Welcome teamLFG to the PlayStation Studios family

Welcome teamLFG to the PlayStation Studios family

Welcome teamLFG to the PlayStation Studios family https://ift.tt/MxRNeXJ

Today, I am thrilled to officially unveil a new studio in the PlayStation Studios family. teamLFG originated at Bungie, but has also rallied developers from across the industry to bring to life an ambitious incubation project that I’m very excited about. The studio is now fully formed and ready to be introduced to the world. 

I’ll let teamLFG introduce themselves properly and give a tiny glimpse of what they’ve been working on. 


“Hello, world. It’s a delight to meet you, and we’re very grateful to be joining PlayStation Studios.

Our studio is headquartered in Bellevue, WA, with team members working both on-site and remotely throughout the U.S. and Canada. We are a team composed not just of industry veterans who have shipped titles like Destiny, Halo, League of Legends, Fortnite, Roblox, and Rec Room, but also industry newcomers with fresh creative perspectives and skills. We are passionate about exceptional action-based gameplay, moment-to-moment game feel, and richly social virtual worlds. 
 
The “LFG” in “teamLFG” stands for “Looking For Group.” We are driven by a mission to create games where players can find friendship, community, and belonging. We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online. We want our players to recognize familiar names and to make myths and memes out of each other. We want our players to love remembering that one time where they pulled off That Play that changed the whole story of the match. As we say on the team – dat’s da good stuff.
 
We will make immersive multiplayer worlds propelled by action games that players can learn, play, and master for countless hours. We want to build our games with our communities, inviting players to be a part of our development process through early access playtests. It’s critical that we stay nimble enough to react to player feedback, not just in our lead-up to launch, but throughout live service as we continue to grow the game and community for years to come. 
 
Our first game is a team-based action game that draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog-type games.  Players will inhabit a lighthearted, comedic world set in brand-new, mythic, science-fantasy universe. We can’t wait to reveal more. 

‘Til then, we’ll do our best! Thanks for reading.”

– teamLFG

You can find more information on teamLFG via the links below:
https://www.playstation.com/corporate/playstation-studios/teamlfg/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamlfg/

Elden Ring Nightreign Interview: reimagined game design anchored by in-depth combat

Elden Ring Nightreign Interview: reimagined game design anchored by in-depth combat

Elden Ring Nightreign Interview: reimagined game design anchored by in-depth combat https://ift.tt/u4rIDPM

Elden Ring Nightreign,  a spin-off action adventure set within the Elden Ring universe, launches on May 30.

We spoke with the game’s director, Junya Ishizaki, about what we can expect from FromSoftware’s upcoming co-op multiplayer.

Game design focused on compelling combat

PlayStation Blog: You have experience working on level and combat design for FromSoftware’s past titles. Was there anything you gave particular attention to when creating Nightreign? What were some of the challenges?

Junya Ishizaki: If I had to pick one aspect that we focused on the most, it would be combat. The game’s main goal is to defeat the Nightlord at the end of each night, and the elements that form the character builds and the world map are placed around the world to make the gameplay more compelling and to encourage players to be more strategic in their combat.

In terms of challenges, honestly, everything was a challenge (laughs). Especially when it came to making major changes to the game mechanics, we had to make sure the game was still viable and truly enjoyable. We could have changed the mechanics without putting much thought into it, but there was a risk that the game would become something completely different, even though it was part of the Elden Ring universe. Finding the perfect balance between something that felt fresh and new, while still feeling true to Elden Ring, was challenging.

What was the idea behind the unique revival system that allows you to rescue incapacitated teammates by attacking them?

Since we were using many existing assets from Elden Ring, we wanted to find ways to leverage them in interesting ways. As we were tossing around ideas, we realized that ‘attacking’ is the most consistent element of Nightreign’s gameplay. We tested to see if it would work for resuscitation, and we discovered a wide variety of tactics depending on range, frequency, and probability, so we formally implemented it. We also found it quite amusing (laughs).

After playing the network test, while I enjoyed building my characters, I also felt like the strategy aspect became a little repetitive. Can we expect more unpredictability that encourages players to be more tactical, in the final product?

Yes, we’re also pursuing that approach, so the same strategy won’t always work when fighting the bosses. Your initial strategy may be effective for a while, but the bosses will gradually evolve and your tactics will no longer be viable, forcing you to rethink your approach.

Also, in the final version of the game, you’ll be able to determine the weakness of each boss before heading out. So, if poison is effective against an upcoming boss, you may proactively search for and loot items that inflict poison more often in that run. Taking advantage of their susceptibility will give you an edge in the fights. We intentionally designed the game so that you’ll need to adapt and evolve your strategies along with the changes that happen in the game.

Fine-tuning the clarity and difficulty – adding buffs to Gladius, Beast of Night

Did you make any changes or adjustments to the game, following the results of the network test?

