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Quirky developer Double Fine Productions has announced that its classic LucasArts adventure games–Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango–hit Xbox Game Pass on October 29. This is the first time these games launch on Xbox consoles.

The studio took to Twitter to deliver the news. All three adventure games will be available to all Xbox Game Pass members. Double Fine confirmed in a follow-up tweet that each game will be playable on Android devices, Windows 10 PCs, and Xbox consoles (likely meaning the Xbox One and the forthcoming Xbox Series X/S).

Each adventure game originally launched in the ’90s, developed and published by LucasArts, a game studio also responsible for Star Wars games like Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. After ceasing operation as a developer in April 2013 following an acquisition by Disney in October 2012, Double Fine picked up the games.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Maybe it’s because a teraflop sounds like something you’d use to satisfyingly slap a person’s cheek – like a wet fish – but we really like to fight over our consoles’ specs. Much has been said about the technical abilities of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, but it’s the value of the cheaper machines – and the services they offer – that for many is more important than size or horse-power.

Wealth isn’t a topic that we talk about enough in gaming, yet it’s one of the core questions our head asks our heart when buying a console – “can I afford this?” For those who might have sighed and answered “no,” the Xbox Series S opens a route into this new generation of play and takes a step towards a larger pool of game-makers who will help shape what comes after.

To recap: The Xbox Series S retails for $299. It has reduced specs, but while you won’t be able to run games at 4K, you can play next-generation games for $100 less than Sony’s cheapest offering. That’s huge.

While it’s impossible to resell the One S’s digital-only games, there’s Xbox Game Pass, which lets you play over 100 games (including new games on launch day from studios like Bethesda) for just $9.99 a month. That’s cheaper than most phone contracts. Throw in Xbox Access, which enables players to spread the cost of their new Xbox with monthly payments that grant access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and you have incredible value-for-money.

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If you’re a student, single parent, or anyone else with a more limited income, Xbox has opened a door for you to experience cutting edge console gaming where you otherwise might have been shut out. Step through that portal, and those hours spent exploring worlds carved from code might set your mind sketching the blueprints of a game of your own. Level Designer at Cardboard Sword Erin Harrison, who grew up in a working-class household, tells IGN, “My limited access to games consoles meant that it didn’t click for me until very later on that the games industry was a viable career path.” It was only by watching free Let’s Play content on YouTube that Harrison was finally introduced to the fact that gaming is capable of “blockbuster” stories beyond mobile and free-to-play games, and that meant a job existed somewhere writing them.

The notion that the games industry has few working-class developers isn’t just conjecture, the research backs it up. Our talent funnel feeding the gaming workforce has many roots that start in childhood, and data proves that a higher-than-usual proportion of game developers come from wealthier families. The UK’s games trade association, UKIE, surveyed British studios this year and found that 12% of the industry workforce attended a private school, which is nearly double the national average for employees in a given field.

The census went further, revealing that 62% of video game professionals grew up in households where the main earner worked in a middle-class managerial role. That’s higher than nearly every other creative sector – including film and TV – and eclipsed only by those working in professions like medicine and law.

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There’s no denying that gaming has traditionally been an expensive hobby, and it seems that those who had parents who could fund their fun are the ones turning a hobby into a career. Technology access has a huge impact on teenagers choosing where or whether to pursue higher education. A seventeen-year-old from a low-income family who’s never owned a games console will have less information to decide whether to study game design than a child who’s grown up with an Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and/or a powerful family PC. The trouble is, according to the data, that degree is needed to carve a path into the industry. 81% of the workforce holds at least an undergraduate degree, rising to 88% for core games production roles in art or programming (as opposed to fields like marketing or QA). This is considerably above the 57% average for other creative industries. Of course, it’s possible to get into gaming as a career well into your 30s or 40s, but with such a high proportion of development jobs requiring a degree, the choice facing 17-year-olds around the world of whether to go to university is heavily weighted – and heavily influenced by their families’ circumstances.

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One small step to fixing these skewed scales, then, is to have consoles that even families on a budget can splash out on. Harrison says that “affordable, accessible consoles will widen the pool of who aspires to be a game developer, and in turn, will boost the diversity on our teams, and the narratives we choose to develop and shape for players.”

Of course, solutions like the Xbox One S are just a small tweak to the industry. There are many other deeply-ingrained reasons why, if you’re from the working-class or low-income area you’re unlikely to make video games for a living. Starting wages in studios are often low, making it difficult to pay back the student debts required to get the necessary degrees. Early work experience and internships are not always paid – especially at smaller studios under less public scrutiny –  yet many games companies are based in cities where affordable housing is scarcer and living costs are higher. Here, those who have access to a parental bank account stand a much greater chance of staying afloat.

