Another update (opens in new tab) from Microsoft, which says it’s identified the cause of the issue now.
“We’ve isolated the problem to a networking configuration issue, and we are analyzing the best mitigation strategy to address it without causing additional impact. We’ll provide more information once we have additional information.”
It adds that some users will still be unable to access services such as Teams and Outlook, but that it is working on a fix.
For anyone still being affected by this issue, there could be good news soon.
Although there’s been no official confirmation, the Microsoft 365 service status page (opens in new tab) is showing no issues any more, with the cheery note that “everything is up and running”.
Outage reports are also falling on DownDetector following a massive spike earlier today – but until we’ve had an official tweet from Microsoft, it might not be worth getting carried away just yet….
As that tweet mentioned, users can see more information on the official Microsoft 365 “Service Health Status” page.
It doesn’t make for particularly good reading right now though…
“Users may be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services,” the alert reads, noting that the following services are affected:
Microsoft Teams
Exchange Online
Outlook
SharePoint Online
OneDrive for Business
Microsoft Graph
“We’ve identified a potential networking issue and are reviewing telemetry to determine the next troubleshooting steps,” it adds, noting any user serviced by the affected infrastructure may be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services.
More information from Microsoft – seems it has found the cause of the problem, but things aren’t fixed just yet.
We’ve identified a potential networking issue and are reviewing telemetry to determine the next troubleshooting steps. You can find additional information on our status page at https://t.co/pZt32fOafR or on SHD under MO502273.January 25, 2023
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The good news is that Microsoft does appear to have noted the problem, so a fix may not be too far off.
“We’re investigating issues impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services. More info can be found in the admin center under MO502273,” the Microsoft 365 Status twitter account said (opens in new tab).
Good morning – if you’re just logging on for work and having problems with Microsoft 365 – you aren’t alone.
The platform is seeing widespread issues, with users across Europe and Asia unable to access a number of services, including Microsoft Teams and Outlook.
Continuing its foray into the healthcare industry, Amazon is launching its own drug prescription service for Prime members called RxPass, which lets consumers purchase generic medication for $5 a month.
And that $5 goes a long way. Not only is it a flat fee but subscribers won’t be subject to hidden fees or random markups, plus delivery is free. You can purchase all the medication (opens in new tab) you need for $5, assuming it’s available through the program. At launch, you’ll have access to more than 50 different medications (opens in new tab) to treat over 80 common health conditions from diabetes to gout and even high blood pressure. Any extra prescriptions you need that isn’t available through RxPass must be purchased through Amazon Pharmacy for its normal price. Speaking of which, Amazon Pharmacy will also highlight which medicine can be purchased through the new service as a new blue RxPass icon will appear in medicine descriptions.
Enrollment
To enroll, the company states Prime members will have to go through a “simple sign-up process” to verify a person’s “eligibility and prescription information.” Amazon pharmacists are available 24/7 to help out with refills or “coordinate with [your] doctor” for a smooth setup. Packages will be “delivered on either a monthly or quarterly basis” to your door – depending on the prescription. It varies.
It’s also worth pointing out that the amount of medication you purchase influences how long your subscription lasts. Say you purchase a three-month supply of finasteride. In Amazon’s eyes, you just committed to a three-month subscription to RxPass. Patients can cancel at any time, but the cancellation won’t go into effect until after that time period. You can’t cancel after 40 days in an attempt to save money; Amazon won’t let you. So be mindful of how much you buy.
Limitations
As you can imagine there are some limitations at launch. The service will be available in 42 US states. The excluded eight are California, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Patients in those states will have to use Amazon Pharmacy to get their medicine. Amazon will also deny people depending on what type of insurance they have. If you’re on Medicare, Medicaid, or any kind of government-funded insurance, you will be denied. And neither an HSA (Health Savings Account) nor FSA (Flexible Spending Account) will be accepted.
It appears patients can use their insurance plan to pay for RxPass, but for just an extra $5 a month on top of a Prime membership fee, do you really need to? Being able to purchase all of your prescriptions (assuming they’re eligible) in one place for such a low cost is a heck of a bargain. RxPass could potentially help a lot of people, especially with the current inflation.
We reached out to Amazon to ask if there are plans to expand both the list of eligible medications and RxPass into the eight excluded states. This story will be updated if we hear back.
Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the best telemedicine software for 2023. These platforms allow for remote healthcare if you’re unable to see a doctor in person.
Microsoft recently said that AI’s impact on our lives will be as sizable as the PC and internet – which is something you might expect from a company that’s just invested billions of dollars into OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
Yet Microsoft is far from alone in making these claims – and ChatGPT’s talents, which include advanced text generation and answering questions, are potentially transformative. But how exactly might AI tools and machine learning change Microsoft 365, formerly known as Microsoft Office?
Right now, there’s no timescale for Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s technology into its suite of productivity apps, which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. But the process has already started and recent reports suggest that Microsoft will soon add ChatGPT’s talents to its Office suite and Bing search engine, which could change the way we use them.
Based on what we know of ChatGPT’s talents and how they could apply to Microsoft 365, here are five ways that AI tech will likely change how we use apps like Outlook, Word and PowerPoint.
5 ways ChatGPT could transform Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office, now known as Microsoft 365, already has a few AI-powered tools of its own thanks to Project Turing (opens in new tab). Since 2017, the latter has delivered features like Assistive AI (see below) for suggested email replies and ‘Smart Find’ for searching your docs.
But OpenAI tools like ChatGPT promise to dovetail with Microsoft’s own AI research to supercharge those functions and unlock new ones. Thanks to its skills in language processing and data analysis, Microsoft’s partnership with ChatGPT could help with…
1. Solving your email headache
For most of us, email has become an antiquated chore that lacks the immediacy of the best online collaboration tools like Slack. But generative pre-trained transformers (or GPTs) promise to be able to tame our inboxes, thanks to their ability to crunch masses of text and tease out their meaning.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
According to The Information (opens in new tab), Microsoft “recently looked at how Outlook and Word could use GPT to suggest automatic replies to other emails”. This could go well beyond the simple auto-complete suggestions we have now – Microsoft has also apparently talked about creating “chatbot-style programs inside Word and Outlook that write entire tracts of text”.
Ultimately, your role with email could be to approve or lightly edit suggested replies, rather than put aside an hour to trawl through them. ChatGPT could also help with scheduling meetings or organizing travel, all of which sounds like good news to us.
2. Making you (look like) a better writer
One of ChatGPT’s great strengths is generating text in response to a prompt. The content of the AI chatbot’s replies isn’t always as factually sound as its confident tone implies, but the writing itself can convincingly adopt the nuance and character of a particular author.
(Image credit: Hemingway)
This is where ChatGPT, particularly its incoming GPT-4 model, could have some of its biggest impacts on the likes of Outlook and Word. Third-party apps like Hemingway (opens in new tab) already act as our virtual sub-editors, but these tools will increasingly be built into apps like Microsoft Office to improve our writing.
You’ll be able to hit a button and get a tighter version of the report you’ve just written, or get suggestions for removing jargon. What impact might auto-generated text ultimately have on our writing skills? That’s a thorny question for another day, but in the short-term it could iron out wrinkles like an over-reliance on the passive voice in our docs and emails.
3. Summarizing your meetings
Microsoft’s ‘At a Glance’ feature is already able to summarize your Word docs with bullet-point summaries, but the integration of ChatGPT could take this to the next level and spread it across Microsoft 365’s apps.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
For example, a long report could be automatically crunched down into a digestible PowerPoint presentation. The same technology could also automatically summarize the transcripts created during your Teams meetings, saving you the task of creating a follow-up email from scratch.
This combination of Turing’s ability to understand text and ChatGPT’s ability to automatically generate it could take a scythe to the repetition many of us experience in creating documents or written text for multiple formats, from presentations to email. You’ll still have the power of final sign-off, but the legwork in creating PowerPoints and post-meeting emails could soon be crossed off your ‘to do’ list.
4. Creating fancy PowerPoint visuals
ChatGPT’s AI powers also dovetail nicely with another OpenAI creation, Dall-E, which went viral last year way before the chatbot. A powerful text-to-image generator, Dall-E can create visuals (with mixed results) from simple prompts – which could be a very helpful way to jazz up your PowerPoint presentations.
This example (opens in new tab) shows how Mattel used Dall-E 2 to come up with a new Hot Wheels model car. (Image credit: Microsoft)
According to a report from The Information (opens in new tab), Microsoft has internally discussed “plans to let PowerPoint customers use OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 image generation model to create new visuals for presentations”. This could work in tandem with ChatGPT’s ability to summarize chunks of text with bullet point summaries, effectively creating draft presentations for you.
This visual aid is something that Adobe has referred to as a “creative co-pilot”, allowing you to simply describe things you want added to a scene or image. While it has big ramifications for digital art, it could also make PowerPoint presentations far less of a time-sink, too.
5. Turning you into an Excel whizz
Not everyone loves to spend time in Microsoft Excel, but ChatGPT’s powers of data analysis and query response could make the spreadsheet tool a much more friendly place for the uninitiated.
The Reddit forums have already lit up with the ways people have found to plug ChatGPT into Excel (see the video below). And Microsoft’s huge investment into OpenAI brings the promise of those skills being directly integrated into apps like Microsoft’s spreadsheet king.
It could, for example, pull in data based on a simple prompt (“list the world’s top five companies by profit”), create Excel formulas and macros, or make data visualization charts for you.
