The Witcher 3 stands as one of the most revolutionary RPG experiences of the last-generation of console gaming. The third title in CD Projekt Red’s acclaimed trilogy is slated to get substantial visual and technical improvements for next-gen consoles. However, according to Kotaku, some of these aforementioned enhancements might be coming from fan-made mods that focus on HD textures and models.

Earlier this month, one modder named HalkHogan, provided an update in the posts section of their extremely popular The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project modpage, saying “I know I announced a new HDRP preview in early March but I was silent the whole time. Sorry for that. But in return, I have some good news, and the reasons why I was quiet and why I don't have too much to show. I think the most important news is that I got an official message from CDPR about cooperation.” HalkHogan went on to say,  “While it's not certain yet, it's very likely that HDRP will be included in the official next generation update.”

IGN reports that CD Projekt Red maintains “no binding agreements with any such party,” but that talks to potentially incorporate beloved mods are still being conducted. 

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project has over 60 thousand endorsements and 4 million downloads. HalkHogan’s mod has been in development for over five years, with 18 versions being tweaked and updated over that timespan. The project was finally finished and uploaded last September. If HalkHogan's mod (as well as any other modders' work) is included, hopefully they are appropriately compensated for their hard work and loyalty to the franchise. You can watch the release preview video of HDRP above to check out some very impressive visual upgrades. 

The enhanced version of The Witcher 3 will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at some point in the latter half of 2021. In recent, more troubling news, The Witcher 3’s Director Resigned From CD Projekt Red Following Workplace Allegations that accused him of bullying members of the team and contributing to toxic culture.

[Source: Kotaku via IGN]

The Tribeca Film Festival announced the line-up of games chosen for its first-ever Tribeca Games Official Selection. Although L.A. Noire was the first video game to be honored by annual event in 2011, this marks the first time the medium has been treated as a full-fledged category with multiple titles in contention. The winner will receive the inaugural Tribeca Games Award.   

According to Tribeca’s press release (as shared by Gamasutra), the award honors an upcoming game for “its potential for excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery and highly immersive worlds.” Here are the eight games nominated:

• 12 Minutes
• The Big Con
• Harold Halibut
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Lost in Random
• NORCO
• Sable
• Signalis

Tribeca is positioning this move as the launch of a broader initiative for spotlighting video games as interactive art. In a press release, Tribeca Festival co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal states that “For over a decade, our mission has been to be a catalyst for placing games and their creators at the forefront of mainstream and artistic culture alongside film, TV and VR/AR. We continue to embrace the cross pollination and intersection of these storytellers with this year’s Tribeca Games Official Selections. And this is just the beginning.”

To that end, this year's event will also feature unspecified "world premieres" and a live performance of the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack by its producer, Daniel Lanois, his band, and some unannounced “special guests”. Tribeca will also showcase the Official Games Selection as part of this year’s Summer Games Fest.

Furthermore, from June 11 to June 20, viewers can play digital hands-on demos using Parsec’s remote streaming technology. It’s not clear if these will be demos of these specific games or other titles entirely. Regardless, you’ll have to reserve your sessions, though, which you can do beginning May 24. To reserve your spot as well as read more information about each title in the Official Games Selection, you can visit Tribeca’s website. The Tribeca Film Festival 2021 will be held in New York City and kicks off June 9 and concludes June 20.

What do you think of Tribeca honoring games alongside films? Are you looking forward to any of the titles chosen? Share your thoughts in the comments! 

[Source: Gamasutra]

Gears of War studio The Coalition has announced it is moving its future projects to Unreal Engine 5. The announcement comes following the release of Gears 5: Hivebusters, a rare mainline campaign expansion in the Gears of War universe. The Gears of War series has always used Unreal Engine (the series was originally developed by Unreal creators Epic Games after all), but with Unreal Engine 5, The Coalition feels it can bring things to the next level.

"As we look to future games, we're excited to start shifting our resources to next-gen development using Unreal Engine 5," the blog post announcing the engine migration states. "Gears of War has always been at the front of Unreal Engine development – as a breakout 720p title for Xbox 360 through last year's 120FPS multiplayer update for Xbox Series X/S – and we're excited to continue that tradition by developing on UE5 for multiple new projects in the coming years."

The move to Unreal Engine 5 means major improvements for The Coalition's future titles, but it also brings with it a lull in the new titles coming out of the studio. "Shifting to a new engine is a big undertaking, so we want to be clear that we will not be announcing any new projects or titles for some time," the blog post states.

However, those who are still playing Gears 5 shouldn't worry too much about being cut off, as the studio confirmed it still has new content coming. Operations 7 and 8 are on the way, each containing two drops including new characters, new maps, and special events. Operation 8 will be the final Operation, but there will still be stuff to do in-game, services will continue, and Tour of Duty will continue to refresh, according to a Reddit post from senior community manager TC Shauny. The Coalition also committed to store updates with new content and featured playlists through the end of the year.

2020 was a busy year for The Coalition. Not only was Gears Tactics launched in April with co-developer Splash Damage, but the studio also re-launched both Gears Tactics and Gears 5 on Xbox Series X/S with myriad performance enhancements. The studio's busy year was capped off by the aforementioned Gears 5: Hivebusters expansion, which came out in December.

Rumors have been swirling about what the studio has been working on, ranging from Gears 6 and helping out on Halo Infinite development to a brand new IP and a Star Wars game. Unfortunately for those hoping for a Star Wars game from this studio, TC Shauny debunked those rumors in a separate Reddit post. "Just to clarify regarding the Star Wars thing: We are not working on any such title," he said. "We have nothing else to announce at this time."

The Coalition took over the Gears of War series beginning with Gears of War 4 following Microsoft's 2014 acquisition of the IP from original developer Epic Games. The most recent mainline entry from The Coalition, Gears 5, came to Xbox One in September 2019 before receiving its Xbox Series X/S enhancements in November 2020.

[Source: The Coalition, Reddit (1), (2)]