Jack is back… and he's punching his way onto Steam! The action RPG is now available on the platform: here's everything you need to know about it. Many of you will be familiar with STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN's Jack Garland: expert swordsman, skilled white mage, destructive black mage, deadly dragoon, powerful pugilist… and that's not even half of it. We can now add one more achievement to his impressive resume: available on Steam! Yes, get ready for some chaotic FINAL FANTASY carnage! Read on and we'll tell you everything you need to know about the game and its Steam release.

What is STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN?
Some of you unfamiliar with the game may be wondering what this game is all about. Long story short, it's about action - brilliantly brutal, fast-paced action that tests your reactions and battle strategy in equal measure. Developed by KOEI TECMO GAMES (Nioh series), STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN is a dark and visceral action RPG that presents a bold take on the FINAL FANTASY series, while celebrating its amazing 35 year legacy! You play as Jack Garland, who along with his allies Ash, Jed, Neon and Sophia, sets off from the Kingdom of Cornelia to defeat Chaos. If you're a fan of the original FINAL FANTASY game, some of those names may be ringing a bell, but we'll let you discover what it all means.

Hello Sandstorm community! Welcome to Operation: Accolade, the update where we are privileged to bring you content inspired by the fantastic submissions we received to our mapping and cosmetic community contests! We want to acknowledge the work everyone put in by bringing their ideas to life in Insurgency: Sandstorm!! KUDOS to you! You all really brought in the thunder!

Also, we are reminiscing on Sandstorm's 4th birthday we recently celebrated on stream. 4 years is a big achievement, and we feel lucky to still be going strong after all these years. Of course, we can't forget about Insurgency's 9 year anniversary that happened back in January, too! We were joined on stream by some of the OG devs at New World who gave us the inside scoop on what development was like in those days. Without further ado, get ready to dive in and read what we have in store for Operation: Accolade!

BioWare is working quietly on new entries in its long running Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises, and not many details have been revealed about either game. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf was announced three years ago via a teaser trailer, but the gaming public knows little about the gameplay, lore or visual presentation. The Dreadwolf team has been expanded according to Gary McKay, general manager at BioWare - one of several details he divulged in a partially published interview conducted by GamesBeat. The game is in a post-production phase of development, and McKay confirmed via a blog update that Dreadwolf had reached an alpha milestone in September of 2022: "Now, for the first time, we can experience the entire game, from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end. We can see, hear, feel, and play everything as a cohesive experience."

Select members of the Mass Effect team have been shifted over to help with late stage production on the fantasy RPG title: "Our studio is focused on creating the best Dragon Age: Dreadwolf while the core Mass Effect team continues their pre-production work." McKay also confirms that a former BioWare veteran has been re-introduced to the team, albeit in an external capacity: "We continue to iterate and polish Dreadwolf, focusing on the things that matter most to our fans. As we further connect this new experience with the series' legacy Mark Darrah will join the team as a consultant, bringing with him years of experience working on Dragon Age."

CD Projekt has revealed that 2022 was its second-best year in terms of financial results - it cites an uptick in sales of action role-playing shooter Cyberpunk 2077 as the main reason behind the nice boost to its earnings - around $222 million in revenue, leading to about $80 million in net profit. The Cyberpunk intellectual property has expanded beyond the scope of the video games format and onto the small screen - evidently a combination of the Netflix anime series adaptation and continued efforts into polishing and expanding the game has spread a positive word of mouth. The company states: "In 2022 CD PROJEKT RED carried out intensive work on Cyberpunk 2077, which resulted in successive updates and the next-gen console edition of the game. An important event was the well-received Netflix premiere of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. It attracted many new players to the game, and convinced many others to revisit Night City."

Adam Kiciński, CEO of CD PROJEKT was buoyed by these results and set expectations for continuations in both fields in the future: "The popularity of the series and the positive reception of the update, released a week before the premiere, had a notable effect on Cyberpunk sales and general sentiment around the game, as evidenced by gamers' reviews. This is a clear sign that deeper involvement in our franchises and expanding their reach is the right way to go. Another important event supporting the Cyberpunk franchise will be the release of Phantom Liberty - a large expansion scheduled for this year."

In Path of Exile: Crucible, you'll learn about the ancient titans who once shaped the primordial surface of Wraeclast. If you're powerful enough, you will earn the ability to forge their power onto your weapons. Our April expansion introduces the Crucible challenge league, nine new Vaal Skills, Atlas Gateways, over ten new Unique Items and improvements to Breach, Abyss, Passive Tree Masteries, the Saboteur, the Pathfinder, Ruthless and much more!

In Path of Exile: Crucible, you'll learn about an ancient race of titans who once shaped the primordial surface of Wraeclast. In this league, you will earn the ability to forge their power onto your weapons.

LIVE A LIVE, originally only released for the Super Famicom in Japan, is being revived on Steam and PlayStation consoles! Experience this legendary RPG, brought to life in the same HD-2D visual style as OCTOPATH TRAVELER. Meet seven heroes, each with their own unique abilities and lives to live across different time periods. Experience their stories in any order you choose, uncovering shocking developments along the way

Featuring remastered music from original composer Yoko Shimomura and produced by Takashi Tokita (the director of the original game), this remake retains everything that players loved about the original while also being accessible to newcomers.

Celebrate 10 Years Of Savant Ascent & check out our new game!
HERE WE GO! We couldn't let Savant - Ascent's 10 Year Anniversary go uncelebrated! Today, we are officially announcing Savant - Ascent Anniversary Edition, a complete remaster of the game! Check out the trailer for yourself and join the final ascent. More details below.

New Everything!
There are some huge upgrades! Not only will the game feature suped up versions of the original bosses, but NEW bosses will put you through some truly intense battles as you ascend!

Japan's competition regulator, Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), yesterday issued a press release in which it announces an approval of Microsoft's proposed $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard. The JFTC's review has concluded and their members have: "reached the conclusion that the transaction is unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition in any particular fields of trade." This represents another regional victory for Microsoft, and follows last week's approval of the deal by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The JFTC has informed both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard that a cease and desist order will be not be issued, thus completing its investigation.

The timing of this new development is raising eyebrows - in last week's Senate Finance Committee, several US Members of Congress raised concerns about Sony's "monopoly" over the Japanese gaming market. The Japanese government was also accused of being complicit in its inaction and has: "allowed Sony to engage in blatant anti-competitive conduct through exclusive deals and payments to game publishers." Games industry watchdogs have questioned why another rival console and games company, Nintendo, was not brought up as subject matter in the debate. Microsoft has dedicated considerable resources into getting its proposed deal approved by international antitrust watchdogs, and has even offered to expand the Activision Blizzard games library onto Nintendo hardware platforms.

Dear players - thank you for the tremendous support we received so far on Atlas Fallen! From your enthusiastic comments on our video teasers online and in person at PAX EAST to the positive previews from critics, we're grateful and honored to have you excited to play our game. Our goal has always been to create a memorable RPG experience in a unique setting, with exciting gameplay and the option for fully playable seamless co-op with a friend.

We'd love to give the game some extra time which will allow us to deliver the best possible version of Atlas Fallen. To achieve this, we have made the difficult decision to delay the worldwide launch of Atlas Fallen to AUGUST 10, 2023.

We are pleased to announce our great experiment - Dolphin is coming to Steam! Our store page is now live, and you can visit it with the handy widget below. However, due to how Steam works, you won't be able to download the emulator through Steam just yet. Feel free to wishlist us to be notified when Dolphin is available to download on Steam! Dolphin is an emulator for the big N's 6th and 7th generation consoles, featuring enhancements such as increased resolution, save states, and netplay.

