Remedy's creative director Sam Lake has taken to video form to discuss concerns from fans that their next title in-development isn't an Alan Wake sequel, but instead an entirely new IP. While the news of the decision didn't mould well with Remedy fans, the direct approach does help somewhat.

Lake took to the video to outline that while the studio worked hard to create a sequel to the psychological action thriller, certain requirements didn't "fall in to place," outlining that the right partners and funding were needed to create an Alan Wake 2. With the tepid response that Alan Wake received on launch - now passing 3 million sales since that time - the decision was made to instead move onto a new IP, Lake stating that "the time wasn't right".

"When the game was released, that was not the case immediately," he said. "Even though we worked hard on it, the sequel was not happening. The time was not right for it. Sure we could have gone ahead and created something less ambitious, but we felt that would not have done justice to you guys, to us. We want to be really proud of everything we create. Certainly, it wouldn't have done justice to Alan Wake."

During yesterday's Xbox One reveal, Remedy took to the stage to introduce their newest IP, Quantum Break. While this means that a sequel to Alan Wake has been pushed to the back burner for now, Lake revealed that a new Humble Bundle is available to purchase that includes a Collertor's Edition of Alan Wake featuring various extras and the game's soundtrack. Additionally, sales are available on all Alan Wake titles and avatar items on Xbox Live.

Check out the announcement below for the full message on Remedy's plans for the future.

Originally announced as an Xbox 360 title back at E3 2011, Crytek's Kinect-infused ancient Roman soldier fighting game Ryse has now been added back to the radar, confirming that the shield bashing title will be seeing an exclusive release on Microsoft's recently revealed Xbox One console.

The news comes as Crytek offer up a unique Roman numeral countdown timer on their website, counting down until E3 2013 where more details on the title will be revealed. Interestingly though is the confirmation that the title will be offering "controller-based gameplay enhanced by Kinect" which should hopefully make for a more tighter experience.

Currently the only footage we have of Ryse is the E3 2011 trailer which you can check out below, offering a brief snip of gameplay demonstrating melee combat as a legionnaire in ancient Rome.

A new trailer for the upcoming Company of Heroes 2, the Relic Entertainment RTS that survived the move from THQ to SEGA, has found its way online. The latest vid is in the form of what appears to be an in-engine cinematic, presumably showing cut-scene footage that sets the scene for the various grim scenarios of the World War II Ostfront that will be played out in the game.

In the world’s darkest hour you are a commander of the Soviet Red Army, entrenched in brutal frontline warfare to free Mother Russia from the Nazi invaders. It is 1941 and the beginning of what will become the bloodiest conflict of World War II resulting in more than 14 million military casualties. Witness the struggles of the Red Army from near defeat through their incredible triumph over Germany in the most challenging and costly theatre of the war, the Eastern Front

Watch the clip embedded below.

Company of Heroes 2 is due on June 25th 2013 for Windows PC.

Taking to their PlayStation Blog, Sony has officially announced the release date for the first volume in a series of Best of PlayStation Network collections. The new collection will contain four diverse PSN exclusive games to "give you a taste of what the PlayStation Store has to offer."

When Vikings Attack! is an energetic third person adventure featuring fast-paced battles pitting up to four co-operative players against the Viking hordes. You can also take on your friends in the “Versus” arenas in a 4-player battle royale.

Sound Shapes is equal parts instrument and game giving everyone the ability to make music. Play through a unique campaign that fuses music and artwork into a classic 2D platformer, featuring artwork by Pixeljam, Capy, Superbrothers and more, with music by I Am Robot and Proud, Jim Guthrie and Deadmau5.

Tokyo Jungle has over 50 playable animals to choose from, unleash your inner beast to hunt your way to the top of Tokyo’s post-apocalyptic food chain. Whether in Story or Survival Mode, you never know where your next meal will come from or the dangers you’ll face, so be prepared for anything and everything.

Fat Princess made her return last year in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Now experience her original story in Fat Princess where you can choose from five distinct character classes and charge head first into battle. Upgrade your team and the castle defenses as you work with your team to save your princess.

For those who have yet to pick up any of these indie titles, you'll find it available on store shelves on June 25th for $39.99. You can check out the full blog post for more details on each title including their respective trailers.

Bethesda and Zenimax Online have released a new video promoting their upcoming debut MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, and although it's probably more logo screens than gameplay, it does feature an electric reptilian creature that hails from Black Marsh.

