Ghost Games is done but not dead Need for Speedhas floundered for the better part of a decade, and Electronic Arts evidently expects more horsepower from its most recognizable racing series. After an underwhelming stretch,Need for Speedhas been taken from Ghost Games and reassigned back to Criterion Games. EA confirmed the shift toGamesIndustry.biz, saying “With a strong history and passion for racing games and vision for what we can create, the Criterion team is going to takeNeed for Speedinto the next-generation....

‘It is important to continue to provide new titles regularly without long gaps’ Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima is taking off his gloves to defend the Switch. There might be another pair of soft gloves underneath, but he felt the need to say something about the Switch’s lineup. Speaking to the launch, Kimishima states, “Some of those who have seen this lineup have expressed the opinion that the launch lineup is weak....

I gotta take it on the other cide [Extremely John Mayer voice] Fathers, be good to your daughters. Daughters unite as a crew. Girls become warriors who kill all the monsters. So mothers, be good to your daughters too. In February,Jordan introduced us toOthercide— the horror tactics RPG with a neo-noir look. There’s a lot to like about that description even if it sounds like it’s biting off a lot. Here’s the official wording from publisher Focus Home Interactive: “The Daughters, echoes of the greatest warrior to ever live, are all who stand before the Suffering — dread creatures made from humanity’s worst sins....

Coming soon After a lengthy wait period (approximately six and a half months) from the core launch ofThe Outer Worlds,Switch users finally got their port. But like most monkey’s paw wishes, it was polarizing and in many ways, not optimized. While Obsidian worked on the core game, Virtuos handled the Switch version, and it seems like there’s thankfully more work to be done. According to publisher Private Division, the Switch edition will be getting a new patch soon....

On this week’s edition of Podtoid, the gang discusses a multi-goose naked fantasy, plans for the next generation ofAmerican Gladiators, and the potential for an interactive fantasy in which you’re a bearded old man taking charge of a frightened little girl. It’s not a very pleasant episode, really. We also discuss Sony’s potential all-stars battle royale, make fun ofPikmin 2on the Wii, and ponder whether this is the worst period in gaming’s relatively short history....

Bright and early, trainers The Pokémon Company has announced that it will hold a “Pokémon Presents” live stream tomorrow, June 17. It is expected that the stream will reveal new info pertaining toSword&Shield‘s expansion pass,The Isle of Armor, which goes live the same day. The brief broadcast is expected to run around 10 minutes in length, and will be available to watch over onthe official Pokémon YouTube channel. Lazybums might have to set an alarm, however, as the stream is scheduled to begin at 06:00 PT / 09:00 ET / 14:00 BST....

Doom-like 2019 is looking to be the year of retro FPS revivals. WithIon MaidenandAmid Evilboth targeting Q1 2019, fans of labyrinthine level design and key hunting are in for a treat. If you just can’t get enough of those old shooters, then the recently announcedProdeuswill likely check all the right boxes for you. Combining an aesthetic similar toSTRAFEwith weapons straight out ofQuake,Prodeusis being touted as being a “first-person shooter of old, re-imagined using modern rendering techniques....

Ronin wild It has been exactly five days sincewe last wroteabout the long-awaited, neon-drenched samurai slasherKatana Zero. But the bushido blade life is an unpredictable one, and sometimes things happen at a quick clip. Developer Askiisoft has teamed up with Devolver Digital to publishKatana Zero. Watch the trailer that’s embedded above and tell me this game doesn’t land perfectly in Devolver’s wheelhouse. This comes after the revelation late last year thatAskiisoft had parted ways with Adult Swim Games....

E.T. phone the board of directors I love podcasts. They’re great pieces of (mostly) free entertainment I can put on at work to fill the silence of my office. One of my favorite podcasts is99% Invisible, a podcast that burrows right into my little niche hole and delights me with informative oddities about design, architecture, and art. Every so often there is a guest episode on the feed to bring something new to 99PI’s massive listener base as well as send those listeners to a new podcast they might enjoy....

WHOOPS LOL Remember when Sony said that PSP strategy gameLegends of War: Patton’s Campaignwas to be part of this month’s PlayStation Plus line-up? Er, that was a mistake. Apparently. In atweettoday, Sony has confirmed that the game was “mistakenly included” and will be withdrawn, but if you were quick off the draw and had already downloaded it, you’ll get to keep it for gratis. Yay for accidental free things! It has now been replaced with History: Legends of War (PS Vita)....

Self-serve promotions Developers with games on Steam can initiate sales without seeking approval from Valve now that new Steamworks tools have gone live. Promotions can be scheduled up to two months in advance and the discount percentage and sale promotion can also be customized. It’s worth mentioning that game discounts have a maximum run time of two weeks and promos for an individual title have to be spaced at least two months apart....

It’s probably getting to be about that time A now-removed listing forStreet Fighter V: Arcade Editionhas surfaced at online retailerShopToand rest assured, the internet was there to catch it and take a screencap for posterity. The store’s description left a lot to the imagination in terms of what all might make it into the package — it only noted a July 01, 2025 release and £39.99 price point — but it seems like abelievable product, and this week’s Tokyo Game Show would be a good opportunity for an announcement....

To go along with yourAgitoscreens,here are someTales of Heartsscreens and art as well. The eleventh installment in the venerableTalesseries comes to the Nintendo DS and is looking pretty sexy. Being a DS game, Nacmo Bandai can’t nickel-and-dime stupid people with ridiculous downlodable content, but it’s found a way around that by introducing two seperate versions of the game. As wediscussed previously,Heartswill be released as two different games — one with CGI cutscenes (a series first) and one with anime cutscenes (not a series first....