Bungie is looking into the possibility of adding something like Halo’s 8 vs. 8 Big Team Battle PvP mode to Destiny 2. However, some technical issues make implementing a 16-player mode in Bungie’s FPS MMO difficult.

Destiny 2 might get a version of Halo’s Big Team Battle

Former host and current Destiny 2 weapons designer Mercules recently joined the 64th episode of the Firing Range Podcast. During the interview, the host asked him about the possibility of bringing Big Team Battle to Bungie’s MMO.

“So, we’re investigating it,” Mercules replied. “It is an ongoing active investigation at Bungie.”

However, some “really weird” technical issues crop up when that many players load into a single activity. “We want to make sure that we can make it happen in a way that ends up being fun and stable,” the Destiny 2 dev explained. “Like, the stable part is pretty important.”

The 16-player Big Team Battle mode first appeared in Halo 3 multiplayer and has been in every Halo game since. Given the overlap between Halo and Destiny 2 fans, many players would no doubt consider it a great addition.

It might also do something to recover lost players. Going by the game’s player numbers on Steam, Destiny 2 hit its all-time peak in February 2023 in anticipation of the Lightfall expansion. However, the year-long post-Lightfall dip has seen the lowest PC player numbers since its release. While console numbers are harder to come by, they likely follow a similar trend.

Hopefully, The Final Shape expansion will reinvigorate Destiny 2 when it arrives in June. Considering the upcoming expansion will reportedly overhaul the game’s core mechanics, it might be an excellent opportunity to implement the Halo-inspired mode.

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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.”

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants launches for PC and consoles this April. The 2017 arcade game is on its way to PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants launches for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC on April 23

TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants uses the version of the characters from the 2012 Nickelodeon show. The 1-4 player beat ‘em up sees the turtles battle Foot Clan, robots, and more across New York City. They’ll face bosses like Leatherhead, Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang, Chrome Dome, and Baxter Stockman, culminating in a showdown with Shredder himself. The Console port also includes new levels, bosses, and dialogue. Seth Green, Rob Paulsen, Sean Astin, and Greg Cipes reprise their roles as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo.

TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants was developed by Cradle Games and Raw Thrills. The latter company specializes in modern arcade games, releasing almost 50 since opening its doors in 2001. These include arcade adaptations of popular gaming franchises like Jurassic Park, The Fast and the Furious, Alien, Halo, and Injustice. It released its first-ever console game, a port of the arcade racing game Cruis’n Blast, for Nintendo Switch in 2021. As with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, Cruis’n Blast’s console port added a variety of new content.

However, the company is casting a bit of a wider net with Wrath of the Mutants, releasing on all current platforms. The TMNT game will be released on PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam on April 23.

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Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 22, and Capcom is offering exclusive in-game items for players who pre-order. Meanwhile, fans who don’t mind spending a little extra can pick up the Deluxe Edition for $79.99. The Standard Edition retails for $69.99.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 preorder bonus and Deluxe Edition explained

The preorder bonus consists of the Superior Weapons Quartet, which includes a sword and shield, daggers, staff, and bow. Capcom describes them as “a boon in the early game,” suggesting they will offer an early leg-up without unbalancing the game. Players who pre-purchase the digital editions of Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 can download it directly from the store, while the physical versions come with a voucher code. Players can then retrieve the items in their in-game storage, accessed by talking to an innkeeper. Capcom also notes that it may make the Superior Weapons Quartet available for purchase later.

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Deluxe Edition adds the Explorer’s Camping Kit, which players can purchase from in-game shops. It also comes with the Dragon’s Dogma Music & Sound Collection, adding music and sound effects from the original 2012 game. Players also get 1500 Rift Crystals, an in-game currency used to hire Pawns and purchase special items, and eight free items.

These include a Wakestone, which revives dead characters, and Art of Metamorphosis, which lets players edit their and their Pawn’s appearance. Ambivalent Rift Incense lets players change their Pawn’s Inclination and the Harpysnare Smoke Beacons attract Harpies. The Heartfelt Pendant is a Gift item. Finally, Capcom describes the Makeshift Gaol Key as a “Key to the gaol.” Presumably, Dragon’s Dogma 2 players can use it to escape from jail.

Fans who preorder Dragon’s Dogma 2: Deluxe Edition also get the exclusive Ring of Assurance along with the Superior Weapons Quartet.

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Elden Ring fans recently got their first look at gameplay from the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. In addition to the official gameplay trailer, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki talked about the expansion at length in a recent interview.

Director Hidetaka Miyazaki talks about Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

IGN reporter Mitchell Saltxman recently spoke to Miyazaki about Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Among the first questions is where the DLC takes place, and it might not be where everyone expects.

