The video game adaptation of Bernard Werber’s best-selling novel Empire of the Ants is now in early access and will be fully available on November 7, 2024, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Check out our review for Empire of the Ants here!

Paris, November 4, 2024 – Set out on an RTS adventure like no other! Microids and Tower Five present the official launch trailer for Empire of the Ants, bringing you a taste of the immersive world where every decision could mean life or death for your colony.

Early access is now open for pre-orders, with the official launch on November 7, 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5 et Xbox Series X|S. Fully optimized for PlayStation 5 Pro at up to 60 FPS, this experience promises smooth gameplay and stunning graphics.

An immersive solo campaign

Play through a 20-hour-long campaign inspired by Bernard Werber’s bestselling saga, where the fate of your colony rests upon your antennae. Choose your way to play, whether you’re looking for strategic combat and challenges or you prefer exploring the environment and fast-paced tactical missions.

Dominate the online ranked multiplayer

Challenge your friends in thrilling skirmishes or prove your strategy skills in player-versus-player mode: ranked 1-vs.-1 matchmaking and three free-for-all matches. Custom Private Lobby available to train your skills against a friend or AI. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible, allowing players on all consoles to play together.

Discover PC Digital Deluxe Edition:

• Full Game on PC with 3 Days Early Access
• Digital Artbook
• Exclusive Wallpapers
• Downloadable Soundtrack

About Empire of the Ants

Immerse yourself in a miniature ecosystem in the heart of the Fontainebleau forest. You play as the 103,683rd ant, determined to defend its colony.
In Empire of the Ants, every decision counts, every movement is strategic, and each conquest showcases your skill in navigating a world where the small are powerful! Strategy, exploration, combat, and alliances with local fauna are essential to overcome the many challenges awaiting players.

Developed by the La Rochelle-based Tower Five studio using Unreal Engine 5, the Empire of the Ants video game offers players a real-time strategic experience inspired by Bernard Werber’s iconic saga. Players will dive into an exhilarating adventure, tasked with growing an ant colony through tactical and strategic battles within a world of enormous scale. Strategy, exploration, combat, and alliances with local fauna are essential for overcoming the many challenges that await players.

“THE WORLD OF THE INFINITELY SMALL IS SET TO UNLEASH ITS GREATEST BATTLE”

Bernard Werber’s saga has captivated millions of readers worldwide with its fascinating universe and reflections on human nature. We’re thrilled to offer players the chance to experience this universe from a new perspective with this video game adaptation.

Empire of the Ants Key Features

• EMBARK ON AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE – Take on the role of a courageous ant, from a third-person view, and discover unique abilities that will aid you in strategic battles and explorations.
• A 3D REAL-TIME STRATEGY GAME WITH GRADUAL DIFFICULTY – The game provides an accessible experience with tutorials to teach newcomers the basics of RTS, while offering adjustable difficulty and advanced mechanics for seasoned players.
• EXPLORE VAST ENVIRONMENTS AND ENCOUNTER LOCAL WILDLIFE – Traverse a photo-realistic forest, meet other ants and forest creatures along the way, and interact with them.
• IMMERSIVE AND PHOTOREALISTIC – By pushing the boundaries of photorealistic effects, Unreal Engine 5 sets new standards, particularly for rendering plants and fauna.
•  SEASONAL STORYLINE – The game offers a storyline that follows the rhythm of the seasons, influencing fauna attributes like speed, resistance, and buffs.
•  SOLO CAMPAIGN & MULTIPLAYER: A STRATEGY GAME WITH PROGRESSIVE DIFFICULTY – Complete the story mode and extend your experience with intense online battles.

Globally known for the The Empire of the Ants trilogy, The Thanatonauts, and more recently The Time of the Chimeras, Bernard Werber will soon publish his new novel The Empire of the Angels with Albin Michel publishing. 

Empire of the Ants is available now on Steam, GOG, Epic Game Store, and on the PlayStation Store and Xbox for 3 days of early access/pre-orders and on November 7, 2024 for everyone else

About Microids

Microids is a French video game publisher. Founded in 1985, Microids’ editorial strategy now focuses on four major areas: adventure games, racing games, retro gaming and games inspired by iconic titles. By collaborating with renowned studios and authors (Revolution Software, Pendulo Studios, Eden Studios, Benoît Sokal, Paul Cuisset, Philippe Dessoly and Pierre Adane), Microids has become a major player in international video games. Taking inspiration from legendary titles, Microids reaches a wide audience and creates original adventures which give gamers the chance to play as some of their most beloved characters.

