Trying to get the third game out ASAP.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi has shared that the second part of Square Enix's big remake project will not be treated to any DLC so the studio can fully focus on getting the third and final game made. Talking to the Daily Star, he said that while the company hears the "desire" from fans for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth DLC, Hamaguchi actually questions whether that's what they really want.

He added: "I understand it completely, but I think, from my perspective, what the fans really want to see the most is not necessarily DLC. They want to see the third part of the series as quickly as possible." To that point, Hamaguchi explains that Square Enix has "decided not to focus the development resources on creating additional extra episodes for DLC at the moment. We really are putting all our efforts into getting the third game out as quickly as we can."

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Still in the top 10 though.

The results are in for Europe's October video game sales, and there are some interesting facts and figures to chew on. As always, GamesIndustry.biz has all the details.

For one, Dragon Age: The Veilguard landed at number seven in the monthly chart, but its launch week sales were down compared to other RPGs of 2024. Sales were about 18 per cent lower than Dragon's Dogma 2, and 21 per cent below Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth — which didn't meet Square Enix's typically lofty expectations. Hopefully we learn more from EA about the game's sales in future.

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Shibuya spirit.

We really weren’t impressed with Bandai Namco’s arena brawler adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen on PS5 and PS4, but credit where credit’s due, the publisher continues to update the game with new content.

For those of you who don’t want to spend more money on the title, a free update available now will add four new stages to the release, as well as Ultimate Mechamaru from Chapter 32 of the manga.

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Five more heroes to be revealed.

NetEase Games has confirmed that Hawkeye will be part of the Marvel Rivals character roster when the upcoming PS5 title launches on 6th December 2024. He's the 28th superhero of a launch lineup that'll have 33 characters in total, so a further five are still to be revealed in the next couple of weeks. Our Marvel Rivals Confirmed Launch Characters guide is keeping a list of them all.

As the quick clip above demonstrates, Hawkeye will come equipped with his trademark bow and arrow, but can also call upon two swords for close-quarters combat. "Hawkeye is ready to take aim with his Piercing Arrow, charging his shot for the right moment," the YouTube description explains. "Prepared to fight anyone at any distance, his blast arrow is sure to wreak havoc to those who dare try and get close to him. Deflecting his enemies is certainly no easy task, but he's ready to prove himself and take on the challenge."

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Rockstar an "esteemed partner".

Remedy Entertainment has a fair number of projects on the go, and one we've yet to hear much about is its Max Payne 1 and 2 remake. Announced in 2022, the developer is bringing back the first two entries in the action shooter series.

While publishing and marketing will be handled by Rockstar Games — which still owns the Max Payne IP — Remedy is in full production on the remake, and it got a bit of attention during a recent presentation.

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PS Direct restocking special edition console.

If you're in the USA and missed out on the PS5 30th Anniversary console bundle, you may be in luck. Sony has provided a new window of opportunity to secure the special edition PS5 slim.

Over on PS Direct, the listing for the 30th Anniversary PS5 bundle has a new notice. "Not in stock? Please check back on Thursday 21st November from 9am PST," it reads.

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Update 1.54 now available.

Gran Turismo 7 has just received its latest game update, adding yet more new vehicles and events to the ever-expanding racer. Update 1.54 is available to download and install now on PS5 and PS4.

It's more of the usual, really, though a bunch of new cars to enjoy is always a highlight. This time, we're getting:

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"Jabba! This is your last chance. Free us, or die".

Star Wars Outlaws certainly had some teething issues at launch, and Ubisoft appears to be addressing them head-on, if perhaps a tad tardy some three months later. Still, Title Update 1.4.0 goes live today, November 21st, on PS5. It will do away with those forced stealth sections during story missions and make major changes to the open-world game.

In a third developer update, post-launch creative director Drew Rechner runs players through some of the larger alterations (thanks, GamesRadar+). The biggest is perhaps "removing forced stealth from almost all quest objectives". Rather than fail and restart from a checkpoint, now you'll simply transition to combat; revolutionary stuff, we know.

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Pretension levels rising.

We've always had an affinity for turn-of-the-century hipster culture; thus, using Roman numerals to denote a 1.5 video game update is a level of pretension we can definitely appreciate. The mind-bending YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is getting a second lease on life after launching and, frankly, not being great. Still, developer Ackk Studios is getting back up on that fixed-wheel bike (or "fixie"), and its free "YIIK I.V" update will add a new battle system, party members, and a whole lot more on 2nd December on PS4.

Developed by brothers Andrew and Bryan Allanson, the two thanked the community for its patience, and they hope players new and returning "find everything they're looking for in the ultimate YIIK experience!" Alongside the new battle system and party members, punters can expect new and revamped cutscenes, reimagined dungeons, ten new areas, 150 new tracks, and a levelling system for Alex's Mind Dungeon.

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Truly one of a kind.

