Ubisoft has officially begun integrating Activision Blizzard titles into Ubisoft+ Premium, marking the first tangible result of the cloud-streaming rights deal secured in August 2023. The publisher has confirmed that the first batch of games is available to stream starting today, initially launching via an integration with Nvidia GeForce Now.
This expansion is a direct consequence of the agreement made during Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, under which Ubisoft secured perpetual cloud-streaming rights to the studio's catalogue. Chris Early, Ubisoft's Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, noted that this move is intended to strengthen the service's content offering and allow the publisher to license these titles to other cloud providers and console makers. While GeForce Now is the first platform to support this integration, Ubisoft has stated that these games will become available via other cloud providers in the future.
The initial lineup of Activision games available to stream includes some of the publisher's biggest hits. Subscribers can now access the standard editions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, as well as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which includes Crash Bandicoot, Cortex Strikes Back, and Warped. Similarly, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy is now available, offering the remastered versions of Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage!, and Year of the Dragon.
Ubisoft has confirmed that this is just the beginning, with more titles from both Activision and Blizzard expected to join the Ubisoft+ Premium catalogue in the coming months.
KitGuru says: Are you subscribed to Ubisoft+ Premium? What other Activision games would you like to see on the platform?
Gigabyte has unveiled the X870E Aero X3D Wood, a new high-end motherboard that leans heavily into the recent trend of integrating natural materials into PC hardware. Moving away from the usual gamer aesthetic, this model features a wood-grain finish and a leather pull tab, designed to complement chassis like the Fractal North or other furniture-inspired builds.
Beneath the organic styling, according to TechPowerUP, the board is built on the AMD Socket AM5 platform, supporting Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series processors. Power delivery is handled by a 16+2+2 digital VRM solution, cooled by Gigabyte's VRM Thermal Armor Advanced. The PCB uses 8-layer back-drilling to enhance signal integrity, enabling DDR5 memory overclocking speeds of up to 9000MT/s, according to the company.
For connectivity, the board is targeted at creators and power users. It features dual USB4 Type-C ports, Wi-Fi 7 with a high-gain antenna, and dual 5GbE LAN ports for high-speed wired networking. Expansion options include two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots supporting dual graphics cards, alongside four M.2 slots offering a mix of PCIe 5.0 and 4.0 interfaces, all protected by thermal guards.
Gigabyte has also integrated its latest builder-friendly features, including the screwless M.2 EZ-Latch Click & Plus system and the WIFI EZ-Plug for quick antenna installation. On the software side, the board introduces X3D Turbo Mode 2.0, an AI-driven optimisation feature designed to maximise performance on AMD's X3D processors. The motherboard also includes DriverBIOS, which preinstalls Wi-Fi drivers to ensure network connectivity at first boot.
KitGuru says: After cases and keyboards, it looks like motherboards are the next in line for having wooden accents. What do you think will come next?
Path of Exile 2 has been in early access for around a year at this stage, but we are still quite a long ways off from release. The next major update will bring the game up to Version 0.4, although Grinding Gear Games says it is going to do everything it can to ensure that Version 1.0 does not slip into 2027.
As reported by Eurogamer, previously, Grinding Gear Games had been targeting a March 2026 launch window for the ‘full' version of Path of Exile 2. However, major updates have been somewhat slow to come out and now that date appears to be entirely unrealistic. However, speaking with the outlet, Game Director, Jonathan Rogers said that he is “fairly confident” that the game will not slip out of 2026.
In a separate Q&A session, Rogers had also said that he “certainly wouldn't want [the game] to slip into 2027”. Currently, there are a few obstacles in place on the road to V1.0, for starters, the six-act campaign still needs to be finished, Endgame needs some additions to keep players invested in it for the long-term and there also needs to be some balancing adjustments as presently, there are certain builds and classes that outpace the others by quite a bit. Most recently, it was Lightning Arrow rangers.
The next Path of Exile 2 update lands on the 12th of December and will introduce a new Druid class to the game. This update should also deliver new performance optimisations for those struggling with frame rate. I can tell you from personal experience that even on a high-end gaming PC, Path of Exile 2 can slow down to a crawl at times with low frame rates, although this mostly occurs in high-level endgame content.
Upcoming fantasy-inspired survival game, Soulmask, has been slowly stewing in Early Access since June 2024. Now, the road to 1.0 is in sight, with the developers announcing a Spring 2026 launch date, alongside confirmation of the game's very first DLC.
Soulmask will officially leave Early Access and launch its full 1.0 version in Spring 2026, accompanied by the brand-new Shifting Sands DLC. Revealed during the PC Gaming Show, the expansion takes players into an Ancient Egypt-inspired world where mythology collides with alien technology.
The trailer highlights new biomes, combat encounters, and building systems, while showcasing customisable ships such as the Tribe Sand Boat and Falcon-Class Solar Airship. These vessels form the backbone of a new “live-on-your-ship” survival system, allowing players to construct mobile fortresses complete with anti-gravity engines, desert skids, artillery, and production bases in mid-air.
At the heart of the Shifting Sands are four god-themed masks, each granting unique powers. The Horus Mask enables aerial combat with celestial wings, while the Anubis Mask curses enemies and resurrects fallen allies. The Sobek Mask channels torrents of water to trap foes, and the Amun-Ra Mask wields sunlight and flame to incinerate opponents. Players can also expect formidable new bosses, including the Soulcall Hound, Onyx Scarab, and Savagehorn Tribe Leader, alongside harsher survival challenges shaped by dynamic day-night cycles.
Soulmask has already attracted more than 750,000 players in Early Access, earning over 80% positive reviews. Version 1.0 and the DLC will arrive in Spring 2026. Ahead of launch, Steam players can take advantage of a final promotional discount of 35% off, available from December 4th through January 5th.
Sharkoon has expanded its range of compact cases with the J1000 ARGB, a new mATX chassis that aims to balance airflow and aesthetics at an aggressive price point. The case is designed for smaller systems where desk space is a priority, while still supporting standard gaming hardware components.
The front panel of the J1000 ARGB is what makes the case stand out, featuring a large mesh section for air intake. This is accented by a curved ARGB lighting strip that runs down the front panel, providing a lighting element that can be synchronised with compatible motherboards. A tempered glass side panel is fitted to the left side, offering a clear view of the internal components.
Cooling is handled out of the box by a single pre-installed 120 mm rear exhaust fan. While this is a modest stock configuration, the chassis supports up to five fans in total, allowing builders to add intake fans behind the perforated front panel or additional exhaust fans at the top. Despite the compact mATX form factor, storage options are relatively generous. The case can accommodate up to 2x 3.5-inch hard drives and up to 6x 2.5-inch drives.
Connectivity options on the top panel include two USB-A 3.0 ports, a single USB-A 2.0 port, and standard audio jacks for headsets. The Sharkoon J1000 ARGB is available now with a recommended retail price of €49.90.
KitGuru says: Affordable and compact, the J1000 ARGB looks like a solid option for an entry-level mATX build. Just pack it with a couple of fans at the front, and it should be good to go.
Endorfy continues its recent run of peripheral releases with the launch of the Stoneflow series of mousepads.Unveiled today, the new lineup features a distinct visual aesthetic inspired by modern terrazzo design, offered in black, white, and grey colourways to suit various workstation setups.
The Stoneflow series is available in two sizes. The standard ‘L' model measures 450 x 400 mm, offering a more square footprint for mouse movement, while the ‘XL' variant is a 900 x 400 mm desk mat designed to sit under both a keyboard and a mouse. Both models use a moisture-resistant fabric surface that Endorfy states is fully compatible with both optical and laser sensors.
To ensure longevity, the pads are finished with colour-matched stitched edges intended to prevent fraying and separation over time. The underside is lined with a non-slip rubber base to maintain stability during use. The Endorfy Stoneflow series is available starting today, with the L models costing €16 and the XL models costing €19.
KitGuru says: The terrazzo look of the Stoneflow mousepad is a nice touch that sets it apart from a plain-colour surface. Do you like it?
Alliance Tales: Battle for the Frontier is a standalone mission pack in the Alliance Peacefighter universe, and it's heading for PC VR in Q1 2026.
Announced during the UploadVR Winter Showcase, Alliance Tales: Battle for the Frontier is a story-centric combat sim inspired by Wing Commander and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. Players step behind the wheel of a spaceship, managing power and shields alongside a group of quirky alien comrades. You can see gameplay in the announcement trailer below:
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Alliance Tales: Battle for the Frontier's campaign centers around a squad of pilots who, in searching for their lost friend, uncover a plot to overthrow the Alliance colonies. Here, avid cosmonauts will have to manage their ship's power and shield distribution to survive frantic battles.
Those who have played Alliance Peacefighter will also recognize some familiar characters, as well as a host of new faces. Notably, Urban Logic Games confirmed that playing the original game is not necessary to experience this spin-off. Support for VR motion controllers and HOTAS joysticks is also confirmed.
Alliance Tales: Battle for the Frontier is launching on Steam in Q1 2026 with optional PC VR support. A complete list of all the announcements made during the UploadVR Winter Showcase will be available after the show.
VR roguelite Street Gods will launch in two weeks on Quest 3 and 3S.
Street Gods puts players in the shoes of Val, a graffiti artist who the Norse hammer Mjölnir chooses to be its keeper. The caveat here is that Thor is trapped inside the hammer and the nine realms are now collapsing into the real world, summoning hordes of villains with it. To stop Ragnarök, you must master the powers of this mythical weapon and destroy these foes once and for all.
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Street Gods' gameplay centers around frenetic combat, and you'll be able to perform a range of offensive and defensive moves including charged attacks, stun effects, and aerial control. These actions are all controlled by physical movement, with more unlocking as you progress.
In addition to Mjölnir, there are three additional weapons to wield. That includes Gleipnir for whip-based attacks, the defensive shield-like Svalinn, and the aggressive Duo Hammer. Prowess with these tools opens the door to Runic Blessings, which can be used to bolster your arsenal through permanent skill upgrades.
“Street Gods focuses on agency and progression through skill,” explained Soul Assembly Lead Game Designer Jim Norris in a prepared statement. “We wanted players to feel their growth in power through mastery of movement, combat, and decision-making, not just through passive upgrades.”
Street Gods arrives next week on December 18 for Quest 3 and 3S. All the news from today's showcase will be rounded up in a neat 'Everything Announced' list, so check back in after the show.
Stellar Cafe, a game built around voice-first input and unscripted AI conversations with NPCs, arrives next week on Quest.
First revealed in August, Stellar Cafe is the upcoming game from AstroBeam, a developer led by former Owlchemy Labs CEO Devin Reimer. It promises an experience built around voice-first input as you interact with robotic characters across a sci-fi café. AstroBeam states it's using human-crafted NPCs that interpret your voice, providing real-time responses via large language models.
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As confirmed in today's UploadVR Winter Showcase, it's now heading to Meta Quest 2, 3, and 3S on December 11. While Reimer previously confirmed to UploadVR that Stellar Cafe won't be exclusive to Quest headsets, today's announcement didn't reveal anything further about additional platforms.
The upcoming game only supports hand tracking controls, and AstroBeam's using licensed technology from Owlchemy Labs. In our hands-on preview back in August, we considered it “a bold idea for a virtual reality game,” comparing it to Job Simulator but if the older hit's bots expected you to directly talk to them.
Stellar Cafe reaches the wider Meta Quest platform on December 11.
Mixed reality block breaker Cues gets a new Creator Mode in today's free update.
Developed by No Ragrets Games, Cues is a roomscale mixed reality game with hand tracking controls where you bounce light orbs into colorful cubes to gradually create a dynamic symphony. As seen during today's UploadVR Winter Showcase, it's now receiving a free Creator Mode on its first anniversary. Here's the announcement trailer.
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As the name suggests, Creator Mode allows you to freely build your own layouts within the game across your living space, ranging from small models to larger fortresses. This joins the existing 'Free Play' and 'Puzzles' modes, the latter of which contains different puzzles with an increasing number of cubes as you progress.
We had considerable praise during our initial Cues hands-on in early access, calling it a “highly relaxing experience” with an approachable premise you can quickly understand. “The controls feel natural, these pleasingly colorful visuals are great, while the procedural symphonic music reacts to your movements well,” we said at the time.
Cues - Creator Mode is available today on the Meta Quest platform as a free update.
Mixed reality tactical roguelite Banners & Bastions confirmed its full release date on Quest.
Created by Not Suspicious (Airspace Defender, Tablecraft), Banners & Bastions is a tabletop roguelite with hand-tracking controls that's available in early access. Today's UploadVR Winter Showcase revealed that it's entering full release on December 15, with the 1.0 Update adding new hero units with unique special abilities, a new bestiary, an autumn battlefield biome, and more.
Version 1.0 follows a continuing series of updates across early access. Following October's addition of controller support, last month's content expansion added a new dragon boss battle and more foes. The latter update introduced a new playable Minefield card and two new enemy types - the Witch (ranged) and the Elite Swordsman (melee).
Battles occur across procedurally generated maps as you defend your kingdom, with tougher foes gradually emerging across fresh waves. You can continue investing in your local economy or fortifications, while your troops range from spearmen, knights, archers, and more.
Banners & Bastions is out now in early access on the Meta Quest platform, with the full release coming on December 15.
Norse-inspired soulslike Crossings will launch on Quest and Steam later this month.
Developed by Neat Corp, Crossings is an action-adventure soulslike that asks players to exact their vengeance in the afterlife. Playable solo or with a friend in co-op, you'll take on mythic evils and face off against mythic bosses as you expand your arsenal and repeat runs. Revealing its release date at the UploadVR Winter Showcase, you can check out the latest trailer below:
In Crossings, you manage a handful of combat inputs, including a dodge, strike, and block, while facing off against thematic enemies including trolls, ghosts, and Draugr. As you progress, you'll also earn spells and upgrades, as well as unlock new weapons like blades and bows that bolster your attempts. The world is open to exploration, with a range of biomes to investigate, from eerie caves to forests and ruins, each hiding stories that illuminate the lore underpinning Crossings' Norse-inspired story.
Crossings will be available on Quest and Steam on December 18. We'll be rounding up all the reveals from the UploadVR Winter Showcase in a complete list, so check back after the show for more details.
Upcoming VR horror game Dread Meridian is getting a multiplayer mode alongside its solo campaign with next month's launch.
Developed by KUKRGAME, Dread Meridian is an atmospheric VR survival horror game set across the island of Oglanbyen. Focused on a researcher called Daniella, we arrive at this remote arctic island searching for her lost twin sister, Isabella, solving puzzles and fending off strange creatures. As seen in today's UploadVR Winter Showcase, it's now confirmed multiplayer support, with a playtest coming before the end of the year.
While today's trailer didn't reveal much else about the upcoming multiplayer mode, the Dread Meridian development team revealed more to UploadVR in a written Q&A. The studio tells me it's considered multiplayer since the beginning, though focusing on Daniella's story was the priority before exploring how multiplayer could work across Oglanbyen.
“We wanted to make sure that we brought something new to the table with the elements that made Dread Meridian unique. Once we knew we were on the right path with our single player, then we started to experiment with how we could bring the exciting features of the world, the setting and especially the creepier elements to multiplayer.”
Dread Meridian has one multiplayer gameplay mode that supports four players per match, splitting your group into two teams. Cross-platform multiplayer support isn't available at launch, “but it's an important feature we plan to add in the future.”
You play as either the human survivors trying to escape Oglanbyen, or the monsters looking to hunt them down using special abilities. The developers confirmed that a full match takes place over multiple rounds, and you take turns playing between the humans and monsters.
“When playing as the humans, your goal is to destroy the monster's nests and escape through the extraction point. You must search for ammo and resources in order to survive the constant threat of the monster team. As a monster, you play as one of the unique twisted creatures with their own special abilities that are used to hunt, trap and defeat the human team.”
Asked about its long-term plans for supporting multiplayer, the studio states that it first plans to gauge the community's reaction and develop this mode further based on feedback. Calling this “such a different type of game mode from what's commonly seen in VR,” the studio says this means there aren't any best practices in place right now.
“We want our game to stand out, and not just build towards what is popular right now.”
Finally, I queried how the team plans to address feedback following mixed reception to Dread Meridian's previous playtests. Our own PC VR demo impressions praised the Lovecraftian adventure's body horror and unsettling mood, though we encountered numerous glitches that hampered our experience.
The developers highlighted positive responses to the game's immersion, art, and environments. However, they conceded that “we had several bugs that we had overlooked that caused negative experiences for our playtesters,” sometimes causing crashes. The studio advised it's since identified and resolved key issues behind these problems, stating it's now “dramatically improved” overall stability.
Dread Meridian will launch this January on PC VR and Quest, with pre-order skins available as a bonus.
Exoshock released a new gameplay trailer, confirming the VR co-op shooter will get an optional flatscreen mode.
Developed by POLARITYONE, Exoshock is a cooperative sci-fi PvE shooter with a gritty dystopian setting that's inspired by Warhammer 40k. This upcoming FPS promises intense firefights as you enter active war zones, prioritizing squad tactics for up to four players as you adapt using customizable loadouts. As seen in today's UploadVR Winter Showcase, that's received a new gameplay trailer.
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Notably, today's trailer also confirmed that Exoshock will receive an optional flatscreen mode on Steam, stating the game is “VR first with flat support.” It's unclear if this mode will be available straight away when the game launches, and we'll update this article if we learn more.
Though the full game isn't scheduled to launch until next year, Exoshock has recently been hosting alpha playtests through a free, limited-time Playtest App. The app provides immediate access to the Exoshock Staging Area, which allows you to try out every weapon straight away. Access can be requested through Steam, or the official Discord server for Quest.
Exoshock is heading to PC VR and Quest in Q1 2026.
Meta has officially confirmed "shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and Wearables", following reports of an up to 30% budget cut for Reality Labs.
Reality Labs, if you're unaware, is the division of Meta behind its Quest headsets, Horizon software, smart glasses, and sEMG wristband, as well as researching future technologies such as Codec Avatars and true AR glasses.
Yesterday, Bloomberg first reported that the division is facing up to 30% budget cuts that would primarily target VR and Horizon Worlds.
Following Bloomberg's report, other mainstream news outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider have published their own reports corroborating the general claim, with slightly differing details, and the NYT and BI even received an official prepared statement from Meta, which the company confirmed to UploadVR.
"Within our overall Reality Labs portfolio we are shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and Wearables given the momentum there," the statement reads. "We aren't planning any broader changes than that."
Business Insider's report suggests that the cuts will primarily hit Horizon Worlds, and that employees are facing "uncertainty" about whether this will involve layoffs. One likely cut BI's report mentions is the funding for third-party studios to build Horizon Worlds content.
The New York Times report, on the other hand, seems more definitive in stating that these cuts will come via layoffs.
Meta's funding shift from Horizon Worlds and VR to smart glasses comes just over a year after a leaked memo from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told Reality Labs staff that 2025 will determine whether their projects are "the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure".
In the memo, Bosworth described 2025 as "the most critical year in my 8 years at Reality Labs", and told staff they "need to drive sales, retention, and engagement across the board but especially in MR". Note that at the time, Meta was using MR to refer to VR too, a nomenclature that it ended earlier this year.
"And Horizon Worlds on mobile absolutely has to break out for our long term plans to have a chance", Bosworth followed that sentence with.
Since then, Reality Labs saw its highest-ever quarterly revenue in Q4 2024 with the launch of Quest 3S, which was the top-selling console on Amazon US for Christmas. But this momentum did not carry through into 2025 at all.
The first two quarters of 2025 saw Quest sales decline year-over-year, revealing that while Quest 3S was a popular stocking stuffer, it simply is not a successful year-round product. While Q3 saw a rebound, Meta explained that this was due to retailers stocking up on Quest 3S for this year's holiday season.
