TODAY: Obsidian Entertainment is going after Bethesda's fantasy RPG throne — Twitch branches out into sports with official football club channels — Did you know Activision very nearly cancelled Nazi Zombies?

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Junji Ito and Hideo Kojima could be teaming up to create new horror game

Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima still wants to make a horror game, and manga artist Junji Ito says they have been talking about a collaboration.

Ito was interviewed for Comic-Con 2020 and said that he might work on a game if Hideo Kojima moves ahead with his plans. Kojima famously tried and failed to revive Silent Hill along with Guillermo del Toro, but Konami cancelled the project.

Next-gen terror: “I’m easily frightened myself, so I have confidence that I could create something more terrifying than perhaps others could,” Hideo Kojima said earlier this year. He wants to make something that “uses a revolutionary method to create terror, that doesn’t just make you pee your pants, but crap them. I already have ideas in mind.”

Not going quietly: Ito was also involved in Kojima's Silent Hill game as a concept artist, which was supposed to star actor Norman Reedus. The only thing that remains of the project is the cult classic P.T. demo.

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

Which Call of Duty game introduced the Zombies mode to the series?

• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Call of Duty: World at War
• Call of Duty: United Offensive
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Daily Fact

The Revenge of Shinobi once had a very different final boss in mind

Sega's 1989 platform hack-and-slasher The Revenge of Shinobi was originally intended to pit you against your own master in the final boss battle.

Joe Musashi’s master would reveal himself as the head of the Neo Zeed, but instead the once-great nemesis died in Joe's arms in the game's intro. Sega had already designed and implemented most of the boss battle, including the master's ability to summon earthquakes and falling rocks in addition to his deadly martial arts, but in the end time constraints killed the climactic encounter.

Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

This Week In Gaming

Invade the earth, run a cabaret club or just chill out on your farm this week

The Destroy All Humans! remaster and racing/shmup hybrid Lost Wing are coming out for PC and consoles this week. The Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake is coming to Xbox One, and farming life sim Doraemon Story of Seasons is out for PlayStation 4.

Tuesday – July 28

• Destroy All Humans! launches for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
• Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch
• Lost Wing launches for PlayStation 4

Wednesday – July 29

• Lost Wing launches for Xbox One

Thursday – July 30

• Doraemon Story of Seasons launches for PlayStation 4
• Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Sho launches for Switch
• Hellpoint launches for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
• Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Maxiboost ON launches for PlayStation 4
• Root Film launches for PlayStation 4 and Switch
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 launches for Xbox One
• Yoru, Tomosu launches for PlayStation 4 and Switch

Friday – July 31

• Cat Quest + Cat Quest II Pawsome Pack launches for PlayStation 4 and Switch
• Fairy Tail launches for PC, PlayStation 4 and Switch
• Lost Wing launches for PC and Switch

Avowed Vs Skyrim

Obsidian is challenging Bethesda on their home turf with upcoming Avowed

Obsidian Entertainment announced Avowed last week, and new leaks suggest that there's plenty to be excited about this new foray into the Pillars of Eternity universe.

A ResetEra post lists a bunch of new information about the ambitious fantasy RPG. It will be Obsidian's biggest game yet, and it looks like their goal is to steal the open-world RPG crown from The Elder Scrolls.

Avowed leak highlights:

• Open world “much much larger than Skyrim”, although “denser” is probably more accurate
• Will focus on the The Living Lands region of Eora, at least as the starting point
• Focus on lighting, AI and physics as well as a reactive world
  • Special attention to how magic interacts with the physics system
• “Very advanced” customization tools for character creation
• Modding support on both PC and Xbox
• Lots of factions, but handled different from Skyrim
• Companions will be available but will not be handled like in The Outer Worlds
• Story centres around “incoming threat of tyranny” and does not follow the Pillars of Eternity storyline
• Boss fights, including “very very large” encounters
• Gods will have “special say” in the game world, although it's not clear how
• Game world will feature “iconic landmarks, statues and buildings”
• Two large cities are planned along with “many smaller ones”
• Terrain will feature different biomes and there will be swimming
• Creatures and races build on Pillars of Eternity lore
• Dynamic dialogue system and presentation
• Obsidian is working hard to make sure “you can kill everyone in the game”
• Project has been in development for two years with a staff of around 100
• Release in late 2022 or early 2023 if development stays on track

Game Review

Tannenberg

Version played: PlayStation 4

Developer: M2H and Blackmill Games

Ever dreamed of clutching a bolt-action rifle while freezing your butt off in a trench on the eastern front? Well, your dreams have come true! Tannenberg is about as authentic as they come, featuring realistic uniforms, weapons and maps based on real locations. But is trench warfare a particularly enjoyable pursuit?

Tannenberg certainly lives up to its concept: No minimaps, no kill cams and no weapons that fire more rapidly than once a second. The idea of braving the eastern front with nothing more than your wits and a M1891 might sound romantic, but it's not terribly fun in the strict sense of the word. Expect to spend a lot of time running through trenches or up hills and getting shot once and then dying. Realistic, remember?

