Ouka Studios, the developer of the Square Enix published action-RPG Visions of Mana, is reportedly set to close as its parent company NetEase has cut “all but a handful of jobs”.

The news comes as part of a report from Bloomberg on Tencent and NetEase, two of China’s biggest game publishers, both of which are scaling back investment in Japanese studios.

Ouka Studios opened in 2020 and hired staff from the likes of Capcom and Bandai Namco, but with the majority of staff laid off, those who remain will oversee the release of the studio’s final games before it shuts.

Visions of Mana | Launch Date Trailer

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Square Enix’s Splatoon-a-like 4v4 multiplayer shooter Foamstars is transitioning from a premium title to a free-to-play game on 4th October, just eight months after its initial release.

Square announced the news in a brief update on its support website, noting the game – which remains a PlayStation exclusive after its free-to-play transition – will no longer require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play from 4th October.

Players that purchase Foamstars prior to its price change in October will receive a Legacy Gift set providing “exclusive” in-game items, including 12 colour-variant Bubble Beastie skins, one Slide Board design, and the “Legacy” title. “Your continued support of Foamstars would be greatly appreciated”, Square adds.

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A new Nintendo Direct broadcast will air tomorrow, Tuesday 27th August, at 3pm UK time.

For those across the pond, that’s 7am Pacific, or 10am Eastern.

Lasting roughly 40 minutes, the show will feature upcoming games and announcements for Nintendo Switch, from both major third-party developers as well as indie studios. Just don’t expect any news on Nintendo’s own games – such as the upcoming Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – or Switch 2.

Tomorrow’s broadcast is a combined Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, which focuses on big games from non-Nintendo developers, and an Indie World Showcase, which spotlights projects from smaller creative teams.

In a post on X this afternoon, Nintendo also gave it’s now-familiar statement that it would not be revealing any new in…

Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida has said Square Enix would like to “further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers” following the release of the MMORPG on Microsoft’s console.

The game’s arrival on Xbox was announced at the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest in Las Vegas last year, where Xbox boss Phil Spencer took to the stage. It then released on 21st March, with latest expansion Dawntrail being the first to release alongside PC and PlayStation.

Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom, Yoshida noted players have been “waiting a long time for the Xbox release” but it’s had “a really strong response” with communities growing on the platform.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: DAWNTRAIL Launch Trailer

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World of Warcraft boss Holly Longdale says Blizzard has learned from its controversial Shadowlands launch, acknowledging the expansion “wasn’t enough” and “wasn’t the right stuff”, admitting the team should have “listened more” to its community.
Talking to PC Gamer, Longdale reflected back over World of Warcraft’s storied 20 years, partly as a player, and “as a very humble and lucky leader on this team”.

Official Trailer: Powers Within | World of Warcraft | The War Within

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Alien: Romulus and The Last of Us Part 2 have a bit of an unexpected connection.
Alien: Romulus – the latest film in the Alien franchise – recently released, and stars Isabela Merced in a leading role. While Merced has acted in many films and series, those on this site may recognise her name as that of Dina in the upcoming second season of The Last of Us. But, that’s not where the connection ends.
Over the weekend, Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez revealed the film’s character of Kay (played by Merced) was actually inspired in part by Dina from The Last of Us Part 2. This was before Merced was cast in either role. What are the chances – Dina see that coming, and all that. Please be aware of a small The Last of Us Part 2 spoiler below.

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Rockstar has announced Red Dead Redemption – including its standalone zombie expansion Undead Nightmare – will arrive on PC on 29th October.
The game will be available on the Rockstar Store, Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Rumours of a Red Dead Redemption PC release have long been swirling: this year alone a datamine in May suggested the release was on the way, while in August a PlayStation Store page for the game detailed the PC version.

Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare Coming to PC October 29

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