Work has already begun on brand new IP There one more gaming studio in Montreal this morning, as Amazon Games has announced the founding of Amazon Games Montreal, which will look to design and develop original AAA titles. The new studio joins Amazon’s previously established developers in San Diego, Seattle, and Orange County. The founding members of Amazon Games Montreal include head of production Luc Bouchard, head of product Alexandre Remy, creative director Xavier Marquis, and content director Romain Rimokh,all of whom were key membersin the development of Ubisoft’s hugely popular multiplayer shooterRainbow Six Siege....

Another well-matched movie/game mash-up When I saw a thumbnail suggesting that Aragorn fromLord of the Ringshad found his way intoElden Ring, I assumed the video was highlightinga mod, or just a running down thecharacter creator settingsneeded to replicate him in the Lands Between. I should’ve known better! Content creatoreli_handle_b.wavhas been expertly inserting live-action movie and TV characters into video games, so of courseElden Ringwas the next target. I told myself I wouldn’toverdo itwith these memes, but they’re too dang good....

What better way is there to spend a slow news Friday than to bring you fun and quirky stories from the world of videogame lore? Case in point: our video director R3y headed out to Wal-Mart last night at midnight to pick up his copy ofMadden NFL 10. When he got to the register, he was informed that his purchase also came with one of three free items: Gillette shaving cream or deodorant (or deo-bro-dorant, as Topher calls it) or little Xbox 360 stickers that you stick under your eyes that replace those black smears you see real pros sporting....

Various Christian law enforcement groups have colluded to express their distaste for upcoming 2K Games sequel,The Darkness II. They’d like to see it go very far away, in fact, for fear that it will make people hate the police. Go figure. A large coalition, formed from the International Christian Police Fellowship, the Christian Police Association, the Swiss Christian Police Association and the Germany Christian Police Association havesent a letterto developers and politicians, complaining about game violence overall and singling out the first-person demon-tendril-simulator....

Know when to hold ’em, know when to roll ’em Dice are fairly commonplace in tabletop roleplaying, butCitizen Sleeperis finding some virtual applications for them. The futuristic narrative RPG sees you trying to survive in an interstellar capitalist society, and dice are how you do it. Revealed during yesterday’s PC Gaming Show for E3 2021,Citizen Sleeperis the latest game fromIn Other Watersdeveloper Jump Over The Age. It also features character art from Guillaume Singelin, and wow, does the art pop in this trailer....

I dig it: it’s a perfect ‘couples’ experience People constantly pine for the “good old days” of gaming and in some cases, I can sympathize. Microtransactions and gambling are stuffed into projects far too often, creating a bitter feeling where you’re often left wondering if any given game is worth the trouble. Thankfully myself and my colleagues (both at Destructoid and beyond) are here to filter through the muck, and in that quest I’ve found more gems than pretty much every generation before it....

The news comes a few months after a collective of studios called Nintendo out This story requires a bit of background, so let’s get into it. A few months back,a number of indie developers called out the state of the Nintendo Switch eShop for myriad reasons. Stating that it was falling into a collective state of mobile-like chaos, these studios shed some light on some of the storefront’s shortcomings, as well as the art of chart-scumming....

Vote on rewards now Divinity: Original Sin, the fifth game in the series, kind of came out of nowhere, and won the hearts of many players out there. So it makes sense that a sequel would come eventually, and developer Larian Studios is attempting to rekindle the magic in the form of a Kickstarter. Said campaign will be coming on August 26. For now, you can vote on potential rewardsat this site....

[In today’s promoted blog for our East vs. West topic, DiscoStu argues in favor of the East and argues that Japanese games tend to be more memorable and distinctive. Want to see your own blog make it to the front page? Make sure you write something onthis week’s topic, Handhelds. — JRo] For decades, a line has been drawn in the sand between Eastern and Western developed games; allegiances to either side have become commonplace among us, the avid consumers....

Just after three Sony studios saw layoffs This week we learned that Evolution Studios, Guerrilla Cambridge, and SCE London Studio were all hit with layoffs. Following the layoffs came the reveal of Starship studio, a new outfit by Martin Kenwright, founder of Evolution Studios and Digital Image Design. The studio was founded back in 2013, so while not necessarily related to the layoffs, a reveal now helps to show that the UK can still foster gaming....

The Festival of Foolishness givesDisney Dreamlight Valleyplayers the chance to take part in a text-based adventure story, where their choices affect the direction that the plot takes and the overall outcome of the story. The event first appeared back in 2023, and is back again in 2024 with a brand new, stand-alone adventure that all players can dive into. To take part, you don’t even need to login toDisney Dreamlight Valleyitself....

Friday the 13th, an iconic horror franchise, is getting a new video game (and movie) down the line. This was confirmed by its copyright holder, Horror Inc., who, instead of somehow reviving the now-unavailableFriday the 13thgame, is pursuing new ventures for whatever corporate reason. Released back in 2017,Friday the 13th: The Gamewas among the most unique horror game experiences out there. Sharing a lot of DNA withearlyDead by Daylight, it saw several players stuck with the indestructible Jason Voorhees, also controlled by a player....

It seems that Metallica likes to take charge of promoting products with their name on it. Just over a month ago, theyunveiled the debut trailer forGuitar Hero: Metallicaon their own site, and last week, theyconfirmed rumorsof the game’s March 29th North American release date on PS3 and 360. And yesterday, after a listing for the game on the ESRB’s Web sitelet some songs slip, they went ahead andposted the entire set list themselves....