The program will focus on both new and previously released information on upcoming Square Enix titles.
In addition to the Square Enix Presents Tokyo Game Show edition, several game-specific stream programs will air throughout the weekend, including the following that will offer English subtitles or dubbing:
Forspoken™ – Friday October 1 at 6:00AM PDT
STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN™ – Saturday, October 2 at 5:00AM PDT
FINAL FANTASY® VII THE FIRST SOLDIER – Sunday, October 3 at 1:30AM PDT
Also during Tokyo Game Show, new merchandise and event limited music products will be revealed for pre-order on the North American and European SQUARE ENIX STORE.
A pinnacle of Star Wars Legends storytelling, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is set over 4,000 years before the events of the original trilogy and introduced a new story of new heroes and villains in an epic struggle for the fate of the galaxy.
The team at Aspyr and Sony Interactive Entertainment have joined forces with Lucasfilm Games to bring you a remake of this classic Star Wars adventure. We’re rebuilding one of the greatest RPGs of all time for a new generation with modern tech, features, visuals and more, while maintaining the integrity of the story and characters that we’ve come to cherish.
And it’s a console exclusive on PlayStation 5 at launch.
If you’re not familiar with “KOTOR” — as you’ll see fans lovingly refer to it — then you’re in for a treat. The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a truly groundbreaking achievement: an award-winning RPG of incredible scope, immersion, and ambition with an epic narrative to match. A diverse cast of characters to meet, multiple planets to discover, challenging battles to fight, and cinematic storytelling that responds to the choices you make — it’s no wonder that to this day KOTOR remains one of the most celebrated video games ever made.
Why remake Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? Well, nearly 20 years after it first debuted, the original KOTOR is still one of the most beloved games of all time. And even as Star Wars travels to new horizons, we know the community is as eager as ever to return to this iconic era of storytelling and action.
With Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake, our hope is to give both series newcomers and long-term fans an experience that can live alongside the very best modern releases. We’re rebuilding it from the ground up with the latest tech to match the groundbreaking standard of innovation established by the original, all while staying true to its revered story.
Aspyr has assembled the very best talent from across the industry to create Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake – industry veterans who have worked on great RPGs, as well as some members of the original Knights of the Old Republic development team. Their knowledge and passion for these characters, this story, and this world is unmatched. And just who is Aspyr? You probably know us as the studio responsible for bringing multiple Star Wars games to modern systems, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Star Wars: Episode I – Racer, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and, yes, the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic!
We’ve been working closely with Lucasfilm Games on classic Star Wars games for years, and that experience has instilled in our team a deep love and respect for these timeless titles, as well as a unique perspective on how to carry them forward into the modern age. We’re proud to be collaborating with Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games to bring this dream to life.
So, what’s next? Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake is a tremendous undertaking, encompassing almost every aspect of the original game. We’re still early in development, but we’re happy to finally have announced the remake and hear the PlayStation community’s thoughts on what you’re excited to see.
Whether you’re new to KOTOR or one of the millions of fans who already know and love it, there’s a great adventure ahead of us. We can’t wait to show you more!
SQUARE ENIX® today announced that the critically acclaimed RPG FINAL FANTASY® IV is now available worldwide for Steam® and mobile platforms.
Fans will relive FINAL FANTASY IV’s timeless story of love and betrayal, alongside dynamic characters and battles, with upgraded pixel graphics and audio as a faithful recreation in the 2D pixel remaster series.
