The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom supercharge the series as Switch Zeldas account for 40% of all sales - games news - NewsLocker (2024)

The Legend of Zelda has a legacy stretching back almost four decades, but the series is nowhere near ready for a mid-life crisisconsideringthe Nintendo Switch entries account for 40% of all series sales.Nintendo released their fiscal year results just yesterday, where we received updated sales numbers for the Nintendo Switch itself (141.32 million units sold),alongsideseveral Nintendo-published games.What'sperhaps most notable from the data is that

Following Sony's Helldivers debacle, Ghost of Tsushima's PSN requirement also gets it removed from Steam in over 170 countries

The Helldivers 2 PSN debacle might be over, but a similar requirement is restricting access to Ghost of Tsushima's PC port in over 170 territories.Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is due to launch on PC next week, on May 16, thoughthe open-world samurai romp has been removed from Steam in almost 180 countries worldwide because the game's online co-op mode requires players to link to an active PlayStation Network account, which is impossible in many countries due to lacking PSN access

Skyrim's been out for 13 years, but players are still being surprised by the fact that NPCs die if you steal their hearts

Nearly 13 years later, Skyrim players are still somehow surprised to discover that if you pickpocket an NPC's heart, they'll probably die.In a recent post on Reddit, one user asked the community if they were "slow" for only recently having discovered that "when you pickpocket a Briarheart's heart they instantly die." While in an RPG as sprawling as Skyrim there are plenty of things that players tend to discover at their own pace, this one does seem pretty obvious.Forsworn Briarhearts are powerfu

Helldivers 2 CEO teases an exiled "Predator-like alien species" that's "planning vengeance" against Super Earth

Get to the chopp- I mean, get to the pelican, divers. Arrowhead Studios' CEO Johan Pilestedt has teased that another alien species, or potentially an entire enemy faction, is plotting its revenge against Helldivers 2 players.In response to an online player request asking for in-game collaborations, such as a potential Predator crossover, the Helldivers 2 boss had a sly comeback. "Imagine if there was a Predator-like alien species in the Helldivers universe that were exiled from the galaxy that w

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Former World of Warcraft lead says AI is fine for the MMO "grunt work," but not the creative tasks that "thousands of talented people" are dying to do

An industry veteran with time on World of Warcraft, a League of Legends spin-off, and an upcoming MMO currently codenamed Ghost reckons AI does have a place in game development, but only when it comes to the "grunt work."Fantastic Pixel Castle studio head and game director Greg Street – who served as WoW's lead systems designer and a producer on a League of Legends MMO before founding his current studio – has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts on AI. For Street, AI can be useful

Helldivers 2's D&D influence, which supports a 10-million-player-strong role-playing campaign, made its way into the game "about halfway through development," according to former lead writer Russ Nickel.Speaking to Inverse, Nickel revealed that his history as a D&D dungeon master "has been so helpful for game writing." Not only did Nickel need the know-how to build a galaxy-spanning sandbox plan, butmore crucially, he had "to be able to let go of those plans" to react to players.&n

Fallout's TV show renaissance inspires New Vegas fans to celebrate the RPG's… interesting dialogue

Amazon Prime's Fallout TV show has inspired fans to flock back to the wasteland's radioactive monsters and even more radioactive insults, with many now celebrating Fallout: New Vegas and its… interesting dialogue.The whole thing was kicked off with the tweet embedded below, which shows off one of the perennial RPG's most infamous lines. This site's overlords restrict me from spelling it out, but the line says something about plowing fields with someone's daughter? By accident? "A little."

Mass Effect and Dragon Age veteran invokes BioWare's biggest RPG flop as he rails against EA's newfound "hunger" for AI

Mass Effect and Dragon Age veteran David Gaider has hit back against his former publisher's apparent "hunger" for AI development tools, referencing developer BioWare's biggest failure to do so.Earlier this week, Andrew Wilson, CEO of BioWare owner EA, doubled down on the company's commitment to AI. During an earnings call, Wilson suggested that "more than 50% of our development processes" would be affected by generative AI in the future and that there was a "real hunger" to use the tools across

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After calling the next Battlefield "another tremendous live service," EA CEO threatens to put ads in AAA games

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson made a string of controversial statements in the company's most recent earnings call, with potential in-game ads and comments about the next Battlefield raising some eyebrows.Battlefield might not be the Call of Duty rival that it once was following a string of divisive releases, but Wilson was eager to hype up the next entry in the large-scale,levelutionizedseries. "I've just spent a whole bunch of time with the collective Battlefield team," s

Helldivers 2 gets delisted in more countries without PSN access, blindsided devs call for it to be "available worldwide"

Helldivers 2 is still being removed from sale on Steam in more countries, even after publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) scrapped its hugely controversial PSN mandate.SIE previously attempted to force Helldivers 2 PC players to link to an active PlayStation Network account months after launch, leading to a mass review-bombing campaign and Steam delistment in over 170 countries without PSN coverage. Sony eventually scrapped the mandate, keeping account linking as a simple option,

