News:: 'Assassin's Creed Origins' could arrive on October 27th

Ubisoft is expected to launch a new Assassin's Creed at E3 2017, but some Game Informer subscribers who got their next issue early might already have the details the developer plans to announce. Based on photographs of the magazine posted by HungryGhost57 on Reddit and Imgur, the new entry in the series entitled Assassin's Creed Origins will be released on October 27th with the tagline: "As an empire falls, a brotherhood rises." The announcement's accompanying illustrations show the titular assassin against a backdrop of pyramids and sphinxes, just like the retail pre-order card that was also leaked a couple of days ago.

Via: Polygon

Source: HungryGhost57 (Reddit), (Imgur)

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News:: Big Resident Evil sale brings cheapest RE7 for PC

If Halloween is the in-season for a Resident Evil game, this is the off-season. As of writing big deals are available on Resident Evil PC titles in a new series weekend sale at GamersGate. Steam keys are being sold for a fraction of their usual cost, though pointedly the sale doesn't even run through the entire weekend.

Resident Evil Weekend Deals

• Resident Evil 7 Deluxe Edition (Steam) — $50.75  (list price $90)
• Resident Evil 7 (Steam) — $30.23  (list price $60)
• Umbrella Corps Deluxe Edition (Steam) — $16  (list price $40)
• Resident Evil Revelations 2 Deluxe Edition (Steam) — $13.50  (list price $30)
• Umbrella Corps (Steam) — $10.80  (list price $30)
• Resident Evil HD Remaster (Steam) — $8.60  (list price $20)
• Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster (Steam) — $8.40  (list price $20)
• Resident Evil 6 (Steam) — $6.60  (list price $30)
• Resident Evil: Revelations (Steam) — $6.07  (list price $30)
• Resident Evil 5 (Steam) — $5.88  (list price $20)
• Resident Evil 4 HD (Steam) — $5.88  (list price $20)

The key deal in the sale is the lowest price ever on this year's Resident Evil 7. The Standard Edition for $30.23 is a new low by about $6 while the Deluxe Edition (which includes the game + season pass) is at a historic low by $8. At half-off, these are both great prices for those waiting for summer sale pricing.

Another top deal in the sale is the Resident Evil HD Remaster Steam key dropping to $8.60. This 57% discount off the usual $20 is actually quite rare and only pennies off its best price to date.

The sale at GamersGate is for a very limited time and won't even last the weekend. The official expiration is Sunday, June 11 at 7:00pm Eastern, so if the titles look enticing enough don't wait until Sunday night.

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News:: The Overwatch voice actors had a dance party

Well, this is just the best.

Anjali Bhimani, the voice of Symmetra, has rounded up her extended Overwatch family for one of life's greatest joys: a dance party! Watch the crew adorably recreate their dance emotes from the anniversary event and then rewatch the whole thing because they're super into it and it's so dang good.

[Via NeoGAF]

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News:: HP graduation sale has a nicely spec'd gaming laptop for only $610

To quote a famous smuggler, the HP Power Laptop may not look like much, but it definitely has the right specs. Since the middle of this week, HP has been running a limited-time sale on select HP Pavilion laptops -- which are of course the budget/mainstream lineups that you'll often find at ubiquitous box stores such as Costco and Best Buy.

While neither store is exactly what you'll think of in terms of places to see enthusiast-level laptops, tucked away on HP's website are the great value Pavilion Power Laptops. In outward appearance, they look like any other HP Pavilion budget laptop, but in these machines, you'll find the latest 7th Gen Intel Kaby Lake Quad Core processors, a respectable Full HD IPS display panel (even with an option of a 2160p display), and an equally capable GeForce GTX 1050 Ti discrete graphics processor. It's a decent gaming laptop that won't break the bank.

If budget gaming isn't your forte and you simply need a laptop for the upcoming college life, you'll also find a dirt-cheap 15-inch laptop starting at $249, a convertible 13-inch laptop at $429, and a 17-inch desktop replacement for $439. The premium "Omen" gaming laptops can also be found in the weekly sale offer, but with only nominal $50 and $100 off discounts for the 15- and 17-inch versions, you'll find the Omen missing in the roundup below as they're not exactly noteworthy deals.

HP Budget Laptop Weekend Deals

• HP 15t Power Laptop, Core i5-7300HQ, GTX 1050, 1080p IPS, 6GB, 1TB HDD — $609.99  (list price $850)
• HP 17z AMD A10-9600P, 6GB RAM — $489.99  (list price $690)
• HP Pavilion x360 Touch, Core i3-7100U, 4GB — $429.99  (list price $480)
• HP 15z AMD Quad-E2-7110, 4GB, 500GB HDD — $249.99  (list price $370)
• HP 14t Celeron N3060, 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMc (Black) — $149.99  (list price $240)

All laptop deals above ends on Saturday night, but if it gets extended we'll update the roundup accordingly.