Rather than opening up a new part of The Lands Between, Shadow of the Erdtree’s map is physically separate from the rest of the world. Players will warp to the “Land of Shadow” from Miquella’s cocoon in Mohg’s Palace.

As Elden Ring fans have suspected since the first teaser image, the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC focuses heavily on the demigod Miquella. Players will retrace his footsteps through the mysterious realm, unraveling the mystery of Miquella’s plans. They will also discover what Queen Marika did that drew him there in the first place. However, the player isn’t the only one following Miquella’s trail. Some of these new characters will be potential allies, while others may become enemies.

Speaking of enemies, Miyazaki shared a little about a few of the new bosses seen in the trailer. For example, the “giant basket of flame” is an ancient weapon used in a war that wracked the Land of Shadows long ago. The “kindling” burning inside is actually the bodies of vanquished enemies. Meanwhile, the towering, red-robed figure in the trailer will be a significant character in Shadow of the Erdtree. However, he couldn’t say more for fear of spoilers.

As for the Land of Shadows itself, Miyazaki says it is laid out similarly to the base game. Players will explore wide open zones studded with dungeons of various sizes. He also revealed that the new map will be slightly larger than Elden Ring’s Limgrave area.

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After years of development under the codename Project L, Riot Games has finally revealed the official title of its League of Legends fighting game. Now called 2XKO, the developer plans to release the 2v2 fighting game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2025.

Riot Games will show more of 2XKO in 2024

Riot announced the League of Legends fighting game’s new title with a trailer and blog post. The studio also released a brief “Year in Preview” video describing what fans should expect in 2024. “You’re going to see a lot more of us this year,” said Executive Producer Tom Cannon, “and we think that this community-first approach is the most effective way to make 2XKO the best game it could be at launch and beyond.” He described the company as being “heads down” in 2023, but Riot Games plans to actively engage with fans in 2024.

Riot Games will let League of Legends fans try 2XKO with multiple playable demos over the course of this year. That includes one at Evo Japan in Tokyo this April. Fans who can’t make it will have other opportunities to try it out later in the year. These aren’t limited to major events either, though fans will need to wait for further announcements. Riot also hopes to hold a 2XKO beta near the end of 2024. However, Cannon made it clear that was a “maybe.”

Regarding development progress, 2XKO came a long way in 2023 but still has much to go before release. Cannon also noted that the team has grown significantly since the last developer update.

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Fans of Disney Dreamlight Valley will soon have all-new Monsters Inc. content. The Laugh Floor update goes live on February 28, adding a new realm for players to explore.

The Laugh Floor update comes to Disney Dreamlight Valley next week

Gameloft announced Disney Dreamlight Valley’s The Laugh Floor update in a recent press release. The free update adds a new door inside Dream Castle, which takes players to the titular Laugh Floor Realm. There, players will embark on a Monsters Inc.-inspired adventure starring Mike Wazowski and Sulley.

Players can use new customization options to monsterize their avatars as they help create energy by making children laugh. These new options include “fantastical skin tone options in a wide array of colors and textures.” It also introduces new choices for ears, contact lenses, and face paints. Disney Dreamlight Valley players will need to use some of these cosmetic options as part of The Laugh Floor’s main questline.

In addition to the new Realm and cosmetics, the update adds the new Lovely Monsters Star Path to Disney Dreamlight Valley. This Path introduces new Monsters Inc.-themed rewards, including both romantic and retro decorations. Players can also unlock new Dream Styles for Mike and Sully.

In addition, the update adds new content to the Premium Shop, including Monsters Inc. items like the Boo Onesie and Sushi Counter. Players should also expect numerous patches and quality-of-life updates. The latter will include improvements to Scrooge McDuck’s General Store, though developers didn’t go into detail about it. The Laugh Floor update will also finally allow Disney Dreamlight Valley players to change their avatar’s name.

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Developers Motion Twin and Evil Empire recently announced they were wrapping up support for Dead Cells. However, former developer and Motion Twin co-founder Sébastien Benard is furious with the decision. His scathing remarks included calling the decision the “worst imaginable asshole move.”

Motion Twin co-founder makes scathing remarks over ending support for Dead Cells

As PC GamesN reported, a user on Dead Cells’ official Discord server asked Benard how he felt about the decision. The Motion Twin co-founder, who left the company in 2019, did not mince words when expressing his disapproval. “Since you’re asking me,” said Benard, “I’d just say [Motion Twin] did the worst imaginable asshole move against Dead Cells and [Evil Empire].”

Evil Empire’s statement said that the studio would move on to work on a new game. However, Benard doesn’t seem to believe them. He called last week’s announcement “total marketing bullshit” and said he was glad he wasn’t with Motion Twin anymore. Benard went on to say, “I never imagined my former coop [sic] studio would turn out to be such greedy people. I wish the absolute best to Evil Empire for their next things and hope people working there will survive this sudden economic cut.”

