Final Fantasy 7 Remake Producer Wants to Keep Developing at a Fast Pace

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s co-director Tetsuya Nomura has said that he would like to deliver the next part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s story quickly, and to do so would require focusing on a “smaller portion” of the overall plot.

The quote comes from an interview in Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania, a guide and lore book now available in Japan. The quotes were shared online by Twitter account aibo and translated by IGN Japan, and include this snippet from producer Yoshinori Kitase and co-director Nomura.

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When asked about how many parts the remake will compirse of, Kitase said: “We have a rough idea on that, but it’s not been completely decided yet. It’s impossible to talk about this right now. It seems that many people think it will become a trilogy.”

“It all depends on how many parts we make,” said Nomura. “If we separate it into bigger chunks it will take more time, but if we take smaller portions it can be done on a shorter span. Personally, I would like to deliver it fast.”

By smaller portions, it seems that Nomura is suggesting that – like the first game in the series – subsequent games will focus on parts of the storyline that take just a few hours to play out. Taking into consideration Final Fantasy 7’s very varied world, with its multitude of styles from area to area, it’s easy to see how focusing on a smaller portion would help speed up production.

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To cover the remaining plot of the original game in a trilogy format- including weaving in new narrative changes and expanded areas akin to the first game – would mean for two further massive games that would arguably need to be much larger than the first. As Kitase points out, the final number of games has yet to be decided, but Nomura’s comments about preferring to take smaller chunks suggest that this project could be larger than just three games.

For more on Final Fantasy 7 Remake and where it may go next, check out our ending explained guide, and the news that the next game is already in the works.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

PUBG Surprise Launches On Google Stadia With New Pioneer Edition

During its latest Stadia Connect, Google announced 11 more games coming to its cloud-based game streaming service, including several games scheduled to arrive over the next month, like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: Pioneer Edition. This special edition of PUBG is actually available for Google Stadia right now.

The base version of PUBG costs $30 USD, while this new Pioneer Edition is available for $40 USD (but is included for free with a Stadia Pro membership). That higher price tag includes the base game, the Survivor Pass: Cold Front, and Google Stadia-exclusive skins. Cold Front is the current battle pass for PUBG, offering a new prize track to go with the start of Season 7, which sees the return of snow-covered Vikendi.

PUBG is one of several high-profile games on the way to the service, with the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as well as the Madden and FIFA series, on the way.

In GameSpot’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds review, Michael Higham writes, “PUBG’s technical shortcomings can undermine its broader achievements on rare occasions, but they don’t override your desire to continue playing. Each phase of a match presents a different type of tension that is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, driven by the insatiable desire to be the last person (or squad) standing.”

Our review for Google’s cloud-based game streaming service, however, was not as positive. In GameSpot’s Google Stadia review last year, Peter Brown wrote, “It may not be possible to do a one-size-fits-all fee given that Google hopes to offer the most popular games day-and-date with consoles and PC, but there has to be a better middle road between a flat fee and the high per-game cost at Stadia’s launch. Until it gets there, Stadia will struggle to be viewed as anything more than a costly curiosity.”

Now Playing: Google Stadia Final Review Chat

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Google Stadia Adding Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Octopath Traveler, And More Games

A few more big-name games are coming to Stadia, Google announced during its latest Stadia Connect. In addition to the newest slate of Stadia Pro titles, including the just-released PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, nine more games are on the way to Google’s streaming platform over the next few months.

Headlining the new additions is a trio of titles from EA. First is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the acclaimed Star Wars action-adventure game from Respawn. Jedi: Fallen Order hits the service this fall, with installments of Madden NFL and FIFA set to follow in the winter.

In addition to the three EA games, Stadia is getting the acclaimed RPG Octopath Traveler this week, as well as the co-op game Get Packed. Rounding out the upcoming additions are Crayta, Wave Break, Embr, and Rock of Ages 3. You can see the full list of newly announced Stadia games below.

As previously mentioned, Google also announced a new batch of titles for Stadia Pro subscribers. Those will be available beginning May 1 and include the aforementioned PUBG, Zombie Army 4: Dead War, SteamWorld Heist, and The Turing Test. Meanwhile, Thumper will be leaving at the end of April.

