Jade Raymond has said that Haven's upcoming PlayStation exclusive game will include social elements and user-generated content, adding that it's being created by many of the devs behind the original Assassin's Creed.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Raymond had started Haven Entertainment Studios, an independent company in Montreal currently working on an unannounced new IP for PlayStation. During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the studio boss delved a little further into what fans can expect from the game and exactly who's making it.

"There are three things that are really exciting me, which are also pillars for the way that we're thinking about things," says Raymond. "First is games as a social platform. The pandemic has proven that gameplay is the social glue that binds communities. Especially for the younger generation, this is what you do and how you make friends and hang out. That is something that we really want to build and design for."

While there are plenty of games around that include social elements in their design, the second concept on Raymond's list adds another layer to the direction in which the studio looks to be taking its new IP.

"The second thing is thinking about the 'remix generation'. It started a little while ago, there is this age of self-expression where we're designing our NikeID shoes, we're reading our friends' blogs rather than what our professional journalists are writing. And I think that has continued to go further with things like TikTok. That's another thing that we're thinking about at the heart of this IP. It is beyond user-generated content, it is about taking that self-expression and remix concept to the next level."

PlayStation has seen a number of its previous exclusives focus on similar ideas to some degree in the past. Games such as LittleBigPlanet have allowed fans to create and play user-generated levels alongside one another, while the more recent release of Dreams scaled up the concept further by granting users the ability to create fully-fledged games, mechanics, art and more across its creation platform.

Raymond didn't go into too much detail surrounding how Haven's upcoming game will take shape. However, the studio head was keen to note that she's excited to be able to create a new IP from scratch, and in particular, one that "can last for generations and become meaningful for people on a deeper level."

"But how do we create an IP that has that depth, but it is designed to be owned by the fans from the start," asks Raymond. "When we created Assassin's Creed, we were really thinking about creating an IP that can be owned by creative teams in the future. We thought if we create a framework of anything that takes place in a moment in history and has the Assassins behind it, [that] will be consistent with the brand so teams can evolve that and own it. Now what we're thinking about is creating an IP where it's not just professional teams, but it is designed to be owned by the fans and can evolve through that."

Creating a game that pushes the boundaries of creativity and ownership sounds like no easy task. Fortunately for Raymond, the IP is in experienced hands. Corey May, who was the original writer on the first Assassin's Creed is taking up the role of world director for the game, while a number of other staff from the original Assassin's Creed team are also involved.

"We started in 2004 working together. I was 29 at the time. Now we all have kids and grey hair and it's many years later," says Raymond. "But we still love working together. Corey was there, Raphael, Mathieu Leduc, who is our creative director, Pierre-Francois Sapinski [head of production]... the list goes on. We have a lot of people from that original game. And there really was a magical feeling when working on that first game, and I feel like we have that again."

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Jade Raymond has said that Haven's upcoming PlayStation exclusive game will include social elements and user-generated content, adding that it's being created by many of the devs behind the original Assassin's Creed.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Raymond had started Haven Entertainment Studios, an independent company in Montreal currently working on an unannounced new IP for PlayStation. During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the studio boss delved a little further into what fans can expect from the game and exactly who's making it.

"There are three things that are really exciting me, which are also pillars for the way that we're thinking about things," says Raymond. "First is games as a social platform. The pandemic has proven that gameplay is the social glue that binds communities. Especially for the younger generation, this is what you do and how you make friends and hang out. That is something that we really want to build and design for."

While there are plenty of games around that include social elements in their design, the second concept on Raymond's list adds another layer to the direction in which the studio looks to be taking its new IP.

"The second thing is thinking about the 'remix generation'. It started a little while ago, there is this age of self-expression where we're designing our NikeID shoes, we're reading our friends' blogs rather than what our professional journalists are writing. And I think that has continued to go further with things like TikTok. That's another thing that we're thinking about at the heart of this IP. It is beyond user-generated content, it is about taking that self-expression and remix concept to the next level."

PlayStation has seen a number of its previous exclusives focus on similar ideas to some degree in the past. Games such as LittleBigPlanet have allowed fans to create and play user-generated levels alongside one another, while the more recent release of Dreams scaled up the concept further by granting users the ability to create fully-fledged games, mechanics, art and more across its creation platform.

Raymond didn't go into too much detail surrounding how Haven's upcoming game will take shape. However, the studio head was keen to note that she's excited to be able to create a new IP from scratch, and in particular, one that "can last for generations and become meaningful for people on a deeper level."

