The live-service bubble has been bursting for a while. That much is clear. But with how long most triple-A (and even double-AA) video games take to make nowadays and how absurdly huge the possible wins are, it comes as no surprise it's taking a bit of time to partially retreat from a model that's grown increasingly risky in the last three years or so. This summer, a handful of free-to-play titles such as The First Descendant and Zenless Zone Zero are making a splash, but we're still looking at the same big issue.
]]>Like it or not, the butt jiggle video game discourse just doesn’t stop. After weeks of all kinds of hot and room temperature takes about the outfits and jiggly physics of Stellar Blade’s lead character, the conversation has now shifted to… the jiggle physics in another Korean-made game.
]]>If you’ve been paying attention the loot shooter or Korean MMO scene recently, or really watched enough summer showcases, you’ll no doubt be very familiar with The First Descendant. Though the name may not immediately stand out, you’ll likely remember it when you see it.
]]>MapleStory may have just witnessed the most extraordinary community mic drop in years, perhaps ever. Niru - undoubtedly the game's most dedicated player in recent memory - has been grinding to hit level 300 for months. No one has ever done it before, but moments from hitting the record-breaking milestone, and with the developer promoting his livestream both in-game and on social media, he flipped his own celebration on its head.
]]>Nexon will host a public pre-alpha test for Vindictus: Defying Fate, the action RPG the company announced earlier this week.
]]>It seems like now is a good time to be a fan of the work of DICE. If you like Battlefield, the current DICE squad looks to have turned things around for Battlefield 2042. If you're more of a classic DICE fan, The Finals beckon you to witness its next-gen destruction right now.
]]>With the number of games being published every day on Steam, it's easy to feel a sense of deja vu every time you check the new releases page. Everyone has run into their fair share of hentai abominations, cheap mobile ports, achievement-farming games, and the unending barrage of asset flips – all seemingly releasing in bulk.
]]>Cliff Bleszinski, director of the hero shooter LawBreakers that shut down in 2018, seemingly wants to bring the game back.
]]>Dark and Darker developer Ironmace Games' lawyers have sent a letter to Valve regarding the game being delisted on Steam.
]]>Dark and Darker developer Ironmace is now being sued by Nexon over "copyright infringement," in the latest update of this bumpy journey.
]]>Following Dark and Darker's delisting from Steam, developer Ironmace Games is now encouraging players to torrent the game.
]]>Embark Studios, the Swedish team made up of former Battlefield, and Battlefront developers at DICE, is ready to put its latest shooter in the hands of (more) players. The Finals, which has been generating excitement quietly, is about to kick off its closed beta.
]]>^Stay tuned after the ads for plenty of QHD footage and our thoughts after playtesting the beta.
]]>Korean giant Nexon appears to be on a spree of big game reveals. This week's latest is Warhaven, a 16v16 multiplayer brawler with a some familiar, and not-so-familiar, twists to its gameplay. As Korean games tend to, Warhaven is graphically impressive, particularly compared to some of the games it's inspired by.
]]>Nexon has released a new trailer and provided a beta date for its upcoming free-to-play third-person co-operative looter-shooter, The First Descendant.
]]>South Korean and Japanese game publisher Nexon released a new trailer for their new shooter, tentatively titled Project Magnum, that shows off the gorgeous visuals, detailed character designs, and some of the game’s guns and powers.
]]>Titanfall Online is one of many off-shoots the series was set to receive, but it sadly won't see a full release.
]]>You have one more chance to play LawBreakers before Boss Key Productions turns off the lights.
]]>Final Fantasy 11's mobile remake has its first screenshots, and they look great so far.
]]>The South Korean Fair Trade Commission has fined three game publishers over misleading odds for loot boxes in their games.
]]>LawBreakers developer Boss Key Productions is suspending development of the game and moving on to new projects.
]]>Cliff Bleszinkski has a few ideas on what he can do to help Lawbreakers, and one of them is being a better dude online.
]]>Titanfall: Frontline, a card game spin-off of the shooter for mobile, has been cancelled.
]]>Respawn is launching another Titanfall game very soon, but it likely won't see international release.
]]>Titanfall suits up for its mobile debut as a strategy card game, because of course it does.
]]>While Lawbreakers may look like it plays similarly to Overwatch, but director Cliff Bleszinksi would rather that people focus on the differences.
]]>Crime doesn't pay, but you'll have to.
]]>Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online has too long a title, but in other ways it proves to be committed to your convenience.
]]>Titanfall developer Respawn has partnered up with publisher Nexon to make new mobile games based on the franchise.
]]>We've only had a brief glimpse of Lawbreakers so far, but one YouTube user has strung together numerous clips into a 22 minute showcase.
]]>The first gameplay trailer for LawBreakers, the new game from Cliff Bleszinski's Boss Key Productions has been released, along with a screenshot of the first four characters.
]]>This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
]]>Cliff Bleszinski is revealing his new game LawBreakers, formerly known as Project Bluestreak on Twitch right this moment. Watch below.
