It's that time of the year when any leftover money you've got after buying gifts, arranging holiday travel, and donating to worthwhile causes is going to go PC games. The Steam Winter sale is live, and we'll be updating this story every day with what we think is the best of the best as well as all of the other day's deals. Things are structured little different this year: New featured deals pop up every 24 hours, but will last for 48 hours Flash Sales will update every 12 hours, but those deals will be available for 24 hours Community's choice deals will update every 24 hours What are you picking up (or hoping to buy) during Valve's quarterly sales event? Let us know in the comments below. Day 5: December 22, 2014 Our pick: Grand Theft Auto IV -- $4.99 (-75%) Sure, everyone might be more focused on getting Grand Theft Auto V on PC, but that doesn't mean that $5 for GTAIV isn't a steal. And with a crazy modding community that's been supporting the game for years, there's plenty to explore outside the main game as well. Read our review of the game and check it out onSteam here. Other Day 5 Deals: Train Simulator 2015 -- $27.49 (-50%) The Walking Dead: Season Two -- $6.24 (-75%) Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends -- $16.99 (-66%) Chivalry: Medieval Warfare -- $4.99 (-80%) Endless Legend -- $17.49 (-50%) The Escapists -- $7.49 (-50%) Saints Row IV -- $4.99 (-75%) Outlast -- $4.99 (-75%) Flash Sale: Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines -- $4.99 (-75%) Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 -- $4.99 (-75%) X-Plane 10 Global -- $29.99 (-50%) Papers, Please -- $2.49 (-75%) Mount Your Friends -- $1.99 (-60%) Tabletop Simulator -- $8.99 (-40%) Community's Choice: Clickteam Fusion -- $33.99 (-66%) 3DMark -- $4.99 (-80%) Fuse Character Creator -- $33.99 (-66%) Day 4: December 21, 2014 Our pick: Bulletstorm -- $3.99 (-80%) There are some bigger and newer games on today's list, but with an 80 percent discount that brings it down to $4, you should take the opportunity to catch up with Bulletstorm, a score-driven first-person shooter with some really great, original weapons. Other Day 3 Deals: Age of Mythology: Extended Edition -- $7.49 (-75%) Alien: Isolation -- $24.99 (-50%) Portal 2 -- $3.99 (-80%) Spore -- $4.99 (-75%) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- $4.99 (-75%) Spintires -- $10.19 (-66%) Never Alone -- $10.04 (-33%) Five Nights at Freddy's 2 -- $5.35 (-33%) Shadow Warrior -- $3.99 (-90%) Flash Sale: Grim Dawn -- $12.49 (-50%) Craft the World -- $9.49 (-50%) Project Zomboid -- $9.74 (-35%) L.A. Noire -- $4.99 (-75%) Bound By Flame -- $9.99 (-75%) Wargame: Red Dragon -- $9.99 (-75%) Community's Choice: Winner: Bulletstorm -- $3.99 (-80%) Panzer Corps -- $6.79 (-66%) Cities XL Platinum -- 10.19 (-66%) Day 3: December 20, 2014 Our pick: Metro 2033 Redux -- $12.49 (-50%) Metro 2033 was released four years ago, but with the Redux treatment, it's still one of the best-looking first-person shooters on PC. If you didn't play it back then, you owe it to yourself to pick up the discounted version. Read GameSpot's Metro 2033 Redux review and check it out on Steam here. Other Day 3 Deals: Prison Architect -- $5.99 (-80%) NBA 2K15 -- $40.19 (-33%) Stronghold Crusader -- $33.49 (-33%) Europa Universalis IV -- $10 (-75%) 7 Way to Die -- $12.49 (-50%) Rise of Nations Extended Edition -- $4.99 (-75%) The Binding of Isaac Rebirth -- $10.04 (-33%) The Vanishing of Ethan Carter -- $11.99 (-40%) Flash Sale: Mass Effect 2 -- $4.99 (-75%) Trine 2 -- $1.99 (-90%) Dreamfall Chapters -- $17.99 (-40%) The Golf Club -- $13.99 (-60%) Risk of Rain -- $2.49 (-75%) Lord of the Rings: War in the North -- $4.99 (-75%) Community's Choice: Winner: Rage --$4.99 (-75%) Ruse -- $2.49 (-75%) Cities in Motion 2 -- $4.99 (-75%) Day 2: December 19, 2014 Our pick: Castle Crashers -- $1.49 (-90%) At 90% off, there's no reason not to buy developer The Behemoth's colorful beat-em-up. It makes a good gift as well; after all, the game is a lot more fun with friends. Read our Castle Crashers review and check it out on Steam here. Other Day 2 Deals: Depth -- $14.99 (-40%) Fable Anniversary -- $17.49 (-50%) Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -- $29.99 (-50%) Ryse: Son of Rome -- $19.99 (-50%) Batman: Arkham Origins -- $4.99 (-75%) Killing Floor -- $4.99 (-75%) Valkyria Chronicles -- $14.99 (-25%) Assassin's Creed Unity -- $40.19 (-33%) Community's Choice: Winner: Hack n Slash -- $4.54 (-66%) Neverending Nightmares -- $6.74 (-55%) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $17.99 (-55%) Flash sale round 1: Galactic Civilizations III -- $24.99 (-50%) Spacebase DF9 -- $6.79 (-66%) The Legend of Korra -- $9.89 (-34%) Deus Ex: Human Revolution -- $3.99 (-80%) Guns of Icarus -- $2.24 (-85%) Space Run -- $5.09 (-66%) Flash sale round 2 Insurgency -- $4.49 (-70%) Transocean -- $17.99 (-40%) Planet Explorers -- $14.99 (-40%) DmC: Devil May Cry -- $12.49 (-75%) Hammerwatch -- $1.49 (-85%) Orcs Must Die 2 -- $3.74 (-75%) Day 1: December 18, 2014 Our pick: Dark Souls 2 -- $14.70 (63%) The follow-up to the crazy-hard Demon's Souls and the crazy-hard Dark Souls is... still crazy-hard. The game might not be to everyone's tastes, but it's a series that you have to respect for sticking to its punishing formula. Read our Dark Souls 2 review and check it out on Steam. Other 48-hour deals: State of Decay -- $4.99 (-75%) Euro Truck Simulator 2 -- $3.74 (-85%) Space Engineers -- $9.99 (-50%) Civilization: Beyond Earth -- $29.99 (-40%) Total War: Rome II Emperor Edition -- $14.98 (-75%) Sniper Elite III -- $24.99 (-50%) Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes -- $13.39 (-33%) Rocksmith 2014 -- $20.99 (-65%) Community's Choice hasn't kicked off yet, but here are the first six flash sale games: Flash sale round 2 Monaco -- $1.34 (-91%) Broforce -- $10.04 (-33%) Broken Age -- $8.49 (-66%) Dead Space 2 -- $4.99 (-75%) Defense Grid 2 -- $8.49 (-66%) Doorkickers -- $9.99 (-50%) And an additional six flash games (note that the deals below didn't expire 24 hours after posting. Flash sale round 1: Damned -- $4.99 (-75%) Styx: Master of Shadows -- $14.99 (-50%) Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition -- $4.99 (-80%) Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar -- $4.49 (-85%) Injustice Gods Among Us -- $4.99 (-75%) SpeedRunners -- $2.49 (-75%)

