Nunu.ai has raised $6 million and unveiled Unembodied Minds, or AI agents designed for game testing and to control any given body as needed.Read More

Scopely, the mobile publisher owned by Saudi state-backed investor Savvy Games Group, has agreed to acquire Pokemon Go and Niantic's entire video game business for $3.5 billion.The deal will see Scopely purchase Niantic's internal development teams and major titles including Pokemon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. It will also acquire companion apps and services Campfire and Wayfarer.Scopely said it will allow Niantic's development teams to continue pursuing their "ambitious roadmaps" under current leaders Kei Kawai and Ed Wu."Few games in the world have delivered the scale and longevity of Pokmon Go, which reached over 100 million players just last year. The experience also stands apart for its unique ability to foster in-person connections, with Pokmon Go live events attracting millions of attendees," said Scopely board member and chief revenue officer, Tim O'Brien, in a press release."After spending time with the Niantic team, it quickly became clear that this organization shares our inclination to create industry-leading outcomes and exceptional player experiences. We look forward to a bright future ahead."Pokemon Go lead Ed Wu said the acquisition represents a "positive step" forward and will help the development team maintain its "long-term focus" on supporting the popular AR title, which boasted over 100 million players in 2024.He said the team will be able to operate independently under Scopelyand reiterated it will continue to work in tandem with The Pokemon Company."I believe that Pokmon Go can continue to thrive with Scopely's exclusive and long-term focus on game-making. Scopely's status as a private company also means we can prioritize whats best for you, our Trainers, for the long term," he said in a message to players."We believe that prioritising short-term gains at the expense of our long-term mission would be counterproductive and self-defeating. Every interaction Ive had with Scopely leaders has reinforced that we are in total agreement that the scale, longevity and most of all, real world community, of Pokmon Go make it truly special. We are united in protecting that."Niantic to refocus on geospatial AI business after selling game divisionFor Niantic, the deal represents a chance to refocus on the geospatial AI business with the formation of a new company, Niantic Spatial Inc.The offshoot will be led by Niantic CEO and founder John Hanke. It will continue to operate other Niantic-owned AR titles such as Ingress Prime and Peridot while working to build spacial intelligence models that help people "better understand, navigate, and engage with the physical world."Niantic Spatial will be funded with $250 million of capital, including $200 million from Niantic's balance sheet and a $50 million investment from Scopely.As mentioned earlier, the deal represents a notable investment for Scopely parent company Savvy Games Group.Savvy purchased Scopely for $4.9 billion in July 2023 as part of its purported mission to grow the global video game industry. The multinational investment company is wholly-owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), a state-backed organization led by Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud (MBS).PIF has previously invested in other notable companies including Nintendo, EA, Take-Two Interactive, Embracer Group.Those investments have raised eyebrows due to Saudi Arabia's controversial human rights record under the leadership of MBS, who who has been accused of allowing activists to be tortured and faced allegations over potential links to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Scopely's deal with Niantic is expected to close in 2025 but remains subject to regulatory review.

Netflix Games vice president of generative AI, Mike Verdu, has departed the company.Netflix confirmed the news in a statement to Game Filealthough it's currently unclear why Verdu has exited less than five months after agreeing to oversee the streamer's generative AI machinations.Verdu joined the company in 2021 and initially served as VP of Netflix Games. He vacated the role in 2024 amid a leadership reshuffle that eventually saw former Epic Games exec Alain Tascan brought in to lead the division.Following that shake up, Verdu was named VP of generative AI for games to help Netflix capitalize on what he called a "once in a generation inflection point for game development and player experiences."Netflix Games' journey so farNetflix remains eager to break into the video game industry, but has seemingly struggled to find its bearings.After initially splashing the cash to kickstart internal studios and acquire notable developers, the company shuttered its only triple-A studio in October last year before laying off a number of employees at Oxenfree developer Night School Studios.Since launching Netflix Games in 2021, the company has expended its catalog from a lightweight roster to a more robust rolodex featuring over 80 mobile titlesincluding some that leverage homegrown Netflix properties and notable third-party releases like Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy.It's unclear how well the service is performing, however, with Netflix often neglecting to share concrete metrics.During a recent earnings call, Netflix bosses explained Grand Theft Auto drove "tens of millions of downloads" and said Squid Game: Unleashed became the top action title on app stores in over 107 countries.Yet, they also described the impact of games on subscriber acquisition and retention as "relatively small."Looking ahead, Netflix intends to remain "disciplined" about scaling its game investments and member benefits to build a "virtuous cycle between linear content and simultaneous game offerings."Game Developer has reached out to Netflix for comment.

The onrushing AI era was supposed to create boom times for great gadgets. Not long ago, analysts were predicting that Apple Intelligence would start a supercycle of smartphone upgrades, with tons of new AI features compelling people to buy them. Amazon and Google and others were explaining how their ecosystems of devices would make computing seamless, natural, and personal. Startups were flooding the market with ChatGPT-powered gadgets, so youd never be out of touch. AI was going to make every gadget great, and every gadget was going to change to embrace the AI world.This whole promise hinged on the idea that Siri, Alexa, Gemini, ChatGPT, and other chatbots had gotten so good, theyd change how we do everything. Typing and tapping would soon be pass, all replaced by multimodal, omnipresent AI helpers. You wouldnt need to do things yourself; youd just tell your assistant what you need, and it would tap into the whole world of apps and information to do it for you. Tech companies large and small have been betting on virtual assistants for more than a decade, to little avail. But this new generation of AI was going to change things.There was just one problem with the whole theory: the tech still doesnt work. Chatbots may be fun to talk to and an occasionally useful replacement for Google, but truly game-changing virtual assistants are nowhere close to ready. And without them, the gadget revolution we were promised has utterly failed to materialize.In the meantime, the tech industry allowed itself to be so distracted by these shiny language models that it basically stopped trying to make otherwise good gadgets. Some companies have more or less stopped making new things altogether, waiting for AI to be good enough before it ships. Others have resorted to shipping more iterative, less interesting upgrades because they have run out of ideas other than put AI in it. That has made the post-ChatGPT product cycle bland and boring, in a moment that could otherwise have been incredibly exciting. AI isnt good enough, and its dragging everything else down with it.Apple is probably the worst and most obvious offender here. For nearly a year, ever since the company debuted Apple Intelligence at WWDC last June, it has pitched just about every one of its new products the same way: it runs Apple Intelligence! The iPhone 16 ads were less about the iPhone 16 and more about showing off what Apple Intelligence could do never mind that Apple Intelligence didnt even ship until months after the iPhone 16. When Apple upgraded the iPad Mini, then the iPad Air, it promoted Apple Intelligence as the reason for both. (The also-new base iPad doesnt support Apple Intelligence, and so Apple has effectively tried to bury its existence.) The website for the new MacBook Air promotes three things about the bestselling laptop on earth: its battery life, its chip, and Apple Intelligence.Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence is currently just a couple of writing tools and a way to poorly summarize your text messages. (And, sure, Genmoji.) The feature people actually want, the one Apple has been relentlessly promoting, is a vastly improved Siri that can better understand and execute your requests, even using your apps on your behalf. That feature is nowhere to be found and is going to take us longer than we thought, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy recently told John Gruber at Daring Fireball. The company pulled a commercial with Bella Ramsey in it that advertised the iPhone 16 Pro using this now-even-further-delayed feature.Its hard not to feel bait and switched by the whole thing. For months, people have seen advertisements for features that dont exist, bought gadgets that dont work the way theyre supposed to, and been generally duped into thinking a tiny spec bump was a game-changing upgrade. At this point, of course, Apple is too committed to Apple Intelligence to walk it back, and investors would crush the company if it did.Siris ongoing crappiness appears to also be the reason behind the delay of Apples next big product launch. Weve been hearing for months about a smart home hub that would leverage Apple Intelligence and, in particular, that better, more aware Siri to control your house and accomplish tasks on your behalf. (Imagine Alexa, but Siri, and you basically have it.) Bloomberg reported that the device was supposed to launch as soon as this month but is being pushed back in part because the underlying tech just doesnt work.These kinds of context-aware, voice-enabled ambient computing devices were supposed to be what AI made possible. Thats why Amazon, too, allowed itself to be totally captured by AI long before AI was ready to be a useful consumer product. Amazon was once among the most interesting, experimental hardware makers on the market remember that one year it launched like 6,000 Alexa devices in one day, including a microwave and a wall clock? Amazon wasnt always right, but it was never dull. Amazon hasnt released a meaningfully new Echo device since September 2023, the day the company also announced a new version of Alexa that then-hardware chief Dave Limp called a superhuman assistant. Since then, weve gotten old ideas on slightly larger screens, with the same problems Amazon has had for years.Alexa Plus sounds great, but there are no new devices in this picture to run it. Image: AmazonAmazon was all in on this new Alexa, betting that it could turn its smart speakers from a music and timers machine into something vastly more useful. You wouldnt even necessarily need new hardware for it; your gadgets would just keep getting better. But then, of course, Amazon confronted the reality of the AI situation. It took nearly 18 months of work, and a lot of rumors and reports that suggested AI Alexa was actually pretty terrible, before the company launched pretty much the same thing all over again. Only this time, with new hardware chief Panos Panay doing the talking. And no devices to show. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy promised beautiful new hardware this fall but revealed no other details.Its not just big companies, either. For the last year or so, the hottest thing in startups has been put a microphone on a lanyard, record your whole life, and use AI to do something with it! Thats the pitch for Friend, and Omi, and Limitless, and Plaud, and Bee, and so many others. Jony Ive and OpenAI are working on some kind of AI hardware together. Investors poured huge money into Humane, only to see that collapse less than a year after its first launch. Rabbits R1 was a flop. None of these devices have so far been compelling, and some of them just plain dont work.To be fair, product makers are in a tough spot right now. If you believe AI is a paradigm shift, that it will change the world the way smartphones or the internet did, youd be foolish to wait around for the tech to be perfect. By then, itll be too late, and youll have lost the race.Too many companies have made all their plans based on some theoretical and perfected end state of AIThe problem is that too many companies have made all their plans based on some theoretical and perfected end state of AI, rather than looking for ways to make it useful right now. There are already lots of ways AI can make products more useful and interesting: cutting-edge models can make your robot vacuum more efficient or help your video doorbell better distinguish between people and tree branches. AI can make your smart lights a lot smarter or figure out what youre cooking and get the sear just right. In all these cases, though, AI is an enabling technology for some other feature not the feature itself. Nobodys buying a smart grill for the AI; theyre buying it for the steaks.Maybe someday, you can do AI with it will be a selling point for gadgets. In the interim phase, it feels like were wasting an entire generation of hardware while we wait for the software to catch up. And there are so many other interesting problems to solve! What if, instead of hand-wavey promises about AI, we got smartphones that lasted twice as long or didnt break so easily? What if startups focused less on AI and more on the millions of people looking for devices that are less addictive and more attuned to a specific purpose? What if Amazon and Apple stopped waiting for some magical technological overhaul and spent time making their existing devices easier to use?Theres still so much room for innovation and improvement in the hardware we use every day, and yet nobody wants to try that stuff. Theyd rather sit around and wait for AI to solve all our problems. No matter how long it takes.See More:

Today, 9 minutes agoAsh ParrishP is for Pals who do stuff together.Palworlds crossplay update is coming soon. We dont know exactly when, as the announcement states itll happen sometime late March. But expect to pal around with your friends on any platform within the next two weeks. Also, in celebration of the update, Palworlds 25 percent off on the PlayStation store and Steam.Image: Pocketpair Inc.Mar 4Andrew WebsterA whole new (pal)world.After some big updates and a new publishing label, Palworld developer Pocketpair has another notable announcement: the pokmon with guns game is now available on Mac. The new version is optimized to run natively on Macs with Apple silicon, according to the studio, and will get Mac-specific dedicated servers later this month.Palworld[apps.apple.com]Jan 23Ash ParrishPocketpair follows Palworlds success with new indie publishing labelImage: PalworldPocketpair is getting into the games publishing business. The company has announced that its taking the gobs of money it made after launching Palworld, the Steam-record busting, 15-million-copies-sold-in-its-first-month, monster-catching adventure game, to establish Pocketpair Publishing.Pocketpair Publishing provides comprehensive support for game development through funding, development assistance, and publishing for indie game developers and small studios, Pocketpair wrote in its press release.Read Article >Nov 28, 2024Andrew WebsterPalworlds new island will be its largest and harshestImage: PocketpairPocketpair isnt letting a major lawsuit slow it down. The developer has announced that its Pokmon-like hit Palworld is getting a big update in December, which will add a new island to the game. Its described as the largest, harshest, and most mysterious location in the game, measuring around six times the size of Sakurajima, an island that was added in a summer update.Aside from the new location, there arent many other details about the forthcoming update. But the announcement comes amid a surge in news for the game, which became a viral sensation at the beginning of 2024. In 2025, Palworld will be getting some kind of crossover with the survival crafting game Terraria, and a mobile version is also in the works, helmed by PUBG developer Krafton.Read Article >Nov 8, 2024Ash Parrish, Richard Lawlerand1 moreHere are the patents Nintendo and The Pokmon Company are suing Palworld overImage: PalworldPalworld developer Pocketpair has revealed the patents at the center of the infringement lawsuit Nintendo and The Pokmon Company filed in Japan back in September. Pocketpair has also shared that, in addition to 5 million yen each plus late fees, theyre seeking an injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit.The Pokmon Company cites three Japanese patents, No. 7545191, No. 7493117, and No. 7528390. From the translation of the claims, they appear to describe Pokmon-style activities, with 191 focused on the act of throwing a ball at characters in a field, 117 tied to aiming, and 390 on riding characters. Well have to dig more deeply into the original Japanese patent language and Japanese patent law to understand how strong these patents might be in the lawsuit, however.Read Article >Oct 2, 2024Emma RothPUBG developer is making Palworld mobile amid Nintendo lawsuitImage: PocketpairPalworld developer Pocketpair may be facing a lawsuit from Nintendo, but thats not stopping it from pursuing a mobile version of the game. On Wednesday, Krafton the publisher behind PUBG: Battlegrounds announced that it acquired the license for Palworld and will optimize it for mobile gaming, as reported earlier by Polygon.According to a translated version of the post, Krafton says it aims to faithfully reinterpret Palworlds main fun elements to fit the mobile environment. Krafton also created a mobile version of PUBG in 2018, and as The Verge pointed out at the time, it turned out better than expected.Read Article >Sep 25, 2024Richard LawlerPalworlds PS5 port is on hold indefinitely in JapanPalworld Screenshot: PlayStation (YouTube)Sony included the PS5 launch of Palworld as one of its news items during Tuesday evenings State of Play presentation, but it left out a detail. While the game has launched on PlayStation platforms in 68 countries and regions worldwide, Japan is not one of them.The official Japanese account for the game said on X, according to machine translation, that the release date in Japan has not yet been decided, without going into detail about the reason. It certainly seems like a reason could be the patent infringement lawsuit Nintendo and The Pokmon Company filed against Palworld developer Pocketpair last week, but the tweet didnt confirm things either way.Read Article >Sep 20, 2024Ash ParrishA song of pals and pokmon.This week, Nintendo sued Palworld developers Pocketpair. Heres everything we know about why.Sep 19, 2024Ash ParrishPalworld developer has no idea why Nintendos suing over its Pokmon-like gameImage: PocketpairPocketpair has responded to the lawsuit filed against it by Nintendo and The Pokmon Company. The studio that developed Palworld, the game at the heart of the suit, issued a statement early this morning saying it doesnt know what patents it violated.At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details, the statement read.Read Article >Sep 19, 2024Jay PetersNintendo and Pokmon are suing Palworld maker PocketpairA screenshot from Palworld. Image: PocketpairNintendo and The Pokmon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, which makes the game Palworld.From Nintendos press release:Read Article >Jun 7, 2024Emma RothPalworld is getting a new island... and a whole lot more.The breakout hit is rolling out a big update on June 27th, adding new environments, pals, buildings, raids, and a new enemy oil rig. Its also launching dedicated servers on Xbox.Apr 29, 2024Andrew WebsterSay hello to your newest pals.PalWorld is getting an update this summer that adds some new creatures. And, as the new trailer shows theyre not only cute, but also flammable.Apr 1, 2024Ash ParrishApril Fools 2024: Doki Doki Palworld Club.The developers at Pocketpair are doing that annoying game developer thing where on April Fools Day they announce a legitimately cool new game idea only for it to be a joke. And for some reason, its always a dating simulator.In Palworld: ~More Than Just Pals~ choose from a roster of dateable Pals and trainers including the busty Lovander with a student ID number... errr... 69. Its a shame this is fake; weird dating sims are always fun.Mar 15, 2024Jon PorterPalworlds creator is exploring bringing the game to more platforms.Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe says the studio is in talks to bring the game to more platforms beyond PC and Xbox.The obvious question is whether the game, which has been nicknamed Pokmon with guns and has faced accusations of plagiarizing characters from Nintendos hit franchise, will ever come to the Nintendo Switch.Palworld Creator Pocketpair Explains Why It Became Indie Game Sensation[Bloomberg]Mar 14, 2024Charles Pulliam-MooreYou probably dont want your Pokmon fan project getting too much press coverage.Given how litigious Nintendo is, the companys reluctance to go after Palworld has raised a lot of questions about what might actually spur The Pokmon Company to claim of IP infringement.Sales numbers and visual similarities are obviously part of the equation. But according to TPCs former Chief Legal Officer Don McGowan, one of other big factors that plays into how fanmade projects wind up on Nintendos radar entertainment press coverage.Jan 31, 2024Andrew WebsterPalworld isnt slowing down, hits 19 million players across Steam and XboxImage: PocketpairSurprise viral gaming hit Palworld continues to reach new player milestones. Today, developer Pocketpair announced that the game has sold 12 million copies on Steam and reached 7 million players on Xbox. The Xbox number includes both sales and those who played via Game Pass, but the breakdown between the two isnt clear.According to Microsoft, though, these numbers make Palworld the biggest third-party (i.e. a game not made by an internal Microsoft studio) launch in Game Pass history. The company says it recently reached a peak of nearly 3 million daily active users on Xbox, making it the most-played game on our platforms at that time. (Which date that took place isnt specified.)Read Article >Jan 31, 2024Andrew WebsterHere come the Palworld mobile clones.Now that Palworld is officially a hit, it was inevitable that copycats would start flooding in. Now the developer is warning players about similar-looking and titled games that have been rolling into mobile app stores. With a quick search I was able to spot a few in the App Store, including one sold by a company called BLUE RIDGE GUTTER CLEANING LLC, which doesnt sound like the most legitimate developer.Jan 29, 2024Ash ParrishThis is how Nintendoll get em.I think we finally found the smoking gun in the Palworld vs. Nintendo plagiarism discourse. But, instead of infringing on Pokmon, Palworld might get got for jacking from one of Nintendos other vaunted institutions: Animal Crossing.Apparently, one of the pieces of furniture you can make for your Pal gulag is Animal Crossings infamous frog chair. Though I doubt Nintendo owns the intellectual property rights to a specific depiction of chair, it would be pretty funny if this, of all things, is what takes Palworld down.Animal Crossings infamous froggy chair is in Palworld[Polygon]Jan 25, 2024Ash ParrishThe Pokmon Company says it will investigate PalworldImage: PocketpairYou can all stop calling now The Pokmon Companys lawyers are on the case. In a statement posted on the companys website, The Pokmon Company says its aware of a game released in January 2024 and plans to take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokmon.Its no secret that the game referred to is Palworld, a surprise hit juggernaut thats slowly climbing up the Steam charts, well on its way to beating PUBGs all-time peak player count of 3.2 million. Its sold 8 million copies on Steam as of today, and its developer, Pocketpair, just released a roadmap laying out plans for the games future.Read Article >Jan 25, 2024Richard LawlerYes, The Pokmon Company is aware of Palworld.Palworld, the survival game described by some as Pokmon with guns because of its familiar-looking designs, has sold millions of copies in under a week, with more simultaneous players on Steam than any other game outside of peak PUBG.And now, after one modder already received a takedown notice, we have The Pokmon Companys first official response:Inquiries Regarding Other Companies GamesWe have received many inquiries regarding another companys game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokmon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokmon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokmon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokmon in the future.The Pokmon Company[The Pokmon Company]Jan 24, 2024Tom WarrenPalworld is getting raid bosses, PvP, and crossplay support in the futureImage: PocketpairPalworld, a new multiplayer monster-collecting survival game, has sold more than 7 million copies in just five days, and now the developers behind it are sharing a roadmap of whats to come. Dubbed Pokmon with guns by many, Palworld is set to get player-vs-player (PvP) fights, raid bosses, a PvP arena mode, and Steam / Xbox crossplay support.Developer Pocketpair revealed the planned future updates in a post on X (formerly Twitter) today with no time frame for when they will arrive. Palworld is also getting various Xbox feature improvements, alongside server transfers and migrations, improvements to the games building system, and new islands, pals, bosses, and technologies.Read Article >Jan 23, 2024Ash ParrishBut for Palworld, it was Tuesday.Palworlds coming for the kneecaps of all of Steams most popular games. Within days of its early access launch its sold 6 million copies, rocketed to the top of Steam concurrent player lists, and now it can add another milestone, amassing 1.864 million players to beat Counter-Strikes all time peak player count.Funnily enough, Palworlds peak player count only barely edged out Counter-Strikes all time high by roughly 50,000 players. Impressive numbers aside, Palworlds got a tough row to hoe if it hopes to ever beat reigning champion PUBGs all-time player count of 3 million.Jan 23, 2024Ash ParrishNintendo goes after the Palworld Pokmon modderImage: ToastedShoesNintendo has finally come for Palworld... in the form of issuing a takedown for a video of a mod that swapped all the Palworld pals for pokmon. Lol.If youre not one of the now 6 million players whove bought a copy of the game, heres a quick explainer. Palworld is a multiplayer survival crafting game in which you use cute monsters called pals to harvest resources and build structures. Oh, and there are guns you can shoot the pals with guns.Read Article >Jan 22, 2024Ash ParrishPalworld is a hit, and its easy to see whyImage: PocketpairIt seems like everyone on Earth is either talking about or playing Palworld. Indeed, in the three days since its early access launch on Steam on January 19th (and simultaneous release on Game Pass), the game has sold over 5 million copies. While thats not quite Tears of the Kingdom numbers, to have a game from a relatively unknown developer do that kind of work in that short of time? Okay, Palworld, you have our attention. Lets see exactly what it is you have to say.Palworlds announcement trailer released in 2021. It started generally enough, with a bright, colorful world populated with cute monsters that bear an almost uncomfortable resemblance to another game featuring cute, catchable creatures. But then come the AK-47s. Midway through the games trailer, the tone shifts from catch these cute monsters that will help you build your home to shoot these cute monsters and use them as slave labor. One of the most memorable moments from that first trailer was the image of a bunch of pals (the monsters are called pals) that look startlingly like Sprigatito, mournfully manufacturing assault rifles on an assembly line.Read Article >Jan 22, 2024Amrita KhalidOver five million copies of Palworld have been sold since Friday.Lots of people have been catching Pals and hatching eggs, according to the games developer, Pocketpair. Palworld is also currently the most-played game on Steam, hitting a peak of roughly 1.5 million players.The game, described by Kotaku as if someone tossed Minecraft, Fortnite, Pokmon, and some AR-15s into a giant blender, is a breakout hit despite seemingly coming out of nowhere.Pocketpair/X

With Monster Hunter Wilds breaking Steam records and Resident Evil more popular than ever thanks to Village and a handful of stellar remakes, its almost as if Capcom is incapable of failure. But that wasnt always the case. Less than a decade ago, after a string of critical and commercial flops, Capcom was on its knees. It had lost its way and its audience.Capcom was suffering from an identity crisis. Resident Evil, which established the survival horror genre, had lost its bite after Resident Evil 4. Another big hitter, Street Fighter, was on the ropes after the poorly-received Street Fighter 5. It could easily have been the critical end of Capcom and its much-loved games.But in the darkness, there was light. A change in the way Capcom made its games, supported by a powerful new game engine, gave these much-loved series a new lease of life, and kickstarted years of critical and financial success that catapulted Capcom back into the big league.Resident Evil Lost Its WayResident Evil 6 marked a low point for the mainline series. Credit: Capcom2016 was a bad year for Capcom. The big Resident Evil game released that year was Umbrella Corps, an online co-op shooter that was pummeled by reviewers and fans alike. Meanwhile, Street Fighter 5 was met by a collective eyebrow raise from longtime fans who could hardly believe this lackluster fighting game was the sequel to the brilliant Street Fighter 4. And Dead Rising 4, which featured the long-awaited return of beloved photojournalist Frank West, would end up being the series final new entry.This was the low ebb of a string of forgettable years Capcom had endured since 2010. The mainline Resident Evil games were met with diminishing critical reception despite strong sales. Street Fighter was on the ropes thanks to a poorly received new entry, and Capcom mainstays like Devil May Cry were nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the companys most popular and successful franchise at the time, Monster Hunter, was huge in Japan but struggled breaking into international markets."Many of us started feeling that what the fans and players wanted from the series was getting a little bit separate from what we were making.All of this is a far cry from the Capcom we know today. Since 2017, Capcom has been one of the few major development studios that has rarely missed a beat. The Osaka-based company has released a stream of hit games from its most famous franchises, racking up both sales and accolades. Were talking about a run of releases that includes Monster Hunter World, Devil May Cry 5, Street Fighter 6, and a trio of industry-leading remakes plus an acclaimed soft reboot of the Resident Evil series. In short: lately, Capcom seems incapable of failure. .Achieving this success took more than simply learning from mistakes. Capcom had to re-think its entire strategy, from the type of players it targeted to the technology it used, to make such a turnaround possible. To learn more about this seismic shift, IGN sat down with four of Capcoms leading creatives to find out how one of gamings most successful gaming companies tripped, fell, and picked itself up better than ever.Capcom was founded in 1979 as a maker of electronic game machines, or capsule computers. It rose to ascendency during the 80s and 90s thanks to 2D games like Street Fighter and Mega Man, and then made the all-important jump to 3D with games like Resident Evil. Between 2000 and 2010 Capcom successfully transitioned many of its big, golden-era franchises into the modern age, a process that gave birth to one of the greatest games of all time: Resident Evil 4. The GOAT Resident Evil game? Credit: Capcom.2005s Resident Evil 4 is considered by many to be a generational high point thanks to its ingenious mix of horror and action. But that mix altered the course of the Resident Evil franchise dramatically. At its core, Resident Evil 4 is a horror game, inspired by the likes of Friday the 13th, H.P. Lovecraft, and the works of John Carpenter. But sprinkled between the strands of its horror DNA are tremendously effective moments of Hollywood action cinema. Unfortunately, this ideal balance between horror and action was lost in subsequent games. In 2009s Resident Evil 5, hero Chris Redfield punches a car-sized boulder with his bare fists, and infected enemies are gunned down in a car-chase sequence thats more Fast and Furious than frightening. The series was losing its identity and this was clear to both players and the developers like Resident Evil 4 remake director Yasuhiro Ampo whos been working on Resident Evil games since 1996.Overall throughout the Resident Evil series, we set up different goals, challenges, and things we want to try with each game But this time, many of us started feeling that what the fans and players wanted from the series was getting a little bit separate from what we were making, Ampo says.This directional confusion would result in games like 2012s Resident Evil 6, a game that tried to have its cake and eat it too. In order to please both action and horror fans, Resident Evil 6 split the game between six playable characters and three unique storylines. Each section catered to either horror or action fans, and so never achieved that all-important balance of both genres, which ultimately left nobody truly satisfied. Disgruntled fans shared their disappointment in these new, action-packed Resident Evil games online, while the developers continued experimenting with spinoffs that ventured into new territory like online co-op. This downward trend was not exclusive to Capcoms survival horror series, though. Not so long after the release of Resident Evil 4, the companys Street Fighter team was also flying high. Street Fighter 4 was an instant hit thanks to its unique art-style and great cast of new and returning characters. It became an immediate hit at fighting game tournaments and in college dorms alike.But, like with Resident Evil, Capcom failed to match those highs with a sequel. Compared to its imaginative and full-fledged predecessor, 2016s Street Fighter 5 was criticized for releasing barebones with hardly any single player content, as well as its abysmal online functionality. Fans cite a clear lack of polish and a confusing philosophy towards balance that made the overall experience just plain frustrating.But it wasnt just Street Fighter and Resident Evil that were struggling. Almost every key franchise struggled to make a mark. Devil May Cry, the studios popular, heavy-metal action game was seeing diminishing returns to the point where Capcom outsourced the next game in the series, 2013s DmC: Devil May Cry, to UK-based studio Ninja Theory. While its gone on to become something of a cult title, DmCs fresh take on the series mythology, redesigned protagonist, and sluggish 30fps frame rate was met with vitriol from online fans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, after such a muted reception the series was shelved until further notice.This slate of misfortunes defines the Capcom of the early to mid-2010s. Key franchises struggled to replicate the successes of the past, while other titles were put in cold storage. New games attempting to capture the western market, like Lost Planet and Asuras Wrath, also failed to land with audiences. There was the odd bright spot, like Dragons Dogma, the new dark fantasy RPG from Devil May Cry director Hideaki Itsuno, but for the most part Capcoms focus was all over the place.It was clear something needed to change.Street Fighter 5, The Lost CauseStreet Fighter 5 was a let down. Credit: Capcom.By the mid-2010s Capcom had begun to enact a number of strategy-shifting changes that would totally transform the companys fate. Such changes had to begin small, and so the first matter of business was putting out the existing fires. Street Fighter 5 needed to be fixed. And so Capcom enlisted director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto to help steer the troubled game towards stability. While neither were there from the ground floor of Street Fighter 5s development, and therefore cant detail why Street Fighter 5 was released in the state it was, the duo inherited a game that greatly needed some substantial fixes in order to regain the trust of fans.There definitely were some challenges within the production of the game, and that was part of the reason why I was brought into the team, Nakayama admits. And because we were in a point in development where we couldnt really make any major pivots or shifts, we had to proceed and move forward in the direction we were currently in, which created constraints on what we could and couldnt do.Street Fighter 5 would be improved into Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition. Credit: Capcom.Those constraints severely limited the scope of what the pair could achieve. And so rather than transform Street Fighter 5 into a S-tier game, much of the work Nakayama did was fixing the games most pressing problems and biding his time until work could begin on Street Fighter 6. "We just didnt really have enough time to address some of the problems and challenges we faced in Street Fighter V," Nakayama says. "And so, with our hands tied behind our backs, we basically had to wait for those ideas to be brought back for the initial conceptual phases for Street Fighter 6, so we could tackle and do things properly for the next title."All this considered, why did Capcom not just end Street Fighter 5s development and begin working right away on a sequel? If it was such a weight around the necks of the developers, couldnt they just start from scratch? According to Matsumoto, abandoning Street Fighter 5 just wasnt in the cards. There wasnt any sort of sense of like, Okay lets just end Street Fighter 5 and focus on Street Fighter 6. It was more like, while we were working on Street Fighter V, we were trying to figure out what we really wanted to do in Street Fighter 6 content-wise, he says.Basically, we tried different things during the development of Street Fighter 5 to see if it worked and then we took the things that did work and applied that to Street Fighter 6. It was like the development of Street Fighter V was an ongoing process that helped us figure out, Okay, what is it that we want to do for the next level?"We were in a point in development where we couldnt really make any major pivots or shifts, we had to proceed and move forward in the direction we were currently in, which created constraints on what we could and couldnt do.The team treated Street Fighter 5 as a lab where they could learn from their design mistakes and figure out what to do differently for the sequel. The years-long process required careful consideration of the games every core aspect, which informed several important changes . There were numerous updates, starting with the fundamentals like steady improvements to the netcode and character re-balances, and progressing all the way up to new characters, V-Triggers, and even entire new mechanics like V-Shift, a new defensive move that provided a brief window of invincibility that the devs were considering introducing in Street Fighter 6 but decided to test in Street Fighter 5. There was a much larger goal for all these improvements beyond just elevating the game to an acceptable level, though. Capcom was on a mission to rediscover the fun. At the end of the day, fighting games should be enjoyable to play, but Street Fighter 5 had become a somewhat frustrating discipline to master. We both realized that fighting games are fun, and when you get used to them, it becomes more enjoyable and something you can essentially play forever as long as you have an opponent to play against, Matsumoto says. However, one of the challenges that we faced with Street Fighter V is that we felt that there wasnt a clear pathway that helped guide players to get to that level where they finally feel like theyre having fun and will want to continue playing. PlayStreet Fighter had previously tried to be more approachable by lowering the difficulty, but this only served to turn off longtime fans. Instead, Street Fighter 6s approach was to expand the tools available to new players while giving experienced fans everything they already loved about the series. While they could have cut their losses on Street Fighter 5 and immediately tried to win fans back with a sequel, Nakayama and Masuhiro knew that this would be a shortcut that didnt grow Street Fighter in any meaningful way. But by sticking with Street Fighter 5 and using it as a testbed for new ideas, 2023s Street Fighter 6 was able to launch as one of the most critically-acclaimed games in the entire franchise.While Matsumoto and Nakayama were able to take the work put into Street Fighter 5 Arcade Edition and apply the lessons they learned to Street Fighter 6, it was important that Capcom did not repeat these kinds of situations and be forced into having to overhaul games again. A significant shift in strategy was needed that would prevent such a disaster ever happening. And thats where a couple of vital behind-the-scenes changes came into play.Monster Hunter Took Over The WorldThe start of the Monster Hunter revolution. Credit: Capcom.Around the time of Street Fighter 5s launch in 2016, Capcom underwent an internal reorganization in order to prepare for a new generation of games. These games would run on the companys brand new RE Engine, a replacement for Capcoms ageing MT Framework. But this change was about more than just tools. Alongside the engine upgrade came a new mandate to ensure Capcoms games were being made not just for existing, territory-specific fans, but for a global audience. It was a few factors that came together, says Hideaki Itsuno, a former game director at Capcom best known for his work on Devil May Cry. The change of the engine and also all teams were given a very clear goal at that point to make games that reach the global market. [Games] that are fun for everyone.If you look at almost all of Capcoms games released during the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, you get the feeling that the company was going all-in on trying to capture an imagined version of the Western games market. The action-heavy Resident Evil 4 was a big hit, true. But the more gun-focused spinoffs like Umbrella Corps, as well as the sci-fi shooter series Lost Planet, were all clearly chasing late-2000s Western gaming trends to no avail. After several years, Capcom realized it needed to create games that could appeal to everyone, not just fans of traditional Western genres.I think that we had that clear goal of just focusing and not holding anything back, Itsuno says. Towards making good games that would reach people from all over the world. Itsuno notes that the time leading up to 2017 was pivotal. The changes in organization and the changes in the engine, all these elements came together around that time, he says. When Resident Evil 7 launched that year, it kickstarted a Capcom renaissance. I think that we had that clear goal of just focusing and not holding anything back towards making good games that would reach people from all over the world.No other series embodies this new company goal for global success better than Monster Hunter. While it had its diehard fans in the West, for decades Monster Hunter was much, much bigger in Japan than the rest of the world. The series was never conceived to be something that was only big in Japan, but there were real-world factors as to why this happened. Firstly, Monster Hunter found tremendous success moving from PlayStation 2 to the PSP with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. The handheld gaming market has always been much stronger in Japan than in the West, as seen with the success of not just the PSP but also Nintendos DS and, more recently, the Switch.The popularity of handhelds in Japan is rooted in a number of factors, but the thing that really worked for Monster Hunter, according to the series executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, was that Japanese gamers were able to reliably play with friends thanks to the widespread adoption of mobile consoles.20 years ago in Japan, having a network connection wasn't as easy, and there werent a huge amount of people playing Monster Hunter online. However, handheld consoles made multiplayer gameplay easy without internet access, and I regard it as a great success that we had players experience the game in this way, which was one of the ways we really wished for them to play and enjoy it, even in that era when online gameplay wasn't easy.Monster Hunter, which is built on a core pillar of cooperative play, recognized that this aspect would best be served when friends could quickly jump into hunts together. There was no better avenue for that at the time than handheld consoles. Thanks to Japans mobile games market, it meant Monster Hunter was being developed for a local market first, even if that wasnt an intentional approach.This created a loop of sorts. Monster Hunter games would become best-sellers primarily in Japan, and to keep pace with the audience, Capcom would release Japan-only content and host Japan-only special events, further reinforcing Monster Hunter as a Japan-only brand.PlayBut the reality was that Monster Hunter did have fans in the west, and they were enviously looking from the outside in as Japanese players received exclusive tie-ins and quests. But as the Western world improved its internet infrastructure and online play became practically mandatory for most console gamers, Tsujimoto and the team saw an opportunity to launch their most advanced and most globally-accessible Monster Hunter game to date.Released in 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, Monster Hunter: World was a gigantic change for the franchise. Rather than being scoped for small, less-capable handheld consoles, it delivered large-scale, AAA console quality action with souped up graphics, bigger areas, and, of course, bigger monsters.Our approach to the globalization of the series and Monster Hunter in general really ties into not only the themes that we had going into designing the game, but also in the name of the game, Tsujimoto reveals. The fact that we called it Monster Hunter: World is really kind of a nod to the fact that we wanted to appeal to this worldwide audience that we wanted to really dig into and experience Monster Hunter for the first time.It was also vital that Monster Hunter: World not do anything that gave off the impression that Capcom was prioritizing one market over the other. Monster Hunter: World would be released simultaneously worldwide, and there wouldnt be exclusive content locked to Japan, something Tsujimoto says comes with realigning ourselves to hit those global standards that people come to expect of titles around the world.It wasnt just a matter of making sure other regions got Monster Hunter: World at the same time as Japan (though it certainly helped). Tsujimoto and co. drilled deep to see what other ways Monster Hunters formula could be tweaked to broaden its appeal with players from all around the world. For World, we conducted focus tests across the world, and some of the feedback and opinions that we got during that process really affected how we designed our game systems and impacted how much success we had globally,One important change that resulted from these playtests was simply showing damage numbers when players hit the monsters. Little tweaks here and there to an already successful formula drove Monster Hunter to the greatest heights it had ever reached. Previous Monster Hunter games had typically sold around 1.3 to 5 million copies, not including re-releases and special editions. Monster Hunter: World and its 2022 follow-up, Monster Hunter Rise, both recorded sales greater than 20 million copies.The fact that we called it Monster Hunter: World is really kind of a nod to the fact that we wanted to appeal to this worldwide audience that we wanted to really dig into and experience Monster Hunter for the first time.This explosion of player growth didnt happen by accident. Instead of changing the spirit of Monster Hunter to suit Western tastes, Tsujimoto and the team found ways to open up the series unique (and, admittedly, obtuse) nature to a wider audience without making sacrifices. This approach continues with the series latest game, Monster Hunter Wilds.At its heart, Monster Hunter really is an action game, and that sense of accomplishment you get from really mastering that action is an important aspect of Monster Hunter, Tsujimoto explains. But for newer players, it's really about getting to that point. The steps involved in getting to that sense of accomplishment is what we're trying to strategize for, in terms of designing for new players. So with World and Rise, for example, we were taking great care to analyze where players got stuck, what was hard to understand, what they were having trouble with, getting player feedback, and also doing our own kind of research into that. And all of that kind of knowledge has impacted how we've implemented new systems into Wilds.Resident Evil 7 Began Turning Things AroundWelcome to the family. Credit: Capcom.Monster Hunter had a winning formula.The challenge Capcom faced was finding ways to convince global audiences to give it a shot. But it was not such a straightforward task for every series in the companys portfolio. When it came to Resident Evil, the development team had to decide which of the series intertwined formulas was a winner; gory action or survival horror. Ultimately it was Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi who made the call. It was around the time I was working on Resident Evil Revelations 1 and 2. I was trying to test different things, try different approaches, recalls Resident Evil 2 and 4 Remake director Yasuhiro Ampo recalls. And around this time is when the R&D teams were divided into R&D division one and two. The executive producer of the Resident Evil series, Jun Takeuchi, took command of R&D division one, and he set the core direction that the Resident Evil series needed to go back to its origins, to its roots.Takeuchi ruled that Resident Evil must focus on survival horror as its guiding light. This proved to be the right decision. Resident Evil 7 was announced at PlayStations E3 2016 conference with a moody trailer shot in first-person, showing the insides of a dilapidated house. I was there in attendance when the Roman numeral for seven appeared, followed by the title Resident Evil. The convention hall roared in excitement.We cannot underestimate how critical it is for the series for it to be scary."There were, of course, questions about how Resident Evil could make the jump to first-person. By that point, third-person, over-the-shoulder gunplay had become synonymous with the series. It turns out, however, that in exchange for moving to a first-person perspective, Resident Evil regained something it had lost: It became scary again.With Resident Evil 7, the executive producer, Jun Takeuchi, made it clear that we cannot underestimate how critical it is for the series for it to be scary and about survival. So he made it clear that Resident Evil 7 would go back to its origins, it would be very cautious with its survival elements. And with that as a basis, then we would try new and different things, Ampo says.The game was a hit. While maybe not quite operating on the same level as Resident Evil 4, this significant shift in direction allowed for a welcome return to survival horror. Thanks to its unsettling and claustrophobic southern gothic setting, Resident Evil 7 ranks as one of the scariest games in the entire series. PlayBut Capcom wasnt going to abandon the third-person perspective that was so key to the series DNA. While new mainline titles like Resident Evil 7 and 8 would stay in first-person, Capcom planned to release third-person games through a series of brand-new remakes, starting with Resident Evil 2. Capcom realized there was a demand for remakes thanks to the appearance of several fan projects at the time. It was like, all right people really want this to happen. So producer [Yoshiaki] Hirabayashi came up with the slogan: Well, well do it, Ampo reveals.The result is one of the best games in the entire series. The Resident Evil 2 remake is a perfect blend of horror, combining all the action and puzzles fans have come to expect from the series with a new menacing Tyrant system that allows the hulking Mr. X to continuously stalk you throughout the Raccoon City police station. Under Ampos direction, Resident Evil 2 Remake became the second best-selling Resident Evil game in the franchises history. "Resident Evil 4 is a game that is so beloved. If we get anything wrong with the remake, people might be quite vocal about their discomfort.Naturally, Capcom would follow up its incredible success with a remake of Resident Evil 3, another PlayStation 1 game that could clearly benefit from a modern reinvention. But, following that, surely Capcom wouldnt remake Resident Evil 4 a game that still felt refreshingly modern despite being almost 20 years old. Why touch something many considered to be almost perfect?Ampo reveals that there was some hesitation to tackle Resident Evil 4 for sure. As you mentioned, [Resident Evil 4] was still a title that enjoyed some popularity. So there was a lot of internal discussion on how maybe its not a good idea. Maybe we dont need a remake for Resident Evil 4, especially because Resident Evil 4 is a game that is so beloved. If we get anything wrong with the remake, people might be quite vocal about their discomfort.But despite any initial hesitation, the team pushed through with a remake and the results speak for themselves. Resident Evil 4 Remake was another bonafide hit. Much of its success comes down to the biggest changes, which were focused on fine-tuning the action-horror ratio to achieve Takeuchis goal of keeping the series true to its survival horror roots. And so gone were some of the original games campier elements, replaced by a moodier, darker tone that still kept the heart-pounding action hero moments.Horror reborn. Credit: Capcom.Around the same time as Resident Evils rediscovery of its horror core, longtime Devil May Cry director, Hideaki Itsuno, had a similar epiphany. After a brief sojourn into the RPG world with Dragons Dogma, Itsuno watched as the action genre began to soften in order to appeal to a more casual audience. And so when the chance to direct Devil May Cry 5 arrived, Itsuno saw an opportunity to challenge the audience of a genre he felt was in need of a good kick in the ass. He would do so in spectacular fashion, achieved by leveraging the companys most powerful game engine to date.The Reason Behind The ChangeThe goal? Make the coolest game ever. Credit: Capcom.I felt like the main trend with action games was to make action games that were very kind, Itsuno admits. Maybe, for me, a little bit too kind to the players, lending a hand to the player too much to my liking. Itsuno took over director duties on Devil May Cry starting with the second game in the series, and has since helmed every new iteration, save for Ninja Theorys DmC. Following the release of Devil May Cry 4 in 2008, it would be almost 11 years before Itsuno directed another Devil May Cry game. But when he did finally return, he would oversee one of the most critically and financially successful games in the entire franchise.The 10 years away from the franchise gave Itsuno time to figure out where he wanted to take the series. And more importantly he would return with a new arsenal of tech. "Technology-wise, there were not just little improvements that you would have when you work on a series consecutively," Itsuno says. "When theres a wide timeframe, [the technology] changes significantly.PlayThis vision coincided with the launch of Capcoms new RE Engine. Its the engine that most of Capcoms games run on today. Replacing the old MT Framework that had powered everything from Dead Rising to Monster Hunter World, the major upshot of the RE Engine was its handling of photorealistic assets. This gave Capcoms development teams access to higher levels of visual fidelity than ever before. It was also much nimbler than its predecessor, making it easier to implement changes if something wasnt working as it should. "Ever since I took over the series from Devil May Cry 3, I put everything that I, as a person, I considered throughout my life to be cool."Ampo tells me the origins of the RE Engine thus, "So the original concept for the RE Engine was to allow for a development environment that was less stressful and could help us to make things quicker. Because its an internally developed engine, when we needed any additional tools, well, we could ask for them internally. They could be fixed somewhat quickly, internally, and also iterated on. This meant Capcoms developers could also trial-and-error development choices on the fly. This proved vital for Itsuno, whose goal was to make the coolest action game of all time. That meant a lot of trial-and-error to make sure everything from the way the game looked to the way it played was as slick and stylish as possible. The RE Engines combination of rapid development tools and photorealistic capabilities meant Itsuno was able to increase the pure style of Devil May Cry by magnitudes.Devil May Cry is a franchise that stands on being cool, Itsuno says. Thats what the franchise is, its about being cool. Ever since I took over the series from Devil May Cry 3, I put everything that I, as a person, I considered throughout my life to be cool. Anything Ive seen on TV, in movies, and comics Ive read, any sport experiences Ive had, I try to distill everything that I think is cool into what the game is.A New Capcom Golden AgeSince 2017, Capcom has released a game of the year contender on a nearly annual basis. In a time when major studios are struggling to find consistency, Capcoms winning streak of 10 critically acclaimed games in less than a decade is a major outlier. That trend only looks to continue with Monster Hunter Wilds.Focusing on a central goal of creating globally appealing games, all built with a technologically advanced engine capable of powering a multitude of different genres, proved to be a formula for unprecedented success. The Capcom of today is able to elegantly switch from laser-focused fighting games to tight survival horror to sprawling open-world action RPGs without missing a beat. "Capcom is going through a golden era, and, well, now we have to do everything we can so that this lasts one more year, one more year, and every year, one more year."But whats more impressive is that Capcoms mission of making global, mainstream games did not dilute its games in the slightest. Instead, Capcom appears to have found the ultimate balance of keeping its games true to themselves whether thats the pure survival horror of Resident Evil, competitive spirit of Street Fighter, or the unique battle systems of Monster Hunter all while expanding the audience for these games by millions.Many of Capcoms contemporaries are now finding themselves where Capcom was just a decade ago fruitlessly chasing trends and losing sight of their identities. But for Capcom, the changes it made over the past decade has resulted in a new golden age that shows no sign of slowing down. Capcom may have fallen, but it has risen up better than ever. When asked if they believe this is a new Capcom Golden Age, the directors largely agreed. Street Fighters Nakayama tells me, Its a very exciting time to be at Capcom right now. A lot of us are able to get excited about what were working on and are able to focus on things that we think are fun. So, yes, I guess a golden age may be one interpretation of that.Monster Hunters Tsujimoto put it more plainly: Capcom is going through a golden era, and, well, now we have to do everything we can so that this lasts one more year, one more year, and every year, one more year. Hopefully we can extend it as long as we can.Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

Rockstars new and improved version of Grand Theft Auto 5 isnt going down well on Steam following its launch earlier in March.Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced, which released on March 4, has a mixed user review rating on Steam, with 54% of the 19,772 user reviews flagged as positive.To put that into context, the original GTA 5 on Steam, now unlisted at the request of Rockstar Games and as a result unable to appear in search on Valve's platform, has a very positive user review rating on Steam.In fact, GTA 5 Enhanced is currently the worst user-reviewed GTA on Steam, with its closest competitor for the unwanted crown, Grand Theft Auto III The Definitive Edition, on 66% positive reviews.GTA 5 Enhanced is a free upgrade for GTA 5 on PC that includes sought-after features previously only available in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S versions of GTA Online including all the latest vehicles and performance upgrades available at Haos Special Works, animal encounters, and access to purchase a GTA+ Membership along with improved graphics options and faster loading times. All players who currently own GTA 5 on PC can upgrade to this new version for free, with the ability to migrate your Story Mode and Online progress.Every Celebrity in GTA 5 and GTA OnlineYoud think that would be a relatively straightforward process, but it appears the account migration isnt working as intended for many players. Indeed, account migration problems are at the heart of most of the negative reviews flagged as most helpful. The GTA Online profile associated with this Rockstar Games account is not eligible for migration at this time, reported one disgruntled player. If you think I'm throwing away nearly 700 hours of gameplay on one character so that you can make a few more bucks off me, then you can lick my anal orifice clean.This is an objective downgrade from the old version. Gonna pretend this was never released and continue to enjoy Legacy version until the new game comes out when I'm 60.I'm leaving a negative review mainly due to Rockstar deciding that some accounts should arbitrarily not be able to migrate, and if you ask for help from support, they just say they can't do anything about it, reads another."I can't migrate either of my two accounts," another negative review reads. "R* support is completely useless and can't help. With the game being over 10 years old I am sure as hell not going to completely restart all my progress in Online just to get marginally better graphics (if that) and HSW and whatever other minuscule they added."Despite these issues, GTA 5 Enhanced remains one of the most-played games on Steam, with a 187,059 peak concurrent player count since launch. But it has sparked concern over the inevitable PC release of Grand Theft Auto 6, with some PC gamers worrying that Rockstar's struggles with GTA 5 Enhanced could signal launch trouble down the line.GTA 6 is planned for launch during the fall of 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S only, leaving PC gamers out in the cold. In December 2023, a former developer at Rockstar attempted to explain why GTA 6 is coming to PC after it hits console, and called on PC gamers to give the studio the benefit of the doubt over its controversial launch plans.Weve got plenty more on GTA 6, including Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnicks response to concern about the fate of GTA Online once GTA 6 comes out. Meanwhile, Take-Two has sued online marketplace PlayerAuctions, alleging it contains "thousands of listings for unauthorized, infringing GTA 5 content including heavily modified player accounts, in-game assets, and virtual currency all gained by using hacking software, cheats, and technical exploits."And in other news, Rockstar recently acquired Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy The Definitive Edition developer Video Games Deluxe and renamed it Rockstar Australia.Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Michael. Freddy. Chucky. Jason.These icons of horror defined the genre and set the standard for a good horror movie. They taught the world that monsters needed a signature look, a strange backstory, and a set of rules for defeating them. Moreover, they established that monsters needed a gimmick, some specific manner for taking out victims.Then, in 2000, came a different kind of slasher icon, one who defied expectations. The killer in Final Destination is Death itself. Although personified with its own set of rules, Death in Final Destination returned mystery to horror, putting elaborate kills before recognizable character beats and opening the way for the genre to move past the slasher model that had ruled since the 1980s.The Slasher Goes SafeWhile the 2000s glut of Asian remakes and Z-level torture porn movies make the decade one of the lowest points in American horror, at least the period had a distinctive character. The same cant be said of the 1990s. Certainly, the 90s had some fantastic entries, from the creature feature Tremors (1990) and the stately The Silence of the Lambs (1991) to The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project from 1999. But those high points stood out among a sea of middling entries that tried to recapture the best of the 1980s. The slasher icon of the 80s still loomed large in the public imagination, and studios tried to replicate the success of Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Sometimes, that meant carrying franchises from the past into the 1990s, leading to the tired Freddys Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) or Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993).Sometimes, it meant introducing new slasher icons, with mixed success. Yes, Scream (1996) is a great movie that gave the genre a jolt, but it did so by reanimating the slasher corpse. Not only was it mostly beholden to movies of the 80s, but it launched a whole new wave of anonymous horror entries that lacked Cravens direction (see: I Know What You Did Last Summer from 1997 and Halloween H20 from 1998).Worse were the horror films that had to struggle past studio and audience expectations for a standard slasher formula. Candyman (1992) translates a Clive Barker story about class in England to a bloody fantasia about race in Chicago, with an incredible lead performance by Tony Todd as a romantic monster in the vein of the Universal greats. Yet, both the studio and fans couldnt understand why he didnt use his hook hand more, pushing for graphic kills instead of the characters tragedy and allure.The icons of 80s horror gave the genre the populist edge it lost after The Exorcist in 1973, but they too became restrictive and dull in the 1990s. It took Death itself to kill those tropes and make way for a new wave in the 2000s and the 2010s.The Invisible Hand of DeathThe evening after he eulogized the classmates he lost in a shocking airplane accident, teenager Tod (Chad Donella) stumbles into the bathroom for some grooming. Tod goes about his work totally unaware of anything around him, not even bothered by a strange cloud forming behind him, but we viewers know theres something more going on.The camera stalks behind Tod and pans around him in the bathroom, just like Michael or Jason does to their victims. The camera looks at what will be the means of Tods end the water leaking from the toilet, a clothes line hung up over a tub as if choosing the tools of his death. And when the deed is done and Tods body hangs from the line that strangled him, the camera watches as the water seeps back into the toilet, putting the tools away.This first proper death scene from 2000s Final Destination feels just like a death scene from any slasher from the 1980s or 90s. Director James Wong, who worked with fellow X-Files alum Glen Morgan to adapt a spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, follows all the tropes that had been well established in the previous two decades. Theres a group of good-looking but empty-headed teens, a mystery that points to our innocent lead, and even a knowing figure who explains it all to the hero (the great Tony Todd as mortician William Bludworth).But theres one important thing missing from Final Destinations impressive kill scenes. Theres no distinctive mask, no ironic one-liner, no signature murder instrument. Death, the killer in Final Destination, has no face or form. The closest thing it has to a one liner are the clues it gives to main character Alex (Devon Sawa) before claiming another victim.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!That omission of a clearly defined killer is enough to help Final Destination redefine the horror genre. By erasing the monster, leaving only its effects instead of the character, Final Destination allowed the kills to stand out. We suddenly have more room to care about the characters, broadly drawn as they are in this movie. Theres more space to watch clever and well-constructed kills, which had turned arbitrary or silly in the 1990s but now feel inventive, surprising and tragic.Without having to worry about building a horror icon, Final Destination could just worry about the most important thing in a horror movie: the horror.After Death, Horrors ResurrectionPerhaps the biggest indicator of Final Destinations influence on the genre can be seen in the other films that flourished during the 2000s. Saw led the torture porn subgenre and, on the surface, seems to follow the standards set in the 80s and 90s. The franchise seems to have an iconic figure in Jigsaw, who uses a pig mask, a toy puppet, and follows a set of rules. However, Jigsaw operates as a misnomer and distraction from the main character John Kramer, a more complex character than Michael, Jason, or Freddy.Moreover, the primary appeal of the Saw movies (outside of their wild ongoing narrative) are their approach to kills. The traps set by Kramer and his acolytes have much in common with the Rube Goldberg sequences designed by Death in Final Destination intricate systems to induce pain and suffering.To be sure, Final Destination wasnt the only influential horror film of the period. The Sixth Sense led the way for respectable scary movies, which eventually found their fullest expression in todays A24 and elevated horror entries. Gore Verbinskis remake of The Ring (2002) opened the door (for better or worse) to movies such as The Grudge (2004). The Blair Witch Project showed how to create maximum scares on a minimum budget, making room for the Paranormal Activity franchise and other found footage movies.But none of these advancements would have been nearly as successful if Final Destination hadnt taken the formula that had dominated the genre for two decades and utterly refigured it, showing horror fans that moving beyond slashers was, ironically, nothing to fear.