]]>Boss Key Productions will lift the lid on what it's been working on this week, according to a tease from publisher Nexon.
]]>Titanfall is the latest shooter to spawn a free-to-play offshoot in Asia.
]]>Splash Damage is inviting over 100,000 players to play Dirty Bomb over two weekends.
]]>New content for Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies is now available, and provides you with two new Zombie Classes and a new Daily Log-in Event.
]]>Splash Damage has surfaced with more information on Dirty Bomb, its asymmetrical online shooter, through a new video called "Know Your Heritage".
]]>Time to lock and load folks: the open beta for Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies launches today.
]]>An open beta will be launched for Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies later this month on Steam.
]]>Nexon Europe is bringing the undead to one of the most iconic shooters ever with Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies.
]]>Human Element, the open-world first-person survival title developed by Robotoki Inc.and led by Robert Bowling, will be published by Nexon.
]]>Nexon has released its Q4 fiscal earnings and reports a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue to 34.47 billion yen ($337.79 million). The firm has also names a new CEO, who will take over for president and current CEO Seungwoo Choi who is retiring.
]]>MapleStory 2 was announced back in November, and now developer Nexon has released a cinematic trailer to get you in the mood. Check it out after the break.
]]>A sequel to the 2D MMO MapleStory was announced today, with news the beta will open in 2014.
]]>Nexon chief financial officer Owen Mahoney says the international publisher isn't interested in consoles, because in a few years they'll be largely irrelevant.
]]>Nexon has announced its subsidiary Neople has entered into an agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Korean PC game studio Thingsoft, developers of FIFA Online 1 & 2. The team is currently developing several news titles as well as the cel-shaded Anime themed MMO, Project NT which is expected to launch in 2014. Thingsoft is led by Sangwon Chung, who serves as CEO and executive producer, who was previously the SVP of game development at Neowiz Games.
]]>MapleStory: The Girl’s Fate is coming to Nintendo 3DS in Japan, courtesy of Sega. Although it's based on the online title it is a new standalone entry to the series.
]]>Nexon free to play games might be big news in Asia, with smash hits like Maplestory, but their free to play offerings like Combat Arms and Vindictus have had a harder time gaining traction in the west. The company's Chief Financial Officer Owen Mahoney argues that free to play attitudes in the west have held back the model from attaining the dominance it has in Asia.
]]>Dirty Bomb has been reworked with a new title, and the multiplayer shooter now known as Extraction has been picked up by Nexon.
]]>Nexon has revealed its Q1 financial report, suggesting that the publisher's revenue is booming in Japan with ¥9.9 billion in the country alone - an increase of 222.4% - but the figures are sliding in North America.
]]>Nexon has made a "strategic investment" in Robotoki, the publisher announced via press release this week. Terms of the investment were not disclosed, but Nexon said the two companies will 'coordinate efforts' on development of "multi-screen, cross-platform gameplay". Robotoki was founded by Robert Bowling, former creative strategist for Call of Duty, and is working on a first-person survival effort called Human Element, which will support cross-platform play elements on PC, next-gen consoles, Android and iOS. It's expected in late 2015.
]]>Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was announced a while back by developer NEOPLE. Publisher Nexon has now confirmed that the MMOFPS is due to launch in the first half of 2014.
]]>Maple Story produces some interesting player behaviour, like a famous culture of in-game weddings - and divorces.
]]>Free-to-play publisher Nexon has secured the rights to the critically-acclaimed anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
]]>Vindictus has relaxed its regional restrictions allowing both Australian and Mexican gamers to play the action MMORPG.
]]>Valve has teamed up with MMORPG publisher Nexon to bring DOTA 2 to Japan and Korea.
]]>Dungeon & Fighter, as it's known in China, surpassed 3 million maximum concurrent users in June of this year. Dungeon Fighter Online, as it's known outside of China, is developed by Nexon, and it's last concurrent record was 2.6 million users. The free-to-play MMO was released four years ago, and the game was released on Steam June 28. Thanks, GI International.
]]>Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim has said consoles will "go the way of the dinosaurs" if manufacturers ignore the free-to-play market.
]]>Vindictus is a free-to-play MMORPG from Nexon available on Steam. That was the end of my knowledge or interest in it until this happened.
]]>To celebrate the Steam arrival of Atlantica Online, those who download the free-to-play strategic turn-based MMORPG can save money on some special goodies. What sort of goodies are these? Glad you asked: the Wild Taurus mount or the Blue Dragon Wings, a bag with 15 extra inventory slots, the Merc. Room License which gives you one Mercenary slot in the Mercenary Room, and a Blessing License which gives you an extra 150% on attack, defense, and XP for 30 days. Hit up the link for more information.