Future's so bright. 2014 was packed with some outstanding games, but even a cursory glance at some of the games confirmed for 2015 shows that the next 12 months could outshine the previous year when it comes to high quality experiences. And while 2014 saw the steady rise of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and the quiet resurgence of the Wii U), 2015 looks like it will be the year where the new consoles truly shine and finally deliver on their promise. PCs, too, remain a stronghold for unique and amazing gameplay experiences, and will undoubtedly continue to be an outstanding platform for gaming in the new year. So which 2015 confirmed releases are the GameSpot team most looking forward to? Evolve Evolve Coming February 2 for PC, PS4, Xbox One Every team-based shooter claims to require camaraderie and coordination, to the point that boasts of mandatory teamwork can often be dismissed as simple buzzwords.Evolve’s alpha test proved that “teamwork” is not just a marketing term in this case, but an inescapable need. The game’s asymmetrical, monster-versus-squad action is electrifying, and makes playing every class an absolute blast. Don’t dismiss Evolve as another been-there-done-that competitive shooter: there’s something truly special here. -- Kevin VanOrd Bloodborne Bloodborne Coming March 24 for PS4 It would be disingenuous to suggest that one of the reasons we’re so thrilled by Bloodborne is that it so closely resembles From Software’s previous games in the Souls series. Those games rose to excellence through their weighty combat, their stiff challenge, and their oppressive atmosphere. That we will be able to say the same about Bloodborne is almost certain. But we’re also thrilled by how the game so clearly makes a statement apart from the Souls games. It’s a different kind of world with different kind of weapons, and boasts a newfound fluidity of motion that makes combat newly fresh. -- Kevin VanOrd Mighty No. 9 Mighty No. 9 Coming April 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, Vita, 3DS Without a new Mega Man game in sight and the franchise locked behind Capcom's doors, Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9is promising to fill the void. A class-style action-platformer with colorful bosses whose power you can absorb, Mighty No. 9 is both a throwback to its predecessor and a glimpse of what can happen when fans help shape a game. Through a successful Kickstarter campaign and constant communication with its backers, those who really want Mighty No. 9 are helping to shape it, and developers are listening at every step of the way. We're excited to see this return to form for Inafune and get our hands on a game truly tailored to its fans. -- Alexa Ray Corriea The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Coming May 19 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One The Witcher 2 planted the seed. It depicted one of the most beautiful and brutal places you can explore within the whole of games, and planted within it an intriguing political story and a vicious combat system that made shedding blood feel physically and emotionally exhausting. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s exponentially larger world and new characters would seem to bear the fruits of that initial seed. A stunning and vast landscape, filled with difficult decisions and colossal creatures, awaits us, and it’s difficult not to tremble when you imagine the possibilities. -- Kevin VanOrd Batman: Arkham Knight Batman: Arkham Knight Coming June 2 for PS4, Xbox One, PC Developer Rocksteady is back to finish off what they started with the extremely well received Arkham series. The bits and pieces of what we've seen so far of the game have been stunning, due in no small part to the increased horsepower of the PS4 and Xbox One. And the inclusion of the Batmobile seems to be more than just a neat gimmick--the Batmobile looks like it's been integrated into a lot more than just getting Batman from point A to point b in style, and seems to be useful in solving puzzles and even as a partner during Arkham Knight's brutal fistfights. I can't wait to see how the whole things blends together next year. -- Randolph Ramsay Rise of the Tomb Raider Rise of the Tomb Raider Coming 2015 for Xbox One Lara Croft's rebirth in early 2013 was met with high praise. This new Lara appealed to us because she was younger, softer--still learning the skills and hurtling through the experiences that would hone her into the powerful and confident Lara we've known since 1996. Trailers for Rise of the Tomb Raider show a Lara both broken and strengthened by the experiences of the first game, and we're excited to see her character grow and the exotic locales she'll conquer in the next game. -- Alexa Ray Corriea Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Coming 2015 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC Though some may have only spent two hours playing through Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes' story mission, I put 10 times the hours into exploring the full range of the game's open-world stealth mechanics. I came away convinced that this is one of the most solid foundations ever for a stealth-action game. Seeing how this plays into the far more massive scale of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, along with the game's fascinating new buddy system and adversarial multiplayer base-infiltrations, is something I cannot wait to do. -- Daniel Hindes Star Fox Wii U Star Fox Wii U Coming 2015 to Wii U It's a new Star Fox game. What's not to be happy about? Shigeru Miyamoto's focus for the past several years appears to have been centered on Mario and Pikmin, so when he confirmed his new secret project is a Star Fox title for the Wii U, we were figuratively over the moon. Not much is known about this game yet, but as the first Star Fox appearance not in a Super Smash Bros. game since the Nintendo 3DS port of Star Fox 64, we're still excited. We'll be doing barrel rolls in anticipation until this one comes out. -- Alexa Ray Corriea Star Wars Battlefront Coming 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, PC My Star Wars excitement is swelling once again with the recent teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and that those high hopes extend to the big Star Wars game we'll be getting next year: Battlefront. DICE's reboot of the multiplayer shooter series already looks gorgeous, with brief glimpses of the ice planet Hoth and forests of Endor seen at E3 2014. But what I want to know more than anything is: how will it play? What kind of game modes will we see? Will DICE opt to include a full-fledged singleplayer campaign as well? And perhaps most importantly, will we see any new locations and vehicles from the upcoming trilogy? My S-foils are locked in anticipation. -- Daniel Hindes Halo 5: Guardians Halo 5: Guardians Coming 2015 for Xbox One The Halo series is one of my favorites in all of gaming, and I'm eager to see what 343 Industries can pull off with its first new Halo title developed for Xbox One. On the story side, we're finally seeing a compelling new character in Agent Locke, an aggressive-sounding Spartan tasked with hunting down Master Chief. Locke will be a playable, "primary" character in Halo 5, and I'm excited to see how Locke's involvement affects Chief's saga. Best of all, though the full Halo 5 game won't be out until next fall, its multiplayer beta--which will let you try out the many new and exciting player abilities--rolls out next week. I know how I'm spending my Christmas break. -- Eddie Makuch The Legend of Zelda Wii U The Legend of Zelda Wii U Coming 2015 for Wii U At E3 last year, Nintendo revealed a Link in very different attire. And the recent The Game Awards presentation unveiled a breathtaking open world that makes the possible scope of the game's world looks expansive and more comparable to Western RPGs like Elder Scrolls. These brief teases make us excited to learn more. But it's Nintendo's agonizingly metered release schedule and record of releasing carefully crafted experiences that mean, whether it's the best in the franchise or just merely OK, it's the Wii U game that everyone will be talking about. --Justin Haywald Tom Clancy's The Division Coming 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, PC Ubisoft has garnered criticism this year for utilizing a very specific open-world formula across multiple genres. Thus far, Tom-Clancy-branded games have avoided many of that formula’s tropes, and The Division looks to hew more closely to the philosophies that separate Ghost Recon andSplinter Cell from the pack. There’s still much we don’t know, but if previous showings are an indication, The Division could smartly replicate the sense of joining a small band of cohorts and journeying into a devastated New York City, hoping to survive and even thrive. Destiny has popularized the dynamic-world multiplayer shooter. We’re excited to see how Tom Clancy’s The Division refines and riffs upon a soon-to-burgeon genre. -- Kevin VanOrd Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Coming 2015 for PS4 Uncharted is the series that redefined developer Naughty Dog. Previously known primarily as the creators of Crash Bandicoot, they're now the studio behind some of the most cinematic and well-paced action games on any console. It's almost a given that Uncharted 4 will continue the company's legacy of creating graphical showcases. And there's no doubt that it'll be another exciting, Indiana Jones-like adventure full of big set pieces and snappy dialogue. But if it also successfully integrates the combat refinements and nuanced, character-driven storytelling from The Last of Us, Uncharted could possibly be the developer's magnum opus. -- Justin Haywald No Man's Sky No Man's Sky Coming 2015 for PS4, PC This game with have limitless potential. That's the promiseNo Man's Sky seems to be making. Each and every time this amazing-looking game has been shown thus far, I'm left in awe at the sheer audacity of what it looks like it may be bringing to the gaming world. A huge, living galaxy which countless planets, procedurally generated lifeforms, and an invitation to simply explore and discover. If No Man's Sky can match even half of my expectations, then it'll be an outstanding achievement. If it can meet them all, then it'll be a revolutionary game. -- Randolph Ramsay Persona 5 Persona 5 Coming 2015 for PS3, PS4 With the series approaching its 20-year anniversary and its cult following still going strong, it's hard not to get wrapped up in the hype for the next Persona game. Set to launch next year for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Persona 5 looks--from its sole teaser trailer--like it will take the beloved role-playing franchise into a new setting with possibly more mature characters (the character in the teaser looks to be wearing a college uniform). After a dozen re-releases and spin-offs from the last numbered title, the critically acclaimed Persona 4, fans are slavering for another adventure. -- Alexa Ray Corriea

