An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: This Sunday, November 19, makes a full 25 years since the original Half-Life first hit (pre-Steam) store shelves. To celebrate the anniversary, Valve has uploaded a feature-packed "25th anniversary update" to the game on Steam, and made the title free to keep if you pick it up this weekend. Valve's 25th Anniversary Update page details a bevy of new and modernized features added to the classic first-person shooter, including:

- Four new multiplayer maps that "push the limits of what's possible in the Half-Life engine"
- New graphics settings, including support for a widescreen field-of-view on modern monitors and OpenGL Overbright lighting (still no official ray-tracing support, though-leave that to the modders)
- "Proper gamepad config out of the box" (so dust off that Gravis Gamepad Pro)
- Steam networking support for easier multiplayer setup
- "Verified" support for Steam Deck play ("We failed super hard" on the first verification attempt, Valve writes)
- Proper UI scaling for resolutions up to 3840x1600
- Multiplayer balancing updates (because 25 years hasn't been enough to perfect the meta)
- New entity limits that allow mod makers to build more complex mods
- A full software renderer for the Linux version of the game
- Various bug fixes
- "Removed the now very unnecessary 'Low video quality. Helps with slower video cards' setting"

In addition, the new update includes a host of restored and rarely seen content, including:

- Three multiplayer maps from the "Half-Life: Further Data" CD-ROM: Double Cross, Rust Mill, and Xen DM
- Four restored multiplayer models: Ivan the Space Biker, Proto-Barney (from the alpha build), a skeleton, and Too Much Coffee Man (from "Further Data")
- Dozens of "Further Data" sprays to tag in your multiplayer matches
- The original Half-Life: Uplink demo in playable form

Rick Lane reports via PC Gamer: KeeperFX has been in the process of rescuing Dungeon Keeper for a decade and a half. The project originally started in 2008, and experienced something of a bumpy road up until 2016. Since then, though, it has gradually added support for Windows 7, 10, and 11, support for hi-res and 4k screens, modernized controls, and even additional campaigns. With this latest version, KeeperFX's developers say "all original Dungeon Keeper code has been rewritten, establishing KeeperFX as a true open-source standalone game." 1.0 also introduces some new features, such as higher framerates, AI that is better at digging and less likely to "instantly" throw its entire army at you, and "higher quality landview speeches" for the additional campaigns. That refers to the introductions and epilogues to missions which, in the game's original campaign, were voiced by Richard Ridings, aka Daddy Pig.

Perhaps most intriguing of all, KeeperFX's 1.0 adds a couple of new units to play with. First up is the Druid, a sort-of color-flipped version of the Warlock who uses ice spells rather than fire. The other unit is the excitingly named Time Mage, a recolor of the Wizard who can cast teleport and speed spells, and also turn enemy units into chickens (presumably through rapid devolution). You won't find these units in the original campaign, but you will encounter them in the custom campaigns bundled with the 1.0 version. You can download KeeperFX here, although it still requires you to own Dungeon Keeper "for copyright reasons."

Jay Peters reports via The Verge: Amazon is cutting "just over" 180 jobs in its games division and making some changes to its games initiatives, according to a memo sent to employees by VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann. The changes include shutting down its Crown channel that streams on Twitch, closing its Game Growth effort that helps game makers market their products, and "refocusing" the work it does with its free games offered through Prime Gaming. "We are proud of the work the teams have been doing, pushing into new areas with weekly content on Crown Channel, and finding more ways to help publishers reach new audiences with Game Growth," Hartmann wrote. "But after further evaluation of our businesses, it became clear that we need focus our resources and efforts to deliver great games to players now and in the future." Reuters reported on the memo earlier on Monday, and you can read the full email, which Amazon shared with The Verge, at the end of this story.