Even if you are nodding along thinking yup, trench warfare and one-shot kills is just my kind of thing, Tannenberg has a huge problem as an online shooter: Hardly anyone is actually playing it. There was barely 200 people online playing the PlayStation 4 version, and they were spread across the three game modes Maneuver, Attrition Warfare and Rifle Deathmatch, with most playing Maneuver. The lack of cross-play is a serious problem.

Unfortunately, the problems don't end there. The game runs at 30FPS, which is not ideal for an FPS, the loading times are endless and if you manage to find a well-populated server you risk getting kicked out because someone grabbed a reserved slot that wasn't advertised in the server listing. The final nail in the coffin is tiny UI text that makes any and all text hard to read if you don't have your nose pressed against the screen.

Much of this can be forgiven if you are interested in Tannenberg's unique premise and attention to authenticity, but it looks like very few World War I nuts are playing on console. You can always play with bots, but that defeats the purpose of a multiplayer game by precluding meaningful teamplay. Fortunately, the game is pretty cheap and a lot can be forgiven when the asking price is just £15.99.

Score: 4/10

Thumbs up

• Impressive level of historical accuracy

Thumbs down

• Very few players on console
• Not the greatest port

Esports Bits

New Sports category on Twitch

Twitch is heading in a new direction, and has set up a new Sports category featuring channels by some of the biggest football clubs in the world, like Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-German and Juventus.

Arsenal is using Twitch to talk directly to fans, discussing the best goals of the season and hyping upcoming matches. Teams from the NBA, NHL and UFC are also getting ready to make their streaming debuts in the coming weeks. Amazon has pushed to break into the sports market for a while now, and it looks their efforts are finally paying off.

TSM signs partnership with chair manufacturer Herman Miller

TSM has chosen the new Herman Miller x Logitech Embody Gaming Chair for the TSM Performance Center. The new Embody Gaming Chair retails for $1499/£1195, making it one of the most expensive gaming chairs on the market. Embody builds on Herman Miller’s long experience designing high-end office furniture and has a much more serious focus on ergonomics than your average gaming chair.

TSM president Leena Xu said: “It may not be apparent, but using the right gaming chair is critical to a player’s performance and success. The Embody Gaming Chair can meet the specific individual needs of each of our players, which absolutely makes a difference when it comes to their gameplay.”

Riot bans cheating Valorant pros

Riot has made the decision to ban two players from the Nerd Street Gamers Valorant tournament: Phox and w3ak. The duo was part of team A.S.M.R and was scheduled to participate in the PAX Arena Valorant Invitational before getting banned.

There were suspicions about the two, but no concrete evidence that they were actually cheating. After being banned, Phox explained that he has always been a cheater and he does not expect anyone to forgive him. We'll probably see w3ak and Phox play competitively again.

What Else Happened Today?

• Leaked photo of a white next-gen Xbox controller appears on Reddit before getting deleted
• Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War announced via Dorito’s promotion ahead of Activision's own announcement
• Footage from FIFA 21 closed beta appears on twitter showing a match in progress
• Earthlock 2 teaser trailer from Snowcastle Games announces the sequel to the 2016 RPG for next-gen consoles in 2022
• Netflix announces new Witcher mini-series exploring events 1,200 years before Geralt's adventures

Gaming Deals

Today's Gaming Deal Highlights

There are so many great deals now that it felt wrong not to share some of them ahead of the weekend's bargain extravaganza.

XCOM 2 Collection (Nintendo Switch) $34.99 @ Amazon US

Moving Out (Nintendo Switch) $29.99 @ Amazon US

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Nintendo Switch) $39.99 @ Amazon US

SanDisk Ultra 256 GB microSDXC Memory Card (Nintendo Switch) £28.99 @ Amazon UK

PlayStation Platinum Wireless Headset (PS4) $99.99 @ Amazon US

Hitman: Definitive Edition (PS4) $12.69 @ Amazon US

WD Green 1 TB Internal SSD (Tech) £84.99 @ Amazon UK

Micro Arcade Atari (Tech) $12.05 @ Amazon US

Kalypso Media Publisher Sale (PC) up to 80% off @ Humble Store

2K Games Week (PC) up to 80% off @ Humble Store

Very Positive Indie Sale (PC) up to 90% off @ Humble Store

THQ Nordic Publisher Sale (PC) up to 80% off @ Humble Store

Rocket Arena (PC) $4.99 @ Origin Store

Next Up Hero (PC) Free @ Epic Games Store

If you buy any of these games by following our links, DailyBits will earn a small commission, so thanks in advance! Saturday will bring even more amazing video game deals, so stay tuned!

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

Which Call of Duty game introduced the Zombies mode to the series?

Answer: Call of Duty: World at War!

I love it, you love it, everyone loves gunning down Nazi zombies in World at War.

Did you know it came close to getting cancelled? According to Treyarch chairman Mark Lamia, the zombie mode was not approved by Activision, who wanted to scrap it. World at War was already behind schedule, but Lamia refused and made sure the team was able to finish the zombie mode.

Activision was still not convinced it was a good idea, so it became an unlockable rather than a core feature of the game. The mode was a huge hit, and became a Call of Duty staple. So if you ever worry about a risk, remember that Treyarch actually had to fight their publisher to finish Nazi Zombies.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Christian Vaz, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.