About Tower Five
Tower Five, indie video game studio located in the charming coastal town of La Rochelle. Founded in 2017 by video game enthusiasts, each with their own area of expertise – art, technology and design, Tower Five is dedicated to creating engaging Real Time Strategy games for consoles such as PS5, Xbox and Switch.

Our founders, with more than 20 years of experience each, have combined their skills to bring a unique approach to video game development. At Tower Five, we believe in creative freedom and responsibility towards our players. As a small-scale indie studio, we strive to create enriching and memorable gaming experiences for our community.

About Bernard Werber

Fond of drawing and writing, Bernard Werber published his first book, Empire of the Ants, in 1991. He went on to write two sequels, The Day of the Ants (1992) and The Revolution of the Ants (1996), making him one of the most popular science fiction novelists in France and across Europe during the 90’s. Bernard Werber created many other stories including renowned series like The Thanatonauts & The Explorers of Science and dipped his feet in the video game medium, collaborating with Microids on an adaptation of The Ants in early 2000. With more than 35,000,000 books sold globally and his writing translated in 35 languages, Bernard Werber is one of the most popular living French authors in the world.

Begin the journey of a cult leader today

(OCCULT HQ) Nov. 4, 2024 – Take your role at the helm of the End of The World in Worship’s hands-on Steam demo available from today until the game’s release in early 2025. Worship will kick off the Save & Sound Festival—an online event featuring sales and demos on Steam—today at 10 a.m. PST. The wholesome and also horrifically disturbing roguelike from Chasing Rats asks would-be cult leaders to develop a group of pikmin-like followers to assist in delightfully murderous endeavors to bring about the End of Times (Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1548180/Worship/).

Behold the grotesque delight that awaits in an all-new trailer released today

The demo, teeming with an hour of eldritch horrors and sacrificial rites, is the first taste of the world of Worship. As a cult leader, you must gather your devout, converting new souls to your cause to feed the insatiable hunger of the unseen gods. As you grow your following, you will find your jolly followers serve many purposes, all splendidly sinister. While this demo supports lone souls only, Worship will launch early next year with four-player co-op, inviting you and your chosen cultists to reign together.

They will purge heretics who stand in your way, offer their blood to restore your strength, and aid in unraveling puzzles. Finally, kneel at the altar and pray for a Test of Faith. Complete it, and you will bring the world one trembling step closer to the end of days as you gain more power.

Worship takes players into a realm of unspeakable horrors, where blasphemy reigns supreme and the macabre is not just celebrated, but rewarded. In the company of up to four cultists, bring chaos to the world in blood-soaked mayhem, where every moment is drenched in the thrill of your sinister pursuits. 

Get indoctrinated at https://chasingratsgames.com/. Grace and peace to you in the name of eldritch horror. 

STALCRAFT: X is a large-scale MMOFPS set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Today, this time-tested project is rapidly evolving, reaching new online peak records, with tens of thousands of people logging in every day.

The unique atmosphere of the Exclusion Zone, balanced levelling system, open economy, and nonlinear storylines have been providing players with a unique experience and an immersive game world for more than 10 years.

From October 30 to December 4, players will experience a new event – Black Raid, where everyone will take on the role of a Black Market mercenary. Players will be tasked with infiltrating a secret base on the isolated island of Boral, (a place where dangerous experiments were once conducted) to steal cutting-edge technology and evacuate before time runs out.

Along the way, they will encounter atmospheric locations, exciting missions, and the most dangerous enemies – zombified predecessors and mysterious Murmurs operatives. Complicating matters are also creatures with unique abilities, emerging from the dreadful experiments.

The event offers an exciting session-based game in a mode that combines features of the Extraction Shooter and Battle Royale genres, where stalkers will battle not only against competitors from among other players but also against smart and cunning NPCs. Their goal is to complete various missions on the map, each of which promises unique challenges.

With the start of the event, stalkers will have a great opportunity to complete the autumn seasonal battle pass thanks to the increased amount of experience. They will also have the chance to compete in the rankings to secure an honorable position in the league and claim unique prizes. Additionally, they can look forward to new interesting nonlinear quests in the open world and the opportunity to obtain an exclusive skin!