During the network test, some players found it difficult to understand what elements were visible on the map, and said it was hard to identify next steps or how to use some of the character movesets. To address these issues, we made some changes so that information was conveyed more clearly to players during gameplay.

We also received a lot of helpful feedback regarding the difficulty. We made some adjustments to strike a balance that makes the game challenging as you progress, but still manageable. Gladius, one of the Nightlords, will also receive some updates, so players have that to look forward to in the final game.

Eight playable characters derived from build and fantasy archetypes

Each playable character – or Nightfarer – in the game represents a different class. How did you decide on the eight characters and their unique abilities?

We mapped out what sort of characteristics we wanted our playable characters to embody, and ultimately landed on eight Nightfarers.  There were two pillars that guided our thought process, and one of them was ‘build.’ In the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring, you can distribute your stats to create builds that use certain weapons or magic, and these are often labeled as Strength builds or Pure Magic builds. The other pillar was the idea of ‘fantasy archetypes.’ Swordsmen who fight on the front lines, those who protect you with their shields, wizards skilled in magic, and so on. We ruminated on how we can combine these two pillars to create playable characters that fit into the world of Nightreign. A character like a  ‘macho wizard’ may exist if there were a hundred variations, but it’s a bit too eccentric when we only have a few playable characters (laughs). We simply created combinations of characters that felt most natural, and that ended up as the current eight Nightfarers.   

Elden Ring Nightreign launches on PS5 and PS4 on May 30.

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie https://ift.tt/fdzhHbE

For Guardians, there are always new corners of the cosmos to explore, new stories to immerse themselves in, and new adventures to conquer. Today, the Bungie development team behind Destiny 2 gave the world a first look at what comes next: the epic start of a brand-new Destiny saga!

During the reveal event, Destiny 2 developers unveiled the Year of Prophecy, including a mix of deep dives and sneak peeks at the game’s next two expansions: The Edge of Fate, which will be released on July 15, and Renegades, which follows on December 2, with both available to pre-order now. The two campaigns will not only kick off the story of the all-new Fate Saga but launch alongside a variety of changes to core systems and gameplay mechanics aimed at refreshing how players experience the challenges — and rewards — the game has to offer.

While we can’t possibly cover everything with the space we have here, let’s hit some of the biggest highlights from today’s event, and give you a taste of what to expect in the year ahead for Destiny 2.

The Nine beckon

With the aptly named Fate Saga, Guardians will be asking themselves big questions about their place and role in the universe. Questions like: What is fate? What (or who) is out there, and are they planning for us to find them? These cosmic mysteries and more are at the heart of this new storyline and, with The Edge of Fate, returning players and new Guardians alike will be jumping onboard a new narrative; one that will reward longtime fans who are familiar with Destiny lore, while also serving as an ideal entry point for new players.

“Before the Traveler ever arrived in our solar system, there was already magic here,” said Destiny Assistant Game Director Robbie Stevens. “With the Fate Saga, we want to explore one of Destiny’s biggest mysteries: the foundations of our universe.”

That investigation starts with the Nine – enigmatic celestial beings that have existed… well, for a very, very long time. Destiny players have seen and heard hints about this pantheon of extradimensional beings but the mystery that lies behind them will be one of the primary drivers of the action in The Fate Saga.

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie

Close to the Edge

In The Edge of Fate, Guardians will answer an invitation from a member of the Nine, leading them to a new destination at the edge of the solar system: the mysterious planetoid of Kepler. Shrouded in powerful dark matter, Kepler is a new kind of destination for Destiny players. “We took inspiration from experiences like Dreaming City, dungeons, Exotic missions, and Metroidvanias when creating The Edge of Fate,” said Destiny 2 Narrative Director Alison Luhrs. “At the heart of The Edge of Fate is player-driven discovery and exploration utilizing brand new destination abilities.”

These destination abilities will lend players powerful new capabilities they can activate to help solve puzzles or to use in combat. Matterspark is a prime example, allowing the Guardian the ability to transform into a ball of energy. “Transforming into Matterspark lets you squeeze through tight spaces, jump and dash through the environment, and become a rolling ball of death, shocking and jolting enemies who dare come across you,” said Stevens. Other examples include the Void-focused Relocator Cannon that allows you to teleport around the world, and Mattermorph which combines dark matter and Strand to allow the Guardian to manipulate the environment around them.

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie

Beyond the new narrative, new characters (check out the reveal event replay for an introduction to the newest member of the Destiny character cast, Lodi), and the new destination and abilities, the Bungie team has been hard at work on innovating the core hobby of playing Destiny as well as responding to feedback from fans. A great example is the new Solo Ops playlist, the perfect mode for players who don’t have a lot of time and prefer to play alone.