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News:: This Quake vinyl could be the perfect drug

There was once a time when video game soundtracks weren't fully orchestrated or composed by rock musicians. Technology limited composers to MIDI tunes, so there wasn't a need to call in more "professional" acts to spruce up your game. ID Software, though, thought differently for Quake in 1996. They wanted the game to be gritty, dark and violent with a soundtrack that packed all those same adjectives.

I can ruminate all day about how substantial Trent Reznor's soundtrack was for gaming. Not only did it show that the industry was moving beyond being targeted solely at children, but it pushed the action of its game into overdrive, making for intense shootouts in spooky gothic environments that still hasn't been matched by anything else. Quake is a bonafide classic and its soundtrack contributed to that status.

Trent's band Nine Inch Nails looks set to be releasing the soundtrack on vinyl format. There isn't a release date or even pre-orders up, but an image of the disc comes straight from the official website for the group. Unless this is a clerical error, I'm pretty sure we're getting the seminal work on a format it deserves.

I actually still have my CD of the game, solely because of its soundtrack. I love that ID used a dual layer disc to encode data on one layer and music on the other. CD drives back in the day had a slight delay, though, so I always remember the music skipping a bit.

Trent Reznor's Quake soundtrack is getting the vinyl treatment [PC Gamer]

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News:: Xbox exec reveals Scorpio has 9GB of RAM available for games

We're still a couple of days away from Microsoft officially revealing its Project Scorpio Xbox, but details continue to dribble out. Xbox & Windows gaming platform VP Mike Ybarra tweeted that the team "Unlocked extra GB of RAM for (game developers), now 9GB of GDDR5." The console's specs include 12GB of GDDR5 RAM built-in (the devkits that we've seen feature 24GB of RAM), but as with other game systems, some of its resources are reserved to handle system features, multitasking apps and other non-game elements.

Source: Mike Ybarra (Twitter)

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News:: Catch Red from Pokemon in figma form

Just ahead of the avalanche of E3 news, Japan's Pokémon Center has revealed that Red from Pokémon will be receiving the figma treatment.

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News:: In Los Angeles on Monday? Drink Dtoid Dranks at Golden Gopher

We're having a thing at E3. You should come. RSVP here*

Come have a chillaxing, refreshing, possibly fatal non-dance party drink-up hosted by Destructoid's Editors and the Enthusiast Gaming Network. We're gathering in wrinkled clothing on Monday the 12th at The Golden Gopher, located just five minutes from the Silent Hill Convention Center. *Doors open at 8pm, no list. Bar closes at 2 A.M.

Map and Directions
417 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 614-8001 

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News:: Comments of the Week 04: Banjos, Bats, and Boo...Nevermind

Howdy there my fellow fellers. Today's Comments of the Week is brought to you by this old man from 1992's Phalanx box art and yours truly, ZombZ. This is my first go at this and I'm hoping to do this beloved blog series justice, like FakePlasticTree, TheLimoMaker and Gmana have done before me these past three weeks. I'm glad they tested the waters for me first, although I'm a little concerned, because from growing up, I remember being the fourth person to hop into a bathtub doesn't really make you feel all that great. Well, moving on.

As always here comes the funny and/or insightful stuff you've thrown out into the vast emptiness of the internet. Okay. Some of the stuff you've thrown out. No, some of the stuff, some of you have thrown out. Actually, very little of what you, as a collective, have written. Well, moving on.

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News:: Star Wars Battlefront II will hold its multiplayer beta in the fall

Ahead of Electronic Arts' press conference tomorrow, the company has solidified some details about the Star Wars Battlefront II beta. Similar to the last game's multiplayer beta (which brought in upwards of 9.5 million people), it will be available "this fall" on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Folks who pre-order the game will get early access, among other digital extras and head-starts.

Pre-order #StarWarsBattlefrontII for early beta access, an epic Yoda bonus, and much more. Details: https://t.co/BxKpQBctVa http://pic.twitter.com/gVXPaLEe5g

— EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) June 9, 2017

Aside from the diehard fans who still play DICE's Battlefront to this day, I think it's safe to say most of us who found enjoyment in that game are firmly in wait-and-see territory for the sequel. There's much to prove. If they can flesh out the mechanics and get their DLC strategy correct, I'm probably down.