Having a chatbot that lives inside Excel, ready to analyze data and help you with visualizations, would be a huge boon for beginners and a massive timesaver for experienced users, too.
The first India Stack Developer Conference that will dwell on ways and means to ensure wider adoption of India’s digital goods all over the world will be held in New Delhi on January 25. It will be attended by over 100 digital leaders from the industry, government, start-ups and unicorns and the academia. Delegates from G20 countries and G20 Secretariat have also been invited for the conference. What is India Stack He said India Stack is a multi-layer cluster of digital solutions – Aadhaar, UPI, Digi Locker, Co-Win, GeM, GSTN that have played a significant role in the digital transformation in India. “Post Covid, India has emerged as a preeminent nation in use of technology for development and governance-at a population scale. Our focus is now on to broaden the dissemination of our digital goods within the country and widen their adoption outside.” Briefing reporters about the Conference, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that it will provide a platform for the Industry and developer community to explore ways to develop a robust start-ups and innovation ecosystem within the country and also take India stack products to other countries. In reply to a query, the minister said, “We believe in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one). Those countries that are keen on following India’s lead can adopt India Stack according to their needs.” The minister said that India Stack will be one of the focus areas at the World Government Summit 2023 which is being held at Abu Dhabi next month.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games of all time, given that it’s the successor to Skyrim and the rest of the beloved RPG series. So far, Bethesda hasn’t revealed all that much about the game, despite having announced it back in 2018 alongside a brief teaser trailer.
What we do know is that The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development, and that it will be the next release for Bethesda Game Studios after Starfield comes to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Strangely, The Elder Scrolls 6 was revealed way back in 2018, during an E3 presentation. A short teaser was shown, giving us a clue as to where the game will be set. Since then, Bethesda has been practically radio silent.
While we wait for details on The Elder Scrolls 6, this page will serve as a hub for everything we know about the game so far. Read on for all of the latest news and rumors about Bethesda’s next major RPG after Starfield.
What is it? The long-awaited sequel to the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
When can I play it? TBC but likely 2025 at the earliest
What can I play it on? TBC but likely PC and Xbox Series X|S
The Elder Scrolls 6 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Don’t hold your breath for The Elder Scrolls 6 release date – you won’t be exploring its dungeons any time soon.
Despite being announced at Bethesda’s E3 2018 conference, little more than a logo was revealed and, more than four years later, we still have few solid details about the next Elder Scrolls game. We don’t even have a subtitle or a release year. Todd Howard said that the game will be coming after Starfield, the company’s next big IP, while Xbox Head Phil Spencer has said it won’t release until after Fable 4. Given Starfield is set to release in the first half of 2023 and Fable doesn’t have a release date yet, the wait for Elder Scrolls 6 is set to be long.
Bethesda Games Studios director Todd Howard supported this in a 2021 interview with The Telegraph (opens in new tab), stating: “It’s good to think of The Elder Scrolls 6 as still being in a design [phase]… but we’re checking the tech: ‘Is this going to handle the things we want to do in that game?’ Every game will have some new suites of technology so Elder Scrolls 6 will have some additions on to Creation Engine 2 that that game is going to require.”
In a more recent update, Howard told IGN (opens in new tab) that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in “pre-production”. As such, tentatively expect The Elder Scrolls 6 to release in 2024 at the very earliest, after Bethesda has given Starfield at least a couple of years in the spotlight.
Similarly, platforms for The Elder Scrolls 6 haven’t been confirmed yet but, given Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media, releases on PC, and Xbox Series S|X are almost a certainty. A PS5 release is much less certain, however, as Microsoft may opt to make the new Elder Scrolls game an Xbox exclusive. Similarly, releases on Xbox One and PS4 seem extremely unlikely, as Starfield shows Bethesda’s moving on from last-gen hardware.
What we do know, however, is that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
The Elder Scrolls 6 trailer
Announcement trailer The only footage we have of Elder Scrolls 6 is a very short clip of the game’s logo. Other than that, you might be waiting a while to see more.
Here’s the announcement trailer:
Elder Scrolls 6: where will it be set?
(Image credit: Bethesda)
We’re willing to bet that like all the other games in the series, The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place on the continent of Tamriel.
Previous games have taken us to High Rock, Hammerfell, Morrowind, Cyrodil, and Skyrim. Valenwood, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh are the biggest places left to explore. However, even though these areas are prime spots for exploration, that’s not to say that Bethesda won’t return to areas from previous games.
There were rumors that the Elder Scrolls 6 could be set in Valenwood, the home of the Bosmer. It’s an area of Tamriel that Bethesda hasn’t explored much and that’s based on a reported internal Bethesda memo from all the way back in 2014. In this memo, Bethesda employees were reportedly warned against using the terms Fallout: Nuka World, Elder Scrolls VI or Project Greenheart.
Though it was initially believed to be a fake, Fallout: Nuka World ended up being a big DLC release for Fallout 4. It gave slightly more weight to rumor that Project Greenheart is in fact the codename for the next Elder Scrolls title. The fact that Greenheart is a city in the verdant region of Valenwood made this even more interesting.
However, after the brief announcement trailer for Elder Scrolls 6 was released during E3 2018, many fans began to move away from the idea of a Valenwood setting. The landscape shown in the trailer didn’t reflect Valenwood all that much.
(Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios)
It’s hard to tell from the short E3 clip we have of the game. However, since it was shown, general opinion has moved towards the idea that the Elder Scrolls 6 will be set in either Hammerfell or High Rock.
Adding credence to the Hammerfell rumor is a post from the official Elder Scrolls Twitter account at the end of 2020. That says “transcribe the past and map the future” and shows an image with an unmapped Hammerfell region. There is, however, a chance that this teaser doesn’t relate to Elder Scrolls 6 at all.
In an interview with Eurogamer (opens in new tab), Todd Howard confirmed the team has settled on the location – but he won’t tell us where yet. Details are, of course, exceptionally sparse at the moment. All we have are rumors to go off of, which doesn’t form the basis of, well, anything really.
Obviously, those of us who know the world of Tamriel thanks to Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and yes, even Elder Scrolls Online, the entire world is a veritable expanse of different lands and settings where the game could be set. We do know one thing for certain; wherever it does end up being set, we can expect to be fulfilling a great many side quests.
The Elder Scrolls 6 news and rumors
(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)
Fallout 5 is coming after The Elder Scrolls 6 In an interview with IGN (opens in new tab), Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 5 will be Bethesda’s next project after The Elder Scrolls 6.
“Yes, Elder Scrolls 6 is in pre-production and, you know, we’re going to be doing Fallout 5 after that, so our slate’s pretty full going forward for a while” Howard told the publication. “We have some other projects that we look at from time to time as well.”
Bethesda wants to take its time to get it right The Elder Scrolls 6 is probably still a few years away yet but that’s not because Bethesda is deliberately dragging its heels. In an interview with IGN (opens in new tab), when discussing the gap between Skyrim and its follow up, Howard said “Would you plan to have the kind of gap we’re having between Skyrim and the follow-up? I can’t say that’s a good thing. Do I wish I could wave a wand and the game we wanted to make […] just came out? Absolutely.”
According to Howard, however, the time felt right for Bethesda to try something new with Starfield and the Elder Scrolls Online meant that the Elder Scrolls franchise was in a relatively good place.
“That being said,” he added, “everything takes longer than we would like as well, but we want to make sure that we get it right. Hopefully Elder Scrolls 6, you don’t want to say hey, that it’s worth that kind of wait, but that it does stand up to the series as it has been in a really big, impactful way for when it comes out.”
Todd Howard wants The Elder Scrolls 6 to be a “decade game” In the same interview with GQ, linked above, Bethesda game director Todd Howard spoke on following up the legacy of Skyrim, which has enjoyed a decade of re-releases, upgrades and no shortage of fan-created mods on both PC and consoles.
Seemingly thinking ahead about The Elder Scrolls 6’s longevity, Howard said: “I think that would drive me crazy to try to say, ‘Okay, this is the thing you have to top,'” in reference to Skyrim. “But then you realise, like, The Elder Scrolls 6 has got to be a ‘decade game.’ How do you make a game where you go into it, like, ‘people have to play it for a decade?'”
The adage of “if you build it, they will come” has almost always applied to The Elder Scrolls franchise, at least since the series exploded in popularity with the release of the third entry, Morrowind. To this day, fans are still creating mods and total conversions for Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, so we think Howard shouldn’t be all that concerned with how to make the next entry a ‘decade game,’ as it will likely naturally become that through the modding scene, as well as with official support from Bethesda.
No. And also Elder Scrolls 6 is planned as Xbox exclusive as well. https://t.co/K4VCC5DrXLAugust 30, 2021
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Reportedly an Xbox exclusive like Starfield Starfield has been confirmed as an Xbox exclusive but for many question marks still remain around The Elder Scrolls 6 as nothing has been explicitly confirmed by Bethesda or Microsoft just yet. Well, according to GamesBeat reporter Jeff Grubb, The Elder Scrolls 6 is also “planned” as an Xbox exclusive. Grubb tweeted this in response to a user who suggested that Starfield and other Bethesda games could still have a chance of a PS5 release:
You’ll play Fable 4 first Speaking during a recent IGN podcast, Phil Spencer intimated that we’ll probably play the next Fable game before we play Elder Scrolls 6. Speaking about the tone of Fable, Spencer said, “Fable’s always been a little more light-hearted and a little more British, I think I could say, and I think Playground will keep it there,” adding, “Elder Scrolls 6 is further out, and when that comes out I think it’s going to be incredible.”
