Google has made a group of senior Assassin’s Creed developers one of the first hires for its new Stadia games studio in Montreal, VGC understands. Montreal’s Stadia Games and Entertainment’s studio is the streaming platform’s first original games studio, established by another formerAssassin’s Creeddeveloper,Jade Raymond, who is in charge of Stadia’s first-party games production. Sébastien Puel has joined the company as director general of the studio. Puel was one of the key figures behind Assassin’s Creed and acted as the franchise’s executive producer for almost ten years, from Assassin’s Creed 2 to 2014’s Unity....

Google has revealed its list of the 10 most searched video games in 2023. Top of the list isHogwarts Legacy, the open-world spin-off of the Harry Potter series. The game was comfortablyEurope’s best-selling game in the first half of 2023, following its release on February 10, and saw subsequent ports throughout the year, with last-gen versions released in May and aSwitchversion in November. Warner Brosreported in May that the game had sold 15 million copies worldwide, despite a boycott by some Harry Potter fans due topublic comments from creator JK Rowlingperceived by many to be transphobic (for a full breakdown of the situation, we recommendthis article by Glamour)....

After several hours of hands-on time, it’s clear that the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is the massive upgrade we’ve been waiting for since the game was released. Scarlet & Violet’s issues on the original Switch console are well-known. When the game was released, despite being a fantasticPokémongame,it was impossible to ignore the serious tech issuesthat plagued the game in 2022. Now, on theNintendo Switch 2, all of those issues have been fixed, and the game not only plays far better, but it looks pretty great, too....

With VGC’s regular posting for 2023 coming to a close, all that remains is to wish you an enjoyable holiday break and a happy new year! VGC’s news team will return full-time on Wednesday, January 3, after which our usual publishing hours will resume. Until then, as usual, we’ll be publishing an extensive list of features, including a look at the biggest games of 2024, as well as irregularly updating the site during the festive break....

Need tochange your skin tone in Infinity Nikki?It’s a simple process, but the somewhat cluttered menu system doesn’t make it easy. Given the lack of a traditional character creation step, you may think Nikki has to look a certain way in Infinity Nikki. But that’s not true. Once you’re in the game, you’ll have every opportunity to have your playable character look exactly how you want. How to change your skin tone in Infinity Nikki You can change your Infinity Nikki skin tone at a moment’s notice....

Infinity Ward has confirmed several Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 changes it plans to make following the game’s recent beta tests. APlayStationexclusiveModern Warfarebeta was held earlier this month, followed by a cross-play test which addedXboxandPCplayers. Despiteadjusting footstep audio and enemy visibilitybetween the tests,Infinity Wardhas acknowledged that further changes still need to be made. “While sentiment around footstep audio was more positive in Beta Weekend Two, we have seen your continued feedback on the volume of footsteps and will continue to balance enemy/friendly footstep audio ahead of launch,” itsaid....

Bohemia Interactive’s plans for Arma 4 appear to have leaked, ahead of a likely announcement planned for next week. A “Future of Arma” live stream isset to take placeon Tuesday, May 17, however, the details of the event appear to have leaked early via a marketing doc published on theGaming Leaks and Rumourssubreddit. According to the alleged Bohemia document, the developer is set to announce Arma 4 and a “more focused” precursor called Arma Reforger....

Veteran producer Jade Raymond has left Haven Studios, the company she founded in 2021. According to a new report byBloomberg, Raymond – who rose to prominence after producingAssassin’s Creedand executive producing Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines andWatch Dogs– has left her studio, which is still in the process of developing online shooter Fairgames. Although a reason wasn’t given for Raymond’s departure, the report cites sources who note that an external test of Fairgames took place several weeks ago, and that some developers were concerned about how it was received....

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shares is the latest Nintendo 64 game set to join Switch Online’s Expansion Pack line-up, Nintendo has confirmed. Kirby 64 marked Kirby’s first polygonal game, at least in a starring role (he had already appeared in Super Smash Bros. a year earlier). Despite its 3D appearance, the game is very much a side-scrolling platformer in the style of the previous Kirby adventures on the Game Boy, NES and SNES....

Warner Bros. Games has confirmed that the Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga release date has been delayed from this year to spring 2021. Covering the events of all nine Star Wars movies, the game was announced forXbox One,PS4,PCandNintendo SwitchatE3 2019. Publisher Warner announced on Thursday that the title will also be released forXbox Series XandPS5. Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is developed byTT Gamesin collaboration with Lucasfilm Games....

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed the final name for its game previously known as Project Century. The game is now officially known as Stranger Than Heaven, the studio revealed duringSummer Game Fest. The Like a Dragon /Yakuzadeveloper’s upcoming game was originally revealed duringThe Game Awardsin December 2024, under the Project Century title. Little information has been revealed about it, other than the fact it’s set in Japan in 1915....

A datamine of Super Mario 3D World’s Switch port has reportedly uncovered cancelled plans for a sixth playable character. According to Twitter userNickolox, theSwitchversion of the platformer contains voice files and over 200 animations for Toadette. The user even managed to load one of the voice files into the game’s selection screen: https://twitter.com/Nickoloxx/status/1361852447086415875?s=20 According to Nickolox, no model for Toadette appears to be present in the game’s files. It’s possible thatNintendocould yet add the playable character via DLC, but no post-launch plans were shared during Wednesday’s Direct....

Meta used its second annual Quest gaming showcase to reveal a new Ghostbusters game and a Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries update, among other titles. Mark Zuckerberg closed out Wednesday’s event by announcing Ghostbusters VR forMeta Quest 2. Developed by nDreams and published bySonyPictures Virtual Reality, the game sees players setting up a Ghostbusters HQ in San Francisco and is playable solo or in four-player co-op. “Track, blast, and trap ghosts in gripping encounters by wielding iconic equipment,” reads the blurb accompanying the reveal trailer, which is viewable above....