When we launch on Steam, we'll have a feature article detailing the process and features of the Steam release. We're pleased to finally tell the world of our experiment. This has been the product of many months of work, and we look forward to getting it into users' hands soon! You can continue the discussion in the forum thread of this article.

HyperX, the gaming peripherals team at HP Inc. and brand leader in gaming and esports, today announced it is now shipping the HyperX Clutch Gladiate Wired Controller for Xbox. Designed for serious Xbox gamers, the new Clutch Gladiate delivers comfort and control for extended console gaming sessions.

"HyperX's range of Xbox accessories are designed to enhance the gaming experience for console players," said Aurelius Martinez, global category manager - cloud and console gaming, HyperX. "The new HyperX Clutch Gladiate brings players into the action and enables extended customization and control."

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulatory body has today delivered its provisional approval of Microsoft's proposed purchase of the Activision Blizzard group, but has added that it will conduct further reviews into the topic of whether the buyout will have any detrimental effect on competition in the area of cloud gaming services: "where the CMA is continuing to carefully consider the responses provided in relation to the original provisional findings. The CMA's merger investigation continues, and it remains due to issue its final report by 26 April 2023."

The antitrust watchdog's stance looks to have changed in a significant way since February, when it declared that Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard had the potential to "harm U.K. gamers". New evidence has been presented to the CMA in recent weeks, and its members have moved to provisionally conclude that: "overall, the transaction will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK."

As we close in on 15 years since the release of Battlefield 1943, and Bad Company 1 & 2, we are announcing that their journey is coming to an end. Starting April 28 2023, Battlefield 1943, and Battlefield: Bad Company 1 & 2 will be removed from digital storefronts and you will no longer be able to purchase them.

This is in preparation for the retirement of the online services for these titles which will happen on December 8 2023. For Bad Company 1 and 2, you can still continue playing them and use their respective offline features, such as the single player campaign. You can also read our FAQ and Service Updates for further information on the retirement of online services.

Update 14:17 UTC: EA updated their press release this morning, to clarify that the inclusion of Mirror's Edge was an error. They stated via Twitter: "We currently have no plans to remove Mirror's Edge from digital storefronts."

CD Projekt has admitted to writing off the development funds spent so far expended on Project Sirius - a codename for a satellite studio produced spin-off game in its best selling The Witcher series. The Polish development and publishing group is restarting Project Sirius from scratch, and it is not clear whether their East Coast USA-based outfit, Molasses Flood, will remain as part of the rebooted cycle. Within a recently released company financial report its reasoning was made clear: "The aforementioned decision is based on results of evaluation of the scope and commercial potential of the original concept of Project Sirius, and ongoing work on formulating a new framework for this project."

CD Projekt had spent over $7 million in 2022 on development costs for Project Sirius. More than $2.2 million has been spent in 2023, presumably right up until the decision to bin all currently completed work. Project Sirius was announced in the autumn of 2022, and at around that time Molasses Flood was undertaking a large scale recruitment drive. The game was in a pre-production phase by the end of the year, with over sixty members of staff confirmed to be working on it. Development was also being supported by members of CD Projekt RED's team at their Warsaw headquarters, and now it is very apparent that the overseers were not happy with what was going on in New England.

We're incredibly excited to announce that the Apex Legends team at Respawn will continue to strengthen its development team with the introduction of a brand new studio location in Madison, Wisconsin led by industry veteran Ryan Burnett. Ryan is an extraordinary leader with a proven track record in live service games and as a pillar in the massive mid-western game development community in Madison. With nearly two decades of development experience at places like Raven Software and Epic Games, Ryan has a history of inspiring the sort of creativity and innovation in his teams that is the foundation of games like Apex Legends.

It's been our belief since day one that Respawn is not a singular location but a mindset: when passionate and talented people have creative freedom, they'll achieve the unexpected. This view helped us successfully expand to Vancouver in 2019, and as the workplace evolved, it helped us continue to work with the best that the games industry has to offer, whether at the office, remote, or hybrid.