• The Stellar Blade demo from the South Korean studio Shift Up is now available on PS5 consoles. The demo includes the beginning of the game, where you can complete the tutorial and fight the first boss. Your save data will be transferred to the main game after its release.
• The size of the demo is 16 GB, and its completion takes 60-90 minutes.
• The full version of Stellar Blade will be released on April 26, 2024, exclusively for the PS5. The game has not been announced for other platforms yet.
• Stellar Blade is an action game in which players will take on the role of a fighter from the 7th Eva troopers. According to the story, the heroine leaves the Colony and arrives on the devastated Earth with the goal of wresting the planet from hostile invaders and saving humanity. Among other things, the developers of Stellar Blade drew inspiration from NieR: Automata and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

There's been a lot of hate for this game, but I see a lot of people still playing it.

CD Projekt Holding has published its financial report for 2023, which was an extremely successful year for the company. Highlights:

• Total revenue from sales of Cyberpunk 2077 and the Phantom Liberty add-on exceeded three billion zlotys (more than $750 million). In 2023, the figure increased by 826 million zlotys.

• The next "The Witcher" codenamed Polaris is in pre-production.
• The remake of the first "The Witcher" from Fool's Theory Studios and the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel from CDPR itself are still in the concept stage. The teams of these projects are gradually expanding.
• Active production of a game based on "The Witcher" from The Molasses Flood has yet to begin.
• CD Projekt RED's first game in its own franchise is still in the conceptualization stage of the IP. The project, codenamed Hadar, was first reported in the fall of 2022.
• The team responsible for the next installment of The Witcher continues to grow. As of February 29, 2024, 403 people worked on the game, that is, more than 60% of the entire staff of the studio. The active production stage of the action will begin in the second half of 2024.

• CD Projekt is very pleased with the performance of Cyberpunk 2077 and the Phantom Liberty add-on, whose sales in 2023 exceeded five million copies. The company is confident that the game will remain relevant to customers for years to come, just like The Witcher 3.

• CDPR games have sold more than 100 million copies. Of these, more than 75 million were for the "Witcher" trilogy, and 25 million for Cyberpunk 2077.
• CD Projekt's revenue from sales in 2023 exceeded PLN 1.2 billion ($308 million), and profit exceeded PLN 481 million ($120 million). These figures are 29% and 39% higher than the previous year, respectively.
• Financially, 2023 was the second-best year ever for CD Projekt.
• The company's reserves rose to PLN 1.3 billion. CD Projekt said that they achieved a "safe financial position" due to this.
• CD Projekt is considering licensing the Cyberpunk 2077 and "The Witcher" IPs to third-party studios to create mobile games. No concrete plans or announcements have been made yet.

I've recently started exploring some indie games on PC, ones that aren't as easily discoverable as the top sellers on platforms like Steam. Games like Sea of Stars, Hollow Knight, and Garden Story. While Steam's niche recommendations have helped surface some cool indie titles, finding games from smaller studios still requires a bit more digging compared to mainstream releases.

This has me wondering - is there an equivalent to the E3 (now-dead) gaming expo, but specifically focused on spotlighting indie game developers?

• The growth of Godot Engine's audience was described by Stephen Totilo in his email newsletter. While attending the GDC 2024 conference, he accidentally met Adam Scott, a programmer from the Godot Foundation. The developer recognized the journalist as he stood outside.
• Scott said that after Unity announced a change in its business model, Godot Engine's audience doubled in just one month. The engine's creators offer the cross-platform technology for free - as an open source.
• Before the Unity scandal, Godot's audience had doubled in about a year. Scott laughed in response to a question about whether the team had sent a thank-you card to John Riccitiello.
• Unity has already rejected almost all of the changes proposed in the new strategy because they led to an uproar. Many developers have said they will not work with Unity.
• Just a month after the announcement, Unity's head, John Riccitiello, left his post without making any comments.
• Unity is now in the process of "rebooting" its business to focus only on the offerings that are most in demand among customers.
• In early 2023, Unity announced it would cut 25% of its workforce, eliminating 1,800 jobs.

How do you even play Soulslike, for instance?

• Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, has shared his thoughts on handheld gaming devices during a conversation with Polygon at the GDC 2024 conference.
• Spencer personally tried out all the popular handhelds: the Legion Go, ROG Ally, and the Steam Deck. While he was impressed with the gadgets, he found himself constantly thinking about how to make them more Xbox-like while using them.

“I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode. And all of my social [experience] is there. Like I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television. [Except I want it] on those devices.”

Expand

• The executive concluded that it was all about creating a user-friendly ecosystem that would support cross-platform saves with the console and provide access to the entire game library.
• Microsoft is exploring different options related to portable gaming devices, Spencer said. The company is considering various gadget form factors and features that could be useful for gamers. According to Spencer, Microsoft is wondering what they can offer to attract a new audience and give people the ability to play in ways they haven't been able to before.
• Spencer has a vision of what a portable Xbox should be. However, the executive realizes that consumers may not choose a Microsoft device, but a different one. That's why the company is working not only on hardware but also on software features that will help make devices like the Legion Go and ROG Ally running Windows more convenient to use.
• While Spencer did not make any announcements, he expressed interest in portable gaming devices. Earlier, Microsoft said it was preparing an "exciting" announcement regarding Xbox in late 2024. The company called the upcoming device "unique," so speculation suggests they are referring to a portable Xbox.

I got into gaming around the time World of Warcraft was big, and my first character was a Night Elf hunter (because why not?). Getting that first cat pet was the highlight. I stuck with playing as a hunter or a warlock for years, which is probably why I still love characters with companions.

