Assassins’ Creed IV: Black Flag has a date for its first story DLC. Freedom Cry will be releasing December 17th. The add-on stars Adewale, Edward Kenway’s first mate. The addition seems to be a sequel of sorts, adding about four hours of content and taking place several years of the main story. It is free with the season pass and available at an as yet unspecified cost for individual purchase.
Microsoft seems to be committing themselves to indie development with the recent announcement of 32 developers now signed to the ID@Xbox initiative. You’ll recognize some big names here, including some tied to Keiji Inafune (MegaMan, Mighty No. 9) and Tim Schafer (Costume Quest, Brutal Legend, etc.). The addition of Crytek, Zen Studios, Double fine, and others also shows us that they aren’t limiting the program to teams you’ve never heard from. Smaller games from known developers is a good way to bring credibility to the publishing side, while games from complete unknowns should insure the quality of the art. Here’s the full list of everyone announced: Inis, Comcept, Vlambeer, Double Eleven, Slightly Mad Studios, Born Ready, Crytek, Happion Labs, Definition 6, Team 17, Panic Button, Double Fine, Drinkbox, Team Colorblind, Signal Studios, Zen Studios, Bongfish, Halfbrick, Ninja Bee, Zeboyd Games, Nicalis, The Men Who Wear Many Hats, Iron Galaxy, Jackbox Games, High Voltage Software, Capy, Behaviour, Hidden Path, Gaijin Games, The Odd Gentlemen, Way Forward, and Other Ocean.
Speaking of Zen Studios (they’re on that list above), their Zen Pinball 2 is making its way to PlayStation 4 on December 17th. The game itself is free, of course, and the launch will include 20 tables available for purchase. Tables you’ve already bought for PS3/Vita will be included for free on the new console. As a bonus, the Doctor Strange table we’ve been waiting to play will launch alongside the new version for $2.99.The Sorceror’s Lair table will be free of charge. Other tables coming at launch ($9.99 per pack, $2.99/ea) are Star Wars Pinball, Balance of the Force, Marvel Pinball, Avengers Chronicles, Plants vs. Zombies, Epic Quest, Paranormal, and Earth Defense. More tables are coming soon.
In Tuesday’s edition we had confirmation that Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season Two would be starting in December. A recent Steam listing seems to have narrowed that down to December 17th. Whether this is also the date for a console release is not yet clear but it seems likely.
All of the speculation regarding Bethesda announcing Fallout 4 at VGX is now in doubt. The countdown site with Morse Code is still active, but Bethesda is not planned to even be attending the event. Bethesda spokesperson Pete Hines tweeted “Bethesda is not showing/talking about anything at VGX … Take deep breaths.” The announcement is certainly still coming, it may just not be tied to VGX.