The story follows Cecil, a dark knight and captain of the Red Wings, who decides to fight against the tyrannical Kingdom of Baron with his trusted friend and his paramour at his side, and later join forces with Kain the dragoon, Rosa the white mage, Rydia the summoner, and many more skilled allies. FINAL FANTASY IV set the standard for role-playing games with its diverse cast of characters, deep plot and real-time Active Time Battle (ATB) system, where time moves even during battle, giving the players an exciting sense of urgency. This latest version of FINAL FANTASY IV, brings the original release to life with improvements and updates, including:
Universally updated 2D pixel graphics redrawn for modern hardware, featuring iconic FINAL FANTASY character pixel designs created by the original artist and current collaborator, Kazuko Shibuya
Beautifully rearranged soundtracks, overseen by the original composer, Nobuo Uematsu
Improved gameplay, including updated controller and touch controls, modernized UI, auto-battle options and more
Quality-of-life improvements including supplemental extras like the bestiary, illustration gallery, music player and the ability to save at any time
Those who purchase FINAL FANTASY IV on Steam® by September 23 will receive early purchase bonuses, including three specially rearranged music tracks, two wallpapers, and a 20% discount. These special tracks transition from the iconic original versions to the new arrangements and include:
The Red Wings (Timelapse Remix)
Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY IV (Timelapse Remix)
Battle 2 (Timelapse Remix)
FINAL FANTASY IV is rated Everyone 10+ (E10+) and is now available on Steam® and mobile platforms. All six games within the pixel remaster series are available for purchase as part of the FINAL FANTASY I-VI Bundle for a further discount. More information on the bundle is available on Steam at: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21478.
Long-time fans and newcomers can look forward to additional details and the launch of FINAL FANTASY V and VI at a later date. Visit the official FINAL FANTASY pixel remaster series website for more information at: https://ffpixelremaster.com/
Frontier Foundry, the publishing label of Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, ‘Frontier’) today announced that award-winning co-op platformer Struggling, developed by the Montreal-based studio Chasing Rats Games, is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Players will join our fleshy hero, Troy, on his epic quest to seek out legendary Abomination Gods. Choose to tackle the adventure solo or, for the ultimate struggle, bring in a local co-op partner and independently control our outrageous champion’s limbs.
With a unique attention-grabbing art style that fuses elements of comedy and horror, Struggling immerses players in a hilarious but unsettling world; escape from sinister labs, scale gigantic canyons and even float through feverish hyper-dreams. Along the way, our loose-limbed protagonist will need to solve increasingly challenging physics-based puzzles using momentum and inertia to vault pools of unmentionable waste, operate a concerning amount of heavy machinery and explore every crevice in the search for stylish collectable hats.
Troy isn’t destined to simply wave his arms about wildly. As the saga unfolds, our champion of the bizarre will mutate as any self-respecting experiment should, unlocking a range of game-changing powers to navigate increasingly tricky environments. These new skills include time-slowing to dodge fast-moving hazards (or grab onto them, why not enjoy the ride after all?), detachable arms for those tight spaces, and the ability to graft his appendages to the environment to operate switches or simply give himself a hand!
Struggling is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam. For more information, visit Struggling’s official website at struggling-game.com.
Back to School season is around the corner, which also means it is time to sort all of your back-to-school needs.
MSI has prepared a buying guide to make the back-to-school process as seamless as possible.
Even if you are not a student ready to head back to school, this is still the best season to splurge on some necessities and upgrade your PC!
For the chance to save up to £70, check out MSI’s Back to School deal on the promotion page: Back to school
The promotional period runs between the 6th of September 2021 (00:01 BST) till the 30th of September 2021 (23:59 – BST). After making a qualifying purchase, consumers must visit the promotion page to process the cashback offer. Whether you’re seeking a new motherboard, liquid cooler, power supply, PC case, or even a gaming chair, there are plenty of cashback opportunities available.
MSI X570S Motherboard
Utilizing AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, MSI X570S motherboards feature the latest Lightning Gen 4 M.2 which is the fastest onboard storage solution on the market with up to 64 Gb/s transfer speed. The MSI X570S Series also supports all the latest storage standards, which allow users to connect any ultra-fast storage device. Higher efficiency makes your work easier.
MSI B550 Motherboard
With an aggressive VRM power solution and high-level PCB design with a 2oz thickened copper ensure stable power supply, MSI B550 Motherboard has better durability and reliability for high-end CPU. An enlarged PWM heatsink provides a larger surface for heat dissipation, combining an additional choke thermal pad with 7W/mK level for better cooling effect. Sustain maximum high-speed M.2 SSD data transfer with M.2 Shield Frozr which prevents SSD throttling and keeps your SSD operating at full speed.
The MPG CORELIQUID K Series washes away your traditional image of a liquid cooler and blows it into a whole new reality. Stacked with powerful features and sculpted with eye-catching appearances, the MPG CORELIQUID K Series is here to set the benchmark, one game at a time.
Supporting the NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 30/20 Series and AMD GPUs the MPG power supply is ready. Prepared for the highest of requirements, the MPG power supply’s IO can support different and versatile ways of connecting according to the varying power connectors design of different graphics cards.
The efficiency of your power supply directly influences your system’s performance and your power consumption.
Excel with the MPG GUNGNIR 110 Series, the epitome of high standards in a mid-tower chassis. Designed with versatility, constructed from high-quality materials, and born for performance. Choose eminence and embrace excellence.
The MAG CH130 X took inspiration from a race car seat, with emphasis on support and comfortability. Body pressure is fully loosened up by the ergonomically streamlined outline, with the backline fully matching the spine and head. The steel material is stable and durable, also the widened and deepened seat provides more complete coverage for your body. You can enjoy the best support whether you’re in game or at work.
Warner Bros. Games and DC today revealed the official key art for Gotham Knights, the upcoming open-world, third-person action RPG in development from Warner Bros.
Gotham Knights features the Batman Family as players step into the role of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, a new guard of trained DC Super Heroes who must rise up as the protectors of Gotham City in the wake of Batman’s death.
Introducing an original story set in DC’s Batman Universe, Gotham Knights will offer a dynamic and interactive Gotham City where an exploding criminal element has swept through the streets.
Players must solve mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in the city’s history and defeat notorious Super-Villains as this new era of Super Heroes reinvent themselves into their own version of the Dark Knight.
Tune in to DC FanDome, the ultimate global fan experience, on Saturday, October 16 at 6 p.m. BST for an exclusive look at a new reveal from Gotham Knights.
In collaboration with Piko Interactive, these classic 90’s games have been revived and restored back to life!
Funstock have listed these two nostalgic titles for pre-order, throwing it back to the good old days.
Jim Power: The Lost Dimension and Stone Protectors are both retro-style games available in a standard and a limited edition for various retro platforms, providing gaming enthusiasts with a bigger range to choose from.
It is a very exciting time for Funstock as we continue to grow our retro collection and introduce new titles for avid video gamers! Jim Power: The Lost Dimension
Jim Power: The Lost Dimension Jim Power is a shoot ’em up game similar to Mega Man, Turrican, Contra and other similar genres. Earth has always blocked “The Lost Dimension” and now alien guardian, Vaprak, threatens to annihilate earth to free its brethren in the dimension.
In Jim Power: The Lost Dimension, lead character Jim Power is an intergalactic soldier, who travels to a 5th dimension to stop evil monster Vaprak, from invading and destroying earth. Armed with your upgradeable blaster, spaceship, and jet pack, you will blast and jump your way across “The Lost Dimension” taking down it’s inhabitants before they take your life! The game soundtrack features rock music composed by Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican, Gemx, Apidya, Tunnel V1).
Both the standard and the limited editions are available for the NES, SNES, and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Piko Interactive have only manufactured 1,000 units of the limited edition for each platform; Funstock have acquired half of these units.
The Limited Edition version of Jim Power includes:
Physical game cartridge
Limited Edition box with special edition artwork
Poster with special edition artwork (11 in x 17 in)
CD Soundtrack
Coloured instruction manual with key art
Available to pre-order now through Funstock.co.uk for £74.99 each for the Limited Edition versions and £44.99 each for the Standard versions.