A new Sunset Overdrive soundtrack, Sunset Overdrive: Volume 2 -- The Fizzco Sessions, arrives on Amazon and other retailers December 23, but we have an early Christmas present for you. Right now you can listen to two songs from the upcoming album right here via the Soundcloud embeds below. The songs, heavy and thumping EDM tracks, are "Sunset Electro" by Liam Shy and "Under Control" by Arkaen. The Sunset Overdrive music was composed and produced through a deep collaborative on the part of Microsoft, Insomniac Games, and San Francisco-based music studio Pyramind. The end result is a soundtrack of unique songs, including the two below, that are meant to match the game's overall tone. The two tracks here from the latest Fizzco Sessions album are designed to have a flair that represents the evil Fizzco Corporation. Take a listen and let us know what you think in the comments below. For more on the creative process behind bringing the songs to life, check out the video above. Sunset Overdrive is available today exclusively for Xbox One.

Electronic Arts on Monday released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming shooter Battlefield Hardline, which launches in March 2015 for consoles and PC. The 90-second trailer highlights some of the missions you'll take on, as well as the options you have for clearing objectives, including guns blazing approaches as well as non-lethal takedowns. We also get a look at some of the driving sequences, which come together to make Battlefield Hardline "the fastest Battlefield ever," according to the video released today. Battlefield Hardline, which was originally expected to launch in October before being pushed to 2015, is now scheduled to arrive March 17 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC.