Skyrim (Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios)
The Elder Scrolls 6 may not come to PS5 Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed that future Bethesda games will be exclusive to “platforms where Game Pass exists”, meaning PS5 players will miss out.
During the “Bethesda Joins Xbox” roundtable (opens in new tab) on March 11, Spencer addressed speculation around whether the acquisition will see future Bethesda titles, such as Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, becoming Xbox exclusives following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media.
“If you’re an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists,” Spencer explained. “That’s our goal, that’s why we’re doing this, that’s the root of this partnership that we’re building.
However, games under contractual obligations from before the acquisition, such as Deathloop, will still land on PS5 – while games that currently exist on other platforms will continue to be supported.
“Obviously I can’t sit here and say every Bethesda game is exclusive, because we know that’s not true,” Spencer said. “There are contractual obligations that we’re going to see through, as we always do in every one of these instances. We have games that exist on other platforms, and we’re gonna go support those games on the platforms they’re on. There are communities of players and we love those communities and we’ll continue to invest in them. And even in the future, there might be things that have contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we’ll go do.”
Though it’s worth noting that The Elder Scrolls 6 may not fall under this Xbox Game Pass exclusivity umbrella if Sony has already secured the games on its platform, it is entirely possible that a big hitter like this will only be available on Xbox and PC – for a time, at least – especially given platforms haven’t been confirmed for either yet. That’s certainly the case with Starfield, now a confirmed Xbox-only exclusive.
New Indiana Jones game won’t delay Elder Scrolls 6 development Bethesda has recently announced that it’s working with MachineGames on a new Indiana Jones game, with Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard taking on an executive producer role for the game.
Those worried, however, that this additional work might have an impact on The Elder Scrolls 6, on which he’s also working, need not fret.
Responding to a tweet about Todd Howard’s involvement in multiple projects, Bethesda’s Pete Hines said “Todd is currently EP on many BGS and other projects, such as the Fallout TV show. His main focus remains directing the upcoming Starfield and TES6 games, which aren’t affected by today’s news.”
Todd is currently EP on many BGS and other projects, such as the Fallout TV show. His main focus remains Directing the upcoming Starfield and TES6 games, which aren’t affected by today’s news.January 12, 2021
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Is it Hammerfell? 2021 looks set to be a better year for Elder Scrolls 6 news than 2020 after the official Elder Scrolls account tweeted something that may or may not be a tease for The Elder Scrolls 6. The tweet, which reads “Transcribe the past and map the future. Here’s to a Happy New Year!”, includes a picture of a map with three lights on it. The lights are placed on different areas of Tamriel, with one on a box above the map, another on Skyrim and another, interestingly, on an unmapped area below Skyrim: Hammerfell. It’s long been rumored that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be set in Hammerfell, home of the Redguard, but nothing has actually been confirmed yet. Naturally, many fans are taking this image as a hint that the rumors about the setting are true.
Another point of interest, picked up on by PCGamer, is the date on the map: 4E 182. This is actually only a few years before the events of Skyrim in around 4E 201 and hints that the 5th and 6th games in the series could be closely connected.
We can’t know for sure that any of this is accurate or even related to Elder Scrolls 6 (and not Elder Scrolls Online) until official word comes from Bethesda but given the phrase “map the future” and the fact that Hammerfell on the map in the photo is yet to be mapped and explored, this is certainly a very leading Tweet.
Transcribe the past and map the future. 📖Here’s to a Happy New Year!🕯 pic.twitter.com/bL44CzLDIEDecember 31, 2020
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The Elder Scrolls 6 will use a brand new engine Bethesda has confirmed it is overhauling its current engine specifically for Elder Scrolls 6. Imagine if Elder Scrolls 6 looked and ran like Skyrim. This is a thought which belongs somewhere firmly shut behind the Gates of Oblivion.
According to GamesRadar (opens in new tab), the engine reportedly has the same name, but it will bring new renders, lighting, animations (hallelujah), landscape system and photogrammetry.
Todd Howard spoke about the engine after the announcement of the Microsoft merger, saying “it’s led to our largest engine overhaul since Oblivion, with all new technologies powering our first new IP in 25 years, Starfield, as well as The Elder Scrolls 6.”
Speaking at the Develop: Brighton conference (opens in new tab), Howard gave more information on the overhauled Creation Engine, saying that it’s been “a significant overhaul,” adding that “It’s taken us longer than we would have liked, but it’s going to power everything we’re doing with Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6. When people see the results, they’ll hopefully be as happy as we are with what’s on the screen and also how we can go about making our games.”
The Elder Scrolls 6: what we want to see
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Homebuilding A feature that we’re fairly certain will be included in the game to some degree is house building or town creation. Skyrim introduced the idea of designing and maintaining a homestead with its Hearthfire DLC, which Fallout 4 expanded upon with the introduction of its settlement mechanic and the Elder Scrolls online built upon again with its Homestead DLC. This leads neatly into a further expansion of such features in the next Elder Scrolls title as it felt not-quite-finished in Fallout.
It would be a feature that would actually fit in particularly well with the rumored Valenwood setting, if it involved the player adapting to the wilderness in the way the resident Bosmer have with their treetop cities. In a similar way the player used debris and junk to craft their settlement in Fallout, they could use their natural environment to do so in Elder Scrolls in a nice contrast.
A whole new story In an interview with Gamespot (opens in new tab), Todd Howard said that Bethesda is looking into how exactly it tells stories in its games. Howard noted that Skyrim and Fallout 4 take slightly different approaches to stories, with Skyrim leaving things more open to the player’s vision and Fallout guiding them more firmly through a story
Now he says the studio is looking at how to “tell a better story in an open world.” He said “each of our games we’ve had successes and failures and if you ask us internally, we have new ideas that we want to explore in the future because we feel like we haven’t really cracked it yet the way we think it could be.”
Being aware of the differences between Skyrim and Fallout’s approaches to storytelling and the fact that both have positives and negatives suggests that the next Elder Scrolls title could strike some kind of balance between giving the player completely free reign and telling a story around their character.
It’s hard to deny that The Witcher 3 has had a massive impact on what players expect in terms of including an engaging story in an open-world game. Though we don’t in any way want Bethesda to just churn out a Witcher copy (we’re not sure it’d be possible anyway) it does put a certain amount of pressure on Bethesda when it comes to achieving high-quality environmental and quest-based storytelling.
No multiplayer Something we don’t expect to see, though, is multiplayer. Skyrim certainly doesn’t suffer from a lack of multiplayer and it wouldn’t really make all that much sense to incorporate any online multiplayer gameplay with the Elder Scrolls Online still rolling along.
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Virtual reality It’s not a certainty by any means but the fact that Bethesda released a full VR experience for Skyrim means it’s not out of the question down the line if not immediately.
Improved graphics and reduced bugginess The remastered version of Skyrim showed just how far things have come visually since the game’s first release so we fully expect any title following on from it to be of that standard if not much higher, depending on how far away the game is. We know that the new engine will be used, thankfully, giving Bethesda’s games a much-needed boost in its delivery.
More fluid combat – taking advantage of new consoles Everyone knows and loves the animations delivered from Oblivion, Skyrim and Fallout, but seeing them on an Xbox Series X or PS5 or high-end PCs would be nothing short of embarrassing. To this end, we expect to see a far more fluid combat experience and, considering how powerful the new consoles are purporting to be, a richly detailed open world to explore.
Replayability During an interview with IGN (opens in new tab) Howard gave a small update on what people can expect from the game.
He said: “I think when they eventually see the game and what we have in mind, they’ll understand the gap more in terms of technology and what we want it to do… We’re eight years post-Skyrim. It lets us know going into Elder Scrolls 6 that this is a game we need to design for people to play for a decade at least.”
From this, we know that Elder Scrolls 6 is being developed with longevity in mind. Of course, games like Skyrim and Oblivion are kept alive to this day purely by fans who make mods or those who simply can’t get enough of it.
If this means there’s more emphasis on replayability with branching and far-reaching consequences from certain decisions remains to be seen, but this could be one of the ways to keep the game interesting overtime.
Fable 4 is the next mainline entry into the fantasy RPG series. Since it was revealed back in 2020, we haven’t heard all that much about it. We know which studio is handling its development, and little else.
The next entry into the beloved fantasy franchise is being worked on over at Playground Games, the team behind the Forza Horizon series. While this may be an odd fit at first thought, Playground Games is a great studio with a real knack for creating realistic and dynamic environments. This is surely something that the Fable series can benefit greatly from.
As we get closer to a potential release date for Fable 4, Microsoft will hopefully reveal more on the game. As new info is released, this page will be updated.
For now, here’s what we know about Fable 4, including all of the latest news and rumors. You’ll also find the reveal trailer below, which helps give a glimpse at what the tone could be for the game when it finally launches.
Fable 4: cut to the chase
What is it? The fourth installment in the mainline Fable franchise
When can I play it? There’s no release date yet but don’t expect it soon
What can I play it on? TBC, butit’s an Xbox exclusive
Fable 4 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Microsoft)
No release date or release window has been set for Fable 4 yet. The earliest we’d expect it is late 2023, though 2024 is more likely.