Upcoming Google Stadia Games

  • Octopath Traveler — April 28
  • Get Packed — April 28
  • Embr — May 21 (early access)
  • Crayta — Summer 2020
  • Wave Break — TBD
  • Rock of Ages 3 — June
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Fall 2020
  • Madden NFL — Winter 2020
  • FIFA — Winter 2020

Now Playing: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Video Review

Introducing ‘Play For All,’ GameSpot’s Summer Gaming Celebration & Charity Effort

For fans of video games, June is one of the most exciting times of the year. Over a week, we as a community come together and watch as the future of gaming is laid out before our eyes. We’re regaled with exciting new game announcements, get hands-on with interesting titles that are on the horizon, and hear from developers and executives about their visions. More importantly, we share all that passion and excitement with each other.

This year, however, things are a bit different–we don’t need to tell you how, you know that well enough at this point. But what we can say is that we at GameSpot don’t want to lose that energizing sense of excitement for gaming that we’re all so used to having around E3. We look forward to it every year, and we know you do too.

At the same time, there’s a greater responsibility now to look at the world around us and think about how we can do our part to improve conditions. This is especially the case as brave people put themselves at risk every day to ensure the safety of others.

The team at GameSpot thought long and hard about what we wanted to do and what we needed to do, and from those discussions, we came up with a way that we could all pour our passion for video games into something that would help those in need.

It’s called GameSpot “Play For All” and it’s a multi-week event that will deliver the biggest summer gaming news, previews, interviews, and more to a global audience, but also raise funds for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Beginning in early June and spanning several weeks, Play For All will be the premiere destination for gamers worldwide to get up-to-date information on the most exciting announcements. We’re partnering with major video game publishers including Bethesda, CD Projekt Red, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Larian Studios, Google Stadia, Bandai Namco, Private Division, Square Enix, SEGA, and 2K Games, among many others, to bring you the latest and greatest in gaming.

On top of that, we’re teaming up with Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization whose mission is to improve the health and lives of the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations, many of which are affected by poverty and emergencies.

As well as celebrating video games, together we’ll also be raising funds for healthcare workers battling the global pandemic.

Play For All will feature over 100 hours of live and on-demand programming streamed on GameSpot, as well as our YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter platforms. And collaborating with the GameSpot team’s charity effort will be friends from across the industry, including the Giant Bomb team, Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, NoClip’s Danny O’Dwyer, and many more that we’ll be announcing over the coming days and weeks.

Throughout the summer, you’ll be able to engage with the GameSpot team and our friends from across the industry in a series of live events including let’s plays, gameplay marathons, gaming challenges, and interviews with special guests. Through these, you’ll be able to enjoy hours of fun gaming content and, for those who can, head over to GameSpot’s Direct Relief team page to make donations that will provide vital support and materials to healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients.

We as a team are unbelievably excited to be bringing you all this. Not only because we get to immerse ourselves in video games, but also because we get to bring our community closer together, unite under our passion for the medium, and raise money for a great cause. We hope you’re as excited for Play For All as we are.

You can take a look below for a list of publishers that have already partnered with us for Play For All. Additional partners will be announced in lead up to the launch of the event, and a full schedule for the event will also be revealed in the weeks to come.

  • 11 Bit
  • 2K Games
  • Amazon Games
  • Bethesda
  • CD Projekt Red
  • Coffee Stain
  • Dear Villagers
  • Deep Silver
  • Devolver Digital
  • Fellow Traveller
  • Good Shepard
  • Google Stadia
  • Headup
  • Larian Studios
  • Modern wolf
  • Modus Games
  • Mythical Games
  • Bandai Namco
  • Perfect World Entertainment
  • Private Division
  • Raw Fury
  • Sega of America
  • Sega of Europe
  • Square Enix
  • Those Awesome Guys
  • Thunderful
  • United Label
  • Vs Evil
  • Wings
  • Ysbryd

Google Stadia Announces More Pro Games For May

The latest Stadia Connect revealed more content plans for the streaming-only platform, including a handful of games coming to Stadia Pro subscribers soon. As always, being a Pro member entitles you to a rotating selection of included games, which are playable as long as you’re a subscriber.

