This is the weekly round-up of news between April 13th and April 19th.
April 14th - April 15th - April 16th - April 17th - April 18th - April 19th
April 14th
PlayStation is giving away Journey and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for free
With the current pandemic situation, Sony has launched the Play At Home Initiative, which has a $10 million creative fund for indie developers during these (financially) difficult times. On top of that, they decided to give away the Uncharted trilogy as well as Journey - albeit not for the people in China and Germany, who will get Knack 2 instead of the Uncharted collection. If you haven't already, make sure you grab these titles as soon as possible since the giveaway ends on May 5th.
Discord adds video chat to servers
A feature that was previously only available via Direct Messaging has now been brought to servers as well. Previously, the only feature that was offered in servers was the 'Go Live' feature, which allowed you to stream your game straight to your Discord server. Now, video chat has been added as functionality as well, with a temporary increase of maximum users from 10 to 25. The feature will allow you to share screens, share your webcam, view one or multiple people or not view any at all. At the point of writing this, the only version that will support this is the desktop client for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Mobile devices will follow later. We at Aijou also have a Discord server that you can join here.
April 15th
Second Dark Pictures Anthology horror 'Little Hope' will be out this summer
After its successful PS4 exclusive Until Dawn and the first instalment of its new Anthology horror series, Supermassive Games made a new title for the series named 'Little Hope', which focuses on 4 college students and their teacher who become stranded in an isolated town after their bus crashes due to bad weather conditions. As they try to find a way out of this place, visions from the past are haunting them from the shadows. With no actual date yet, Little Hope is set to release this summer on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Xcom: Chimera Squad to be released on April 24th
Firaxis has announced that a follow-up to XCOM 2 will be released on Steam on April 24th. The game is a stand-alone expansion for XCOM 2, which plays five years after the events in the base game. While XCOM 2 has been released on other platforms, the expansion will only be available on Steam for now. We assume other platforms will follow as well, although no announcement has been made about that. The price for the standalone DLC has been set at $10.
April 16th
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated to be released on June 23rd, 2020
After a few online stores updated their pages for the game, THQ Nordic uploaded a Pre-Hydrated trailer with the announcement that the game is set to release on June 23rd. We're ready!
Sony will limit PlayStation 5's output its first year
With the pandemic still continuing on, reports say that Sony will have a limited output of PlayStation 5 consoles in its first year, as they are planning on selling 5 to 6 million. Per comparison; the PlayStation 4 sold 7.5 million units in 6 months. With a significantly lower number than this, we are wondering what this will mean for the release of the PlayStation 5. Will we get into a similar situation as the Nintendo Switch is now, where it is unavailable, yet being sold by third-party sellers for stupendous prices? Only time will tell.
Gamescom 2020 officially cancelled
After Germany's ban on major events until the end of August, Gamescom announced a statement mentioning that its physical event will be cancelled, but that it will put together a digital show instead. All tickets that have been sold will be refunded.
April 17th
Streets of Rage 4 will be released on 30th April
25 years after Streets of Rage 3, Sega has announced that it will release its fourth instalment on April 30th for all current-gen consoles. Players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC will be able to get back into the classic series which will enjoy a hand-drawn art style.
Paul Haddad - the voice of Leon S. Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 2 - has passed away at the age of 56
At the age of 56, Paul Haddad - most known for portraying Leon S. Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 2 - has passed away due to throat cancer. Invaders Studio posted a statement on Twitter, explaining the icon has passed away.
"We've been truly honored to have the chance to meet and work with such a great man and a brilliant professional that he was. Rest in peace, Paul... you will live forever in our hearts."
April 18th
Microsoft unveils the Xbox One X Cyberpunk 2077 Limited Edition
After some teasing, Microsoft unveiled a beautiful Cyberpunk 2077 edition of its Xbox One X. This limited edition console will glow in the dark, has an LED light, has custom Cyberpunk panels and a controller that is custom-themed after Cyberpunk 2077 as well. The console will be for sale starting June 2020.
Mobile phone game Nier Re[in]carnation gameplay shown by Square Enix
With the recent announcement that Nier: Replicant Remaster will be released, it seems like Square Enix has a few surprised for its 10th anniversary. With gameplay shared by Square Enix, Nier Re[in]carnation is a new instalment for iOS and Android. The video doesn't show a whole lot at this point, other the character moving around the scenery with the use of touch controls, with the camera swaying around, showing the epic scenery.