Motion Twin released the Metroidvania roguelike Dead Cells in 2017, with the full release in 2018. Evil Empire was established as a second studio to develop the game’s DLC. Benard seems to be insinuating that ending support for Dead Cells will lead to Evil Empire’s dissolution, or at least massive downsizing. Motion Twin is notable for operating as a worker cooperative, with salary and decision-making split equally between its eight employees. However, that is not the case for Evil Empire, which uses a conventional top-down business structure.

His comments may seem excessively scathing for what is otherwise a typical announcement. However, Benard worked at Motion Twin for 19 years, leaving to form the independent studio Deepnight Games shortly after Dead Cells’ success. This was not an amicable separation either. In 2020, Benard talked about how his relationship with the rest of the team “became more and more complicated” until the studio asked him to leave.

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Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment issued a statement clarifying that Subnautica 2 will not be released in 2024. It also corrected the record on other miscommunications. These included incorrect reports that it would be a multiplayer-focused live-service game.

Subnautica 2 devs set the record straight on the game’s release window and more

Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton recently shared its Q4 2023 Earnings report. The report included a “Strategic Titles for 2024” slide listing Subnautica 2 alongside other upcoming games. This was mistakenly taken to mean the game was launching in 2024 when that is not the case. The slide was meant to convey that Unknown Worlds would begin sharing more information about the game this year. The developer still plans to release Subnautica 2 in early access in 2025. The misunderstanding was widespread enough that Unknown Worlds made a blog post clarifying it and other misconceptions.

Studio also set the record straight regarding multiplayer and live service elements. While the game will feature co-op, it is optional, and Subnautica 2 is not multiplayer-focused. Additionally, the use of the phrase “games-as-a-service” here refers to the studio’s plans to continuously update the game over multiple years. Unknown Worlds stressed that Subnautica 2 will not feature any season or battle passes and will not require a subscription.

Subnautica 2 Coming in 2025

Further details on Subnautica 2 are scarce, but the new game will reportedly take players to “an entirely new alien planet.” Despite the radically different climates, Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero both took place on Planet 4546B. While Below Zero introduced plenty of new creatures, there were also a few returning faunae. Others were regional variations or evolutionary relatives of creatures players encountered in the first game. While there is nothing wrong with that, a new planet presumably means a whole new world of things to discover.

It will also be interesting to see how Subnautica 2 continues the popular series’ ongoing metanarrative. The first game saw players racing to find the cure for an alien pathogen called the    Kharaa Bacteria. An alien race known as the Architects came to Planet 4546B to study the bacteria but abandoned the planet after the disease broke containment. Below Zero ended on a cliffhanger regarding the fate of the Architects, and the new game will hopefully reveal what happened to them.  

Fans will no doubt also be eager to discover what happened to Robin and Al-An, the protagonists of Subnautica: Below Zero. The last game ended with their arrival on the Architect homeworld. Krafton’s mention of a new planet implies that the next Subnautica game will likely pick up from there.

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An executive from RoboCop: Rogue City publisher Nacon thinks he knows the reason for the game industry’s layoffs and sluggish growth in 2023. According to Head of Publishing Benoit Clerc, the COVID gaming boom led to an oversaturated market.

Nacon executive says there are too many games coming out in too short a period

Nacon’s Head of Publishing recently spoke with Games Industry.biz. Clerc acknowledged industry-wide setbacks, attributing them to decisions made when the industry was flush with cash during COVID-19. Game companies profited massively from all the people staying home during the pandemic and invested that income into new projects. Many of these games are coming out now, which the executive says have oversaturated the market.

“There are too many games currently on the market,” says Clerc. “We’re seeing today the results of investment made after [COVID] when the market was bursting, and every game was making a lot of money so there were a lot of investments being made. This is two or three years after that, so the games we’re seeing now on the market were financed in that time, and there are simply too many for customers to be able to play them.”

This is not just an issue for AAA publishers and developers either. In fact, the effects are most profound on smaller studios with less robust advertising budgets. Nacon itself is a long way from being an AAA publisher. Clerc attributes RoboCop: Rogue City’s success to it being a high-quality game from an established franchise. In general, however, Clerc thinks small to medium-sized studios should focus on finding a niche rather than competing for broad appeal.

Nacon had to learn the hard way after The Lord of the Rings: Gollum released last year. Developed by Nacon subsidiary Daedalic, the small studio reached well beyond its means in search of a broader audience. Clerc says he regards Gollum as a learning opportunity, but that’s probably not much comfort for Gollum’s developers.

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