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Then there’s the fact that before even getting to a studio, sparking a new generation of game developers requires tools. In some ways, it’s like a teenage Jimi Hendrix being able to pluck away at a guitar in his teenage bedroom and hone the skills that would place him on global stages. Chella Ramanan is a narrative designer at Massive Entertainment, the makers of Tom Clancy’s The Division, and points to the importance of having technology like Raspberry Pi in low-income schools. She argues that free Unity, Twine, and Unreal engine tools allow more people to experiment and make their own games at an early age.

“There’s a disconnect between playing games and understanding it as an industry with a viable career path,” she says. “That’s something we need to be better about communicating as an industry by working with schools and educators.”

Both Ramanan and Harrison agree that making PC gaming more affordable would mark a significant step in closing the wealth gap, even more so than cheaper game consoles would. “Why? Necessity,” says Harrison. “Every family needs a good PC, but every family does not need a games console.

“If you want the low-income players you’ve suddenly garnered to sustain their dream to be a game dev long term,” she says, “invest in supplying them with the tools to make games – PCs, laptops, a stable WIFI connection. Our luxury industry demands skills taught on luxury tools, yet we shake our shoulders at why the workforce isn’t diverse enough.”

In the UK, some steps are being taken to close that gap. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) is a non-profit organization running programs like Digital Schoolhouse, which offers children free creative computing workshops inside their primary school.  It works to empower their teachers to deliver lessons on [subject examples] – even coming up with creative pen and paper workarounds if the school doesn’t have the finances for tech. There are currently 60,000 students being supported by the program.

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Of course, one of the best ways of equipping the schools with the proper equipment needed to teach the specialised skills required for game development would be through donations. UKIE encourages UK games studios to give old computers to schools to help bridge the technology divide. Some schools only have a few ancient PCs available for the entire student body, but since game studios have to upgrade their development equipment to the latest models every couple of years, why not give the old units to students who could really use them?

Digital Schoolhouse’s Director, Shahneila Saeed, told us “Giving children access to devices they might not have at home in their schools is a great way to inspire children from disadvantaged backgrounds to think about a career in games. The industry is constantly upgrading devices. If we donate [the older units] to schools, then we can – even at a small level – play a role in overcoming the huge digital divide.”

Cheaper tech, programs like Digital Schoolhouse, and access to games are important because – at the end of the day – a video game is a cross between a theme park and a lifeboat. It’s a pastime and a reprieve: the funfair that lights up our skies when the nights are darkest. Unlike buying clothes, a car, or some nice spendy scatter cushions for the sofa, buying a game actually makes you a little bit richer. You ‘Press Start’ and become extraordinary: a titan, a superhero, or a raider of tombs. Better access to educational tools, services, and cheaper devices like the Xbox One S – or better yet, an affordable PC – means you’re not restrained by the money in your pocket. Instead, you’re unleashed into virtual worlds to chase the digital horizon – and that experience, that access, might lead you to build your own game along that curve.

Many of the issues facing low-income game designers are baked into systemic problems, like postcode poverty, that reach beyond the games industry itself. But while there’s a long way to go down the path to a deeper and more diverse pool of industry talent, we’re now a step closer thanks to programs like DS and consoles for almost every budget and consideration. Heading into this next console generation – particularly looking at the pricing options for these new machines – neither PlayStation nor Xbox are the winners here; players are.

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Alysia Judge is a freelance writer and presenter. Chat to her on Twitter @alysiajudge.

Atari is preparing to launch a new console this fall, but the hardware will come alongside another business venture: a new approach to cryptocurrency. The Atari VCS is aiming to hit in November, and will let players buy wares using new “Atari Tokens.”

Bloomberg reports that starting October 29, Bitcoin Exchange will sell $1 million in Atari Tokens for 25 cents apiece. Players will be able to use tokens to buy in-game purchases, and Atari foresees the possibility of using its Tokens currency as an industry standard. It’s also said to be working on a gaming stablecoin, which isn’t ready to launch yet.

Atari is much smaller than its former self, currently at only around 20 staffers. The console launch and cryptocurrency hook are aimed at bringing back the brand after it emerged from bankruptcy. The strategy will rely on players hungry for nostalgia, as the Atari VCS is looking to introduce reimagined versions of classic Atari games like Missile Command: Recharged. It may be a difficult sell, though, coming in at $390–roughly the price of the all-digital PS5.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week your Omega Cops — Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis — continue the Game of the Year Watch 2020 discussion with Hades, The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Animal Crossing, and more. There’s also the PlayStation 5 UI to discuss, the Xbox Series launch lineup, D-pads, and more. This episode features music from Werewolf and Blaster Master on NES, and closes with a track from The Terminator on Sega Genesis. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

Listen on:

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Find previous episodes here!

