At XO19 in November 2019, Microsoft showed off a snippet of Age of Empires 4 in action (check out the video below), but we haven’t heard a peep about it since then. In a blog post summing up what’s going on with the Age of Empires franchise, Shannon Loftis, studio head of World’s Edge, said: “We are making great progress on Age of Empires 4.” “I don’t want to make you jealous, but we are literally playing this game every single day - both in Washington and in Vancouver,” Loftis continued....

Pre-registration starts later this month, producer Tetsuya Nomura said during a Tokyo Game Show livestream watched and translated by Gematsu. The new Tokyo Game Show trailer is below: Announced back in February, Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier is a battle royale game set in Midgar 30 years before the events of Final Fantasy 7. You play as a Soldier candidate and fight for survival. Nomura has said the game exists to expand the typical audience attracted to Final Fantasy games, which has become “quite fixed” over time....

In a new development update, the team lists some new features heading to the game and admits that systems built at launch “haven’t grown and aren’t sufficiently delivering the most fun Super Hero team experience”. Patch 2.3 is set for release in March and will bring a number of changes in advance of a full roadmap of content. Firstly, there’s a rework of the War Table and the mission-select system based on Nick Fury returning to lead SHIELD....

It seems that no expense has been spared on the voice cast for MultiVersus, which includes many of the original voice actors for each character. You’ve got Maisie Williams returning as Arya Stark, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and even Matthew Lillard as Shaggy. You’ll likely recognise a lot of these voices, so to help you place each character to the star that voices them, we’ve put together this MultiVersus voice cast guide....

But 18 years later I can still remember Manaan. And by Manaan, I don’t mean my nan, but the water planet in KOTOR you dived under the surface of, in search of secrets, only to be chased by huge alien sharks. And there was Kashyyyk, with three ‘y’s, the forest homeworld of Chewie’s race, the wookies. And there was Korriban, the sacred Sith homeworld. A place like the Valley of the Kings in Egypt....

Following last week’s buyout news, many questions still remain - not least how Activision Blizzard’s current roster of multi-platform titles will be affected by the purchase, with many predicting that Xbox exclusivity might soon be on the cards for the publisher’s biggest franchises under Microsoft’s stewardship. In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Xbox head Phil Spencer touched upon the issue, telling the publication, “I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that....

Out today on cloud, console and PC is Coffee Talk, a coffee-brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator set in an alternative Seattle. Next week, on 23rd August, cloud, console and PC get Midnight Fight Express, a “brutal and hyper-kinetic brawling ballet”. That’s one of those day-one Game Pass releases - more of those to come. 25th August sees the release of Zachtronics’ puzzle game Exapunks into PC Game Pass, and visual novel-style adventure game Opus: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition on console and PC....

But! There are more games than just these big, obvious ones coming soon, and they very much deserve your attention, so here’s a rundown of all the other clever, inventive, or just generally interesting curios that impressed us from the show. The Great War: Western Front Release date: 2023 Platforms: PC A realistic, First World War RTS, The Great War: Western Front’s pitch may sound well-worn (and decidedly Gamescom), but it comes from a team with serious pedigree in Petroglyph, the developers of the original Star Wars: Empire at War and, much more recently, the very well-received Command and Conquer remake....

In addition to releasing on new platforms, Drinkbox is also introducing an updated local co-op mode for the game on the same day across all platforms. In Nobody Save the World, players take on the role of the titular Nobody. However, Nobody has a special trick up their sleeve, as they have access to a nice shiny wand. And this wand allows Nobody to transform into a wide variety of different creatures....

Oddworld has its grand elements - the core games chart Abe’s rise from slave to resistance hero, which is as grand a trajectory as they come - but it has always been a series concerned with the little things. Smart, really. So much of a cut-scene’s drama is delivered with a blink of those big wet eyes, for example, while a crucial, truly devastating plot point in one game is hidden inside a pair of old boots....

The report was compiled by Gender Balance, a Swedish firm which specialises in discrimination, harassment and equality issues, as recommended by Paradox staff unions. Its results tally with the experiences shared in last year’s survey and in the reporting that followed - that there are cultural problems within Paradox that foster misconduct, particularly towards women, and which have enabled issues to remain unresolved. In response, Paradox has said it would implement all of Gender Balance’s recommendations, some of which it had enacted already....

