Coming May 2020 After years of trouble plaguing most major projects at Amazon Game Studios, the world’s biggest retailer looks like it’s on the cusp of releasing a giant game. Giant in size, at least. Shown again tonight at The Game Awards,New Worldis an MMO from Amazon. It has a PvPvE bent.New Worldis said to have 100-player battles that are marked by fortress sieges and supernatural invasions. However, they also have to fight against the threats insideNew World‘s errrr, world....

There can be only one Let’s get it out of the way right up front: There’s not a single battle royale game on this year’s list of nominees for Best PC Game of 2018. That should fill some of you with a warm, fuzzy delight as if you’re seeing old friends for the first time in 10 years. But, isn’t the process of voting really just a battle royale when you strip down all the pretense?...

Being the huge indie fan I am, it was only a matter of time until we devoted an entire Podtoid to indie games. I’m still not sure if we’re gonna do the show on indie games in general, or just inar-tee-steeckones, but we’ll definitely be using them as a starting point. Tonight at 8 pm PST, we’ll be talking aboutPassage,Gravitation,The Marriage,Stars Over Half Moon Bayand probably some others. If you want a preview of how the show will likely go, I’ll be like “art games are so cool” and Aaron will be like “yeah kinda” and Jim will be like “you’re both complete f*cking idiots” and Tiff will be like “hey stop interrupting me....

Shadow of the Eternals developer was immediately terminated [Editor’s note:In light of some of the commenters’ statements, I have slightly revised some of the wording of the original article so as to tone down my gut reactions. It’s a topic I feel very strongly about, hence my response. But I understand that my personal thoughts should be left for another time and place.] Shadow of the Eternalsstudio Precursor Games was hit by a major bomb yesterday when it was learned that one of the studio’s own was arrested on charges of child pornography possession....

We don’t come in peace 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) space strategy games have been all over the place, and recently we’ve hadSins of a Solar Empireto tackle the real-time side of the genre. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a good turn-based galactic empire builder, andHorizonis hoping to scratch that itch for you. Earth has made first contact with aliens, and it’s time to expand and become a part of the galactic community....

Castles andWolfensteingo together like peanut butter and jelly or Ian Somerhalder and stupid teary-eyed stares. Could you imagine playing aWolfensteinwithout having to stride through some sort of stony hallway clotted with occult villains or other various creepy crawlies? It’s a scary thought and question that we won’t have to ask Raven Software. The forthcomingWolfensteiniteration has a castle. Consider this confirmation thanks to the trailer below the fold. This afternoon, Activision dropped a fairly fresh environment-oriented trailer featuring the mightyWolfensteincastle....

Comfortable, well made In general, if you wear a pair of gaming headphones outside of your house, it’s going to be clear you’ve done so. The typical angular, sharp, edgy design choices that run rampant in the gaming headset market tend to clash with the more smooth, toned-down designs of high-end headphones created with music as their primary purpose. The Lucid Sound LS30 headset, the first to market from Triton founder Chris Von Huben, seems more in line with the top end of music-oriented headphones at first glance....

Next-gen browser gaming Developed by Brazilian-based Aquiris Game Studios,Ballisticis a free-to-play FPS that has been in the making for quite some time. This browser game has been in beta in Brazil for the last few months, and has garnered a loyal following there. Made with the Unity engine, the developers have already won some attention and accolades for their work on the game. Eventually, David Helgason, CEO of Unity, took notice and exchanged words with Redwood City studio Rumble Entertainment, and soon after they became the publisher for the Brazilian dev’s game and started work on bringingBallisticto a larger market....

Numark Industries, manufacturer of DJ equipment and partner onScratch: Ultimate DJ, has announced that versions of the title are currently in development for iPhone, iPad and PC. They are expected to be released later this year. Interestingly, the press release makes no mention whatsoever of the long-awaited Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Those were originally planned to release last year but, due to some legal wrangling and a change in development teams....

Criterion Games has just released the first trailer for the long-awaitedBurnout Paradisedownloadable content, “Big Surf Island,” which hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on June 11. Based on what I’m seeing here, if you were to tell me that this is an entirely newBurnoutgame, I’d believe it. But it’s not — it’s just some sick-looking DLC. In addition to an entirely new area, the pack will feature nine new vehicles, including the Carson Dust Storm buggy featured in the trailer....

Sea Shinobi In a match made in heaven, a gaggle of gals from Marvelous’Senran Kaguraseries isgetting set to get wetin just-released jet-ski titleKandagawa Jet Girls. A new trailer spotlights theSenran Kagurateams who are preparing to beat theKJGcrew at their own game. A total of eightSenran Kagurastars can be added toKandagawa Jet Girlsvia the latter title’s Character Pass, available now for an eyebrow-raising $30. The duos chosen are Ikaruga and Yomi, Asuka and Yumi, Murasaki and Mirai, and Homura and Hikage....

Sony Online Entertainment will be bringing a few new titles to E3 next week, with the biggest probably beingPlanetSide 2. They’ll also be showing off two brand new titles,Bullet RunandWizardry Online. SOE will also have new content forDC Universe Online, Free Realms, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures,andVanguard: Saga of Heroes. Oh, andEverQuest IIwill be at the show. Because, you know, no one has ever heard about it or anything, right?...

As part of the OTK Game Expo, Mad Mushroomhas revealedSplodey, a die-and-retry game in the vein ofCelesteandSuper Meat Boy. Developed by Send It Studios, the twist here is that there is no jump button. Also, you’re able to buy and play it right now for PC. This sounds like a sidescrolling die-and-retry game based aroundQuake-like rocket jumping. As I mentioned, there’s no jump button, but you use potion-based explosives to destroy the environment around you and propel yourself through the air....