Paradox Interactive is writing down development costs for The Lamplighters League following a disappointing launch for the game. Developed by Paradox-owned Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun trilogy and BattleTech), the tactical turn-based strategy game is an original pulp adventure set in an alternate 1930s, which tasks players with assembling a team of misfits to stop an ancient cult. Released on October 3 forXbox Series X/SandPCviaSteamandEpic Games Store,as well as Game Pass for console and PC, it currently has scores of 68 (Xbox) and 75 (PC) on review aggregation site Metacritic....

Zen Studios, the developer behind Pinball FX, is releasing a separate M-rated pinball game with horror-themed tables. Pinball M will launch with five tables, one of which will be available for free. The free table is an updated, “unrestricted” Director’s Cut version of the Lovecraft-inspired Wrath of the Elder Gods table that’s already available in PinballFX. It will be accompanied by four DLC tables, two of which have been confirmed....

Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution studio Frontier Developments has secured the rights to make a series of Formula One management games. Frontier has signed a multi-year exclusive licence with Formula One which will see it develop and publish management games annually, starting with the 2022 F1 season. The licence provides Frontier with the rights for four F1 seasons (2022 to 2025), subject to the achievement of certain financial performance thresholds....

Players are accusing Tencent’s latest game of looking very similar to Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. Light of Motiram is developed by Polaris Quest, a subsidiary ofTencent. The game is described as an open world adventure set in a land “where human civilisation has ceased to exist”. The world is inhabited by mechanical animals known as mechanimals, including a large gorilla, deer and bull. “Facing primal civilisations, unpredictable weather and lurking Mechanimals, you must make the most of every resource to maintain your survival,” the game’s description reads....

PlayStation is seeking a senior director to lead its PC “planning and strategy”. According to ajob listingsent to VGC, the role, which is based in San Mateo California is looking for candidates that will be responsible for “the strategy and commercial activity within Global Channel sales and will deliver a single, optimizedPCSales growth and commercial plan”. The job listing is looking for candidates who can “Lead PC growth and commercial strategy” as well as “Develop and implement global PC store strategy and process”...

According toGame Developersources, new games that cost more than $34 (€33 in Europe, 4,000 yen in Japan) will be required to have a time-limited trial that must last at least two hours. The site says the new policy won’t be retroactive and will not apply toPlayStationVR titles. Developers will be allowed three months following the release of their game to release the timed trial. These trials must be available to players for at least 12 months....

The latest episode of VGC: A Video Game Podcast is now available for listening. This week VGC’s Jordan Middler, Chris Scullion and Andy Robinson discuss the week’s biggest video game news, including the upcomingGrand Theft Auto 6trailer, the Zelda movie and the current situations at Free Radical Design andBungie. Jordan also gives his impressions on the campaign forModern Warfare 3. If you’d like to get in touch with the podcast, you may do so viapodcast@videogameschronicle....

The latest episode of VGC: A Video Games Podcast is now available for listening. VGC’s Jordan Middler and Chris Scullion discuss this week’s news. This week we’ve gotSquare Enix‘s troubles, the return ofDan Houser, andHelldivers 2is breaking records. VGC: A Video Games Podcast episodes are available weekly, hosted by VGC’s Jordan Middler, Chris Scullion and Andy Robinson, and broadcaster Pete Donaldson, featuring regular special guests from across the games industry....

At one point during its development, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was “running beautifully and smoothly” on Xbox 360. That’s according to the game’s assistant producerRyan Payton, who shares the revelation in Steven L Kent’s bookThe Ultimate History of Video Games Vol 2(viaTime Extension). In an interview for the book, Payton claims that there was no exclusivity deal to ensure the game was only released onPS3, and that the decision instead came down to the choice of disc format used inMicrosoft‘s console....

PlayStation 4 games that aren’t backwards compatible with PlayStation 5 could yet have compatibility patched in, a developer has suggested. On FridaySony Interactive EntertainmentdetailedPS5’s backwards compatibility featuresand named tenPS4games that would not work on the next-gen console. A developer behind one game,PlayStationVR shooterDWVR, claimed in a series ofReddit posts(spotted byThis Gen Gaming) published after Sony’s announcement that studio Mad Triangles was working to ensure that the game could yet be compatible withPlayStation 5....

The artist behind the design of PlayStation 5 has revealed that the console was at one point intended to be even larger than it currently is. At more than 15 inches wide, the PS5 hardware isSony’s biggest console to date and larger than even its next-gen rivalXbox Series X. According to senior art director Yujin Morisawa, who was responsible for designing the PS5, the console’s large size was decided in order to create a strong airflow inside the console, without disturbing players with noisy fans....

On Monday CD Projekt held a conference call with investors and members of the financial media addressing the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Since its release on December 10,Cyberpunk 2077’s performance on base PS4 and Xbox One has been heavily criticisedby fans and the media, witha Digital Foundry analysiscalling performance on base consoles “dire” and “a mess”. CD Projekthas committed to fixing the “most prominent issues” players are experiencing on last-gen consoles and bring them closer to the PC experience, and even pledged tohelp players secure refunds....

Ubisoft will release its popular competitive shooter Rainbow Six Siege for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year. During itsUbisoftForward event on Thursday, the publisher said it would deliver “the best Siege experience” on console, with gameplay running up to 4K resolution at 120fps. To runPS5andXbox Series Xgames at 120fps, newer televisions featuring HDMI 2.1 will be required. Current-gen console players will receive the next-gen versions as a free update, Ubisoft said, and players will keep their progression and in-game content....