As for Prime Gaming's free games, which you can access if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, "we've listened to our customers and we know delivering free games every month is what they want most, so we are refining our Prime benefit to increase our focus there," Hartmann wrote. Amazon spokesperson Brittney Hefner declined to share more specifics about what's changing.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: The star of long-running videogame review series Zero Punctuation has quit after 16 years. Ben Croshaw, known as Yahtzee, was famous for his very fast, very rude, quickfire opinions on the latest games. His five-minute videos featuring crude cartoon characters were a weekly feature on gaming site The Escapist. But Yahtzee announced he was quitting the site with several colleagues after their editor-in-chief Nick Calandra was fired.

He said he wouldn't be taking the Zero Punctuation name with him, but fans would hear his voice again 'soon, in a new place'. Zero Punctuation, launched in 2007, is The Escapist's most popular feature, with videos from the series comfortably outranking others on its YouTube channel. [...] Yahtzee's departure followed Calandra's, who said he was fired by The Escapist's parent company Gamurs for "not achieving goals that were never properly set out for us." The pair were followed out of the door by a number of colleagues, most of them from the site's video team.

The latest entry in Activision Blizzard's popular Call of Duty video-game series was made in half the time of previous iterations, a fact that may be contributing to a spate of bad reviews about the game's storyline, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the development process. From the report: Critics have panned the game, the first big release since Microsoft closed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision last month, saying the storyline feels rushed. Most Call of Duty games are developed in around three years, but the bulk of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which comes out Friday, was made in less than a year and a half, said the people, who asked to not be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The abridged production schedule proved stressful for the development team, they said.

Call of Duty has generated more than $30 billion in revenue over the last two decades. It's the most important series in Activision's portfolio, with thousands of developers across the world. New Call of Duty games will always top the charts, but some of the makers of Modern Warfare III say they hope their new corporate owners don't judge them too harshly for the negative reception after a shortened development cycle that was beyond the studio's control. The process was hurried because this year's game was conceived to fill a gap in the release schedule following the delay of another Call of Duty title previously planned for 2023. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was originally pitched to staff at Foster City, California-based developer Sledgehammer Games as an expansion to last year's title, but it morphed into a full sequel during development, Bloomberg earlier reported.

The process was hurried because this year's game was conceived to fill a gap in the release schedule following the delay of another Call of Duty title previously planned for 2023. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was originally pitched to staff at Foster City, California-based developer Sledgehammer Games as an expansion to last year's title, but it morphed into a full sequel during development, Bloomberg earlier reported.

Valve designers Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais say the company has sold "multiple millions" Steam Deck handheld gaming PCs. The Verge reports: The Steam Deck has been a hit for Valve right from its launch; when the device first went up for preorders in July 2021 (has it really been that long?), the demand created some major issues for Valve's Steam store. And the handheld gaming PC is often at or near the top of Steam's top-selling chart -- even just two months after the device's official February 2022 launch, it was clear that the Steam Deck was not a flop. The company apparently even made a cake to celebrate selling 1 million units. The company is probably set to sell a lot more after recently unveiling a new revision with an OLED screen, longer battery life, and faster Wi-Fi.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has halved the number of live service games it plans to release over the next few years, it's confirmed. From a report: SIE had previously said it planned to have 12 live service titles in the market by its fiscal year ending in March 2026 -- up from three during its last business year ended this March. However, earlier this year PlayStation's management team confirmed that it had partnered with Destiny studio Bungie for a "rigorous portfolio review" process. According to press reports, this has led to some projects being scaled back.

During an earnings call on Thursday, Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki seemingly confirmed that this review had resulted in some games being pushed back due to quality concerns. "We are reviewing this... we are trying as much as possible to ensure [these games] are enjoyed and liked by gamers for a long time," he said. "[Of] the 12 titles, six titles will be released by FY25 -- that's our current plan. [As for] the remaining six titles, we are still working on that. That's the total number of live service and multiplayers titles [and] mid-to-long-term we want to [push] this kind of service and that's the unchanged policy of the company. It's not like we stick to certain titles, but game quality should be the most important [thing]."

