Apex Legends will soon be arriving on PS5, according to a recent data leak. The Twitter account, PlayStation Game Size, is a regular source for tracking new games, DLC, and updates being added to the PlayStation Store. It recently revealed an Apex Legends PS5 version which will weigh in at over 80GB (before updates). For a while now, the Apex community have been waiting for news of a native next-gen edition on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Right now, the game is playable on these platforms via backwards compatibility. While these updated versions offer slight improvements over the base PS4 and Xbox One game, they don’t push the new hardware to their full potential. A native version of Apex Legends running on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S should, theoretically, offer a big boost in performance and graphical fidelity while also introducing platform focused features such as DualSense haptics for PlayStation users. When can we expect the popular battle royale shooter to land on PS5? The leak doesn’t point to a release date though we’re anticipating that it will arrive in the coming weeks. Naturally, many are speculating that Apex Legends will launch on PS5 (and Xbox Series X|S) at the start of Season 12. Again, Respawn Entertainment hasn’t confirmed a start date for this new season though we’re guessing it will kick off in early February 2022. Look at Respawn’s recent track record, the studio tends to leave a three month gap between seasons, Season 11 having started back in November 2021. What can players expect from Season 12? Besides the likely launch of a native next-gen version, we can hopefully look forward to yet another playable hero, as well as new weapons and a fresh battle pass loaded with plenty of unlockable rewards. Respawn Entertainment is said to be busy on numerous projects for publisher EA. These include a rumoured sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as well as a new singleplayer first person shooter. However, this project won’t be Titanfall 3.

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

Square Enix has announced when Final Fantasy 14 will be available to buy again, after the popular MMORPG was removed from sale last month. Director Naoki Yoshida and the team confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 and its expansions will go live on the store from January 25, 2022 at 17:00PM JST – or 08:00AM the following day for UK players. Endwalker, the MMO’s newest expansion,  released on December 7, 2021, adding a huge glut of content from quests, dungeons, and raids, to the Reaper and Sage classes. Having soared in popularity over the past couple of years, server queue times soared on Endwalker’s launch day. Square subsequently removed Final Fantasy 14 from sale – drastic yet effective measure. In response to the surge of players, the company is expanding the number of data centres it operates in every major region while also opening servers in Oceania. Here’s what Yoshida had to say about the latest game update: I wish to apologize for the delays to server expansion caused by the global semiconductor shortage. The necessity for communities to separate due to the regrouping of Worlds is another inconvenience that may prove unavoidable for some players, and we ask for your understanding as we work to alleviate this issue. Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker Review Our resident Final Fantasy 14 expert, Reuben, scored Endwalker a mighty 9 out 10 in his review: “Once you’re past the horrendously long queues to actually get into the game, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker was an almost flawless experience. This conclusion to a decade-long tale is told with a visual, musical and narrative artistry that isn’t often seen in any medium. Endwalker doesn’t quite reach the heights of earlier parts of the series, but it sure as hell ends the current arc with a bang and everyone involved with this game should feel damn proud of themselves.” If you’re even remotely interested in playing a free trial for FF14 is available, packing in the base game and its first expansion, Heavensward. Source: Final Fantasy XIV