The headliner of the bunch is the battle royale PUBG, which was surprise-launched at the end of the Connect presentation. Pro members get the Pioneer Edition, and the Stadia version of the game comes with the Survivor Pass: Cold Front and an exclusive skin set.

Two more Pro games will come starting May 1: SteamWorld Heist and The Turing Test. Zombie Army 4: Dead War is coming soon, while Thumper, which is currently available for Pro members, will rotate out at the end of April.

If you stop being a Pro subscriber, you’ll keep any purchased games but lose the ones offered with the subscription. Plus your purchased games will run at a max 1080p, instead of the 4K max reserved (but not necessarily delivered) for Pro members.

The Stadia Connect presentation also announced a partnership with EA, along with several new games coming to the service soon.

Watch Netflix’s Extraction with the Russo Bros and Director Sam Hargrave

Here at IGN, we’re always looking for new ways to bring our community together to embrace what we’re most passionate about. That’s why we launched Watch From Home Theater, a weekly live show where we unite some of your favorite IGN personalities and special celebrity guests to have a digital movie night together with you watching some of our favorite films of all time.

This Thursday, April 30th at 5 p.m. PT, we’re watching Netflix’s new action-thriller Extraction with director Sam Hargrave and producers Joe and Anthony Russo! The movie is written by Joe Russo, who adapted it from the 2014 graphic novel Ciudad that he wrote with his brother Anthony and co-author Ande Parks. If you didn’t already watch Extraction this past weekend on Netflix, check out a clip of one of its impressive action sequences below:

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The movie is a reunion between the Russos, Hargrave and star Chris Hemsworth, who previously worked together in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Hemsworth stars as Tyler Rake, a hardened mercenary whose mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he’s sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord’s kidnapped son. Extraction also stars Rudhraksh Jaiswal and Randeep Hooda.

Extraction marks the feature film directorial debut of Hargrave, who is best known for his work in stunt choreography. In addition to the MCU movies previously mentioned, Hargrave is the stunt coordinator behind Atomic Blonde, The Hunger Games and Deadpool 2, and before that was a stunt double for the likes of Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine and Chris Evans in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

That’s why it should be no surprise that Hargrave knows how to take the action in Extraction to the next level. IGN’s review of Extraction praises its stunt choreography, calling it a “pure white-knuckle actioner” and saying that “if you enjoyed the hard-hitting showdowns between Bucky and Steve in the Captain America films, you’ll dig this flick.”

So get your Netflix account ready and sync up with us for this one-of-a-kind movie night! If you don’t already have an account, lucky for you the service is offering a 30-day free Netflix trial.

Watch From Home Theater isn’t just a show or an opportunity to watch a movie; it’s a hangout with passionate people who share one thing in common — their love of film. Each week, we’ll invite our viewers to join in the conversation using our WFH Theater Discord channel to chat with our host, Clint Gage, as well as our celebrity guests. With running commentaries that range from insightful to silly, each viewing will take on a life of its own based on each film.

This week we’ll be hosting two episodes of WFH Theater, so be sure to also join in the watch-along fun on Wednesday, April 29th when we watch Star Trek: First Contact with director and star Jonathan Frakes.

Check out highlights from our recent episodes of WFH Theater below!

WFH Theater – Jurassic Park with original movie star Joseph Mazzello

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WFH Theater – 10 Cloverfield Lane with director Dan Trachtenberg

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WFH Theater – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with writers Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz

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Switch Game Released Without Devs’ Knowledge and Lacking Features

The Nintendo Switch version of RPG platformer Indivisible launched today, and developer Lab Zero Games had absolutely no idea. Furthermore, the Switch port has been released missing co-op and new game plus modes, as well as other recent additions.

Posting on Twitter, Lab Zero Games’ Mike Zaimont said “our team found out because people on Twitter sent us congratulations! I had no idea!”

He went on to say that the Switch version is great and running at a stable framerate, but it appears that the old build of the game has been added to the Nintendo eShop, rather than the current version. In addition, the store page features the wrong artwork, and appeared with no PR lead up or release date announcement.

“This launch does not represent the quality standards of Lab Zero,” said Zaimont. “It just doesn’t. I’m sorry. It wasn’t us.”