At the very least, Phil Spencer hinted during an IGN podcast (opens in new tab) that we’ll get it before The Elder Scrolls 6, though that game doesn’t have a release date yet either and isn’t expected to land until sometime after Starfield’s release (which has since been delayed to 2023). That’s backed up by the June 2022 Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase focusing on games launching “in the next twelve months,” and Fable wasn’t present.
We do, however, know the platforms we can expect Fable 4 to land on. As an Xbox exclusive, Fable 4 will release for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, where it’ll be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one. It’s unknown if it’ll arrive on Xbox One consoles, but we’re not holding out hope as Microsoft hasn’t confirmed anything.
Fable 4 trailer
World premiere trailer Right now, only one Fable trailer has been released: the world premiere announcement trailer.
The trailer doesn’t reveal a whole lot, but does suggest that the game could be set well before the later entries in the series as we don’t get as much of a sense of a Victorian-style industrial revolution as we did in Fable 3’s setting. Instead, it appears that Fable 4 will have a medieval fantasy setting perhaps more like the original game, with the trailer showing a sword, fairies, overgrown toadstools and greedy toads.
Check it out below:
Fable 4 news and rumors
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Xbox boss explains lack of news Development is still underway on Fable 4 but after the game didn’t make any appearances during the Xbox showcases at both Summer Game Fest and Gamescom 2022 fans have been wondering when they’ll hear more.
Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, acknowledged the lack of news during an interview at PAX West 2022 (opens in new tab) but explained that the game will only be shown when developer Playground Games is ready to show it.
“Every time I see something, I say ‘We should show this’… because there’s a lot of cool stuff,” said Booty. “The team has made it very clear that I’m not going to be able to show anything until it’s ready.”
Booty went on to express support for Playground Games, saying that while choosing the studio predominantly known for Forza Horizon to work on Fable 4 might seem like “a little bit of a head scratcher”, they “get it” and he’s “excited for when the time comes to be able to show more.”
In development for at least 4 years Fable 4 has been in development for longer than you might have expected. In a tweet back in November 2021, a developer at Playground Games who is working on the game celebrated “four years of working on Fable”.
That means the game’s been in development for at least four years now and that development possibly started just a year after series creator, Lionhead Studios, was closed. Though we don’t know a huge amount about Fable at the moment, the idea that it’s been in the works for multiple years gives us some hope that we could learn more in the near future.
4 years of working on Fable at @WeArePlayground. So excited for this game. pic.twitter.com/KO099HnYSdNovember 5, 2021
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Fable 4’s combat could feel like The Witcher A developer from CD Projekt RED (The Witcher series, Cyberpunk 2077) will be working on the game’s combat system. As reported by PCGamesN (opens in new tab), gameplay designer Paweł Kapała is heading up the combat at Fable developer Playground Games, with his LinkedIn page confirming the role entails “designing and implementing combat in Fable.”
In our opinion, the kind of sword-and-spells combat of The Witcher 3, one of the bestselling video games of all time, would be a perfect template for a Fable game, especially given how similar some of the in-game spells are.
Take confidence in Playground Games, says Phil Spencer Fable 4 is being created by Playground Games, the studio perhaps best known for its work on the Forza Horizon series but Phil Spencer wants fans to have confidence in the studio. Speaking on the Dropped Frames podcast in June 2021(via VGC (opens in new tab)), Spencer said:
“The only thing I can really say about Fable is, seeing the pedigree of the team and Playground, and where they set the bar for themselves in building a game—I think that showed with the Forza Horizon 5 preview that they had—I think people should just take confidence in that [studio director] Gavin [Raeburn] and the team there have that same level of focus on doing something amazing with an IP that we know is really important to a lot of Xbox fans, so we can’t wait to get to show more, but the team is just amazing.”
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Forza Horizon 5’s weather system bodes well for Fable 4 Forza Horizon 5 has the series’ most dynamic and impressive weather system yet and, given developer Playground Games is also working on Fable 4, we’re pretty excited about how this technology could translate to an open-world Albion. We think that by implementing those dynamic weather systems into the new Fable, Playground Games has the opportunity to give the new Fable its own stamp which neither previous developer Lionhead, or many other RPG developers, have been able to before. The idea of an Albion where each region has its own seasonal weather is an exciting one—it could reflect the passing of time more effectively and genuinely improve immersion and uniqueness to each part of the game’s map.
It could be years away As far as we can tell, Fable 4 is still in the early stages of development and it could be a while before we get the chance to play it. In fact, speaking on a VGC Off the Record podcast (opens in new tab) in April 2021 , industry reporter and head of GamesIndustry.biz Chris Dring said that (at that time) the game’s release, along with other announced Xbox exclusives, could be many years down the line.
Based on conversations he’s had with employees at Xbox Game Studios, Dring said, “Those games that they announced – Everwild, Perfect Dark, Fable – are so far away. As in, there might even be a new Xbox (a mid-tier upgrade) by the time those games come out.
They are so far away, and no wonder Xbox is looking at investing and signing certain products at the minute, because they don’t have a lineup of big exclusives at all.”
Fable is set to use ForzaTech engine According to a previous job listing (opens in new tab), which was for a Software Engineer at Turn10 Studios, Fable will be built using the ForzaTech engine, which powers the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games. The listing states that the team is looking for a candidate who can enrich “the toolset to support an open-world action RPG – Fable” and also add new features like “ray tracing to support the next console generation”.
Lead writer confirmed Anna Megill, the senior writer and narrative lead at Remedy Entertainment during the development of Control, is joining Playground Games as the lead writer for Fable.
Megill announced on Twitter (opens in new tab) in December 2020 that she was leaving her current role at Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment to join Playground Games.
The team behind the game Shortly after Fable itself was revealed, we got some insight into the impressive team that’s working on the game thanks to VGC (opens in new tab). We now know that there are a host of veteran game designers working on the Fable reboot, including the lead quest designer for the Borderlands series, a level designer for GTA V and GTA Online, and a whole load of writers who worked on Batman: Arkham Knight.
There have been rumors that Fable will go down the route of being an MMO but the experience of those working on the project certainly suggests it’s going to take a more open-world RPG approach, perhaps with an online multiplayer component. That said, we can’t really be sure until Playground Games and Microsoft reveal some more official details.
(Image credit: Playground Games)
That wild pre-announcement rumor Before Fable 4 was even announced to the world, there was a 2019 video leak that claimed to give insight into the game’s setting and story. The video disappeared from the internet but a Reddit thread with what it described remained and some of the details sound pretty wild. We’re talking “Albion and Aurora destroyed by an asteroid, a new continent with time and interplanetary travel” wild.
Although it sounds pretty out there, it would create the opportunity for a setting reset for the Fable series, making it easier to take the series back to its medieval fantasy roots with some extremely different elements to still make it feel fresh. In the game’s reveal trailer, brief as it was, we didn’t get any obvious sense that the new game will be more advanced in time than Fable 3’s Industrial Revolution setting.
Of course, this is a leak from an unverified source so until Playground Games or Microsoft start revealing solid details about Fable 4, we’d say take it with a big pinch of salt. You can read the full leak in the tweet below.
Rumor: first Fable IV details have been leaked (includes story details as well)https://t.co/RLWgpy0S9r pic.twitter.com/V6W74TDLV9June 4, 2019
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Fable 4 is likely an open-world game In January 2018, Eurogamer said that according to sources close to the project, a brand new high-budget Fable game was in the works. Now, we know that to be true.
This news came less than two years after the closure of Lionhead Studios, and the report correctly stated that Playground Games, best known for its work on the Forza Horizon series, will be the new developers for the series.
Eurogamer’s sources said that a team of more than 200 will be working on Fable from the team’s new offices in Leamington Spa, though development was still in the very early stages.
Just what kind of Fable might Playground be working on? Well, the report said that the game is planned to be an open-world action RPG with a focus on character and story. That certainly tallies with everything we saw in the reveal trailer, with the final shot showing off a big world that looks ripe for exploration.
It would also make sense that Playground would bring its open world expertise from Forza Horizon into a game like this. Either way, we can’t wait to see what it’s come up with. Fable has been dormant for far too long.
Street Fighter 6 is now mere months away from launch, meaning that you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on it. From what we’ve seen, Street Fighter 6 looks to be a huge step-up from its predecessor, with a completely new art-style and theme. The full launch roster has been revealed, and the stage is now set for Street Fighter 6 to stake its claim amongst the best fighting games of 2023.
Capcom had been keeping pretty quiet about Street Fighter 6 for many years, until it finally lifted the lid properly last year. Since then we’ve seen new gameplay, gotten detailed breakdowns of the new characters, and even a look at the new single player campaign and what it will entail.
To help keep you in the loop with all things Street Fighter 6, this page will be regularly updated with all of the latest news on the game. You’ll also find trailers, and details on gameplay as more details are revealed by Capcom. For now, here’s what we know about Street Fighter 6 so far.
Street Fighter 6: cut to the chase
What is it? Capcom’s sixth mainline entry in the Street Fighter franchise
When can I play it? June 2, 2023
What can I play it on? PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S
Street Fighter 6 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Capcom)
Street Fighter 6 will release on June 2, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. This release date was revealed during The Game Awards 2022, alongside a brand new look at the World Tour mode. New fighters were also announced, including Street Fighter 2’s Dee Jay.
