Commander Fury

April saw the reveal of Call of Duty: WWII, an eagerly awaited return to the conflict that started it all. Though development is still at an early stage, we wanted to give PlayStation fans a chance to ask a few questions to the team at Sledgehammer Games. It’s early days, but we hope the morsels of information below will tide you over until E3 next week. Read on, and enjoy! @Predadente Are they covering all theaters of war, or just Europe? Glen Schofield, co-founder and studio head of Sledgehammer Games: We focused on the European theater of war, because we wanted to deliver a deeply personal story that conveyed what it was like to be a soldier in those ranks at that time. In order to tell that story, we needed to focus on a tight-knit group that started together, fought together, and struggled together over an extended period of time. Which led us to The Fighting First, perhaps the most famous infantry division in all of U.S. military history. Their story was a perfect narrative vehicle because it covered a massive amount of ground in the European theater and they were involved in some of the most iconic battles of WWII. We wanted to tell that story, and we wanted to tell it well. @Keith_NRX5 During the campaign will you stay as one character, or will you go through multiple? #CoDWWII Glen Schofield: The story follows Red Daniels and his squad. Red grew up on a farm in a small town, and his journey is one of personal growth that takes us through some of the most dramatic and iconic moments of the war. He is a young recruit who is seeing his first real combat during the invasion of Normandy. While the main story will follow Red, you will play as a few other characters Red encounters, including a female French resistance fighter named Rousseau. Josh Chapman (via Facebook): What sort of unique single player features will there be? …. willl we be interacting with the environment and and vehicles in a meaningful way during the campaign? Glen Schofield: Good question. In our story, you’ll notice a big emphasis on teamwork. You will learn to rely on your squadmates, and they will rely on you – for example, you’ll see features like ammo toss and health packs, and we’ll be revealing other new innovations as we get closer to launch. Furthermore, the mechanics and physics of the vehicles will be more realistic. AI is another area of focus, and with the new squad mechanics, we wanted smarter characters that interact with you in a more realistic and meaningful way. @KempskiWWE Will we see a variety of nations in multiplayer? Michael Condrey, co-founder and studio head of Sledgehammer Games: Yes. World War II was a global conflict that affected nearly everyone on the planet. Men and women of all nationalities contributed to the effort in many important ways. Our game showcases a broad and diverse ensemble cast in all modes of play. @MrsNewbhero Will there be any new game modes in multiplayer? Or maybe even bringing back s&r or blitz Michael Condrey: In developing the combat for Call of Duty: WWII, the key word was “grounded.†We looked at it like a return to the roots of the series, a chance to revisit what made Call of Duty a cultural milestone – an old-school battle that takes advantage of new gaming technology. I’m super excited to talk more about multiplayer, but it’s not time just yet. What I can say is, expect authentic WWII weapons, iconic battle locations, and a ton of new ways to compete. We’re even working on a new way for players to interact in a social space that is brand new to Call of Duty. Also, one of the most exciting new modes in our multiplayer experience is War Mode, which we can talk about a bit. The goal with War Mode was to create new ways to immerse players in iconic, PVP WW2 battles. War Mode is just that, a narrative based mode where Allied and Axis soldiers clash in team-driven assault & defend gameplay in the fight for strategic objectives. We partnered with Raven Software for development on War Mode. It’s a fun new mode, and an important component of bringing our overall vision to life. We couldn’t be more excited to be revealing several of our new multiplayer features for the first time at E3. @COD_INTEL100 What will the create-a-class system be in multiplayer? And will we see never-before-seen perks? Michael Condrey: We’re days away from E3 2017 and the team at Sledgehammer Games can hardly wait to share more on our multiplayer plans. We’re particularly looking forward to revealing more on Divisions. Divisions fundamentally redefines how players invest in their Multiplayer soldier career. Replacing the create-a-class system, players choose from five iconic World War II divisions each with specific basic combat training, division training and weapon skills. We think it’ll intrigue Call of Duty series veterans, and we can’t wait for our fans to see it for themselves. View the full article

Ever had a recurring nightmare? They can be pretty rough. What if they went on for days? Weeks? Months? Cassie, the protagonist of Perception, has been tormented by nightmares of a mansion she knows in her heart is real. After months of research, she discovers the Estate at Echo Bluff in Gloucester, Massachusetts and, being headstrong and fiercely independent, hops a plane and flies cross country alone, seeking answers. Would you do the same? What if you were blind? H.P. Lovecraft said “the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.†At The Deep End Games, we used this same belief to drive Perception. I’m sure you can imagine what playing as a blind woman would mean for a horror game. But then, the unknown in Perception isn’t just about making this ghost story spooky – it plays a key driving force in the other pillar of the game: mystery. As a writer and former English teacher, I believe questions are a force of nature. The same way humans are reluctant to enter the dark corners of a remote, abandoned mansion, they are pushed to seek answers. And this tension is the heart of Cassie’s journey. When she arrives at Echo Bluff, she’s confronted with more than just “Why am I here?†Her search quickly becomes “What happened here?†You’ll want to explore every nook and cranny, and listen carefully to the memories that have scratched their way into the very walls of the house. Each time she solves the mystery of what happened to a generation of people living at the estate, she is whisked back in time to the prior owners and what torment they faced. Just when you think you have answers, they are replaced with more questions. We don’t exactly consider our game a traditional horror game – there is no gore, and it’s light on the jump scares that define the genre. Our team prides itself on its storytelling, with Bill having been Lead Level Designer on BioShock and Design Director on BioShock Infinite. Those games put heavy emphasis on narrative and rich environmental storytelling. Every room has a story, and we believe this has informed Perception quite a bit. My teaching background has infused Perception’s mysteries with a number of literary references and themes that help shine more light on the characters’ secrets and sordid pasts. At its heart, Perception is a series of mysteries etched into the mansion and woven into the many lives that used to roam its creaky halls. We hope you enjoy your journey to Echo Bluff and can piece everything together! Perception is now available on PS4! View the full article