Legend has it that the wamasu are enormous, frightening creatures with “lightning for blood,” and this mention helped drive the effects for its body and its lethal attacks. Electricity pulses up and down the wamasu’s spine, presenting a clear warning to potential challengers. Effects artists also gave flavor to the wamasu’s attacks. Its roar charges the air with a plasma-like effect, and its savage bite attack also has an electrical element.

You can learn more about the creation of this nasty little beast over on the game's official website.

The Elder Scrolls Online is due on PC in late 2013.

Better late than never! Warner Bros Interactive has revealed that their acclaimed 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, previously only released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, is headed to PC:

Players enter the realm to face the Kombatants in Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition for PC , delivering all of the downloadable content, including intrepid warriors Skarlet, Kenshi and Rain, as well as the notorious dream stalker Freddy Krueger. Additionally, the game offers 15 Klassic Mortal Kombat Skins and three Klassic Fatalities.

The PC version is reportedly being ported for Windows by High Voltage Software, with a digital launch (presumably Steam) due on July 4th, followed by boxed retail release in Australia on August 7th.

Metro: Last Light developer 4A Games has revealed new information for their upcoming single-player DLC for the post-apocalyptic title, detailing four unique packs to help expand on the universe.

“Artyom’s story may have been concluded in Metro: Last Light, but there are other characters with stories to tell, some familiar locations that fans of the Metro series wanted to revisit, and some new challenges that 4A wanted to explore,” said Andrew Prokhorov, Creative Director at 4A Games. “Since completing the game we have been working on these new stories and hope to release them throughout the summer.”

Currently three packs have been revealed that will offer single-player content - the ‘Faction Pack’,' Chronicles Pack’ and ‘Tower Pack’. The ‘Faction Pack’ and the ‘Chronicles Pack’ will include new, original single player gameplay that expands on the Metro: Last Light universe and story. The 'Tower Pack' will be offering players unique solo challenges to the Metro veteran.

A fourth path will also be available, titled ‘Developer Pack’, and will offer players some "interesting tools with which to explore the world of Metro." No other details were given on what exactly these tools will be, but late last month 4A's Andrew Prokhorov, the creative director for Metro: Last Light, revealed that an SDK would be available soon after release so hopefully this pack delivers on that.

Those looking to grab all the DLC in one will be happy to know that a Season Pass is also available to purchase, offering those who do purchase the pass a discount on all future DLC. The Season Pass also grants an additional weapon, the deadly Abzats, a semi-automatic shotgun rifle with a devastating secondary fire mode that unleashes six shells in one blast.

The Metro: Last Light Season pass is available to download now from Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam for $14.99 or 1200 MSP now. PlayStation Plus subscribers are entitled to an additional 25% discount on the Season Pass between May 22nd and June 5th.

Developer Carbine Studio has unveiled two new trailers offering some background information on just what and how the 'Paths' system will work for their upcoming MMO, WildStar. The new system will offer three unique playstyles to accompany their class choice, allowing players to customise how they play through new mission types.

Picking a Class is choosing the way you like to fight. Are you a gunslinger, a squishy healer, or meatshield? Picking your Path is choosing your playstyle. Do you like to explore dangerous places, kill enemies, or study things? Make a choice, and we'll make sure you get lots of what you like.

Path content is specially designed to support particular playstyles. Are you a lorehound? Sure, everyone gets to learn some lore in WildStar, but the Scientist really gets to dig in to the nitty-gritty. Maybe building and socializing is your bag? Then choose a Setter, and construct unique objects and buildings for your buddies on Nexus.

To help ease in the grand knowledge of this new system, Agent Voxine has taken up the task of dropping some knowledge about Paths, and what to expect once you arrive on planet Nexus. A new DevSpeak also accompanies the in-game cinematic, showcasing the new playstyles in action. If you are still in need of more information you can check out the official website for more.

WildStar is expected to be released later this year, with a beta currently underway which you can signup for over here.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has today announced that the second downloadable character, Batgirl, is now available for Injustice: Gods Among Us. As with Lobo's arrival, Batgirl has brought with her two new skin packs including the Killing Joke skin pack which features Joker dressed in his tropical vacation garb which was the outfit worn in the graphic novel.

Joining the Killing Joke skin pack is the Red Son pack, which will feature skins from Superman’s popular Soviet alternate reality. Each pack is available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points and coming soon on the PlayStation Network.

Batgirl will be available beginning today on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 MS Microsoft Points. The content will be available soon on PlayStation Network at a price of AUD$7.35. Those in need of a history lesson on Batgirl's origin can check out the video below.

