To kick off its Inside Xbox presentation showcasing third-party Xbox Series X games, Microsoft showed the debut trailer for Bright Memory Infinite, a sci-fi shooter from the indie studio FYQD.
Bright Memory Infinite is set in the year 2036, when a strange phenomenon in the skies prompts the Supernatural Scientific Research Organization (SRO) to dispatch agents to investigate. The agents quickly discover that the events are tied to an ancient mystery.
The trailer showed a first-person perspective shooting segment in the rain, followed by a brief driving sequence that didn’t end well for the driver. Microsoft’s head of global portfolio Damon Baker promised faster load times and raytracing on Xbox Series X. It will make use of Microsoft’s Smart Delivery feature.
This Inside Xbox stream was dedicated to several third-party games running on Microsoft’s next-gen hardware, the Xbox Series X. Microsoft is planning monthly 20/20 streams for the rest of the year, including one announced presentation that will focus on first-party Xbox Game Studios games in July.
Bandai Namco showed off its next game during Microsoft’s Inside Xbox stream. It’s called Scarlet Nexus, and it was one of several games shown running on Xbox Series X during the presentation.
Scarlet Nexus puts you in the role of Yuito Sumeragi, a psycho-kinetic trainee hoping to become an elite warrior. Inspired by one such elite who saved him as a child, he gets caught up in a mystery in the future-city of New Himuka.
The trailer alludes to enemies who have arrived in New Himuka that initially seem unstoppable. These creatures–amalgamations of monsters and bright floral arrangements–are only challenged by Sumeragi and the OSF, a team of similarly psycho-kinetic fighters. The gameplay looks heavily inspired by the likes of Devil May Cry or numerous Platinum Games titles, with fast and frenetic action. Your psycho-kinetic powers allow you to lift enemies, fling them around combat arenas, and more.
Though this presentation was focused squarely on the next-generation Xbox Series X, Scarlet Nexus was also one of several announced as a Smart Delivery game. That means buying the Xbox One version will entitle you to a free upgrade to the Series X version when you buy the system.
Mortal Kombat’s Fatalities. You know them, you love them. These over-the-top finishing moves are what helped propel the success of the series. But what about the other finishing moves? You know, the “Friendships!” Let’s take a look back at the silly side of Mortal Kombat history with the evolution of this unique finishing move.
Introduced in Mortal Kombat II, the short-lived Friendship finishers were created as a sarcastic response to the backlash against the grotesque violence of the first game. Instead of brutally decapitating your opponent, or uppercutting them down into a bed of spikes, you could end a match by signing an autograph as Johnny Cage, kicking a football as Sindel, or doing the Cyrax Dance. But these family-friendly finishers didn’t replace the classic fatalities. In fact, more than double the amount fatalities were added in Mortal Kombat II. Even amidst the 1993 congressional hearings against video game violence, Mortal Kombat was poking fun at its cynics.
More finishers such as Babalities, Animalities, and Brutalities were introduced over the next few titles. However, after the release of Mortal Kombat Trilogy in 1996, Friendships were removed to make way for Mortal Kombat 4’s grittier new 3D visuals. We wouldn’t see another Friendship for another 24 years–at least–until the recently announced Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath Expansion.
While not the spiciest way to finish off an opponent, Friendships left their mark on the Mortal Kombat universe. With all the disgustingly creative fatalities in through the years, it’ll be interesting to see what other clever Friendships we’ll see down the road for Mortal Kombat 11 and beyond. Share your favorite Friendship in the comments below and for future Mortal Kombat coverage, keep it right here at GameSpot.
Codemasters’ Dirt series is venturing into the next generation. Dirt 5 was announced during the latest Inside Xbox presentation, as one of several third-party games slated for Xbox Series X. Codemasters teased new features and a fresh approach to assure no two races are the same.
The gameplay featured a wide variety of scenes with high-octane racing throughout. Dirt 5 will let you race across ice-slicked roads and through mud-covered forests, with each terrain bringing introducing new handling challenges you’ll have to grapple with. Night races look striking with overhead lightning strikes, with a day-night and full weather cycle being introduced into races. All gameplay was captured in-engine.
Dirt 5 was also announced as a game that will utilize Microsoft’s new Smart Delivery feature. That will allow you to buy the game on Xbox One and then download the Xbox Series X version if you’re playing on that hardware.
Square Enix has revealed a new set of screenshots from upcoming remake, Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319, giving us a better look at the game’s world.
Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319 is a remake of 2010’s Nier, which launched exclusively on the PS3 all the way back in 2010. In Japan, the game was split into two halves, with Nier Replicant being a PS3 exclusive, and Nier Gestalt being an Xbox 360 exclusive – the main difference being that you play as a teenage boy in Nier Replicant, but in Nier Gestalt (the game that came to the West as Nier) you play as a middle-aged man.
Given that the remake is named after the Japan-exclusive release, it’s safe to say we’ll be playing as a teenager for the first time in the West. The game follows Nier as they fight shades in a post-apocalyptic world, in a struggle to find a cure for the Black Scrawl, a disease affecting the protagonist’s sister.
In the screenshots above you can see a selection of environments that have been given extra attention in the remaster, from vast deserts and verdant fields to a crumbling metropolis being overtaken by nature.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nier, it’s a spin-off series that hails from the Drakengard franchise of RPGs, helmed by mask-toting developer Yoko Taro. This remaster is being developed by Toylogic, and published by Square Enix.
The remake was announced at the end of March alongside a free-to-play mobile game called Nier Reincarnation, which is set to launch on iOS and Android. You can check out the announcement trailer below which will give you a better look at the game in motion.
