The Jampack Report: Gaming News Podcast

Square Enix Presents is a new Direct-style seasonal presentation from Square Enix sharing more details on their upcoming roster of releases. Alongside the reveal of Life is Strange: True Colors and a remastered collection of the first two games, Project Athia received its full official name, Forspoken, and brief gameplay showcasing what players can expect. Here are today's stories:  - SQUARE...

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan shared that 10 new games will be given away during March and April, spotlighting independent developers while also giving players Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition from Guerrilla Games.  Here are today's stories:  - Play at Home 2021 update: 10 free games to download this Spring - EA Play is Coming to PC for Xbox Game Pass Member...

PlayStation has announced Haven, a new Montreal-based independent studio led by industry veteran Jade Raymond. Raymond was most recently VP at Google Stadia, leading Google's first-party development efforts before the company chose to shift towards supporting third-party partners rather than build out unique exclusive experiences for their cloud gaming platform. Here are today's stories:  - I...

Upcoming third-person RPG "Outriders" is officially coming to Xbox Game Pass when it launches on April 1. Here are today's stories:  - Outriders is Coming to Xbox Game Pass on Day One - Five Legendary Bethesda Titles Get the FPS Boost Treatment on Xbox Series X|S Today - Undertale Lands on Xbox Game Pass March 16 - The Outer Worlds 1.07 Update Introduces 60 FPS Support on PlayStation 5, Xbox...

@DyingLightGame has announced that a Dev Update is coming this Wednesday, March 17, to share more about Dying Light 2's development progress.  Here are today's stories:  - Dying Light 2 Dev Update Coming - PS5 is the fastest-selling hardware platform in US history, NPD Group reports - Best Selling Video Games, February 2021 - Xbox Game Pass Outriders Tease - Some Bethesda games now on Xb...

During a Bethesda Roundtable event on Thursday, Phil Spencer provided the most straightforward answer to date on the exclusivity of future Bethesda releases, saying that “if you’re an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is, this is about delivering great EXCLUSIVE GAMES for you, that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists, and that’s our goal.” Here are today's stories:  - Bethesda...

After launching on Steam earlier this week, Forza Horizon 4 has pushed the franchise to one of the most-played racing franchises on the platform with a peak concurrent player count of 14,609.    Here are today's stories:  - @ForzaHorizon on Twitter - @BenjiSales on Twitter - It Just Got Easier to Discover Games on Xbox in Your Preferred Language - One Year of Warzone Follow me on ot...

A post on the Xbox Wire from Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, celebrates the company's acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its eight development studios that will continue creating incredible gaming experiences, "including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players." Here are today's stories:  - Officially Welcoming Bethesda to Team Xbox - March Xbox Update Rolls Out...

VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb reports that Microsoft is planning a shared Xbox and Bethesda "video presentation" on March 11, coming just days after their ZeniMax acquisition was approved by the European Commission. Here are today's stories:  - Xbox and Bethesda will talk this week about what the acquisition means - V1 Interactive is officially closing its doors Follow me on other platforms and st...

The Eurpoean Commission has approved Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, bringing Bethesda Game Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, id Software, and more into the Xbox family.  Here are today's stories:  - Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition approved by the EU - Microsoft starts testing Edge Chromium browser on Xbox - Watch Dogs: Legion multiplayer runs into issues and delays Follow me on...

Valve informed fans that they would be ending development on the 2018 card game, Artifact, via a post on Steam. The company said that a low player count, even after the relaunch of the game through Anthem 2.0, led the company to decide to cease development. The game is now entirely free to play with no microtransactions, providing all players access to the full DOTA 2 card game experience.  H...

A new report from Bloomberg's Takashi Machizuki and Sohee Kim shares more details about Nintendo's revised model of the Nintendo Switch, reported to launch this holiday season. The new device will feature a 7-inch OLED screen with a 720p resolution in handheld mode with 4K support while docked. Production is reported to begin in June with a potential release window for Holiday 2021.  Here are...

