Month: May 2019

Larian Studios, the developer behind Divinity: Original Sin and Original Sin 2, has dropped what appears to be a teaser for a new Baldur’s Gate.

The official site has updated with a “III” logo, though the stylized lettering isn’t quite unique enough to necessarily identify it as belonging to Baldur’s Gate. As some savvy Twitter users have pointed out, though, the metadata refers to the image as “BaldursGate_logo_III_retouched.” It’s possible this wasn’t meant to be seen and is something of an inside joke, but it could also mean the studio is bringing Baldur’s Gate back. The timing of this tease could suggest that the studio is preparing a reveal at E3 2019.

The series has been relatively quiet recently. An Enhanced Edition port of the original Baldur’s Gate was released in 2013, and a new expansion was released in 2016, under Atari and the Canadian publisher Beamdog. The last numbered Baldur’s Gate game released in 2000, developed by BioWare.

The Divinity games have gained critical acclaim of their own. GameSpot’s review of Original Sin 2 awarded it a 10/10, which would make the studio a good fit for reviving the classic series.

“From lonely farmhouses through pitched battles with gods in far-flung dimensions, Divinity: Original Sin II is one of the most captivating role-playing games ever made in both its original and Definitive incarnations, with the latter proving that even the most complicated role-players can be ported successfully to gamepad-limited consoles,” Brett Todd wrote. “This immaculately conceived and emotion-wrought fantasy world, topped by brilliant tactical combat, make it one of the finest games of recent years, and it remains an instant classic in the pantheon of RPG greats.”

Netflix is to raise the price of its subscriptions in the UK for the first time since 2017, the company has said. Two of its three membership options will go up in price, with the other remaining the same.

The two options affected are the mid-range standard tariff, which will soon cost £9 per month, having previously cost £8 per month. This popular option allows you to stream HD TV and films to two devices at a time.

The premium option, which currently costs £9 per month and allows you to stream ultra HD content to four devices, will increase to £11 per month, while the basic SD-only package will remain at £6 per month. The new prices will be rolled out over the coming weeks for existing customers, but are effective immediately for new members.

Netflix told BBC News the price hike was necessary “to reflect the significant investments we’ve made in new TV shows and films.” The new prices take Netflix’s standard tariff above the £8 per month Amazon charges for Prime Video, while NowTV ranges from £8 to £34 per month, depending on the type of shows you like to watch. Other UK streaming services are funded by advertising or license fees.

Netflix recently overtook Sky TV as the most popular TV service in the UK. However, things could be shaken up in the coming months: the BBC and ITV plan to launch a joint BritBox service in the UK soon, while Amazon Prime will begin showing live Premier League matches from next season. Apple and Disney also have streaming services in the works.

Netflix’s slate of shows to arrive soon includes Black Mirror Season 5 and The Witcher, which recently finished production.

Disney has released a set of new character posters for the upcoming Lion King remake, and they’re quite a sight to behold. As you will have noticed from the first trailer, the new Lion King utilizes cutting-edge technology to make characters like Simba, Mufasa, and Scar look eerily life-like. That’s still the case with the new character posters; they almost look too good.

Click through the images in the gallery below to see all the major character posters. To me, Zazu is the most unsettling of the bunch; see for yourself:

The Lion King opens in theatres on July 19. It is directed by Jon Favreau with a script from Jeff Nathanson, who previously wrote the Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The cast is led by Donald Glover as adult Simba. James Earl Jones returns as Mufasa, while Chiwetel Ejiofor voices Scar. Seth Rogen voices Pumbaa with Billy Eichner taking on the role of Timon. Singer Beyonce plays Nala, while John Oliver voices Zazu.

A new TV spot for The Lion King was just released–check it out below.

Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian’s new RPG, The Outer Worlds, seems like it’ll have something new to show at E3 2019. The game’s Twitter account today posted a cryptic message that suggests some kind of E3 announcement/showing is coming up.

“The Board wants to let you know to pay attention to broadcasts from Los Angeles, California, Earth, in the coming weeks for [REDACTED],” reads the message.

It seems that The Outer Worlds is one of the 14 Xbox Game Studios projects that Microsoft will show off at E3 2019. Microsoft acquired Obsidian in 2018.

The Outer Worlds is being published by Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive’s new indie games label, Private Division, and it’ll be released on Xbox One, as well as PS4 and PC.

The 14 Xbox Game Studios games that Microsoft is bringing to E3 2019 is more first-party titles than the company has ever had at E3.

The PC edition of The Outer Worlds will be released on the Epic Store and Windows Store first, before coming to Steam a year later. Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, who worked on the original Fallout, are heading up the team making The Outer Worlds. The game is showing a lot of promise, and as mentioned, it’s set for release sometime in 2019.