It’s a great time to be an anime fan, with dedicated streaming services like Crunchyroll and Funimation and mainstream services like Netflix and Hulu all offering a diverse range of shows and movies. If you’re shopping for someone who loves anime this holiday season, you might not know where to start with gifts, but there are so many great options, from Blu-ray sets to anime-inspired video games, merch, and more. Buying them a subscription to one of the aforementioned anime streaming services is one of the best gifts you could give them as well.

Though it helps to ask them directly what anime shows or movies they’re into, we’re here to point you in the right direction with anime gift ideas many fans would be thrilled to receive. Here are some of the best gifts for anime fans in 2020.

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Here’s what we know about The Boys Season 3’s release date, plot, cast, and more.

The Boys Season 2 ended on a bang–well, technically, multiple bangs, as the last two episodes featured a veritable bloodbath of head explosions (and what a twist the culprit’s identity turned out to be). The Season 2 finale also wrapped up many of the season’s storylines, from Butcher’s quest to reunite with Becca to Homelander’s journey down the nazi rabbit hole with Stormfront. The finale tied a bow on these things and more, while laying the groundwork for future episodes.

Of course, that just leaves us looking forward to The Boys Season 3 all the more. So far, we only have tidbits of information about it, so let’s get right into breaking down everything we know.

The Boys Season 3 release date

Currently, we have no idea when The Boys Season 3 will premiere. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, production on most TV shows and movies has halted or become unpredictable, and The Boys is no exception. That said, we know The Boys Season 3 will arrive at some point–Amazon announced as much during 2020 Comic-Con, before Season 2 had even premiered.

Showrunner Eric Kripke hopes to begin shooting in 2021

Kripke during The Boys Comic-Con 2020 panel

During the Season 3 renewal announcement, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke did give a vague window when the show might begin Season 3 production: early 2021, although “that’s up to a microscopic virus,” as Kripke put it. In the meantime, he and the other writers are in the “virtual writer’s room” focusing on writing and pre-production in anticipation of being able to start shooting.

The show will continue to tackle current events and politics

Anyone who watched The Boys Season 1 and Season 2 definitely has a solid idea of the show’s politics. The Boys has never been shy about incorporating current events and themes, particularly with Season 2’s focus on right-wing propaganda, social media, and extremism worming its way into American culture. When Season 3 was announced, showrunner Eric Kripke said, “the world has given us way too much material,” confirming that the show will continue looking to current events for inspiration.

We can infer some plot points

Besides that, we don’t know anything concrete about Season 3’s plot. That said, we can infer some things based on the way Season 2 ended. For example, it’s probably safe to guess that Hughie will be working directly for Congresswoman Neuman next season–which is bad news for The Boys, given what we learned about Neuman in the finale. In addition, with nothing left to lose, it seems likely that Butcher will accept Mallory’s offer to resume working for the CIA.

Black Noir will return

Just in case you thought Black Noir’s Almond Joy-induced coma might be permanent, rest assured that the most mysterious member of The Seven will return. When we chatted with Nathan Mitchell, the actor behind the opaque black mask, he confirmed that Black Noir has a future on the show. If you want a hint of what that future might be, check out our explanation of Black Noir’s comics storyline, and what a certain Season 2 reveal might mean for him.

Season 3 will introduce Soldier Boy

Jensen Ackles in Supernatural

In August 2020, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke announced that another character from The Boys comics, Soldier Boy, will be introduced in Season 3. Soldier Boy is a Captain America parody whose origin story involves having allegedly fought in World War II, though in the comics, that narrative is called into question. Soldier Boy will be played by Jensen Ackles, who fans may recognize from Kripke’s previous show, Supernatural. Kripke said Ackles will “bring so much humor, pathos, and danger to the role.”

A Walking Dead star may join as well

Soldier Boy might not be the only new face and Supernatural alum appearing in The Boys Season 3. After The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) had an exchange with The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke on Twitter in early 2020, Kripke confirmed with Collider that he and Morgan have seriously discussed the possibility of the actor joining The Boys. “There’s one role we’re already talking about,” the showrunner said, adding that they’d been “texting back and forth” about it. “I don’t think it’s a done deal yet, but the will is there, and we’re both talking about it,” he continued. So while Jeffrey Dean Morgan joining The Boys isn’t a sure thing, it is a real possibility.

We may get a spin-off too

In addition to The Boys Season 3, Amazon may be developing a Boys spin-off series. The show will focus on a “supe college” run by Vought, the evil megacorporation that serves as The Boys’ central villain. Variety describes it as “an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games–with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.” The pilot is reportedly being written by The Boys writer and executive producer Craig Rosenberg, who will also serve as showrunner. The Boys’ executive producers Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver will also serve as executive producers, alongside Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty.