The Jampack Report: Gaming News Podcast

The mysterious Lombax in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart finally has a name - Rivet! A new State of Play brings more info and gameplay this Thursday for one of the summer's biggest PlayStation 5 exclusives.  Here are today's stories:  - Meet Rivet, the mysterious new protagonist in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - 'Apex Legends' is getting a permanent team deathmatch mode - INTRODUCING...

EA has teased an upcoming announcement for the next-generation Battlefield experience, reaffirming a Holiday 2021 launch window. The company also announced that a mobile Battlefield experience is in development in collaboration with Industrial Toys, entering beta soon and aiming for a full launch in 2022. Here are today's stories:  - THE BATTLEFIELD IS EXPANDING - APEX LEGENDS MOBILE REGIONAL...

The official Polish PlayStation website prematurely revealed the PlayStation Plus Video Pass, a new year-long addition to the PlayStation Plus offering that initially promotes Venom, Zombieland: Double Tap, and Bloodshot as three available offerings.  Note: I accidentally refer to the Italian PlayStation website when discussing the Video Pass leak rather than the Polish website.  Here ar...

The Wall Street Journal reports that communication platform Discord has ended talks to be acquired by Microsoft for $10B or more. The company will remain independent for now, but is also reportedly exploring the opportunity to go public in the months ahead.  Here are today's stories:  - Discord says no deal to Microsoft, will reportedly remain independent - NEW LEADERSHIP FOR OVERWATCH -...

Microsoft has announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming, otherwise known as Project xCloud, is coming to Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones and tablets starting today in a limited invite-only testing wave for select Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. The service, baked into Game Pass Ultimate, has been limited to Android phones and tablets since it exited the Preview program and was unable to pass the requi...

Amazon has canceled their upcoming Lord of the Rings MMO after the company was unable to come to amicable terms with Tencent after the company's acquisition of their development partner, Leyou Technologies Holdings Ltd.  Here are today's stories:  - Amazon's Lord Of The Rings MMO Canceled - PS5 Is Now The Fastest Selling Console In U.S. History In Units Sold And Dollar Sales Follow me on...

Capcom's latest Resident Evil Showcase gave us a fresh look at the upcoming Resident Evil Village ahead of its May release, dropping details on a limited-time demo coming to PS4 and PS5 in April and to other platforms in May. The news didn't stop there, with Resident Evil 4 coming to Oculus Quest 2 as a VR experience and Dead by Daylight getting a crossover collaboration in celebration of the fran...

Yesterday's Nintendo Indie World presentation showcased plenty of new games coming to their console throughout 2021, including some that are out now! In addition to Fez, House of the Dead Remake, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, Olli Olli World, and Oxenfree 2 all saw big debuts. Here are today's stories:  - Everything Announced During Today's Nintendo Indie World - Ubisoft will pull the plug on Rai...

The newest update for the PlayStation 5 is coming today, introducing new social features and a variety of quality of life improvements. The biggest additional feature is the support for USB external storage to store PlayStation 5 games, though PS5 games will not be playable directly from an external storage device. M.2 expansion drive support is still in development and will be added in a future u...

A new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier shares more about Sony's obsession with creating multi-million record setters, leaving smaller studios behind and leaving developers wanting more. Schreier shares more about a new PS5 remake of The Last of US, Days Gone 2 getting rejected by Sony, and how Michael Mumbauer's team basically dissolved after their The Last of Us remake was moved to Naughty...

Arkane Lyon has announced that its time-looping FPS, Deathloop, has been delayed to September 14 from its original release date of May 21. This marks another major blow for the spring and summer release seasons, delaying one of this quarter's biggest PS5 exclusives.  Here are today's stories:  - Deathloop Has Been Delayed Again - Deathloop Twitter announcement - Destroy All Humans! remak...

Known leaker Jeff Grubb has said that Hideo Kojima is in talks with Xbox to publish a new project, according to sources familiar with the matter.  Here are today's stories:  - Rumour: Hideo Kojima In Talks With Microsoft About Publishing His Next Game - Abandoned for PS5 is not a secret Hideo Kojima game - Atari changes CEO and sets up separate Gaming and Blockchain divisions - Embracer...

The Entertainment Software Association has shared more details around E3 2021, a virtual event coming June 12-15 that already has an impressive list of partners including Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, and Koch Media. The event is set to return in 2022 as an in-person event.  Here are today's stories:  - E3 2021: GAME ON. - Nintendo, Xb...

Sony's game subscription service, PlayStation Now, is getting some major additions today. Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers headlines the month's additions alongside Gearbox's Borderlands 3. As Xbox Game Pass continues to provide more value for players, this could mark a major step for Sony reinvesting in bringing PlayStation Now subscribers more value for their investment.  Here are today'...

ZDNet reports that a "What's Next in Gaming" virtual event is coming alongside Microsoft Build 2021, sharing more about the developer tools that the company is providing to help creators make the most of gaming on Windows and Xbox systems.  Here are today's stories:  - "What's Next for Gaming" Event Coming with Microsoft Build 2021 (REPORT) - There's a "ton" of "really cool" Titanfall co...

The ESA has said that no elements of E3 2021's digital event will be locked behind a paywall in response to a report from VGC's Andy Robinson that organizers were considering at least partially locking elements of this year's show behind a paywall.  Here are today's stories:  - E3 2021 u-turns on proposal to put some content behind a paywall - @E3 Response - MLB The Show 21 Comes to Game...

GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb shared on a recent livestream that he has heard Alan Wake 2 is in development by Remedy and is set to be published by Epic. News surrounding the IP has swirled recently, with Remedy reacquiring the publishing rights from Microsoft and creating an Alan Wake-themed DLC for Control. Here are today's stories:  - Remedy is reportedly making Alan Wake 2 with Epic Games - Back...

CD Projekt has announced RED 2.0, a restructure and reconsideration of the team's approach to development, marketing, and release of future games. The company also shared news of a Vancouver-based acquisition and next-gen updates coming for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 in 2021.  Here are today's stories:  - CD PROJEKT Group: Strategy Update | Aktualizacja Strategii [EN/PL] - Cyberpun...

After last week's report from TheGamer, PlayStation has updated their "Discontinued PlayStation apps, features and services" list to include a section for "PS3, PS Vita, and PSP PlayStation Store closure." PS3 and PSP stores will go offline on July 2 followed by PlayStation Vita on August 27.  Here are today's stories:  - Important notices regarding PlayStation® products and services - R...

Modern Warzone has reported that Sledgehammer Games is at work on 2021's Call of Duty, which known Call of Duty insider VictorZ shared will return to World War 2. Eurogamer's sources have confirmed this claim. However, Modern Warzone previously reported that the game would at least partially take place in the 1950s, leading to speculation of the game featuring an alternate timeline where the war d...

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is now in exclusive acquisition talks to acquire the online communication platform Discord for upwards of $10B with a deal set to close as soon as next month.  Here are today's stories:  - WSJ: Microsoft is now in 'exclusive' talks to acquire Discord - Microsoft Is in Exclusive Talks to Acquire Discord - Xbox chief says Project Scarlett ‘wil...

After announcing the move earlier this year, Microsoft is now testing free multiplayer - no Xbox Live Gold membership required - for free-to-play games like Warzone, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.  Here are today's stories:  - Microsoft makes Xbox Party Chat free as part of its Xbox Live free-to-play changes - Brad Rossetti on Twitter - ANNOUNCING ROCKET LEAGUE SIDESWIPE FOR MOBILE - Steam...

Amazon has announced a new development studio based in Montreal, Canada. Amazon is currently building out the time, hiring for multiple positions. The studio’s first project will be an online multiplayer title based on new IP. Here are today's stories:  - Amazon Games Opens Development Studio in Montreal - GameStop misses earnings, names new COO, focuses on digital - Genshin Impact Races Past...

A report early Monday from VentureBeat suggested that Discord was being considered for an acquisition, with Bloomberg later reporting that Microsoft is in talks to acquire the gaming-centric communication platform for $10B. Here are today's stories:  - Microsoft in talks with Discord over $10 billion-plus acquisition: report - Microsoft rebrands Xbox Live to Xbox network - Nintendo's upgraded...

WB Games Montreal's Gotham Knights has been delayed to 2022. The announcement was made via Twitter, with the company saying that the delay was "to deliver the best possible experience for players." Here are today's stories:  - Gotham Knights Delayed - Marvel's Avengers: Spider-Man Being Developed, But Not Coming Before Black Panther - It looks like Battlefield 6 might get revealed in May - Wa...