According to a new report, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf publisher Electronic Arts is “pretty confident” about a 2024 release date for the game. This release window has been rumored for a while and was even mentioned on an EA veteran’s LinkedIn profile, but with the company undergoing layoffs last week, fans wondered if Dreadwolf will be pushed out of 2024 or not.

EA confident about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf release date window despite recent layoffs

The aforementioned update comes from journalist and insider Jeff Grubb, who said during his latest Game Mess podcast that although there are no guarentees that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will be out this year, EA thinks developer Bioware will manage a 2024 release window. As for when we’ll actually see the game, Grubb recons that it’ll be shown off sometime in the summer.

“It will be released this year, last I heard,” Grubb said. “They’re pretty confident about that. Doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee; could slip, but right now — internally — they expect to release it later this year.”

Grubb added that the real question is when Bioware will actually show Dreadwolf off, and that there’s no word on that yet.

Announcing its layoffs, EA said that it wants to focus on its own IPs going forward.

The post Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Might Actually Release in 2024 – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Publisher Electronic Arts has announced another round of layoffs and restructuring, as a consequence of which Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars first-person shooter has been canceled. The company is also moving away from games based on licensed IP, choosing instead to focus on its own IP and sports franchises. As part of the restructuring process, Battlefield studio Ridgeline Games is also shutting down.

Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi games are safe

In a press release, EA executive Laura Miele said that Respawn’s Star Wars FPS was in early development, and moving away from the project wasn’t an easy decision to make. However, the publisher determined that the Jedi series and “new projects based on our owned brands,” like Apex Legends, is the “right place to focus.”

As for Ridgeline Games, the recently-established developer was led by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto. Interestingly, Lehto departed Ridgeline earlier this week but appears to have had no knowledge of EA’s plans. He tweeted that the news of Ridgeline’s closure as EA lays off nearly 700 employees is a “gut punch.”

Ridgeline was working on the next Battlefield’s campaign. The game’s development is “making meaningful progress,” according to EA.

“It’s not lost on me that these changes are more than words on a page; they directly impact the work you do every day and, in some cases, mean we are eliminating roles and saying goodbye to talented colleagues,” Miele wrote. “I will never lose sight of the human impact of these decisions and know that change and disruption aren’t easy.”

The post Respawn’s Star Wars FPS Canceled as EA Undergoes Layoffs, Studio Closure appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

EA and Ascendant Studios’ fantasy FPS Immortals of Aveum hasn’t left a big impression since launching in August 2023. According to the studio’s founder, the game would have done better if it hadn’t been sandwiched between so many other AAA releases.

Immortals of Aveum released in an extremely crowded year, but Ascendant Studios isn’t giving up

“When we were heading to launch, we knew it was very crowded,” Ascendant’s founder, Bret Robbins, told GamesIndustry.biz. “This was a very unusual year. Zelda had come out, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was a little before us. And as we were nearing launch, Baldur’s Gate 3 suddenly blew up right in front of us. That one, more than any of the others, seemed unanticipated.”

The studio also knew that Immortals of Aveum would be competing against both Armored Core 6 and Starfield. “We were sandwiched between a lot of different big games or games from really big studios,” said Robbins. We absolutely got lost in the noise.

He also partly attributed Immortals of Aveum’s underperformance on the studio’s decision to delay the game from July 20 to August 22. This gave the developers more time for polish and optimization but meant it faced stiffer competition on release. “Although the game was better, the timing was worse,” Robbins admitted.

Then again, the argument that Immortals of Aveum would have done better in a worse year isn’t exactly a glowing recommendation. While some reviewers liked the game, its PS5 version only averaged 69 on Metacritic, with a user score of 6.0. The Xbox version did a little better with a score of 76, while the PC release only managed a 65. By comparison, the PS5 versions of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Armored Core 6 averaged 96 and 86, respectively.

Either way, Robbins hasn’t given up on Immortals of Aveum and thinks it may be a sleeper hit. “The story of Immortals isn’t written yet,” he said. “I was the creative director on Dead Space, and people were discovering that for years and years. I think Immortals will be the same.”

The post EA’s Immortals of Aveum ‘Got Lost in the Noise,’ Says Dev appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

A former Immortals of Aveum developer has said that the game’s sales flopped because it was an “awful” idea in today’s market. Developed by Ascendant Studios and published by Electronic Arts, the single-player first-person shooter released on current-gen platforms in August 2023, and bombed commercially.

