The rating provides new details, like protagonist Clive fighting against Trolls and Orcs. There are also “cinematic attacks” or finishing moves performed by pressing the on-screen button prompts. In addition to blood-splatter effects in combat, you’ll see some pretty gruesome violence in cutscenes, including a character’s hands being cut off, throats slit, and even an interrogator stabbing and twisting a prisoner’s shoulder.

Overall, it’s something to keep in mind if you’re buying this for kids or not used to this level of gore in a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy 16 is out on June 22nd, 2023, for PS5. You can check out the latest trailer here. For more details on companions (like Torgal, Clive’s dog) and Eikon abilities, head here.

Henderson expects an announcement to be made soon if emails are indeed being sent out. As such, this wouldn’t be the first time that the show has faced such a situation. Last year’s event was entirely digital with various publishers taking part including Xbox, Nintendo, Bethesda and so on.

With the current situation for E3, it’s interesting that Gamescom 2022 will be both an in-person event along with offering an “extensive digital program” on August 24th to 28th. Tokyo Game Show 2022 is also confirmed to be a physical event, taking place from September 15th to 18th. Stay tuned for more details on E3 2022 in the meantime.

E3 will be an entirely digital event again this year according to the ESRB who sent out emails to developers today.

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) March 10, 2022

I guess this squashes the rumors that they were going to cancel it?

I'd be expecting an announcement soon if the ESRB is sending out emails.

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) March 10, 2022

The Xbox Series S (or the Lockhart) might not have been officially announced by Microsoft yet, but countless leaks and rumours over a prolonged period of time have all but confirmed the existence of the cheaper and less powerful next-gen Xbox variant. In recent weeks, the evidence has continued to mount, with mentions of the Xbox Series S spotted in everything from the Windows OS to Xbox Game Pass trial code sheets to Xbox controller boxes, while insiders have even leaked the console’s supposed secs.

And though we’re still waiting on Microsoft to even officially acknowledge that the Xbox Series S is a thing, new ratings for games by the ESRB may have provided more evidence pointing to its existence. Recent ratings handed by the ESRB to games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War mention, rather clearly, “Xbox Series” as one of the platforms the games are releasing on.

That’s notable, of course, because without the “X” or the “S”, the “Xbox Series” would presumably just be a catch-all term for all the console SKUs under Microsoft’s next-gen umbrella. It’s worth noting that previous ESRB ratings – such as the one for Watch Dogs: Legion, to name just one – have explicitly and specifically mentioned the Xbox Series X.

“Xbox Series” was officially trademarked by Microsoft a couple of months ago. Recent reports have suggested that official news on the Xbox Series S will be coming some time in September, before TGS 2020 kicks off.

For a while now, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (or the ESRB) have been assigning labels of “In-Game Purchases” to games with microtransactions. Now, they’ve announced the introduction of a new variant of that label that pertains specifically to games with randomized purchases – such as loot boxes or gacha mechanics – called “In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)” as seen in the image below.

The original “In-Game Purchases” label will continue to be used for any games with microtransactions including DLC, expansions, cosmetic purchases, and the like. Meanwhile, the new “In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)” label will be assigned only to games that “include purchases with any randomized elements, including loot boxes, gacha games, item or card packs, prize wheels, treasure chests, and more.”

On why this label has been introduced now, the ESRB wrote, “According to research, parents are far more concerned about their child’s ability to spend real money in games than the fact that those in-game purchases may be randomized. This data helped to inform the introduction of the In-Game Purchases Interactive Element. That being said, since adding the In-Game Purchases notice to ratings assigned to physical games many game consumers and enthusiasts (not necessarily parents) have reached out to us asking the ESRB to include additional information to identify games that include randomized purchases. The In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items) Interactive Element was developed in response to those requests. By including more specificity about the randomized nature of the in-game purchases, consumers can make more informed decisions when purchasing or downloading a game, instead of finding out after the fact.”

Recently the ESRB (and European board PEGI) also confirmed that unlike Japanese board CERO, they had been working remotely for a while and that the COVID-19 pandemic wouldn’t be affecting their work or resulting in any delays. Read more on that through here.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on all corners and sectors of the world, including the video games industry. Most recently, we heard about the temporary suspension of Japanese age ratings board CERO until the beginning of May, which will inevitably have an impact on releases of games in the region. However, its European and North American counterparts – PEGI and ESRB respectively – seem to have taken necessary steps well in advance to ensure that they don’t face similar disruptions.

Speaking to IGN, the ESRB said in a statement that due to “a good deal of advanced planning,” they have been working remotely for almost a month now, and as such, haven’t had to delay reviews for age ratings of games in spite of all the disruptions.

“Thanks to a good deal of advance planning, since March 16 ESRB has been operating remotely due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” an ESRB spokesperson said. “We have seen no delay in assigning ratings. We will continue to assign ratings remotely for as long as required.”

European board PEGI also provided a statement to IGN, and said similar things, ensuring that it has been working remotely for a while now, and given how it operates even on an ordinary basis, it won’t be hit by any delays.

“In short: yes, we are currently working remotely with minimal impact on our operations,” a PEGI spokesperson said. “When this situation started to unfold across Europe a couple of weeks ago, we quickly found a way to continue our daily operations by working remotely. Given that PEGI (in Brussels) works with two independent administrators that are located in The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and they deal with publishers all over the world that we do not have to meet in person, cooperating remotely has always been part of our daily routine. But now it happens from homes instead of different offices.

“We informed the companies using the PEGI system that, until local authorities announce a change to the current measures, we will be working like this. But until now, the impact of the pandemic and the resulting measures has been minimal.”

Given that getting age ratings is a crucial part of the launch process for every single video game release, it should come as a relief to publishers, developers, and consumers that two big markets in Europe and North America won’t be bit by delays at least in this area. As for Japan, CERO has closed its doors until May 6. We’ll keep you updated on new developments as and when they come our way, so stay tuned.