A Dragon Quest fan remake 11 years in the making is available to download for free, and it adds 6-8 hours of new content

As someone that got into Dragon Quest relatively recently with 2018's Echoes of an Elusive Age, I've long looked for an excuse to play through the game that started it all. Don't get me wrong, I own the game on Switch and have dumped a few hours into it, but it all just feels a little... before my time. It's rudimentary, a little janky, and a tad grindy for my liking, but I absolutely respect it for kickstarting one of my favorite franchises.That said, when I stumbled across NightFly's fan rema

Hideo Kojima says Mad Max creator George Miller is "my God, and the SAGA that he tells is my Bible" in totally normal Furiosa verdict

Hideo Kojima has shared his completely normal verdict on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, calling director George Miller his "God."Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is of course the latest installment in Miller's post-apocalyptic action film series, and it's releasing in theaters on May 24. However, Kojima managed to have "witnessed" it early, and if his first impressions are anything to go by, this is going to be quite the movie."Witnessed 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'! This movie, which easily surpasses 'MAD' and e

Godzilla x Kong sequel in the works from Shang-Chi screenwriter

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings screenwriter Dave Callaham is set to pen the sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.Though it wasn't the biggest hit among critics, a sequel seemed more than likely given that the film grossed nearly $555 million worldwide against a budget of $135 million. The film has quite the divisive Rotten Tomatoes score, with a 54% critics rating and a 91% audience score."This is certainly an exciting result," Legendary executive Mary Parent previously told The

Former vampire Jubilee of the X-Men joins Blood Hunt in June with her own spin-off one-shot

The X-Men are about to bust their way into Marvel's big summer crossover Blood Hunt in a series of one-shots showcasing specific mutants, starting with none other than Jubilee. Though it may seem odd to kick things off with a mutant who has rarely had her own spotlight title, it actually makes perfect sense when you know that Jubilee was actually a vampire herself for years.Jubilee was turned all the way back in the 2010 story 'Curse of the Mutants' in which the X-Men took on a whole horde of va

Oh no, they're adding the Oregon Trail to American Truck Simulator and I think it's a horror game now

I have just seen the trailer for American Truck Simulator's Nebraska DLC and I'm not sure I'm going to recover. The things developer SCS Software is asking us to do with an 18-wheeler are downright horrifying.Take a look at the trailer yourself below - if you dare - starting at the 1:33 mark, where an unsuspecting trucker finds a road closed due to construction on a dark and stormy night. The driver pulls off for a detour, marked as the "old Oregon Trail adventure road." Folks, this road does no

Shogun season 2 seems likely as main star inks deal to return

Hiroyuki Sanada has closed a deal to return as Lord Yoshii Toranaga – which means a season 2 is likely on the horizon.According to Deadline, other details are "still being worked out and deals are being finalized" so that FX can officially takeShogunto a second season. The limited series was an unexpected hit, sitting at a nearly perfect score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Following its February 26 premiere, the series pulled in 9 million viewers across Hulu, Disney Plus, and the

Former Blizzard president gives Xbox advice after brutal studio closures: "This all comes down to making great games"

As the Xbox community reels from a brutal round of studio closures, former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra is urging the company to redirect its focus toward making great games.Shortly after the grim news was announced that Xbox had shut down four studios including Redfall dev Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks, Ybarra shared a lengthy Twitter post defending Xbox boss Phil Spencer's character and expressing sympathy for those impacted by the closures. In something of a follow-up,

Marvel star back to play Rick Flag, Sr for the DCU in an entirely unexpected way

Frank Grillo is making the jump from the MCU to James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU.It was announced last year that Grillo would be voicing Rick Flag, Sr. in Creature Commandos, a World War II veteran and field commander of the Suicide Squadron. Gunn took to Instagram to announce that Grillo would be taking the character to live-action status and playing Rick Flag, Sr. in Peacemaker season 2."Pleased to announce the great@frankgrillo1will be reprising the role of Rick Flag, Sr - the ro

After 30 years, the beloved Bungie FPS that paved the way for Halo is now on Steam

Marathon, the classic FPS from Bungie that paved the way for Halo, is now on Steam thanks to members of the community, and its two sequels are set to follow soon."Today, we're thrilled to announce that the Aleph One community is bringing the original 1994-1996 Marathon Trilogy to Steam starting with Marathon 1," Bungie says on Twitter. "Thank you to the Marathon community for your support over the years. We couldn't do it without you." The original Marathon is already live on Steam, and both Mar

Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy reunite as the Gotham City Sirens for the team's first new comic in over a decade

Did you know that three of DC's best known villains (and occasionally grudging heroes and anti-heroes) are also a part of an informal super-team? Yep, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy have sometimes united to form the Gotham City Sirens - and now they're back in a new month-long event series.The four-issue weekly series, simply titled Gotham City Sirens, is created by Leah Williams, Matteo Lolli, Daniel Hillyard, and Brandt & Stein. It will take the place of the regular Catwoman,