Rockstar Games, a division of Take-Two Interactive Software, plans to announce the next highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto game as early as this week, according to Bloomberg. From a report: The company plans to then publish a trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI next month to celebrate Rockstar's 25th anniversary, said the people, who asked to not be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. A spokesperson for Rockstar didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent after business hours.

No video game has driven more fervor from fans and investors than Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected to be one of the most significant entertainment releases of the decade. Its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V, has sold more than 185 million copies and is the second-best selling video game of all time, behind Minecraft, which had the advantage of also being playable on phones.

Nintendo has confirmed that it's working on a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, directed by Wes Ball and produced by Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The Verge reports: "This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films," Miyamoto said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. We might be waiting a while for the movie, however; Miyamoto said, "It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it." While there aren't many details on the movie itself, Nintendo says that it will be co-financed by itself and Sony, with Nintendo footing more than 50 percent of the bill.

"By producing visual contents of Nintendo IP by itself, Nintendo is creating new opportunities to have people from around the world to access the world of entertainment which Nintendo has built, through different means apart from its dedicated game consoles," the company said in a statement about the Zelda film. "By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone's faces through entertainment, Nintendo will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible."

Tech YouTuber Dave Lee provided a hands-on first look at the new PlayStation 5 "slim" and gave a preview of how it looks compared to the original 2020 launch versions. Kotaku reports: One of his biggest takeaways is that the console, while lighter, doesn't necessarily feel that much smaller in contrast to initial predictions. Maybe that's why Sony's not officially marketing the new device as a "slim" version. From there, Lee runs through some of the less obvious changes. A few we already knew about like the USB-a slot on the front being replaced by two USB-c ports, as well as the t side panels split into two pieces to accommodate the new detachable disc drive. Lee actually showed how the disc drive comes out, and it looks really simple and convenient. There's no screws involved. Instead, putting pressure on a tab releases it from the housing while a socket near the bottom is how it plugs into the rest of the console.

Less neat are the new see-thru plastic pegs that stabilize the console when it's laid horizontal. While they've been added to help secure the PS5 given its new detachable disc drive design, Lee was unimpressed. I kind of agree. They're not a very elegant solution. The same goes for the divided panels themselves. I didn't realize this before, but they actually have different finishes. The bottom is a matte white that's a little different from the current PS5 plates and the top has a glossy finish.

Inside the new PS5, Lee pointed out a handful of differences. The top heat exhaust is less stylized, with plain vents instead of a snail shell like spiral. The internal SSD unit layout is also different. That's the piece that powers the PS5's lighting-quick load speeds, and it's not yet clear if the new design will impact performance at all. Lee's initial testing showed there was no real difference. It will also be interesting to see how the new PS5s deal with heat given its the same CPU running in a smaller layout.

Microsoft is partnering with Inworld AI to develop Xbox tools that will allow developers to create AI-powered characters, stories, and quests. From a report: The multiyear partnership will include an "AI design copilot" system that Xbox developers can use to create detailed scripts, dialogue trees, quest lines, and more. "At Xbox, we believe that with better tools, creators can make even more extraordinary games," explains Haiyan Zhang, general manager of gaming AI at Xbox. "This partnership will bring together: Inworld's expertise in working with generative AI models for character development, Microsoft's cutting-edge cloud-based AI solutions including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Research's technical insights into the future of play, and Team Xbox's strengths in revolutionizing accessible and responsible creator tools for all developers." The multiplatform AI toolset will include the AI design copilot for scripts and dialogue, and an AI character engine that can be integrated into games and used to dynamically generate stories, quests, and dialogue.

Microsoft has changed its mind, the Verge reported Friday, and now will continue giving a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to most of its 238,000 employees, according to an announcement from Xbox chief Phil Spencer.

Earlier reports had suggested that Microsoft was removing the free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefit — and some employees weren't happy about it.

UPDATE (6/4/2023): Microsoft has changed its mind, the Verge reported Friday, and now will continue giving a free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to most of its 238,000 employees, according to an announcement from Xbox chief Phil Spencer.

Earlier reports had suggested that Microsoft was removing the free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefit — and some employees weren't happy about it. From the Verge's earlier report: Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company started informing employees this week that in January 2024 the free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefit for permanent Microsoft employees will no longer be available. I understand that Xbox employees will continue to keep the benefit, but the vast majority of Microsoft employees who aren't part of Xbox / Microsoft Gaming will see the benefit disappear next year.

Microsoft employees will be able to purchase a discounted 12-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription at the company's internal store. Some Microsoft employees have taken to the company's internal messaging platform to voice their objections about the benefit being removed. The employee posts even prompted Xbox chief Phil Spencer to respond, noting that he wasn't aware of the changes and is looking into the situation.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from GamesRadar: For years now, fans have been using mods to alter games in weird and wonderful ways. Some developers are happy to let fans play around with their creations, while others aren't so keen on the idea. Capcom, the company behind many iconic game series, including Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Devil May Cry, is seemingly in the latter camp. This was evidenced in a presentation shared on the Capcom R&D YouTube channel. In the video, the company talks about cheating and piracy in PC games and the impact they can have. As Capcom sees it, mods are part of this problem.

During the presentation (around the 14-minute mark), Capcom suggests that mods are "no different" than cheats. "All mods are defined as cheats, except when they are officially supported," it says. "What they are doing internally is no different than cheating." It's not that the company is staunchly against players using mods to enhance or switch up the experience; it does acknowledge that "the majority of mods can have a positive impact on the game." Still, from a business perspective, it warns that they "can be detrimental", both in terms of the reputational damage that offensive mods can cause and the extra workload players who've installed buggy mods can generate for a support team. This, the company argues, can ultimately lead to delays in a game's production and higher development costs.

In a significant development for Xbox users, the era of tinkering with your console to use unapproved accessories is drawing to a close. From a report: Xbox has taken a definitive stance by instituting a new policy that will block the use of unauthorized accessories with its consoles, effective as of November 17. This decision has already begun to reverberate amongst the gaming community, and many have already had a warning about it on their consoles in the form of error message 0x82d60002.

The error message states: "A connected accessory is not authorized. Using unauthorized accessories compromises your gaming experience. For this reason, the unauthorized accessory will be blocked from use on 11/12/2023. For help returning it, check with the store it came from or contact the manufacturer. To see authorized accessories, go to www.xbox.com/accessories. (0x82d60002)."

The upcoming optional disc drive for the PlayStation 5 will require an internet connection to pair it to a console for the first time. From a report: As spotted on the back of the box for the upcoming Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 PS5 slim bundle, small print confirms that players who purchase the new model with the optional drive will be required to connect to the internet when pairing it to a machine for the first time. It's likely that this is a security measure in order to ensure that the disc drive is a legitimate one and not a third party. However, it has raised some preservation concerns.

Amazon has revealed that Fallout -- a live-action adaptation of Bethesda's popular RPG video game franchise -- will premiere on April 12th, 2024, exclusively via Prime Video. The Verge reports: The announcement was made on October 23rd, otherwise known to Fallout fans as "Fallout Day" -- the in-game date that marks the beginning of the Great War that turns the world into an irradiated nuclear wasteland. Bethesda's executive producer and game director Todd Howard is an executive producer on the series, which stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), Aaron Moten (Emancipation), Moises Arias (The King of Staten Island), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), and Sarita Choudhury (Homeland).

Alongside the premiere announcement itself (which was amusingly presented as an interactive Pip-Boy interface graphic), Amazon said in a press release that the show will be an original story set in a future, post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles and will be considered a canonical addition to the existing game franchise. We do not currently know how many episodes will be in the series or what the release schedule will look like following the premiere.