This Month in Sea of Thieves: March 2025 and Seventh AnniversaryFind out about the seafaring shenanigans currently planned for the month ahead!Posted in: Announcements on 10 Mar 2025March marks another year of adventure on the Sea of Thieves, and youre invited to celebrate this latest milestone with a bounty of Events, rewards and festivities. From the Seventh Anniversary Celebration Event that segues into Community Weekend through to Emporium sales and a suitable shanty, theres more than enough to keep you busy!Seventh Anniversary Celebration Event Friday, March 14th Saturday, March 22ndDuring this months Event, all pirates are invited to tackle a series of Community Goals inspired by memorable moments in Sea of Thieves past. By working together to hit cumulative targets, you can unlock a range of rewards commemorating some of those unforgettable encounters and discoveries. The celebrations kick off here: rally your crew and get ready to make your mark!Happy Birthday Release Friday, March 14thCelebrate a special month with a tune fit for the occasion, as a unique rendition of Happy Birthday joins the Sea of Thieves soundtrack on your favourite streaming services. This newly recorded shanty is a delightful way to mark seven years on the seas, whether you want to sing along or just relax on the deck and enjoy being serenaded.Sea of Thieves Xbox Dynamic Backgrounds Friday, March 14thA new way for players on Xbox to bring the spirit of the high seas to their screens! These animated backgrounds aim to capture the essence of Sea of Thieves, from its breathtaking scenery to moments of seafaring peril. To dive into the selection of dynamic backgrounds on Xbox Series X|S consoles, go to the Personalisation options within your Xbox settings.Pirate Emporium Anniversary Sale Monday, March 17th Monday, March 24thNo celebration is complete without loot to be claimed at a bargain price! Ready as always to get involved in a celebration, the Pirate Emporium shopkeepers will be hosting their traditional Anniversary Sale. Dark Warsmith, Dire Dark Warsmith, Lodestar, Islehopper Outlaw and Stone Islehopper Outlaw sets are all lined up for dramatic discountsXbox Gear Shop Update Monday, March 17thAn exclusive Sea of Thieves Seventh Anniversary sweatshirt design is en route to the Xbox Gear Shop! This cosy offering with bespoke iconography makes it easy for any pirate to declare their participation in seven epic years on the seas. You can also pick up a deck of handsome Sea of Thieves playing cards for a celebratory game or two!Sea of Thieves: 2025 Editions Thursday, March 20thJust like in 2024, another anniversary brings an opportunity to refresh the Sea of Thieves editions available to buy on all formats. Stick with the base edition or explore whats included in the 2025 Deluxe and Premium Editions and maybe others? arriving on Sea of Thieves anniversary date of March 20th!Microsoft Solitaire Sea of Thieves Theme Thursday, March 20thAn unmistakable sea breeze blows through the Microsoft Casual Games collection this month! Players will soon be able to bring the spirit of the pirates life to their Solitaire table with a Sea of Thieves-themed backdrop and custom card backs adorned with iconic imagery from the game.Season 15 Community Weekend Saturday, March 22nd Monday, March 24thTheres no slowing down after the Seventh Anniversary Celebration Event as we roll straight into Season 15s Community Weekend. Expect all the classic Community Weekend delights including souvenir freebies, Pop-Up Plunder, a Community Emissary Grade ready for boosting and Picture Walls for premium posturing. Of course we want to see your own creations and hear your own stories too as you join in the festivities alongside the whole Sea of Thieves community!Twitch Drops Saturday, March 22nd Monday, March 24thIf you set sail during Community Weekend, dont forget to claim some well-earned rewards along the way. This time, the Seasoned Sailor Heavy Sword and Eye of Reach are up for grabs, alongside the Eastern Winds Ruby Pegleg and Trousers.Twitch Drops are available by linking your accounts and watching any participating Sea of Thieves streamer on Twitch. Anyone can offer this set of Drops by streaming in the Sea of Thieves category and ensuring they have Drops enabled. If youre just watching, go ahead and tune in to your favourite participating streamer or check our Partner Directory to see whos online when these Drops go live!March Monthly Update Thursday, March 27thThe adventure continues in Marchs free content update, bringing the next wave of Season 15 features to the seas. Hunters will soon have a new tool at their disposal with the introduction of the hunting spear for taking down big prey, even as the world around them fills with lively newcomers including lizards skittering across the sands and jellyfish drifting through the waves.All that along with some dazzling new offerings in the Pirate Emporium and fresh Outpost stock too! Look out for a full breakdown of new additions in the release notes when this update drops on March 27th.Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks Thursday, March 27thPirates with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can claim an extra treat this month via the Perks programme! Themed around what else Sea of Thieves latest anniversary, the time-limited Seventh Serving Emote will be available to redeem from March 27th. Head this way to find out more about Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks.Microsoft Rewards Sea of Thieves Sweepstakes Monday, March 31stEver wonder what a Megalodon crossed with an Xbox controller would look like? Want to be in with a chance of winning just that an extremely limited-edition new Sea of Thieves controller? Stay sharp for information on how to enter the Sweepstakes and potentially get your hands on The Devourer later this month!As you can see, you wont get a chance to be bored during Sea of Thieves latest anniversary extravaganza. Enjoy all the goodies, opportunities and overall holiday vibes, and raise a tankard in our direction if you see us on the seas!Connect With Us:

Los Angeles-based furniture company West Haddon Hall is set to debut the brand-new Collection II of well-considered and thoughtfully designed furniture this spring. With the intention of creating future heirlooms in her direct field of vision, founder and interior designer Kate Driver notes, Good design just ages better.Laure JoiletThe new Brooks armchair (left) features a geometric wooden frame with caning and a gentle curve on the rear upholstered top rail. Other pieces in the collection include the Mulberry armchair and the Wyngate Marquetry cocktail table.Composed of seven new distinct pieces, this second collection is rooted in classicism, organicism and infused with centuries-old artisanal craft techniques such as straw marquetry, caning and a sensitivity when it comes to upholstery detailing.Future HeirloomsLaure JolietWest Haddon Hall founder Kate Driver in a soulful, architecturally significant home where the collection was presented and photographed.While our world is filled with fast furniture and cheap thrills, an edited and usable collection is a refreshing delight to preview, especially when functionality takes center stage and keeps the end user prioritized. I tend to find that decorators make the best furniture designers. They are attuned to their clients needs and understand how we all like to live and really use and enjoy the pieces in our homes. Oftentimes, its the funny find or quirky piece that we end up treasuring for generations. Kate mentions, I have an old Welsh dresser thats been in my family for a long time and [its] important to me. Preserving the memory of something old and treasured informs how Kate approaches the design language of the brand when developing new work.In ContextLaure JolietThe Francis Pierpont Davis home creates an old-world backdrop to the West Haddon Hall collection. While the Elliston daybed and Ivy side table are part of Collection I, the latter is now available in a new color, Champagne.When it came to shooting the collection, Kate was keen to position each piece in an architecturally significant context and mixed in with vintage pieces and antiques, to create vignettes as she would for any interiors project. She found a 1921 home designed by Francis Pierpoint Davis for his own family use that has been passed down through generations and has most recently been renovated with great attention to the original details and reverence for the space. The family home creates a warm and inviting backdrop for each piece. Seeing how a new ottoman lives next to a vintage Parsons table or how a newly made sofa can exist at the base of a tower of books allows the viewer a chance to dream and envision a personal world created specifically for you, with the things you love.True Craftsmanship Laure JolietLike a piece of art, the Sweetbriar Credenza floats on the wall and features natural caning.When it came to creating a new collection, Kate was intent on seeking out artisans and craftspeople to collaborate with to achieve exciting results. She remarks, Im particularly interested in marquetry and caning and doing more of it. We need to ensure that these rare arts do not die. The design of a new floating credenza features this natural caning and honeyed oak prominently on the face. Should you need a different size or material, the brand embraces customization and working with the trade. A true design trifecta has been found: original work, bespoke offerings and timeless quality endure at West Haddon Hall HQ.Laure JoiletA detail showcases the Wyngate Marquetry cocktail tables surface texture and decorative objects from Kates personal collection.