4A Games' Metro Exodus has now sold over 6m copies since its initial release in 2019.

In a report by Embracer Group, the parent company announced Koch Media had seen strong sales across its gaming brands over the last quarter, citing: "The main revenue driver for the quarter was strong back catalogue performance, which exceeded management's expectations".

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The Frontrunner Season begins in February.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has taken to Twitter to talk about one of the key bones of contention surrounding the agreed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. While Sony has stated that they expect Microsoft to honour contractual agreements with Activision, Spencer has now confirmed that it’s Microsoft’s intention to “keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.” Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship. — Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022 This follows previous statements in interviews that “It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that,” but there’s still plenty of leeway in the practical act of keeping COD on PlayStation. This is a statement that has absolutely been framed in a way that’s meant to please government regulators, similar to those made in the run up to the Bethesda acquisition last year. Call of Duty is no longer a single product line for Activision, and is instead made up of the yearly main game releases like Call of Duty: Vanguard, alongside the free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone, and the free-to-play mobile shooter Call of Duty: Mobile. Sony has an exclusive content agreement with Activision that guarantees them some kind of bonus content for PlayStation. When regular map packs were still a thing in 2015 that was a one month head start on DLC releases, but that has morphed into PlayStation exclusive game modes and now, for Vanguard, PlayStation exclusive cosmetics and XP boosts. The most likely course of action for Microsoft to take is to have the main Call of Duty games continue to release on PlayStation through the course of the agreement with Sony – up until the 2024 Call of Duty if they have been signing 5-year deals – and only then shift the game to being an Xbox exclusive. After that point, Microsoft can say that COD is still on PlayStation by keeping a free-to-play game like Warzone on Sony’s consoles. It could even be that Call of Duty no longer sees yearly releases, as Spencer said in an interview with the Washington Post that he will talk with the many studios toiling on COD content “about working on a variety of franchises” from the Activision Blizzard vaults. Even the developers of Crash Bandicoot 4 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 have been roped into supporting efforts at Activision and Blizzard, and there’s no denying that it would be good to see Activision’s 11 studios no longer beholden to grinding out content for a single franchise. Further Reading: What does Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard mean for gamers? All of this follows Microsoft’s track record with recent acquisitions. Psychonauts 2 was a cross-platform release, albeit with an Xbox Series X|S exclusive upgrade for the new generation, while Wasteland 3 was released with Koch Media publishing. Similarly, despite having acquired Bethesda at the start of last year, Microsoft is honouring the exclusivity agreements that have made Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo into timed PlayStation 5 exclusives. Of course, where there hasn’t been an existing agreement, Microsoft and Bethesda have confirmed that Starfield, Redfall will be Xbox console exclusives, and hinted that The Elder Scrolls VI will follow suit. Source: Twitter

Sony expects that Activision games will still come to PlayStation consoles if Microsoft’s buyout is completed, keeping some of the biggest franchises in video games as cross-platform titles and not turning them into Xbox exclusives. You might be doubting them, but they cite existing contractual agreements between PlayStation and Activision as the reason for their belief. A Sony spokesman told the WSJ that “We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform.” Activision and Sony have had a long-standing content exclusivity agreement with PlayStation for the Call of Duty franchise, dating back to the 2015 release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Since that point, Activision has given timed exclusivity on DLC expansions (when paid map packs were still a thing), bundled in PlayStation exclusive game modes for Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, or simply offered specific XP boosts and other perks to PlayStation players. That should allay some of the fears that many have had over the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard buyout announced earlier this week, with Microsoft expected to shift previously cross-platform franchises to become Xbox, PC and Xbox Game Pass exclusives. Additionally, when asked directly about this by Bloomberg earlier this week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said “I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that.” All we have to do is look at Microsoft’s track record with their blockbusting gaming acquisition to find out what their most likely plan is. The company has never taken a hardline stance at acquired studios make their in-progress game releases into Xbox exclusives. Psychonauts 2 was a cross-platform release, albeit with an Xbox Series X|S exclusive upgrade for the new generation, while Wasteland 3 was released with Koch Media publishing. Similarly, despite having acquired Bethesda at the start of last year, Microsoft is honouring the exclusivity agreements that have made Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo into timed PlayStation 5 exclusives. Of course, where there hasn’t been an existing agreement, Microsoft and Bethesda have confirmed that Starfield, Redfall and The Elder Scrolls VI will be Xbox console exclusives. Further Reading: What does Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard mean for gamers? So, what can we expect to happen with Activision and Blizzard games? Call of Duty: Warzone is likely to be a permanent fixture across all platforms, the free-to-play game a money-spinner that nobody would sensibly want to shut down at this point. The main Call of Duty releases will likely stay as cross-platform games, while there’s still a contract to honour – historically this contract ran for five years from 2010-2014 when on Xbox, and would likely have been renewed in 2020 by Sony and Activision for PlayStation. This could see Call of Duty games remain on PlayStation until 2025, or until a set number of games have been released. Outside of Call of Duty, and if Activision ever produce any games based on their collection of IPs that include Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, you can bet they will be Xbox exclusives from the off. On the Blizzard side of things, Overwatch will be receiving a significant overhaul so that the game will remain in lockstep with Overwatch 2’s multiplayer content. That will likely continue to be the plan, though there’s a question mark over whether Overwatch 2 will be released on PlayStation, or if they’ll leave players with the old game. Diablo IV and all other future game releases will surely be Xbox console exclusives, though. Of course, that depends on whether either game is released before or after any Microsoft buyout can be completed. That’s a big if, as the last twelve months have seen much greater scrutiny on tech giant acquisitions by government regulators. Source: WSJ (paywalled)

The lengths I’ll go to for tradition… Koch Media has announced that the Omega Collector’s Edition of The King of...

The post The King of Fighters XV Omega Edition confirmed for North America appeared first on Destructoid.

Overkill has released a new Payday 2 update for PC. Patch 216.3 is now available to download and is required in order to play co-op heists online. All round, it’s pretty minor update. Weighing in at just over 30MB, the heisters have been busy shredding tinsel now that the festive period is over. The game’s developers confirmed that 216.3 doesn’t include any new Payday 2 content, fixes, or balancing tweaks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s changed: The heists Breakin’ Feds, Hoxton Breakout, and Buluc’s Mansion have now returned to normal. Bulldozers and Cloakers have (for the most part) hung up their Santa hats in wait for next year. As the weather starts to slowly turn warmer to more slush, the fine white now to make snowballs is sadly no longer available. As Jimmy threw out the stash that I saved in the fridge to make room for more booze, we will have to wait until next winter for another snowball fight. Of course, the Leech Perk Deck is will remain available as will “Bulbous Bauble” and the “Lightbringer” weapon charms with their associated achievements. The Winter Ghosts Tailor Pack and all its content will remain available. When is Payday 3 coming out? Payday 3 will be coming to PC and consoles in 2023, it has been announced. Payday creators Starbreeze confirmed that the sequel is back on track following a landmark €50m publishing deal with Koch Media. Koch and Starbreeze didn’t specify which platforms we’ll see Payday 3 launch on though it’s safe to assume the heist sim will appear on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The announcement came tagged with our first look at Payday 3 – a new piece of concept art. Much like Payday 2, the sequel will embody its games as a service approach to dishing out regular new content. Having originally launched in 2013, Payday 2 continues to enjoy a thriving fanbase with dozens of DLC packs having been released featuring new levels, characters, weapons, and cosmetics. Source: Steam

The world has never looked better from the seat of your tractor

The post Farming Simulator 22 Review – Growing Pains (PS5) appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.