Epic Games has acquired Tonic Games Group, bringing the creators of the jelly bean parkour game into the Epic Games family. The companies made the announcement via a blog on the Epic Games website while confirming via a separate blog by Mediatonic's community manager that the future of Fall Guys would not be shifted negatively by the move.  Here are today's stories:  - Tonic Games Group,...

Electronic Arts has pushed Criterion Games' new Need for Speed title by a year, shifting the team into a support role to help DICE finish development of Battlefield 6. EA's Chief Studios Officer spoke with Polygon, sharing that they had consulted with both Criterion and DICE before shifting the development strategy to ensure that it would be the right move to make. Battlefield 6 is set for a full...

2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Pokemon, with plenty of new games and celebrations on the way to mark the occasion! Friday's Pokemon Presents Nintendo Direct showcased plenty of announcements, but three major standouts were Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and a release date for New Pokemon Snap! We're digging into these highlights and hitting the rest of the...

We're hitting the highlights of Sony's first State of Play for 2021, bringing news on the biggest releases coming to PS4 and PS5 consoles around the world in the months ahead! Here are today's stories:  - State of Play February 2021: the complete recap - Oddworld: Soulstorm arrives on PS4 and PS5 April 6 - Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade arrives on PS5 June 10, 2021 - Two FFVII mobile gam...

After Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that EA executives were reviewing progress on the revitalization of BioWare's Anthem, an official statement has confirmed that the company has decided to stop any new development on the game while continuing to provide the Anthem live service as it exists today.  Here are today's stories:  - Anthem Update - PUBG: New State Announced - New Games w...

We're packed with PlayStation news on today's episode of The Jampack Report, with news on a new PlayStation VR headset, Days Gone making the jump to PC this spring with more exclusives on the way, and the return of State of Play slated for tomorrow!  Here are today's stories:  - State of Play returns this Thursday, February 25 - Introducing the next generation of VR on PlayStation - More...

Paradox Interactive has shared that not only has Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 been delayed out of 2021, but Hardsuit Labs has been removed as lead developer and pre-orders for the game have been halted.  Here are today's stories:  - Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Delayed Past 2021, Developers Removed From Project, Preorders Halted - Watch Dogs Legion online multiplayer mode...

BlizzConline 2021 was held over the weekend, bringing big announcements for every major Blizzard title including World of Warcraft, WoW Classic, Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, and more! Here are today's stories:  - Everything that happened at BlizzConline 2021's keynote - Xbox is reportedly putting on a Bethesda showcase next month in March - ROUND ONE: STREET FIGHTER’S RYU AND CHUN-LI SQUARE OFF IN...

Silent Hill fans have had an exciting day. After Bloober Team teased that they've been working for more than a year on a horror IP with a "very famous gaming publisher," leading many to believe that this meant a revival of Konami's horror franchise. However, VGC's sources shared that a Japanese developer has taken on the project - but other sources have shared that two projects are in the works, m...

Nintendo held their first Direct presentation since September 2019, bringing plenty of announcements that brought mixed results from the community. The largest announcements included the Splatoon 3 reveal, Skyward Sword HD, and the return of Mario Golf, but it's now nearly guaranteed that more Directs will be coming in the months ahead to celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.&nbsp...

Square Enix's live service superhero experience, Marvel's Avengers, is getting an upgrade for next-generation hardware on March 18. The update comes alongside the addition of Hawkeye to the hero roster, fleshing out the game's ongoing narrative and enticing new players to dive into the game that lost momentum shortly after launch.  Here are today's stories:  - Nintendo Direct coming toda...

New assets uploaded to the PlayStation Network and found by Multiplayer First revealed a new name for Rainbow Six Quarantine - Rainbow Six Parasite. However, shortly after recording, Ubisoft shared that this name was being used for internal playtesting purposes and was not the final name for the game. Another announcement will be shared soon to provide more information on the future of the game.&n...

New reports from Thurott's Brad Sams and The Verge's Tom Warren share more information about Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming experience for browsers, opening up the cloud gaming experience to millions of devices around the world. There is no ETA, but Sams reports that the project has moved to internal testing with employees at Microsoft, often one of the final steps before new products and services...