What went wrong with Immortals of Aveum sales?

As part of a comprehensive, eye-opening feature regarding the widespread ongoing layoffs in the games industry, IGN spoke to a number of former and current developers across various studios to get some insight. A former Ascendant Studios employee revealed that the game’s budget was a whopping $125 million, and suggested that it was doomed to fail because “trying to make a AAA single-player shooter in today’s market was a truly awful idea, especially since it was a new IP that was also trying to leverage Unreal Engine 5.”

While Immortals of Aveum had a promising premise, its execution left much to be desired and it also received some criticism for technical issues. According to the former dev, “Immortals was massively overscoped” for a development studio’s debut project, and what ended up releasing was “a bloated, repetitive campaign that was far too long.”

Some have taken issue with the suggestion that AAA single-player shooters don’t do well in today’s market, arguing that Immortals of Aveum simply wasn’t up to the mark.

The post Immortals of Aveum Was an ‘Awful’ Idea in Today’s Market, Says Dev appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Sports might be making FIFA soccer games going forward. This speculation comes from a cryptic tweet by a known insider, who appears to hint that 2K has benefitted from the divorce between FIFA organization and previous game publisher Electronic Arts.

Take-Two previously said it had no plans to discuss FIFA games following EA split

The tweet comes from none other than Twitter user Kurakasis, who has a pretty good track record when it comes to leaks. The tease in question can be seen below.

If what Kurakasis is hinting is true, this won’t come as a surprise considering many expected Take-Two to snap up the license. CEO Strauss Zelnick was quizzed about this by Take-Two shareholders in 2022, in response to which he said that at the time he had no plans to enter discussions regarding FIFA games.

Take-Two has a major sports label in its 2K subsidiary, which covers a wide variety of sports sans soccer. EA moved on without FIFA with its own brand of soccer and Konami has eFootball (formerly Pro Evolution Soccer). It makes sense for 2K to delve into soccer with FIFA. That said, take this with a grain of salt until official confirmation.

The post Take-Two May Have Snagged FIFA Game License After EA Fallout, Insider Suggests appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

EA, BioWare, and Bungie are joining forces to bring a Mass Effect crossover to Destiny 2. The crossover is due to arrive next month and will include new free and premium cosmetics and other in-game items.

The Destiny 2 x Mass Effect crossover launches in February

The Mass Effect crossover will launch in Destiny 2 on February 13. All players can claim the free Alliance Requisitions Bundle, which includes the Enhanced Defense Ghost Shell, Alliance Scout Frigate ship, and Alliance Drop Ship Sparrow.

Meanwhile, the Normandy Crew Bundle will be available for purchase from the in-game Eververse store and will include a Commander Shepard-inspired N7 armor set for Titans, a Garrus-inspired Vakarian set for Hunters, and a Liara-inspired Shadow Broker set for Warlocks. There will also be an Omni Strike finisher and Flux Dance emote that can be purchased with the premium Silver currency.

Before the crossover launches, new content has arrived in Destiny 2 today, January 30. Running for six weeks until March 12, the Riven’s Wishes weekly quests will be available from Mara Sov and will have a high-risk objective in the Dreaming City. The reward for completing these is a token that can be redeemed for three categories of treasures. The Wish for Strength offers Last Wish raid Deepsight weapons, the Wish for Protection offers Exotic gear from Lightfall, and the Wish for Beauty offers event mementos and Ascendant crafting materials.

There are also the Moments of Triumph that will run until June 3. To prepare players for the upcoming The Final Shape expansion, the event offers a total of 30 Triumphs that “honor the past year” of Destiny 2. As well as in-game rewards, those who complete the MMXXIII Seal can purchase the Moments of Triumph shirt from the Bungie Store, while those who complete the Paracausal Adventurer Triumph can get an exclusive patch. Both of these are available via Bungie Rewards.