The simple fact that Baldur's Gate 3 exists at all is a miracle, never mind that it managed to exceed its predecessor in virtually every conceivable way, considering Baldur's Gate 2 is, itself, considered amongst the finest RPGs ever made. Now, add to all that the fact the primarily single-player game had more daily concurrents in 2024 than back at launch, despite what conventional wisdom says, and we are truly in uncharted territory.

This news comes to us through "Some Fun Data Facts" from Larian publishing director Michael Douse. According to Douse, the daily peak player concurrents for the nearly infinitely replayable roleplaying masterpiece was up 3% year-over-year, which he attributes to mods (now available on PS5). Daily active "users" are up 20% (presumably modders and those browsing), and Steam Deck gamers, in particular, are playing a ton, up 61% from last year. We were also extremely heartened to learn Larian has secured one additional sale from inside Vatican City, almost certainly Pope Francis himself (probably).

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The plot thickens.

Looking back, we might have, along with millions of others, gotten caught up in that delightful wave of Super Earth propaganda when Helldivers 2 was released at the start of the year. We certainly did our part to defend Democracy from both bug and bot, and part of the magic of Sony's surprise multiplayer hit was how loose it all felt, with new features and enemies seemingly appearing on the fly. We are so far through the looking glass now that we aren't quite sure we believe developer Arrowhead when it says they don't playtest new features in live games.

Nevertheless, in a post on Reddit, Arrowhead community manager Baskinator attests that devs don't use identifiable dev tags in-game, nor do they test features during live matches. This seemingly confirms that the early mech leak and the still yet-to-be-officially seen APC were exploits and the work of unsavoury hacksters. As always, Baskinator reminds Helldivers to report dissidents to the nearest Democracy Officer.

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18% of staff impacted.

The Bandai Namco-published Unknown 9: Awakening was released last month on PS5 and PS4, and as is sadly commonplace these days, developer Reflector Entertainment has since confirmed a round of layoffs. The decisions will affect 18% of employees "who aren’t assigned to roles that our active projects require".

The news broke on Bluesky, with developers impacted spreading the word on LinkedIn. Reflector, whose total headcount is "between 50 and 200", confirmed the decision in a post on its website. It noted: "We are doing all we can to help through this difficult time, providing them with severance packages and access to medical, emotional, and career planning support."

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Starts a "new chapter" for threequel.

Long-time readers will know this author is a huge Shenmue nut to the extent where he actually left a message inside long-awaited threequel, Shenmue 3. Now, a day after the title’s fifth anniversary, an interesting development has occurred: publishing rights have been passed from Deep Silver to ININ.

A statement, released on 19th November, noted: “ININ and Ys NET announces that the publishing for Shenmue III will officially transfer to ININ Games as of today. Following the previous collaboration on Air Twister, this will deepen the relationship between ININ and Ys NET.”

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Sony's surprisingly successful PS5 handheld gets even better.

Sony made a surprise update to the PS Portal today, enabling PS Plus Premium cloud streaming on the device.

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Timed Xbox console exclusive for three months.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches today on PC and Xbox systems, and while critics are generally pretty positive on the survival shooter, it appears to have some technical rough edges.

Of course, modern game development means that some or all of these issues will be fixed with post-launch patches, so when the title does reach PS5, it should be in a better state.

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That's ultra, man.

GigaBash has been receiving a pretty steady stream of DLC since its arrival back in 2022, and the latest addition sees another iteration of Ultraman joining the battle.

This DLC is based on the Netflix movie Ultraman: Rising, and adds the hero and baby kaiju Emi, making for a combined playable character.

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ReFantastico.

Atlus has become an integral part of the SEGA machine since its acquisition all the way back in 2013. SEGA snapped the Persona developer up when its previous parent company faced bankruptcy, and in more recent years, the publisher has pumped serious resources into key projects — especially with regards to marketing.

The bottom line here is that SEGA seems to be incredibly pleased with how Atlus is doing these days. During the firm's latest shareholders meeting, it dubbed Atlus one of its "most successful merger and acquisition deals to date", having highlighted its current success in the video game sector.

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Battle Royale, LEGO, and Music all in one.

Epic Games has revealed it's upgrading the Fortnite subscription service Fortnite Crew to include all the Battle Passes it releases across the main Battle Royale, LEGO, and Music modes. The update takes effect on 1st December 2024, and the price isn't changing: it remains £9.99 / $11.99 per month to be a member.

If you're already subscribed to Fortnite Crew and plan to be one for the foreseeable future, then the only change you'll see is the implementation of all the Battle Passes. However, anyone new to Fortnite Crew or who let their membership lapse and then wants to resubscribe, they'll be considered a new member. They can only claim premium rewards from Battle Passes with an active Fortnite Crew subscription, unless you purchase the individual Battle Pass.

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Blue Protocol company "absorbed".

Bandai Namco Online, as its name suggests, is essentially Bandai Namco's online games arm; in recent years it's been responsible for the publisher's live service push in the form of Gundam Evolution and Blue Protocol.

And now, the plan is for Bandai Namco Online to be absorbed into Bandai Namco Entertainment in April 2025. In other words, it's basically being shuttered.

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