“It’s only really many years later when you have the benefit of hindsight that you look at the idea, the art direction, the soundtrack, the platform… and it’s all just perfect timing. Those moments don’t come along very often.†– Nick Burcombe, co-creator, WipEout (1995) WipEout hit 1995 with the force of an earthquake. Its sci-fi vision of armed anti-grav craft battling it out at 1,2000kph for gold and glory on twisting, vertigo-inducing race tracks couldn’t have been further removed from the quintessentially English pub in which it was conceived. Yet it felt perfectly in sync with the world it roared into like a supercharged sci-fi colossus. Birthed in Liverpool, England and deployed on PS One’s bleeding edge tech, WipEout dropped into the eye of a raging cultural storm that was gripping the United Kingdom. Yet while it embodied the zeitgeist of ‘Cool Britannia’ – a celebration of the country’s beautiful collision of movies, music, art, club culture – its impact wasn’t restricted by geography. Cool Britannia’s epicentre was the British Isles. WipEout’s was anywhere a PlayStation was hooked up to a TV. How the Future of Racing Started in an English PubWipEout was the child of a concept pitch and a vivid memory. The two met in a pub just outside Liverpool in the early ’90s, introduced by a pair of Psygnosis developers – designer Nick Burcombe and artist Jim Bowers. The drinking establishment was a regular haunt for studio staff of which Bowers and Burcombe were two. They’d regularly meet and bounce ideas of each other. Years earlier, Bowers had created a concept movie of two wedged ships dogfighting along a race track, firing missiles at one another before soaring round a huge loop. He’d showed it to Burcombe, who recalled the footage when regaling Bowers with a story of how he’d overcome a particularly difficult race in Super Mario Kart by turning the TV’s volume off and cranking up a trance track (‘Age of Love’ by Age of Love) on his hi-fi. “I had a zen moment were everything flowed perfectly,†remembers Burcombe. That sense of exhilaration as the music reached its peak as he crossed the finish line “was the moment I knew I wanted to make a game that did that to you.†He envisioned doing the same to Bowers’ concept, setting the piece to a Liam Howlett cover of surf track ‘Wipe Out’ that broke out into the Prodigy’s ‘No Good’. “I think that was the moment we could both see immediately what the game could be,†Nick says. “Even if it was in our slightly sozzled minds’ eye.†The concept was gold. But there were two other key elements that helped turn the concept into reality. How the CD-ROM and the Movie Hackers Made WipEout a RealityIn the early ’90s Psygnosis was making inroads in two key areas. Alongside researching CD-ROM technology on the belief it’d soon be the next big shift in the industry, its Advanced Technology Group art team were getting to grips with 3D modelling. The result was a pair of arcade shooters, Microcosm and Novastorm (the latter, designed from scratch by Burcombe, offered a heavier emphasis on sci-fi). Unbeknownst to Psygnosis, Sony’s PlayStation console would also use the technology. Impressed by the studio’s output, Sony would soon buy the studio outright and put it to work creating a game for its debut games machine. At the same time, Sony Pictures approached the studio to create a gameplay sequence for a scene in its movie Hackers. Bowers and Burcombe saw their chance to solidify the idea born from their recent pub conversation. A tight deadline meant there couldn’t be any fat, and the pair raced to refine their initial idea. Burcombe focused on vertigo-inducing track design while Bowers added pop-up walls that could be shot to access new sections of the level. Their work paid off. So impressed by the concept, when the studio took delivery of its first PSone development kits, Burcombe was put in charge of creating its debut title. “I think [my boss John White] and Jimmy knew I had something in my head that I wanted to get out,†Nick theorises. Tracks, Setting, and the Feel of Anti-gravInitial focus was on perfecting track design. Trackside details, the game’s overall tone and theme were secondary. “I was much more concerned with the length of straight, steepness of elevation, frequency of undulations and the tightness or camber of chicanes and corners,†says Burcombe. The designer also had a clear idea about the weapons pilots could use during the races, stating that everything initially designed made it into the final game. The 2052 setting was picked because of its relative proximity to the modern day. Close enough to relate to (“it should still be recognisable. An arbitrary date – like 3231AD – would mean nothing to meâ€) but still offer a tantalising glimpse into future tech such as anti-gravity, which would be the cornerstone of WipEout’s feel. “For some bizarre reason, I’d use vocal sound effects to really emphasise the weight of something or the inertia and drift,†recalls Burcombe of trying to convey the feeling of anti-grav to the rest of the team. “So I’d have to say it is a testament to the programming team who actually understood what I was trying to achieve.†How the Iconic Soundtrack EmergedYou can’t talk WipEout without discussing its soundtrack. At a time when licenced music was a rarity in the industry, it was a combination of Sony’s extra marketing heft – specifically tapping into Sony’s music label – and an early demo of the game that secured the title’s first artist. Burcombe headed to London to meet Phil and Paul Hartnol – better known as dance outfit Orbital. “We got talking about [the demo we showed them] and they were really enthused.They took us down to the studio to play me a track they had called P.ET.R.O.L. After some remixing and reworking – this track actually ended up on the disc. I think once that contact had been made, it was easier to get some others.†Leftfield and The Chemical Brothers soon followed, and the game’s success greenlit further collaborations in sequels with the likes of FSOL, Fluke, Underworld, Prodigy, Photek and more. “It was a who’s who of the ’90s dance scene,†Nick says as he runs down the artist list. Restarting the Project and Finishing the GameYet despite discussing the initial concept at length and fine-tuning it before full production began, creating a fully textured, real-time 3D game proved challenging, to the point that at one stage, the team had to restart the entire project, rethinking its approach to its production and programming pipeline. “There was a moment when Ken Kutaragi came to the Liverpool studio and left believing we couldn’t make our launch dates,†Nick reveals. “But that was like a red rag to a bull for a team that had already worked very hard on it. The final few months of WipEout’s development was extraordinary, and I think being there for the European launch was a monumental achievement.†“Looking back on it now, if it was just reverse psychology – it worked,†Burcombe admits. Even when discussion shifts to the game’s launch, and acknowledgment of the fact that WipEout was on every early adopters’ wishlist come the PS One launch night at the studio’s local HMV, in typical developer fashion Burcombe mainly remembers the less enthusiastic critical responses. “We were reading the 7s more than the 9s and nodding about the things that could be improved. It really focused our attention on what we needed to achieve for a sequel.†After celebrating its success the team rolled up its sleeves and immediately started work on the next entry: WipEout 2097. The Price of WipEout 2097In the original game, weapons were deployed only to slow the competition down, give you time to overtake. In 1997 follow-up WipEout 2097, the studio introduced ship energy bars, meaning competitor – and player – ships could be destroyed if you didn’t recharge via trackside pit lanes. It added a new layer of strategy to races; WipEout’s version of F1 tyre changes mid-race. Ships would now scrape up against walls, sparks flying, rather than coming to abrupt halt. While the original’s difficulty had its fans – including XDev’s John McLaughlin (“This is also why it is loved so much,†he says. “Once mastered you become one with the handling model, zipping through tracks, bounding over boost padsâ€) – the team wanted to make a more rewarding experience. But the development turnaround proved creatively tough. Coming directly off finishing the original, the studio now had just less than eight months to develop and release the sequel. Despite 2097 bettering the original in every way, some of the original staff needed a break. As a third game went into production, Burcombe became a bystander to the franchise’s future. Nick eventually left Psygnosis – or Studio Liverpool as it was rebranded – to form his own independent label, PlayRise, and work on mobile turned console racer, Table Top Racing. “I was able to stand back and watch as WipEout 3 launched, then Fusion on PS2 and then the PSP, PS3 and PS Vita versions.†But he remains upbeat about seeing the series continue without him. “Watching it evolve from afar has been great and I know so many of the people who have worked on all these different versions – improving and building on it each time.†“I think it’s one of those games that actually conveys something of the team in it. It is a game with a soul and I think people get that,†Burcombe concludes. “The ideas, the graphic design, the music and the PlayStation all combined to make it perfect for that moment in time.†The Origin of WipEout Omega Collection“It’s a unique game; there’s nothing else like it. It defined a generation.†– John McLaughlin, XDev, Omega Collection December 2016, Anaheim, California. A packed auditorium’s roars are only emboldened as the tease of a bass-heavy electronica track kicking in merges with stunning HD visuals to confirm WipEout is returning. The Omega Collection couples PS3’s fan favorite tag-team of WipEout HD and Fury to PS Vita’s WipEout 2048 for an upgraded, remastered package on PlayStation 4. It’s a welcome surprise for fans. For John XDev’s McLaughlin – one of those lifelong franchise fans and brainchild behind WipEout’s rebirth – “it seemed a simple and obvious choice†to bring the series back. Though he admits it couldn’t be his decision alone, he made sure he was in the best possible position when pitching the idea. “I managed to pry [WipEout HD’s] codebase from IT and got it over to Hustle Kings developer EPOSâ€. Together with CEO and programmer Staffan, McLaughlin worked out how they could conceivably make a PS4 remaster happen and worked up a timeline for development. To achieve it, they’d have to reach out to Clever Beans studio (When Vikings Attack) to partner with. The pitch worked. WipEout was on its way back. The original plan, according to McLaughlin, was just to work on the HD/Fury package. “But very early on in development we looked at the 2048 code,†he explains. The PS Vita launch title is the most recent entry into the franchise, but its fiction provided a glimpse into an earlier era of the Anti-Grav Racing League. “We thought it would be great to bring all of the tracks and ships from that game too.†Artwork was reworked, details added. SFX was totally remastered. Split-screen was coded in – a first for the previously handheld only 2048 – and a couple of nods to the classic era added (“we set about bringing back a couple of defunct teams from yesteryear and brought back Tigron and Van Uber teams.â€). And today, some months short of WipEout’s 21st anniversary, the futuristic racing franchise is reborn on PS4. Back in 1995 there wasn’t anything like WipEout. In 2017, there still isn’t. Your favorite race track from the franchise… While Burcombe has the very first WipEout track, Altima VII, as a highlight (“I purposely put it first so you get that “wow†moment from the rollercoaster style downhill sectionâ€), it’s pipped by the game’s later course Arridos. “It has a brilliant flow to it,†he remembers. “There’s some insane airborne shortcutting and great air-brake drift corners too. I also love that it looks carved into the landscape; the location seems plausible.†For McLaughlin, it’s a pair of Sols – Sol2 from HD and Sol from 2048 – that are closest to his heart. “I love being thousands of feet in the air, zipping along at 1200KPH knowing I can fall off the edge at any moment. Real seat of your pants stuff!†Your favorite WipEout team… Maybe because it’s the default team come the ship selection menu of every WipEout, but both Burcombe and McLaughlin favour the Federal European Institute of Science and Research, better known under their acronym, FEISAR. Though McLaughlin “has some affection†for Triakis, Burcombe points out the story behind FEISAR’s naming may be why it’s his only choice. “It was a bit of a political joke. The UK had just signed the Maastricht Treaty in ’92 and it was a sort of prediction on where the UK and EU might be heading.†Your favorite music track… Despite not making its WipEout debut until 1997 sequel 2097, Prodigy and dance classic Firestarter is what immediately comes to mind for both men. “It’s embedded in everyone’s brain,†Burcombe sums up simply. “Even though the version in [WipEout 2097] is the instrumental, it’s so engrained in the UK psyche, your mind just fills in Liam’s incredible vocal without even thinking about it.†Your favorite piece of fan appreciation… Much as WipEout is a unique melting pot of near-future techand killer tracks, so too is fan love spread across mediums, styles and disciplines. Burcombe points to seeing WipEout tattoos (“it blows my mind that its influence is strong, they felt the need to etch it into their skin foreverâ€) but also that he “still gets regular emails†from fans thanking him for getting them into PlayStation, dance music or becoming DJs themselves. For McLaughlin though, a homage to the in-fiction ships wins out. “ I simply love this model .†Celebrate WipEout Omega Collection’s launch with its iconic art and music Listen to WipEout Omega Collection’s soundtrack on Spotify here, and crank up the volume for a curated tracklist of the franchise’s best track from previous entries in our new The Best of WipEout playlist here. Check out 25 stunning pieces of unseen WipEout artwork from across the franchise’s history here. Celebrate the franchise’s stunning artwork with a collection of WipEout League t-shirts and hoodies, available from tomorrow exclusively on PlayStation Gear. The tops which were debuted on stage at PSX last year, feature a variant of the iconic Anti-Gravity Racing League logo – which dates back to the original game. Check them out below.. View the full article

