Free League Publishing and 20th Century Studios today launched the pre-order for Heart of Darkness, the new Cinematic scenario for the multiple award-winning ALIEN RPG. A pre-order gives immediate early access to a full PDF of the module.
The company found a new lifeform, and they want you to study it. Their offer’s uncharacteristically generous—you catalog this organism, determine how they can use it, and bring it back so they can slap their patent on it. Fairly routine stuff. In exchange, they’ll hook you up with a cushy corporate department head position, secure you a book deal, and make sure the institute of your choice gives you tenure. Did I mention the money? There’s a lot of it. Simple survey, sample, and analysis job. Seemed too good to be true. Of course it is.
Heart of Darkness is a complete Cinematic Scenario for the ALIEN RPG, written by sci-fi novelist Andrew E.C. Gaska. It is a stand-alone adventure, but also serves as a conclusion to the Draconis Strain Saga begun in the cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods and continued in Destroyer of Worlds. The scenario is designed for 3–5 players plus the Game Mother and is a spiraling descent into soul-crushing madness.
Heart of Darkness is now available for pre-order in the Free League Webshop. A pre-order will give immediate access to the PDF, ahead of the physical retail release in Q3.
Netflix has unveiled the first teaser trailer for Mike Myers’ The Pentaverate! What if a secret society of five men has been working to influence world events for the greater good since the Black Plague of 1347? As this new series begins, one unlikely Canadian journalist finds himself embroiled in a mission to uncover the truth and just possibly save the world himself. Remember, the Pentaverate must never be exposed!
Mike Myers has joined Instagram, follow him for show updates: @mikemyers
The final closed beta for YAGER’s high-stakes first-person shooter The Cycle: Frontier kicks off today on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. You’ll find new features and content added since last year’s closed beta, which was experienced by nearly 350,000 players, helping to make The Cycle: Frontier the most wishlisted free-to-play game currently on Steam.
Discover a unique blend of PvE, PvP and co-op multiplayer gameplay in persistent matches with seamless matchmaking on a beautiful sci-fi world where every action can have massive consequences. The Cycle: Frontier’s new closed beta runs today through April 4, featuring:
New In-Match Activities: Fortuna III is getting even more dangerous! Call down laser drills and oil pumps (teased in today’s new trailer) to mine for resources, but be ready to defend your big payday from all those coming to steal it out from under you.
New Faction Campaigns: Three new faction campaigns will guide you through your first steps on the surface, all while unlocking valuable new gear and insight into the lore of The Cycle: Frontier.
New Monster Variations: Familiar fauna return with a few (deadly) surprises. New creature variations provide even greater challenges and rewards for those bold enough to take them on.
New Map Design: Both Bright Sands and Crescent Falls have been revamped for better traversal, with improved visuals to strike the perfect balance between Fortuna III’s danger and beauty.
New Enhancements: Experience improved combat balance, enemy AI, loot, and tutorials, as well as visual and audio optimizations, bug fixes and more, all driven by community feedback.
Welcome to Fortuna III, a treacherous world of alien beauty where the stakes are high and the rewards even higher. Drop down to the surface and fill your pockets with spoils, but beware: only those who evac alive keep their prizes. Mistakes will be punished quickly and cost you dearly, but every loss is a lesson learned that will make you better.
Be on the lookout for bloodthirsty beasts, a deadly radioactive storm, and other greedy players armed to the teeth. Prospect for riches alone, squad up with friends, and make temporary alliances with strangers – or go on the hunt and steal their hard-fought loot for yourself. You make the decisions: which path to take, which objective to tackle, which fight to pick or avoid, and when to evac.
At your home base on Prospect Station, you can use your newfound resources to upgrade your gear and buy new equipment. Increase your reputation with a variety of factions to unlock new combat options, and customize your loadout with the perfect tools. Your next drop to the surface is always just a couple of clicks away, and thanks to persistent maps and near-instant matchmaking, there’s always time for just one more game. Prospecting is a risky venture, but fortune favors the bold in the eye of the storm.
Learn more about what’s new in The Cycle: Frontier closed beta on the official YAGER blog. Keep up with the latest updates by following the game on Twitter and YouTube, and join the conversation with the devs on Discord.
In 2021, Quantic Dream consolidated net results before tax of more than 5.8 M€, achieving a third consecutive year of record profits.
“In a context still affected by the sanitary crisis, the year 2021 was marked at Quantic Dream by results beyond expectations, as well as a significant increase of more than 50% in our workforce, and the materialization of various production partnerships,” states Guillaume de Fondaumière, General Manager of Quantic Dream. “Our very good financial results are explained by the robust sales of our back catalog titles, and in particular Detroit: Become Human, which surpassed the symbolic one million copies sold on Steam during the year 2021. This title is now Quantic Dream’s biggest commercial success, with over 6.5 million copies sold on PC and PS4 worldwide.”
