Author: Game Infliction

Very Early Crysis Next Gameplay Reveals Unannounced Battle Royale Project Seemingly Canceled in Favor of Crysis 4

It appears that Crysis developer Crytek was at one point working on a battle royale-inspired Crysis project codenamed Crysis Next.

Very early gameplay, which hit YouTube last week, shows third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena with Crysis’ trademark abilities and sound effects layered on top. Crytek is working to remove the footage from YouTube, with videos now displaying a message that confirms a copyright claim by the company. However, some remain live at the time of publication.

Crytek never announced Crysis Next, and it appears it was canceled in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022. Crytek declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

Given the battle royale boom sparked by PUBG and Fortnite in the late 2010s, it’s perhaps no surprise to learn that Crytek experimented with the genre. Many developers tried their hand at capitalising on battle royale during the period, some successful, some less so, some even failing to launch. The canceled TimeSplitters reboot that was in development at the now shuttered Free Radical Design was reportedly originally pitched as a battle royale game to rival Fortnite. There will be many more such projects that failed to see the light of day.

Crysis is a first-person sci-fi shooter series known for its impressive visuals, cool nanosuit powers, and open-ended gameplay. The first game in the series, released in 2007, was often used as a PC benchmark given the demands it would make of PCs at the time. Crysis was so demanding that it spawned the now infamous catchphrase, “But can it run Crysis?”, which was used in the years following the game’s release to deliver a verdict on a PC spec.

The last mainline game in the series, Crysis 3, came out in February 2013. Crytek released remasters of the originals in recent years, but we’ve yet to hear more about Crysis 4 since its announcement and teaser two-and-a-half years ago.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Greedfall 2 developers call a strike over working conditions, lack of gender equality and parity, and “global mismanagement”

Workers at Nacon-owned Greedfall 2 studio Spiders have penned an open letter “to their employer” detailing grievances over a period of several years, and called for a strike in response to “management’s continued refusal” to take their concerns seriously. 44 of Spider’s 95 workers have signed the document, made public through French union Stjv in the hope that it “will finally push management to act in the best interests of employees and the company.”

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Worldwide Release Cancelled for Amazon Games’ Live-Service MMO Blue Protocol

Bandai Namco has confirmed today that the Japanese version of its anime-inspired MMORPG Blue Protocol will be “discontinued” on January 18, 2025. As a result, Bandai Namco also clarified that this also means any plans to release the game outside of Japan have now been cancelled.

“We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Amazon Games throughout the development of Blue Protocol, and both of our teams are disappointed that we will not be able to deliver the game to players around the world,” the company said in a statement published on the Bandai Namco website.

“We have worked hard to prepare for the release; however, we have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you.”

Co-developed by Bandai Namco Online and Bandai Namco Studios, Blue Protocol’s worldwide release plans were revealed at The Game Awards in 2022. At that time, Amazon Games told IGN that the live service game had been in development since 2015.

IGN’s 2023 hands-on preview found Blue Protocol “absolutely gorgeous” and “fun as hell.”

IGN has contacted Amazon for comment.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.

Round Up: Here’s What Was In Japan’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase And Indie World (August 2024)

New announcements, trailers and much more.

Nintendo’s latest Partner Showcase and Indie World broadcast was filled with all sorts of announcements.

As usual, Japan’s broadcast was a little bit different – and sprinkled throughout its latest presentation were all sorts of different announcements. Some of these are new reveals and others might even be getting localised in the future.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

ConcernedApe Explains Why He Really Wants Pam in a Potential Stardew Valley Crossover With Fortnite

Stardew Valley is no stranger to nods to other games. Among other references, Patch 1.6 has a well-placed Terraria easter egg. Nevertheless, Stardew Valley has never really appeared in another games, though creator Eric Barone aka ConcernedApe definitely has some ideas in that front.

In a Discord conversation shared by Panedwards on X/Twitter, Barone talks about the possibility of a Stardew Valley collaboration, acknowledging that he’s open to a crossover and saying that he would love to have Pam in particular in Fortnite.

“It doesn’t have to be Pam though, I would be open to anything,” Barone adds. “Abigail & Sebatian could be good. Stardrop or Joja Cola item? Galaxy sword or slingshot?”

All of these items would be fun additions to Fortnite, and Stardew Valley’s aesthetic is certainly in line with Epic’s ultra-popular sandbox shooter. Pam would hardly look out of place next to Buff Peter Griffin, Solid Snake, and all the other Fortnite crossover characters. But could it actually happen?

Reached for comment, one of Barone’s representatives acknowledged that the screenshot is real, but added a bit of additional context from ConcernedApe.

“I have a small team of people who help me with Stardew updates, admin and business stuff. Sometimes, we play games together, and one game we enjoy playing is Fortnite (Zero Build). One time we were playing and someone said ‘what if there was a Pam skin in Fortnite?’ And it kind of became a meme for us, like we were imagining us all playing as a squad with identical Pam skins. It was just a silly fun idea,” Barone explained in a statement sent to IGN.

“Then someone asked me if I would collab with Fortnite and I mentioned the Pam thing. There’s nothing official in the works or anything like that, but yea we would find it amusing and fun if we were able to play as Pam (or any other Stardew character, really) someday. Other than the occasional gaming session, my team and I are completely focused on Stardew Valley development and ports right now.”