]]>Two lawsuits have been filed in South Korea, challenging the Shutdown Law as unconstitutional. The law prohibits those under sixteen from playing games for a nightly six hour block so they can do more constructive things. Parents and teenagers with a Korean organization representing culture filed a suit claiming the law doesn't take into account the parental right to educate their children. The other lawsuit was filed by NCsoft, Neowiz, and Nexon, also claiming the Shutdown Law is unjust. More on Kotaku.
]]>Korean game company Nexon has acquired a 14.7% minority stake in fellow-Korean publisher NCsoft for $688 million, the firm announced today. The shares, which number 3.218 million, were purchased from NCsoft chairman and founder Taek Jin Kim, which means Nexon is now the largest shareholder in NCsoft. Nexon said the stock purchase was part of a long-term partnership between the two firms. Thanks, VentureBeat.
]]>EA and Nexon are reportedly working together on the distribution of EA’s FIFA Online game in Asia, according to “three people with knowledge of the matter,” speaking with Bloomberg. The report states EA is considering using Nexon's servers in the region to run the sports game. Rumors last week pegged the South Korean company as a potential bidder for the majority of EA stock. More through Forbes.
]]>EA shares are up after a South Korean newspaper rumored this morning Nexon has made a bid for EA. Shares spiked $1.22, or 8.1%, to $16.23 after a 52-week low. Nexon, which has offices in Japan, are the makers of free-to-play MMOs such as MapleStory and Combat arms. The firm's market cap sits around $8.1 billion compared with EA's $5.2 billion. If anything comes of this rumor the likely result would be Nexon purchasing a minor interest in the firm, as it would cost too much takeover EA, which is currently sitting on oodles of cash. Representatives for both firms have told MarketWatch it is neither's policy to comment on rumors or speculation. Analyst Michael Pachter feels the rumor is rather silly, and outlines the reasons it will never happen through here.
]]>CCP and Nexon have announced a localized Japanese version of EVE Online will hit Japan on March 28.
]]>Nexon's announced it'll publish free-to-play first-person shooter Shadow Company: The Mercenary War for a release later this year.
]]>Nexon went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this week, and managed to rake in a staggering 1.2 billion USD in its IPO. Driven largely by the strength of Maple Story, which is said to be one of the most popular games in the world, Nexon boasted the largest IPO of the year on the TSE.
]]>Hugely popular Nexon MMORPG Maple Story suffered a security breach last week, risking the personal information of three-quarters of its Korean player base.
]]>VentureBeat has heard whispers that Maple Story and Combat Arms publisher Nexon will make its initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange come December 6. The online game provider is expected to bring in $1.28 billion, putting its market value at $8.97 billion - far outweighing other giants of the industry, including EA at $6.99 billion.
]]>Lovers of hack and slash MMOs, this is your day.
]]>Today's bits and pieces are largely about money moving around, a thing of great interest.
]]>Nexon has launched a teaser website and trailer for its free-to-play MMO Vindictus Europe. Set for release in the fall, it looks a bit gritty and gothy compared to a lot of games in the same genre on the market. Not that it's a bad thing, we are intrigued after watching, to be honest. The MMO is a "physics-based game with high-speed combat, that uses a "modified Source Engine to enable interaction with the environment. Players will apparently be able to "throw and shatter objects, hurl debris, bind enemies with chains, and pierce defenses with spears." That came from the mouths of GameFront, which seems to know quite a bit about the game. We'll blame them if we start spending too much time in it at launch.
]]>MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter developer Nexon is looking to expand onto the 3DS, apparently.
]]>CCP and Nexon have announced an agreement to bring a fully localized game client, as well as product services for EVE Online, to Japan this fall.
]]>Nexon's free-to-play MMORPG Vindictus has received a number of updates, both large and small. Plus, free tokens for in-game content. It must be spring.
]]>Nexon's multiplayer brawler Dungeon Fighter Online is set for freemium release via Xbox Live Arcade. Fancy.
]]>Loads of news this week in MMO land, kiddos.
Massively is giving away Beta keys to Star Trek Online, Aion dropped GameGuard and launched its first server, Pirates are everywhere, and Sony is giving you double station cash this weekend.
There is also news concerning Champions Online, EVE, Guild Wars 2, EverQuest, Warhammer, Runes of Magic, and loads of other stuff you can find here instead of searching everywhere.
It's all past the break.
]]>Loads of stuff happened this week in MMO land, and some of it is posted for you after the break.
Should you choose to click on through, you will find why Turine is suing Atari, get caught up on The Green Lantern and DC Universe's Beta status, hear about new goodies coming to EQII, lament the collapse of the bank in EVE Online, and there's loads of other stuff along with news on a couple of MMOs you may have never even heard of.
Go on, hit the link. You know you want to.
]]>Loads of stuff as usual going on this week with MMOs.
CCP has files a trademark fro Dust 514, which strangely enough resembles the EvE Logo, Warhammer's latest patch is up on the test server, Guild Wars had some more class tweaks, and the summer festivities have been extended for Lord of the Rings Online.
Load of stuff, really. Read on past the break for more.
]]>