It’s June and the first day of summer is right around the corner. With 17 new games from Disney available on PlayStation Now starting today, it is the perfect time to enjoy some Disney magic – especially if you’re heading into summer vacation. Suit up as your favorite character in Disney Universe, a multiplayer adventure where iconic Disney characters and legendary Disney worlds collide. Re-live the exciting swashbuckling tales of Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swan in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, which includes the first four PotC films. Buckle up and take the wheel in Split Second and experience thrilling racing, destructible environments, and driver-triggered “powerplays†as you race to the finish line. Join Mickey and Oswald in their quest to save the Wasteland in Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, a cooperative colorful adventure. Discover the beautiful digital world of Tron: Evolution, a third-person action game with racing and RPG elements, and learn about the events that took place between the original Tron movie and the recent Tron: Legacy sequel. Enjoy a variety of carnival games and attractions based on Toy Story and its iconic characters including Buzz Lightyear and Woody in Toy Story Mania! The fun doesn’t stop there! Here is the full list of all 17 games available now on PlayStation Now: Disney Universe LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Split Second Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two TRON: Evolution Toy Story Mania! Monkey Island: Special Edition Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Monkey Island 2: Special Edition Cars 2: The Video Game (PS3) Brave Cars Race-O-Rama Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension Cars: Mater-National Championship Bolt G-Force Ratatouille If you’re new to PS Now, the service offers access to a large and ever expanding lineup of games for one low monthly price. Since the service is based on our cloud streaming technology, you can access the entire catalog of games, select one, and start playing quickly without needing to wait for downloads. Also, PS Now uses cloud saves, letting you start a game on PS4 and continue playing on Windows PC (or vice versa). If you haven’t given the service a try yet, now’s the perfect time to give it a spin with the seven-day free trial on PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. Here’s a list of some of the most popular games on PlayStation Now last month. Red Dead Redemption Payday 2 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mortal Kombat Injustice: Gods Among Us Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II WWE 2K15 Sniper Elite III Mafia II Tekken Tag Tournament 2 View the full article

The manufacture and distribution of illegal arms comes to Southern San Andreas next week on Tuesday June 13th in Gunrunning, the latest GTA Online update for PS4. To thrive as an arms dealer in GTA Online: Gunrunning, it’s going to take more than street smarts. Choose your supporting vehicles and armaments wisely for your best chance to outwit both the feds and rival dealers. Start moving weapons to eager buyers in Los Santos or Blaine County to earn a tidy profit and tap into powerful new upgrades, modifications and heavy duty weaponry. Here’s a look at just a few of the potent new tools at your disposal in Gunrunning. For more details on Gunrunning visit rockstargames.com/newswire. View the full article

Having brought an end to the thousand-year conflict between dragon and man in the north, the Warrior of Light and his comrades prepare to liberate Ala Mhigo, a land conquered by the Garlean Empire twenty years ago. Meanwhile, in the Far East, the freedom fighters of the fallen nation of Doma struggle to rekindle the fires of hope in their countrymen. The time has come to embark upon a new adventure to realms near and far─to rise up with the people of Eorzea and the Far East, and cast down the curs of Garlemald! Greetings, everyone! The FFXIV team has pulled out all the stops to prepare for the launch of our second expansion pack, Stormblood, on June 20, 2017! Not only that, but we’re prepping for E3, where we will debut the battle against the new primal Susano, and for Stormblood early access, which kicks off mere hours after E3 wraps! Even though things are hectic, we’re extremely excited to debut the launch trailer Stormblood here on PlayStation.Blog! As you can see, we have a lot of things for our Warriors of Light to experience in Stormblood. A brand-new story, new jobs, revamped battle system, swimming and diving, and so much more. We’ll see you all in early access (which kicks of Friday, June 16 at 2:00 a.m. Pacific)! View the full article

After a long but exciting development period, we at AlienTrap Games are very proud to announce the release date for Cryptark on PS4: Tuesday, June 20th! In Cryptark, making money by scrapping spacecraft is the name of the game! You and your motley crew of mercenary privateers will have to blast into heavily defended alien derelicts, survive waves of cyber-skeleton attack drones, and surgically pick apart security systems with strategy and absurdly weaponized mech-suits (all while staying within budget, of course)! Along the road to finishing the game we’ve added a lot of awesome content and no small amount of spit and polish. Needless to say, we’re very happy with the final product and excited to get it out to you guys! Unlock and pilot different mechs like the teleporting Weevil, time-distorting PDX-40, and fiery Salamander. Outfit yourself with weapons like the galvanic Lightning Spindle, reusable Thermal Javelin, and lovable Boomslang Drones. Make and execute a boarding plan to neutralize devious Nuclear Destruct systems, swarms of deadly Viper packs, and looming Juggernaut sentinels to destroy to the central Cortex Core and turn a tidy profit! To see all that cool stuff and more in action, look for Cryptark at PlayStation Store on June 20! View the full article

New enemy ships warp onto the battlefield. Four Destroyers. Two Dreadnoughts. Covered in jagged, rusted panels of armor and bristling with firepower, these vessels look stronger than the ones from the last wave — the one that almost destroyed you and your teammates. If you’re a superstitious captain, now might be a good time to take out your lucky rabbit’s foot. If you enjoy taking on tough enemies (and even tougher odds), you’ll like Havoc Mode — a new game mode that’s coming first to Dreadnought on PS4, and it’s out now! Havoc is just one of the many additions and improvements in the recently released closed beta patch. If you’re new to Dreadnought, be sure to check out our announcement post from last December for a general overview of the game. If you’re a veteran captain, read on! Weather the Storm in Havoc ModeHavoc Mode is something that we made especially for PS4 players. It’s a cooperative challenge that pits you and two teammates against increasingly difficult waves of enemy ships, which are commanded by the ruthless Dead Horde. Sent by the nation of Troja, this motley faction of criminals and disgraced navy officers will stop at nothing to redeem themselves and fulfill their mission: to destroy the Scum Belt’s navigation beacons — and anyone who gets in their way. Your ability to work with your team and adapt to changing threats determines how long you can withstand their relentless assault. Havoc is about survival, and growing stronger as the Dead Horde’s ships get increasingly menacing and powerful. Instead of bringing your own ships into battle, you and your team choose your preconfigured vessels every few rounds and upgrade them over time. For example, before a match, you can enhance your ship’s weapons, health or speed — or switch to an entirely new loadout. Think you can handle the fierce and unrelenting Dead Horde? Jump into a Havoc match to find out! Now Available: Founder’s PacksComing to PS4 for the first time, Founder’s Packs give you guaranteed access to the closed beta — and all the content available in the new patch! They also provide Hero Ships (legendary, uniquely styled vessels with preconfigured loadouts), plus special perks and ship vanity items. New Maps, Game Mode, and Hero ShipWe’ve covered a lot of ground since our announcement last December, and we’re not done yet. Here’s what else you can check out right now: PS4-exclusive maps: the space battlefields of Hekate and Xanthe. New to PS4: Team Elimination game mode, plus the Dry Dock and Red Sands maps. New Hero Ship: the Junkyard Prince. Unlock it by playing a Havoc match! Added to the hangar: friends and squads menus. Last but not least: a lot of players in the closed beta have been asking for an “invert†option for the right control stick. Well, we’ve been listening — now you can find it in the controls menu! To see the newest content in action, check out our PlayStation Underground episode below. And if you haven’t already, sign up for the closed beta here! View the full article

Wipeout is a series that means a lot of things to a lot of people. One of my fondest gaming memories is seeing the original game for the first time at a friend’s house on his spankin’ new PlayStation. So, it’s especially gratifying to celebrate the launch of Wipeout Omega Collection, a remastered look back at three of the series’ recent entries. 4K and HDR support on PS4 Pro mean that revisiting Wipeout HD, Fury and 2048 feels like an entirely new experience — and if you’re got a compatible display it’ll be a heck of a showcase for it. Join us in this new episode of PlayStation Underground, where I put my racing reputation on the line to show off my decades of racing expertise. I mean, I work at PlayStation so naturally I’ll be good at Wipeout, right? Right? View the full article

