New Final Fantasy 16 gameplay trailer is exciting beyond belief

At long last, Square Enix gives fans the goods.

The wait for Final Fantasy 16 is utterly excruciating, especially after seeing it again after so long.

During State of Play on Thursday, Square Enix finally released the second trailer for Final Fantasy 16. No, you’re not dreaming – it’s real, and looks brilliant. When producer Naoki Yoshida began teasing fans about this weeks ago, he really should have given everyone a disclaimer that it would be overflowing with hype. Seriously, most of us knew gameplay was coming, but story tidbits and soundtrack teases too? We’re feasting. 

Enough fanboy prattle from me, though. Check out the latest Final Fantasy 16 trailer below. 

My goodness, the graphics sure improved since that initial reveal years ago. It’s unclear if Final Fantasy 16 is running natively on PS5 here. Given that timed platform exclusivity deal, it likely is. No status update on the PC version yet, I’m afraid.

As for release date information, Final Fantasy 16 is coming summer 2023.

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Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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The latest Street Fighter 6 trailer is full of white-knuckle brawls

The world warriors are coming together again for an epic battle.

Everyone loves watching a good fight. You and I both know it, and Street Fighter has proven that for decades – all while ensuring nobody actually gets hurt! Outside of accidentally smashing a thumb on an arcade stick, maybe.

During State of Play on Thursday, Capcom unleashed an extensive gameplay trailer for Street Fighter 6. No pre-rendered business this time; it’s all in-engine tussles between the world warriors. The goofy-looking logo is gone too!

In the trailer, you can see familiar faces like Chun-Li and Ryu, along with some newbies we haven’t met yet. Check out the new Street Fighter 6 trailer for yourself below.

Street Fighter 6 will launch on PS4 and PS5 sometime in 2023.

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Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Dragon Age 4 is officially titled ‘Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’

Bioware’s next big fantasy RPG gets a new name.

Well, Dragon Age 4 has a new name.

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Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Wolfenstein: The New Order is free on the Epic Games Store

One fantastic shooter is up for grabs.

So the mystery giveaway season is still in full force on Epic’s storefront. Last week, the BioShock trilogy was up for grabs. Now, there’s something even better!

This week, Wolfenstein: The New Order is free on the Epic Games Store until June 9, 2022, at 8:00 A.M. PDT // 11 A.M. EDT // 4 P.M. GMT. This game is, no exaggeration, one of the best first-person shooters ever made. Full stop. Download it here. If you’ve never played it before, then goodness, are you ever in for a treat.

Personally, I’d rank Wolfenstein: The New Order among the likes of Half-life 2, Titanfall 2, Halo 3, and Doom 2016. The gameplay is superb, and there’s even a surprisingly well-told story.

Next week, Epic is giving away more cool stuff. It’s still mystery season, so I can’t tell you what it is. That would ruin the surprise! There’s also the fact that I have no earthly idea of what it might be. So keep your eyes peeled for my weekly roundup.  

As a reminder, the Epic Games Store Mega Sale is still happening. Loads of brand-spanking-new titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Far Cry 6 are seeing huge discounts, so it’s worth checking out.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 gameplay footage finally emerges

A behind-the-scenes video delivers the goods.

I can scarcely believe it’s been more than a decade since Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine came out, and only now are we seeing gameplay from the sequel. Seriously, where has the time gone?

On Wednesday, Saber Interactive released a Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 video documentary during the Skulls Showcase. It primarily features development team members discussing nerdy Warhammer stuff, with a snippet of gameplay from Space Marine 2 at the very end. We can see Ultramarines storming war-torn cities while slaughtering swarms of Tyranid nasties, as nature intended. Shame there isn’t more chainsword action, though.

Check out the footage of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 for yourself below. It’s brief but well worth watching!

I’m getting the impression that Space Marine 2 is still relatively early in development from this. Otherwise, there would be more substantial in-game footage. In fairness, it was only revealed last fall during the 2021 Game Awards in December. Patience is a virtue, as they say.

If you’re craving more of that grimdark future, Warhammer: 40,000: Rogue Trader had its reveal during the show. It’s a cRPG from the Pathfinder folks that might fill the void until Space Marine 2 comes out. Here’s to hoping, anyway.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Warhammer: 40,000: Rogue Trader is a new cRPG from Owlcat Games

The team behind Pathfinder is going grimdark.