A curious note from the Origin page for Battlefront II: "Each season brings fresh, new downloadable content, available to all players***. With exciting new locations, characters and quests, you can take part in a connected universe and be rewarded..." Looking at the asterisks further down the listing, you'll need a copy of the game, the latest updates, an internet connection, an EA account, and PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold if you're on a console. Based on that wording, this is a reassuring step up.

Get Early Beta Access and an Epic Yoda Bonus [EA]

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News:: Review: DiRT 4

DiRT 4’s tagline is "Be Fearless" and it definitely makes sense. This is a game more concerned about accurately recreating the sensation of Rally Sport than it is about accommodating lesser-skilled players. You need to be willing to throw away your conception of what racing games are and engage with how brutal this game can be. You have to push yourself to your limits to get better or else go home with nothing.

To put to bluntly, DiRT 4 is not for everyone. This is a game for people who are willing to work for their entertainment and the rewards can be sweet. The biggest issue plaguing the whole package, though, is a lack of content beyond basic modes.

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News:: IO Interactive is set to drop Hitman's episodic structure soon

For all the good that the latest Hitman game has, a lot of people are turned off by the episodic structure of its content. I suppose there isn't much IO can do to actually change how the game is coded, but you'll soon only have a single option for purchasing the game before season two kicks off.

In two weeks time, Hitman will be sold as a complete experience. The introduction pack and upgrade option will be discontinued in favor of a single option that includes everything. Individual episodes will also no longer be available on PC, though if you have only certain episodes, you'll be given discount pricing based on what content you have when buying into the full game.

On consoles, things are a little bit less clear. Xbox One owners will get a discount on "The Complete First Season" if they own any of the previous episodes. All episodes will still be available for regular purchase. PS4 owners won't receive any kind of legacy discount, but can still opt to buy episodes individually.

As for why this is now happening, IO has taken to their blog to explain the decision. "These changes have been planned since early March and will make it easier and simpler to buy the game. These changes will help us to lay the foundations for our future plans for Hitman." Hopefully this means that season two will release as a full game, but who knows?

Hitman is ditching its episodic model in two weeks [Eurogamer]

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News:: Falling in and out of love with E3

Let's take a few minutes to talk about the most horrible thing that's happened to anyone ever. Like, ever-ever. A snail bit my uncle's wiener off, and even that wasn't as horrible as the worst thing that's ever happened to me. But before I further hyperbolize an event more or less meaningless in the grand scheme of life, let's take it back a little.

Do you remember E3 growing up? I do. I'm 30, and back in the days before the internet we had to go to the Barnes & Noble's with our step dads and camp in the magazine section while Terry read Guns, Germs, and Steel chapter-by-chapter because he was too cheap to buy the damned thing for $17.99 (like, seriously Terry, just skip the Molson's for one weekend and buy the book!). Anyway, while Terry was getting his step dad on, we nerdy, red-headed step children would plop down in front of EGM, GamePro, and, my personal favorite, PSM and ingest all of the wonderful gooeyness drip-fed to us once a month in print publications. Did it suck that you really only got news once every thirty days? Kinda. Did that one day out of thirty fucking rule? You know it.

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News:: GameStop confirms extensive credit card data breach

If you're a GameStop customer, check your mail. The company just sent out letters to online patrons confirming a suspected payment security breach.

In April, GameStop said they were looking into a possible data breach that might have put customers' credit card information at risk. Confirming those suspicions, Kotaku reported today that a number of GameStop customers have received letters notifying them that their credit cards may have been stolen.

Source: Kotaku

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News:: Here's how long each of the E3 press conferences are

E3 starts on Saturday this year, which seems absurd considering that it was just three years ago that Monday morning was the designated spot for the first press conference. But Bethesda and EA swooped in, doing their best to push back the boundaries of E3 as best they could. (Ironically, EA did this by completely separating itself from the actual convention.)

The ripple effect is akin to having an airplane row all to yourself. You've got room to stretch out, to sprawl without disrupting your neighbors. Each publisher and platform-holder has more time in the spotlight because its competition isn't stealing all the attention mere hours later.

That being said, it's somewhat tougher for you, the audience, to plan for. The grueling gauntlet of Monday press conferences doesn't exist anymore. Now you have to be readily available over the course of three days. It can be tough to manage.

So, in the interest of getting you prepared, we're documenting how long each presser is expected to last, along with where you can watch them. Without further ado:

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News:: OlliOlli dev's new game is Laser League

Following its skateboarding series OlliOlli and its side-scrolling shooter Not a Hero, developer Roll7 is now shifting to Laser League, a team-based arcade future-sport game.