What games do you think have the best buddies?

Right now, my girlfriend is deep into Skyrim (which is why I have time to babble on). She's torn between Cicero and Aela (for me, it's always been Serana).

I also had a blast making my own robot buddy in Fallout 4.

Among newer games, Elden Ring has cool companions, but I wish they stuck around more often. Oh well.

What about you? Any games with awesome sidekicks? Smart, good in a fight, useful, or just fun to have around...

Sorry, guys, I can't stop laughing
View attachment 7328080205350817070.mp4

• Bend Studio has opened a vacancy for a lead project manager to work on its upcoming AAA game, as reported by various media outlets, including Eurogamer and Insider Gaming.
• According to the job description, Bend Studio is seeking a specialist with experience in producing high-budget service games. Preferably, the applicant should have experience in "repurposing studios" from developing traditional games to service games.
• While it is unclear which specific project the lead project manager will be working on, speculation suggests that it could be Bend Studio's next game based on a new franchise, the creation of which was announced by the Days Gone developers in 2022.
• The job description does not provide clarity on how the service elements will be incorporated into Bend Studio's future game. However, the studio previously stated that they are working on "a multiplayer game that will develop the open-world systems of Days Gone, but opens up a whole new world for you."
• Bend Studio's previous release was the zombie action game Days Gone in 2019. Since then, the company has not made any major announcements regarding its upcoming games.

I don't understand how Marvel's Spider-Man 2 can cost 300 million dollars if most of the assets could be taken from the first game or Morales even? No really, I sincerely don't understand what's worth that kind of money. Even considering the new locations, gameplay and animations.

• Journalist Tom Henderson has shed light on the development challenges facing Ubisoft's team-based shooter XDefiant, based on information from company employees.
• While Ubisoft has repeatedly set internal release dates for XDefiant, the game has been delayed each time. The latest planned release was slated for the end of February 2024, but this target was missed as well.
• According to reports, executives at Ubisoft are pushing for XDefiant to closely mimic the Call of Duty series in nearly every aspect, rather than creating a unique experience. This "endless pursuit of Call of Duty" has become a source of constant delays, as developers are forced to remake actual builds of the shooter to align with the executives' vision, much to the developers' dissatisfaction.
• Despite these difficulties, XDefiant is not in danger of being canceled. The game remains in active development, with a major public test recently conducted to assess the stability of connectivity, the in-game store, and social features.
• Ubisoft plans to hold another significant test for XDefiant in the near future. However, the game currently lacks an official release date, not even an internal one. According to Henderson, XDefiant is at least a few months away from launch.

I had a chance to use the MacBook Pro for a couple of days. Of course, the whole MacOS thing is a total disaster, but what I really liked was the build. It's really nice to hold it in my hands, it's pleasant to open and close, and you can feel the quality in every screw.

And here I was wondering if anyone has the same good quality, but on our native hardware from Nvidia and Windows, and not on this sado-maso MacOS? At the same time, it should not cost more than a MacBook because Microsoft or Samsung laptops are sometimes more expensive than the MacBook Pro, and surely the build quality I like is also in the Air, which is generally much cheaper than the Pro.

Causing intense pain almost to the point of tears? But then after a couple of minutes it became easier, though it was still hard to walk for a few more hours.

• Attorneys general from 17 states have joined the lawsuit against Apple, according to Axios. This marks the third time since 2009 that the agency has accused the tech giant of violating antitrust laws, the publication notes.
• The Department of Justice alleges that Apple has restricted its smartphone operating system in a way that "increases user costs and prevents developers from releasing products for other systems." The lawsuit claims that the company is blocking competitors from accessing software and hardware features of the iPhone, thereby harming its users.
• According to the complaint, Apple's monopoly extends to virtually everything: browsers, video calling, news subscriptions, entertainment, car services, advertising, geolocation services, and more. Among other allegations, the agency claims that Apple prevents the development of cross-platform messaging systems, forcing users to rely solely on iMessage and, consequently, purchase iPhones.
• Furthermore, Apple is accused of preventing the introduction of competitors' payment solutions, impairing the functionality of other smartphones with the Apple Watch and limiting third-party watch compatibility with the iPhone, reducing message quality when exchanging between iOS and Android devices, blocking cloud gaming services, interfering with the operation of "super-apps" that include multiple services, and much more.
• Apple has denied all of the allegations.
• As The Verge notes, the investigation against the company has been ongoing since at least 2019, and the lawsuit has been prepared "for years." In 2020, the US Congress addressed developers' complaints against Apple, finding at the time that the company held a monopoly in the market for iOS device programs.

• Larian Studios has no intention to release add-ons or expansions for Baldur's Gate 3, nor to work on a fourth installment of the game. This announcement came from the studio's head, Swen Vincke, during the Game Developers Conference 2024.
• The company plans to move away from the Dungeons & Dragons franchise and pursue a game based on a different intellectual property. However, Vincke did not disclose any specific details regarding their future plans.
• While Larian will continue to release patches for Baldur's Gate 3 for "some time", Vincke stated that the studio will take a break afterward before deciding on their next project. According to the executive, the company has not yet determined their exact course of action.
• Baldur's Gate 3 was released on August 3, 2023. Over the following seven months, Larian Studios has released several major patches for the game, introducing additional content. The developers have also created over 20 hotfixes with various bug fixes.
• Baldur's Gate 3 has become one of the highest-rated games in history, with an average score of 96 out of 100 on Metacritic. The RPG has won numerous accolades, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023.

It has been confirmed that the second part of the first season will debut at a later date and will consist of seven episodes

Share your games you bought in this sale, if you bought any at all