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Update 7.17pm BST: The original headline of this article incorrectly quoted Hoberman as saying “over 100” people were working on the project. This has now been corrected to “close to 100”. Certain Affinity has shared more details on its role working on Halo Infinite, and revealed it’s leading development on “something big and new for the franchise”. The prolific Texas-based support studio, which has collaborated on instalments in theHaloand Call of Duty franchises since 2007, announced earlier this year that it hadtaken on additional Halo Infinite development duties....

The writer behind the modern Deus Ex games will helm the narrative for the next Mass Effect, it’s been confirmed. Following VGC’s story earlier this week thatveteran narrative director Mary DeMarle had joined BioWare,Mass Effect 4’s director Michael Gamble confirmed on Monday that she will be working onEA’s own big sci-fi series. “Oh, hey! I’m really excited to let you know that Mary DeMarle will be joining the Mass Effect team as Senior Narrative Director,” he wrote....

Crystal Dynamics is seeking feedback on Legacy of Kain with a view to potentially reviving the long-dormant franchise. Following its acquisition byEmbracer Group, last monthCrystal Dynamicsofficiallyassumed control of the Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain seriesfrom their previous owner and its former parent companySquare Enix. Embracer had said in May that it was envisagingreleasing sequels, remakes, remasters, spin-offs and morefor the Crystal Dynamics (andEidos Montreal) IPs it was set to acquire from Square Enix....

Donkey Kong composer David Wise has signed up for a new Kickstarter designed to teach players new languages. Wasumi’s Dream Adventureis described as an “anime-inspired 3D action-adventure game” in which players can learn Japanese, Chinese or English. This project is being worked on in collaboration with the University College London and the University of Southampton to integrate its AI language feedback system. The game has players controlling character Wasumi as she takes on gamified reading, writing, listening and speaking exercises....

Next Studios’ Death Coming is now free to download from the Epic Games Store. “Death Coming is a non-linear puzzle game where you must harvest human souls ‘Final Destination’ style,” reads the product listing. “However, pesky mortals are not your only problem, as the Agents of Light will do everything they can to stop you.” Death Coming is normally priced at £4.99 on theEpic Games Store. It will befree to downloaduntil May 14, when it will be replaced by a mystery game....

A live ‘game premiere’ event for Death Stranding 2 has been confirmed for Summer Game Fest. The presentation, which will take place at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, will be hosted byGeoff Keighleyand will be streamed online. Hideo Kojimawill be in attendance at the event, which is designed “to celebrate the game’s upcoming launch with a panel discussion with special guests and an exclusive live demonstration” of the game in action....

Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed December’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog titles. This month’s additions, which are listed in full below, includeWWE 2K22, severalFar CryandYakuzagames, plus Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. PlayStation Plus Premium also offers a selection of PS1,PS2andPSPgames to download, andPS3games via cloud streaming. December’s additions to the Classics Catalog include Ridge Racer 2 (PSP), Heavenly Sword (PS3), Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus (PS1) and Pinball Heroes (PSP)....

EA Sports College Football 25 has overtaken Helldivers 2 as the best-selling game of 2024 year-to-date in the US. The game enjoyed a blockbuster release that drove double-digit growth in July US video game spending, according to research firm Circana, which published its monthly industry sales report on Wednesday. Mat Piscatella, executive director, video games at Circana,saidthe game “significantly exceeded” his expectations, “and they were high”, adding that it boosted hardware, software and accessories sales last month, despite a significant decline inNintendo Switchadoption....

EA-backed car culture site,Speedhunters, says it’s winding down operations after the publisher allegedly decided to “shelve” its Need for Speed series. That’s according to photojournalist and longtime contributor Matthew Everingham, who posted onInstagramthat the site was “on ice”, some 17 years after it was founded. “Speedhunters is on ice.EAshelved Need For Speed, and that means no more funding for the site,” he wrote. “Grateful for everything — the trips, the stories, the lifelong mates....

Easy Come, Easy Golf, a new re-release of Clap Hanz Golf, has been released on the Nintendo Switch. Announced during the Japanese version of theNintendo Direct, the game is a port of the mobile game that was released last year by former Everybody’s Golf developer ClapHanz onApple Arcade. The game costs £17.59 on the UKNintendoStore. Clap Hanzwas founded in 1998 and spent its first two decades working withSony Interactive Entertainmenton Everybody’s Golf and its Tennis and VR spin-offs....

A group of dedicated Nintendo fans have managed to restore Super Mario World’s 30-year-old soundtrack using samples uncovered in a data leak. Twitter user The Brickster said he was able to use last year’ssignificant leak of classic Nintendo datato solve the mystery of which samples were used forKoji Kondo’s iconic Mario music. Other creators were then able to restore several tracks from the Mario World OST and share them online....

Electronic Arts said on Thursday that FIFA 21 will feature new co-operative experiences for Volta, the street football mode introduced in FIFA 20, and FIFA Ultimate Team. Volta Squads will feature 5v5 online co-op play, while friends will be able to team up online for new ways to play and compete for rewards with FUT Co-Op. “This year, we are bringing fans together through social experiences that elevate both the small-sided experience and the excitement felt on the professional pitch, offering the most authentic and interactiveEA SportsFIFA experience to date,” said series executive producer Aaron McHardy....

FIFA 23’s lengthy meta may be over, as players have noticed an undocumented change to player pace in the latest FIFA 23 update. The update, which has rolled out across consoles today, has increased the pace of explosive and controller players, making them significantly faster than the lengthy player, which had previously dominated theFIFA 23meta. Tall and strong players such as Erling Haaland had previously been extremely popular and effective in the game due to the acceleRATE system on current generation consoles....