Naughty Dog confirms that the digital version of PS3-exclusive The Last of Us will be playable as it downloads.

Digitally purchased copies of upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last of Us will be playable while the game is still downloading, developer Naughty Dog has confirmed.

Speaking to Game Informer, Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann and The Last of Us game director Bruce Straley said that customers of the digital release will be able to start playing the game once 50 percent of the data has been downloaded.

Being able to play games as they are being downloaded is one of the key new features of Sony’s upcoming next-generation PlayStation 4, which will launch later in 2013.

Yesterday The Last of Us’ lead artist Nate Wells took to Twtter to praise the game’s multiplayer mode. “I wish I could appropriately prepare you people for [The Last of Us],” he said. “But even if I were allowed to, I can’t. And I really can’t prepare you for the best [multiplayer] ever conceived.”

Naughty Dog’s latest game went gold this week.

The Last of Us will be released digitally on the PlayStation Store on June 14, the same day as the game’s physical release.

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Multiple sources suggest EA to close its third-party publishing label.

EA Partners, EA’s publishing arm designed to bring third-party games to market, is said to be closing down.

Multiple sources reported the closure to Game Informer, though EA is yet to make an official statement on the matter.

There are currently two games waiting to be published under the EA Partners label: Insomniac’s upcoming team-based shooter Fuse, and Respawn Entertainment’s currently unannounced project. Both of these will reportedly be unaffected.

Over the past few years EA Partners has attached itself to some high-profile titles, including Left 4 Dead, Portal 2, Bulletstorm, Shadows of the Damned, Crysis, Rock Band, Brutal Legend, and ill-fated MMO APB.

But the label was also involved with the long-running struggle of open-world RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a big-budget game which lost money and triggered the closure of developer 38 Studios. Whether EA is owed money by 38 Studios is currently unknown, though the state of Rhode Island is currently in the process of taking legal action against 38 Studios’ boss and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

Game Informer points out that the EA Partners label was a relatively lean department at EA, employing around 50 people.

EA, however, has struggled with disappointing financials during its last financial year and the departure of its long-serving CEO John Riccitiello.

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[UPDATE] Microsoft confirms it will “give you a real taste of the future” during event next month.

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Microsoft confirmed that it will hold a press event on May 21 at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington to “give you a real taste of the future.”

“On Tuesday May 21st, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment,” Microsoft said in a statement. “On that day, we’ll be holding a special press event on the Xbox campus and we invite you to join us via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox.com, Xbox Live and broadcast on Spike TV if you are in the US or Canada.”

“On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future,” the statement goes on. “Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.”

“We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.”

The original story follows below

A source has told the GameStop-owned Game Informer magazine that Microsoft will announce the Xbox 720 during an “intimate” event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington on May 21.

This tallies with a claim from Windows blogger Paul Thurrott, who also said Microsoft would reveal the next-generation platform on that date.

Game Informer‘s source also revealed that the event will be streamed live on Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and Spike TV in the United States and Canada. Invitations for the event are reportedly going out to press and publishing partners shortly.

A Microsoft representative was not immediately available to comment.

The latest Xbox 720 scuttlebutt suggests the platform will launch this year with Crytek’s Kinect game Ryse and a new Forza title, among others. The platform is also rumored to take over a user’s TV and set-top box in much the same way that Google TV operates.

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Prequel is in development for 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC

The latest Game Informer cover reveal features none other than the Dark Knight himself, with Batman set to return to consoles and PC in Batman: Arkham Origins. Warner Bros. Montreal admits they have big shoes to fill in taking over for Arkham Asylum and Arkham City developer Rocksteady, but it sounds like they’re up to the task. Video and more past the break.

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Warner Bros. Montreal developing prequel starring “unrefined” Batman and Deathstroke for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Wii U; 3DS and PS Vita entry Blackgate also in the works.

The next entry in the Batman Arkham series has been announced. Game Informer today revealed Batman: Arkham Origins, an all-new game from Warner Bros. Games Montreal, not Rocksteady Studios.

Due out October 25, 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U, Arkham Origins takes place years before the past Arkham games. It stars a “young, unrefined” Batman and will highlight the Caped Crusader’s first encounter with many noted villains, including Deathstroke.

Leading development on Arkham Origins is creative director Eric Holmes, lead designer of open-world action games like The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype.

In addition, a 3DS and PlayStation Vita project–Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate–will launch the same day as the console and PC versions. Described as 2.5D Metroid-style game and a “completely separate experience,” the title takes place after the events of Arkham Origins.

Blackgate is in development at Armature Studio, the outfit founded by several Metroid Prime trilogy leads.

Though Rocksteady Studios is not directly developing Arkham Origins, the outfit has given WB Montreal “full access” to its modified Unreal engine to “capture the look and feel of the Arkhamverse,” according to Game Informer.