Quantic Dream is serenely carrying on the distinct development of its three in-house productions. Now that the pre-production and prototyping phases have been achieved, 2022 will mark a new progression milestone in the production phases of these three unique titles.
“After a year of steady growth in our workforce, we are opening a second major recruitment cycle at our two production sites in Montreal and Paris,” explains Sophie Buhl, Production Director of Quantic Dream. “In a constant effort to innovate, we are opening up to new types of games and challenges and we will continue to make a major effort in Research and Development. This offers great opportunities to those who wish to work on ambitious and innovative projects, within diverse teams that are more and more led by women.”
The group also actively supports independent studios Red Thread Games and Parallel Studio, whose titles will also be published by Quantic Dream.
Rebellion, one of the world’s most successful independent studios, has today announced that Sniper Elite 5 will launch globally on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Available to pre-order now, the latest game in the award-winning franchise will release simultaneously on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Epic, Steam and the Windows Store. To celebrate the announcement, a new Sniper Elite 5 trailer is now available to watch here.
The new trailer gives details of the storyline and the main characters that will feature in Sniper Elite 5 as elite marksman Karl Fairburne uncovers a Nazi plot to turn the tide of the Second World War, codenamed Operation Kraken. Karl has to use all of the skills at his disposal to gather intelligence about the plans and make sure they never come to fruition. This will pit him against the scheme’s mastermind, Abelard Möller, an Axis Obergruppenführer, who must be stopped at any cost.
Pre-Order Bonus
Players who pre-order Sniper Elite 5 will also receive the latest mission of the much-heralded ‘Target Führer’ campaign entitled “Wolf Moutain.” Players will get to infiltrate the Berghof, Hitler’s private mountain retreat in the Bavarian Alps, which is crawling with heavily armed personal guards, and a slew of collectibles for eagle-eyed snipers. They are tasked with taking down the Führer in the most imaginative way possible.
Additionally, those who pre-order will receive the P.1938 Suppressed Pistol. Based on a Special Forces experimental prototype, this powerful handgun is a must-have for covert operations.
Deluxe Edition
Rebellion has also revealed the details of the Sniper Elite 5 Deluxe Edition, which will not only include the pre-order content but also the Season Pass. This will give players access to a post-release two-part campaign on extensive maps where they can arm themselves with an expanded armory of authentic World War II weapons and customize their sniper with new character packs and weapon skins.
The Season Pass comes fully loaded with:
Two Campaign Missions
Two Weapon skin packs
Two Character Packs
Six Weapon Packs
Sniper Elite 5 will launch globally on Thursday, May 26, 2022 on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Epic, Steam and the Windows Store. The game features an extensive Campaign, which can be played with two-player online co-op, with locations painstakingly recreated using photogrammetry to ensure a deeply immersive experience. Online, the new Invasion Mode allows players to drop into each other’s Campaigns and take the role of an Axis Sniper with high rewards on offer. This brings a whole new dimension to the game’s intense drama and extra diversity to the enemies you will face on the battlefield. Additionally, 16 players can face off in adversarial multiplayer in a variety of game modes.
To keep up to date with all the latest Sniper Elite 5 news please visit sniper.com and follow the game on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Frontier Foundry has revealed the third developer diary for the studio’s upcoming turn-based tactical RPG Warhammer 40,000®: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters.
“Episode 3 – The Emperor’s Hammer” explores the authentic Warhammer 40,000® experience masterfully crafted by developers Complex Games, providing another look at key gameplay elements which players will use to build their squad and purge the daemonic. Players are also introduced to the crew of the Baleful Edict, the player’s Strike Cruiser and mobile base of operations throughout the game.
A number of the Complex Games team return for this developer diary, including Creative Director Noah Decter-Jackson and Lead Designer Peter Schnabl, who are joined by Chief Technology Officer Adrian Cheater. Lead writer Aaron Dembski-Bowden also returns to delve into the dynamics of Inquisitorial fervor versus the duty of the Grey Knights.
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters will release for PC on May 5, 2022.
Dungeons & Dragons and Critical Role fans alike can rejoice today, with the all-new, epic campaign, Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep now available in North America!
Inspired by campaigns of the hit liveplay series and building on the success of the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount released in 2020, Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is the first major adventure module within the world of Exandria and brings a thrilling new campaign for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. The new adventure takes players from levels 3-12, contains seven chapters of gripping adventure, new creatures and magic items, a poster map of Ank’Harel, and introduces new rival NPCs.
A wealth of fantastical content is in store in the book, but we also wanted to provide a slate of resources to round out any articles that you may have in the works related to today’s release:
Watch interviews with the designers of the book in this robust playlist of videos including:
A discussion with Matt Mercer, Chris Perkins, Makenzie De Armas and James Haeck breaking down what the adventure entails
Powerful new role upgrades and daring new schemes, such as bank robberies, are now possible in City of Gangsters via the Criminal Record DLC, available to buy now.