The Xbox One will use a stricter DRM scheme than game consoles before it, requiring some manner of Internet authentication to play the games that you purchase for the system on Blu-ray disc, but despite several attempts from Microsoft spokespeople to clarify matters, just how overbearing it will be remains unclear.

An exclusive report that landed just after the reveal on Wired suggests that a disc-bought game requires Internet activation upon installation:

What follows naturally from this is that each disc would have to be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, else you could take a single disc and pass it between everyone you know and copy the game over and over. Since this is clearly not going to happen, each disc must then only install for a single owner.

Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc.

Xbox community figureheard Larry Major Nelson Hyrb then attempted to clear things up a little:

We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what we’ve confirmed today. While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail.

Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios.

Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.

And speaking to Kotaku executive Phil Harrison said some words on the subject too:

"There are many devices in your life that require the Internet to function," he said. "Xbox One is no different in that it requires, at some point in the beginning and at various times through its on state, to connect to our cloud and to our Internet. That is to deliver Xbox Live functionality, that is to deliver download content to you, that is to deliver some of the innovations around TV and entertainment that we showed today. But it doesn’t require it to be online all the time."

A separate Kotaku article, presumably from the same interview goes further to explain that the 'fee' that Wired had described, is actually the full price of purchasing the game from Xbox LIVE:

But what if you want to bring a game disc to a friend's house and play there? You'll have to pay a fee—and not just some sort of activation fee, but the actual price of that game—in order to use a game's code on a friend's account. Think of it like a new game, Harrison said.

"The bits that are on that disc, you can give it to your friend and they can install it on an Xbox One," he said. "They would then have to purchase the right to play that game through Xbox Live."

"They would be paying the same price we paid, or less?" we asked.

"Let’s assume it’s a new game, so the answer is yes, it will be the same price," Harrison said.

But that doesn't mean used games are dead. In fact, Harrison told us, you'll be able to sell your Xbox One games online.

"We will have a solution—we’re not talking about it today—for you to be able to trade your previously-played games online," Harrison said.

Combining these various reports here's our best effort to summarise this whole mess:

The Xbox One will require an Internet connection when you install a game purchased on Blu-ray disc, the game data will be installed from the disc, but that disc's unique identifier (presumably a serial key) will be linked to your Xbox Live account --much like Steamworks games on PC are-- permitting you to reinstall it from your digital locker at any point in the future, without needing the disc, but preventing the same disc activation from being used on another Xbox One console, unless your Xbox Live account is also used.

Activating the same disc in another Xbox One console, with another Xbox Live account, will necessitate the new user to repurchase the game at the current Xbox Marketplace price, however, once they own the digital license to the game, they can use the disc to install the game, rather than having to download the entire game from Internet servers.

A small consolation is that Microsoft are planning to somehow facilitate transfer of the digital ownership for games, online between Xbox Live users. They're "not talking about it yet", but we presume this would function by simply deactivating the game from the first owner's Xbox Live account, and activating the license to download and play that game on the second owners account, with Microsoft taking a percentage cut of the user to user sale price.

It would even be technically possible for Microsoft to allow used game licenses to be digitally traded to the accounts of third party facilitators like GameStop and EB Games, for them to resell to other customers, but that's pure speculation and admittedly, pretty unlikely.

Playing single-player and same-screen multiplayer games offline will be possible, but some manner of authorisation check will prohibit playing for longer than (Phil Harrison "thinks") 24 hours. Additionally, the decision will ultimately be up to individual publishers, as to whether they want online connectivity to be mandatory in their single-player games.

Notably, previous comments from Sony have confirmed none of these measures are required for disc-bought games on the upcoming PlayStation 4 console, which perhaps explains Microsoft's to underplay their significance, but it will no doubt serve as a major point of difference for some consumers.

Last week we saw confirmation from Electronic Arts spokesman Jeff Brown that the publishing giant "have no games in development for the Wii U currently," however today it seems that this is not entirely the case. Polygon are reporting that EA's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen has stated that the company is developing games for Nintendo's Wii U console, but not as many as compared to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 development.

When asked by a attendee at the event which console manafacturer would be leading the next generation, Jorgensen revealed that it won't be the publishers, but instead the customers who decide.

"You know, I think Nintendo's business was more [an] extension of their last console," Jorgensen said today.

"I think what the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it'll remain to be seen as to the services associated with those as to how consumers decide which direction they might want to go."

It is currently unclear which games EA has planned for Wii U, but hopefully we'll see some new ways to involve both the GamePad and the player.