Players work to control nodes in an arena, dodge the other team's beams, and "fry their opponents with speed, strength, and strategy." There are power-ups, character classes, and you can play offline or online. That's the basic setup, but something tells me this is better played than seen

Speaking of, you may need to set this rapid-fire trailer to half speed to really follow along.

Laser League is looking at a 2018 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with a Steam Early Access version showing up sometime this summer. Multiplayer-centric games like this can sometimes be a tough sell for the general game-playing public, but I like Roll7's prior work well enough.

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News:: Ace Combat 7's E3 trailer has a bunch of silly questions and overly serious acting

Does anyone really care what happens in an Ace Combat game? I know there has to be at least one person that is sincerely invested in the plight facing the protagonists of each entry, but I've never been able to even understand what is going on. Everyone sounds so serious and is asking a bunch of hokey existential questions that I just tune it out. I just like the art of soaring through the air and dodging incoming missiles.

Ace Combat 7 looks to contain that, at least from what I can gleam in this trailer. There isn't an ounce of gameplay present with the entire thing being made up of an FMV introduction to the game. I mean, it looks pretty, but it also isn't representative of anything we'll actually be doing gameplay wise.

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News:: Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood pre-order deal floats in at 17% off

T-minus less than two weeks for Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood's arrival on both the PC and PS4. We're rounding up some last minute deals for fans of the Square Enix MMO. If you're a PS4/PS3 gamer you can check out immediately from this post as unsurprisingly, deals are reserved only for PC gamers.

If you're a PC gamer that owns Final Fantasy XIV through Steam? You too should also go shovel some dirt because you too - are getting zilch in savings. For the rest of us who have been playing FFXIV on MogStation/Square Enix's platform since Day One - your undying loyalty has been rewarded with an odd numbered 17% off pre-order discount on Stormblood.

Final Fantasy XIV Deals

• Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - Digital Collector's Edition (Publisher DRM) — $49.79  (list price $60)
• Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (Publisher DRM) — $33.29  (list price $40)

GMG's key will work for all region except for Japan, provided you purchase at the proper regional version of the retailer's website (re: don't use VPN) during checkout (more details here). Included in the pre-order deal is are these pre-order bonuses: early access for June 16 next week, along with a red mage minion plus an in-game earrings accessory that works for all classes and level.

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is the latest expansion to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and will require the base game to play. Included in this expansion is also the Heavensward expansion, so if you only have AAR you won't need to buy the previous one.

The game releases June 20, 2017.

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News:: Sony slashes prices on the year's biggest games ahead of E3

If you can't make it to LA this weekend and next week for the open-to-the-public E3, Sony still wants you to have a good time at home. In addition to a week of free access to multiplayer gaming sans a PlayStation Plus subscription (and a $10 discount on said subscription), Sony has slashed the prices on some of the biggest games from this year. Horizon Zero Dawn, MLB: The Show 17 and Nioh have all been marked down to $40, while The Last Guardian and Uncharted 4 from last year are now $20. The European PlayStation store is offering similar deals.

Source: PlayStation Blog (1) (US), (2) (UK)

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News:: Activision promises a 'special announcement' for Crash during E3

It's kind of amazing that Crash Bandicoot got as big as it did. Naughty Dog has a lot to be proud of (and even commemorated it in Uncharted 4), as they crafted a great platforming trilogy and one of the best kart racers ever made.

But now that duty has been handed off to Vicarious Visions in the form of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which is set to debut later this month -- a full year after it was announced at E3 2016. Is it the end for Crash? Maybe not, because Activision isn't even waiting to see the N. Sane Trilogy's sales before making another announcement.

According to Activision's full E3 listing, in addition to Call of Duty: WWII, Destiny 2, and the Trilogy, there's also going to be a "special Crash announcement" during the show. I know I'm setting you up for disappointment here as it might even be the long rumored declaration that the Trilogy isn't exclusive to the PS4.

Either way, something is happening!

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News:: You can't be divided about this fusion of steep discounts on Ubisoft games

For the weekend leading up to E3, Ubisoft has decided to discount a bunch of their games on Uplay to get people ready for upcoming games...somehow. I'm not sure how that works, but if you've been holding out to get some Ubisoft titles on PC, first, you have my sympathy. Secondly, your time has come.

Ubisoft's "Crazy E3 Sale" runs until June 18 and features up to 75% off certain games. Obviously newer titles won't be that heavily discounted, but you can get some actual classic games from Ubisoft's store for a small chunk of change.

In addition to all the savings, Ubisoft is also holding a free weekend for Trials Fusion, The Division and Steep. Called the UbiE3 Weekend (how did you guys miss UbE3?), you'll need to head over to this website to register your Uplay account for access. You won't be able to try them from Steam, so that might suck for some people.

