PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Has Sold 18 Million Copies
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has now sold over 18 million copies, according to C.H. Kim, executive producer and CEO of newly formed studio PUBG Corp.
Creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene added that 40 percent of PUBG players play on the game's first-person servers.
"I was expecting maybe 10 percent of players would enjoy
, but it's really shown huge numbers," he said, adding that North American and European players are especially fond of first-person mode.
PUBG Dev: “I Don’t Want to Win a Game of the Year Award”
Speaking to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, I asked what he thought of Early Access games like PUBG being considered for Game of the Year awards, and he somewhat surprisingly told me “Personally, I don’t want to win a Game of the Year award.”
“While I would love to win it for the team, I think this year there have been far better games.” Greene specifically called out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn as “masterpieces of game design and storytelling.”
“They're just wonderful, wonderful games... I think they will probably win it. I would hope they would win it.” Greene said the award “would be a nice feather in their cap” for the PUBG Corp. team, but reiterated “I don't know if we deserve it.”
PUBG Releasing on Xbox Game Preview in December
Today PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. announced the wildly popular Steam Early Access shooter, which has sold over 18 million copies, will be launching on Xbox Game Preview on December 12 for $30.
Xbox Game Preview is essentially the Xbox version of Early Access, allowing players to buy a still in-development version of PUBG. Creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene said it’s “essentially a beta version,” and that it will allow them to work with the community to balance the game before its final release.
G-Sync Gaming Monitors that’ll Make the Most Out of Your Nvidia GPU
If you have an Nvidia graphics card, you owe it to yourself to invest in a G-Sync monitor. Variable refresh rate technology makes a huge difference in the smoothness and responsiveness of your games.
Best Deals on G-Sync Monitors
Nintendo Aiming for 2 to 3 New Smartphone Apps Annually
Nintendo plans on continuing to create new smartphone apps, adding two to three each year.
Company president Tatsumi Kimishima discussed Nintendo's app approach during a six-month financial briefing for fiscal 2018. On top of new games, he said, "we will continue services for applications that have already been released."
He highlighted, for example, Super Mario Run getting version 3.0 in September. Kimishima stated the update has increased user engagement for the game, which has surpassed 200 million downloads.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 Changes Loot Crates
The progression system in Star Wars Battlefront II is undergoing some changes following the beta, and Electronic Arts has outlined what players can expect.
In a post on its official website, EA said it looked at feedback from those who participated in the beta and has made several changes to the loot crate system in Star Wars Battlefront II. Epic Star Cards have been removed from crates, and players will need to reach a certain rank in order to craft upgraded Star Cards.
While a few weapons will be made available in crates, the rest can only be acquired by playing the game, with each locked behind specific milestones. Additionally, players will be able to unlock class-specific items and gear by playing as that class, as reaching specific milestones will grant them crates specific to that class.
Super Mario Odyssey Sells 2 Million Copies in 3 Days
According to Nintendo's estimates, Super Mario Odyssey sold over two million copies during its first three days of availability.
That figure includes both physical and digital sales, as well as copies of the game included in Switch bundles, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima revealed during the company's latest financial briefing. Kimishima went on to say Nintendo would like to see Super Mario Odyssey become an "evergreen title that has longevity in the market beyond this holiday season."
During the briefing, Nintendo revealed the SNES Classic has also reached two million units sold. Meanwhile, Super Mario Run has surpassed 200 million downloads worldwide, though the company says the mobile game has "not yet reached an acceptable profit point."
World of Final Fantasy Coming to PC
World of Final Fantasy is coming to PC next month, Square Enix announced today.
The game, which follows siblings Reynn and Lann as they explore the vast land of Grymoire, will be released on PC via Steam on November 21 for $40 USD. World of Final Fantasy will include Steam achievements, trading cards, full mouse and keyboard support, and a few bonus legendary creatures and characters, like Sephiroth.
Those who purchase the game before November 28 will qualify for the Day One Edition, which comes with a digital soundtrack sampler and a wallpaper.
World of Final Fantasy was released last year for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. In IGN's review, we said "World of Final Fantasy's adorable critters make up for its lack of exploration and repetitive combat."
Horizon: Zero Dawn – The Frozen Wilds Preview
I have a sneaking suspicion Guerrilla Games knows that a lot of people didn’t finish Horizon. After watching a hands-off demo of its Frozen Wilds expansion, the onus seems very much on adding more for those who might have been distracted while progressing through the game, offering new rewards, quality of life improvements and, most importantly, the ability to make snow angels in Photo Mode.
The Frozen Wilds is an estimated 15-hour chunk of extra material, set in a bowling ball of new territory in the far north of the main game’s map. Its story runs concurrently with the main game, centering around the mystery of the so-called Daemon, a hidden force which is frenzying machines, setting up tentacular control towers that can repair and buff enemies, and making gorgeous blue smoke billow from the Death Mountain-like volcano at the center of this new area. It’ll also offer a more focused look at the nomadic Banuk tribe, who we bumped into only briefly during the core game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Mary-Jane Is a Playable Character
After the latest trailer for Insomniac's Spider-Man game, many (including us) thought they'd spotted a moment that indicated longtime Spidey cast member Mary Jane Watson would be playable - and Insomniac has now addressed that idea:
"Yeah!," said Insomniac creative director Bryan Intihar, speaking to IGN. "I can confirm, yes you actually play, at various stages of the game, Mary-Jane."
While he wouldn't be drawn on specifics, Intihar did hint that there would be more to playing Mary-Jane than simply guiding her around story sections:
"It's a very different experience to playing as Spider-Man," he explained, "and it stays true to her character, in terms of her background that she's a reporter for the Daily Bugle. It captures that feeling. Also, the other thing for us is that, even though we are creating a superhero world in the fantasy, we thought it'd be interesting to show what it's like to be a character who doesn't have superpowers, what it's like to be that person in a superhero world, and actually control that character."