If your New Year's resolution is to play D4, you're in luck.Microsoft on Monday announced January 2015's free Xbox 360 and Xbox One games for Xbox Live subscribers, and they are a pretty great bunch. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and MX vs. ATV Alive will all be given away to subscribers to ring in the new year. Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live subscription will be able to download D4, which normally sells for $15, for free starting January 1. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 users can pick up MX vs. ATV Alive (normally $20) for free January 1-15, and then The Witcher 2 (normally $30) January 16-31. Now is also a good time to download EA Sports' extreme snowboarding game SSX, which is free on Xbox 360 through December 31. Xbox One owners, meanwhile, can download Worms Battlegrounds and Volgarr the Viking through the end of the month. Looking for more deals coverage? Check back later today with GameSpot for our regular Gaming Deals post.

Sony on Monday announced a new PlayStation 4 bundle for Canada that includes a system and copies ofNHL 15 and LittleBigPlanet 3. The "Boxing Day" bundle will sell for $450. Canadian gamers will be able to preorder the new PS4 bundle starting December 24, while the system itself will go on sale December 26, Boxing Day. Though this bundle is exclusive to Canada, US shoppers can get a PS4 and their choice of four games for $400 through the new "Four Games, One Pick" bundle available now across the country. Check back later today for GameSpot's regular Gaming Deals post.

Capcom is co-developing Street fighter 5 with Sony, which will also pay for publishing duties.I was surprised and heartened to discover that the Official PlayStation Blog community did not respond too favourably to Sony trumpeting its Street Fighter V exclusivity deal. Granted, negative internet comments are as rare as nitrogen, but what struck me about these complaints was how even the most diehard Sony fans are contesting that it's reasonable to restrict the free-flow of third-party franchises. These are, after all, the only people with consoles who are benefitting from the deal. The most up-voted message, penned by "fps_d0minat0r", is far more erudite and level-headed than their online handle might suggest. I've quoted it verbatim below: "And why would you think we would care about exclusivity on a game that should be multiplatform anyway? We are not hypocrites. We are not going to celebrate this after losing third party games like Dead Rising, Monster Hunter, and others from other publishers because of stupid exclusivity contracts. Consoles should compete on first party content… not compete by taking a game away from gamers on other systems. That is not #4thegamers." It does seem terribly reductive for a platform holder to build a business not just on satisfying customers, but on dissatisfying fans of its competitors. It is unbecoming and unneighborly behavior fixated on small-term gains. But what I fear most about this deal is that it represents an escalation of an exclusivity arms race betweenPlayStation 4 and Xbox One. 'Escalation' being the key word here, because exclusivity deals are hardly unusual. They can be traced as far back as 1989, when Nintendo secured the rights to distribute Tetris, "the first game from behind the iron curtain," solely on the Game Boy (Atari had the rights to the arcade edition). Since then, console manufacturers have indulged in a competitive lust to prevent the release of games on other systems. But after the dominant era of the PlayStation 2, and during the subsequent rise of the Xbox 360, the games industry entered into an era of multiplatform stability. Neither side secured the rights to former exclusive franchises like Grand Theft Auto IV, Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Rising or Resident Evil 5. This tectonic shift of power, from east to west, achieved a sort of equilibrium between both consoles. It was, in other words, peacetime. So naturally I am unnerved by Phil Spencer's comments that, as head of Xbox, he will "work on making amends" for the Street Fighter V deal. Sony's announcement, and Spencer's response, is hardly an assurance that key third-party games will be multiplatform by default. After all, if it can happen to the likes of Tomb Raider and Street Fighter--two series that have historically spread their reach across dozens of systems--then it shows that publishers will narrow the reach of even their most garlanded IPs if the price is right. Why, after a grace period of multiplatform serenity, might we be returning to an age of exclusive skulduggery? One key reason, in my view, is because the increasing financial risk in building triple-A games makes partnership offers from Microsoft and Sony that much more tempting. Consider this: Microsoft will shoulder the burden of Tomb Raider's development and publishing costs, while Sony Computer Entertainment will foot the publishing bill for bringing Street Fighter V to market. They are actively lowering the investment that Square Enix and Capcom would otherwise have to make to bring these games to market. In an age where not just a million sales, but many million sales, are usually required to recoup investment, the temptation to lower those costs in the first place must be quite significant. Nicholas Lovell, author of The Curve, a book on games development business models, and GamesBrief, a website documenting various industry issues, echoes my view on this point (which is, trust me, one of the first times we've ever agreed on anything). "Third-party publishers are looking at the risks that lie ahead and are deciding on which they are most comfortable taking," he tells me. "By going exclusive, as you say, they are reducing their upfront costs. Support might come via development funding, or co-marketing support, or console bundle support, or numerous other advantages." Although Tomb Raider and Street Fighter remain big names within the games media, and are two series that cultivate fanatical core fan bases, the raw numbers suggest that both carry a risk that Square Enix and Capcom are duty-bound to contemplate. Tomb Raider, in its crucial first four weeks, sold 3.4 million copies worldwide. Anything with that kind of reach should be applauded, but it wasn't enough to match the costs of investment. Square Enix memorably said its initial sales failed to meet targets, and nearly a year would pass before Tomb Raider broke even on its development costs. "Breaking even, even after a year, is not great news," Lovell adds. Street Fighter IV, meanwhile, represented a wondrous revival for a series that was battling to remain relevant. Yet it managed to shift 3.3 million copies, which is about half of what Street Fighter II achieved on the SNES alone. Capcom has been keen on supporting SFIV throughout its lifetime with expansions and DLC, which no doubt has maximised its revenue, but if the decision was down to you, is the baseline 3.3 million sales an indication that Street Fighter 5 is a safe bet or a risky one? "Games development and publishing is a very high fixed-cost business, and what we're finding is that the risk is only intensifying," Lovell adds. "I'm sure you've noticed, like we all have, that we are seeing fewer triple-A releases. " Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, insists that he will "make amends" for Sony's Street Fighter scoop.Let's be clear; I'm not trying to belittle the popularity of either franchise. But I speak to games developers and executives, on and off the record, on a daily basis, and what they are saying over and over is that triple-A games are not making enough money. I was even told by one publishing boss that, were it not for post-release DLC revenue, then his problems would have become far more apparent. Microsoft and Sony apply the razzamatazz and corporate theatrics when announcing their flagship, must-have exclusives, which is fair enough. Personally I see more in these deals than the obvious frustrations that are tied with them. I see these deals as emblems of how only the biggest franchises--the Call of Dutys and Assassin's Creeds--can fend for themselves in the modern age. What we're heading towards is a dilemma for the games publishing industry. There are three directions that third-party triple-A games can go in: either reduce the development costs, expand the audience, or make customers pay far more for the same game. For the last several years, the latter option has been applied, tying games with season passes and in-game payments. But these new exclusivity deals show that the likes of Capcom and Square Enix are now looking at reducing costs altogether, and therein lies the irony and the danger, because the chances of expanding the audience only narrows when the enchanting joy of games are locked away to a single machine. It's perhaps understandable that that most publishers aren't betting their business on any single game. But in avoiding those risks, argues Lovell, the likes of Capcom and Square Enix are simply walking into others. "Companies that sign exclusivity agreements may be reducing how much cash they spend, but they are essentially exchanging one risk with another, which is, if this game turns out to be absolutely amazing, then an exclusive will be limiting its sales potential. It reduces their ability to produce a break-out game. That is not a solution, that is a shift of risk."