Hello! After three years of open and independent development, we’re excited to announce that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be coming to PS4 on August 8 2017! Starting today, you can pre-order Hellblade for $29.99 and receive a bonus PS4 Dynamic Theme that depicts the iconic burning tree scene from the game. To celebrate the announcement, we have released a new trailer, which you can watch above. For those new to Hellblade, the game is the story of Senua, a traumatized Celtic warrior journeying into the Viking underworld of Hel. We have created the game in collaboration with neuroscientists as well as people who live with psychosis. We hope Hellblade is an experience like no other. In Hellblade, we are aiming to revive the lost space between indie and AAA gaming. Where creatively diverse experiences made with AAA values can thrive once again. We’ve taken a small team of around 20 people and created a focused and rich experience that looks and feels as good as any blockbuster title. Hellblade is about half the length of a regular AAA game and priced at about half the cost. A price that we think is fair to both you and us. Our hope is that if we make our Independent AAA work with Hellblade, other developers will follow, leading to a more creative and diverse gaming world for developers and players alike. We’ve been humbled by the support that we’ve had from PlayStation fans throughout development. You’ve followed our journey, shared our updates and encouraged us to follow our vision to its fullest. We’ve shared our development ups and downs with you, given you an insight into the world of creating a game like Hellblade and listened to what you’ve had to say. Now, as we approach launch, we ask you to rally round, preorder Hellblade and help make this project a success for us, you and all of gaming. Thank you. View the full article

Millions of players have spent countless hours exploring the dark corners and grand cities of The Elder Scrolls Online since its original launch on PlayStation 4 in 2015, and today, The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind launches globally. This new Chapter in The Elder Scrolls Online saga introduces a massive new area to explore, a new character class: the Warden, a new small-scale, fast-paced PvP mode with Battlegrounds, a new 12-player Trial in the Halls of Fabrication, and more than 30 hours of quests and exciting story content. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is the biggest addition to The Elder Scrolls Online yet and redefines the traditional MMO expansion by delivering vast new content and features that are equally accessible and fun for both existing and new ESO players. You can start a character without completing any previous ESO content and head straight into Vvardenfell to enjoy hundreds of hours of original ESO quests just waiting to be explored. If you’re an ESO veteran, you can upgrade the base game and immediately journey to Seyda Neen to start your new adventure with your existing characters or begin fresh with an all-new Warden. After three years of refinements, updates, and incredible DLC additions, ESO today plays more like a traditional Elder Scrolls game than ever before, featuring all of the same freedom of exploration and unique character building that you have come to love in games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. You can join millions of other players online to adventure together, conquer World Bosses, Delves, and Trials as a group, or, if you want to play by yourself, you can save Morrowind on your own as you would in any other Elder Scrolls RPG. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind adds a host of new content for the game including: A Massive New Zone — Vvardenfell: The largest zone added to The Elder Scrolls Online since launch is also a nostalgic trip through one of the Elder Scrolls’ most beloved lands. In this new Chapter, the entire island has been painstakingly reimagined 700 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Utilizing the same geographic footprint as TES III, you can travel from the docks of Seyda Neen, to the volcanic Ashlands, to dense, mushroom-filled forests, and even through the bustling cantons of a Vivec City still under construction. New Class – The Warden: Now, you can harness nature-based magic to master the powerful new character class: the Warden. The Warden is the first new class since launch of ESO, and true to ESO and the Elder Scrolls franchise, you will have the freedom to select from a number of abilities that enable a variety of play styles. The Warden also introduces a devastating new combat ally – the War Bear – a ferocious fighter that will stay by your side throughout the game’s most intense battles. New PvP Mode – Battlegrounds: The Elder Scrolls Online is renowned for open world PvP battles, pitting hundreds of players in a massive battle for supremacy in Cyrodiil. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind will introduce a new PvP mode – Battlegrounds – that features intense 4v4v4 battles in arena-like environments. You can take the battle to the Ashlands to claim your place among the fiercest and most accomplished combat veterans in Tamriel. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is available today! You can visit the PlayStation Store to buy either the full game, which includes the new Morrowind adventure as well as the original ESO content, or, if you’re already an ESO player, you can just grab the upgrade and make your way to Seyda Neen. We cannot wait to see you explore Vvardenfell for the first time in 15 years! View the full article

We’re pleased to introduce our Days of Play campaign, a first of its kind global promotion, bringing you some amazing PlayStation deals just as summertime is getting into full swing. Haven’t jumped into the PlayStation 4 community yet? Or maybe you want to add some of the great PS4 games that have recently launched? Now’s the time! Starting June 9, major retailers across U.S. and Canada will offer discounts on hardware, peripherals, and PS4 exclusive games – all the way through June 17. This campaign is a thank you from us to the passionate PlayStation Community for your unwavering support – it’s all of you that makes PlayStation the Best Place to Play, and led to the huge success of games like Horizon Zero Dawn. On June 9 as part of this event, we will be introducing a new slim Gold PS4 system with 1TB of HDD storage, which will launch with a limited-time promotional price of $249.99 USD (MSRP) / $329.99 CAD (MSRP). The system comes with a matching DualShock 4 wireless controller, and will be available for a limited time only. Make sure not to miss out. Days of Play Gallery | Flickr.com What’s more, PlayStation Store will be offering awesome deals for digital blockbuster games and PlayStation Plus memberships starting June 9. Stay tuned for a blog post on June 9 for more info. In the meantime, here’s the full list of retailer-specific deals being offered throughout the 9 days: Slim PlayStation 4 system in Gold with 1TB HDD – $249.99 USD (MSRP) / $329.99 CAD (MSRP) DualShock 4 wireless controller (all colors) – $39.99 USD (MSRP) / $49.99 CAD (MSRP) Gold Wireless Stereo Headset (Jet Black) – $79.99 USD (MSRP) / $79.99 CAD (MSRP) Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, MLB: The Show – $39.99 USD (MSRP) / $49.99 CAD (MSRP) Catalog titles – check with your local retailer Thank you again for all your tremendous support and happy gaming! View the full article

Of all the incredible honours he’s notched up in a stunningly successful career, there has always been one which has evaded the world’s best footballer. Until now that is… Today I’m incredibly excited to share with you that a certain Cristiano Ronaldo will be the face of FIFA 18, coming to PS4 on September 29th! Not long after he was named the world’s best footballer by FIFA in January, he went to Madrid to spend some quality time with Portugal and Real Madrid’s finest. We set him up in the famous EA Sports motion capture suit and meticulously recorded his every movement to bring Ronaldo’s every attribute to FIFA 18. From his explosive acceleration and those famous chop moves to that unique running style and lethal shooting technique, you’ll see all of this data come to life in how players move, behave and interact when you get your hands on FIFA 18 on September 29th, or sooner. But more to come on that in a minute… Last year was a momentous year for us on PS4 with the move over to the Frostbite Engine in FIFA 17 allowing us to deliver a massive visual upgrade along with the new environments you experienced with Alex Hunter in The Journey. In year two, we’re taking an even bigger stride forward and taking the visual fidelity up another few notches. We can’t wait to show you more of this beginning with the full FIFA 18 reveal at EA Play live from Hollywood on June 10th, but Ronaldo looking even more Ronaldo-like than ever before is just the tip of the iceberg. A player this great deserves something special too: the FIFA 18 Ronaldo Edition. This gives you a bunch of great pre-order offers, including a CR7 starter item in FUT, up to $60 worth of Jumbo Premium Gold Packs and three days early access to FIFA 18, allowing you to play from September 26th. But why have one Ronaldo when you can have two? This year, for the first time, we can also announce that some of the most iconic footballers in the history of the game are coming to FIFA Ultimate Team on PS4, headlined by one of the players I idolised growing up: Ronaldo Nazario. The legendary Brazilian was one of the most gifted, prolific, explosive and dynamic strikers to ever play the game, and this year you’ll be able to pair him and Cristiano Ronaldo to terrify opposition defenders in FUT. So there you have it, FIFA 18, fueled by the World’s Best. While you’re patiently waiting for September, don’t miss the full reveal of FIFA 18 on June 10th at EA Play, live from Hollywood where we’ll have plenty more to whet your appetite. See you on the pitch! View the full article