Street Fighter 6 trailers
Street Fighter 6 Pre-Order trailer A new trailer was shown during The Game Awards 2022. In it, a release date was finally revealed alongside some new fighters set to be added to the roster. Returning fighter Dee Jay joins SF6 alongside newcomers Marisa, JP, and Manon.
World Tour Opening Movie Capcom formally lifted the lid on its opening movie for the World Tour mode back in September. Thanks to this one minute trailer, we now have a confirmed full launch roster, which we’ll detail more below, but you can check out this trailer right now.
Guile reveal trailer The all-American World Warrior is officially confirmed to be returning to Street Fighter 6. A brand new trailer showing off Guile was revealed right at the beginning of the Summer Game Fest showcase.
We love Guile’s updated design, and it’s cool to see his V-Trigger skills from Street Fighter 5 be seamlessly integrated into his moveset this time around. Guile usually works extremely well as a keep-out style of fighter, and the return of his iconic Sonic Boom and Flash Kick specials make it look like that’s not changing too much for his latest iteration.
FGC gameplay footage During Summer Game Fest 2022, Street Fighter 6 was playable and we got some key gameplay footage. This 25 minute video comes from the FGC’s Maximilian Dood, offering a better look at Street Fighter 6 with 4k visuals. It also gave us a look at the Drive Impact mechanics too, you can view this in full below:
Real-Time Commentary trailer Capcom gave us a look at Street Fight 6’s Real-Time Commentary feature in action during Sony’s State of Play showcase. You can find out more about the new feature in our gameplay section below. Check it out:
Announcement trailer Thanks to an appearance during State of Play in June 2022, we learned considerably more about Street Fighter 6. This trailer gave us a good look at Ryu, Chun-Li, Luke, and a brand-new fighter called Jamie. Showcasing a highly stylized ink-splattered aesthetic, Capcom also revealed a new single-player campaign, a free-roaming 3D mode, and three new modes.
Teaser trailer Street Fighter 6’s announcement teaser trailer was our first look back in February 2022. It showcased somewhat realistic visuals – a definite departure from the more cartoonish looks of Street Fighters past. The trailer featured newcomer Luke, who debuted as the fifth character in Street Fighter 5’s final season. This young MMA brawler is squaring up against a much older-looking (not to mention much wider) Ryu, the iconic protagonist of the Street Fighter series.
Some added visual flair closes out the trailer, with both characters assuming stances that flush the screen with color.
Street Fighter 6 roster
(Image credit: Capcom)
Thanks to the recent release date reveal trailer, Capcom has now outlined the full launch roster for Street Fighter 6. While DLC characters are inevitable additions, here’s who players can expect off the bat: Luke, Jamie, Manon, Kimberly, Marisa, Lily, JP, Juri, Dee Jay, Cammy, Ryu, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief,Dhalsim, Dee Jay, Manon, Marisa and JP.
Of these characters, Kimberly, Marisa, Manon, JP, and Jamie are brand new. In terms of fighting styles, Jamie is a professional dancer, so has extremely acrobatic moves and skills. He is described on the official SF6 blog (opens in new tab) as follows:
“This self-styled Chinatown peacekeeper aspires to the example set by Yun and Yang, the Twin Dragons. An expert dancer, Jamie places justice and friendship above all else, defending his town with martial skill.”
Kimberly on the other hand, is basically an aspiring ninja with a spray can. She has heaps of visual flair, and a fun 80s aesthetic. Here’s how she’s described on the same blog:
“Uninvited student to Guy, the 39th successor to Bushinryu. Kimberly had an ordinary upbringing, but she’s a genuine prodigy who graduated college early…and now wants to be a ninja. Loves ’80s pop culture.”
Marisa is an up-and-coming jewelry designer from Italy who claims ancestry to ancient Greek warriors. As a child, she was inspired by a vision of the Colosseum in its prime.
Manon on the other hand, is something of a fashionista. She struts the catwalk of street fighting to become the world’s strongest model.
Finally, JP is head of an international NGO responsible for many successful investment projects. He also has a beloved cat named Cybele. JP loves chess puzzles and local cuisine, but hates stains on his clothes, and sleep.
(Image credit: Capcom)
This official reveal wasn’t the first time we learned about this roster however. Shortly after the game’s announcement trailer dropped, leaked images and videos began circulating online that showed then-unconfirmed characters. Capcom later addressed the leak through the official Street Fighter Twitter, stating:
“As residents of Metro City, we’ve all seen things we weren’t supposed to see, but we’re all in this together. We appreciate all the positive reactions. Thank you for the support!”
Street Fighter 6 modes
(Image credit: Capcom)
Street Fighter 6 is set to bring back several returning modes alongside two new modes. Fighting Ground offers a classic fighting game experience and will include Arcade Mode, online matches, Training Mode, local versus battles, and more, according to Capcom.
In addition to these returning modes, Street Fighter 6 will introduce the Battle Hub and World Tour modes. World Tour offers “an immersive single-player story experience” and, from the announcement trailer, appears to allow for free-roaming 3D gameplay. Some more on World Tour was shown off during The Game Awards 2022. Players can train their own avatar, taking them across the world to learn new abilities from Master fighters found in each location.
Battle Hub, on the other hand, is Street Fighter 6’s multiplayer segment, and essentially serves as a social hub where players can hang out and challenge each other to fights or mini games.
Street Fighter 6 gameplay
(Image credit: Capcom)
It’s not just new modes that Capcom is introducing in Street Fighter 6. Drive Gauge is a new battle system mechanic that aims to allow for more “creativity”. This gauge can be used to perform five different techniques that will improve your defense or offense.
“A Drive Impact is a powerful strike that can absorb an opponent’s incoming attack and can lead to a wall splat,” Capcom writes in a PlayStation Blog post (opens in new tab). “Use Drive Parry to repel your opponent’s attack and refill your Drive Gauge. Cancel out of a Drive Parry or normal attack into a Drive Rush to quickly close in on your opponent. Overdrive Arts are similar to EX Moves from past games that power up your Special Moves. Use Drive Reversal to perform a counterattack to get you out of tight situations. One gauge, five techniques, unlimited possibilities. Use your creativity to choose which technique to utilize and when.”
Street Fighter 6 also aims to be more accessible to new players with the introduction of the Modern Control Type. While the Classic Control Type will still be available, the new type will allow for “easier inputs” for Special moves, so you can simply use the Special Move button with a directional input to unleash your extravagant fury.
Another new addition for Street Fighter 6 is the Real-Time Commentary feature which sees real-life fighting game commentators (Jeremy ‘Vicious’ Lopex in English and Aru in Japanese are confirmed) lending their voices to the game commentating on your fights as they happen and providing explanations about the gameplay.
Street Fighter 6 pre-order bonuses and editions
(Image credit: Capcom)
Street Fighter 6 is available to pre-order now. The standard edition for PS4, PS5, XSX|S costs $59.99 / £54.99. On Steam, you can pick up the standard edition for $54.99 / £49.99. Depending on where you pre-order, you may receive extra bonus content alongside your standard edition. Currently, digital pre-orders grant the following bonus content:
Outfit 1 Color 10 Pack for Juri, Ken, Chun-Li, Manon, Dee Jay and Jamie
Your Moment. Your Fight.#StreetFighter6 hits the streets on June 2, 2023!Watch the trailer featuring glimpses of World Tour and gameplay introductions for Dee Jay, Manon, Marisa, and JP.🌎 Pre-Order Now – https://t.co/MHy8tcU27R pic.twitter.com/o8A0LzdVYhDecember 9, 2022
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A Deluxe Edition is also available for $84.99 / £79.99 on PS4/PS5, XSX|S ($74.99 / £69.98 on PC), and includes both the pre-order bonus content and additional content, such as a Year 1 Character Pass. Here’s what you’ll get with the Street Fighter 6 Deluxe Edition:
Warm up with reds and cool down with blues.Get Color 10 for Chun-Li, Jamie, Manon, Dee Jay, Juri, and Ken’s Outfit 1 when you pre-order #StreetFighter6.🥊 Pre-Order Now – https://t.co/MHy8tcU27R pic.twitter.com/wrclBUNewxDecember 9, 2022
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Finally, we have the Ultimate Edition of Street Fighter 6. It costs $94.99 / £89.98 on Steam, or $104.99 / £99.99 for PS5/PS4, XSX|S. You get everything included in the Deluxe Edition as well as the following extras:
Street Fighter 6 news & rumors
(Image credit: Capcom)
Players get ahold of the hilarious character creator Thanks to the recent network test, players were able to try out the new character creator. It’s seriously deep, resulting in some absolute abominations (thanks Eurogamer (opens in new tab)), which could then be used in the game’s social spaces.
Runs on the RE Engine Capcom’s RE Engine has been the engine of choice for most of Capcom’s recent AAA projects including Resident Evil Village, Devil May Cry 5 and Monster Hunter Rise, so it’s no surprise that Street Fighter 6 is also being built in this engine.
“With the RE Engine, you’ll notice enhanced visuals in every aspect of the game,” Capcom explained in a PlayStation Blog post (opens in new tab). “Beads of sweat will roll down across skin, muscles will tense up when used, and cherry blossom petals will flitter and twirl in line with a character’s movement. Pair this graphics upgrade with the explosive splashes of paint and the striking graffiti treatment, and you’ll end up with an art style distinct to Street Fighter 6.”
Every major Capcom IP has been built on the engine in recent years, including upcoming 2023 releases Pragmata and Exoprimal.
