Relatives of the slain soldiers have waited years to be reunited with the remains of their loved ones.
EA Teases Next Game From Halo Co-Creator’s Studio
Earlier this month, mega-publisher Electronic Arts announced that it had acquired Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian’s mobile game studio Industrial Toys for an undisclosed sum. At the time, EA said Industrial Toys will work on “bringing new game concepts to life,” but the company didn’t offer any further specifics. We still don’t know exactly what Industrial Toys is working on, but now EA CFO Blake Jorgensen has teased the project a little further.
Speaking on an earnings call, Jorgensen said the game is “innovative,” and that it may be out in the “next couple of years.”
“I won’t yet tell you what they’re working on but you will see something in the next couple of years coming out of that studio that we think is pretty innovative in the mobile space,” he said. “So we’re very excited.”
Jorgensen said EA was attracted to Industrial Toys as an acquisition target because EA as a company was impressed with the team and the quality of their ideas.
Industrial Toys, which was founded in 2012, says its aim is to make “mobile games for core gamers.” The studio has released two games so far: Midnight Star and Midnight Star: Renegade, featuring music from System of a Down’s Serj Tankian.
As for Seropian, he is an industry veteran. After leaving Halo studio Bungie, he experimented with outsourced game development at Wideload Games. After that, he led Disney’s games division through a time that saw the closure of Propaganda Games and Black Rock, as well as the cancellation of Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned. In 2012, he founded Industrial Toys.
Forza Motorsport 7 Update To Remove Loot Boxes
Forza Motorsport 7 will turn a year old in October, and developer Turn 10 is planning a major change to one of its more controversial systems. Prize Crates, the Forza version of loot boxes, will be removed entirely from the game in an upcoming update. In the meantime, the impact of Prize Crates has been significantly reduced.
In the announcement, studio head Alan Hartman says, “The overwhelming feedback has been that this system feels out of place in the game.” As a result, both Prize Crates will be removed and paid tokens won’t be coming to replace them. Paid tokens also won’t be a part of the upcoming Forza Horizon 4.
That said, it won’t be just a matter of yanking out the loot boxes all at once. Citing how integrated Prize Crates were into the progression system of Driver Gear, Mods, and Badges, it will take some time to remove them. The team is aiming for winter. To reduce the impact of them, though, they’ve unlocked more than 100 previously “exclusive” cars and removed cars from prize crates entirely.
“The current lineup of prize crates offer no competitive advantage and only offer Driver Gear suits, Mods, and badges, and these crates will remain in place until crates are removed entirely,” the update states.
This isn’t the first time Turn 10 had to pull a U-turn on a controversial feature for Forza 7. Upon launch, some fans were annoyed that the VIP membership wasn’t clearly communicated and didn’t work as it had in previous games. The developer quickly issued a mea culpa and changed the system, and gave some freebies as a make-good.
The removal of prize crates is a slower burn, but that may be that players were more mixed on its implementation. GameSpot’s own Forza Motorsport 7 review found prize crates a friendly temptation without feeling onerous or mandatory. Still, a year later the community has spoken, and Turn 10 is turning it around.
The Biggest Changes In No Man’s Sky Next Update
No Man Sky’s big new update, Next, is a lot! So we run down the biggest changes added to the game for PS4, PC, and Xbox One.New Nintendo Labo Kit Is All About Vehicles
Nintendo has announced another Nintendo Labo kit, this one being focused on vehicles. The Nintendo Labo: Vehicle Kit, as it’s called, launches on September 14 and comes with cardboard materials you can use to create things like a car, a submarine, a plane, and more.
It also includes a “key,” which you can inset into any of the vehicles. To switch between vehicles you can remove the key and slot in a new one. The pack also includes a single pedal for driving. Check out the video embedded above to see how this works, and to get a first look at some of the mini-games you can play using the Vehicle Kit.
The Vehicle Kit is priced at $70 in the United States. It follows the previously released Variety Kit ($70) and Robot Kit ($80) that came out in April. You need a Nintendo Switch to play.
Nintendo also reminded players that the Vehicle Kit supports the Toy-Con Garage, which is the set of programming tools that you can use to further customise your creations.
This isn’t the first time Nintendo Labo and racing games have come together. In June, Nintendo updated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to let you play with Toy-Con controllers.
