Video Games
Open Beta on Now for ‘Mortal Shell II’ [Trailer]
Cold Symmetry and publisher Playstack have returned to Summer Game Fest with an update on Mortal Shell II, which now has an Open Beta available to players on Steam. The Open Beta provides access to the opening Prologue of the main game, as well as an early section of the game’s open world. Along the way, players will face many challenges, including dungeons, mini-bosses, and “one truly formidable foe.”
You are the Harbinger, a being prophesied to reclaim the blessed Undermether’s stolen Ova from the daunting creatures that ruthlessly guard her unborn. Mortal Shell II is a standalone sequel that significantly expands on the original with unrestricted, adrenaline-charged combat, offering deeper weapon design with extensive upgrade options, and an emphasis on free exploration. The game’s immersive, interconnected open world is expansive yet deliberately compact, designed to unfold its twisted landscapes and hidden structures while respecting the player’s time.
Once again, players will be making use of Shells — dormant forms of forgotten warriors are scattered throughout the world. Once discovered, each Shell can be awakened and possessed, unlocking their innate strengths and unique abilities. Evolve your own style of combat by harnessing the diverse unique abilities of each Shell, and unravel their secrets through the discovery of lost memories.
Mortal Shell II is slated to release later this year on PC, Xbox Series and PlayStation 5.
Overshadowing the announcement of Ninja Theory’s third entry in the Hellblade series earlier this month were reports that the developer was facing possible closure by Microsoft, alongside South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games and Double Fine. Now according to a new story by GamesBeat, another developer under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella is potentially facing closure in Undead Labs, who are currently working on State of Decay 3.
Earlier this month, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma had announced that Microsoft was in the process of ‘resetting’ Xbox. That resulted in a report by Bloomberg during Summer Game Fest that revealed that multiple developers were negotiating with Microsoft to spin off of Xbox to avoid closing down. Now, according to the GamesBeat report, Undead Labs is now part of that group of developers negotiating to be bought to avoid layoffs.
The article states that Undead Labs could lose 110 jobs if it were shut down, while Compulsion could lose 90 jobs, Ninja Theory could lose 135 jobs, and Double Fine Productions could lose 100 jobs.
Other developers and publishers at Microsoft also reportedly face cuts, including Blizzard, id Software and Bethesda.
Undead Labs was acquired by Microsoft back in 2018, with State of Decay 3 being announced in 2020. News on the development of the game was quiet until 2024, when a new trailer was released. Updates on the game again were hard to come by until last January when then-Xbox Game Studios lead Craig Duncan revealed that development was still very much alive. That was followed up this month with an official announcement that State of Decay 3 would be coming next year to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store.