About STALCRAFT: X

Players will spend their time in the open world of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Locations are filled with many kinds of PvP and PvE activities, beloved by fans of Stalker, such as searching for artifacts, mutant hunting, exploration of uncharted locations, doing quests, creating laboratories and participating in faction wars. For those who have less time to play, there are various session modes to experience.

A living open world

The open world of STALCRAFT: X is truly alive, and players create unique situations for each other, forging loyal friendships and relentless enemies along the way. While exploring the game world’s many locations, other factions’ players may shoot you, but you won’t lose all your gear and progress; instead, you’ll only leave part of the resources you’ve collected during that trip. This ensures you retain the thrill of each raid, while setbacks are not overly fatal.

A unique combination of FPS and RPG

The balance of weapons is not typical for open-world MMOs, and somewhat resembles session shooters like Counter Strike and Call of Duty. We define the shooter component as fast-paced, tied primarily to reaction and shooting skills. At the same time, you will remain motivated to progress further on as, over the years, the developers have managed to achieve a unique combination of FPS and RPG mechanics.

Progression and open world economy

Don’t let the MMO genre scare you away — there is no levelling mechanic, and you progress through the game by obtaining new equipment. You can acquire it in many ways, including buying it from other players — because STALCRAFT: X has an open economy. You can become a legendary merchant without leaving the base! And by the way, there are no game wipes.

The distribution model

STALCRAFT: X is distributed for free, and there is no catch here — monetization is organized according to the P4T (Pay for time) and cosmetics model.

Any items can be obtained through playing the game, however, the soft monetization method allows you to speed up some areas of character levelling.

In case you missed it, catch the previously released STALCRAFT: X 10th Anniversary Day X update official trailer below

STALCRAFT: X is available to play for free now via Steam and the EXBO launcher. 

About EXBO

The history of the company began in 2014, when a small team of modmakers launched its first servers, transforming the fan-inspired idea of an online S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game based on Minecraft. By 2024, STALCRAFT: X has become the most popular online shooter in the post-apocalyptic Chernobyl setting, unique in its blend of MMOFPS features with an open world and economy.

Team – Developers with unique knowledge and experience. Our team consists of cheerful, hardworking guys from all over the CIS, who are true professionals in their field. Every one of them has a long journey behind, filled with numerous challenges!

Mission – Develop our unique segment in the MMOFPS genre, a result of STALCRAFT’s: X 10-year evolution; Reinvesting the game’s success into company growth and new exciting projects.

Key Markets – CIS, NA, EU, SEA We spent many years refining all the game mechanics and creating a complex ecosystem before we started opening servers in new regions.Today, our project is confidently gaining popularity in various countries around the world. STALCRAFT: X is very addictive, so it only takes a few hours of play for newcomers to get hooked and spend thousands of hours on the game before they start to get bored.

4 November 2024 – Mythwright today announced Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing has released on Steam for Windows PC with a 25% launch discount.

A totally unique offering developed by Pumpernickel Studio, Touch Type Tale is a strategy game players control by typing.

In a vibrant story narrated by Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, players are invited to become the unlikely hero of Minsteria, a kingdom whose vacant throne is vulnerable to the grasping hands of sly nobles and warmongering bandits.

Touch Type Tale is controlled only by keyboard. Players will type to construct buildings, mine gold from ore deposits, maneuver armies down a strategic path and even pull the perfect pint. Players will face terrific typing minigames like a cook-off, shooting gallery, rhythm game, bullet hell, and a Grand Strategy challenge.

Touch Type Tale includes online PvP multiplayer, thirteen supported languages, and a range of difficulty settings to suit all levels of experience.

Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing is available on Windows PC via Steam for $19.99 / 19.99€ / £15.99 with a 25% discount for the first two weeks of launch. Touch Type Tale – Deluxe Edition is also available, comprising the base game, its immersive original soundtrack, and a set of hand-drawn wallpapers.

For more information and to purchase, visit the Touch Type Tale Steam page.

ABOUT MYTHWRIGHT

Mythwright is an independent publisher founded by industry veterans. Established in 2024, Mythwright has already signed a range of exciting titles including Going Medieval, Bladesong, Innkeep, Deadstick – Bush Flight Simulator and Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing.

