Cliff Bleszinski tweeted recently that he had an idea for a new video game, and naturally this led to a lot of speculation and intrigue about what the Gears of War creator might do next, especially after he initially said he would probably never make another game.

Bleszinski has now clarified his comments, saying his new game would be “small” and developed “remotely.” It sounds like it would be very different from the productions he’s worked on in the past, including Gears of War and LawBreakers, both of which were made with relatively large development teams and published by big companies.

“I have some ideas gestating, but if I did something it’d be small and most likely done remotely. Indie stuff,” Bleszinski tweeted.

In other tweets, Bleszinski confirmed that he doesn’t want to make a battle royale game, though the ideas he have “won’t get out of my head.”

“I thought I was truly done. But then, stupid brain shows up. UGH,” he said.

Currently, Bleszinski is focused on signing a deal for his memoir, which he has positioned as “Kitchen Confidential” for the gaming industry. Kitchen Confidential was the late Anthony Bourdain’s breakout writing about what happens behind-the-scenes in professional kitchens.

Bleszinski said the deal-making process for his book “has been kinda painful,” but thankfully for him, he said he’s close to signing papers with a “major publisher.”

In his post-Epic Games life, Bleszinski turned his attention in part to another one of his passions: theatre. He was an investor/producer for the play Hadestown, which won eight Tony awards, including Best Musical.

After finding success with Hadestown, Bleszinski was approached to co-produce another Broadway play, a new version of Terrence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” The new version stars two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and Audra McDonald.

Bleszinski is also involved in the restaurant business, having invested in The Raleigh Beer Garden and The Station in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Make no mistake, though, games will always be my first love,” Bleszinski said in July.

Bleszinski was able to “retire” earlier than most in part because his career and investments in gaming and technology have proven to be lucrative. He saw a massive payday when Chinese internet giant Tencent bought shares in Epic. He was also an early investor in Oculus, and made a “very sizable chunk of money” when Facebook bought the virtual reality company.

He created and designed the massively popular Gears of War franchise while at Epic Games. After some time away, he set up a brand-new studio, Boss Key. The North Carolina studio would go on to release LawBreakers and the battle royale game Radical Heights. Both titles failed to capture a sizable audience, and Boss Key would eventually shut down. After that, Bleszinski said he would probably never make another game for a number of reasons, but now it appears he is at least entertaining the idea of coming back to gaming.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cliff-bleszinski-clarifies-comments-about-making-a/1100-6469168/

Gamescom is one of the biggest video game conventions in the world, and it’s almost here. Microsoft, Google, and Nintendo will all be presenting with their own livestreams chock full of game announcements and reveals. This year, though, the event itself has a formal kickoff ceremony hosted by Geoff Keighley.

Gamescom: Opening Night Live will take place the evening of Monday, August 19 in Cologne, Germany. It promises announcements from major publishers and indies, new trailers, and surprise guests.

Keighley has been teasing announcements through Twitter in preparation for the big event. So far he’s promised appearances from Destiny 2 Shadowkeep, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Disintegration, Need for Speed Heat, the Gears 5 campaign, Predator, and Death Stranding.

Check below for the Opening Night Live start time and plan your watching accordingly, and be sure to look at our full schedule of Gamescom press conferences for more.

Gamescom Opening Night Live – August 19

• 11 AM PT
• 2 PM ET
• 6 PM GMT
• 4 AM AEST (August 20)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamescom-opening-night-live-conference-start-time-/1100-6469163/

Another round of PC games are free for Epic Games Store users this week, and they’re good ones. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is free to claim now, and because it’s an M-rated game that may be blocked behind parental control settings for some players, Epic is also giving away Hyper Light Drifter. To claim the free games, all you need is a free Epic account if you don’t already have one. Once you add the games to your account, they’re yours to keep.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden places you in a post-apocalyptic world where nature has taken over the earth and only mutants are left to scavenge and survive. Together with your team of mutants, you’ll explore the fallen world, using stealth and turn-based, tactical combat to take down enemies. The game earned a 9/10 in our Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden review.

