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In Caves of Qud, the player's character is surrounded by a throng of hostile hyenafolk and plated worms.
Gaming Gear

The deeply simulated roguelike strangeness of Caves of Qud won this year’s Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work

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The Hugo Awards: they’re not just for science-fiction novels that make you think “I should read that one day” and never do. Now they’ve got an interactive category, so once a year you can be told how excellent one more videogame is, think “I should play that one day,” and then never get around to that either.

This year the winner of the Best Game or Interactive Work category is Caves of Qud, a game we gave a score of 94% to back in December so you can keep that “if it’s so good how come I’ve never heard of it” comment to yourself.

Caves of Qud, pronounced “cud”, is a roguelike so old-fashioned it’s barely got graphics, which fully simulates every NPC in its baffling world full of weirdos. To quote from our review, “The main quest takes you on a journey well-suited to pit stops, dotted with odd characters like a deaf-mute albino bear-porcupine gunsmith and a very rude talking fungus you have to bring with you by letting it grow on your skin.”


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This year’s Hugo Award for Best Novel went to The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett and Best Series went to Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse. Dune Part Two picked up Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form while Star Trek: Lower Decks won Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, which is a nice send-off for it. (The tie-in comic Warp Your Own Way picked up best Best Graphic Story or Comic as well.)

The Best Game or Interactive Work category was added to the Hugos back in 2021 as an experiment, when it was won by Hades. The experiment must have worked because it’s since become a permanent addition, with Baldur’s Gate 3 winning it in 2024.

The other nominees this year were 1000xResist, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Tactical Breach Wizards, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which I will go to the grave defending no matter what anyone else thinks about it.

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"Multiple" future Hardspace projects are coming, as Hardspace: Shipbreaker devs Blackbird Interactive take full ownership
Game Updates

“Multiple” future Hardspace projects are coming, as Hardspace: Shipbreaker devs Blackbird Interactive take full ownership

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Floating amid the scrap belts of space, some news. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is now owned by developers Blackbird Interactive, with the studio having bought control of the ship-stripping sim from publishers Saber Interactive. They’re not having a rest after cracking open that bubbly either, writing that “multiple Hardspace projects” are in development.

Blackbird revealed all of this via a Steam post, writing that they’ve “reached an agreement with Focus Entertainment, our publishing partner, to reacquire full ownership of the Hardspace: Shipbreaker intellectual property”. So, as you might expect, doing plenty of Hardspacey things is going to be a big part of the studio’s plans going forwards.

To that end, they revealed here that “multiple Hardspace projects are already in development”. “We’re not ready to share any specifics yet, but rest assured we have paid close attention to your feedback and are laser-focused on ensuring this next generation of Hardspace expands on the original game in all the right ways,” Blackbird added.

In the run up to releasing these new games, the studio aim to “grow the Hardspace community”, urging folks to join the series’ Discord server, where breaking updates will be launched into your orbit whenever they’re ready. You can also pre-register for the “LYNX Pioneer Program” via Blackbird’s website, if you fancy the chance to take part in early playtests and offer feedback on future Hardspace games. There’s some other community stuff like contests and the chance to generally chat with devs included in that too.

Also, Hardspace: Shipbreaker itself will be getting a “small update” that’ll mainly take care of housekeeping details to indicate the change in ownership, like revamping the privacy policies and splash screens.

Our Liam wrote the following about the game in his review:

What a thrill, to exist on the sidelines. To look longingly out towards the stars and wonder what’s going on beyond your little corner of this expansive universe. To understand a society purely through its waste products. Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a truly marvellous thing to spend time within. I quite like being a background character, it turns out. Being the hero is overrated. If Shipbreaker has taught me anything it’s that the satisfaction of a hard day’s work beats saving the universe every single time.

There are also thoughts on it from Alice O and Alice B, if you’re keen to fill your Alice quota.



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Oliver Knight
NFT Gaming

Interactive Strength (TRNR) Plans to Raise Up to $500M to Buy Fetch.AI’s FET Tokens

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Fitness-equipment manufacturer Interactive Strength (TRNR) said it entered into a securities purchase agreement to raise as much as $500 million for buying Fetch.ai’s FET token as a crypto treasury strategy.

The Nasdaq-listed company is already in the process of buying the tokens after raising $55 million of new capital from ATW Partners and DWF Labs, it said in a release shared with CoinDesk.