Truly we’ve only scratched the surface of what Guardians can expect with The Edge of Fate and the Year of Prophecy. Watch the reveal event replay to get all the news on what we’ve covered here, alongside details on the new Portal feature, Power progression updates, activity customization, gear tiering, and much more.

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie

To whet your appetite, Rite of the Nine – a prologue for The Edge of Fate – launches today in Destiny 2. This dungeon-themed event features new difficulty modes that will challenge veteran players and welcome Guardians who have never stepped foot in a dungeon or want to go solo in Explore mode. Brave the depths of the Rite and you can earn special Nine-themed Holofoil weapons.

Think of it as an appetizer to the main course ahead in The Edge of Fate and beyond. Happy feasting, Guardians.

Destiny 2: Prophecy and Fate arrives June 15, full details from Bungie
PlayStation Store: April 2025’s top downloads

PlayStation Store: April 2025’s top downloads

PlayStation Store: April 2025’s top downloads https://ift.tt/QPj30In

It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, and free-to-play games topped the PlayStation Store download charts last month.

April saw a lot of action among the top spots. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Forza Horizon 5 broke into the top three for the U.S. and EU PS5 charts, while Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate dominated the PS VR2 charts across the board. 

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

US/Canada EU
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Forza Horizon 5
Minecraft The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Forza Horizon 5 Minecraft
MLB The Show 25 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
NBA 2K25 EA SPORTS FC 25
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Grand Theft Auto V Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Split Fiction
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Days Gone Remastered
Days Gone Remastered Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
Split Fiction NBA 2K25
EA SPORTS FC 25 Hogwarts Legacy
EA SPORTS College Football 25 Cyberpunk 2077
WWE 2K25 It Takes Two
EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 Lords of the Fallen
Mortal Kombat 1 The First Berserker: Khazan
PGA TOUR 2K25 Mortal Kombat 11
Hogwarts Legacy Mortal Kombat 1


*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

US/Canada EU
Red Dead Redemption 2 Red Dead Redemption 2
Devil May Cry HD Collection Minecraft
Minecraft A Way Out
A Way Out Devil May Cry HD Collection
Devil May Cry 4 EA SPORTS FC 25
Mortal Kombat X Unravel Two
theHunter: Call of the Wild Need for Speed Heat
Batman: Arkham Knight Grand Theft Auto V
Need for Speed Heat Kingdom Come: Deliverance
NBA 2K25 Mortal Kombat X
Grand Theft Auto V Battlefield 1
Middle-earth: Shadow of War Batman: Arkham Knight
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Gang Beasts
Gang Beasts Mafia Trilogy
Unravel Two Dying Light
Kingdom Come: Deliverance theHunter: Call of the Wild
Mafia Trilogy Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Dying Light Devil May Cry 4
Battlefield 1 Watch Dogs 2
Stardew Valley Hogwarts Legacy


*Naming of products may differ between regions 

PS VR2 Games*

US/Canada EU
Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate
Beat Saber Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition
Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition Beat Saber
Alien: Rogue Incursion Flight Simulator Delivery 2025 VR
Metro Awakening Metro Awakening
Arizona Sunshine 2 Alien: Rogue Incursion
Among Us 3D: VR Arizona Sunshine 2
Flight Simulator Delivery 2025 VR Among Us 3D: VR
Pavlov Kill It With Fire VR
Kill It With Fire VR Pavlov


*PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)

US/Canada EU
Fortnite Fortnite
Call of Duty: Warzone Call of Duty: Warzone
Roblox Roblox
Marvel Rivals Rocket League
Rocket League eFootball
FragPunk Asphalt Legends Unite
Apex Legends Stumble Guys
Asphalt Legends Unite Marvel Rivals
Fall Guys Fall Guys
eFootball The Sims 4
Share of the Week: Days Gone Remastered

Share of the Week: Days Gone Remastered

Share of the Week: Days Gone Remastered https://ift.tt/sg0kljN

Last week, we asked to set off on the broken road of Days Gone Remastered and share epic moments of survival using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

calisarah1998 shares Deacon standing in the middle of a desolate street

itsRyanUnicomb shares a look up at Deacon’s motorcycle and the night sky

tulippooh3 shares Deacon walking through a sundrenched field

EmperorHal shares a profile portrait of Boozer and his head tattoo

Holden88805 shares a look the back of Deacon’s vest and weapons

r0gues_fr0ntier shares a look at a Freaker through a broken car window

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Days Gone Remastered – Deacon
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on May 7, 2025 

Next week, we’re sticking by Deacon’s side in Days Gone Remastered. Share portraits of Deacon using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

The Midnight Walk: A stroll through the brand-new creepy narrative adventure

The Midnight Walk: A stroll through the brand-new creepy narrative adventure

The Midnight Walk: A stroll through the brand-new creepy narrative adventure https://ift.tt/rzQqkiG

As the May 8 release date for the PS5 and PS VR2 title The Midnight Walk creeps ever closer, we grow more and more excited to experience this unique dark first-person adventure. Making its debut at State of Play late last year, the game showcased an incredible hand-crafted “cozy horror” world filled with deformed antiques, charming little freaks, and plenty of nightmare fuel. With the clock due to strike midnight very soon, we wanted to get another look at what the game will offer–and savor more of the game’s gorgeous stop-motion inspired visuals in the process. We sat down with its creator, Swedish studio Moonhood for a walk through a new section of the game.  