Indeed, ConcernedApe has been busy recently amid the release of Patch 1.6 and ongoing work on the anticipated release of Haunted Chocolatier. Fans are still awaiting the release of Patch 1.06 on the Nintendo Switch, which failed to materialize during the Nintendo Direct earlier today. As for Fortnite, it’s in the midst of its latest Marvel collaboration, having added Doctor Doom for Chapter 5 Season 4.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Reaction: Shadow Drops & Surprises – A Stuffed Direct With Something For Everyone

How did you find the Indie World & Partner Showcase?

Have we all recovered yet?

On the surface, today’s Nintendo Direct Indie World & Partner Showcase wasn’t as show-stopping as the main June 2024 Direct. It was never going to be: by name and virtue alone, this is a Zelda and Mario-free presentation. And we’re slowly approaching the end of the console’s life cycle, with constant reminders of “Yes, the Switch successor is coming, but we’re not talking about it today.”

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The Harry Potter 8-Film Collection in 4K and Blu-Ray Just Dropped To Its Lowest Price

The Harry Potter movies are some of my favorite movies of all time. I grew up reading the books and was young enough when the movies first started coming out to be in awe of the magic of the story I loved coming to life on the big screen. Even years after the final film hit theaters, I still binge watch the films at least once a year. And though I usually stream all of the movies on Max, I also currently own the 8-film collection in 4K just in case they ever move to a streaming service I don’t have.

If you’re looking to purchase that same collection for yourself, I’ve got some good news for you: Amazon has just dropped the price significantly. You can currently get all 8 movies in 4K UHD and Blu-ray for just $59.99 during the Amazon Labor Day sale.

The Harry Potter: 8-Film Collection Is on Sale

This film collection includes all 8 of the original movies in 4K and Blu-ray. Meaning it doesn’t include any of the Fantastic Beast prequels that came after. According to the Amazon listing, this collection also includes a code that you can redeem to get digital copies of these movies, but the product description also states that you will need to redeem that code by December 2018. So unless you have a time machine, you will only have access to the physical discs that come with the set.

Additionally, if you do want to also pick up all three of the Fantastic Beasts movies, Amazon currently has a sale on the Blu-ray set for that as well. Though as a fan of the movies, I would recommend just ignoring that these films existed in the first place.

Is This a Good Deal?

Labor Day sales in general may not seem like the ideal time to buy movies, but Amazon has been offering some surprisingly good deals so far this year. This Harry Potter collection in particular is currently priced as low as it’s ever been before. This is the best deal on this particular movie set we’ve ever seen and it isn’t likely to get much better on Black Friday.

Where to Watch Harry Potter Movies Online

If you would prefer to just watch or rewatch the Harry Potter films online, you can currently find all of the movies on Max. If you wanted to purchase only the digital version of the collection we’ve featured above, it will actually cost you more, so we don’t recommend that. A Max plan starts at just $9.99 a month and you can also check out the streaming bundle that combines Max, Hulu, and Disney+ if you’re looking to save on streaming.

To help guide you through the timelines of the films, I’ve put together a guide to all of the Harry Potter movies in order.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor’s degree in communication and over 7 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different topics — from TV series to indie games and popular book series.

The Seagate 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S Drops to its Lowest Price Ever

Walmart has dropped the price on the officially licensed Seagate 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X and S consoles to $129.99. Log into your (free) Walmart account and the price drops even further to $121.99. This is the best price we’ve seen for the Seagate card and currently $18 cheaper than the WD C50. The Seagate Expansion Card is one of the best SSDs for the Xbox, which isn’t surprising since your options are pretty limited.

Seagate 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S for $122

The Seagate 1TB expansion card is essentially a 1TB NVME SSD encased in a specialized Xbox-compatible shell. Unlike the more complex PS5 SSD installation process, which involves opening up the PS5 to access the SSD slot, the Seagate expansion card simply plugs into its dedicated port on the back of the Xbox.

This expansion card offers the same speed as the internal SSD, ensuring that you won’t sacrifice performance or encounter extended load times as you might with a regular USB drive. With a 1TB expansion card, you can double the storage on your Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Carbon Black Edition console, and triple the storage on your OG (white) Xbox Series S console.

In contrast to the PS5, there are no alternative methods for adding high-speed storage to your Xbox console. Your options are limited to either the Seagate or WD expansion cards, underscoring the importance of seizing a good deal when one becomes available.

Looking for more Xbox accessories? Check out the best Xbox deals today.

Super Mario RPG Drops to $31.99 at Woot

While supplies last, Woot! (which is owned by Amazon) is offering the excellent Super Mario RPG remake for Nintendo Switch for only $31.99 when you apply $5 off coupon code “MARIO“. That’s 36% off the original $60 MSRP and the best price we’ve ever seen. Even better, this game is a physical copy. Note that Amazon Prime members get free shipping (the rest of us pay $5).

Super Mario RPG for $31.99

Super Mario RPG is a remake of the 1996 SNES classic. It was one of the best games to grace the console back then amidst a sea of other incredible titles, and Nintendo did a great job of staying faithful to the game’s charm and fun factor. A whole slew of improvements have been implemented to bring this game up to modern day standards, including updated visuals, music, gameplay mechanics, and several small yet welcome quality-of-life UI improvements. Check out our Super Mario RPG review for a detailed rundown of all of the the changes and our official impressions of the game. Still, it’s understandably difficult to pay $60 for a remake no matter how good it is, so a deal like this is certainly welcome.

Looking for more Mario games? Here’s a list of every Mario game for the Nintendo Switch.