ABOUT PUMPERNICKEL STUDIO

Pumpernickel Studio is an independent game studio made up of a team of three passionate developers located in Münster, Germany. The focus of the studio lies on streamlined strategy games with innovative game mechanics. Touch Type Tale is Pumpernickel Studio’s debut project.

Explore AI and tech’s influence on humanity in this interactive, branching narrative experience

Montreal, Canada, November 4th, 2024 – Signal Space Lab and Actrio Studio are proud to reveal their multimedia sci-fi interactive VR project Human Within. Coming to Meta Quest 2 and 3 on January 9th and coming soon to SteamVR, Human Within is a one-of-a-kind VR interactive experience that explores the profound influence of AI and advanced technology on society, highlighting the potential threats if misused.

Directed by Avi Winkler and Anne Weigel, Human Within unfolds in a modern world where Nyla, a cyber engineer, and her sister Linh, are employed at Forward Industries. Together, they pioneer a groundbreaking supercomputer by harnessing the human brain’s processing power. However, when Nyla seeks to disengage from the project, both sisters are detained, compelled to continue their work amidst suspicions of their employer’s hidden motives. In a daring bid for freedom, Nyla is forced to connect the technology to Linh, and use it in the very way she feared it would be.

Human Within combines a thrilling branching storyline with video game playability. Its blend of original storytelling and gameplay features offer players a distinct interactive experience. It differentiates itself with a unique integration of technical features that includes:

• User Involvement: Experiencing the story from Linh’s consciousness within a virtual internet space provides a unique way to observe the events taking place and have a level of participation unlike anything else.
• Point Cloud Interactivity: Explore environments in digital recreations. These sequences serve as pace-breaking moments where users engage with the story even further, bringing a whole new degree of interactivity to the mix.
• Choice and Consequence: At key moments in the story the events that take place are defined by the user’s choices. These moments define how events unfolded in the past and determine how it all ends in the present.
• Style Variety: The story is told across a unique combination of three distinct visual styles: The Internet Space blending 2D film and 3D graphics, Flashback Scenes with interactive 360 degree stereo film, and Point Cloud recreations with 6 dof 3D environments.

Signal Space Lab began pre-production of Human Within, in 2019, including script writing and prototyping the experience under the creative direction of Avi Winkler. Director Anne Weigel and award-winning German producer Actrio Studio joined the project and wrapped principal photography in December 2023. Human Within then began its festival tour in October premiering at FIVARS in Toronto on October 3rd and Beyond The Frame Festival in Tokyo on October 25th-27th, 2024. Supported by Meta, Canada Media Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and Filmstiftung NRW Germany, Human Within aims to raise the bar for interactive narrative VR experiences.

“We wanted to explore how advanced tech affects the human experience, and how we connect to one another,” said Avi Winkler, Creative Director at Signal Space Lab. “Launching at a time of rapid advancements, like ChatGPT 4.0 and Neuralink, Human Within no longer feels like science fiction, but rather a timely reflection on the shifting realities of modern life. We felt it was important to use VR to tell this story, as it immerses viewers in the reality of now – and where we’re headed – in a more immersive, nuanced way than through a traditional film or video game. Technology can be both terrifying or connecting. Ultimately, it’s what we do with these tools that matters.”

For more information on Human Within:

Pre-Order on Meta Quest: https://www.meta.com/experiences/human-within/6218357148255323/
Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1546070/Human_Within/
Signal Space Lab website: https://signalspacelab.com/

About Signal Space Lab
Founded in 2014, Signal Space Lab is an award-winning interactive creation studio specializing in immersive XR entertainment, video games, and audio production. Our goal is to advance the art of interactive media by imagining and producing original, innovative, and memorable experiences that materialize into sound, visual, and gaming environments.

LORDS OF THE FALLEN V1.6 LAUNCHES WITH A REFINED ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE, FURTHER PERFORMANCE & GAMEPLAY BALANCING, AND MORE

Monday, 4th November 2024 – HEXWORKS, a CI Games studio, has today released update v1.6 for dark fantasy, action-RPG Lords of the Fallen, which delivers an enhanced onboarding and tutorial experience based on feedback from veteran players. The update continues the studio’s dedicated post-launch support for the game, with a more exploration-friendly Umbral realm, alongside a raft of additional gameplay and performance improvements. The release of v1.6 arrives ahead of Lords of the Fallen’s launch day debut for PlayStation® 5 Pro, featuring a 40% increase in pixel density, with an enhanced Performance Mode running at 4K60 based on 1440p, and Quality Mode running at a native 4K30.