Next year, our sources suggest that Meta has prioritized shipping an ultralight Horizon OS headset with a tethered compute puck instead of a traditional form factor Quest 4, and the company will be closely tracking how it performs in comparison to Quest 3 and Quest 3S through 2027.
Meanwhile, Meta has continued to push its Horizon Worlds "metaverse" platform with multi-million-dollar creator competitions, especially focused on smartphone-only worlds, as the company hopes to scale the platform from a social VR space to a cross-platform Roblox and Fortnite competitor. But this doesn't seem to have gained much traction.
Meta is set to roll out its Horizon Studio world creation toolset, powered by the Horizon Engine it built to replace Unity in Horizon Worlds, and the company will be closely tracking whether this meaningfully improves engagement.
This relative stagnation in its Quest and Horizon Worlds efforts comes as the company is seeing skyrocketing sales and significant public and investor interest in its smart glasses.
Back in February, in its Q4 2024 earnings call, Meta's partner EssilorLuxottica said that the Ray-Ban Meta glasses had sold 2 million units, and in its Q2 2025 call in July said that sales had more than tripled since last year, performing "exceptionally well".
In its Q2 2025 call in July, the company said that the glasses were performing "exceptionally well" in the market, with sales having more than tripled compared to 2024.
During the February call, the company also announced that its annual production capacity for smart glasses would be increased to 10 million by the end of 2026. And in its Q3 2025 sales call in October, it said that it was accelerating this target to reach the 10 million annual production rate sooner, as smart glasses drove more than a third of its quarterly growth.
This combination of significant success in the smart glasses space and relative failure in growing its VR headset and metaverse platform business is likely the driver of the company's decision to shift some funding to the former, hoping to further establish itself as the leader in the space before rival products from Apple and Google arrive.
We've been eagerly looking forward to the OneXFly Apex handheld because it's one of the most interesting of the announced PC gaming portables to use AMD's Ryzen AI Max processors, codenamed Strix Halo. We've been so interested in it, we've covered it three times already since its September announcement. Well, unfortunately, if you were likewise
Gigabyte's new motherboard will have you pining to build a Ryzen PC (maybe around the Ryzen 7 9850X3D). Called the X870E Aero X3D Wood, the styling from our vantage point looks absolutely tree-mendous, and if you think we're all out of wood puns, you're barking up the wrong tree. We just can't leave well enough alone.
Silly puns aside,
Valve sent the gaming world into a tizzy when it unveiled a new slate of hardware last month, which includes a small cube dubbed the Steam Machine. Once the initial excitement died down, fans noticed a peculiar omission in the device’s spec sheet, which indicated it would support the HDMI 2.0 standard instead of HDMI 2.1. Valve has now provided
While not yet released at retail or even publicly announced, AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor is confirmed to exist by way of a support document on AMD's website. It's also been benchmarked, assuming a couple of entries at Geekbench are legitimate. If so, they offer the first glimpse of where performance may land, though you should always take
In a refreshing change of pace from current trends, Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber suggests the peripheral maker is taking a more tempered approach to AI features and product launches, and is learning from the mistakes of others. You don't have to look very far to see those mistakes, with products like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 both flopping.
"What's
Sapphire aims for the sub $200 B850 motherboard market with a solid specification and good looks, but how does it stack up to bigger motherboard manufacturers when it comes to the EFI and software, or VRM and SSD temperatures?
For months, we have been hearing rumours that Warner Bros is seeking a buyer. Now, Netflix has emerged as the bidding war winner with the announcement of an $82.7B acquisition deal.
Due to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, this acquisition is a little more complicated than it initially seems. Earlier this year, WB Discovery split into two distinct groups, a Global Networks group comprising of sports and news stations like TNT and CNN, and a Streaming & Studios group made up of the likes of DC Studios, HBO, the WB Motion Pictures Group and more. Just as you would expect, it is this valuable Streaming & Studios Group that Netflix is acquiring.
The deal will also include a number of game studios to bolster the Netflix Games side of the business. This includes the likes of NetherRealm, Avalanche Studios and Rocksteady, along with their associated IPs like Mortal Kombat, Batman Arkham and Hogwarts Legacy. However, Netflix has not yet expressly laid out its plans for these studios yet, so there could be further impact in this area, as cost-cutting will inevitably follow on from a major $82.7 billion purchase.