Of course, any major new game by Capcom for the next few years at least will be RE Engine. https://t.co/YsuaL7i1b4February 21, 2022
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Ryu’s design based on his real-world inspiration? Ever wondered why Ryu appears to be built like a fridge in Street Fighter 6? His latest rendition is perhaps the widest we’ve ever seen, but there may be a very good reason for that.
Fans have speculated that Ryu’s look in Street Fighter 6 is directly based on the character’s real-world inspiration; that of Kyokushin style karate founder Masutatsu Oyama. Oyama is one of Japan’s most influential martial artists and earned himself the nickname of “The Godhand” (thanks, EventHubs (opens in new tab)).
Oyama’s iconically stocky form could well be the inspiration for the older, more chiseled Ryu we see in Street Fighter 6.
Dead Island 2 has been in development for an unusually long time, having first been revealed all the way back in 2014. Since then it’s gone through multiple changes, even jumping between different studios as it’s been worked on. Thankfully, it seems as though it will indeed be launching this year. Here’s hoping, anyway.
From what we’ve seen, Dead Island 2 is exactly what you’d expect it to be, as a follow-up to the genuinely very fun Dead Island, and its DLCs. This time, you’re not on an island at all, and will instead be making your way across a post-infection LA. There are six playable characters, hundreds of weapons, and even some zombie-powers that you can turn against the undead that litter the streets.
Now that we’ve finally seen what Dead Island 2 will be like at launch, here’s what you need to know about the upcoming zombie game. This includes trailers, a look at gameplay and all of the latest news and rumors.
Dead Island 2: cut to the chase
What is it? The long-delayed sequel to Dead Island
When can I play it? April 28, 2023
What can I play it on? PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Dead Island 2 trailers
For a very long time the only Dead Island 2 trailer we had was the original 2014 reveal cinematic. It was a tasty thing, showing a rapidly decomposing jogger running along Venice Beach in LA.
While it didn’t really reveal anything about the game, it set the stage for what we could expect from Dead Island 2’s tone.
Skip ahead eight years and we now have three new trailers for the open-world Zombie survival game. A new cinematic, in the vein of the original, giving you a tasty for this apocalyptic version of LA, can be viewed below.
Though, after an eight year wait between cinematic trailers, you can understand that fans may want to actually see Dead Island 2 in action. Thankfully, developer Dambuster Studios was happy to cooperate and released a gameplay trailer, too, showing off just how violent this long-awaited sequel will be.
A showcase aired on December 6, 2022, and ave us a few minutes of brand new gameplay footage. It was more of the same, but showed off some new weapons that can be used to batter the undead. In addition, zombie abilities were shown off, which allow the player to use their infection to enter a sort of frenzied state. You can watch this below.
Dead Island 2 release date and platforms
(Image credit: Dambuster Studios)
Dambuster Studios has once again delayed Dead Island 2. It will now release April 28, 2023. This is a 12-week delay from the former release date. In a Twitter post, which you can view below, the team states that this is now the final release date. We’ll see.
Fans will be waiting with bated breath. The development of Dead Island 2 has switched hands twice since the sequel was originally announced eight years ago, leaving players disappointed in the past. It was first under development at Yager, the same studio that created Spec Ops: The Line, and was originally scheduled to release in 2015. But it never materialized.
In 2016, it was announced that development had passed over to Sumo Digital. Three years later, the game changed studios again, with Dambuster announcing it had taken over work on the game. Fingers crossed that it makes it past the finish line this time around.
As for platforms, Dead Island 2 will be coming to new- and old-gen consoles, with PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC all confirmed.
The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now. The new release date for Dead Island 2 will be April 28th 2023.#DeadIsland #SeeYouInHELLA pic.twitter.com/Vf1NARTECoNovember 17, 2022
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Dead Island 2 gameplay and story
(Image credit: Dambuster Studios)
Gameplay Now that Dead Island 2 has been given what seems to be a final release date, we’re starting to see more and more gameplay. In a recent showcase, a few minutes of new gameplay footage was shown off. Melee combat was highlighted, featuring hammers, blades, and DIY-modded gear. There are guns in the game too, and so far we’ve seen pistols, shotguns and assault rifles/SMGs.
One interesting mechanic that has been shown off in gameplay trailers is the frenzy ability. It comes from the zombie bite on your character’s arm, and allows them to enter a state where they become momentarily zombified. It looks like a useful tool, one that allows you to tear through hordes of zombies with ease.
In an interview with PCGamer, creative director James Worrall revealed that while the game doesn’t have a branching narrative, the six player characters offer different perspectives.
“Each player character has their own voice and their own dialogue,” he said. “So you might get one character who’s particularly driven or energised or upbeat. You might get another character who’s a little bit more of a cynical individual. Some characters are quite low key, subtle. We’ve written those characters to reflect broad playstyles.”
As for the zombies, there’ll be variety there, too, with Dambuster confirming there’ll be “dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks and hundreds of LA-themed variants”.
In a preview of the game, IGN touched on the game’s ‘FLESH’ system, or ‘Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids’, which “procedurally shreds zombies with each strike” and makes the game a truly gory experience. We caught a glimpse of that ourselves in the trailer.
When it comes to combat, IGN said that the game “encourages constant movement, with dodges, kicks, and jumps all integral parts” and that while there is a stamina system, it’s not punishingly restrictive, allowing you to “experiment with a variety of different techniques”.
Story Dead Island 2’s story is still a bit of a mystery, although it sounds as if you’ll play as a survivor of a deadly virus that’s wrecked Los Angeles. Banding together with other survivors, you’ll try to “uncover the truth behind the outbreak” as you “harness the zombie inside” of yourself.
As part of that banding together, Dead Island 2 will support single-player gameplay but there’ll be co-op mode, too, with up to three players able to take part. We’ve still got quite a lot to learn about just how the co-op will work, though.
Playable characters There will be six playable characters at launch. So far, we’ve seen four of them. There’s Amy a Paralympian, Dani, who is a mosh-pit loving rockstar, Jacob, an English stuntman, and then finally Ryan, an exotic dancer from Fresno.
Dead Island 2 news and rumors
(Image credit: Deep Silver)
Dead Island 2 Showcase shown in December Alongside the news of a delay, a gameplay showcase was revealed for Dead Island 2. It took place December 6, 2022. You can watch it via the links in the Tweet below.
Can’t wait to show you more on December 6th:- our Twitch channel: https://t.co/4H3F7wbjIh- our YouTube channel: https://t.co/xW0cNwjmS7- our Website: https://t.co/Erh4Juv3fJNovember 17, 2022
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Dead Island 2 consulted a diversity council for a more “representative” LA During a recent interview with Dead Island 2 developer Dambuster Studios, Art director Adam Olsson told The Loadout (opens in new tab) explained how they tackled its version of Los Angeles. While there’s more comical exaggerations like Hell-A’s Muscle Beach having bodybuilder zombies, Olsson confirmed decisions were made after speaking with Dambuster’s diversity council.
“It was a really interesting exercise trying to break down what makes something LA and what stands out as a truly unique LA experience. “We were very cautious to take anything that would feel like a hurtful stereotype and that’s why, in the studio, we have a diversity council that helps us understand whether we’ve pushed something too far,” Olsson explains.
“The council has worked very closely with us to make sure we’re pushing out a good tone because we want to make sure that we bring Dead Island 2 into the 21st Century. We want to be contemporary and we want to be representative.”
Alexa Game Control integration Dead Island 2 will come with an interesting feature: Alexa Game Control. Announced during Gamescom 2022, Alexa Game Control will give PC and console players the option of using voice commands to make things happen in the game. You don’t need an Amazon Echo device or an Amazon Prime account to use it. In fact, you don’t need to say “Alexa”, either. All you need is “any microphone or headset” connected to your PC or console and a standard Amazon account linked to the game.
According to an Amazon blog post (opens in new tab), with Alexa Game Control, you’ll be able to say things like “where is the nearest workbench” and “swap to my best weapon” during play to do things like find the nearest workbench and, um, swap to your best weapon. The post even mentions being able to “manipulate zombie hordes” just by saying “hey zombie”.
Dead Island 2 will be the first game to support the feature and the FAQ (opens in new tab) reveals that it’ll be available in English in North America on PC and Xbox at launch, with more regions, languages and maybe even platforms to come down the line.
Dambuster Studios takes over development Back in 2019, the development of Dead Island 2 was moved from Sumo Digital to Dambuster Studios. No further details were provided at the time, but it did indicate that the sequel was at least still in the works.
Apple unveiled iOS 16 at WWDC 2022 back in June – the latest operating system for iPhone and the successor to iOS 15, but the release date of September 12 was confirmed at Apple’s ‘Far Out‘ event on September 7.
It’s a release that brings improvements to many apps, from a redesigned Home app for your smart appliances to better privacy features, and a big focus on the lock screen, with new fonts, colors and themes to choose from.
There’s also satellite calling coming to the iPhone 14 models, a feature coming in November.
iOS 16.1 also arrived on October 24, bringing Live Activities and the battery percentage option being made available to any iPhone with FaceID, with iOS 16.2 introducing Freeform, and better data protection features. iOS 16.3 arrived in January 2023, mainly bringing Advanced Data Protection to iPhones where you can encrypt iCloud Backups and more.
iOS 16: Cut to the chase
What is it? The next big update for iOS
When does it come out? Out now
How much does it cost? It’s free
Which phones are supported? Anyone with an iPhone 8 and newer will be able to update to iOS 16, which means if you have an iPhone 7 or older you’re out of luck.
iOS 16 Latest Updates
January 23 – iOS 16.3 is out, with Advanced Data Protection, Security Keys, new wallpapers, and support for the HomePod 2.