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News:: Bloodstained is still looking good, if a little slow

Let's do a quick recap on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's development process.

Back in 2015, former Konami developer Koji Igarashi managed to scrape up $5.5 million in funding, Inafune style, with a "stick it to the man" Kickstarter campaign. Originally it was set to debut on every platform under the sun with every DLC stretch goal at once, but the Wii U version was scrapped in favor of the Switch, and the team shifted to a "we'll get the extra content out later" approach.

That wasn't so bad, even amidst multiple delays, but when IGA and crew stated that they were "only 20 to 30 percent done" after two years and they're still set for an early 2018 date, people got a little worried. Now some are getting even more concerned as more footage is shown, including is semi-floaty gameplay that was unveiled today, complete with some odd particle effects (the bell crashing down at :025 is rough looking).

Still, it doesn't look like a disaster, and if they need to delay it even more, so be it.

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News:: Review: iClever's budget IC-HS20 Gaming Headset & stand

Gaming headsets priced less than a nice steak dinner often fall somewhere between the meh to soon-to-be-snapped-in-half categories, but there are some exceptional standouts. I found such a unicorn among the hot garbage this time around.

The IC-HS20 by iClever are a curious set of headphones for $29.99. They're made of premium materials, they're YUUGE, come with LED lighting, sport a stylish design, have an almost eight-foot cord, and include a glossy headphone stand. I was dying to know -- at that price, what the hell is wrong with it?

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News:: PSA: Overwatch's double XP event is live now, ends Monday night

Overwatch's anniversary event is coming to a close soon, but before that happens you can snag double the amount of experience for playing. The switch for XP was flipped last night, and will run until Monday June 12 at 11:59 PT.

While people are happy enough about the new arenas and costumes, it's come up that the amount of credits required to get everything in the Anniversary event is astronomically high (roughly 20,000 more credits than the last few). While no one is expected to unlock everything, the issue of currency creeping is valid, and director Jeff Kaplan recently stated that he and his team have taken note of it, and will possibly respond in the future (which they have a track record of doing).

I'm still salty about the first ever event, the Summer Games, which didn't allow users to buy any items with coins. They subsequently changed that rule, thankfully, but the Summer items remain locked until the event happens again.

Jeff Kaplan [Battle.net]

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News:: Astro Boy: Edge of Time coming to Steam this month

Active Gaming Media and Tezuka Productions have announced that Astro Boy: Edge of Time, a digital card game, will be coming to Stream this month. The game utilizes a free-to-play model and will be available in English and Japanese.

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News:: Arms is in the running for the best theme song of the year

Even though I had some problems with Arms, no one can deny that it's one of Nintendo's most stylish games as of late.

That flair includes the amazing theme song (that Nintendo just released in video form below) that gets me jacked up every time I boot it up -- so much so that I find myself just listening to the entire thing. I do the same with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with its rocking guitar solo. According to Nintendo the track is sung by Japanese artist Eliana.

Hopefully they can keep up the pace with new fighters, arenas, arms, tweaks, and modes. If that's the case it'll end up just like Splatoon and could foster a healthy fanbase.

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News:: Indie games invade the art world at the Megashow festival

The Indie Megabooth, a bastion of independent games at conventions around the world, is growing. Again. But this time around, things are different: The Megabooth is expanding beyond games.

The Megashow is the first standalone festival to be spun off from the Megabooth proper: It's a roaming, daylong fair designed to highlight local creatives and bring communities together around video games, art and music. The Megashow will make its debut at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on July 15th.

"Our initial goal was to expose new audiences to indie games and show them that there was this whole other side to game creation," says Megabooth leader Kelly Wallick. "Over time, we've moved so far past that to the point that we have fans and press who specifically come to the Megabooth area to discover content and reconnect with teams and games they love, which is amazing. But on the flip side of this, it has become more challenging to reach new audiences."

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News:: Dragon Ball Fighters announced for PS4, Xbox One and PC, developed by Arc System Works

Bandai Namco has announced a new fighting game based off of the Dragon Ball series titled Dragon Ball Fighters. The game will be released worldwide in early 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, and is being developed by Arc System Works, makers of Guilty Gear Xrd.

While not much is known at the moment, as the announcement was accidentally posted early by Bandai Namco, it seems like fans will be in for a treat. The game will be using a three versus three format, similar to games such as King of Fighters and Marvel vs Capcom, allowing fans to create their dream team ups. Arc System Work will be looking to recreate the flashy, high-speed battles that the series is known for.

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