Cohen says Trump knew about Trump Tower meeting with Russians in advance.
The Trump Tower meeting was set up in hopes of getting dirt on presidential rival Hillary Clinton from a Russian.
Teen Titans Go: To The Movies Clip Features The Justice League
If the trailer for the live-action Teen Titans movie made you feel a little dark, the clip that was just released from Teen Titans Go: To The Movies will definitely cheer you up. It’s a funny, lighthearted scene that draws on the current state of cinematic superhero saturation, making fun of superhero movies, including itself.
In the clip, the Titans are on a rooftop talking to some members of the Justice League. Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Green Lantern are a little too cool for the Titans, and make them feel inadequate because they don’t have a superhero movie of their own. The heroes humbly discuss their ever-growing number of big-screen adaptations, and accuse the Titans of not being “real heroes” who are therefore undeserving of a movie. Naturally, the Titans want to be in a movie pretty badly.
The Titans are the same adorable characters we know from Teen Titans Go. They love food, they make funny faces, and they occasionally break into song. The Justice League by comparison kind of looks like the popular clique that’s too cool to hang out with the dorky Titans. The movie will also feature an unexpected cameo from Stan Lee.
It looks like Teen Titans Go: To The Movies doesn’t take itself too seriously, and a could act as a fun palate cleanser from all the dark and dramatic movies out these days.
Halo Infinite Adds A Co-Developer
Halo Infinite will be a joint development from 343 Industries and SkyBox Labs, it was announced today. The Vancouver-based SkyBox Labs has a long history of working with 343, as it worked on Halo 5: Forge for Windows 10 and did the work on Halo 5‘s Xbox One X enhancements. It sounds like SkyBox’s efforts for Halo Infinite will be more substantial.
In a news release, SkyBox said it will work alongside 343 on “features across the game including AI, gameplay, networking, and cutting-edge graphics features.”
Halo FPS studio head Chris Lee said in a statement that SkyBox is doing “great work” already on Halo Infinite. SkyBox co-founder Steven Silvester said in a statement that the studio is energised by Halo Infinite’s new art style and the game’s new engine, SlipSpace.
SkyBox said in its statement that “most” of the team’s 100-plus developers are working on Halo Infinite. The studio has been growing of late, while the team continues to grow, as it’s currently hiring across a number of different disciplines.
Halo Infinite was announced at E3 2018 with a trailer for the game’s engine, SlipSpace, but we have yet to see any of the game itself. The game’s new art style is meant to hearken back to the original Halo game. Microsoft has said Halo Infinite returns to the franchise’s roots, and is “bigger and bolder” than any previous Halo title.
In other Halo news, a new arcade game called Halo: Fireteam Raven is out now–and it’s pretty great.
For Honor’s Next Content Season Gets a Release Date and New Details
For Honor’s next season, Season VII: Storm and Fury, is launching August 2 on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One families.
Storm and Fury brings with it a brand new map, major Hero reworks, and an updated Ranking System. The new map, Secluded Keep, is described as a highly disputed outpost that was once the personal retreat of a pious Lord surrounded by water. The new map will be available in Tribute, Skirmish, Elimination, Brawl and Duel.
The Warden and Valkyrie will receive “major gameplay updates” to improve their versatility and efficiency, based on feedback from players. Two new divisions in the Ranking System – Master and Grand Master – will also be introduced, and are described by Ubisoft as divisions “reserved for the fiercest warriors”. A new Ranking Leaderboard will allow players to monitor their progress, and players will also be able to join Ranked Duel matches outside Tournaments. Tournaments will now be triggered on rotation.
Nintendo Issuing Lawsuits, The Pokemon Controversy, Blade Strangers, and More! – NVC Ep 417
Weeelcooome to episode 417 of our weekly Nintendo show and podcast, Nintendo Voice Chat. This week, the NVC crew discusses Nintendo’s initiative to take down emulator websites, Pokemon director Junichi Masuda’s controversial quote on catching Pokemon, and much more!
As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel (subscribe and hit that bell! It gives fairies wings!) or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you enjoy the show, share it with other Nintendo fans, leave us a comment, and give us a thumbs up or leave us a review! If you prefer audio over video, please subscribe to NVC on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. You can also download and listen to the latest episode of NVC Right Here.