It’s also a direct sequel, so despite it releasing on PC and, slightly ironically, on Switch, you’ll be lost if you haven’t played the PlayStation-exclusive Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal first. Strikers begins immediately after the events of Persona 5. It’s the summer and the Phantom Thieves want to get together for a nice camping holiday. On the way to get equipment, Ryuji and the protagonist come across a promotional event by popular model and fashion designer Alice Hiiragi....

Konami’s football game PES 2021 hits Xbox Game Pass for console and Android on 7th January. On the same day, NetherRealm’s DC-flavoured fighting game Injustice 2 hits PC, console and Android via Xbox Game Pass. Also on 7th January, adventure game The Little Acre arrives in Xbox Game Pass for console and Android. A week later, on 14th January, Xbox Game Pass gets a slew of new games. Here’s the list:...

PixelJunk Raiders’ combat, if a touch inelegant, is enjoyable enough, your colourful planetary exploration accompanied by the silky strains of otherworldly synth soundscapes. Jewels shimmer in the distance - their ruby glow is hard to miss, particularly at night - and you already hope that the crumbling columns jutting up into the sky over there will have some tasty treasure secreted amongst ruins. Plus, you’re a rescuer, and who doesn’t want to be the hero that swoops in and saves a doomed civilisation from certain death?...

Inaba, who co-founded the development studio, was interviewed by Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (translated by VGC) about his aspirations for the company’s future. While the developer will continue with the kinds of single-player action games it is known for, Platinum will also look to create titles that “can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time”, perhaps including the long-in-development Project G.G. from Hideki Kamiya. “Project G.G. is still in the stage of testing various things, so I can’t tell you much about it, but when it comes to future game production, we want to focus on creating games that are different from the past....

Soccer Story (which, despite the name and similar premise, is unrelated to developer Sidebar Games’ magnificent Golf Story) is a single-player “physics-based” adventure in which players must quest, puzzle, and sport their way to restoring football - and, thus, peace and harmony - in a world where it’s been banned. Soccer Story promises an adventure packed with “quirky characters, quests, rogue refs, and wack soccer-adjacent sports”, where every problem - from solving puzzles to finding secrets - can be overcome with the help of your magic football....

Niantic did not elaborate on the issue itself, which likely affected the ability to trade unlimited Lucky Pokémon, but has temporarily raised the game’s trading cap to compensate for lost time. ORIGINAL STORY 20/1/21: Pokémon Go has disabled the ability for all players to trade creatures with one another, following the discovery of a major bug last night. Around 11pm UK time yesterday evening, a user on top Pokémon Go reddit The Silph Road reported having traded 100 Pokémon with a friend, with all of them turning into Lucky Pokémon....

This Gen 2 Galarian variant was originally released during the 2021 Halloween event, while both Galarian Slowpoke and Galarian Slowbro arrived earlier in the year during the A Very Slow Discovery event. Below you’ll discover how to evolve a Galarian Slowpoke into a Galarian Slowking by fulfilling a specific requirement. On this page: To add a Galarian Slowking to your Pokédex in Pokémon Go, you first need to have a Galarian Slowpoke....

This season also experiments with how Research Breakthroughs work, introduces a new Pokémon Go feature and has a focus on Gen 3 Pokémon as we travel towards the third Go Tour event. Like past seasons, the Season of Mythical Wishes sees changes to the egg charts, seasonal spawns and which Pokémon are appearing in the northern and southern hemisphere. On this page: Season 13 of the Go Battle League will be running throughout this time period and, as usual, it will contain the three leagues and a selection of special cups....

This Collection Challenge will task you with catching Pokémon which can be found in and around the Pokémon League in the Kanto region. There are a total of 10 Collection Challenges for you to complete as part of Pokémon Go Tour: Kanto - Pallet Town, Pewter City, Cerulean City, Fuchsia City, Raid, Research, Evolve, Trade and Incense. The latter two are different depending on whether you’re playing the Red or Green version of the event....