How Game Companies Are Responding to President Trump’s Immigration Ban
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 27, which enacted a ban on immigrants entering the United States from seven countries for 90 days, refugees from being admitted to the country for 120 days, and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
Since the travel ban, which has been in some cases referred to as a "Muslim ban" because the countries listed in the executive order have populations with a Muslim majority, several game developers and publishers have spoken out in response to the bans.
Read on to find out how a host of developers and publishers, including Microsoft, Harmonix, Blizzard, and Vlambeer, have reacted to the executive order, including their stances on the order and what actions they have taken in response to it.
Black Sails: Woodes Rogers’ Cruel Right Hand Man
In Black Sails' Season 4 premiere last weekend, we were introduced to a new endgame adversary for our pirate protagonists - Captain Berringer, Woodes' new right hand heavy (played by star Toby Stephens' real life brother Chris Larkin!).
Here, in an exclusive scene from this week's new episode -- airing Sunday, January 5th on Starz -- Derringer expresses his lack of sympathy for the "savages" he's hanging to Jessica Parker Kennedy's Max. But don't expect Max to fall in line with Berringer's extreme measures. Check it out!
The official synopsis for the episode reads:
"Flint accepts Billy's authority; Eleanor has plans for Rogers; Silver seeks help from an unlikely source; and Max is put on notice."
Aquaman Casts Jango Fett Actor Temuera Morrison
Star Wars actor Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in the prequel films, is currently in negotiations to join the cast of Aquaman.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morrison -- also known for his role as Abin Sur in the Green Lantern movie -- is in talks to star as Aquaman's human father.
Morrison as Abin Sur in Green Lantern
Morrison isn't the only new actor in talks to join the cast, as earlier this week Nicole Kidman was reportedly offered the role of Aquaman's mother, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is said to be in early negotiations to play the supervillain Black Manta. Previously confirmed cast members include Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Willem Defoe as Vulko, and Amber Heard as Mera.
13 Gorgeous Works of Art Inspired by Doom and More
The Game Developers Conference will feature 13 stunning pieces of art, based on popular games like Doom, The Witness and Halo 5: Guardians.
In association with Iam8bit, the ArtBoss 2017 collection will highlight the finalists for the event later this month. The artists were inspired by various games, including Edge of Nowhere, The Banner Saga 2, Inside and more.
All 13 works of art that will be on display at GDC can be viewed in the image gallery below.
Now GDC isn't the only event where gorgeous game art gets showcased. For example, DICE presents a collection called Into the Pixel annually.
Fallout Shelter Coming to Xbox One Next Week
Fallout Shelter is coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 on February 7, Bethesda Games Studios announced today.
According to a post on Xbox Wire, the free-to-play vault manager will be part of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, meaning progress, saves, and achievements will transfer seamlessly across Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.
First announced at E3 2015, Fallout Shelter is currently available on iOS, Android, and PC through the Bethesda.net Launcher. One of its more recent updates added Bottle and Cappy, the mascots for Fallout 4's Nuka-World DLC.
Bay: The Last Knight Is My Final Transformers Movie
Director-producer Michael Bay has announced that Transformers: The Last Knight will be his last Transformers movie.
After being involved with the Transformers franchise for over a decade now, Bay has decided to call it quits, and this time for good. The director didn't list a specific reason for his departure from the series.
"It’s bittersweet for me. With every Transformers film, I’ve said it would be my last," Bay wrote on his site. "I see the 120 million fans around the world who see these movies, the huge theme park lines to the ride and the amazing Make- A-Wish kids who visit my sets, and it somehow keeps drawing me back. I love doing these movies. This film was especially fun to shoot. But, this time might really be it. So I’m blowing this one out."
PS4 Pro ‘Boost Mode’ Will Enhance Older Games
UPDATE: A PlayStation representative has confirmed that Boost Mode is part of the PS4 system software 4.50 beta and provided the following statement to IGN:
"Boost Mode lets PS4 Pro run at a higher GPU and CPU clock speed for smoother gameplay on some PS4 games that were released before the launch of PS4 Pro (and has not been updated to support PS4 Pro).
Games that have a variable frame rate may benefit from a higher frame rate, and load times may be shorter in some games too."
Original story follows:
Sony's forthcoming firmware update for PlayStation 4 reportedly includes a "Boost Mode" option for PS4 Pro users, improving the performance for games that don't already feature enhancements when played on Pro.
Stardew Valley Collector’s Edition Announced for Retail
Stardew Valley will be getting a collector's edition coming to retail stores for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, 505 Games has announced.
The collector's edition will include the full game, a Pelican Town Map, a mini-guidebook by Kari Fry, and a code to download the game's soundtrack.
Stardew Valley Collector's Edition will cost $30 and will release in retail stores for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on April 11 in the US and April 13 in Europe.
Stardew Valley first came to PC in 2016 and sold over a million copies in two months. The game later came to Xbox One and PS4 in December and will also be coming to Nintendo Switch.
FFXV’s Power Rangers Suits Have to Be Redesigned
Square Enix has announced it is delaying Final Fantasy XV's recently revealed Power Rangers-style costumes.
Called Magitek Exosuits, these new free costumes were originally supposed to be released on February 21. As noted by Kotaku, after getting plenty of feedback that these suits look nearly identical to what the Power Rangers wear, Square Enix realized it needs to redesign them.
Square Enix was contacted by those who own the Power Rangers IP, and so the company "spent the day looking into various things, and what we’ve decided is to redo the design,” as explained in the most recent Active Time Report.
Mass Effect’s New Asari Companion Is a Romance Option
BioWare has confirmed Peebee, Mass Effect: Andromeda's Asari squadmate, will be a romance option for at least one of the Ryder twins.
Mass Effect: Andromeda producer Michael Gamble confirmed the news on Twitter after Peebee voice actress Christine Lakin referenced the character's ability to "fall in love" in the video below. Since romance options will vary depending on your character, it's unclear whether Peebee will be a romance option for both Scott and Sara Ryder.
In the video, Lakin gives further insight into her Asari character, calling Peebee impulsive, quirky, and goofy.