There are only dice rolls in the grim darkness of the far future.

On Wednesday, Games Workshop revealed Warhammer: 40,000: Rogue Trader during the Skulls showcase. It’s a cRPG from Owlcat Games, the studio best known for the Pathfinder series. You’ll play as the titular Rogue Trader, enacting the Emperor’s will throughout an obscenely hostile universe. 

“Working on such a remarkable universe as Warhammer 40,000 is a great honor but also a responsibility and challenge for us as a team,” Oleg Shpilchevsky, head of Owlcat Games, said in a press release. “The grim darkness of the 41st millennium is a harsh place of unbound evil, untold sacrifices, and large-scale threats and challenges that perfectly transitions into an exciting roleplaying narrative that allows an exceptional freedom of in-game choice for the player,”

Check out the announcement trailer for Warhammer: 40,000: Rogue Trader below.

“We endeavor to bring to the game everything that fans of the cRPG genre love and expect: fateful decisions, non-linear stories, strong and diverse companion cast together with addictive and complex gaming systems to master,” Shpilchevsky concludes.

There’s no release date for Warhammer: 40,000: Rogue Trader yet, but we do know it’s coming for PC and consoles eventually. It’s already up for pre-order on OwlCat’s website, though.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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John Madden is the cover star of ‘Madden NFL 23’ for the first time since 2000 and fans absolutely love it

EA Sports got this one right. It was an easy choice.

If you’ve ever been a fan of the Madden franchise at all, you know one thing is absolutely true — the fans never agree on anything.

Whether it’s something as simple as who the cover star — or stars, in some cases — are, or who the best Madden athlete ever is, or what their favorite player’s rating is. The debates about these things will last forever and ever.

But we’ve finally found one thing everyone actually seems to agree on.

We learned on Wednesday that the late John Madden would be on the cover of Madden 23 for the first time in 22 years.

The NFL legend died at 85 years old earlier this year. It just feels right for the game to honor him in this way.

Fans of the game everywhere were thrilled EA Sports made the right choice here.

Aim Lab will be the official training platform for Valorant esports

Riot Games is becoming a minority shareholder in Statespace.

Most people who love competitive first-person shooters are familiar with Aim Lab, the free aim-training software from Statespace. Think of it as a shooting range for your mousing hand. 

On Wednesday, Riot Games announced that it acquired a minority share in Statespace, and Aim Lab will become the official training and coaching platform for Valorant. Both companies are working to directly incorporate gunplay elements and physics minutia from the tactical shooter into Aim Lab.

“Riot has been the best partner, collaborator, and facilitator that we could have asked for,” Dr. Wayne Mackey, CEO of Statespace, said in a press release. “We are thrilled to continue to improve player experience through training, coaching, and scouting in Valorant and soon, in League of Legends.

What’s particularly noteworthy about this announcement is the League of Legends mention, confirming that Aim Labs will branch off into MOBA territory.

“We look forward to collaborating with Statespace on developing innovative training and coaching tools for Valorant and MOBA players around the world to improve their skills at every level,” Jake Perlman-Garr, global head of corporate development at Riot Games, said.

It’s certainly a curious development. Esports pros in the Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch scenes all use Aim Lab as well. So Riot directly investing in the platform seems like a smart move.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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¡Adiós FIFA! Los cambios que esperamos en EA Sports FC

El legado de 20 años del videojuego conocido como FIFA desapareció para dar paso a EA Sports FC, la nueva plataforma para jugar futbol en línea que promete ser la opción favorita de todos los aficionados como lo fue el del pasado.

El legado de 20 años del videojuego conocido como FIFA desapareció para dar paso a EA Sports FC, la nueva plataforma para jugar futbol en línea que promete ser la opción favorita de todos los aficionados como lo fue el del pasado.

En 2023 el videojuego cambiará de nombre por lo que el FIFA 23, próximo a estrenarse, será el último de la saga con este nombre y licencia de ser el juego oficial de futbol avalado por el máximo organismo rector. Ahora FIFA expandió sus licencias y por supuesto, busca adueñarse del imperio de los e-sports en materia de soccer.