Prepare for the blistering speed and iconic style of a long-running PlayStation racer. Wipeout Omega Collection is here. The Omega Collection features content from Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, and Wipeout 2048 — all fused into one staggering blend of speed and sound. Featuring 26 circuits, 46 unique ships, and an upgraded soundtrack, Wipeout Omega Collection is required racing for adrenaline junkies. Plus, the collection is enhanced for PS4 Pro. For a full list of games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop! New Releases: Week of June 6, 2017 Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! PS4, PS Vita — Digital, PS4 Version at Retail Saddle up for some retro-styled dungeon-crawling goodness with Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! Meet classic heroes from Japan’s Sengoku Era as you help the souls of the dead settle their unfinished business. Dark Rose Valkyrie PS4 — Digital, Retail A virus threatens humanity. Valkyrie Force, move out! In this RPG, fight using customized weapons, team attacks, Overdrive mode, and more! But beyond battle, you’ll have to interrogate teammates to find who’s been turned in order to save the world. Dirt 4 PS4 — Digital, Retail The world’s leading off-road racing series is back! Dirt 4 puts you at the wheel of the most powerful machines ever made as you face the toughest roads and circuits on the planet in rally, rallycross, and landrush. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind PS4 — Digital, Retail Return to Morrowind in this new chapter of the award-winning online role-playing series, The Elder Scrolls Online. Embark on a dangerous journey through legendary locales, and save Morrowind from a deadly Daedric threat. Includes the first game of the series. Farming Simulator 18 PS Vita — Digital Become a modern farmer in Farming Simulator 18! Plant, harvest, and trade in crops, including for the first time sunflowers. Diversify your activity with animal husbandry and forestry. Develop and expand your very own farm… wherever you go! Jump Stars PS4 — Digital Introducing Jump Stars, the bonkers new local multiplayer party game which pits player against player in a bizarre, violent game show as they collectively compete to save their skins. Neighborhorde PS4 — Digital Neighborhorde is a couch co-op shoot-em-up where you and your team of friends use toys as weapons and game-changing superpowers to survive evil robots and zombie Abe Lincolns. Perception PS4 — Digital (Out 6/7) Perception is a first-person narrative horror adventure that tells the story of Cassie, a blind heroine who uses her extraordinary hearing and razor-sharp wits to unravel the mysteries of an abandoned estate that haunts her dreams. Plague Road PS Vita — Digital Set around a city being consumed from within by disease, Plague Road tells a story of a lone doctor who abandoned his home and now returns to learn the fate of those he left behind. Randall PS4 — Digital Randall wakes up in a distopyan world in which people are content living under constant surveillance and absolute control. Players take on the part of Randall, a powerful telepath with a touch of schizophrenia. His abilities allow him to control and play as every single character on screen, seamlessly swapping between them, exploiting the power that they have. Special Delivery PS VR — Digital Dodge cars, dogs, and tornadoes as you grow your subscriber base and expand your paper route in this arcade inspired newspaper delivery game. Superbeat: Xonic PS4 — Digital, Retail Experience Superbeat: Xonic, the new music game sensation that’s bound to have you on the edge of your seat! Enjoy the stunning visuals and effects as you play your way through 68 unique songs and unlock tons of hidden rewards and items. Perform and perfect awesome combos and show the world you’re the best by climbing the Ranking system! The Town of Light PS4 — Digital, Retail Play through the eyes of Renée, a 16-year-old girl who suffers from the symptoms of mental illness. She is searching for answers to the many questions from her past, while exploring the place where she spent most of her youth. Guide Renée through a dark and emotional journey where the lines between entertainment, storytelling, and reality blur. Victor Vran PS4 — Digital Become Victor, hunter of demons. Forge your own hero on a quest to liberate the cursed city of Zagoravia. Decide how you play at any moment, even in the heat of battle. Modify your demon slaying loadout as you dodge deadly attacks, leap from towering locations, and take on hordes of hideous beasts and cunning boss monsters. Wipeout Omega Collection PS4 — Digital, Retail Wipeout Omega Collection brings together all the content from Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, and Wipeout 2048, enhanced for PS4 and PS4 Pro. All Time Low – Last Young Renegade Halsey – hopeless fountain kingdom alt-J – RELAXER Power Rangers (2017) If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast- June 5 at 8/7c (HBO) Good Bones- June 6 at 10/9c (HGTV) American Grit- June 11 at 9/8c (Fox) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

I’ve played every single Tekken game — all of them, even Death By Degrees — going all the way back to the original PlayStation game. So with Tekken 7 launching today on PS4, it only seemed appropriate to reach out to Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken’s longstanding game director, to reflect on where the series has been — and where the larger fighting-game genre is headed. PlayStation.Blog: The Heihachi / Kazuhiro rivalry has been central to almost every Tekken game. With Tekken 7, you’re ending it. Does it feel like you are closing the book on a part of yourself? Katsuhiro Harada, Director, Tekken 7: It’s not just a chapter for me – you could definitely say that this is a major milestone in the storyline. I wasn’t expecting the Tekken series to be such a long-running franchise when we first started out. And since the series has continued for so long, the characters that we have put so much effort into have become like our sons and daughters. I have felt that I wanted to continue working on them for a long time to come, but it is almost like Heihachi and Kazuya are speaking to me, “everyone will die sometime. Rather than wait for it, you should move forward and keep fighting.†“The Tekken Project always develops the game as if it were the last in the series†At the very least, I think that both father and son have been longing for a conclusion to this feud. Win or lose, part of the theme of fighting games is how you accept the outcome, and it is something you can’t avoid. Every time we create a new numbered installment, the Tekken Project always has the mindset of developing the game as if it were the last in the series and to leave no room for regret once the game is completed. In this feud between father and son, one of them will most likely die, but their conviction kind of represents this mindset of the team. The result of this feud was quite a shock to me, but it also shows one reason why the series is able to continue for so long. The series can also attract new fans because we are able to break down what we have created in the past each time and create something new. PSB: Based on what I’ve played, Tekken 7 is the most complex Tekken game yet — but it’s also the most accessible Tekken game in years. How do you strike this balance between veterans and newcomers? KH: It is difficult to speak in general terms about complexity. I don’t believe that Tekken is complex. If it were complex, it probably wouldn’t have sold 44 million copies and be the best-selling fighting game it is today. Some people in the FGC may say it is complex, but then others even say you can win in Tekken by button mashing, which sounds contradictory. In fact, many techniques can easily be performed by “button mashing,†but this also means it could be said the game is accessible to a wide audience. It is frustrating when I see the same person say that Tekken is very technical, and thus difficult, but then says that it is a button masher with no depth in other instances. In actuality, I believe the game is easy for anyone to pick up and play, yet difficult to master if you want to compete at a tournament level. However, the fan base is about 70% casual. Otherwise, it would be much too difficult to sell 44 million copies. Half of the 44 million is from Europe, with the next biggest fanbase coming from the US, and most of the players will never go to a tournament. Special effort was made to ensure that Tekken 7 was more accessible than past installments. Getting up after being knocked down was made more simple, as well as the controls. The new mechanics also are quite simple. Long-time fans of the series have been saying this is the easiest Tekken for newcomers to pick up, and we have seen a large influx of new players for the arcade version in Japan and Asia. This was achieved because we have a good balance of breaking down/discarding what we have built up, and creating new content and mechanics on that streamlined base. PSB: In some ways, I almost see Tekken 7 as a fusion of the best gameplay elements of Tekken 5 and Tekken 6. Am I right or am I off? How did you approach the broad “feel†of the game, and where it would sit compared to the others? KH: I think this is half true, but maybe the other half is not accurate. Tekken has changed quite a bit with each installment from Tekken 1 to Tekken 7. Before it became what it is now, the base was established in Tekken 1 and 2, and went through an evolution with Tekken 3. Tekken 4 marked a leap in the technology behind the game, even if the system itself wasn’t well received. Tekken 5 and 6 each saw a renewal of the fan base, with an influx of new players. For Tekken 7, we took all of the knowledge that we had gained throughout the series, streamlined the game systems while eliminating elements that were maybe overly complex, and then added new gameplay mechanics on top of that, so Tekken 7 is an all-new installment in the franchise. What is important is not to reject everything that you tried and failed at, but to take the technology and ideas gained in the process and re-evaluate them from a different perspective. Also, to have the courage to break what you have built up, and also try new things, while evaluating your fans’ reactions to the results. If you try not to analyze but to just play the game for enjoyment, you will more quickly see how it feels quite different from past installments. PSB: What are your thoughts on the modern fighting game genre, and dynamics that are driving it? One thought is that storytelling seems to be seeing far more importance over the last few years. KH: First, regarding storytelling, the Tekken series has probably devoted the most resources to this aspect of the game out of all of the games in the genre for the past 20 years, so I wouldn’t say that Tekken is influenced by this trend from the “last few years.†I want you to look back to when we released on the PS1. Tekken was one of the first games to be noticed for its pre-rendered movies available upon clearing the game that portrayed the storylines for each character. We even added very rich (and expensive!) CG opening movies to each installment to enhance the experience. For Tekken 5, there were even real-time demos in which characters interacted with each other to enhance the story plots. In Tekken 6, you can see in the Scenario Campaign mode the amount of resources that went into the storytelling portion. Storytelling has always been a strong point of the series and has made Tekken the leader in the genre. “Storytelling has always been a strong point of the series†It is because of this background that I have thought recently that in the current generation it may be quite difficult to develop a non-license IP and completely new fighting game. If you think about it, the fighting game genre was born from the arcade business model and continues to have these roots. It might not be a bad idea to design a fighting game from scratch that is intended for consoles and is more geared towards online VS play, that might be quite different from the current model we all know. Maybe the speed of game play or the strategy in reading your opponent and how you fight them might be something totally different. Of course, if we could create an attractive world setting even with original IP character through a heavy emphasis on storytelling, it might provide the environment to be able to create an all new game. PSB: Looking ahead, where do you think the fighting game genre needs to go to continue to enjoy success and earn new players? KH: Of course this doesn’t just pertain to fighting games, but new players are a necessity. There has to be an influx of new players with each installment. And it is very important that the game/IP be popular across generations of players. I’d like to thank Harada-san for taking the time to field our questions. Tekken 7 is out today on PS4 — and from what I’ve played, it’s another polished entry in the historic franchise. View the full article