This acquisition will also likely mean the end of the HBO Max streaming service as the content will be folded into the Netflix library. However, the global rollout of some of these shows on Netflix may be impacted by lingering deals. For instance, here in the UK, most HBO shows currently go to the Sky-owned Now TV service first and we do not know how many years are in place for that deal to continue.
As for the film side of things, Netflix has stated that it fully intends to continue supporting theatrical releases before placing movies on the streaming service. However, many film directors and producers still have questions around how long these theatrical rollouts will run for. In the past, Netflix has limited its theatrical film runs to just a week or two and many established directors want more than that.
KitGuru Says: Warner Bros. has been around for a century, so this is a seismic shift in the film and TV landscape. The deal won't be completed until next year though and there is always the chance that regulators attempt to block it, as we saw with Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which could delay things.
Alongside its own first-party efforts, Sony Interactive Entertainment has in the past partnered with external studios to develop PlayStation exclusive experiences. In a surprise announcement, SIE has confirmed that they are now working with Left4Dead creator Mike Booth on an “unannounced four-player, cooperative shooter.”
Making the official announcement via a press release, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed their “partnership with video game studio Bad Robot Games, a division of Bad Robot, the film, television and theater production company founded by JJ Abrams, for SIE to produce and publish the studio’s upcoming project, an unannounced four-player, cooperative shooter directed by Mike Booth (Left 4 Dead).”
Little else is known about the project currently, however Sony did confirm that it will be launching on both PlayStation 5 and PC (as they have started to do with many of their multiplayer releases).
Speaking on this latest partnership, Bad Robot Games CEO Anna Sweet stated “With the support of PlayStation, we hope to deliver a bold, innovative experience that is truly special for players. I could not be more excited that Mike Booth is at the creative helm, crafting a cooperative adventure that will lead to unforgettable moments with friends.”
As mentioned, Mike Booth is known best for creating and directing the iconic co-op shooter Left4Dead and its sequel Left4Dead 2 as part of Turtle Rock Studios.
While the studio did try to catch lightning in a bottle once again with the spiritual successor Back4Blood, Booth had left the team by this point, likely contributing to its less-than-stellar reception.
Given the fact that Booth has not shipped a major title in quite some time however, it will be interesting to see whether Bad Robot Games has the juice to create another co-op shooter classic.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the announcement? Did you have high hopes for Back4Blood? Will Bad Robot Games deliver? Let us know down below.
Each week, the Epic Games Store offers a title or two for free to all those with an EGS account. In anticipation of the upcoming Game Awards, Epic is teasing that next week’s offering will be a pretty big deal, telling users to “tune in Dec 11” to unwrap their present.
Typically, Epic Games will freely announce the following week’s promotional titles once this week’s games have been made available to claim. That said, on special occasions (often near the end of the year), the storefront will instead keep their future titles hidden to make for a welcome surprise.
Such is the case for next week’s offering, with the only potential hint at what the title might be being its purple and green-themed wrapping ‘paper’ with various Christmas-themed icons – and a PC mouse – being printed on the picture (though this could be little more than a generic image.)
While we will simply have to wait to find out what is being offered, EGS members can stay occupied with this week’s offerings:
The Darkside Detective
The Jackbox Party Pack 4
Available on both mobile and PC, The Darkside Detective is a comedy-focused pixel art adventure game which “sees Detective McQueen and his sidekick, Officer Patrick Dooley, investigating cases plaguing Twin Lakes and its colorful citizens.”
Jackbox Party Pack 4 meanwhile offers a collection of fun mini games which you can play with friends or family – perfect for the upcoming holidays.
As always, you have until next Thursday, the 11th of December at 4pm to claim these titles, at which point they will be replaced by Epic’s ‘Mystery Game’ offering.
KitGuru says: What do you think next week’s free game will be? What do you hope it will be? What’s your favourite mini game across all of Jackbox’s titles? Let us know down below.
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