Space dwarf mining game Deep Rock Galactic has snagged a whopping 6 million new players following its PlayStation release, thanks to the game launching straight into January’s collection of free PlayStation Plus games for PS5 and PS4. That’s a huge number of new players and sees the game now stand at a lifetime total of 10 million players after 3 million sales. Deep Rock Galactic has taken a little while to get to this point. First launching into Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview in 2018, it took two long years for developer Ghost Ship Games to mine their rich vein of gaming gold and transform it into a game ready for release. When it did hit version 1.0, it launched across both PC and Xbox One in May 2020, but overlooked the PlayStation at that time, despite being teased. Still, in the nearly 4 years since first going on sale, Deep Rock Galactic accrued 3 million game sales. A little bit of napkin math shows that there’s roughly 1 million players left unaccounted for, which we’re going to put down to Deep Rock Galactic being added to Xbox Game Pass in October 2020. That the game could pick up 6 million extra players in just one week is truly impressive, but also shows just how different PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass really are in how they reach gamers. PlayStation Plus has 47 million subscribers as of September 2021, while Xbox Game Pass is figured to have around 20 million. You might expect that this means Game Pass will reach 2/5th the players that PS Plus can, but that would be to overlook that Game Pass has a continuous stream of more than 10 games added each month, all vying for attention in a library with hundreds of games. Meanwhile, PS Plus currently offers three games per month, giving a much narrower selection for subscribers to check out. All told, we’re happy for Ghost Ship Games on every level. 3 million sales in and of itself is great, 1 million players via Game Pass is also pretty fab, while 6 million more on PlayStation is just showing off. The one downside to all this is that Ghost Ship Games has three separate communities – PC Steam players, Xbox and Microsoft Store players, and PlayStation players – as there’s no cross-play or cross-save functionality. Deep Rock Galactic is a great co-op game in which space dwarves head down to subterranean caverns on an alien world and fight off alien bugs while searching valuable minerals. It comes with a chunky aesthetic that really works for the sometimes claustrophobic action and is a good bit of fun when you have a crew of buddies. We were thoroughly impressed with the game when it launched back in mid 2020, saying: “Ooh, aah, that’s how it always starts, then later there’s running and screaming. Deep Rock Galactic can be deceptively easy going at times, right up until the swarms of bugs come crawling out of the inky darkness to besiege you and your friends. Who knew space dwarf mining could be so fun?” Source: press release

Renowned video game voice actor Troy Baker has partnered with Voiceverse, a company that will use AI to real time voice simulations which you can buy as NFTs. They are claiming you will be able to say something in your own voice and their AI will automatically change it so you sound like someone else. I’m partnering with @VoiceverseNFT to explore ways where together we might bring new tools to new creators to make new things, and allow everyone a chance to own & invest in the IP’s they create. We all have a story to tell. You can hate.Or you can create.What’ll it be? pic.twitter.com/cfDGi4q0AZ — Troy Baker (@TroyBakerVA) January 14, 2022 You may be wondering why Troy Baker is supporting an company that can put him out of a job. Despite singing the praises of this new service it turns out our Troy won’t be supplying his own voice to the AI generator. In fact there’s no mention of what these new voices will be like, it does not seem like you will suddenly be able to talk like Mary Berry, the Pope or Stephen Fry.  In fact it would be very unlikely a celebrity would allow their voice to be turned in to a NFT as you could own their voice and take over any VO jobs they have for half the price they charge and there’s nothing the celeb could do about it. So, what do you get with your Voiceverse NFT? Voice NFT is a 2nd generation NFT built with AI and high-functioning utility that provides you an ownership to a unique voice in the Metaverse. You can use it for in-game chats, zoom calls, YouTube & Tiktok, and create whatever content you desire, and even mix your voice with other Voice NFTs! The reaction to Troy’s announcement has been overwhelmingly negative with thousands of tweets from his fans expressing their dismay. Voiceverse themselves have posted a series of tweets explaining why they are so much better than a jpg, pointing out you can’t ‘right click’ audio and copy it. That’s true but as a music creator I can tell you that you can rip audio from any digital source in just a few clicks, people will be able to copy your treasured Voiceverse. Hey everyone – here is why our Voice NFTs are different from just owning jpegs. Voice NFTs provide intrinsic utility in addition to a fantastic community. You can't right click either of these. More explanation in thread below: — Voiceverse NFT (@VoiceverseNFT) January 14, 2022 Just to make things a bit more weird Voiceverse has lore. On Ethyear 0, the Sun, which has supported and nurtured life on Earth for millennia, imploded and scorched the entirety of Milky Way with its fiery touches. Luckily, we had built colonies in other galaxies before our homeland was burnt to crisp. Eons passed, and homo survivalis, or “Terrans”, as we had come to be known, had lost the ability to not only speak, but produce any form of nonverbal noise from our windpipe. Laughter was gone in our lives. We had to guess how frustrated or sad someone was from their facial expression only. This was all due to the fact that we had become overly reliant on vision, consuming only images, gifs, and texts. Abundance of visual display, from personal electronics to embedded screens in our eyes, led us to mistakenly construe audio an inefficient way of conveying and gathering information, which ultimately led to our vocal cords deteriorating completely over centuries. The same fate occurred in all races of humans across different universes. Then on Ethyear 8,888 a group of 100 ethereal beings by the name of Alpha Centum, or “Centums”, started appearing in various places. They were omnipotent cosmic energies, spiritual beings that flowed from one galaxy to another beyond temporal or spatial limitations. They each possessed one authentic voice that demanded such respect and awe, as the world had long forgotten what “a real voice” was. I feel this is the only response to that… Troy isn’t the only video game star to partner with service. Charlet Takahashi Chung, the voice of D.Va in Overwatch and Starcraft II, is also a partner. She herself has not tweeted anything about the service which is probably the best. The whole concept seems very odd, a NFT of a voice. It’s not like a voice is totally unique even in the real world, most people can do a good impression or two. So far any attempt to include NFT‘s in to gaming have failed rather badly, will Voiceverse buck the trend?

God of War PC finally launches today with a raft of new features and enhancements. Overall, the team at Sony Santa Monica have done an amazing job in porting the beloved PlayStation reboot from PS4 to PC, its current OpenCritic score sitting at a whopping 94. Even if you don’t have a top range PC gaming setup, you can still get a taste of what this version of the game offers. Check out two and half minutes of God of War gameplay in ultrawide.   Here’s what Stefan had to say in our God of War PC review: God of War is a great port of one of the PlayStation 4’s biggest games. PC gamers have all of the graphics options they could really want, and the game’s origins mean that even fairly modest gaming PCs can push for high frame rates and resolutions. If you’ve not already played the game on PlayStation, this is a great chance to catch up ahead of Ragnarok’s highly anticipated release. God of War Ragnarok Naturally, the PC release has amplified the hype surrounding God of War’s sequel. Set three years after the previous title, God of War Ragnarok will find Atreus entering his troublesome teenage years – by troublesome we mean “He’s Loki” – with the duo traversing all nine realms of Norse mythology. On the way they are set to meet previous ally Freya, the chunky thicc boy Thor, both of which seem to want to have a word with Kratos for killing their sons. The stage is set for an epic conclusion to the story and one that is arriving earlier than previously planned, despite delays due to the Covid pandemic. Due to the long development time of each game it was decided to conclude the saga in two games rather than three, else fans may have to wait 15 years for the story to conclude and the dev team have been working on the same story for even longer. There’s no confirmed release date for God of War Ragnarok just yet though we’d guess it will arrive towards the end of 2022.

With Dying Light 2 Stay Human out next month, Techland has released the final Dying 2 Know video and detailed some more key parts of the upcoming open world zombie game. In particular, this video details the co-op features and gives us a first comparison between the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S generation and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation. You’ll have to wade through a fair bit of saccharine fluff to get there, but here’s the gist: The game can be played and finished in up to four player co-op, just as the original was. While there is a host player who has the main progression and world state, those joining the session will keep their gear, their player progression and so on. It’s not entirely dependent on the host player, though. At narrative forks in the road, all players in a co-op session will be able to vote on the choice (the host having the casting vote, though). Skip to the 6 minute mark and you get to check out the game running on older consoles. This shows the game captures on PlayStation 4, Xbox One X, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Disappointingly, this comparison is windowed in a way that makes meaningful comparison very difficult, though you do get a feel for the performance jump between generations. The game is going to be absolutely massive, with Techland recently proclaiming that it would take 500 hours to fully complete. There was a considerable backlash with many pointing out that 500 hours was just ridiculous so they added another tweet, “500 hours is related to maxing out the game – finishing all the quests, endings, and exploring every part of the world, but a regular player should finish the story + side quests and do quite a lot of exploring in less than 100 hours, so don’t worry!” Thankfully, considering that even that is crazily huge, they have clarified again to say that finishing the main story, which is what most players are interested in, will take 20 hours. How long are you planning on spending in the game? And will you have some friends coming on the journey with you?

Ubisoft has announced a release date for its upcoming strategy reboot, The Settlers. The series will officially return later this year on March 17, 2022, exclusively for PC. A closed beta is also due to take place on January 20, 2022. Available to pre-order directly via the Ubisoft Store (or through the Epic Games Store) there won’t be a Steam release at launch. The Settlers will offer two versions including a standard edition and a deluxe edition which includes the base game and various add-ons such as the Royal themed item and tile sets as well as a digital artbook and soundtrack. Upon its release date, The Settlers will be making a long-awaited comeback after many years. The series is almost three decades old now, its previous two outings – The Settlers 7 and The Settlers Online – having launched in 2010. Alongside Age of Empires, The Settlers is a name that definitely evokes a nostalgia for RTS games during the 90s and early 00s. Ubisoft is looking to revamp the formula for a modern audience while also staying true to its DNA. Here’s an overview of what to expect: A NEW START The Settlers combines a fresh take on the popular gameplay mechanics of the series with a new spin. It offers a deep infrastructure and economy gameplay, used to create and employ armies, to ultimately defeat opponents. VARIOUS GAME MODES Various online multiplayer modes with up to 8 players offer thrilling skirmish battles against other players or AI for long-lasting fun. A story driven campaign will immerse the players into the world of The Settlers, while new players can learn the basic mechanics in a separate tutorial. A WORLD TO CONQUER 3 playable, distinctive factions – the Elari, the Maru and the Jorn – can be found in The Settlers. Each with a unique look and play style. At the heart of every match is gaining resources and building up your economy to recruit new settlers and a directly controllable, winning army. Research upgrades for your army and strengthen them by recruiting support and siege units. STATE-OF-THE-ART GRAPHICS Never before has The Settlers been so lively and rich in details. Powered by Ubisoft’s proprietary Snowdrop engine, The Settlers sets a new visual benchmark in the build-up real-time strategy genre. Player will have to adapt their playstyle to explore the Landmarks and their special rewards or new biomes and their challenges. Source: Press Release

Galactic Civilizations III is the next game to be given away on the Epic Games Store, following on from Gods Will Fall which was free the previous week. Galactic Civilizations III fully released in May 2015, marking a return for the 4x turn based strategy series which had not seen a mainline entry since 2006’s Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. The game did have an early access phase through 2014 where players could give feedback to developers Stardock. However, Galactic Civilizations III was also one of the free Epic Games Store giveaways this time last year, when it was added to the store. Galactic Civilizations III can be claimed for free here. The game will be available until 4PM GMT January 20th, and its features are listed below. The ultimate sandbox experience: Each game has a unique map, worlds, and challenges to face — all on a massive scale. Play against 16 to 100 opponents. Multiple paths to victory: Win through military conquest, cultural domination, technological ascension, or political alliance. Massive technology tree: Research a technology tree with immense breadth and depth. Each playable faction has their own unique specializations. Faction & Ship Customization: Create a civilization with its own look, ships, technologies, and even options for how the AI will use them. A deep economy: Every world is unique with many different resources that can change the course of your strategy each game. Planetary Governors: Utilize individual planetary leaders to govern your worlds, deciding what improvements to build and when, which leaves you to focus on larger strategic goals. Artifacts: Powerful items buried on planets across the galaxy will give your civilization instant-access to new abilities. Hypergates: Construct powerful gateways that, when linked, allow your fleets to travel even faster across hyperspace. Espionage: Spies can steal technologies, circulate rumors to create civil unrest, sabotage enemy worlds, or even go so far as to assassinate enemy citizens. Galactic Citizens: Shape the course of your civilization’s destiny with talented individuals called citizens. Choose from over a dozen unique roles – commander, engineer, farmer, celebrity, and more. Galaxy-wide Events: Deal with issues on a galactic scale This giveaway could be a precursor to more information about Galactic Civilizations IV, which is currently in early access. Source: Epic Games Store

IO Interactive have revealed Hitman 3 – Year 2, a fresh year of DLC and content for the final game in the World of Assassination trilogy. Year 2 starts on 20th January with a significant free update for the game across all platforms and the game releasing on Steam for the first time. The full trilogy will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on both console and PC. Elusive Target Arcade The most significant free addition is Elusive Target Arcade, a new take on the single-shot Elusive Target game mode introduced in the 2016 game. Now you have not just one level to try, but a string of targets to try and take down in succession, each with different objectives and challenges. Completing Elusive Target Arcade will bring exclusive rewards for the full game. Interestingly, this ditches the one-shot format. The series of missions in Elusive Target Arcade will be permanently available within Hitman 3, though you can only try each mission one time per day. More missions will be added over time. Hitman Freelancer Another new feature is Hitman Freelancer, coming in Spring 2022. This gives you a customisable house that will be your base of operations. You will be able to take on a string of missions across the full World of Assassination, letting you choose different threats to the world. You have to start off at the lowest rungs, taking out the lower echelons of a criminal organisation, building up to taking down the overall leader in a final mission – you’ll have to figure out who they are, as well! It’s all remixed ever time you play, changing depending on which missions you choose to take on early. There will be more planning involved as you have to purchase gear from vendors that you will use up or lose if you fail. VR and Ray Tracing for PC PC players will also receive full VR support on 20th January, having been a PSVR exclusive since Hitman 3’s launch. There will also be ray tracing added for the PC, variable rate shading and Intel’s new XeSS upscaling technology. Steam & Xbox Game Pass Hitman 3 will arrive on Steam after a year of Epic Games Store exclusivity. For the release, IOI are bundling the entire trilogy together into one bundle for newcomers to purchase. That trilogy release will also be added to Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC on 20th January. New levels teaser sneak peak… Finally, IO Interactive teased a new location that will be coming later in 2022. Check it out… Hitman 3 was one of the first major game releases of 2021. It wraps the stylish and inventive trilogy perfectly, having scored an 8 out of 10 in our review: Charting the series’ progress since that 2016 Paris debut has been a fascinating journey. IO have learned a lot over the past five years and that really shows in Hitman 3. It’s a flashier, more fluid evolution of IO’s original template – a rewarding conclusion to one of the most unique video game franchises around, and one we’ll continue playing for many weeks and months to come. Hitman 3 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as streaming to Google Stadia and Nintendo Switch.