Rocksteady is rumored to be at work on a stylized prequel due in 2014 at the earliest. The game will reportedly detail Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, and is based on the Silver Age of DC comics from the 1950s

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[UPDATE] Disney shuts down studio, though Star Wars 1313 could live on through external partnership.

[UPDATE] The GameStop-owned Game Informer magazine has obtained a statement from Disney, confirming LucasArts has been closed.

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games,” the statement reads.

“As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”

There may be hope for Star Wars 1313, as the representative told the site that it is looking for external partners to help bring the game to market, though nothing has yet been confirmed.

“It is worth noting that we are looking for proven external partners who can help us provide video games to our fans. We still believe in the video game industry, we still will provide Star Wars games, we’re just looking at different models rather than internal production’ They’re evaluating everything. There’s always a possibility that it [Star Wars 1313] can still come out via licensing.”

The original story follows below.

LucasArts is no more. That’s according to a Kotaku source, who said Disney has laid off the company’s entire staff and canceled all current projects.

The closure took place this morning, the source said, with layoffs estimated to number about 150 people. Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313 were reportedly both canceled.

This news comes after months of speculation about the future of LucasArts, which Disney acquired, alongside LucasFilm, last October for $4.05 billion. When this deal was announced, LucasArts reportedly froze all hiring and announcements.

LucasArts was most recently known for its Star Wars games, but the studio was also responsible for praised adventure games like The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and Day of the Tentacle, among others.

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Game Informer has unveiled their March cover story, officially revealing none other than the next entry in CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher series.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is set to take place in a seamless open-world setting, 30 times larger than the world of the previous game, and according to CD Projekt, even larger than the land of Skyrim. Gameplay will revolve around monster hunting, detective work, and the dance-like combat that the titular Witcher Geralt has shown to excel at.

The game is announced for a 2014 release date for PCs and “all high-end platforms available.” Given that it will be running on CD Projekt’s RED Engine 3, and that the Game Informer announcement refers to it as a “Next Gen RPG”, I think it’s safe to say that the Witcher 3 is set to appear on the next batch of consoles. Assumedly, the Witcher 3 will arrive before CD Projekt’s other recently announced title, Cyberpunk 2077, but we won’t know for sure until both have official release dates.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Officially Revealed – News

Source: gamrReview

Game Informer has reported that both Sony and Microsoft will unveil their next generation home consoles around GDC, which takes place from March 25 to March 29. They said that both will wait to show off their next generation titles until E3.

“We hear that both Sony and Microsoft are targeting special Apple-style press conferences to unveil their platforms near the Game Developers Conference in late March,” read the Game Informer report.

“E3 in June may be the industry’s biggest event, but both companies want to give their systems their own limelight,” the report continued. “That doesn’t mean E3 won’t be without its surprises. Next-gen games will be announced at the convention in preparation for the systems’ release at the end of the year.”

“We hear that Sony in particular is determined not to come out last this time like the PlayStation 3 did this generation, so we’ll have to see how soon it can get the PlayStation 4 out the door, and whether Microsoft is motivated to prevent this from happening,” the report added.

Naughty Dog’s action-shooter arriving in five months only on PlayStation 3.

Tonight during the 2012 Video Game Awards show, a new trailer for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us revealed a May 7, 2013 release date for the PlayStation 3 exclusive The game was previously scheduled to launch sometime during next year.

The Last of Us was announced in December 2011 with no release window, but in February, a Game Informer report indicated the game would ship in either late 2012 or early 2013.

The Last of Us is Naughty Dog’s first game outside of the Uncharted universe since 2005. It is a postapocalyptic survival game set in the United States that follows the efforts of main characters Joel and Ellie as they fight to survive.

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BioWare’s Aaryn Flynn says it would be impossible to develop an RPG today without acknowledging and reacting to Bethesda’s game.

Few concrete details are known concerning BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age III: Inquisition, but the developer has now gone on record saying it has been influenced by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Speaking to Game Informer (via Kotaku), BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn said it would be impossible to create a role-playing game today without acknowledging and reacting to Bethesda’s award-winning game.

“You can’t look at a game like Skyrim and not think about how impressive what they’ve accomplished is or [think] that’s an interesting new direction or that there was something that didn’t work well for them that we could take in a new direction,” Flynn said. “So, we’re always influenced by these games, especially in a relatively tight-knit genre like RPGs.”

Dragon Age III: Inquisition is the third entry in BioWare’s role-playing game series. It follows 2009′s Dragon Age: Origins and 2011′s Dragon Age II. In all, the series has sold more than 8 million units.

Last month, BioWare released concept art for Dragon Age III: Inquisition, followed by the first, albeit blurry, screenshot.

Most recently, an EA Shanghai employee’s LinkedIn resume suggested Dragon Age III: Inquisition is targeting a release for next-generation platforms in 2014.

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