“Digital assets are rapidly becoming an essential part of global financial infrastructure and AI is the biggest technological leap in our lifetime,” CEO Trent Ward said in the statement. “We believe our strategy to acquire a significant number of $FET tokens could dramatically accelerate our mission to create significant long-term value for TRNR shareholders.”

Interactive Strength, the maker of CLMBR and FORME branded equipment, joins a long list of public companies in U.S. that are adding cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets. Most, led by Strategy (MSTR), are focused on bitcoin

. None of these companies has acquired AI tokens like FET.

TRNR, which has a market cap of $8.4 million, will use BitGo for trading and custody of its FET holdings, according to the press release. Its shares rose 3.5% to 83 cents in pre-market trading.



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A Hitman co-op mode with Stone and Knight is in the works at IO Interactive
Game Reviews

A Hitman co-op mode with Stone and Knight is in the works at IO Interactive

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Developer IO Interactive is developing a co-op mode for Hitman: World of Assassination.

Announced last night, this mode is still relatively under wraps, but does feature two names you may recognise: Stone and Knight. These two popped up in the Hitman Sniper mode.

On this co-op mode’s release, players will be able to pop into “exciting missions” from the Hitman world with their pal by their side. These missions will “challenge” players to rethink how they approach things now they are going in as one of a pair. Someone once said to me a good friend will always help you hide the bodies, so I guess that is very fitting for this story.

Ian plays Hitman. Watch on YouTube

IO noted it was “early days” for its upcoming Hitman co-op mode, but it would share more news about it all with us “soon”, so stay tuned.

In addition to this little nugget, IO has also announced that Hitman: World of Assassination has now reached the 25m units sold milestone. The developer added the game has registered 80 million players, which takes into account players from World of Assassination, as well as its Free Starter Pack.

“Agent 47 continues to resonate with audiences around the world, proving the enduring appeal of the franchise as it approaches its 25th anniversary,” said IO head Hakan Abrak.

“Everyone at IOI extends its sincere thanks to the global community of players, and we look forward to delivering many more hours of stealth, creativity, and signature assassinations in the years to come.”

IOI announces Hitman COOP mode
byu/Impossible_Spend_787 inHiTMAN

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Elsewhere in Hitman news, players can now assassinate Le Chiffre from Casino Royale, with actor Mads Mikkelsen reprising his role from the 2006 film.

IO also recently lifted the lid on its upcoming Bond game. Earlier this week, we got a reveal trailer which introduced us to the young Bond at the start of his life as an agent. But, while it may be an origin story, 007: First Light already has plenty of nods to the Bond books and films that came before.



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IO Interactive Reveals 007 First Light, Full Trailer Out This Week
Game Updates

IO Interactive Reveals 007 First Light, Full Trailer Out This Week

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April’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct revealed many details about the upcoming console, but the most unexpected portion of the showcase was the sweeping announcements of games coming to the platform, which included a lot of surprising titles. Among those was Project 007, a James Bond game we hadn’t heard an update on in years from IO Interactive, the developers behind the Hitman series. Today, we learned the game’s proper name and that a full reveal will drop this week, presumably during one of the summer’s major showcases.

https://x.com/007GameIOI/status/1929553749963350144

The title is 007 First Light, and while details are scarce, a description of the game has appeared on IO Interactive’s official site. “007 First Light is a brand new James Bond video game developed and published by IO Interactive,” the description reads. “Featuring a wholly original Bond origin story, players will step into the shoes of the world’s favorite Secret Agent to earn their 00 status.” The second sentence gives context to the hashtag “EarnTheNumber,” which appeared today in social media posts about the game. This description also confirms what we learned in 2021 – that the story would be a completely original take on the character.

A press release states that the trailer will include “never-before-seen footage,” though it’s unclear if this means gameplay, cutscenes, or some other CG-based teaser.

To catch the reveal live, be sure to bookmark our list of the summer’s biggest showcases. For more IO Interactive, you can read our Hitman 3 review, though the game has much more content now, thanks to the additions it gained when it rebranded as Hitman: World of Assassination.



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007 First Light is the new James Bond game from Hitman makers Io Interactive
Game Updates

007 First Light is the new James Bond game from Hitman makers Io Interactive

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Hitman developer Io Interactive’s James Bond game has been reannounced with a proper title, 007 First Light. It also has some new key art, which confirms some important Facts: unlike Hitman’s depthless master mimic Agent 47, James Bond has hair, formed into a neat side-parting by the passage of a narrowly escaped bullet. He also has ears, a high-collared leather jacket, and a gun.