A new Zelda timeline updated for Tears of the Kingdom might be on the way, and lore sickos are already bracing for their theories to be obliterated

Nintendo has just announced an array of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom merch for release in Japan, and that includes a new book that promises to bring an updated timeline accounting for the latest entry in the series.The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Master Works is a big ol' art and lore book scheduled to be released in Japan on August 30, and some specific bits of art are already capturing the hearts of fans. A Google translation of the official description says that the boo

Xbox founders reportedly mourn the loss of its identity: "It's not Xbox anymore, it's Microsoft gaming"

Xbox founders are reportedly mourning the loss of the company's identity within Microsoft and refer to it as "Microsoft Gaming."Earlier this week, Microsoft shuttered acclaimed studios Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks after just purchasing them a handful of years ago. Hi-Fi Rush fans mourned the critically acclaimed game in particular, despairing at the thought that even launching a beloved game might not be enough to save a developer from closure at the hands of a mega-corporation.Now, IGN has

Despite Palworld's success, Game Pass needs the likes of Call of Duty or GTA 6 to become sustainable, former senior PR lead says

Microsoft needs to wrestle either Call of Duty or GTA 6 onto its subscription service if it hopes to make its gaming division sustainable, according to former senior public relations lead Brad Hilderbrand.Coming off the closures of four Microsoft-owned studios, Hilderbrand blogged about where the mega-corporation can go from here in the wake of its exorbitant Activision Blizzard buyout and muted Xbox Game Pass growth. Hilderbrand speculates that almost every game that launches into Game Pass "ba

30 years after its release, The Crow is still a timeless cult classic – and the reboot has a lot to live up to

The Crow, a supernatural fantasy horror hybrid that doubles as a superhero movie, turns 30 this year. Coincidentally, the first feature-length remake of the film is also set to hit theaters this year – and Bill Skarsgård has some pretty big shoes to fill.When the remake was officially greenlit two years ago, I asked the reader (and myself) if we truly needed a new version of this story, a story that has remained virtually untouched for three decades. Sure, there have been three Crow

After Helldivers 2 fixed the bug that helped players squish 2 billion Terminids in 24 hours, a new Major Order pits them against 2 billion bots instead

A new Helldivers 2 Major Order has dropped, tasking players with killing 2 billion Automatons - and it should be a darn sight harder than the last time the kill count climbed that high.Earlier today, Helldivers 2 dropped its latest Major Order, asking players to "decommission" 2 billion Automatons. If players are successful, they'll repurpose those robo-parts, melting them down into a new Strategem. Alongside a 45-medal reward, players will get access to MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines, which seem extreme

Nicolas Cage's new movie called "the best horror of 2024" in glowing first reactions

The first reactions to Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe's "nightmarish" new horror movie Longlegs are in – and it's being likened it to The Silence of the Lambs and Sinister.It's also being called the "best horror of 2024", which Neon will undoubtedly slap on all the posters. As they should...Taking to Twitter recently, Collider's Perri Nemiroff said: "Already quite confident calling LONGLEGS my favorite Oz Perkins film. Those teasers sell it well. The mystery/unsolved serial killer cas

Russell T Davies explains how his "accidental" criticism of Loki led to the Marvel show's director writing a Doctor Who episode

When popular MCU show Loki hit Disney Plus, many described it as Marvel meets Doctor Who, so it wasn't much of a surprise when season 1's director Kate Herron signed up to write an upcoming episode of the beloved BBC sci-fi series.However, the journey to that collaboration wasn't actually simple at all. In fact, it all started with current Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies making headlines with a criticism of Loki.As reported by Uproxx, during a virtual Pride month panel at Swansea Universi

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is apparently one of George Lucas’s favorite new Star Wars projects

George Lucas may no longer be front and center in the Star Wars franchise but, every now and then, he pops up on a set of a Disney Plus show or – in this case – we hear a murmuring of just how much he liked the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.In an interview with Full of Sith, Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo revealed that there was consternation early on, especially when playing in a period of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope where, in Hidalgo’s words, fans woul

Manor Lords might get pigs, but the developer "can't decide" if they should live inside or outside like chickens

Pigs might be introduced in the same manner as chickens in Manor Lords, but the game's developer can't make their mind up on the matter.Right now, chickens and sheep operate as building-based animals in Manor Lords - both have buildings in which the creatures reside, so the chickens have Chicken Coops, for example. Pigs might well be introduced in the same manner, eventually, having one dedicated building for them in Manor Lords.However, the game's developer can't make their mind up on how pigs

First major Manor Lords patch takes aim at enemy AI, underpowered archers, plus "overly high ale consumption" - and adds a steep tax to prevent gold hoarding

Manor Lords' first patch is now available for public testing, meaning it's coming soon and we can see exactly what's changing in the record-breaking city-builder.The patch brings a laundry list of improvements, most notably with a significant buff to archer damage. The unit type was supposedly too overpowered before release, prompting the game's developer to swing too far in the other direction and accidentally create "very weak archers."Other fixes are slowing down the rate that in which