Bandai Namco has confirmed the hack and is investigating a potential leak of customer information

Bandai Namco confirmed yesterday's report that it had been targeted by hackers and acknowledged that sensitive information had been accessed on its servers.
\"It 'may' include customer information,\" the publisher acknowledged in a statement today.
It is currently \"establishing the status of the leak, the extent of the damage and investigating the cause,\" the statement said.The attack itself occurred on July 3, Bandai Namco admits -- more than a week before reports began circulating that the ransomware group was preparing to release data it had collected from the company's servers.Today's statement does not clarify exactly when Bandai Namco realized that its servers had been hacked.
The company has since taken steps to stop further attacks and is working to beef up security, the statement said, apologizing to all those affected.The company said that more details on what information was accessed will be made public when Bandai Namco conducts further investigations.Here is the statement in full: \"On July 3, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.
confirmed that a third party gained unauthorized access to the internal systems of several Group companies in Asian regions (excluding Japan).
After we confirmed the unauthorized access, we took measures such as blocking access to the servers to prevent the damage from spreading.
In addition, there is a possibility that customer information related to the toy and hobby business in Asian regions (excluding Japan) was included in the servers and PCs, and we are currently determining the status of the existence of the leak, the extent of the damage, and investigating the cause.
We will continue to investigate the cause of the incident and will release the results of the investigation as necessary.
We will also work with outside organizations to strengthen security throughout the Group and take steps to prevent a recurrence.
We sincerely apologize to everyone involved for any complications or concerns caused by this incident.\" Previous ransomware attacks have involved confidential documentation, video game source code and nasty internal leaks from Capcom, EA and CD Projekt Red.

Henderson: A Blade Runner game is in development

Insider Tom Henderson reports that 110 Industries has acquired the license to make a game based on Blade Runner.Little is known:A new in-house studio at 110 Industries in Switzerland is in development.Henderson and/or his sources saw a cinematic trailer for the game, which will presumably be released soon.The release will be in 2025.110 Industries is also working on Red Goes Faster, Wanted: Dead and Vengeance is Mine.
The production of the latter two involved Stephanie Joosten (Stefanie Joosten) - the actress, who played the role of Silence in Metal Gear Solid V.In early 2022 the board advisor 110 Industries became the founder of Electronic Arts Trip Hawkins (Trip Hawkins).
According to him, the company could have a big impact on the gaming industry (I wish he had said something different!).

Nacon Connect will be held on July 7.There's likely to be news about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Steelrising

There aren't many big launches planned for this summer.
But there are a lot of small ones! One of them will be the show of the publisher Nacon.At the event, expect game announcements, exclusive gameplay and demonstration of new accessories (yes, the company is engaged in the game peripherals).Judging by the attached image, may present The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Steelrising and RoboCop: Rogue City.
In addition, the authors of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown boldly hint at a demonstration of their game.Nacon Connect will begin July 7 at 20:00 MSK on YouTube.#NaconConnect will be back next month!? Thursday, July 7? 6pm BST | 7pm CEST | 10am PT? https://t.co/x7Y74OHwePDon't miss the latest edition of our conference with game reveals, exclusive gameplay & new accessories! pic.twitter.com/PUpRCGWM0G- Nacon (@Nacon) June 10, 2022Read also May 23, 9:49 pm ⋅ 10 E3 Substitutes - Summer Game Show Schedule

Lord of the Rings survival, Sifu slo-mo, and a frog riding a robot - what Epic Games showed at the show

Epic Games also held its summer presentation (of course, with games for EGS).
More or less loud announcement was only one - it was a survival game based on \"The Lord of the Rings\".
About it the first thing we'll tell.The Lord of the Rings: Return to MoriaThe events of Return to Moria unfold in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth.
Dwarves embark on a journey to reclaim their homeland, Moria:The player, called to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli the Keeper of the Loch, controls a squad of dwarves.
Their task is to find the lost ruins of the dwarven homeland of Moria, also known as Khazad-dûm or Dwarrowdelph, deep beneath their own feet.
To descend into the mines of Moria and find its treasures, they will need untold fortitude.You can play alone or in an online co-op of up to eight people.One of the features of Return to Moria is the need to monitor the noise level, which increases the most when mining the mines.
Other elements of the game are standard: procedurally generated locations, base construction, character editor and crafting.North Beach Games will publish the game, and Free Range Games will develop it.The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be released in Spring 2023 only at EGS.
Russian language support is not mentioned.
Other notable newsThe creators of Friday the 13th: The Game have published the Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed asymmetric game trailer.
The trailer shows playable Ectoplastic ghosts that spit slime at ghostbusters.
There's a single-player game, as well as co-op for two and four participants.In August, Sifu will get an update with gameplay modifiers, including faster enemies, unbreakable weapons, time dilation and reduced gravity.Ever wanted to be a turtle or a seagull? Or maybe a kerosene lamp? In the adventure Tchia, you can inhabit any animal or object.
Rawa, the Dragon King, is one of the kaiju in the isometric online moribund game GigaBash.
He is the subject of a fresh video.One lineSplitgate will reach EGS in the third quarter.Beta test RAWMEN: Food Fighter Arena kicks off July 1.The Disney Speedstorm closed \"beta\" has already begun.The Space Punks open \"beta\" is also available.Rocket League Season 7 will launch June 15.The seasons relaunch and transition to Fall Guys free-to-play will happen June 21.Recording the broadcast