"But how do we create an IP that has that depth, but it is designed to be owned by the fans from the start," asks Raymond. "When we created Assassin's Creed, we were really thinking about creating an IP that can be owned by creative teams in the future. We thought if we create a framework of anything that takes place in a moment in history and has the Assassins behind it, [that] will be consistent with the brand so teams can evolve that and own it. Now what we're thinking about is creating an IP where it's not just professional teams, but it is designed to be owned by the fans and can evolve through that."

Creating a game that pushes the boundaries of creativity and ownership sounds like no easy task. Fortunately for Raymond, the IP is in experienced hands. Corey May, who was the original writer on the first Assassin's Creed is taking up the role of world director for the game, while a number of other staff from the original Assassin's Creed team are also involved.

"We started in 2004 working together. I was 29 at the time. Now we all have kids and grey hair and it's many years later," says Raymond. "But we still love working together. Corey was there, Raphael, Mathieu Leduc, who is our creative director, Pierre-Francois Sapinski [head of production]... the list goes on. We have a lot of people from that original game. And there really was a magical feeling when working on that first game, and I feel like we have that again."

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

After many, many leaks, Rockstar Games has officially announced the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, comprising Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. The updated games will be released for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via the Rockstar Games Launcher) "later this year". Mobile ports will follow next year.

All three games "will feature across-the-board upgrades including graphical improvements and modern gameplay enhancements for all three titles, while still maintaining the classic look and feel of the originals." More details will follow in the coming weeks. Rockstar has not yet confirmed if the games will be released as a single package, as individual titles, or both.

The existing versions of all three games will be removed from digital storefronts next week. Rockstar also announced that the games will come to iOS and Android in the first half of 2022.

The remasters have been rumored for months and there have been several major leaks including references to the trilogy in Rockstar’s own game launcher, leaked logos and achievements, and the trilogy was even rated in South Korea.

The remasters are being released as part of GTA 3's 20th anniversary, and GTA Online will also be updated with anniversary-themed events, clothing, liveries and more. Rockstar teases that there will be surprises in store for GTA Online players, "including the upcoming possibility of some unusual activity occurring in and around Southern San Andreas…"

On top of the anniversary celebrations, Rockstar also teased what seems to be a new GTA Online expansion for this year, saying that "some well-known contacts and familiar friends need your help in expanding their “legit business” — with many more surprises soon to be revealed!"

Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas are considered some of the best games in the series. As with all Grand Theft Auto games, each title focuses on the life and crimes of the main character trying to make it big in a fictional city in the United States.

Vice City for example is based on Miami while San Andreas is an amalgam of southern California and Nevada. Check out all our reviews for GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.

The trilogy will hopefully tide fans over as Rockstar readies a next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 5, which has been delayed until 2022. Though folks seem eager for news of Grand Theft Auto 6 more than anything.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

After many, many leaks, Rockstar Games has officially announced the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, comprising Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. The updated games will be released for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via the Rockstar Games Launcher) "later this year". Mobile ports will follow next year.

All three games "will feature across-the-board upgrades including graphical improvements and modern gameplay enhancements for all three titles, while still maintaining the classic look and feel of the originals." More details will follow in the coming weeks. Rockstar has not yet confirmed if the games will be released as a single package, as individual titles, or both.

The existing versions of all three games will be removed from digital storefronts next week. Rockstar also announced that the games will come to iOS and Android in the first half of 2022.

The remasters have been rumored for months and there have been several major leaks including references to the trilogy in Rockstar’s own game launcher, leaked logos and achievements, and the trilogy was even rated in South Korea.

The remasters are being released as part of GTA 3's 20th anniversary, and GTA Online will also be updated with anniversary-themed events, clothing, liveries and more. Rockstar teases that there will be surprises in store for GTA Online players, "including the upcoming possibility of some unusual activity occurring in and around Southern San Andreas…"

On top of the anniversary celebrations, Rockstar also teased what seems to be a new GTA Online expansion for this year, saying that "some well-known contacts and familiar friends need your help in expanding their “legit business” — with many more surprises soon to be revealed!"

Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas are considered some of the best games in the series. As with all Grand Theft Auto games, each title focuses on the life and crimes of the main character trying to make it big in a fictional city in the United States.

Vice City for example is based on Miami while San Andreas is an amalgam of southern California and Nevada. Check out all our reviews for GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.

The trilogy will hopefully tide fans over as Rockstar readies a next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 5, which has been delayed until 2022. Though folks seem eager for news of Grand Theft Auto 6 more than anything.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has become the first game in the series to ship over ten million copies, Capcom confirms.

