Tag: Netease
News Marvel Rivals Is Truly Unstoppable As It Tops 20 Million Players
In just two weeks
They said free-to-play live service games are dead, and then Marvel Rivals and Infinity Nikki said no. The former has now topped 20 million players across all platforms, reaching the milestone in just two weeks. That’s prior to Jeff the Land Shark bringing his seasonal Splatoon mode, too. <related ids
News PS5 Superhero Smash Hit Marvel Rivals Is Splatoon Now
Sure, why not?
In service of its live service ambitions, Marvel Rivals has been looking to a Nintendo favourite for inspiration. Beginning 20th December, ahead of the holiday season, NetEase is adding an all-new mode to its superhero sensation, where Jeff the Land Shark will be, well, engaging in a spot of Splatoon. The seasonal mode will be...
News Stylish Free-to-Play Shooter FragPunk Confirmed for PS5, Launches March 2025
The card is mightier than the gun
NetEase has confirmed its stylised free-to-play FPS, FragPunk, is also heading to PS5. Initially revealed at this summer's Xbox Showcase, FragPunk is a 5v5 competitive shooter in which players can use special cards to transform the rules of combat. At the start of each round, players can activate Shard Cards that...
News Marvel Rivals Is Off to a Heroic Start with 10 Million Players in First Three Days
A kind of Magik
Marvel Games and NetEase have announced a meaty milestone for their multiplayer shooter, Marvel Rivals. The game has attracted over 10 million players in its opening three days. The news comes via official posts on social media: Of course, it should be noted this is a free-to-play title, significantly lowering the barrier to...
News Former Blizzard Boss Slams Marvel Rivals, Comparing It to Horizon-Like Light of Motiram
Immitation, flattery, etc
Not everyone enjoyed the full release of Marvel Rivals, it seems, with former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra comparing the game to Tencent's egregious Horizon rip-off, Light of Motiram. He went so far as to call the popular hero shooter "Overwatch Marvel Rivals" in a since-deleted tweet.
News Open World PS5 Game Ananta Looks Absolutely Insane in Latest Trailer
Kitchen sink feeling left out
NetEase's upcoming free-to-play gacha game, Ananta — previously called Project Mugen — is looking incredibly promising in this brand new gameplay trailer. The game is an urban open world action RPG, set in large cityscapes that are yours to explore as one of various playable characters. The main thing you'll be...
News Marvel Rivals' Premium Battle Passes Won't Expire Once Purchased on PS5
Our hero
If you're waiting for the launch of Marvel Rivals on PS5, you may be pleased to learn that the premium battle passes you buy will not have a time limit, as confirmed in a recent dev blog. The free-to-play multiplayer hero shooter launches 6th December, 2024, and as with most games of this type, it has a couple of ways for fans to spend...
News PS Plus Members Get Free Cosmetics for Marvel Rivals on PS5
PS5 Pro support! Exclusive Spider-Man skin! DualSense
Marvel Rivals may be a free-to-play game available on most modern platforms, but Sony wants you to play it on the PS5. As part of a PS Blog post, it’s announced a slew of added incentives for those playing on the current PlayStation console. Perhaps most notable of all, PS Plus members will...
News Marvel Rivals' Slick as Hell New Trailer Is Here to Hype You Up for Launch on PS5
Out later this week
Marvel Rivals, the free-to-play (super)hero shooter from NetEase, is set to arrive on 6th December on PS5, and it's hard not to get swept along by its ultra-stylish launch trailer. It's not exactly representative of how the game plays, but this cinematic animation oozes style. Focusing on the large roster of characters available...
News Massively Promising PS5 Gacha Project Mugen Renamed Ananta
A rule-breaking open world awaits
The massively promising urban open world game Project Mugen has been renamed Ananta, and it’ll receive a new trailer on 4th December. The game was originally announced for PS5 and PS4, but now only references Sony’s current console on its website. <related ids="156292"> Those with
News Marvel Rivals Goes Gold Ahead of PS5 Launch, Expect It to Explode
(Over)watch out for it
Marvel Rivals is ready for release on 6th December, as the game has officially gone gold. The hero shooter has a shot at becoming one of the biggest games on the planet, with its familiar characters pairing with a well-established gameplay formula. <related ids="170887"> While the industry has not been kind to...
News Another Former Mass Effect Dev's New Studio Is Facing Financial Woes
World's Untold is "pausing operations"
In a strange bookend to the week, it seems another former Mass Effect senior developer's new undertaking is feeling the current industry pressure. Worlds Untold, established by NetEase Games and led by ME trilogy writer Mac Walters, is "pausing operations" until sufficient funding can be found. Walters re
News Game Size Not as Important as It Used to Be, Says Yakuza Creator
Rather, it's about how you use the content
Yakuza/Like a Dragon creator Toshihiro Nagoshi says the era of games needing to be as big as possible is fast coming to an end. With the nonstop onslaught of game releases fighting for players' limited free time, Nagoshi says it's only natural that games will be judged less harshly on their size as the...
