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Registration for the closed network test of Elden Ring Nightreign are open, publisher Bandai Namco announced today. The sign-up period for the co-op Elden Ring spinoff officially started on January 10 at 9AM ET and will run until January 20 at 9AM ET. You can add your name to the list now on Bandai Namco's website. The close network test will be spread across five different sessions on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S, running from February 14 through February 15th. You'll be able to log in on each of those days from 6AM ET to 9AM ET or 10PM ET to 1AM ET the following day to put the game through its paces. Limveld awaits you, Nightfarers.Rise together against the tides of darkness from February 14th to February 17th. Register before January 20 for a chance to join the #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN Network Test: https://t.co/DodOCpDczD pic.twitter.com/aqLvLxDZ0T Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) January 10, 2025 Selected players will be able to play "a portion of the game prior to the full game launch," according to Bandai Namco's sign-up page, with the goal of getting a sense of how the company's servers and online systems will handle a mass of fans playing simultaneously. As to what that "portion" will actually contain, Bandai Namco says that players will get "to try the games co-op experience," partnering with two other players to tackle a three day cycle filled with "increasingly challenging enemies and bosses." Nightreign appears to use many of the mechanics, armor, weapons and abilities of Elden Ring, but drops them in a revamped setting, "Limveld," that's design to change every time you play. Per Bandai Namco, you start each cycle of the game in the familiar Roundtable Hold, where you can pick one of eight characters with unique abilities and "Ultimates." The Limveld map you play in will shrink each night, and introduce a new boss that if beaten, lets you progress to the next day. The process continues until the final, third night when you face off against a "Nightlord." And if you fail at any point in the process and have to start a new run (as many will likely do) you'll earn a relic that lets you "customize and upgrade" your character. Elden Ring Nightreign was an unexpectedly announced at The Game Awards in 2024, and was a pretty big surprise, not only because Shadow of the Erdtree came out that same year, but because the game's structure seems remarkably different than anything developer FromSoftware has made before. Anyone lucky enough to be a part of the network test will now be able to see how different it actually feels.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/you-can-now-sign-up-to-test-elden-rings-co-op-spinoff-192012608.html?src=rss
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Skate City was an Apple Arcade launch title way back in 2019, developed by Agens and published by Snowman, a company well-known for its mobile-first games like Alto's Adventure, the "sequel" Alto's Odyssey, When Cards Fall and a handful of other intriguing titles. It's been over five years since Skate City first arrived, but the Snowman / Agens team is back with Skate City: New York, which is out on Apple Arcade today. There have been a number of content updates to the original game over the years, but this is a full-fledged new title that feels quite familiar but also has a number of improvements and updates. I had a chance to try Skate City: New York a few days before its launch, and I also spoke with Snowman's Ryan Cash and Andrew Schimmel about the new game, which they said has been in the works for a good three years now. As with the first Skate City, you're rolling left-to-right in classic side-scrolling format here. To make things accessible, you can pull off tricks by swiping in one of eight directions on the lower half of the screen; the left side is for ollie-based tricks while the right shifts you to nollie. You don't have to do anything precise to land, just launch the trick and the game will make sure you hit the ground rolling (unless you land on stairs or an obstacle, of course). That's the basic starting point, but you can also do spins, manuals, grinds and more. It's simpler than a game like the classic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series or the recent OlliOlli World, but there's still a lot of timing and dexterity involved in really nailing your runs. As you'd expect, the visuals are more dynamic and the backgrounds are much-improved over the original (which was still a lovely game). But what sets this one apart the most, according to Schimmel, is the fact the "Pro Skate" mode, which is the most involved part of the game, uses procedurally-generated levels. "We didn't want to limit ourselves to the original [game's] loops through the city, but instead make something that was more adaptive and dynamic," Schimmel said. "Procedural generation was the answer and the biggest technical challenge." It's not something that I was able to pick up on immediately, since I've only played the game for a couple hours, but Schimmel's confident it'll make Skate City: New York have even more replay-ability than the original. Snowman / Agens Pro Skate reminds me a lot of Snowman's Alto's Adventure, but translated to skating the goal is to go as far as you can and rack up as many points as possible while completing three objectives to level your progress up. Objectives are things like "land three 180-degree spins" or "grind for 100 meters." But with levels more unpredictable than in the prior game, you'll need to be better at reacting on-the-fly to new obstacles, which can end your run but also give you an opportunity for a good grind or trick. As with all of Snowman's games, there are no in-app purchases here; instead, you'll get points for completing challenges and leveling up in Pro Skate. You can then use those to customize your character with the much more flexible and expanded Skate Shop. You can tweak your character's body, hair, facial characteristics, clothes, skateboard and so forth. I haven't played around with it a ton yet but it's obviously right off the bat that there's a lot more personalization here. As with Skate City, Snowman promises that there will be a steady stream of fresh challenges and more parts of the city to explore over the next year and beyond. Schimmel referred to it as a "live services" game even though there's no monetization aspect to it. I also asked how the team decided to release Skate City: New York through Apple Arcade versus having it be a one-time payment or even including paid updates in the game Cash called it an "easy choice." "We havent done a paid up-front game since Alto's Odyssey in 2018," Cash said. "Apple Arcade and Netflix Games are where we're at right now. And it was an easy choice when talking about Skate City: New York, because the first game was a launch title and found a lot of success there. It just made sense to bring it back to Apple Arcade." The first Skate City eventually came to consoles and PC, as well, and Cash said that was definitely under consideration for the future, but the goal is to make a mobile-first title as good as it can be. While the game doesn't feel wildly different than its predecessor, Skate City: New York still feels like a premium mobile game at a time when those can be hard to find. And Snowman and Agens have done a great job of balancing the pick-up-and-play aspects of a good mobile game with a deeper experience, at least from what I've seen so far. "We want a seven-year-old who's excited about skateboarding to have fun," Cash said, "as well as people like us who grew up loving skateboarding and really want a challenge." Skate City: New York is out today exclusively on Apple Arcade. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/skate-city-new-york-is-a-mobile-game-that-manuals-the-line-between-casual-and-deep-play-191526652.html?src=rss
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The long-awaited streaming service Venu Sports is no longer happening, according to The Hollywood Reporter and others. The sports-focused streaming service was to be a joint offering by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. There was no concrete reason given, other than corporate-speak. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels, the companies wrote in a statement. We assume this move will also involve some serious layoffs, as Venu has been percolating for a while. To that end, the companies said they are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period. There are no details as to what this support will entail. Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from ESPN, FOX & Warner Bros. Discovery, will be discontinuedThe collective decision by the three companies not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediatelyMore: https://t.co/Cvwv2h601G pic.twitter.com/lylDeHDy9p ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 10, 2025 The real reason for the shutdown is likely due to ongoing legal woes. Just as one threat disappeared this week, with Fubo dropping an antitrust lawsuit and joining forces with Disney, another popped up in its place. Days after Disney announced a deal to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, a pair of satellite TV companies argued against lifting a pre-existing injunction that delayed the launch of Venu. DirecTV and EchoStar suggested that Fubo and Disneys newfound friendship doesnt resolve alleged antitrust issues surrounding Venu Sports. DirecTV wrote to a judge, saying that the joint venture restores an anticompetitive runway for the companies to control the future of the live pay TV market. EchoStar wrote a similar letter. An unnamed source familiar with Venu Sports told The Hollywood Reporter that the move to cancel the streaming service was made in the past few days and that the aforementioned legal snafu played a role.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/rip-to-the-entirely-hypothetical-streaming-service-venu-sports-180532990.html?src=rss
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