With just days to go before Christmas, Best Buy hasrolled out a really good Xbox One deal. The retailer is currently offering a free copy of Bungie'sDestiny and a $50 gift card when you buy the $350Assassin's Creed Unity Xbox One bundle, which comes with Unity and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Two-day shipping, which you'll need to get the bundle by Christmas, is free. Of course, you can always head to a store or buy online and pick it up at the store if that's easier for you. If you don't want to shop at Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, and Target have the Assassin's Creed Unity Xbox One bundle for $350 with a $50 gift card thrown in. However, Best Buy is the only store that's also adding a free copy of Destiny.

Almost 13 million people--12,869,066 to be exact--have played Bungie's shooter Destiny, the developer has revealed. The milestone, which Bungie announced on its blog, comes after the release of Destiny's free demo for all platforms. It's unclear how many copies of Destiny have actually been sold. Destiny's 12.87 million players have created 22.93 million Guardians, and together have spent 872.4 million hours in the game so far, Bungie went on to say. The developer also revealed some staffing numbers, saying it currently has more than 500 people working on the game and/or its sequel. Bungie has also informed us that Destiny's new raid, Crota's End, has been beaten 769 times "and rapidly counting." The raid was introduced to Destiny through the game's first expansion, The Dark Below, which was released in early December. The raid was designed to be tackled by a team of six players, but someone recently beat it all by himself, a feat that has never been repeated, Bungie says. Also in the update, Bungie said Destiny's ranks are about to grow significantly with players described as "Christmas Noobs" AKA people who receive the game as a gift on December 25. "Go easy on 'em," Bungie said. "They'll show up in the Crucible--lost, confused, and freshly minted as Level Fives. They'll arrive on the forum where you're sort of a big deal, asking questions you discovered the answers to a long time ago. Take them under your wing. Show them the way. They’ll learn a lot from you." Current Destiny owners are also getting a special Christmas gift from Bungie. The developer teased that Destiny players will find "some small stocking stuffers" in the game sometime after the holidays. Presumably you'll be able to claim your gift at the Postmaster. Finally, Bungie said the next major update for Destiny will arrive in January, and should include "some stuff you've been asking for." Bungie will share more details after the holidays.

The folks at YouTube channel Powerlight-13 have remade the epic Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens trailer inside of Rockstar Games' open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V. Obviously it's somewhat rough--after all, GTA V is a bit limited in its Star Wars props. But it's a fun watch all the same, and speaks to the enduring passion of the GTA V playerbase. The Force Awakens hits theaters in December 2015, while GTA V fans have GTA Online Heists, and maybe some single-player DLC, to look forward to in 2015. Thanks, Polygon.

The overall Sony brand has reportedly taken a major hit in terms of consumer perception in the wake of the hacks against Sony Pictures and the ensuing fallout. The controversy has pushed media and technology giant to its worst levels in six years, according to new research service YouGov, discovered by Variety. YouGov's BrandIndex is calculated by asking people:"If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" This is then calculated into a score that can range from 100 to -100, with a zero being a neutral position. Sony's score this year began at 13, dropping to 11 on November 24 when the Sony hack was first made public. It only fell further from there as the hackers posted troves of internal Sony documents, including executive salaries, personal emails, and even movie scripts. Things got even worse for Sony following week's cancellation of The Interview, the controversial James Franco/Seth Rogen movie apparently at the heart of the cyberattack, which the FBI says came from North Korea. As of Friday, December 19, Sony's score was 3, a six-year low. YouGov points out that this could fall further, as The Interview's cancellation has drawn much displeasure from some, while United States president Barack Obama has even said Sony "made a mistake" in scuttling the movie's release. This isn't the first time Sony's brand image has taken a hit in recent years. The company's BrandIndex score dropped off in April 2011 when the PlayStation Network was breached. Millions of accounts were compromised, and the service itself didn't return to full functionality for weeks. For more on the fallout from the Sony Pictures hack, be sure to read GameSpot sister sites CNET and CBS News. The YouGov BrandIndex is measured by interviews with 4,300 people every weekday from a representative US population sample.