News NetEase Execs, Employees Arrested on Alleged Money Laundering and Bribery Charges
Marvel Rivals, Destiny: Rising developer embroiled
Nine staff members from the Chinese conglomerate NetEase have been arrested on charges of money laundering and bribery. Those detained include two of the company's executives: NetEase Games' general manager Xiang Lang and esports lead Jin Yuchen. Picked up by Chinese language outlet Leifeng and...
Mini Review Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (PS5) - A Hella Good Update
A dish best served hella remastered
It’s been a long time since Shadows of the Damned dropped — 13 years, in fact. The game industry has changed substantially in that time, but a good game is still a good game. And that’s what we’re lucky enough to encounter here with Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered. Narratively, this gonzo world...
News Visions of Mana Dev Basically Shut Down Just as the RPG Releases
Chinese companies having doubts over Japan
Ouka Studios, the Tokyo-based team that just brought us Visions of Mana, is reportedly on the brink of being closed down. To be clear, the new Mana title is published by Square Enix, but Ouka Studios — the game's primary developer — is a subsidiary of Chinese colossus NetEase. The outfit was first...
News Floatopia Could Surpass Animal Crossing on PS5
NetEase is going all in
Considering the unprecedented success of Animal Crossing, we’ve never quite understood why more developers haven’t tackled the concept – especially as there’s no real alternative on PlayStation, beyond Disney Dreamlight Valley. It seems like NetEase has finally picked up the mandate – and in many ways, Floatopia...
News Lara Croft Continues Her Tour of Other Titles in Naraka: Bladepoint on PS5
Royale rumble
Lara Croft is one of those characters that’s quite comfortable appearing anywhere, whether it’s Fortnite or Dead by Daylight. It’s not massively surprising to see the buxom British adventurer appear in Battle Royale game Naraka: Bladepoint, then, where she’ll feature as an alternative skin for existing character Matari...
News They Finally Made an Animal Crossing Clone for PS5
Well, kinda
Disney Dreamlight Valley is about as close as you can get to Animal Crossing on PS5 right now, but Floatopia looks even closer. The game, announced by NetEase during Gamescom Opening Night Live, promises all of the “beloved” elements of life simulation games: farming, fishing, logging, and decora
News Marvel Rivals Will Make All Future Superheroes Free on PS5
Captain America and the Winter Soldier arrive
Look, let’s not beat around the bush: Marvel Rivals is going to be huge. Unfathomably huge. Let’s consider the facts: it’s free-to-play, it features some of the most recognisable characters on the planet, and it’s pretty fun. The closed beta test was already massive, but once this opens up to the...
News PS5 Hero Shooter Hit Marvel Rivals Will Reveal New Characters and More at Gamescom
Rivals cool
If, like millions of others, you’re still enjoying the Marvel Rivals closed beta, then you’ll want to pay attention to Gamescom Opening Night Live for the reveal of new characters and content. Host Geoff Keighley confirmed that there’ll be key updates during the German convention’s opening salvo, and you can find out when to...
News You Won't Believe Marvel Rivals' New Playable Character on PS5
This ain't clickbait
Look, we’re all familiar with the Internet: sometimes websites write needlessly dramatic headlines to catch your attention. But we’re really not exaggerating with this one: how many of you had Jeff the Land Shark on your Marvel Rivals bingo card? Okay, we know technically this character leaked so some of you may have already...
News Marvel Rivals' Closed Beta Is Putting Concord's Player Numbers into Perspective
A big difference
Marvel Rivals’ closed beta launched overnight, and it’s blowing up. On PC platform Steam, the title peaked at over 52,671 players – a staggering number when you consider the online stress test requires an invite to be enjoyed. By comparison, the recent Concord open beta – which was free for everyone to download and try –...
News Tomb Raider's Lara Croft Is Popping Up Everywhere on PS5, PS4 Right Now
Crossovers in Dead by Daylight and Naraka: Bladepoint
In the last 24 hours, Lara Croft has been confirmed as a survivor in asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight and as part of a crossover in martial arts battle royale Naraka: Bladepoint. The heroine, one of the most famous protagonists in PlayStation history, is clearly still popular – and...
Preview Marvel Rivals Is Overwatch with Superheroes, But Can It Live Up to Either?
Our thoughts after getting hands-on
Marvel Rivals feels like it should be the most sure-fire success in the current gaming landscape. It stars just under 20 heroes and villains (at launch, anyway) from the comic book house's extensive roster, and they're thrown together into a free-to-play third-person shooter that, despite the perspective change,...
News Marvel Rivals Officially Confirmed for PS5, Closed Beta Test in July
Venom, Adam Warlock revealed
NetEase has now confirmed Marvel Rivals is heading to PS5. In case you aren't aware, this is a multiplayer shooter featuring various Marvel heroes and villains, and you'll soon be able to play it on Sony's console. You can see the game in action in the above trailer, which also confirms a few other things. Firstly, two...