The Midnight Walk: A stroll through the brand-new creepy narrative adventure

Close your eyes to sense the world around you

You begin The Midnight Walk  as The Burnt One, awakening in a makeshift grave you must extract yourself from. As you move down the winding road ahead and get your bearings, you learn a bit about how the world works: using matches to light fires and candles, sneaking about to escape the notice of threats, and finding and using items. 

One of the most unique actions is closing your eyes to focus on hearing sounds you couldn’t sense normally–and sometimes change the environment when you open them again. On the flat screen version of the game, a button press and hold will increase the volume of important objects and dangers around you. The DualSense controller vibrates to indicate how close you are to an important object. 

After your brief introductory trek, you’ll meet one of the other main figures: Potboy, a being with a stubby little body and a big, malformed head crowned by toasty fire. A touch from a lit match awakens him from his stasis, and he immediately flees in panic, hiding away in a large container. You’ll need to find and feed him some coal to earn his trust, and soon, you’re inseparable–well, you would be, if there weren’t so many creatures lurking in this dark world that feed upon light and fire and see Potboy as either a threat or a treat. You’re going to have to help each other out on your journey to the far-off Moon Mountain, which stands like a faraway monolith guiding you in the distance.

Meet a cast of brazier buddies

The lively, jauntily animated Pothead, being small and nimble, can squeeze into places and interact with the environment in ways the Burnt One can’t–but you’ll need to help guide him to the right spots. His flame can not only set objects alight, it also transforms parts of the landscape. Some elements, like flora, rebloom in vibrant life in response to the flame, while other obstacles dissipate or retract in apparent fear of the fire. 

Much of the puzzle-solving will come from using Potboy in tandem with items or the environment in creative ways: one puzzle we were shown involved lighting a candle to lure a hungry foe away from Potboy so that he could hit some switches without fear of becoming dinner.

Eventually, you’ll meet Pothead’s friend Housy, a living abode that moves about on insect-like legs.  Housy tags along on your journey and serves as a home base and collectible trove–and he looks fantastically freaky creeping along behind you. You can retreat to the safety of Housy’s insides at any time after your meeting, but you will have to go back outside eventually.

While much of The Midnight Walk pacing is relaxed, allowing you to fully savor this world’s murky, off-kilter atmosphere, you’ll still find plenty of sudden surprises that demand a rapid response. Be it a gang of crooked creatures chasing you and Potboy down a narrow path or the Molgrim — a huge cone-shaped, snaggle-toothed beast with a horrifying wail and an insatiable hunger — you’ll need to make some quick decisions to fight or flee. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor: hiding in a closet might throw a monster off your track, or sometimes just running for dear life is all you need. At other times you’ll need to make use of some tools–like the matchlock, that shoots matches at faraway candles and other contraptions. No matter what, you’ll always need to be alert, because danger is omnipresent and can strike when you least expect. 

Let the night envelop you

Every moment in The Midnight Walk is full of intrigue. As you wander through dimly-lit, gnarled environments, you find yourself surrounded by objects that feel like an uneasy mix of the natural and the artificial, the direct result of the numerous real-life models and objects that the team at Moonhood have painstakingly scanned into the game and animated. “Shellphones” found throughout tell a story of a world that was once crafted and curated, now left seemingly to rot away. Even the characters that seem friendly–or, at least, not murderously aggressive– to you and Pothead have something “off” about them, like the citizens of Nobodyville whose bodies have long since been banished, leaving them as craniums with a distrust of limbed “Somebodys.”

While the game looks incredible on a normal setup, PS VR2 fully immerses you in the strange beauty of this world. Looking around and interacting with the environment is far more intuitive and immersive: for example, instead of using a button to close your eyes, you’ll be able to actually close your eyes to make use of hypersensory hearing or environment-altering power. This mechanic isn’t just used for listening. Finding “eye symbols” hidden across the world and “meditating” on them causes the environment – and sometimes monsters – to change…

Binaural sound makes every creak, flame, and roar feel more vibrant and powerful while letting you enjoy the beauty of the tense, haunting soundtrack. The developers at MoonHood were eager to tell us about how impressive the scenes we saw were on PS VR2, and we’re inclined to take their word for it. So get your matches and candles ready–you’re about to take the walk of your life.