As announced in a press release, Capcom says that Resident Evil 7 has set new milestones for the company as it becomes the first game in the series to ship over ten million units globally. It's worth pointing out that shipped copies are those sent to retailers, as opposed to sold copies, which have been bought by players.

According to the studio, the game's impressive figures have largely been down to the "promotion of digital sales" and "synergies" with the series' latest installment, Resident Evil: Village, which launched in May.

The latest news from the studio comes after a string of successes for the series. In 2020, the Resident Evil brand set new records for Capcom after it became the first in its history to exceed 100 million units sold worldwide. That being said, it doesn't look like slowing down either. Capcom announced in July that its quarterly net sales and profits had reached record-high levels in a statement that contributed part of that success to the release of Resident Evil: Village.

Looking forward to the future, Capcom fans are likely to see the studio's focus shift toward PC software. Capcom's COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto shared that the success of its PC software has been "driving global sales" and that he thinks "PCs will be the next big thing after smartphones." Part of this decision, revealed Tsujimoto, is in response to an increase in digital sales from the likes of older titles such as Resident Evil 7.

Resident Evil 7's return to the series' roots with an emphasis on horror, exploration, and atmosphere was widely praised by fans. IGN reviewed Resident Evil 7 upon release scoring the game a 7.7/10 and commending it for taking the series in a "bold new direction".

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has become the first game in the series to ship over ten million copies, Capcom confirms.

As announced in a press release, Capcom says that Resident Evil 7 has set new milestones for the company as it becomes the first game in the series to ship over ten million units globally. It's worth pointing out that shipped copies are those sent to retailers, as opposed to sold copies, which have been bought by players.

According to the studio, the game's impressive figures have largely been down to the "promotion of digital sales" and "synergies" with the series' latest installment, Resident Evil: Village, which launched in May.

The latest news from the studio comes after a string of successes for the series. In 2020, the Resident Evil brand set new records for Capcom after it became the first in its history to exceed 100 million units sold worldwide. That being said, it doesn't look like slowing down either. Capcom announced in July that its quarterly net sales and profits had reached record-high levels in a statement that contributed part of that success to the release of Resident Evil: Village.

Looking forward to the future, Capcom fans are likely to see the studio's focus shift toward PC software. Capcom's COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto shared that the success of its PC software has been "driving global sales" and that he thinks "PCs will be the next big thing after smartphones." Part of this decision, revealed Tsujimoto, is in response to an increase in digital sales from the likes of older titles such as Resident Evil 7.

Resident Evil 7's return to the series' roots with an emphasis on horror, exploration, and atmosphere was widely praised by fans. IGN reviewed Resident Evil 7 upon release scoring the game a 7.7/10 and commending it for taking the series in a "bold new direction".

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have added the option to pay for XP and resource collection boosts using real money in Marvel's Avengers. The move has been slated by many fans who believe it offers a stark contrast to previous statements made surrounding the game's monetization tactics.

Marvel's Avengers' recent addition to Xbox Game Pass is likely to have brought a range of new players to the game. For pre-existing fans, however, news of the game's move to the new platform was shortly followed by the more troubling reality that its in-game marketplace now offers players the option to purchase boost-based 'consumables' using credits that can only be acquired through spending real money.

As reported by VGC, the game's new consumables can be purchased to temporarily increase the amount of XP and resources that a player can acquire while playing the game. This essentially allows for fans to make faster progress - so long as they're happy to spend real money doing so.

News of the change in monetization tactics has left fans over on the Marvel's Avengers subreddit in uproar, with many feeling that the move directly contrasts a number of previous comments promising that a "pay-to-win" style system would never be introduced into the game.

Prior to the game's release studio lead Scot Amos spoke about the game's approach to monetization with GamesIndustry.biz, saying, "In terms of how we monetise, we'll have cosmetics. No gameplay paywalls." As spotted on the subreddit, a blog post written on the game's website in September 2020 echoed similar statements, saying: “We’ve committed that content purchasable with real money in Marvel’s Avengers will be aesthetic-only additions, which will ensure we can keep the game fresh for years to come.”

While members of the game's community have been vocal with their anger surrounding the decision, many aren't particularly surprised - with a number of community members claiming that they'd anticipated the move ever since the game made XP progression changes earlier this year. "We saw it 7 months ago, when they announced the XP nerf," says user echild07.

Regardless of whether fans anticipated the decision or not, it sounds like the developer's decision to renegotiate on its previous comments is a step too far for some. "Uninstalled today. Don’t think I’ll worry about coming back for spider man either," says one user. "Can’t be bothered to support a company with 0 integrity. Will not purchase another Crystal Dynamics game again."