“Juggling all the demands of combat, from patiently surveying the field beforehand through to learning how to best counter each enemy type and improvising a new strategy when it all goes horribly wrong, make for an immensely satisfying tactical experience,” wrote critic David Wildgoose.

An action-adventure RPG influenced by 16-bit classics and Studio Ghibli films, Hyper Light Drifter follows a character known as the Drifter, who wields an energy sword and utilizes other special abilities to defeat monsters. Similar to Journey, there’s no dialogue; the story is conveyed more through visuals and music. The game also earned a 9/10 in GameSpot’s Hyper Light Drifter review.

“Hyper Light Drifter’s setting is so beautiful, so haunting, that I long to know all I can about it,” wrote Kevin VanOrd. “I wish to hear the stories its citizens tell of the world it once was, and the one it might become. I want to hear the music that they sing, and see the places they have been. As stunning as it is, Hyper Light Drifter’s greatest triumph isn’t in the story that it tells, but in the stories that it doesn’t. I don’t know this place’s entire history, but its desolate elegance inspires me to fill in the gaps myself.”

Get this week’s free games at Epic

Both Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden and Hyper Light Drifter will be free to claim from Epic until Thursday, August 22, when they’ll be replaced by Epic’s next freebie, Gomez.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-excellent-games-are-free-for-the-next-week/1100-6469151/

Nintendo is preparing for Gamescom. The biggest video game convention in Europe will include presentations from Microsoft, Google, and of course, Nintendo. The house of Mario will be presenting new trailers for its 2019 Nintendo Switch lineup throughout the Gamescom festivities, but is devoting its livestream presentation to indie games coming to its digital Nintendo Eshop.

Nintendo says it will be debuting new footage throughout the week, including Luigi’s Mansion 3, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Astral Chain, Dragon Quest XI S, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and The Witcher 3. A tweet from the Nintendo UK account says the livestream on Monday, August 19 will be focused on IndieWorld.

Host Geoff Keighley will formally kick off this year’s event with Gamescom: Opening Night Live. That will include announcements and new trailers from major publishers and special guests. Google and Microsoft also have their own presentations planned, with Stadia Connect and Inside Xbox presentations.

Check below for the Nintendo Indie World start time in your area, and bookmark this page to watch it live. Plus, be sure to look at our full schedule of Gamescom press conferences for more.

Nintendo Gamescom Indie World Showcase – August 19

• 6 AM PT
• 9 AM ET
• 1 PM GMT
• 11 PM AEST

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendos-gamescom-showcase-press-conference-start/1100-6469156/

Gamescom, Europe’s biggest video game convention, is almost here. Publishers are lining up to present their wares. Microsoft, Google, and Nintendo will all be presenting with livestreams and new trailers going out to everyone who couldn’t make it to Cologne, Germany. To see everything that Microsoft has up its sleeve, bookmark this page and check back right here at showtime.

This year, host Geoff Keighley will formally kick off the Gamescom festivities with a presentation called Gamescom: Opening Night Live. That event promises announcements from major publishers and indies alike, new game footage, and special guests. Before that happens, though, both Google and Microsoft will make their own announcements with a new Stadia Connect stream and an Inside Xbox presentation.

Microsoft promises that its Inside Xbox stream will include almost a dozen new trailers and other “big news” about its upcoming games. That will include a new look at Gears 5‘s Horde Mode, and the company may also give more details on the planned tech test to drop sometime in October.

Check below for the Inside Xbox start time and plan your watching accordingly, and be sure to look at our full schedule of Gamescom press conferences for more.

Inside Xbox Press Conference Livestream Start Time – August 19

• 9 AM PT
• 12 PM ET
• 4 PM GMT
• 2 AM AEST (August 20)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsofts-gamescom-inside-xbox-press-conference-s/1100-6469152/