After leaving Square Enix in 2018 and founding his own studio in 2019, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata has opened up about JP Games' first project and his intentions behind building games for the "social good" of it.In an interview with the Tokyo-based news site SoraNews24, Tabata said traveling for the production and promotion of FFXV introduced him to ideas around inclusive gaming and sustainable development. This intersection led him to asking whether more can be done with video games as a media for social change. Tabata later said these concepts led to the creation of JP Games, which has given him "the freedom to grow" and the chance to "explore making a game for the social good.""Creating JP Games gave me the freedom to grow and evolve with society and technology," Tabata said. "When I started I got several offers to make AAA games, and they were very good, but that would be doing more or less the same thing. First, I wanted to try something new and really explore making a game for the social good, before investing time into making more conventional high-end games."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Announced at the Ubisoft Forward E3 2021 presentation, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora takes players back to the alien world that was originally introduced in James Cameron's 2009 film. Built using the latest iteration of the Snowdrop engine, Ubisoft has released a new trailer for the game which features insight from the developers at Massive Entertainment and Lightstorm Entertainment about how the software has evolved to create a version of Pandora that looks truly alien.According to senior technical artist Kunal Luthra, thousands of assets can be propagated inside of each frame to create more highly detailed environments, while the automated placement of objects and vegetation has helped to make the planet more populated with dense foliage. Even the plants of Pandora will react to your presence, but one of the more interesting details is a system that allows NPCs to react more naturally to the state of Pandora. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Monster Hunter Rise's version 3.1.0 update is now live on Nintendo Switch. As detailed during Capcom's E3 2021 showcase, the update introduces some new cosmetic DLC and Event Quests to the game, along with a long slate of bug fixes.According to the patch notes on the official Monster Hunter website, the update paves the way for new Event Quests that will be arriving every week. This includes the multi-part Capcom Collab event, which will add new gear based on Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin to the game. Capcom has already rolled out an Event Quest for the Tsukino layered Palico armor.#MHRise Ver. 3.1 Patch Update is now live, featuring various bug fixes, game adjustments, and setting up for exciting Event Quests coming soon!Be sure to update your game before your next play session.📒 https://t.co/ehRf8YdOB6 pic.twitter.com/bwx4skem85 — Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) June 24, 2021On top of that, a variety of new cosmetic DLC items are now available to purchase from the eShop. These include the floral yukata layered armor for your hunter and Palamute, a "puffy penguin" and "summery sailor" skin for your cohoot, new voice packs, and more. The new wave of cosmetics can be purchased individually or together in a $25 bundle.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

While Fifth Edition saw a huge boost in popularity for Dungeons & Dragons, devoting time to a campaign and character can be a bit too much for some people and may not be great for families. And diving into D&D can be a little overwhelming, as it can be complicated for new players to learn. Luckily, WizKids has a new, fun game arriving this October called Dungeon Scrawlers.WizKids' Dungeon Scrawlers takes the dungeon crawling aspect all D&D players are familiar with it, simplifies it, and makes it easily accessible to everyone, no matter your age. Pre-made maps have players drawing a continuous line throughout a dungeon in order to collect points. You collect points by collecting numbered stones in order, scribbling out monsters, tracing spells, etc. The winner is whoever scores the most points during their adventure.The full game arrives this fall and contains 10 maps and is for 2-4 players. It will cost $25, and you can preorder Dungeon Scrawlers from your local game store, or you can preorder it online here. Check out the "How to play" rules below, which also gives you a look at one of the maps.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Insomniac Games, maker of recent PlayStation exclusives such as Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, is in the process of hiring for a brand-new project. Perhaps more surprisingly, Insomniac has explicitly stated that this new game will be a multiplayer title, with the studio on the lookout for experienced game developers to lead the project.There are five job listings in total, including the very senior Creative Director role suitable for an individual that can oversee the project from this early stage to its release. Other job listings include a Systems Designer specifically with multiplayer mechanics and system design in mind, as well as a Story Lead that will help craft a narrative, lore, and scripts. Listings for an Art Director and VFX Artist round out the post, which seems in indicate that the beginnings of this multiplayer endeavor still need need to take shape.Insomniac made no indication as to whether these listings were for a game within an existing IP or a wholly new one. Insomniac has been primarily associated with single-player games in its most recent history, with franchises such as Sunset Overdrive, Spider-Man, and Ratchet and Clank. The studio has made multiplayer titles in the past though, primarily with the critically successful Resistance franchise and less-fondly remembered Fuse.