The PC version of this year's multiplayer shooter Titanfall is currently available only through EA's Origin digital distribution hub, not Valve's 100-million user platform Steam. Now, developer Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella has spoken out to say that while the first Titanfall is unlikely to ever come to Steam, the game's follow-up could. "At some point you look at it and you say is it even worth now this much later the effort to put it on Steam, when it would be a lot of work and kind of bifurcate the community?" Zampella told Game Informer when asked if the first Titanfall might come to PC. "We would have loved for it to be on Steam from day one, but at some point it just doesn't make sense anymore and you start looking to the future and I think we should not make that same decision again [emphasis added]," he explained. Titanfall was published by EA, which is likely the reason the PC version was exclusive to Origin. Going forward, however, it appears Respawn's exclusivity arrangement with EA has been loosened. In addition to the possibility that Titanfall 2 could come to Steam, Zampella has also suggested that the sequel may come to PlayStation systems for its console release. The original Titanfall was exclusive to PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It is unclear how well Titanfall has sold, but Zampella says the game has seen 8 million unique players to date. We also know that Titanfall is thebest-selling new IP for Xbox One to date. In addition to a Titanfall sequel, it was recently revealed that Respawn has formed a second team internallyto work on a non-Titanfall project, possibly led by former God of War veteran Stig Asmussen. He joined Respawn over the summer as a game director for an unannounced project.

The game industry is undergoing a "technology-led transformation," according to major player Electronic Arts, whose CTO Ken Moss says he sees a massive opportunity for growth and change as a result. "The gaming industry is going through a technology-led transformation right now and I think we have a huge opportunity in front of us and a number of exciting challenges to solve," Moss, who joined EA only five months ago, said in a post on the company's blog. Some of the areas Moss said he's keeping an eye on as EA CTO are: games as a service, mobile gaming, big data, security, streaming, social connectivity, and unified game engines. "Each of these is transformational--and EA is right in the mix, Moss said. Moss went on to say that he plans to write future blog posts covering the topics the community would like to hear most about. "As you can imagine, a lot of my time is of course spent plotting out the technical strategy for the company," he added. "What you may not have guessed is that I also spend a lot of my time guiding and building the teams and talent that thrive in such a fast-paced environment and who are as excited as I am for exploring these new frontiers." Moss joined EA in July. Prior to coming aboard at the publisher, he held high-level technology positions at Microsoft and eBay. At EA, Moss is officially in charge of "leading the strategy and vision for EA's digital platform and information technology organizations." What kinds of new experiences are you looking for from EA going forward from a technical perspective? Let us know in the comments below!

Sony and Square Enix have teamed up for a new PlayStation 4 design to mark the release of upcoming role-playing game Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The console, which has been announced only for Japan, comes in a red and black design, which also goes for the DualShock 4 controller. The PS4 bundle also packs in a copy of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (of course), a Type-0 theme, and a download code for the super-limited Final Fantasy XV demo. Siliconera reports that the console will go on sale march 19, 2015 for ¥46,980, which is about $392. Buying Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is the only way to get access to the Final Fantasy XV demo, which should offer 3-4 hours of gameplay, according to Square Enix. In other Type-0 HD news, Square Enix recently revealed a rather-impressive collector's edition. For more on the Type-0 HD PS4 bundle, check out the image gallery below.

Microsoft has launched a "Countdown to 2015" sales promotion for Xbox, offering a series of daily deals onXbox 360 and Xbox One titles. As the promotion's name suggests, Microsoft will unleash a new deal every day until January 1, 2015.Starting things off today are some discounts on various Lord of the Rings games. Microsoft's Countdown to 2015 sale also applies to various Xbox TV and movie programming. You can see all of the video content on sale through the Xbox Video website. Below are today's Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals. Notably, you don't need an Xbox Live Gold membership to enjoy the savings. Xbox One Deals Available Today (December 22) Only: Trials Fusion: Deluxe Edition (full game and DLC pass) -- $20 Xbox 360 Deals Available Today (December 22) Only: Slender: The Arrival -- $5 Trials Fusion -- $10 Trials Fusion DLC Pass -- $10 Previous deals have included: December 16 Lego: The Hobbit (Xbox One) -- $20 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Xbox One) -- $40.20 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor DLC Pass (Xbox One) -- $16.74 Lego: The Hobbit (Xbox 360) -- $9.89 Lego: The Lord of the Rings (Xbox 360) -- $5 December 17 Costume Quest 2 (Xbox One) -- $10.04 Costume Quest 2 (Xbox 360) -- $10.04 Tropico 5 (Xbox 360) -- $26.79 December 18 Outlast (Xbox One) -- $8 Moto GP 14 (Xbox 360) -- $26.79 MX vs. ATV Supercross (Xbox 360) -- $20.09 December 19 Murdered: Soul Suspect (Xbox One) -- $16.50 Murdered: Soul Suspect (Xbox 360) -- $12 December 20 Metro Redux Bundle (Xbox One) -- $33.16 Metro Last Light (Xbox 360) -- $10.19 Saints Row IV (Xbox 360) -- $11.89 December 21 Contrast (Xbox One) -- $7.50 Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition (Xbox One, Xbox 360) -- $7.50 Nutjitsu (Xbox One) -- $3.25 RBI Baseball 14 (Xbox One, ,Xbox 360) -- $5 Stick it to the Man (Xbox One) -- $5

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has claimed the Christmas No1 spot in the UK all-format charts, overtakingFIFA 15 at the eleventh hour thanks to a PlayStation 4 bundle promotion. It means that Activision's flagship shooter series has topped the UK chart at Christmas on five separate occasions. FIFA 15, the clear frontrunner in the build-up to the holiday period, drops to second. In third and fourth are the non-movers GTA5 and Far Cry 4, while a 97 percent surge in sales pushesAssassin's Creed Unity to fifth. A similar spike in sales for The Crew, Ubisoft's open-world racer, brings it to sixth as retailers lower the game's price by as much as £15.

A sequel to Naughty Dog's acclaimed action-survival game The Last of Us may be in the works, according to the resume of former Naughty Dog lead character artist Michael Knowland. According to Knowland'sLinkedIn profile, Naughty Dog had produced prototype designs for use in The Last of Us 2 earlier this year. Knowland had joined Naughty Dog in October 2011 and worked on The Last of Us as well as Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. At present, he is a senior character artist at Avalanche Studios and is working on Just Cause 3. Knowland left Naughty Dog in April this year. His departure followed on from a number of high-ranking staff who left the studio, including Uncharted 4 director Justin Richmond, writer Amy Hennig, lead artist Nate Wells, and actor Todd Stashwick. The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann said in a Reddit AMA last February that there was a "50/50" possibility of a sequel. Naughty Dog has since confirmed it is working on two new "brand-new experiences" one of which is Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, due to launch sometime next year.