December 13 – iOS 16.2 is out, bringing Freeform and security features.
October 24 – iOS 16.1 is out, bringing refinements and Live Activities.
September 12 – iOS 16 is available for anyone with an iPhone 8 and above.
September 7: Apple’s ‘Far Out’ event confirmed that iOS 16 arrives on September 12, alongside the iPhone 14 series and more.
June 13: In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, Apple’s Craig Federighi and VP of Design Alan Dye take us inside Apple’s remake of the Lock Screen — an ‘act of love,’ Federighi said.
June 11: iOS 16 will be a bumper release this time, with many improvements to features across the operating system, on a scale arguably not seen since iOS 8. Here are the 7 best new features in iOS 16.
June 7: Support for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and Joy-Cons have been discovered in the latest iOS 16 developer beta. With a public beta near, you can soon try Nintendo’s controllers on your iPhone for yourself.
June 7: iOS 16 will bring fundamental changes to the Messages app. Editing and deleting messages after you sent them is now a thing — meaning autocorrect is now dead.
May 30: As we get nearer to WWDC, rumors suggest iOS 16 will get a few significant new features, including improvements to your iPhone’s lock screen. It could be the most radical iPhone update in years.
May 15: It’s increasingly sounding like iOS 16 will include new apps and major changes, with the latest leak pointing to new ways of interacting with widgets, and even some new Apple apps.
iOS 16 Release Date
Apple confirmed at its ‘Far Out‘ on September 7, where it announced the iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Pro 2, that iOS 16 would arrive to iPhone 8 devices and above on September 12, which it did.
iOS 16 Features
(Image credit: TechRadar)
There are all sorts of new and improved features coming with iOS 16, and we’ve detailed the key ones below.
Customizable lock screens
(Image credit: Apple)
With iOS 16, you’ll be able to customize your lock screen by tapping in any area to change the text font and colors.
Complications (which are essentially widgets) can also be enabled here, a feature lifted from the Apple Watch. You’ll be able to add three of these to your lock screen, while the Now Playing screen is being moved towards the bottom for easier access with your thumb.
You won’t be limited to just one lock screen either. Similar to creating a watch face on your Apple Watch, you can swipe between different lock screens, so you can have access to different widgets based on your needs.
Focus
Tim Cook on stage at WWDC (Image credit: Apple)
Focus mode is also getting some updates, and some of these tie into the lock screen, as the lock screen that’s shown can automatically be switched based on the Focus profile you have.
For example, a ‘Meeting’ focus profile could make your lock screen change wallpaper and offer a row of widgets showing details of that event.
You can also use ‘Focus Filters’ to block out tabs in Safari, accounts in Mail, events in Calendar, and more, to help you manage your workflow. We’ve made a comprehensive guide of how to set up Do Not Disturb and Focus mode to help get you started.
Notifications
(Image credit: Apple)
Notifications are also getting improvements, with ‘Live Activities’, which are essentially pinned widget-like notifications that allow you to check the score of a game, track the progress of a food delivery, and more.
Notifications also have a new design, aimed at making them visually pop, and feature new animations – rolling in from the bottom of the lock screen so they’re easy to see at a glance while staying out of the way.
And you can choose to view notifications in an expanded list view, a stacked view, or a hidden view.
Messages
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple has added several new features to Messages. ‘Undo send’ has arrived for one, allowing you to delete a message for up to 15 minutes after you’ve sent it – for example if you realize you’ve sent it to the wrong person. Similarly, you can also edit messages in the first 15 minutes. Note though that this only works for iPhone to iPhone messages.
SharePlay is also coming to the app, so you can play a movie in Disney Plus for example, and share it with someone via Messages.
Dictation has also been improved, as it now lets users move fluidly between voice and touch inputs, so you can type to add text or move the cursor without having to stop Dictation.
You can also recover messages up to 30 days after deleting them, send an invitation to collaborate on a project in Messages, and get alerts when someone makes an edit in a collaboration.
Accessibility
Hinted at by Apple in May, several new accessibility features are heading to iOS 16, such as door detection, which helps you locate doors, read signs around them, and get instructions for opening them.
There’s also the option to view live captions in a FaceTime call, control your Apple Watch from your iPhone, hang up phone calls with Siri, and more.
Live text is seeing improvements as well – you can copy and paste text in video, alongside being able to copy and translate text.
Wallet
(Image credit: Apple)
Wallet is seeing privacy improvements, with in-app ID verification being enabled for third-party apps.
Tap to pay on iPhone is also arriving for iOS 16, removing the need for any point of sale terminals. Plus, you can view receipts and track orders directly from Wallet.
There’s also Apple Pay Later, which splits purchases into four interest-free payments spread over six weeks, and Order Tracking, which lets you see the latest information on your Apple Pay orders.
Maps
(Image credit: Apple)
Maps will finally enable you to store recent trips in the app, and you can send them from a Mac or iPad device.
You can also add multiple stops on a route, and while on a journey you can ask Siri to add another destination, hands-free, in case another errand pops up, while ‘Look Around’, Apple’s take on Google Street View, is being opened up to third-party apps.
Plus, you can see transit fares, and – without leaving Maps – you can add transit cards to Wallet, replenish your card, and see low balances.
Sports
iOS 16 is seeing a big push on sports, with Apple News getting a new My Sports section to let you view schedules, standings and scores for your favorite teams.
Live updates for sporting events can also be added to the lock screen, so if you’re not able to tune in you’ll still be kept up to date with the score.
Family Sharing
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple’s Family Sharing feature enables you and your family to share an account, for example to view photos and videos, and so that parents can approve purchases made by minors.
In iOS 16, it will easier for parents to set age-appropriate restrictions on content, and parents or guardians will be able to respond to Screen Time requests in Messages.
A quick start feature for iPad will let you sync settings that you’ve configured on your iPhone to an iPad simply by moving your phone close to the tablet, and there’s also a Family Checklist feature, making it easier for you to be confident that all of the content on an iPhone is secure and child-safe.
The ability to share photos and videos over iCloud has been widely requested, and iCloud Shared Photo Library will allow up to six people to share a library. Users will be able to send photos to the Shared Library using a new toggle in the Camera app, and will receive intelligent suggestions to share photos that include other users of a shared library.
Safety Check
(Image credit: Apple)
A new privacytoolcalledSafety Check has been introduced to help those at risk from violence or harassment by partners.
Users can quickly revoke all access to Messages and other accounts that they’ve granted to a partner, and an emergency reset feature helps users to easily sign out of iCloud on all their other devices, reset privacy permissions, and limit messaging to just the device in their hand. Users can also stop sharing their location with this tool.
It also lets you generally check and manage which people and apps you’ve given access to your information.
Home App is redesigned
(Image credit: Apple)
In conjunction with the incoming new Matter smart home standard, the Home app is getting a redesign to make it easier to manage your smart appliances and rooms.
You’ll be able to see all your rooms in a single view, alongside categories for lights, climate, security and more. You can tap on a category to see more detailed status information, and view up to four security cameras at once.
You can also add smart home widgets to the lock screen, allowing you to view the status of your home at a glance, and quickly access smart home controls.
Spatial Audio
You can use your iPhone’s TrueDepth Camera to create a personal Spatial Audio profile for your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, for what Apple calls “an even more precise and immersive listening experience”.
Fitness
(Image credit: Future)
Apple’s Fitness app is being made available to all iPhone users, even if they don’t have an Apple Watch to help them track their fitness. The app will use the motion sensors of your iPhone along with step and distance tracking, and workouts from third-party apps, to help you achieve your daily Move goal and estimate your calorie burn.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the next game from Rocksteady, the studio behind the mainline Batman Arkham games. This of course, comes with high expectations, given how beloved the Batman games are to this day. Suicide Squad looks set to be a decidedly different beast however, with a focus on four-player co-op across an action-packed open world.
Due to a recent leak, showing an apparent screenshot from a test build of the game, we now know a little bit more about what Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be like at launch. We won’t be linking to the leaks directly, but from what they show of the main character menu, there could be a Battle Pass structure to progression.
While we wait on confirmation of this Battle Pass, and on how progression is going to be handled in the final game, here’s what we know so far about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League: cut to the chase
What is it? A Suicide Squad game from Rocksteady
When can I play it? May 26, 2023
What can I play it on? PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League release date and platforms
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / DC)
Suicide Squad releases on May 26, 2023, for PS5,Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, following a delay from its initial 2022 release window.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was announced in August 2020 via the game’s official Twitter account (opens in new tab). An image of Superman confirmed its existence before pointing fans to DC FanDome 2020, a virtual online convention. It’s here that Rocksteady officially unveiled the Suicide Squad game’s initial 2022 release window and first trailer.
However, a delay was confirmed by creative director and Rocksteady co-founder Sefton Hill on Twitter (opens in new tab). Hill stated the extra development time would allow the team to bring the game up to the quality fans expect.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to delay Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to Spring 2023,” Hill said. “I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can.”