When WipEout Omega Collection launches next week, the iconic PlayStation franchise will be nearing its 21st anniversary. Yet even at over two decades old, the racing series still exudes a futuristic sheen that is entirely unique, entirely its own. To celebrate the upcoming release, former artists from the franchise unearthed just a sampling of their visionary concept art that informed the final games from across the series’ entire span. You’ll be able to see even more via the digital artbook that releases alongside WipEout Omega Collection next week, but for the moment let the artists behind those works walk us through the stories behind 25 pieces of previously unseen concept art… “This was sketched with pencils, then colored in Photoshop. It appeared on a billboard in WipEout 2048, as an ad titled ‘Real Replicant’. The basis was our resident WipEout pilot (ex-community manager) Ami, and the costume she’d crafted herself. Genius.†“Another piece of art from WipEout 2048. Not the first time we sketched the backend of a ship racing down a track. Not the last either. Again, this was a pencil sketch given color in Photoshop.†“Another pencil/Photoshop job. We were looking to give all our pilots cool backstories, and this was a potential explosive tale captured via a single, cover-style, image.†“At some point – maybe prior to WipEout 2048 – we had this idea of street racing on bikes through regular traffic. This moment captures those bikes roaring past a big-ass container wagon.†“This piece was created around 1997. We hadn’t highlighted the pilots and their ship interiors much in promotional material (or indeed in-game), so we thought it’d be fun to give a glimpse inside the ship, and whipped up this concept of an in-fiction promo shoot.†“Showcasing one of the cooler moments that comes from anti-grav racing: you’d race up the side of that big ol’Feisar tower building.†“This may have been for a poster, definitely around the Fury era though. The initial idea was the Zen/Fury concept, but we didn’t quite nail it.†“Circa 2003. It wasn’t a piece assigned to anything particular, more as a tester as we got to grips with Painter [program]. God, they’re horrible pastels, aren’t they?†“This was a render for WipEout Fusion. Look closely and you can see why Nat’s biting her lip – the reflection of the baddie in the canopy! You can blame Batman ’66 and Miami Vice for the garish colors, but you won’t get any apologies!†“Another piece from around 2003. We were trying to capture the early days of the Anti-Grav Racing League, and the wider WipEout world. A desert race seemed cool, and I’d been watching the bionic man and wanted to do pilots in a dry lake setting.†“A rather neat robot design that we used for the WipEout space in PlayStation Home.†“A concept, similar to the idea of street bike racing, that was envisioned in this energetic piece, of big wheeled cars rolling through traffic. It never got greenlit, but did get a nod eventually in Wipeout 2048’s intro movie.†“Just a random – but very cool – ship shot.†“Playing around with the environment as we got to grips with Painter back in 2003/2004.†“This had nothing to do with WipEout, believe it or not. But the idea – huge floating whale-like spaceships – was so strong that the original doodle sketched during downtime became a more fleshed out piece of art!†“We spent a lot of time messing about with the final look of the start grid. This is just one of many concept pieces showcasing the structures that pop out of the track to hold the ships as well as the ground crew.†“We were actually coming off F1 in the studio, hence the racing girls. The rain? We wanted to test WipEout out with a lot of different weather conditions (plus, I’m not a huge fan of summer)!†“This is from WipEout 2048, as we wanted to contrast the shiny chrome of the WipEout ships with the dankness of the old city’s underbelly, as the course plunges you through this trackside history lesson – if you had time to look!†“More exploration of the wider WipEout world, as a flatbed hovertruck showcased the winning ship. As for the cheerleaders, well, guess they stuck around a bit longer after F1 after all.†“Two (in-fiction) years before WipEout 2048! Using real world scale allowed us to show how the tracks would stack up against – and run along – New York buildings.†“One of a series of images showing how a normal NY street would be kitted out for the WipEout street race, with these big buggers laying down track pillars (and yep, that’s a misquoted Clerks reference on the banner).†“Nothing like a bit of vertigo to stir the senses! Not only did it give a sense of scale to the city beyond, it was also a nod to an older piece done around 1997 that messed with the horizon perspective as well.†“Again an early 2048 exploration, showing the real world around the track – the human scale. And I couldn’t resist a reference to that classic photo of the working men eating lunch on a girder. This is what they’re watching now.†“We played around with the idea of an interactive comic called Wipeout Chronicles, which would shed some light on the backstory of WipEout’s founder.†“Fun fact: WipEout 2048, for a short while, was going to have a zombie mode. It was a half-joke, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the endless ‘zombie’ modes in other games. We didn’t get time to perfect it though so we removed it. The shot was a mixture of renders and FX slammed together in Photoshop, with most of the street lights taken out to have lower key lighting so it’s even moodier than usual.†View the full article

Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here It’s a star-studded 250th episode extravaganza! …Actually, it’s a pretty normal episode. We’ve got a good one for ya though — Ryan and Justin fawn over their time with Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, Sid has lots of nice things to say about Logan (the movie!), and our heroes face the inevitable truth that E3 is right around the corner. Enjoy! Stuff We Talked About A star-studded 250th episode extravaganza! Jk, we got nothin’ Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Logan E3! Dreadnought Pyre Lawbreakers Fidget spinners Recent Episodes Bonus Episode: It Takes 2 249: Tekken’ It to the Streets 248: Spray and Prey The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

In a dystopian world controlled by a giant corporation, people live as slaves under permanent surveillance. Most of the people are being forced to work in places where they never come out. Randall wakes up with no memory. He is a strong man with schizophrenia and a bad habit of skipping leg days at the gym. Randall is an action side-scroller packed with enemies and traps. The player controls Randall, who has to defeat hordes of enemies in order to escape this nightmare and learn what is going on in City of Nook. Randall relies on his fists to defeat his enemies, on his agility to perform parkour moves and on his brain to control his enemies minds. Randall has to explore City of Nook as he stumbles upon power ups, new enemies and new places in this side-scrolling, exploration-based adventure. As the game progress, some previously locked areas become accessible. Randall has sharp skills that allow you to overcome every challenge in your way, even those that look impossible. Randall can control the mind of his enemies and use their abilities and weapons for his own convenience. Challenge your skills and mind fighting the enemies and bosses. Not everyone can be defeated by Randall’s fists alone. Discover Randall’s true identity and his role in this dystopian adventure. Randall is the debut title of We The Force. We are a group of developers based in Saltillo Mexico. This game has been in development for almost four years. We created a dystopian atmosphere and mind controlling mechanics in conjunction by all the members in the studio. It has been a great experience building this world that we hope you will enjoy exploring. In this four years of development there were times when we had to scrap almost everything, to start over always with the clear objective in mind to create engaging and fun places for you to explore. In a way, Randall represents all of us in the studio in the sense that challenges were presented and surmounted. We The Force Studio’s games look to shine a light on some of our society’s issues like totalitarian governments, discrimination, how we treat our planet and how we forget about what being a human means. Their games also try to recreate the classic gameplay experience of some early 90’s titles. Yes, we are 90’s people. Randall will be available at PlayStation Store on Tuesday, June 6th. View the full article

Greetings, PlayStation Nation! The PS Plus lineup for June is in, and we have some excellent games to share. This month, we’ve got Killing Floor 2 and Life is Strange. Killing Floor 2 is a first-person co-op zombie shooter set in the immediate aftermath of Killing Floor. Tasked with descending into continental Europe to combat the outbreak of the zombie virus, players will form groups of up to six and work together to eradicate the undead and save civilization. From there, rewind a bit with the excellent 5-part episodic adventure Life is Strange. Follow the story of Max Caulfield, a photography senior who discovers she can rewind time. Here’s the catch: changing the past can greatly impact the future. See for yourself why this one racked up critical acclaim and numerous awards. Full lineup: Killing Floor 2, PS4 Life is Strange, PS4 Abyss Odyssey, PS3 WRC 5: World Rally Championship, PS3 Neon Chrome, PS Vita (crossbuy with PS4) Spy Chameleon, PS Vita (crossbuy on PS4) Thanks, and see you next time! Oh, and while you are enjoying these free PlayStation Plus games, be sure to check out PlayStation Plus Specials where we have discounted two sweet bundles: WWE 2K17 & NBA 2K17 and The Division & Rainbow Six Siege! View the full article