To mark the release of Lords of the Fallen v1.6, the standard version of the game will be available on Steam at a 50% discount from 6pm GMT (10am PT, 1pm ET, 7pm CET) this evening until 11^th November, at $29.99/£24.99/€29.99.

With version 1.6, new Lords of the Fallen players are more empowered on their journey across Mournstead, with a series of changes during the early part of the game. These include a more gradual onboarding into the Umbral Lamp’s unique abilities, and improved navigation in the tutorial area. As for the wider community, a highly-sought player request has been the ability to more thoroughly explore Umbral – the game’s secondary, darker realm that runs alongside its core world. While retaining its dark allure and tension, the changes – which include subtler soundscapes, an adjusted enemy spawn curve for improved pacing, and reduced vignette effect – all combine to better support exploration of the Umbral.

Rounding off the update is a raft of additional performance updates and further difficulty adjustments, including mob redistribution, adjusted ranged enemy perception, and improved platforming. Full patch notes are available to read.

Lords of the Fallen is now available on Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Pro from Thursday 7^th November.

About CI Games

Founded in 2002, CI Games is an independent, global video games developer and publisher. The company has created internationally recognised and celebrated titles for nearly 25 years, including the acclaimed Lords of the Fallen and Sniper Ghost Warrior franchises. CI Games has two internal studios: HEXWORKS, which is currently developing the next major instalment of the Lords of the Fallen franchise due in 2026, and Underdog Studio, which is currently in pre-production of an original, fantasy action-RPG, due in 2028.

New exciting project GAMM – Game Museum to be unveiled during Checkpoint Festival of Interactive Experiences in Rome this month

4 November 2024, Rome: The team behind VIGAMUS The Video Game Museum of Rome has joined forces to create Kabuto, an innovative and tech-driven start-up founded by veterans of the entertainment industry to create, manage, and develop a new venture, GAMM – Game Museum. 

Located in the heart of Rome at Piazza della Repubblica, GAMM will launch on November 30, 2024, just after Checkpoint – Festival of Interactive Experiences taking place on 28 – 29 November at Casa del Cinema di Roma.

GAMM was born from the extraordinary success story of Vigamus – The Video Game Museum of Rome, which has hosted over two million visitors from around the world since its inception in 2012. Open 7 days a week, GAMM will span approximately 700 square meters, divided into two levels and three thematic areas. It offers an immersive and interactive journey through the world of video games, combining cutting-edge digital content with a collection of unique, valuable artifacts. It promotes the interactive medium as a form of cultural art and expression.

The museum is designed not only for video game enthusiasts but also for families, young people, tourists, schools, academies, and industry experts, and for anyone interested in discovering the unique cultural medium that has, over the years, captivated and moved people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Marco Accordi Rickards, Director of GAMM said: “GAMM – Game Museum aims to highlight the cultural and artistic value of video games as interactive works allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a path based on the combination of history, technology, and the exploration of gameplay.”

Luisa Bixio, Co-Founder of Kabuto said: “GAMM will be an immersive museum space, where video games as a cultural medium can be explored from the origins to the latest evolution, visitors from all over the world will be able to discover a new location in the heart of Rome.”

GAMM
Opening: November 30
Location: Piazza della Repubblica, Rome
Opening hours: 7 days a week from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM, and on Fridays and Saturdays also from 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM
Website: www.gammuseum.com 

Checkpoint – Festival of Interactive Experiences
Dates: November 28-29
Location: Casa del Cinema, Rome, Largo Marcello Mastroianni 1
Admission: Free, subject to availability
Website: https://checkpointconference.com/

GAMM Website: www.gammuseum.com (the website will be active from November 4, 2024)

About KABUTO s.r.l

KABUTO is an innovative and technological start-up with a rich heritage rooted in over 25  years of experience in the field of interactive works. It was founded by the team behind Vigamus Group. GAMM – Game Museum aims to constitute the evolution of the Group’s history in preserving, promoting, and expanding the cultural and artistic value of the interactive medium as a cutting-edge museum space. Our journey has seen the development of several key assets, including the VIGAMUS – The Videogame Museum of Rome, which opened its doors in 2012, and the VIGAMUS Academy, offering specialized training since 2014.