Activision Blizzard is ready to recognize the Raven testers union

After stubborn resistance, Activision Blizzard does recognize the Game Workers Alliance created by Raven Software testers.
It was announced by Bobby Kotick himself in a mailing to the company's employees.The executive confirmed that the negotiation process will soon begin with the Communication Workers of America, which includes the freshly formed Alliance.
The dialogue will focus on Raven's 27 employees, who have joined together in the first union among major game studios in the United States.Kotick emphasizes that it will take some time to draw up the first labor contracts.
By working together, he says, the two sides will be able to \"consolidate the success of all employees.\" And that will reinforce Activision's commitment \"to creating the best, friendliest and most inclusive workplace in the entire industry.
The executive also pointed out that the company has previously invested significant resources in its QA teams.
These included raising the minimum wage and moving more than 1,000 people into the organization.
As it turned out later, these bonuses applied to all testers, except for members of the union.Recall, Raven employees announced the creation of the union in January 2022 after a strike of 1.5 months.
At the end of May, the Game Workers Alliance was recognized at the federal level.
Around the same time, Xbox head Phil Spencer said he was ready to recognize the Alliance after the deal with Activision Blizzard was completed.
Read also December 7, 2021, 11:51 a.m.
⋅ 23 Developer studio Call of Duty: Warzone went on strike against cuts to its testing staff January 21, 21:37 ⋅ 28 Striking Raven Software employees are organizing a union within Activision Blizzard - the first of its kind in industry history May 24, 17:08 ⋅ 11 Raven testers have finally formed a union - the first among AAA studios in the US

Game soundtracks will officially qualify for the Grammys

It's not uncommon for composers to produce musical masterpieces when working on the soundtrack for a particular game.
Now such works will be judged at the annual Grammy Music Awards starting in 2023.The official name of the new category is \"Best Soundtrack to Video Games and Other Interactive Media\".
However, the main focus at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gives out the statuettes, will be on games.The main priority for the Academy is to represent the people who are passionate about music that we serve.
We listen to our members, and year after year we try to make sure the rules and guidelines of the ceremony reflect our ever-evolving industry.Harvey Mason jr., Academy president.
In addition to soundtracks for digital entertainment, the Academy has introduced several new categories that will become a full-fledged part of the award from 2023: Best Songwriter (for those who write lyrics but don't perform them), Best Alternative Performance, Best Americana Performance, Best Poetry Album (poetry reading with or without music), Best Song for Social Change (tracks about current social issues that promote empathy and understanding).
In 2022, the orchestral cover of Kirby Superstar from 1996 won one of the Grammy Awards.
Usually gaming soundtracks are honored at specialty awards like The Game Awards and SXSW Gaming Awards.A new addition to the 65th #GRAMMYs, the Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media Category will award #Composers championing musical innovation in gaming.? https://t.co/hYKasZLRJT pic.twitter.com/OXbZvZkNEe- Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) June 9, 2022

Annapurna will hold a show of their beautiful games on July 28

Annapurna Interactive's games are beautiful and interesting at least at the level of trailers.
And there's a perfect format for trailers - presentation shows! Annapurna will hold its presentation at the end of July.At Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2022, the company promises to show \"premieres, announcements and more,\" but does not specify which ones.
Among the possible ones: Storyteller, a puzzle book about making up stories; Open Roads, a mother-daughter road trip from the creators of Gone Home; Skin Deep, a lighthearted shooter where you can stink if you dig through trash, or ruin your stealth experience if you sniff the dust and sneeze inopportunely.
Thirsty Suitors, where you can fight exes and disappoint your parents.Annapurna also has a very promising cyberpunk kitty adventure called Stray, but by the time the show kicks off the game should already be out.Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2022 will be July 28 at 10 p.m.
Moscow time.

XCOM is not in hibernation, assures Firaxis

The last XCOM title was released six years ago, and franchise leader Jake Solomon is now busy with a completely different game - Marvel's Midnight Suns.
Solomon was interviewed about Midnight Suns, and when asked about XCOM, he said, \"As long as I'm alive, as long as Firaxis is alive, XCOM...
I won't even say it's asleep.
XCOM 2 was released in 2016, six months later appeared on consoles, in 2017 received a major addition War of the Chosen, and in 2020 appeared on Switch and mobile devices.The spin-off XCOM: Chimera Squad did not have such a long and bright life: it started in 2020 on PC and did not receive any ports or additions.
In 2021, the XCOM Legends mobile version became available conditionally free of charge, although it seems to have been sitting in the \"soft-loan\" mode - a kind of public preliminary testing - for a year already.
2021 Take-Two's financial report stated that Firaxis was going to announce several new projects.
One of them was Midnight Suns, but the others are still unknown.
Could XCOM 3 be one of them?