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It’s likely that the situation is due to Indivisible’s publisher, 505 Games. We’ve reached out to both Lab Zero Games and 505 Games for further comment.

Indivisible has landed on Switch with a 20% discount, and if it looks like your kind of thing then you should give it a try. Our glowing review of the original PC version called it “one of the most wildly creative RPGs of the year”.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Destroy All Humans! Remake: July Release Date Revealed

The release date for Black Forest Games’ Destroy All Humans! remake has been revealed, with the game launching on July 28th, 2020.

The remake was revealed back in June 2019 and will land on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia at launch.

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Destroy All Humans! is a remake of the 2005 cult classic developed by the now-defunct Pandemic and follows Crypto, a smack-talking alien who terrorizes a 1950s township, claiming the precious brain stems of the human populace. The game released on PS2 and Xbox and was a hit with fans for its irreverent humour and chaotic gameplay, which has been reimagined for current-gen consoles.

The game will retail at €29.99 / $29.99 / £24.99 on PC and €39.99 / $39.99 / £34.99 on consoles.

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Those who pre-order the game will also receive a set of skins that are debuted in the trailer, including one that dons Crypto in a white bodysuit that is clearly a homage to Memphis crooner Elvis Presley.

For more on Destroy All Humans, check out our preview of the game from PAX East. If you’re really keen on the remake, come get a closer look at the insane $399.99 collector’s edition that comes with a Crypto backpack, a 60 cm tall figurine and a Crypto-shaped stress toy which may relieve your worries after such a bold purchase.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Get Amazon Music Unlimited Free for Three Months

When it comes to free trials of streaming services, you have a lot of options–if you’re streaming video, that is. Those of us looking to stream music have a slimmer selection. You can always get a free month of Spotify or Tidal, assuming you haven’t already done their free trials. But the best free music streaming trial by far right now is Amazon Music Unlimited. It gives new subscribers three months of free, unlimited access to a massive library of tunes.

You can cancel any time, including before your first bill arrives, meaning you won’t have to spend a cent. If you haven’t tried Amazon Music Unlimited yet and could use some music in your life, there’s no reason not to give it a shot.

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Essentially, Amazon Music Unlimited is the online retailer’s answer to Spotify. It gets you unlimited ad-free access to virtually any song on the planet. You can stream or download the music on your phone or tablet. If you have an Echo device, you can call up any song, album, station, or playlist just by asking Alexa.

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If you choose to keep your subscription once the free trial runs out, it costs the same as the competition: $9.99 per month for a single subscription or $14.99 for a family membership that lets you listen on different devices simultaneously. The one exception is if you have Prime.

Amazon Prime members get a special discount, making the service cost $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. As usual with these kinds of things, paying annually costs less than a year’s worth of monthly payments, so do that if you can afford it. In any case, starting the free trial is a no-risk proposition.

If you’re not eligible for the Amazon Music Unlimited free trial, there’s one other great music streaming deal available right now: You can get four months of Tidal for just $4. And if our shelter-at-home lifestyle has you seeking out more free digital entertainment, check out our massive rundown of digital freebies covering everything from games and video streaming services to reading and online courses.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Deadly Premonition 2 Release Date Set for July 2020

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise finally has a release date following its surprise announcement during a Nintendo Direct. The sequel to the 2010 cult-hit will be released on July 10, 2020, for the Nintendo Switch.

Deadly Premonition 2 lets you explore a new mystery as FBI Special Agent York. Set in both present-day Boston and the fictional town of Le Carré, Louisiana Deadly Premonition 2 is both a sequel and prequel to the original mystery game.

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The new trailer doesn’t reveal too much new information, but Rising Star Games and Toybox released a handful of new screenshots featuring the returning FBI agent in the new town. Other new characters include Agents Davis and Jones who are tracking down their own mysterious serial killer.

Like in the first Deadly Premonition, A Blessing in Disguise features an open-ended adventure with a sandbox explorable by foot or skateboard. There will also be a variety of mini-games like bowling, bayou rides, skateboard challenges, and more, as well as character customization for you and your skateboard. Basically, the big reveal here is that you get to ride around town on a skateboard.

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As part of a promotion, the first Deadly Premonition is 50% off on the Nintendo eShop right now through May 17. Read our original Deadly Premonition review here.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.