Publisher EA and developer DICE have today revealed the first expansion for the yet-to-be-released current and next-gen FPS Battlefield 4, titled China Rising. The new DLC will be available upon pre-ordering the game, similar to Battlefield 3 and its Back to Karkand deal which was later available separately.

In this sprawling expansion, players fight for dominance across the vast and majestic Chinese mainland in four massive multiplayer maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment.

EA has also outlined that those pre-ordering the Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe exclusively on Origin will receive not only the base game, in-game content and the China Rising expansion, but also gain access to the upcoming Battlefield 4 beta.

Details on when exactly the beta will be starting are unclear as of yet, however a new FAQ has surfaced detailing that access to the testing will be available to those who pre-order Battlefield 4, Battlefield 3 Premium members and those who pre-ordered the Medal of Honor: Warfighter title late last year. The FAQ also outlines that the beta will be available only to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with no mention of the next-gen consoles.

Battlefield 4 will is due in Spring (Northern Fall) 2013 for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Arguably at the expense of showing new games on its new console, Microsoft made a lot of noise about the television watching functionality of the Xbox One during its flashy reveal presentation, showing a comprehensive interface for navigating TV channels with deep voice control integration courtesy of its new turbo-charged Kinect sensor.

However, what they neglected to mention up front, as our friends over at Kotaku note is that all of these snazzy couch-potatoing features are only confirmed for North American customers, and will require an external device to actually work.

Taken from the official international press release for Xbox One:

Live TV with Kinect navigation, Live TV with OneGuide, Trending, and NFL on Xbox available in U.S. at launch; anticipating global scale over time.

At launch, Live TV will require a supported receiver device with HDMI output (sold separately).

It's probably not all quite as alarming as Kotaku's reaction might suggest though, as it stands to reason that the console wouldn't be a functional substitute for the set-top boxes of many disparate international cable TV providers, most of which don't have online service equivalents like Foxtel on Xbox, so you're obviously going to need to pass the HDMI outputs from those devices through to the Xbox One first. Free to air broadcasts are also far less relevant in North America, so it wouldn't make sense to include an radio antenae TV tuner in the console either.

That said, the lack of an international perspective on events such as these always causes confusion, and although Microsoft's Xbox One reveal proudly promised the new console "later this year", we're left none-the-wiser as to when we might see it land on shelves in Australia. If Microsoft takes the same regional distribution path as they did with the Xbox 360, it won't make it here until March 2014.

While 343 Industries didn't have a new Halo game to announce at the Xbox One reveal event, they did however reveal a new Halo live action TV Show, with involvement from critically acclaimed film-maker Steven Spielberg.

The new TV show will be appearing exclusively on the Xbox One console, however no further details were provided. Steven Spielberg briefly appeared on-screen, stating that he was excited to work with "the heroes, worlds, and wonders that Halo will take us to." It is unclear whether the series will air at the launch of the console later this year.

You can catch the full recap of Microsoft's Xbox One reveal over at the official website.

Despite boasting of having over 15 exclusive games planned for the console's first year and more titles in development now than any other time in Xbox history, Microsoft's games publishing arm only had a couple of games of their own to announce at the reveal of its new console the Xbox One.

Along with Forza Motorsport 5, a new IP titled Quantum Break was announced as in development at Max Payne and Alan Wake creator Remedy Entertainment.

Master time to survive the present... and save the future. From the creators of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes Quantum Break, a revolutionary entertainment experience that blurs the line between gameplay and television. With Quantum Break, the world will see a new generation of immersive entertainment, only possible on Xbox One.

Little else was said about the title, but you can watch the debut cinematic trailer below.

As promised, Activision and Infinity Ward showed off the first look at their new Call of Duty title at this morning's reveal of the new Xbox One console.

The first trailer is a two minute spot of various gameplay scenes, and the second is a developer diary feature discussing the new "next-gen engine" technology and game features. Check out both below.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is due on November 5 for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U, and on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One when they launch.

For more details on the game, swing by our in-depth preview and interview feature.

AusGamers was recently invited out to a pre-E3 press event for Activision which included a small look at Call of Duty: Ghosts. But beyond the publisher's pitch for their yearly entry in the series, they also gave Infinity Ward a chance to share just what happened behind-the-scenes in regard to building new technology to usher the series into the next-generation.

With the game's full reveal now out of the way thanks to the Xbox One reveal, we can finally lift the lid on what we saw and also share thoughts and answers from Call of Duty VP of production, Daniel Suarez, after a talk with him about the direction of Ghosts and the new tech behind the game.