Los fanáticos, amateurs y profesionales, ya tienen en mente los cambios que les gustaría ver en el videojuego que no está siendo anunciado como tal, sino como una plataforma de juego, lo que nos permite tener algunas pistas, y peticiones, de lo que esperamos ver en la nueva versión.

 

TSM CEO Andy Dinh reportedly fosters a ‘culture of fear’ at the esports organization

Allegations range from verbal abuse to misclassifying contractors.

Andy “Reginald” Dinh, CEO of the massive esports organization Team SoloMid (TSM) and Blitz, is accused of highly abrasive behavior towards staff while also misclassifying employees as contractors.

A report by The Washington Post spoke with over a dozen current and former employees regarding an alleged “culture of fear” at TSM and Blitz. Many of whom did so under anonymity, fearing retaliation by Dinh, especially after employees found out that the head of HR was fired during an inexplicable all-hands meeting.

“That was when [Andy] told the whole company that the HR person was let go because he asked a question that Andy didn’t like,” a former TSM employee said. “I think he kind of realized how ridiculous it sounded, so he followed up by saying, ‘Well, he asked two questions that [I] didn’t like.’ No one wants to ask any questions after that.”

Not long after The Washington Post’s report went live, Dinh commented on Reddit, addressing why the head of HR was terminated.

“Previous to letting go of our head of HR, I met with this person once for an interview. I was also not his direct manager,” Dinh said. “The first work interaction was that this person emailed our executive team to ask for recommendations on hiring for a competing organization. Generally the first task that you do is to put together a 30,60,90. I told [this] person that it was not [a] good use of time and that they should focus on building trust within the organization.”

The former HR head allegedly disagreed and was let go for not prioritizing other tasks. Dinh claims that he’ll do an ask-me-anything after an internal investigation is complete.

Everyone working at TSM and Blitz, including athletes, programming, and sales, was potentially susceptible to alleged outbursts from Dinh. Former Blitz program manager Anthony Barnes claims the mistreatment made day-to-day operations difficult.

“Nobody wanted to be in a one-on-one meeting with Andy because you had no witnesses,” Barnes said. “I mean that literally. Who knew if Andy was going to scream or yell at you, degrade you, be friendly, or just be confused or inquisitive? You weren’t sure what Andy you were going to get. But the more people on the call, the more likely Andy wasn’t going to be a complete volcano.”

Sometimes employees would be publicly mocked for results that the CEO deemed inadequate. This public shaming could come at any time, too. According to Barnes, there was an instance where Dinh inexplicably joined a Blitz design call on his phone while hiking to a ski lodge. As the meeting went on, Dinh grew increasingly upset and began calling the work worthless or a waste of time.

“He took the call where we’re screen sharing detailed design information and mock-ups on his phone,” Barnes said. “By that medium, that’s going to be inherently challenging. I wouldn’t make that decision. Or I would be cognizant that that would impair my ability to make decisions and evaluations. Andy didn’t seem to do either or value doing so.”

The Washington Post’s report also states that multiple workers at the Los Angeles-based TSM and Blitz believe they were misclassified as contractors instead of employees and thus were not eligible for certain benefits.

“We won’t be commenting on confidential personnel issues, especially complaints made by anonymous individuals who feel they were misclassified in their employment status,” TSM and Blitz spokesperson Gillian Sheldon told The Washington Post.

In January, League of Legends developer Riot Games told Wired it was investigating Dinh for allegedly bullying and verbally abusing Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, a former TSM athlete. During a live stream, Peng described Dinh as a “bully who gets away with being a bad person because he’s powerful.”

TSM and Bliz shared a statement with The Washington Post regarding the situation with Peng.

“As we stated publicly late last year, upon learning of allegations against Mr. Dinh, TSM immediately hired an independent investigator to begin a thorough internal investigation,” the statement reads. “Andy recused himself from any oversight of the scope, nature and conclusions of the investigation. Those results are pending. Until finalized, we can’t comment on specifics.”

There are many moving aspects to this story, and it’s unlikely that a resolution is coming anytime soon.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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