If this has piqued your interest and you’re looking to get into the Nier franchise, the sequel to Nier, Nier: Automata, was recently added to Xbox Game Pass. You don’t have to have played the original to enjoy it (I started with Automata too!).
Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319 will launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam, though we’re still waiting on news about a release date for the game.
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who hopes he never has to write out the game’s title in full ever again. Follow him on Twitter.
Entertainment One has signed a first-look agreement with Marvel Studios alum Jeremy Latcham, who will take Dungeons & Dragons on as his first project under the new deal.
Deadline reports that Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is on board to produce the Paramount-set Dungeons & Dragons movie following the recent eOne acquisition by Hasbro.
Latcham was the associate producer on Iron Man and the co-producer on its sequel Iron Man 2. He also executive produced Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy during his 13-year tenure at Marvel Studios. He then went on to produce Bad Times at the El Royale in his post-Marvel career.
“Jeremy is a massively talented producer with a track record of creating true-to-brand films with size and scope that resonate with audiences and excel on a global scale. In our exciting new era with Hasbro, we’re thrilled to begin this new partnership and look forward to sharing the amazing projects that are to come,” Nick Meyer, eOne’s president of film, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Nick and the entire eOne team have welcomed me into the fold with open arms,” Latcham added. “Hasbro’s incredibly rich library of beloved brands in addition to the opportunity to develop original material makes for a very exciting next step for me as a creative producer. My passion for telling stories steeped in heart, humor and spectacle aligns with D&D’s decades of immersive, adventure-driven storytelling, and I am beyond excited to help John and Jonathan, eOne, Paramount, and Wizards of the Coast bring this rich world to filmgoing audiences.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are attached to write and direct the film adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, which is managed by Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary that also manages Magic: The Gathering.
Private Division and V1 Interactive have announced that Disintegration will launch on June 16. The game will only be available digitally from PC and console store fronts.
The flying motorbike – or ‘gravcycle’ – based shooter will be released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and other stores on June 16. The launch is purely digital, with no physical release announced by Private Division.
Disintegration is priced at $49.99/£39.99 and can already be pre-ordered on Xbox One and Steam. Pre-orderers pick up bonus cosmetics for use in multiplayer including a unique Lost Ronin Midnight crew skin, Flex emote, Disintegration Medal Gravcycle attachment, and platform-exclusive animated player banners.
If you’ve not seen anything of Disintegration, it’s the first game from V1 Interactive, a studio founded by the co-creator of Halo, Marcus Lehto. It features a single-player campaign focused on a future where human brains are slotted into robots, which then pilot flying machines to rain death upon their enemies. Multiplayer sees two teams of pilots battle each other, with each pilot having access to their own squad of AI soldiers that fight on the ground.
To date, Microsoft has released just one trailer for Halo Infinite (apart from the SlipSpace Engine trailer), so fans are understandably eager to see and learn more about the next-gen Halo title. Given the studio’s relative silence on the project, some are wondering how the game is progressing.
“Know that I meet with Halo team every week,” Greenberg said. They are working incredibly hard for their fans trust me. Just give us a little patience as everyone is WFH right now and dealing with a lot so everything is harder. But team is cooking up some 🔥 🔥 🔥” Greenberg said.
Greenberg’s comment came in response to a fan asking if Microsoft would hold an Xbox 20/20 event dedicated to Halo Infinite. It remains to be seen if Microsoft will do that, but the company does plan to show more of its first-party games during an event in July, and this will presumably include Halo Infinite.
With Microsoft’s game development teams working from home, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the game development teams are feeling “stretched.” Right now, Halo Infinite remains on schedule to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X. Spencer has said Microsoft will launch the Xbox Series X this holiday, even if some titles have to be delayed.
Part of the reason why Halo Infinite is taking so long is because Microsoft created an entirely new engine, SlipSpace, to power the game. The game is said to have been so ambitious that it needed a new engine.
343 Industries boss Bonnie Ross has said the studio considered releasing a less ambitious game, something referred to as Halo 5.5, but the studio opted instead to go for a more innovative vision. Halo Infinite is described as a “spiritual reboot” of the Halo franchise, and with Infinite in the title, fans will be hoping it delivers something truly worth the wait.
Halo Infinite will release on Xbox Series X, as well as Xbox One X, Xbox One S, and the original Xbox One. In addition, the game will be released on PC. Halo Infinite is developed by a second team inside 343 Industries, alongside the other team that’s working on Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One and PC.
The upcoming Inside Xbox livestream, which will be the first installment in the Xbox 20/20 monthly series, will air on May 7 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM GMT. It will focus on third-party titles, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and it’s likely that most titles shown will be cross-generation games–you’ll be able to play them on Xbox One and Xbox Series X. To that end, Xbox now has a logo for games that will be enhanced on Series X.
The logo, below, will properly debut during the Xbox 20/20 event. It contains the official Series X logo, but with some extra flourish to let you know that the game you’re seeing will be designed with Series X improvements.
We can expect to see this logo quite a bit going forward–console transitions usually involve plenty of cross-gen platforms, but Microsoft has specifically said that the Series X will not launch with next-gen exclusives. This means that titles like Halo Infinite will launch for Xbox One too, with Series X enhanced versions–but thankfully, you won’t have to buy the game twice if you take some time to upgrade, thanks to Smart Delivery.
Now when you see this logo during the Xbox 20/20 stream, you’ll know exactly what it means. Xbox Series X is due to release before the end of 2020.
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