LEGO is officially halting the release of a new Overwatch 2 themed set due to the sexual harassment allegations still orbiting the game’s publisher, Activision Blizzard. Originally, LEGO had planned to launch the first in its range of Overwatch 2 products next month. The Overwatch 2 Titan (76980) was due to hit shelves on February 1, 2022, though this is no longer the case. In a statement, LEGO explains the reason behind the delay: We are currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about the progress being made to address continuing allegations regarding workplace culture, especially the treatment of female colleagues and creating a diverse and inclusive environment. While we complete the review, we will pause the release of a LEGO Overwatch 2 product which was due to go on sale on February 1, 2022. Activision Blizzard is still mired in controversy following allegations of serious sexual harassment and assault, culminating in a lawsuit filed in July 2021. This has led to the high profile departure of senior employees and a tumble in share price, the company claiming that it will do better to improve its workplace culture. However, current and former staff have been vocal in saying that change hasn’t been felt, especially with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick still in charge. This isn’t the first time Overwatch has been effected by these ongoing allegations. Fan favourite hero, McCree, was renamed last year when character’s namesake, Jesse McCree, left Blizzard after photographs emerged implicating him in the ongoing DFEH investigation and lawsuit. Where is Overwatch 2? Overwatch 2 was announced a couple of years back at BlizzCon 2019. Currently, the game has no firm release date set though it’s expected to release some time in 2022. Development on the standalone sequel has undoubtedly been impacted by the ongoing pandemic crisis, as well as the fallout from the recent sexual harassment allegations and lawsuits. Featuring a roster of both new and returning heroes, Overwatch 2 will features additional competitive game modes as well as co-op missions and a much bigger emphasis on storytelling. Source: The Brick Fan

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl has been officially delayed to the end of the year, developer GSC has confirmed. The new release date is now set for December 8th, 2022. Whether the game will still launch simultaneously for PC and Xbox Series X|S has been detailed – if this was the case then GSC would have likely highlighted this in its statement. The massive, seven-month delay will give the team more time to polish the post apocalyptic shooter. Hopefully we’ll actually get to see more of STALKER 2 in action now that the road to release has been extended. Here’s what GSC said about its decision to push the title back: Stalkers, We have made a decision to postpone the release of STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl to December 8th, 2022. These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfil our vision and achieve the desired state of the game. STALKER 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC, and it requires thorough testing and polishing. We are convinced that development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project. This decision is not an easy one, but we are doing the best possible to deliver you a game that can live up to the expectations. With more information, updates and showcases coming, we have an exciting and important year ahead. Thank you for your patience and understanding. With love, GSC Game World team. At this point, the controversy surrounding STALKER 2’s development almost outweighs fans’ fascination with the first game that launched many years ago. A grimly immersive first person shooter set within the remnants of Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, STALKER wowed with its bleak yet brilliant visuals and light RPG influences. Quickly followed up by two expansions, developer GSC fell apart while working on its hotly-anticipated sequel. After years of rumour and speculation, the studio would return from the dead and it looked like we would be playing STALKER in early 2022. Hopefully some extra time spent in the oven (or microwave, because radiation) will have a marked impact on the sequel’s final stretch.