It seems like it is a response to the controversy surrounding loot boxes and microtransactions- but ESRB has announced its intention to start having labels for any games with in game purchases with real world money going forward. Ostensibly, this should help customers make informed decisions about what kinds of monetization a game might have, but-

Well… it seems like the label applies to any game that allows anything purchasable in game with money. So, something like Shadow of War with its egregious lootboxes gets put on the same level as The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, or Breath of the Wild, which don’t have any microtransactions, but do allow for full fledged expansions and campaigns to be purchased. Since just about every game these days gets some form of paid post launch content, that makes this label spectacularly useless.

Speaking to GamesIndustry, ESRB president Patricia Vance explained the reasoning behind this decision. “I’m sure you’re all asking why we aren’t doing something more specific to loot boxes. And I’ll tell you we’ve done a lot of research over the past several weeks and months, particularly among parents. What we learned is that a large majority of parents don’t know what a loot box is, and even those who claim they do don’t really understand what a loot box is. So it’s very important for us to not harp on loot boxes per se, but to make sure we’re capturing loot boxes but also other in-game transactions,” she said.

“Parents need simple information. We can’t overwhelm them with a lot of detail. We need to be clear, concise, and make it easy for them. We have not found that parents are differentiating between a lot of these different mechanics. They just know there might be something in the game they can spend money on.”

If all of this sounds hugely unsatisfactory to you, she does at least say that this is only the first step- and that ESRB will continue to look into the matter going forward. “This is a couple of steps forward. We’ll continue to work with the industry to ensure there are effective disclosures about in-game purchases in general, and more specifically loot boxes. So if there’s more that we can do, we will.”

I’m still not a fan, especially given how strongly ESRB has been lobbying against loot box regulation, but at least this is a step- even if it is a totally ineffective one.

The inclusion of loot boxes in video games have been at the center of controversy for some time now, with Star Wars Battlefront II being one of the main reasons why the issue was brought to the forefront. While EA maintains that loot boxes are not a form of gambling, the issue is still under scrutiny in several areas. The US Senator Maggie Hassan is now asking the ESRB to take into consideration the inclusion of loot boxes when rating games.

The Senator has also reached out to the Federal Trade Commission to discuss this issue, asking if they believe “that children being addicted to gaming – and activities like loot boxes that might make them more susceptible to addiction – is a problem that merits attention?” We’ll have to wait and see if the FTC will consider the issue of loot boxes and four nominees have agreed to address the issue if it is confirmed to be a serious problem.

In her letter to the ESRB, the Senator stated, “The prevalence of in-game micro-transactions, often referred to as ‘loot boxes,’ raises several concerns surrounding the use of psychological principles and enticing mechanics that closely mirror those often found in casinos and games of chance. The potential for harm is real.” The ESRB has received her letter and has stated that they will look into the issue.

We’ll have to wait and see what the end result of this will be and how the FTC and the ESRB will respond to the issue of loot boxes in video games. Maybe we’ll see new bills being introduced, similar to what has happened in Hawaii and video game companies will have to be more careful about including invasive microtransactions in their games. What do you think about this issue? Let us know in the comments.

Jonathan Blow’s The Witness has been rated for the Xbox One by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which pretty much means it will be coming to the Xbox One soon.

This doesn’t mean it’ll be out alongside the PC and PS4 versions though as the development studio Thekla Inc. stated that it would be out on other platforms later. For now, if you want to experience the first person puzzler, you’ll need to pick it up on January 28th for either PC or PS4.

The Witness is the next big adventure from the creator of Braid and will take place on an island full of puzzles. Depending on how you play, the game can last for either 20 hours or 100 hours, indicating the amount of additional content available. How will it fare when it releases? Stay tuned for more information on the same in the coming weeks and let us know whether you’ll be picking up The Witness.

Though Bethesda Softworks already revealed that The Elder Scrolls Online had received an ESRB rating of Mature, the full description of the game’s sinful activities hadn’t been revealed till now. In the recent product description, the ESRB gave an M rating primarily due to “Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence.”

While there’s some sexual innuendo at some key points (which you can read about in the full description), the displays of bloody violence seem inline with what we’ve seen in previous Elder Scrolls games. You’ll be severing heads, resulting in tons of blood, and even taking part in drinking games which lend to blurry vision and slurred speech. The ESRB also clearly outlines that being an online game, there will be some user content that can’t be rated.

Bethesda won’t be challenging the rating, and really, given the success of the series despite each title receiving an M rating, it’s obvious they have nothing to worry about. The Elder Scrolls Online releases on March 4th for PC and Mac OS X with Xbox One and PS4 versions due in June.

It’s official. The latest in the Metal Gear Solid series, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes which serves as one part in a a two-part Metal Gear Solid V series has received a rating of “M” for Mature by the ESRB. The following is the official rating summary from the ESRB statement:

“This is an action game in which players assume the role of an elite soldier through military missions in Cuba. Players infiltrate various bases and use pistols, machine guns, and rocket launchers to kill enemy soldiers. Firefights are highlighted by realistic gunfire, slow-motion effects, and large blood-splatter effects.

“Players can also employ stealth attacks (e.g., choking, knife stabbing from behind) and have the ability to kill non-adversary characters/prisoners. One cut-scene includes a depiction of blood and gore (e.g., a character’s intestines exposed during a dramatic procedure to remove an object). The game includes an audio file in which a female character is sexually assaulted by male characters; while there is no visual depiction, sounds of ripped clothing and struggle can be heard. The words ‘f**k’ and ‘sh*t’ are heard in the dialogue.”

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will release on March 18th in North America and March 20th in Europe for PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360.