Click here for our full Call of Duty: Ghosts reveal and interview feature.

Microsoft has unveiled Forza Motorsport 5 at their Xbox Event, exclusively for Xbox One. Offering next-gen looking cars and paint that looks almost realistic you could smell it, Forza Motorsport 5 will be available at the console's launch.

Forza Motorsport 5, from Turn 10 Studios, is the latest edition of the highest-rated racing franchise of the past 10 years. Forza Motorsport 5 sets a new bar for racing games. With the power of Xbox and the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel. Available exclusively for launch.

More information for the new racing title will be revealed at E3 2013, however you can check out the reveal trailer below.

At a special event hosted at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, the US tech giant is prepping to reveal the next Xbox console, a long-awaited successor to the Xbox 360 named 'Xbox One' due 'later this year'.

Australian's lucky enough to be awake with us at 3am AEST can watch the live stream along with us embedded below, on Xbox.com, or on Xbox LIVE, and if you're reading this at a more civilised hour, just read on below for a summary of what was unveiled.

Microsoft's Don Mattrick has revealed the name and hardware of the new Xbox console, named Xbox One.







With the ability to play games barely getting a mention at the start of the presentation, the new console was introduced with an array of Kinect-powered voice control features for watching live television and movies, and using Skype, emphasising Microsoft's strategy to position Xbox One as a central multimedia hub in the loungeroom with "instant switching" to jump between passive watching and playing games or using apps.

The console will feature an 8 Core CPU, 8GB Ram, USB 3.0, HDMI in and out, Blu-ray drive, a 500GB Hard drive, and an upgraded Kinect sensor now included as standard. The Xbox One Architecture is built around a 3 part operating system bridging the Xbox OS with the Windows platform for instantly switching between the different functions.

Xbox LIVE is also getting an overhaul, with the number of servers purportedly being doubled from over 150,000 servers to 300,000 to power new cloud services.

The first games officially announced for the console come courtesy of Electronic Arts, who confirmed new revisions of EA Sports staples FIFA, Madden, NBA Live and their first licensed UFC title --all powered by its EA Sports Ignite technology.

Microsoft boasted that they personally have more titles in development now than in any other time in Xbox history, with 15 exclusive games planned for the console's first year, eight of which are brand new franchises.

They kicked off their own new game announcements with Forza Motosport 5, the next addition to their successful racing sim franchise.

Forza Motorsport 5, from Turn 10 Studios, is the latest edition of the highest-rated racing franchise of the past 10 years. Forza Motorsport 5 sets a new bar for racing games. With the power of Xbox and the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel.

Quantumn Break, a new title from Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment was revealed with a cinematic trailer.

From the makers of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes Quantum Break, a revolutionary entertainment experience that blurs the line between television and gameplay, developed exclusively for Xbox One.

343 Industries didn't have a new Halo game to announce, but rather a live action Halo TV series, with the involvement of acclaimed film-maker Steven Spielberg.

A big deal was made about a partnership with NHL to develop a social-focused fantasy football experience with "exclusive and interactive content".

Activision and Infinity Ward rounded out the new game reveals with Call of Duty: Ghost, confirming that the new Xbox platform would once again be receiving exclusive timed content for the latest game in the blockbuster series.



In addition to promoting the graphical features of their new 'next-gen' engine, the developers confirmed new gameplay features, including mantling, leaning, and sliding. Multiplayer will feature dynamic maps, and a greater level of character customisation, and promises to retain 60 frames per second with low latency controls.



For AusGamers impressions from an advanced look at Call of Duty: Ghosts, check out this in-depth preview and developer interview.

No specific date was set for the launch of Xbox One, only that it would arrive 'later this year', presumably confirming a 2013 launch for North America, but leaving other territories uncertain.

PCGamer are reporting that Valve's free-to-play MOBA title Dota 2 has once again surpassed its concurrent Steam player record, this time reaching 329,977 simultaneous users. Fingers are pointing at the cause for such a large surge of PC players to log into the game due to the West Qualifiers for The International 3, which was available to view directly through the client.

Previously a report from DFC Intelligence had named Dota 2 as the most played "core" PC title, however it was unclear exactly where the data had come from and whether it was exactly accurate. In response to the report, League of Legends developer Riot Games responded in a statement to GamesIndustry that a single shard from its MOBA title held more than 500,000 concurrent players at peak. It is unclear which data speaks the truth, but we can at least see that Valve's Dota 2 is at least growing in popularity.