Telltale Games has released The Telltale Games Collection on Xbox One, which includes five complete seasons of its adventure games series. The $110 collection gets you the following (click the links for GameSpot's reviews): All episodes of Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series All episodes of Tales From the Borderlands All episodes of The Wolf Among Us All episodes of The Walking Dead All episodes of The Walking Dead: Season Two If bought separately through the Xbox One Games Store, these games would cost $130, so the bundle saves you $20. Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series and Tales From the Borderlands are the newest games in the bunch, both of which recently released their first episodes. Both were also reviewed very well by GameSpot, which gave them an 8/10 and 9/10 respectively. In fact, all the Telltale games in the collection received high scores from GameSpot, so if the Xbox One is your platform of choice, it's not a bad way to catch up with them. You probably just don't want to play all of them in one sitting. Minecraft developer Mojang and Telltale Games also recently announced a brand new episodic series based on Minecraft, launching in 2015 for PC, consoles, and mobile devices.

Glorious Leader!, a 2D action game starring North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un and Dennis Rodman is pressing on with development despite the recent Sony Pictures hack, which eventually led the studio to cancel the controversial Seth Rogen/James Franco movie The Interview. Developer Moneyhorse's Jeff Miller told the Associated Press that not only is he still planning to release the game, but he's adding a level that takes place at the Sony Pictures backlot, with references to the hack andThe Interview. Miller said he want the game to be as topical as possible, and that he isn't afraid of being hacked himself because the game portrays Kim Jong Un in a positive light. In the game, you play Kim Jong Un as he takes on the entire American army in a retro-style side-scrolling run and gun game reminiscent of Contra. Just like Contra featured the deadly duo of Bill "Mad Dog" Rizer and Lance "Scorpion" Bean, Glorious Leader! pairs Kim Jong un with his buddy, former Chicago Bulls player Dennis “The Worm” Rodman. Miller is also capitalizing on the recent headlines with a new Kickstarter campaign for the game. He's hoping to raise $55,000 by January 15. So far he has $6,468 from 235 backers. Miller also said that he approached both Microsoft and Sony about the game earlier this year. Microsoft wasn't interested. Sony was responsive, but this was long before the recent hack. Whatever happens with the game, United States President Barack Obama would probably support Miller's efforts. Earlier this week, Obama said Sony's decision to cancel the interview was a mistake. Obama, as you can see in one of the screenshots in the gallery above, will make an appearance in Glorious Leader! as well.

GSC Gameworld, the developer behind the Stalker games, has reopened and is already developing its next game. Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, GSC Gameworld's Valentine Yeltyshev didn't have much to reveal about the new project other than it will appeal to fans of Stalker, and that it will be a full price game. Apparently, it's also going to use the assets and engine GSC Gameworld was working on while developing Stalker 2 before the studio shut down in 2010. "We're pretty sure about our fans. The market we're in is quite old fashioned, they're not 16 year olds, they're 25-40 years old," Yeltyshev said. "We don't think free-to-play is the right model for the game we want to make. So we're making an old-fashioned, full price game, we think our audience will be happy about that." Yeltyshev also didn't say whether the new game will be called Stalker, the rights for which have been in dispute recently. Last week, developer West Games, which claimed to be made up of former Stalker developers, announced a crowdfunding campaign for Stalker Apocalypse. West Games previously tried to crowdfund a similar project called Areal, which caused a fair bit of controversy itself. "I don't really know enough about them, but the story is quite funny," Yeltyshev said. "These guys were basically promoting themselves as being the STALKER team, that they were working on STALKER, but that's not true." He explained that the developers at West Games were actually working on a flash-based browser game related to Stalker that never saw the light of day, but never the Stalker series proper. Since GSC Gameworld closed in 2010, some of its developers went on to 4A Games, which develops theMetro series, and Vostok games, which is currently working on Survarium.

Developer 4J Studios is rolling out a big update to all the console versions of Minecraft that adds a lot of features that are already implemented in the PC version. The Minecraft update adds the ability to tame and ride horses, new mobs like wither, bats, and witches, and a bunch of new items. Some other interesting new additions: Zombies and Skeletons can now spawn with different weapons and armor. Added 'Adventure Mode' - You can only break blocks with the correct tools. Added Fireworks - Fireworks interface is accessible from the Crafting Table when you have the ingredients to craft a Firework Star or Firework Rocket. The longer you remain in an area the harder the monsters that spawn in that area will be. You can find the long list of what's included in the update on 4J Studios' website. If that all sounds new and complicated, don't worry. The update also introduces a brand-new Tutorial Word that teaches players how to use these new features, as well as teaching newcomers how to play Minecraft. It also includes a challenge which has you searching this starter world for hidden Music Discs. The new update has already rolled out to Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PlayStation platforms in Europe. The update is still in testing for PlayStation platforms in North America, but 4J Studios said it hopes to have more news on it early this week.