At The Game Awards 2022, we finally got a confirmed release date.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailers
Batman reveal cinematic trailer The latest trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was shown during The Game Awards 2022. This cinematic trailer sees Task Force X confronted by a seemingly not-so-nice Batman following their capture of The Flash. The cinematic confirms the late Kevin Conroy is voicing the Caped Crusader in the Suicide Squad game. Check it out below:
Gameplay trailer The first gameplay trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was revealed at The Game Awards 2021. In it, the team is tasked with taking down The Flash and Brainiac, which of course won’t be easy. We see Harley Quinn, King Shark, Captain Boomerang and Deadshot in action, who each have their own unique movesets and abilities.
Story trailer At DC FanDome in October 2021, Rocksteady premiered the first story trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It gave fans even more details about what to expect, from Amanda Waller recruiting the Suicide Squad to lots of fighting in Metropolis.
There are plenty of references to previous Batman: Arkham games as well, like Poison Ivy and her vines halfway through. Check it out for yourself:
Reveal trailer As part of DC FanDome on August 22, 2020, Rocksteady premiered the first trailer of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It opens with a look at what seems to be supervillain Brainiac’s lair, before confirming the game’s location as Metropolis. Panning down we get the reveal of Harley Quinn, followed by her fellow Task Force X members: Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark.
Suicide Squad instigator Amanda Waller speaks to Quinn through comms telling them to make their way to the Metropolis Grand Hotel as “alpha target” is now in the open and needs engaging. After a montage where the group takes on hordes of Brainiac’s army – to OutKast’s B.O.B – Bombs Over Baghdad – they reconverge on a roof. Quinn then tries to remember who they should be on the lookout for, until being suddenly interrupted by a helicopter explosive.
As the smoke clears, it appears that Superman has saved the helicopter pilot – only to decimate the human moments later via heat vision, while seemingly under the control of Brainiac. The group quickly realize that the Man of Steel is their “alpha target”, and the trailer ends as a boomerang comically hits Superman’s head, with Captain Boomerang uttering: “You shouldn’t have done that, shark”. Check it out below:
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League story and setting
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / DC)
Details of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s campaign are limited for the time being. We do know that it’s an “original narrative” set in the DC universe and a continuation of the Batman: Arkham-verse (the universe created by Rocksteady in its Batman: Arkham series of games).
The Suicide Squad game picks up sometime after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight and sees Amanda Waller (AKA “The Wall”) putting together a task force of Arkham inmates, known as the Suicide Squad. Their goal is to undertake a covert mission in Metropolis – with Waller implanting lethal explosives in the inmates’ heads to encourage them to get on board.
When the ragtag team arrives, they quickly realize that Brainiac is attempting to invade the planet and, in an attempt to do so, has brainwashed the Justice League (including the Flash, Superman, Batman and Green Lantern). To save the planet, the Suicide Squad needs to hunt down each brainwashed Justice League member and eliminate them – oh, and takedown Brainiac.
Metropolis will serve as the open world in Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad. The city is best known as the home of Superman, taking inspiration from the likes of Toronto and New York, while also being neighbors with Gotham. During a DC FanDome panel, Creative Director Sefton Hill described Metropolis as the game’s “fifth character” and hopes it will serve as a “love letter to DC fans”.
We’re hoping for the majority of Justice League members to make an appearance in Kill the Justice League, including Aquaman and Wonder Woman. The Game Awards cinematic trailer confirmed Batman will be making an appearance, which is certainly interesting considering how Batman: Arkham Knight ended.
During the panel, Hill also spoke about the narrative links that will continue on from the Arkham series, stating that: “a lot of through threads and storylines you’re gonna see come to fruition in this game”.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay
(Image credit: Rocksteady)
We’ve only seen snippets of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s gameplay so far, but we have some solid details.
Set in an open-world depiction of Metropolis, we’re hoping it’ll be almost like a larger-scale version of Rocksteady’s Arkham City. This open-world approach should mean there’s plenty to explore and we’re hoping there are plenty of Easter Eggs (like in Arkham City).
We also know that you’ll have the option to play the game solo or multiplayer. Players who opt for solo play can switch between other members of the squad as they please, with the uncontrolled team members being handled by AI to play alongside you.
If you want friends to join you, they can jump into the shoes of the squad members you don’t want, with up to four players able to play at once. According to Rocksteady, this is going to be a seamless gameplay experience and the co-op will be drop-in, drop-out. So, you can have friends playing with you one minute and go solo the next without it impacting your game.
You’ll have four playable characters to choose from, each with their own “unique moveset” and “enhanced traversal abilities”: Harley Quinn, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang. While these exact abilities and moves haven’t been specified, we did get a look at each of the anti-heroes’ unique playstyles in the gameplay trailer released at The Game Awards 2021.
From what we saw, Harley is pretty agile, can land powerful melee attacks, and has a grappling hook in her arsenal, King Shark is all about brute force but can whip out a gatling gun when he needs it, Deadshot lends firepower to the group (capable of both sniping and aerial assaults). Finally, Captain Boomerang is extremely fast on his feet, with his boomerang taking out ranged enemies with ease, as you’d expect.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League news and rumors
(Image credit: Warner Bros)
Leaked images show a possible Battle Pass progression system As reported by VGC (opens in new tab) (opens in a new tab), some screenshots were posted to Twitter on January 17, apparently taken from a development build of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, The image appears to show multiple in-game currencies, and even a Battle Pass tab. While VGC has said it has verified the information shown, there’s been no official comment from Warner Bros. or Rocksteady.
While the appearance of a Battle Pass has triggered some concern for certain gamers, a source close to VGC explains that the focus will be on cosmetic items like skins.
Kevin Conroy is Batman The late Kevin Conroy has been confirmed as the voice of Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.Conroy voiced Batman in all of the Arkham games, as well as in Batman: The Animated Series and various movies, so it’s poignant to see he was able to lend his voice to Rocksteady’s latest.
New Artwork Ahead of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s appearance at DC FanDome 2021, some new key art was released. The Artwork gave us a fresh look at the game’s four main playable characters: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark.
Look what we have here…Tune into DC FanDome 10/16 @ 10:00am PT to see more. #DCFanDome #SuicideSquadGame pic.twitter.com/dGreeK4ToOSeptember 24, 2021
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No more additional characters? It looks like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League won’t be expanding its roster of playable characters beyond the four that have already been confirmed.
As reported by PCGamesN (opens in new tab), a press release for the game states that “the game’s original narrative follows the four Suicide Squad members as they take on an impossible mission to save Earth and kill the World’s Greatest DC Super Heroes,” which strongly suggests no more will be added. This definitely casts doubt on previous rumors that the game will be an evolving live service title in the style of Marvel’s Avengers.
Is Warner Bros Interactive leaning into live service? According to a spotted advert for an internship in January 2021(via IGN (opens in new tab)), Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment’s upcoming projects are going to have a “heavy focus on live service”.
There’s a section of the advert (opens in new tab) that states that “WBIE is currently involved in a variety of new projects, ranging from casual games to core games featuring our well-known franchises on all platforms (console, digital, mobile) with a heavy focus on live service. “
Generally, live service elements in a game will see it being updated by its developer after release with things like new features or storylines. It’s not uncommon in games these days and can be effective when done right but it can also be controversial when a game doesn’t get off to a strong start eg. Marvel’s Avengers.
Although Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League isn’t referred to directly here, it is one of the games that Warner Bros will be publishing in the next couple of years. However, Rocksteady hasn’t actually confirmed that there will be any live service elements in Kill the Justice League, so at the moment we can’t be sure if they have any involvement in Kill the Justice League.
Gotham Knights doesn’t involve games-as-a-service elements, which means that there’s no guarantee every game published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment is going to be subject to this. Certainly, we haven’t seen any clear evidence that Suicide Squad will include live service elements and as result, we’re going to need to wait for official confirmation from Rocksteady before we can be sure.
Mugshots The official Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Twitter account tweeted out some neat mugshots of the game’s playable characters back in December 2020. Our favorite is the one of Harley Quinn, which you can see below:
“You guys still do Taco Tuesday in this joint or what?” pic.twitter.com/s61c92pq2CNovember 19, 2020
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Voice actors So far, two out of the four Suicide Squad members have been confirmed, with long-time Harley Quinn veteran voice actor Tara Strong resuming the role once more. King Shark, on the other hand, will be voiced by WWE wrestler Nuufolau Joel Seanoa a.k.a. Samoa Joe.
While no official word on the voice of Captain Boomerang, it’s heavily rumored that Chris Parson has been given the role. He previously voiced Junkrat in Overwatch and there is a huge resemblance when listening to the two.
Deadshot is a little harder to pin down. Chris Cox previously voiced the one-shot wonder in Arkham City and Arkham Origins, both of which are set in the same universe. This Deadshot has been confirmed to be the Floyd Lawton interpretation of the character too, however, there’s a huge gaping flaw why it doesn’t seem to be Cox that’s returning.
For one, the audio clip sounds nothing like his version, and two – the most damming – this Deadshot is black, as opposed to the white version Cox portrayed. Therefore, without an established voice immediately jumping out at people, many believe it may be an up-and-comer. However, King Shark was killed in the direct-to-video Assault on Arkham, so the question of what is actually ‘canon’ is very much up in the air.
Outside of the Suicide Squad itself, Debra Wilson is confirmed to voice Amanda Waller. Wilson previously voiced Waller in 2017’s Batman: The Enemy Within.