Google is adding some new features to the Google Play Games Beta on PC, its service that lets you play Android games on a PC, including support for 4K screen resolution on "supported monitors" and for popular console gaming controllers. From a report: Google detailed the updates in a blog post from Arjun Dayal, Google Play Games' director of product. With the new support for 4K, you can now pick your screen resolutions while in game. "Simply press Shift + Tab in any game to select from a menu of supported resolutions," according to Dayal. The game controllers that are now supported include the Xbox Series X / S controller, the Xbox One controller, Sony's DualSense controller for PS5, and its DualShock controller for PS4. Google isn't the only company that's making it easier to use your other controllers on its platform; Apple added iOS support for the DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers with iOS 14.5, while Valve rolled out DualSense support in Steam in 2020.

The BBC writes: Super Mario Bros: Wonder is a psychedelic take on the traditional 2D platformer that jazzes up Mario's usual Bowser-thwarting adventure with Wonder Effects that, as Polygon's Chris Plante put it, sees "the levels themselves collapse and contort, disobeying the laws established by decades of Mario games".

It's as if developers unearthed the "stuffed notebook of chaos" of every wacky idea ever rejected from the series and turned it into a single game, Plante said... [T]he game offers "so many different looks and wild hooks that the typically forgettable story simply didn't matter," said IGN's Ryan McCaffrey, who enthused: "Every frame oozes joy...." The Guardian's Keza McDonald says the game carries the sort of fun expected by Mario fans, "but with enough novelty and unexpected twists to prevent it from feeling over-familiar", and at the same time for newcomers "is a wonderful introduction to the fizzy creativity and attention to detail that has made Mario a family staple".

This is the first time the Mario developers have delved into online multiplayer in the traditional 2D space, where previously co-op play required players to share a console in person. "It feels more like you're working together," McDonald said. "Characters can revive one another if someone falls foul of a Bullet Bill or flaming pit, making the game much easier to get through as a team."
GamesRadar's Sam Loveridge added "There's also an attention to detail here that just heightens that magic playfulness. There's so much to spot, whether it's the snot bubble on a sleeping Goomba or the fact each character's face changes when they start dashing."

Although Kotaku has a suggestion. "Before you get too ahead of yourself turning Mario and company into giant elephants and whatnot, you should mess around with some gameplay settings first — especially the one that controls the Talking Flowers." Earlier this week, in another edition of Nintendo's ongoing web series, Ask the Developer, we learned that Wonder was originally going to have a live commentary feature like what you'd find in a sports game. It was scrapped, but found new life through the game's Talking Flowers characters who shout at Mario and crew whenever they walk by. Although the Talking Flowers are a cute addition to the game and make solo playthroughs a little less lonely, your mileage with them may vary. Some people think the Talking Flowers, who talk all the time, are pretty annoying, if you can believe that.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from PC Gamer: Whether you think Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a move toward a dry gaming monopoly or a financial windfall for Activision and Blizzard games both, it's definitely happened. The UK's CMA has given the thumbs up, Kotick's on his way out -- the deal's closed, and now we get to see the impact ripples spread. It looks like there's already some great news for fans of Activision Blizzard's older catalogue, as confirmed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself in an official interview on the Xbox channel. "I do think with Game Pass that we have the ability to pick a couple franchises every year and almost do like a 'revisited' [version] -- I just made up that term ... when you look across the franchises that are part of our teams, there's an opportunity to go back."

"I wanna make sure that when we go back and visit something that we do it with our complete ability not just create something for financial gain (or a PR announcement), and not deliver." Ultimately, while he's got his own wishlist (the return of FPS classic Hexen is a running gag), Spencer says it's important for these fresh coats of paint to be a result of developer passion: "If teams wanna go back and revisit some of the things we have, and do a full focus on it, I'm gonna be all in. I think there's an amazing trove of [games] we can go and touch on again. I think about things like the Quake 2 remaster that just came out from [id Software], I thought that was awesome. They did a real good job revisiting a game, making it current, but not leaving its history behind. I'd love to see more things like that."