News Cult Classic Shadows of the Damned Gets Hella Remastered for PS5, PS4
So long, Big Boner
Shadows Of The Damned launched during a fascinating part of the PS3 era, where EA suddenly started publishing smaller titles, like the equally iconic Alice: Madness Returns. The business model didn’t last long, but we’re still grateful for the aforementioned third-person shooter, which was co-designed by industry icons Suda51...
Interview Learning More About Project Mugen, a New PS5, PS4 Game That Looks Too Good to Be True
The beginning of a Mugen?
Project Mugen dropped our collective jaws when it was announced prior to Gamescom earlier this year. The upcoming NetEase effort, developed by Thunder Fire subsidiary Naked Rain, appears to have everything: a compelling anime art style, an enormous open world, impressive combat, and even a multitude of traversal options,...
News Urban-Themed Open World RPG Project Mugen Looks Stunning in Developer-Led Gameplay
Gacha catch 'em all
Project Mugen is an upcoming gacha game developed by Naked Rain. In a new "disclosure of production information" trailer, we looked at the next monstrous timesink gunning for Genshin Impact's crown. The team at Naked Rain utilise technology that procedurally generates city environments, allowing for the development of a massive...
News PS5, PS4 Fans Spot Similarities Between Marvel's Spider-Man and Promising Upcoming Gacha
Swing time
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – or so they say! Project Mugen, the upcoming PS5 and PS4 gacha game from Netease subsidiary Naked Rain, is certainly testing that theory, as fans have noticed similarities between its traversal gameplay and Insomniac’s various Marvel’s Spider-Man games. To be fair, it’s undeniable –...
News Free PS5, PS4 Gacha Project Mugen Will Drop Your Jaws
The next big thing?
Wow, watch out HoYoverse, eh? Teased earlier in the month, Chinese juggernaut Netease Games has announced a new, upcoming PS5 and PS4 open world named Project Mugen – and its debut trailer will almost certainly drop your jaws. While it leans heavily into gacha tropes – those waifu character designs have been purpose built to...
News Project Mugen Is the Next PS5 Gacha Gunning for Genshin Impact's Crown
Gonna gacha good
A brand-new open world gacha game is coming to PS5, and it looks pretty promising so far. Project Mugen will be officially unveiled at Gamescom next week, on 24th August, for Sony’s new-gen console alongside PC and mobile. It’s being developed by a studio named Naked Rain, which is a subsidiary of NetEase’s Chinese-based...
News Battle Royale Naraka: Bladepoint's Obligatory NieR Crossover Content Is Coming to PS5
Swarming with swords
Proving to be an extremely lucrative tail for Square Enix, NieR: Automata is crossing over with another series full of swords and stabwounds: Naraka: Bladepoint. Characters from across the expanded NieR universe are bravely venturing into a free-to-play MMO world inspired by legends from the Far East, and we probably should have...
News Melee-Focused Battle Royale Naraka: Bladepoint Draws Steel on PS5
Slice and dice
Naraka: Bladepoint is out now on PS5, with the free-to-play Battle Royale getting a stylish launch trailer showing off the kind of melee-focused action that awaits. As promised, there's even a pack available for PS Plus subscribers with some in-game content to get you started. It's got quite a bit of
News Mythical Melee Battle Royale Naraka: Bladepoint Slices PS5, PS4 for Free
Sharpen up
NetEase’s enormously popular mythical melee focused Battle Royale game Naraka: Bladepoint will finally slice and dice PS5 from 13th July and PS4 at a later date, as the game transitions to a free-to-play business model across all platforms. The title, which will feature full crossplay, will also usher in a variety of new content and...
News NetEase to Fully Acquire Detroit: Become Human Studio Quantic Dream
Dreaming big
Chinese company NetEase has announced it will acquire Quantic Dream, the developer behind the likes of Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human. Already holding a minority stake, NetEase will fully own the studio once the deal closes. Quantic Dream will retain its creative independence, and will be the company's first European studio as it...
News Nagoshi Studio Set Up by NetEase, Yakuza Creator Leads
Will announce first game as soon as possible
NetEase has now formally announced Nagoshi Studio after Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi left SEGA for the Chinese company last year. He will be joined by eight other developers from RGG Studio as founding members, and the team is hoping to reveal its first game as soon as possible. The other eight...
News Yakuza Creator Toshihiro Nagoshi on the Cusp of SEGA Exit
Head hunted by Chinese firm NetEase
SEGA’s tanned industry icon, Toshihiro Nagoshi, is about to be poached by Chinese company NetEase. That’s according to Bloomberg, who are reporting that the Yakuza creator is in “final negotiations” to join the giant, following a 32-year career at the Japanese publisher. It’s speculated that Nagoshi will...
News Knives Out, a Totally Original New Concept, Comes to PS4 Next Year
A smartphone smash hit, apparently
Picture this: there are 100 players on the battlefield and you have to parachute your way in and pick them all off as a giant urban map gradually shrinks around you. Except there aren’t 100 players on this particular battlefield because only approximately 63 people actually bought the game. Alas, we don’t talk...