Stone Protectors Stone Protectors: Stone Protectors is an action game featuring 10 levels where rock band heroes, Clifford, Cornelius, Chester, Maxwell, and Angus, have just performed at a New York City club, and find five magical stones…these stones give them troll-like appearances and special skills. This puts them at odds with the music-hating Zok and his henchman Zink, collectively known as The Protectors.
The Stone Protectors must battle the predators throughout their mission to retrieve Zok’s crystal and bring them all back to the kingdom. Weapons can also be acquired but only used by certain characters. Depending on the difficulty setting, the game’s ending scene also features different music in which the Stone Protectors are seen performing as a band.
Both the standard and the limited editions are available for the SNES and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis – this is the first time ever that the game is available for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
The limited edition includes:
Physical game cartridge
DVD box set (13 episode series) *
Coloured instruction manual with cover art
Cardboard box with game artwork
*The Stone Protectors DVD Box Set will feature all 13 episodes (including 5 never seen before episodes!) in Standard Definition.
Available to pre-order now through Funstock.co.uk for £74.99 each for the Limited Edition versions and £44.99 each for the Standard versions.
Machine learning is often associated with the few studios that can afford dedicated research teams, but now with WildMeta’s technology and its new Unity and Unreal Engine integrations, machine learning-based bots are more accessible than ever.
Following the footsteps of leading machine learning research organisations, WildMeta went out of stealth in January 2021 and unveiled its own framework to build machine learning-based bots capable of playing video games and react naturally to their environment.
Today the team announces integrations with Unity and Unreal Engine as well as compatibility with most engines thanks to its game developer-friendly library that acts as a bridge between game data and WildMeta’s machine learning systems.
Over the past year, the company’s founders, Amandine Flachs and Dr Alexandre Borghi have been initiating discussions with game studios on machine learning potential and adoption.
While many game developers showed a genuine interest in the technology, most of their questions have been focusing on how it would actually fit into their existing, most often complex, tech stack. WildMeta’s new integrations and C++ library are a direct solution to these questions.
In practice, the new library doesn’t change WildMeta’s business model:
The team still offers its technology as a service to game studios.
The team trains and integrates machine learning-based AIs in games.
Studios do not need to hire in-house machine learning experts to start adopting the technology.
Using its own API and library will enable the team to reduce the amount of custom development previously required to make its machine learning technology compatible with games and will let it concentrate its efforts on the game AI itself.
Amandine Flachs, CEO and co-founder of WildMeta said:
“Bots aren’t a bad thing, dumb bots are! Research teams have shown you can train machine learning-bots to beat the best professional players. We don’t want to beat players, instead, we want this technology to help game developers for example with QA, to improve players’ experience, offer worthy opponents that react to your moves instead of following a script, squad team members that actually contribute to your game or training bots that prepare you to known tactics. We have managed to turn research into a production-ready system that fits studios’ existing tech stacks, now our focus is to drive adoption of this technology.”
Since going out of stealth, the team has given a number of presentations in order to demystify machine learning technology for game development.
They will continue to spread the word in the coming months with more public appearances including a technical deep dive from Dr Alexandre Borghi at Develop: Brighton in October 2021.
The game production team, Heaviside Creations, is pleased to announce that the RPG ●LIVE IN DUNGEON is now available in English on Steam.
●LIVE IN DUNGEON is an indie game from Japan, in which the player is a streamer broadcasting their adventures. This game will be exhibited at BitSummit on September 2nd and 3rd, and is nominated for EXCELLENCE IN GAME DESIGN AWARD.
It has also been acclaimed in review articles from major magazines specialized in Japanese games such as Famitsu, Dengeki Online, and AUTOMATON, as well as in the web program INDIE Live Expo that was broadcasted in June this year.
There will be a sale of 20% off until September 7th ($9.99→$7.99) to commemorate the English version release on Steam!
Supported OS are Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Features of ●LIVE IN DUNGEON
▼Summary ●LIVE IN DUNGEON is an RPG where you play as a novice adventurer live-streaming from another world. Explore dungeons with your cat buddy and quirky viewers in Wonderlucia, an alternate world where streaming is the sole form of advanced technology. Collect “likes” for live-streaming your adventure!