Or what looks like a gun. He could be just doing a finger pistol to fake us out. I do not trust this particular James Bond. He is, after all, a cousin of Agent 47, that barcode-blazoned Fury peering out of every mirror. Io Interactive’s James Bond doesn’t even have a face right now. The face is hopefully forthcoming in the world premiere later this week during Summer Game Fest 2025, along with James Bond’s legs and feet.


Why no, I’m not padding out a nothingburger of a news story. I’m just artfully buying James Bond time to circle behind you and karate chop you in the neck. Let these be the final words you ever read: the world premiere will include “never-before-seen footage”. Who knows, I might be at SGF in person to check it out.


Here is what little we know about Io Interactive’s Bond game so far. It’s a prequel story, as suggested by the marketing catchphrase “earn the number”, featuring a brand new 007 who is not based on any of the movie ones. No fear of a Brosnan/Moore turf war in the comments, then.

Io are also “rediscovering new sides of the agent fantasy with James Bond”. The translation here could be: “we’re trying to work out how to do stealth in a gameworld where we’re contractually forbidden from murdering chefs with homing briefcases while dressed as a clown”. I feel like the easiest way to square that circle would be to make a Bond game in the tradition of the older Bond films, less the sexism. Go back to Bond at its daftest and most gadget-driven, long before Daniel Craig rolled up with his bulletproof glower. Agent 47 would have done well in that era.



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IO Interactive Showcase Featuring 007 First Light, Hitman, And MindsEye Announced For This Week
Game Updates

IO Interactive Showcase Featuring 007 First Light, Hitman, And MindsEye Announced For This Week

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Hitman: World of Assassination developer IO Interactive revealed earlier today that its in-development James Bond game is titled “007 First Light.” Now, the studio has announced its first-ever IOI Showcase. It will air this Friday, June 6, and feature Hitman, 007 First Light, Leslie Benzies’ MindsEye, and more.

“IO Interactive, the independent video game developer and publisher behind, among others, the internationally acclaimed Hitman franchise, has announced its first IOI Showcase, a live-streamed and in-person event revealing details from the celebrated game creator’s properties and its publishing branch, IOI Partners, including Hitman, MindsEye, and 007 First Light,” the announcement reads. “The event will be live-streamed from Los Angeles on IOI’s Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok channels starting Friday, June 6th, at [6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET].”

 

IO Interactive says the broadcast will feature trailers, announcements, gameplay demos, a live Q&A with key figures from the studio and Build A Rocket Boy, and more. In addition to game-related announcements, IO Interactive will also share a look at its proprietary game engine, Glacier.

Elsewhere in the announcement, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak says, “IOI Showcase celebrates our 25-year history with the Hitman franchise and shares an in-depth look at the diverse future of our studio. We’ve prepared some truly exciting surprises.”

While waiting for the IOI Showcase, check out Game Informer’s schedule of summer gaming showcases, and then check out the name reveal of 007 First Light. After that, read Game Informer’s Hitman 3 review. 

Are you going to turn into the IOI Showcase this Friday? Let us know in the comments below!



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Steel City Interactive expands technical and creative departments
Esports

Steel City Interactive expands technical and creative departments

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Steel City Interactive has announced a partnership with recruitment agency Amiqus as it looks to scale its technical and creative teams.

The Sheffield-based studio has begun a recruitment drive to support the future of its Undisputed franchise, which fully launched last October and has since surpassed one million copies.

It’s currently looking for experienced developers in engineering, art, and design.

“[Our] recruitment drive represents a studio with long-term ambitions not just for Undisputed as a game, but for Steel City Interactive itself as a leading creative force in gaming,” the developer’s recently appointed VP of studio Tim Coupe tells GamesIndustry.biz.

“Our direction points towards greater technical polish, deeper player engagement, and Undisputed as the flagship franchise in a revitalised category.”

Steel City Interactive was founded in 2020 by brothers Ash, Asif, and Asad Habib.

“Steel City Interactive is undoubtedly on an impressive growth trajectory under their new leadership,” Amiqus business manager Liz Prince added.

“And as the studio continues to expand, Amiqus is delighted to be working alongside the team as their recruitment partner of choice, as we deploy our new Amiqus Alliance service for them.

“It is an exciting time for the growth of the games development sector in the region, and we are looking forward to playing our part.”



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