Hello! This is Andrew Davis, Associate Localization Producer at SEGA of America, Inc., and today I’m excited to introduce the lush orchestral soundtrack for Valkyria Revolution! For this game, we had the honor of working with the legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda. Known to video game fans for his classic scores, Mitsuda-san is a 25-year industry veteran and currently heads his own studio producing music for games, anime, film, TV, live concerts, and countless other projects. As the world of Valkyria Revolution is loosely based on 19th-century Europe, Mitsuda-san chose to arrange his soundtrack for a full symphony orchestra, and we’re happy to report that every background piece you’ll hear as you’re playing was a live concert-hall recording of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Electronic music is great, but there’s a scope and texture you can only get from live ensembles, and coupled with the emotionally-charged melodies Mitsuda-san is known for, I expect players will be swept into a sensation of “classy, cinematic drama†they don’t often get from video games. (If you set the controller down and just bliss out to the music for a bit, I certainly won’t blame you.) Special guest this time on the soundtrack is previous Mitsuda collaborator Sarah Àlainn. A talented, multilingual Australian-Japanese singer with a voice spanning over 3 octaves, Sarah contributed her lyrics and haunting voice to several songs throughout Valkyria Revolution. If you hear an ethereal chorus of angels chanting in Latin—guess what, that’s all Sarah! Valkyria Revolution will be launching in the Americas on June 27 for both PS4 and PS Vita. As a reminder, pre-orders and limited launch copies of the physical PS4 game will ship as the “Vanargand Edition,†which comes with a bonus 12-track CD of selections from Yasunori Mitsuda’s soundtrack (along with a nifty pin of the Vanargand coat of arms), so if you’re a longtime Mitsuda fan like me, this is the one to get. Oh, and PS4 digital pre-orders are now live! If you end up going the digital pre-order route, you’ll get extra goodies such as The Formation of Vanargand and The Ring of Contract DLC content, 30 ragnite shards, a collection of special ragnite to use in combat (Time Flux+, Heal Field+, Fall Earth+, and Shine Calibur+), and the PlayStation exclusive “The Princess and the Valkyria†theme. Until next time, enjoy the music! View the full article

“Become the liberator and beacon of hope the people need!†No pressure, right? Our team at Skydance Interactive is thrilled to share the news with you that our very first VR game Archangel will officially launch in July for an exclusive two-week window on PlayStation VR before releasing on additional platforms. Let us set the stage: a world ravaged by natural disasters. A corporatized, tyrannical United States where the government and freedom of the people no longer exist. With this in mind, strap on your PlayStation VR headset and prepare for battle. In Archangel, you’ll discover that you’ve been selected by the United States Free Forces, the resistance, to pilot a one-of-a-kind weapon: a six-story high war machine built to destroy. You’re dropped into the cockpit of a giant mech to lead your squadron into battle against HUMNX, a private conglomerate that governs what little is left of a ravaged America. Grab the controls and watch as your own two massive mech hands surge to life! Fire at will on your enemies with an incredible array of high-powered weapons, or punch a plane from the sky with one hand while machine-gunning a hovercopter with the other — all without breaking a sweat. Throughout the game you’ll protect — and be protected by — AI-controlled teammates who pilot a number of different vehicles, each with their own capabilities. When the odds turn against you, use your shield generators to block incoming attacks and protect your teammates. If your shields have failed, your teammates carry nano-bot units that can repair damage to your hull. When weapons and shields won’t do the trick, you can get personal and use your hands to crush your foes. Being a massive mechanized engine of destruction has some pretty noticeable advantages in combat! Utilize all this firepower and support to battle your way through progressively difficult waves of enemies across many different environments, and earn XP to level up your mech along the way. Play the lead role in the next chapter of the great story of the resistance, with storylines both epic and personal woven throughout. Our goal with Archangel was to create an action-packed shooter with explosive gameplay, high-quality graphics, engaging storytelling and dynamic characters, delivering a complete package for VR gamers. We’re so excited to bring Archangel to you and hope you enjoy the game, but do not take this mission lightly — you are the best and final hope for the United States Free Forces, the tip of the spear in the fight against the tyrannical HUMNX. You are more than a warrior and more than a protector. You are the people’s deliverance. You are the Archangel! View the full article

The story of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood takes our heroes to the faraway lands of Ala Mhigo, oppressed and occupied by the Garlean Empire for 20 years. We join the Resistance in their efforts for liberation, though not all the people of Ala Mhigo see eye to eye. The older generation longs for their days of freedom. The newer generation has grown up under Garlean rule and knows nothing else. There is a disparity in perspective between the old and the new that changes their mutual experience. This same disparity exists between veteran Final Fantasy XIV players and new ones. And it’s a gulf that Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida plans to bridge. Yes, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is the second major expansion to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. But unlike the first expansion, Heavensward, which pulled our heroes into European high fantasy and an ancient war, Stormblood is a new beginning in both story and design. The result is a more approachable, more visual Final Fantasy XIV — one that aims to bring the community closer together, and welcome newcomers who have yet to see some of the best the franchise has to offer. Let’s be realistic: not everyone interested in Final Fantasy XIV has several hundred hours to spare to play through the staggering amount of content in A Realm Reborn and Heavensward. That’s why the new Tales of Adventure items exist. These optional items can be purchased to skip forward in the story, or boost a single class up to level 60 (the new cap is 70). Currently, only one job can be boosted per account, but this goes a long way in bringing new heroes into the fold. Yoshida describes the thinking behind these items with a metaphor. Final Fantasy XIV is a mountain. Veteran players have been slowly climbing this mountain for the past several years at their own pace, stopping now and then to enjoy the view. They may not feel like they’ve come far because they only climb a few steps at a time. But for new players starting at the base of the mountain, it can be overwhelming to see how far everyone else has risen. These items are designed to lift those players up to meet the rest of us — not push them past the devoted longtimers and beat them to the summit. The second fundamental change to the formula is the introduction of Job Gauges. Now, every battle class has its own unique gauge that tracks important information with colorful aplomb. Players will spend less time squinting over rows of small icons and timers, and more time focused on the flow of the battle, with critical job-specific info displayed across jeweled lights, mechanized meters, and blossoming flower petals. The change is small, but the result is colossal. It feels more like a Final Fantasy and less like a spreadsheet (no disrespect to players who pore over spreadsheets — I admire you dearly). Yoshida and his team have also made great strides in streamlining the skills our heroes learn over time, collapsing redundant skills together, enabling our hotbars to update automatically given specific leveling requirements, and reworking cross-class skills altogether. Now different roles (like tank, healer, and damage per second classes) share a pool of unlockable skills. No longer must a player level multiple classes to fully empower the single job of their choice. Stick with one, and sail it clear into the endgame. These kinds of refinements also significantly streamline the flow of combat for DualShock 4 users, providing them with even more room to customize and tweak their preferred setup. Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is exactly the kind of step forward you want to see from a long-running MMO. It embraces its strengths while abandoning traditions that no longer serve the player. With a new Garlean threat to face, new lands inspired by classical Japanese art and architecture, and even a full swimming/diving system to enhance exploration, Stormblood is an exhilarating next step for Final Fantasy XIV. You can take it with me when it launches on June 20, 2017. All content previewed during the Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood media event is under development and subject to change. View the full article