▼How to Become a Streamer-Adventurer You can choose how to reply to your viewers’ comments. The better your reply, the more “likes” you get. You can also use “likes” to improve your skills, weapons, and armor.
▼Response-Based Active Time Battle Exploring dungeons means battling enemies. During battles, you will be fighting opponents through an active command battle system. Minimize wait time between attacks by making great replies to comments. Your skill as a live-streamer affects the outcome of a battle! Comments come hard and fast when you are in the middle of an exciting boss battle! Rely on your supportive viewers and face off against powerful enemies.
▼Explore Beautiful Dungeons From the natural beauty of forests to ancient ruins full of bizarre artifacts, you will be exploring unique dungeons from a first-person perspective. You will occasionally find unexplored regions with stunning photogenic spots, which are sure to get a ton of “likes” from your viewers!
●LIVE IN DUNGEON Product Details & Press Information
Game Title: ●LIVE IN DUNGEON Genre: RPG Publisher: Heaviside Creations Price: $9.99 (tax included) *Launch Sale Price: $7.99 (tax included) until September 7th (20% off of $9.99) Supported OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 Get a glimpse of ●LIVE IN DUNGEON in this Trailer! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zGn8fnM1TVSdZudNnv5xdykzTeydXP3H/view
For more information on ●LIVE IN DUNGEON, please join the conversation on Twitter or visit our website (Japanese version for now), and play on Steam!
INDIE GAME PUBLISHING is the essential guide for indie game developers in getting your game into the hands of players.
Whether you decide to self-publish or find a publisher to partner with, this practical guide will take you through each step of the process and thoroughly prepare you for success.
Hear from experienced developers and expert publishers how they have successfully released their games. You will find clear explanations of how partnerships and contracts work, learn about sales and marketing aspects, the various possible funding models for games and ultimately develop your own unique publishing strategy.
Everything you need to successfully publish your game is inside this book!
Understanding what publishers do
Who the publishers are
Marketing
Sales
Distribution
Funding
Contracts
And more!
Also included is a detailed case study example of how Vectronom, a rhythm platformer game which began as a student project went on to be published on PC, mobile and Nintendo Switch, winning multiple awards and prizes along the way.
Chapter Listing
Opening Credits
A Note from the Author
Foreword by Karsten Lehmann
Introduction
What is Publishing?
Distribution
Funding
Development
Support Services
Communication
Who are the Publishers?
Online Stores
Community Building and Management
The Indie PC and Console Market
Decide your Platforms and Target Market
Decide your Publishing Strategy
Publisher Contracts
Manage the Publisher Relationship
Strategic Marketing Decisions
A Case Study – Vectronom
Tools, Resources and Further Reading
A Deeper Dive into Game Finance
Conclusion
Acknowledgments & Contributors
Closing Credits
About the author, Odile Limpach
The author, Professor Odile Limpach teaches economics and entrepreneurship, is co-founder of a game business accelerator and previously was Managing Director of Blue Byte in Dusseldorf, Germany. About the Narrator, Carol Schneider Narrator Carol Schneider has tread theatre boards in NYC, on Broadway and Off, and around the US and acted in studio and independent films. She has recorded books for Tantor, Simon & Schuster, Audible, and Scholastic.
Available from…
23rd August 2021 with the following retailers:
Adventurous Media, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is an audio-first producer and publisher, creating both original and licensed audio in podcast and audiobook formats.
The company was founded in early 2021 by Michael Reaney, a British audio producer, musician and sound designer.
In addition to working on several award-winning digital projects for clients including BBC and Channel 4, Michael has worked across the creative industries in a number of roles, including as manager of the regional film agency Isle of Man Film, for the Swiss Arts Council, and as a digital arts festival director.
A slate of non-fiction and fiction audio is currently in development.
The Train2Game Blog 