To coincide with the DLC launch, a new video has been released which shows all the additions to City of Gangsters made since release which further improve the gameplay experience:
In Criminal Record, you can give your mob its own distinct hierarchy and feel by assigning new roles based on their specific experience to gain access to a variety of new abilities. Have a crew member that is adept at knocking heads? ‘The Enforcer’ will see them gain abilities that no other role can have.
These special roles also unlock actions called ‘schemes’, which range from blackmailing a local cop to taking on a risky bank robbery of one of the cities banks.
A brand-new Philadelphia map also provides additional resource production as well as a unique starting condition with potentially lucrative outcomes for those not averse to the odd bank robbery.
Bosses of a certain standing will also be able to set up their own office in a secluded country lodge or stylish downtown penthouse, filling them up with spoils of victory and mementos of their criminal escapades.
As with the previous Atlantic City DLC, a taste of these new mechanics will also be available for free to base game players via Update 1.3 which is also available to download now.
Prop Store – one of the world’s leading film and TV entertainment memorabilia companies, has today announced it has added a highly sought-after UK Quad ‘Hildebrandt’ Style, 1977 from the George Lucas classic, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) to their current over 550 lot Cinema Poster Live Auction taking place live on Thursday 24th March 2022 from 15:00 GMT to raise money for the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
The poster itself is one of the most sought-after Star Wars posters originally produced in 1977 by renowned artists, the Brothers Hildebrandt. The poster had a very limited release as it was ultimately withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the more commercial ‘Style C’ poster featuring Tom Chantrell’s artwork, making it one of the rarest Star Wars posters ever.
The auction estimate for the poster is £5,000 – 7,000 ($6,500 – 9,200), however the lot will be sold with no reserve with a starting bid of just £10, giving fans an opportunity to grab the bargain of a lifetime. All hammer proceeds from the sale are to be donated to the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
The auction is to be held live at Prop Store’s UK headquarters in Hertfordshire and features a huge collection of posters and artwork expected to fetch in excess of £200,000. The auction is suitable for fans with a variety of budgets and is now open for registration and bidding via: https://ukm.propstoreauction.com/m/view-auctions/info/id/316. Bids can be placed online from anywhere in the world, by phone or in-person.
Stephen Lane, CEO of Prop Store commented: “Prop Store are thrilled to support such an important cause with the inclusion of our Hildebrant poster as a charity lot in our upcoming Cinema Poster Live Auction on Thursday 24th March 2022. With bidding starting from £10, fans with all budgets can bid on this amazing charity piece and hopefully take home a rare and coveted piece of movie memorabilia at the same time – we expect to see some excellent results for such an urgent appeal”.
Milestone and Feld Entertainment, Inc. are pleased to announce the release of Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5.
The latest chapter of the most beloved and realistic Supercross video game is now available on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One in Early Access for those who pre-ordered the Special Edition. The PC version will be available on March 17, along with the console versions for those who didn’t pre-order the Special Edition. The PlayStation version supports a free upgrade from PS4 to PS5 and the Xbox version features Smart Delivery.
The traditional Career Mode is more realistic and immersive than ever before. Players can start developing their path in the 250SX Futures Class while aiming to reach the heights of glory as a Pro in the 450SX Class. Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5 also introduces the Rider Shape System, a new and exclusive feature for Career Mode that will affect riders’ performances in case of falls or injuries. Training and completing specific tasks are key to keeping your rider in top form.
Thanks to Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5, players will enjoy a new gameplay experience perfect for both hardcore gamers and newcomers. The Future Academy, hosted by the greatest-of-all-time Ricky Carmichael, will provide riders all the information needed to take their first steps into the Supercross world. This friendly tutorial will teach the Supercross basics to help climb the ladder from Beginner to Pro. It also has many in-game options that will make races accessible for everyone – aiming to create a gameplay experience for every kind of player.
The classic Track Editor is also back along with a new feature: Rhythm Section Editor. Players will be able to mix and match pre-existing modules to design complex prefab track sections and then share them with the community.
And after the amazing success of the inaugural contest, the Track Editor Contest will be back, giving players the opportunity to create a track and see their creation replicated in real life as part of the Official Championship. This unique feature represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the video game industry: a digital track designed by a player will be raced on by real riders in the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
The Compound is the answer for those who want to race with friends or solo in a new, stunning open-world environment, featuring new tracks, several cross challenges, and collectibles to unlock additional gears.
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5 also features a split-screen mode to play with friends directly on the couch, and online multiplayer with cross-gen matchmaking.
Last but not least, after the incredible success of the last iteration, eSport is back in Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5, pushing players to become a legend in the eSX Championship sponsored by Yamaha.
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5 is now available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One in Early Access for those who pre-ordered the Special Edition. The PC version will be available on March 17, along with the console version for those who didn’t preorder the Special Edition.