We have some very exciting news to share: Our next game, Pyre, will launch on PlayStation 4 this summer on July 25, 2017! Our team is hard at work right now putting the finishing touches on it. You can pre-order it right now and get 10% off the $19.99 retail price. Read on to learn more about what we think makes Pyre special. About the Game (With New Details!)Pyre is a party-based RPG in which you lead a band of exiles to freedom through ancient competitions spread across a vast, mystical purgatory. Who shall return to glory, and who shall remain in exile to the end of their days? Find out during the course of the single-player campaign (and maybe rack up a new Platinum Trophy while you’re at it). A New World From the Creators of Bastion and Transistor You’ll meet a large cast of different playable characters, such as these fine folk. This is the biggest and most imaginative world yet from us at Supergiant! You’ll get to know an ensemble cast of characters struggling to earn back their freedom as you make your way across the forsaken land called the Downside. Characters in Pyre come in all shapes and sizes, from hulking demons grown strong from their struggle to survive, to the winged Harps, who plot against their enemies from their mountain nests. Everyone in Pyre has a unique story behind their exile, and what might be in store for them if only they could return. Action-Packed Three-on-Three Battle SystemCentral to Pyre is the ancient competition called the Rites. Each Rite plays out like an intense close-quarters mystical battle, where the object is to extinguish your adversary’s signal flame before they can do the same to you. You’ll have to outsmart and outmaneuver your opponents to succeed — or you can banish them outright with a powerful aura blast. You’ll be up against a colorful cast of adversaries in pitched, high-stakes confrontations where each victory (or defeat!) brings your exiles closer to enlightenment. Choose three exiles from your party for each Rite, and outfit them with powerful Talismans and Masteries to gain an edge. A Branching Story with No Game-OverThink about how many games you play where you get stuck trying to get past a certain sequence, and keep throwing yourself at it again and again, just because you want to see what happens next. Sometimes that’s fun… but often, it stops the story dead in its tracks and just gets frustrating. We wanted to make a game that had plenty of challenge and exciting action, but where the fear and frustration of getting stuck was not a factor. Picking yourself up after being defeated could be part of the journey, rather than something that took place in your head while looking at a Game Over screen. So, one of the unique aspects of Pyre is how you are never forced to lose progress. Whether you prevail or fail, your journey continues. The interactive narrative is expressed through a story that should feel personal to you, and that no two players will experience in quite the same way. Challenge a Friend in Versus ModeOn top of the single-player campaign, Pyre features a local two-player Versus Mode, which we revealed at the PlayStation Experience last year. Versus Mode lets you play against a friend (or CPU opponent) in one of the game’s fast-paced ritual showdowns. You’ll be able to form your triumvirate from more than 20 unique characters you’ll meet in the campaign, and customize your Rite in a variety of ways — configuring your characters’ abilities, choosing from the variety of stages each with their own distinct effects on gameplay, and more. We think this creates a ton of lasting value for the game and have been having a great time playing it ourselves, trying out every possible character combination we can think of. Rich, Atmospheric Presentation The Downside has a variety of different regions you’ll get to explore in your quest for freedom. From the vibrant hand-painted artwork to the evocative musical score (featuring more than 90 minutes of music by Darren Korb, our audio director and award-winning composer of Bastion and Transistor), every aspect of Pyre’s presentation draws you into its fantasy world. Pyre has been in development for nearly three years. We can now safely say that it’s the biggest game we’ve ever created, offering substantially more ways to play and more characters to meet than either Bastion or Transistor before it. With each new game we’ve made, we’ve endeavored to push ourselves out of our creative comfort zone to make something that felt fresh to us, in the belief that this would translate to a worthwhile experience for our players. We cannot wait for you to try it and hear what you think. View the full article

Hello everyone! Dave Gabriel from FuturLab here, introducing with great pleasure: Tiny Trax! Childhood Imagination Brought to LifeDid you ever wish for your toy cars to completely defy gravity, or to race on crazy tracks that went far beyond the limits of reality? Then you’ll love Tiny Trax! Addictive Arcade FunWe’ve taken the slot-car format made popular by Scalextric and Carrera, and pumped it up a few notches! Adding lane-switching, boost and a super-smooth drifting mechanic to recharge your boost gauge, Tiny Trax expands the slot-car experience by introducing a whole new set of skills to wrap your thumbs around. We’ll even put your car back on the track if you overcook a corner! Steer your car as if it were radio controlled, zipping along walls, dunking underwater, flying overhead, and looping upside-down through ice-caves and space stations! Get up close to the action as teeny cars drift satisfyingly close to your face! Great Use of VRTiny Trax brings the action to you with tiny cars skidding past your nose, jumping overhead and drifting around your feet — it feels wonderful to race around imaginative tracks that surround you in VR. Stunning EnvironmentsWith twelve beautifully designed and utterly bonkers tracks – constructed around you in ‘slap-me-in-the-face this is great’ VR – race around tropical beaches, forgotten ruins and even alien planets! Oh, and Joris de Man somehow found time to produce a catchy-as-hell soundtrack for Tiny Trax whilst he was scoring Horizon Zero Dawn! What a treat. Race on walls and upside-down spirals – real-world limitations be gone! Online MultiplayerChoose from six vehicles to race against AI, or up to four friends online in single races or tournaments, posting high scores to the leaderboards. Tiny Trax has been designed to give you 100% VR comfort time and again, so you can replay as much as you need to improve your times. Tiny Trax is FuturLab’s first 3D game, first racing game, first multiplayer game, first VR game, and this is the first project I’ve worked on as a designer, which I’ll tell you more about at a later date. Stay tuned for more info at E3, but for now you can keep up to date by following @FuturLab immediately! Thanks for reading, we look forward to racing you soon! View the full article

E3 is almost here and I’m excited to announce that the PlayStation E3 Experience is returning for 2017! Join us on Monday, June 12th in over 85 theaters across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. This is the third year we’re broadcasting our E3 Press Conference live to theaters across North America and I can’t wait to bring the excitement of E3 straight to you. Watching the announcements and news alongside other members of the PlayStation community is an experience like no other. Attendees will take home an exclusive poster and #76 from the PlayStation Collectable Card series. This will be the only way to get your hands on these, so don’t miss out! Want more than just limited edition swag? We’ve got you covered — everyone will also get a digital gift basket chock-full of goodies from PlayStation Store. Tickets for US and CanadaTickets are 100% free and will be available at playstation.com/E3experience starting Tuesday, May 30th at 10:00 AM PT while supplies last. To register for a ticket, you will need to create a free Gofobo account. Tickets will be sent to the email address used to create your Gofobo account. Attendees who have registered for a ticket will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater reaches capacity. Make sure to arrive early! Receiving a ticket does not guarantee you a seat. Attendees must be 17 years of age or older to attend this event. A valid form of ID providing age will be required to enter. Theater NameCityState / ProvinceAnchorage 16AnchorageAKTrussville Stadium 16BirminghamALMobile Stadium 18MobileALTinseltown BentonBentonARSurprise 14SurpriseAZCentury Park Place 20TucsonAZDaly City 20Daly CityCACentury City 15Los AngelesCALA Live 14Los AngelesCACentury 20 Downtown Redwood CityRedwood CityCAMission Valley 20San DiegoCAVan Ness 14San FranciscoCADenver Pavilions 15DenverCOMeadows 12Lone TreeCOBloomfield 8BloomfieldCTGallery Place 14WashingtonDCBrandywine Town Center 16WilmingtonDEAvenues 20JacksonvilleFLWaterford Lakes 20OrlandoFLSunset Place 24South MiamiFLSawgrass 23SunriseFLHollywood 24 @ N I-85ChambleeGADole Cannery Stadium 18HonoluluHIDavenport 53 IMAXDavenportIABoise Stadium 22BoiseIDRiver East 21ChicagoILGalaxy 14IndianapolisINHollywood Stadium 14 TopekaTopekaKSTinseltown LouisvilleLouisvilleKYElmwood Palace 20ElmwoodLAFenway Stadium 13BostonMASolomon Pond 15MarlboroughMARockville Center 13RockvilleMDBrunswick 10BrunswickMELansing Mall 12LansingMIBrooklyn Center 20MinneapolisMNKansas City 18 CinemasKansas CityMOGallatin Valley Cinemas 11BozemanMTStonecrest At Piper Glen 22CharlotteNCNorth Hills Stadium 14RaleighNCOakview Plaza 24OmahaNEFox Run Stadium 15NewingtonNHHamilton 24HamiltonNJSeacourt 10Toms RiverNJCentury 14 Downtown AlbuquerqueAlbuquerqueNMVillage Square 18Las VegasNVUnion Square 14New YorkNYE-Walk 42nd Street 13New YorkNYTransit Center 18 plus IMAXWilliamsvilleNYGeorgesville Square 16ColumbusOHMilford 16MilfordOHTinseltown USA Oklahoma CityOklahoma CityOKLloyd Center 10 CinemaPortlandORRiverview Plaza 17PhiladelphiaPACinemark 17 Pittsburgh Mills plus IMAXTarentumPASandhill Stadium Cinema 16ColumbiaSCSioux Falls Stadium 14Sioux FallsSDOpry Mills 20 plus IMAXNashvilleTNMetropolitan Stadium 14AustinTXNorthpark Center 15DallasTXHouston Marq’e Stadium 23HoustonTXCielo Vista 18San AntonioTXSalt Lake City 16Salt Lake CityUTWestchester Common 16MidlothianVALynnhaven 18Virginia BeachVALincoln Square CinemasBellevueWAPacific Place 11SeattleWARenaissance CinemaSturtevantWIMorgantown Stadium 12MorgantownWVFox Theater 6LaramieWYScotiabank Theatre ChinookCalgaryAlbertaCineplex Cinemas MetropolisBurnabyBritish ColumbiaScotiabank Theatre WinnipegWinnipegManitobaScotiabank Theatre TorontoTorontoOntarioCinéma Banque Scotia MontréalMontréalQuebecTickets for Latin AmericaIf you’re a PlayStation fan in Brazil check blog.br.playstation.com soon for more details on which theaters are participating and how to get your tickets. View the full article