clash studio ACE Team, it's a first-person horror game - featuring online co-op for up to four players - that, as its name suggests, draws inspiration from Lovecraft's novella The Mound.

Mound: Omen of Cthulhu | Reveal Trailer (UK | PEGI) The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu announcement trailer.Watch on YouTube

This one casts players as a squad of a conquistadors on an expedition through an eerie, oppressive jungle in search of a legendary underground city, rumoured to house priceless treasures. As they explore deeper into the unknown, they'll encounter monstrous otherworldly entities that distort their senses and threaten their sanity.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later this year.

After a quiet year beneath the waves, The Sinking City 2 has resurfaced with a brand new trailer and an official Kickstarter campaign launch.

Exactly one year after its announcement, the new trailer for The Sinking City 2 gives us our first look at pre-alpha gameplay and the expected focus on Lovecraftian horror first, with survival, and investigation gameplay mixed in that developer Frogwares is embracing as its signature style. The team has also published a developer deep dive with a more detailed look at what the team is planning for combat, exploration, and optional investigation.

Alongside these trailers, Frogwares has launched a Kickstarter today to help get the game over the finish line. In a statement, CEO Wael Amr explained that the Kickstarter funding was necessary due to the ongoing war in Ukraine:

After 3 years of this horrid war hanging over our daily lives, we've learned to adapt, though it has never been easy. In 2023 when we released Sherlock Holmes The Awakened with the help of Kickstarter and our loving fans, we built ourselves a safety net that saved us more than once. From power outages and the need for team members to relocate on short notice, to having to pause development for days, this safety net was crucial. Given that The Sinking City 2 is a far more complex and demanding game, we’ve decided to take the same route as before. Frogwares has faced numerous challenges over the years in its work on both the original The Sinking City, and now its sequel. In addition to the immense challenges of developing games during wartime, Frogwares was locked in a publishing rights struggle over the first The Sinking City with original PC publisher Nacon that resulted in the game being pulled from some platforms back in 2020. Fortunately, Frogwares won full publishing rights last year, and announced it had settled its disputes.

The Kickstarter for The Sinking City 2 is live now, with a target of $105,000 USD.