The post Destiny 2 x Mass Effect Crossover Coming Soon appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Respawn Entertainment has rolled out an update for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, adding new features nearly nine months on. Patch 8 adds a new high contrast mode, audio ping functionality, and new slow motion presets.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor update 8 (January 2024) patch notes

Complete patch notes courtesy of Electronic Arts are as follows:

• A new high contrast mode allows players to desaturate the environment and use colors specifically for narrative and gameplay elements, making them stand out more.
• A new audio ping functionality allows players to both passively and actively ping the environment, giving the ability to echolocate objects and interactable elements nearby.
• This update includes additional slow motion presets. With this new implementation players can toggle between both their own custom value and three new presets.
  • The presets are set at 30%, 50% and 75% and available through the shortcut menu. This will allow users to switch between multiple different slow motion values, and not just the custom value and the default game speed.
• This patch also incorporates some fixes for performance and stability across all platforms.

Respawn didn’t elaborate on the additional performance and stability fixes, but did say that it’s eager to continue hearing feedback from players.

The post Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Update Surprises Players With New Features appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Battlefield 2042‘s Season 6 is getting a holiday-themed update, with developer DICE announcing Holiday Protocol, a new event that will run through the new year.

The new event is set to arrive in the game on December 12, 2024, and will run through January 9, 2024. It will be part of the ongoing Season 6: Dark Creations that was added into the game earlier this year, and will include four weeks of holiday-themed content and rewards.

New modes, cosmetic items arriving in event

The first week will see the inclusion of the Rapid Strike game mode on five different maps, and include a candy cane weapon charm and special character skin. The second week is set to include a new game mode, called “Attack of the Elves,” which is a 4 vs. 28 mode that pits a group of four against 28 “elves,” who will try to take down enemies to win.

Alongside the new modes, other rewards are planned for the event, including vehicle and weapon skins, character outfits, and more. The full roadmap for the event can be seen below:

The post Battlefield 2042 Holiday Event Includes New Game Mode, Rewards appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Immortals of Aveum director Bret Robbins thinks that the game may be added to subscription services like PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass in order to expand its player base. Developed by Ascendant Studios and published by Electronic Arts in September, Immortals of Aveum received mixed reviews and sold poorly.

Immortals of Aveum could land on PS Plus “maybe sooner than later”

In an interview with Xbox Expansion Pass, Robbins said that he doesn’t fully grasp the economics of subscription services and can’t say whether Immortals of Aveum would have benefitted from releasing on PS Plus or Game Pass. However, he’s not opposed to the idea of expanding the game’s audience and believes that EA may strike a deal to that end “maybe sooner than later.”

Lukewarm reception aside, Immortals of Aveum launched in a busy period of game releases and quickly flew under the radar. The first-person magic shooter came with an interesting premise, but its execution left a great deal to be desired.

Following a poor commercial and critical response, Ascendant Studios underwent layoffs — a period Robbins says was very tough for him, adding that it’s an unfortunate consequence of not meeting targets for an independent studio.

The post Immortals of Aveum May Be Added to PS Plus to Attract Players, Reckons Director appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Rocket Arena suddenly vanished from online storefronts. The 3v3 multiplayer shooter launched in 2020 under EA Originals, but the publisher recently pulled it from all digital stores.

EA pulls Rocket Arena from PS4, Xbox, Origin, and Steam

As TechRaptor reported, EA abruptly pulled the game from the Origin, Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation digital stores. The game’s pages are still visible on all those platforms, and Rocket Arena’s servers are reportedly still online. However, the game is no longer available for purchase, and it’s unclear if it’s ever coming back.

The game saw mixed reviews on all platforms, with the PS4 version of Rocket Arena having a Metacritic score of 68. The Xbox One release had a slightly better score of 71, while the PC version received a 73. Rocket Arena’s user review scores on Metacritic and Steam were similarly mediocre. Critics praised its colorful character design but were split on the gameplay. Some felt it was a fun casual shooter, while others complained about its lack of depth and originality. Other critics reported balance issues and described problems with some of the game modes.

Neither EA nor developer Final Strike Games made any statements about the delisting. The last word from the Belview, Washington-based studio was announcing a double XP weekend late last month. Final Strike’s email address also no longer works, which is a bad sign for Rocket Arena ever returning.

Unfortunately, multiplayer games need players to function, which was a big problem for Rocket Arena. According to SteamCharts, the game only averaged 1.2 concurrent players on Steam over the last 30 days. Given that so few people were logging in, it’s unsurprising that EA decided the shooter wasn’t worth keeping around.

The post EA’s Rocket Arena Suddenly Delisted on All Platforms appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.