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The first trailer for American Horror Story Season 10 has been revealed. The season is titled American Horror Story: Double Feature, and it premieres in August.As the title suggest, American Horror Story: Double Feature will feature two stories, which the official tagline describes "one story by the sand and one story by the sea." This striking poster definitely suggests the season's aquatic horror vibe, and shows some kind of weird, alien-like creature--with a fish for a tongue-- getting intimate with a fanged woman, who could possibly be a siren or perhaps a mermaid. Check it out below:new horrors have arrived. @AHSFX: double feature premieres aug 25 on FX, streaming next day #FXonHulu. #americanhorrorsummer pic.twitter.com/iYyNnkK0Mp — FX Networks (@FXNetworks) June 24, 2021American Horror Story: Double Feature premieres on FX on August 25, with episodes streaming on FX on Hulu the following day. The cast is set to be a mix of AHS regulars and new stars. Familiar face include Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, and Lily Rabe, while Maucaulay Culkin and Neal McDonough are among the new cast members.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

World of Warcraft: Shadowland's long-awaited patch 9.1, Chains of Domination, is set to release on June 29, and when it does, it will introduce a new system that is already causing players to howl in frustration.It's called Shards of Domination. In 9.1's new raid, the Sanctum of Domination, players can acquire new pieces of gear that have Domination sockets, which can then be infused with Shards of Domination for powerful passive effects. Players can equip up to five pieces of gear that each have a Domination socket, and doing so is definitely in the best interest of players because of how powerful the effects of the shards are.The issue with this new system is that gear with Domination sockets may take up a gear slot that is already occupied by a player-crafted Legendary item. Legendary items, of which players can only have one equipped, also give players powerful, unique effects they won't want to give up. Over the last seven months, players have spent hundreds of thousands of gold and dozens of hours farming the expansion's rogue-lite dungeon Torghast for the required Soul Ash material needed to upgrade their Legendaries to their highest item level. Now, Blizzard is essentially telling players they will need to do all of that work again to recraft that same Legendary in a different item slot, one that won't be able to equip a piece of gear with a Domination socket.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A new update for Borderlands 3 has rolled out on most platforms that makes some changes to the looter-shooter, particularly enabling cross-play support.Cross-play lets users on PC, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S play together through SHiFT Matchmaking. Because of that, players must create a display name--which has to be unique, between 3-16 characters long, and contain no special symbols--to enable the feature. The display name can be changed on the SHiFT website or in the game's menu. Back in May, publisher Gearbox Software said cross-play would not launch on PlayStation consoles, and it remains unclear if the feature will hit PS4 and PS5.The new update also bumps up the maximum level cap to 72. There are now 70 more skill points for players to play around with.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Just because Amazon Prime Day has come and gone doesn't mean there aren't still great deals to be found at the retailer, especially if you're in the market for a great pair of headphones. The Apple AirPods Max are the company's first premium, over-ear set of cans, with a distinct design and suitably high price. But you can grab a pair today for the lowest price ever, shaving $60 off what it's usually sold for.The Apple AirPods Max definitely look like an Apple product, starting with the knit-mesh headband to the memory foam earcups that sit next to the metal exterior that covers the headphone drivers. There's a familiar dial on one earcup for volume control as well as a single button for numerous uses (pause and play, summoning Siri, and more), which might please you if you're not a fan of the touch controls found on competitors like the Sony WH-1000MX4. Apple AirPods Max $490 (was $550) The Apple AirPods Max are on sale for the lowest price they've been since launch, coming in at $10 lower than their discount before Amazon Prime Day. This deal includes Amazon Prime shipping if you're looking to get them as soon as possible, but is exclusive to the Space Grey and Sky Blue versions of the cans. See at Amazon Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