In other Marvel's Avengers news, Crystal Dynamics recently announced that its upcoming Spider-Man DLC will include additional story and cutscenes when the character launches for PlayStation users later this year. For more on Marvel's Avengers, make sure to check out our review.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have added the option to pay for XP and resource collection boosts using real money in Marvel's Avengers. The move has been slated by many fans who believe it offers a stark contrast to previous statements made surrounding the game's monetization tactics.

Marvel's Avengers' recent addition to Xbox Game Pass is likely to have brought a range of new players to the game. For pre-existing fans, however, news of the game's move to the new platform was shortly followed by the more troubling reality that its in-game marketplace now offers players the option to purchase boost-based 'consumables' using credits that can only be acquired through spending real money.

As reported by VGC, the game's new consumables can be purchased to temporarily increase the amount of XP and resources that a player can acquire while playing the game. This essentially allows for fans to make faster progress - so long as they're happy to spend real money doing so.

News of the change in monetization tactics has left fans over on the Marvel's Avengers subreddit in uproar, with many feeling that the move directly contrasts a number of previous comments promising that a "pay-to-win" style system would never be introduced into the game.

Prior to the game's release studio lead Scot Amos spoke about the game's approach to monetization with GamesIndustry.biz, saying, "In terms of how we monetise, we'll have cosmetics. No gameplay paywalls." As spotted on the subreddit, a blog post written on the game's website in September 2020 echoed similar statements, saying: “We’ve committed that content purchasable with real money in Marvel’s Avengers will be aesthetic-only additions, which will ensure we can keep the game fresh for years to come.”

While members of the game's community have been vocal with their anger surrounding the decision, many aren't particularly surprised - with a number of community members claiming that they'd anticipated the move ever since the game made XP progression changes earlier this year. "We saw it 7 months ago, when they announced the XP nerf," says user echild07.

Regardless of whether fans anticipated the decision or not, it sounds like the developer's decision to renegotiate on its previous comments is a step too far for some. "Uninstalled today. Don’t think I’ll worry about coming back for spider man either," says one user. "Can’t be bothered to support a company with 0 integrity. Will not purchase another Crystal Dynamics game again."

In other Marvel's Avengers news, Crystal Dynamics recently announced that its upcoming Spider-Man DLC will include additional story and cutscenes when the character launches for PlayStation users later this year. For more on Marvel's Avengers, make sure to check out our review.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Staff from Rocksteady Games are tweeting artwork from Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, which features detailed renders of each of the game's leading characters.

The art is set to be released individually throughout the day, but began started with an image of Deadshot, posted by Rocksteady's marketing manager, Gaz Deaves. "Here's the Man Who Never Misses," he said. "Check out that disappointed dad energy."

That was followed up by Rocksteady's new take on Harley Quinn, posted by associate producer Holly Gordon. "IT'S HARLEY QUINN, BABY!," Gordon wrote. "I'm so excited to share this fierce image of Harley and can't wait for you all to meet our badass and headstrong QUEEN in SSKTJL!"

Check out all the images in the gallery below, which we'll update as they arrive:

Sound designer Elly Johnson introduced Captain Boomerang, saying "Raise a tinnie for the one, the only, Captain Boomerang! Absolutely HONOURED to show you all my favourite speedy boy". Rounding out the four was advanced VFX artist Hanno Hinkelbein, who showed off King Shark, saying, "ALL HAIL THE KING! I’m happy to be ambassador for my favourite of the four, the fish with the most charming smile in the whole world - King Shark!"

The images so far appear to be slightly reworked versions of the existing key art for the game, but it's not clear if we'll see brand new images today too.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is the next game from Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady, and more from the game is due to be revealed at DC Fandome this month. For more, here's everything we know about the Suicide Squad game, and the first trailer shown at DC Fandome last year.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Staff from Rocksteady Games are tweeting artwork from Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, which features detailed renders of each of the game's leading characters.

The art is set to be released individually throughout the day, but has started with this image of Deadshot, posted by Rocksteady's marketing manager, Gaz Deaves. "Here's the Man Who Never Misses," he said. "Check out that disappointed dad energy."

Rocksteady has promised further images, so expect art of playable characters Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark to appear in the coming hours.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is the next game from Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady, and more from the game is due to be revealed at DC Fandome this month. For more, here's everything we know about the Suicide Squad game, and the first trailer shown at DC Fandome last year.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.