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During his annual year-end press conference today, United States president Barack Obama spoke out about Sony Pictures' recent decision to cancel controversial Seth Rogen/James Franco movie The Interview in the wake of widespread cyberattacks, saying the film company "made a mistake." "Sony is a corporation. It suffered significant damage," Obama explained, as reported by The Associated Press. "There were threats against its employees. I am sympathetic to the concerns that they faced. Having said all that, yes, I think they made a mistake." "I wish they had spoken to me first," Obama went on to say about Sony executives who made the decision to scuttle movie, a satire about an attempt to assassinate North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. "We cannot have a society in which some dictatorship someplace can start imposing censorship." Obama went on to suggest that Sony's cancellation of the movie could lead to other, similarly damaging situations if leaders of other nations "start seeing a documentary that they don't like or news reports that they don't like." The president's speech came just hours after the FBI officially pointed the finger at the North Korean government for the massive hack against Sony Pictures. "As a result of our investigation, and in close collaboration with other U.S. government departments and agencies, the FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions," the FBI said in a statement on its website this afternoon. The statement goes on to say that the FBI will pursue and "impose costs and consequences" on any person, group, or nation state that launches cyberattacks against the US or its interests. For its part, North Korea has denied any involvement in the widespread hacking. The perpetrators have leaked troves of internal documents, ranging from executive salaries to the script for 2015 James Bond movie Spectre. For lots more on the Sony hacking case, check out GameSpot sister site CNET's in-depth coverage.

Microsoft's rumored Fortazela concept[uPDATE 2] A Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot, "We have nothing to share concerning these reports." [uPDATE] VRFocus and Techradar report that several game studios have received Xbox One VR development kits. None of the studios were named, unfortunately. The original story is below. Microsoft will reveal its long-rumored Xbox virtual reality headset device during the company's E3 2015 briefing next summer, according to a new Digitimes report that cites "upstream supply chain" sources. The summer tradeshow is scheduled for June 16-18, 2015. The site's sources went on to say that development on the Xbox VR headset, which will presumably work with the Xbox One, will be handled by the same team that runs Microsoft's Surface tablet line. A name for the device was not mentioned. Microsoft's Xbox VR headset is separate from its Google Glass-like "Fortazela" project, which first leaked in June 2012. Digitimes adds that development on this project (pictured, top) is ongoing, though no further details about features or functionality are available. Microsoft has been open in saying that virtual reality is something the company has been experimenting with for a long time now. Competitor Sony announced its own virtual reality device, Project Morpheus, during GDC in March 2014, though the company hasn't said when it plans to launch the PlayStation 4 device or what it will cost. Meanwhile, the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift headset is also deep into development for PC. Microsoft's mysterious VR project has been in development for years, and the company even gave a demonstration of the tech to Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive. We have reached out to Microsoft for comment on this report, and will update this post with anything we hear back.

Amazon has the best new deal of the day, offering Sunset Overdrive for $35, but that's only the tip of the deals iceberg going into this weekend. Both Steam and Green Man Gaming have launched their holiday sales, offering major discounts on new games every 24 and 48 hours, so make sure you check outGameSpot's Steam Winter Sale 2014 pick of the day. Below you'll find the rest of today's best deals divided by platform: PlayStation 4 Sony still has a $400 PlayStation 4 bundle that includes one out of four games: Destiny, NBA2K15, Far Cry 4, or LittleBigPlanet 3. You can also use this offer to get a $440 PS4 bundle that comes with The Last of Us Remastered and a PlayStation Camera. Best Buy has a 500GB PS4 with free copies of Killzone: Shadow Fall and 22 Jump Street for $400. The retailer is also offering the Destiny white PS4 bundle for $400. Sony has introduced the third week of holiday sales on the PlayStation Store. Some highlights from the third week of offers: Child of Light -- $9 CounterSpy -- $9 Hotline Miami -- $5 Metro 2033 Redux -- $17.49 Metro: Last Light -- $17.49 Need for Speed Rivals: Complete -- $30 Other PS4 games deals: Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition -- $30 (Amazon) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor -- $28 (Amazon) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare -- $40 (GameStop, and Amazon matched the price) Lords of the Fallen -- $40 (GameStop) Dragon Age: Inquisition -- $50 (Best Buy) Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes -- $10 (Amazon) Driveclub -- $35 (Amazon) Watch Dogs -- $25 (Amazon) The Evil Within -- $25 (Amazon) InFamous: Second Son -- $28 (Amazon) Destiny -- $40 (Amazon) Rocksmith -- $40 (Amazon) Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark -- $30 (Amazon) The LEGO Movie Videogame -- $15 (Amazon) The Last of Us Remastered -- $22 (Amazon) LittleBigPlanet 3 -- $40 (Ebay) Battlefield 4 -- $20 (Amazon) MLB 14: The Show -- $20 (Amazon) Killzone: Shadow Fall -- $20 (Amazon) Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag -- $20 (Amazon) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $30 (Amazon) LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham -- $40 (Amazon) Call of Duty: Ghosts Hardened Edition -- $45 (Amazon) Get a $10 credit when you add $60 to your PSN account with PayPal. Xbox One Starting today, GameStop is offering a $50 gift card when you buy an Xbox One. Amazon also matched the price, so you can get the Assassin's Creed Unity Xbox One bundle, which comes with Unity and last year's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, for $350 and get a $50 gift card along with it. Walmart has an Xbox One with Halo: The Master Chief Collection for $350. Halo: The Master Chief Collection -- $45 (Amazon) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare -- $40 (GameStop, and Amazon matched the price) Lords of the Fallen -- $40 (GameStop) Dragon Age: Inquisition -- $50 (Best Buy) Forza Horizon 2 -- $35 (Amazon) Murdered: Soul Suspect -- $16.50 (Microsoft) Sunset Overdrive -- $35 (Amazon) Forza 5 -- $35 (Dell) Dead Rising 3 -- $35 (Dell) Battlefield 4 -- $25 (Amazon) Just Dance 2014 -- $20 (Amazon) Xbox One Stereo Headset -- $40 (Amazon) Shadow Warrior -- $28.22 (Amazon) Destiny -- $40 (Amazon) Thief -- $20 (Amazon) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $30 (Amazon) Ryse: Son of Rome -- $35 (Dell) LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham -- $40 (Amazon) Call of Duty: Ghosts Hardened Edition -- $45 (Amazon) This week's Deals with Gold include discounts for various Assassin's Creed, and Call of Duty games, among many others. Some highlights from the list of discounted Xbox One games: Assassin's Creed Unity -- $49.79 Battlefield 4: Premium Edition -- $30 Wolfenstein: The New Order -- $30