CrimesightKonami has announced a new video game called CrimeSight, a tabletop-style multiplayer game where an AI Sherlock must try and prevent an AI Moriarty from forcing a character to murder another one. The game is currently only announced for PC and the company is looking for participants in an upcoming closed beta.Announced on Twitter, the upcoming title features two to four players in an online session, with players either working for Sherlock or Moriarty. Players can command the pawns to perform actions as the Sherlock team looks to deduce which pawn is the killer and which pawn is the victim before the crime actually occurs. Moriarty must have the murder take place within four days or else they lose.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

We're halfway through the first season of Disney+ original series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which is a spin-off of The Clone Wars. There are eight episodes left for Season 1, and Disney has released a mid-season sneak peek to give you a look at what is to come.Minor spoilers for The Bad Batch ahead, so if you're not caught up, you may want to back out. Leading into the middle of the season, The Bad Batch continues to protect Omega, as they parted ways with what has become the Empire after Order 66 was executed by Palpatine. Additionally, one of their own--Crosshair--is hunting them down. Check out the video below.Season 1 of the Bad Batch will wrap up on August 13 with Episode 16. The Star Wars series is one of the final original shows to have new episodes air on Disney+ on Fridays, as Disney recently announced that new shows will air on Wednesdays now.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go Fest 2021 is only a few weeks away, and developer Niantic has now shared more details about the second day of the event. Whereas day 1 is themed around catching wild Pokemon, day 2 is all about Raids, and you'll have another chance to encounter every single Legendary that has appeared in Pokemon Go thus far throughout the day.As detailed on the Pokemon Go blog, every Legendary Pokemon is returning to five-star Raids during the second day of Pokemon Go Fest 2021. Like the virtual habitats running on day 1, there will be different themed Raid hours rotating throughout the day, each of which will feature different types of Legendary Pokemon. You can see the full Raid schedule and the Legendaries that will appear during each hour below:Pokemon Go Fest Day 2 Raid ScheduleWind HourTimesContinue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Video Game History Foundation has shared a look at what the video game black market looked like in the 1990s. On Twitter, the nonprofit organization focused on preserving the history of video games shared images of a mail-order catalog selling bootleg Nintendo cartridges with multiple games on them.Nintendo managed to stop the importing of most bootleg "multicarts" in the 90s, but some got through! Here's an extremely rare surviving example of a mail-order catalog aimed at kids. "Pass this flier on to your friends! They'll owe you a big favor!"(a gift from @TomFulp) pic.twitter.com/85GiedzeCD — Video Game History Foundation (@GameHistoryOrg) June 24, 2021The catalog from Games Unlimited Company offered cartridges with multiple games, ranging from 16 to 110 games on a single cart. The Video Game History Foundation noted that these games were likely coming from Canada because the flier mentions not being able to get the games "without a plane ticket to Canada." The 110 game cartridge cost $138, which is slightly more than one dollar per game, a steal in the 1990s and in 2021--literally.The flier also advertises the Game Genie, which was barred from sale in the United States at that time. The organization also shared a Game Genie ad where Camerica "thanked Canada" since that was the only way for an American to acquire the device at the time.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The original Apex Legends hot drop location, Skull Town, as featured on the game's battle royale map Kings Canyon, is back, now in the form of a self-contained Arenas map. It's just one part of the game's new Genesis event, which will also revert Kings Canyon and World's Edge back to their original layouts for a limited time starting on June 29."We heard you," the game's patch notes read. "Five minutes after we announced Arenas, we were seeing pleas for a Skull Town Arena. Well, here it is!"Apex Legends' Genesis event will also be adding a number of new cosmetics for players to unlock, ranging from a scythe heirloom for Revenant to legendary skins for both the Charge Rifle and EVA-8 shotgun.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The cast for Damien Chazelle's new movie Babylon, set in 1920's Hollywood during the movie industry's transition from silent films to talkies, is now further expanding to include Olivia Wilde (House), director Spike Jonze (Her), Phoebe Tonkin (The Vampire Diaries), and Tobey Maguire (Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Babylon is expected to hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2022.These names, impressive on their own, join an already swelling ensemble that earlier this month added Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Handmaid's Tale's Max Minghella. While the movie's plot is still largely under wraps, it has been confirmed that the Paramount film will carry an R rating.Chazelle is the writer-director behind Whiplash and La La Land. Given the increasingly high-profile nature of his projects, all that's known about Babylon at this point is a lengthy list of names and a loose premise--joining the likes of Knives Out 2, which is similarly swirled in mystery but commanding marquee names. Although, in many ways, Babylon is certainly shaping up to be much stranger--its cast boasts both Flea and Eric Roberts.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com