Latest news with #CliffhangerGames
Geek Girl Authority
5 hours ago
- Business
- Geek Girl Authority
Mobile Game Monday: PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES
Greetings, friends, and welcome to Mobile Game Monday, where we chat about games you can play on the go. If you like gaming on a phone or tablet , this is the place for you. Join us every week as we go on all sorts of adventures. Electronic Arts has been in the news a lot this year after several rounds of layoffs, the most recent being the closure of Cliffhanger Games. According to IGN, this means that the Black Panther game announced in 2023 will not see the light of day. Additionally, layoffs will be made to the mobile team although EA president Laura Miele says the developer will maintain their mobile business. With this dark cloud hanging over Electronic Arts right now, I thought we would look at one of EA's brighter moves–acquiring PopCap Games in 2011. This brought EA into the mobile gaming sphere and ported one of my favorite games to the platform. With Spring winding down and Summer hot on our heels, let's do yardwork like our life depends on it in Plants vs. Zombies. RELATED: F2P Friday: Bronzebeard's Tavern Plants Vs. Zombies Plants vs. Zombies (2011) is a tower defense game where the player plants various vegetation in their yard to defend their home against waves of zombie invaders. Your yard takes up most of the screen and has a grid layout. Zombies will wander in from the right and you must take them out before they reach your front door on the far left. Image courtesy of the Play Store. Place plants one at a time using energy or sunlight that occasionally comes from the sky or can be produced by planting sunflowers. Each plant costs a designated amount of energy to be planted. Choose from 49 different species, each with a unique ability. RELATED: Fields of Mistria Is Finally Getting a Dating Mechanic For example, the Snow Pea shoots frozen peas that damage and slow the enemy. These are great for those fast-moving athlete zombies. Before each battle, build an arsenal of only a handful of plants. Choose wisely because some plants are more effective against certain types of zombies. Creating a well-balanced arsenal is your first step to success. Image courtesy of Cassie Holguin. There are over 20 different types of zombies in Plants vs. Zombies . Some are tied to balloons to float above danger while others use pogo sticks to jump over obstacles. From the dancing disco crew to ghoulish athletes, there is no denying that these undead goofballs are a lot of fun. Screenshot courtesy of Cassie Holguin. Canonically, zombies aren't the best swimmers but they have figured out ways around that, too, like riding dolphins or using pool floaties. Imagine a real-life zombie apocalypse with these types of zombies. RELATED: Mobile Game Monday: Sagrada So Many Modes, So Little Time Adventure is the main mode and includes 50 levels that take place in your yard, pool, rooftop, and more. There is even a mode that tests your green thumb at night. Gardening is a little more difficult in the dark but zombies never sleep. Luckily, a variety of mushrooms can be planted at night to keep the undead at bay. Once you have completed your adventure, check out the zen garden where you can care for all of the plants you have collected. Screenshot courtesy of Cassie Holguin. Unlock new games and puzzles using the coins you collect while standing your ground. More ways to play include puzzle modes like i, Zombie where you get to play as the zombies. Or try Vase Breaker where you smash vases that contain either plants or zombies then deal accordingly on the fly. There are over a dozen different minigames to master like Beghouled which is a spooky-themed Bejeweled knockoff. Kudos to the developers at PopCap for coming up with so many creative ways to play the same game. This is the kind of quality content that keeps players interested in a game for so many years. RELATED: Game Review: Projected Dreams Our Adventure Ends Here I first played Plants vs. Zombies on the Xbox 360 around the time of its original release. I immediately became hooked and was ecstatic when it was ported to mobile. It was a great version of the game that played exactly like the original. However, that was many years ago, and was surprised to see how much the game has changed since then. Screenshot courtesy of Cassie Holguin. The most obvious and annoying change is the addition of ads, ads, and more ads. I suspect this is due to the involvement of EA. There is an ad before and after each level as well as ads to get helpful items. Of course, you can pay to remove them but many players reported paying and still seeing them, so buyer beware. RELATED: Read all of the Mobile Game Monday adventures here! On a more positive note, there is now way more game content, including several new game modes. As an OG player, it was a fun surprise to play some new content. Overall, the game itself is amazing and I highly recommend it to anyone who favors tower defense-style games. It will definitely have you saying, 'one more level.' Collecting new plants and trying new strategies is like fertilizer for your brain. Everything about this game is quirky and cute from the cheeky humor to the dozens of goofy zombies. Even the simple but silly soundtrack adds a certain charm and it will get stuck in your head. Take it easy, and play it safe, gamers! Plants vs. Zombies is free in the Play Store and the App Store. June's Most Anticipated Video Games
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
‘Black Panther' and Its Team Deserved Better Than This
Days ago, the video game sphere was thrown into shock when EA revealed it'd canceled its Black Panther game. The project, announced in 2023, was to be the debut of developer Cliffhanger Games, which was headed up by developers who made Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. With its game dead, Cliffhanger's been shut down, and anyone not transferred elsewhere within EA's various internal studios has been laid off. At the time of the game's cancellation, Cliffhanger hadn't revealed anything about Black Panther, and all we had to go on was a job listing indicating it'd be a single-player, open-world title. In the wake of the project and studio's end, we now know some of it would've involved several playable characters—from T'Challa to his sister Shuri and son Azari—fighting Skrulls invading Wakanda. This game would've featured Skrulls posing as allies and relationships formed between the other non-playable heroes and other NPCs in Wakanda. For all intents and purposes, it was to be similar to the Nemesis System introduced in the Middle-Earth: Shadow games. Several alums from Monolith's Lord of the Rings duology reunited to form Cliffhanger, but EA felt the studio was moving too slow, which came in part because Cliffhanger was building staff alongside its prototypes and builds to show EA how it would all come together. What makes this situation even more sad is how not shocking it is that Black Panther got killed. Last year, EA canceled a single-player Star Wars FPS from Respawn, its own internal studio responsible for the hit Jedi games, and which has also had two separate, attempted spinoffs for its own Titanfall series suffer the same fate. This past February, WB Games put the kibosh on its Wonder Woman game from Monolith (which also got closed down), and we learned in April of a Blade Runner game that'll likely never see the light of day. The Last of Us, Spider-Man, Halo; whether it's a whole game or a specific mode, from an established franchise or something new, in development or just recently came out, the industry has been full of cancellations in recent years, with layoffs following not long after. On the outside looking in, a Black Panther game feels like an easy call to make. Superhero video games are in a good place right now, and this specific character's been an A-lister since his debut in Captain America: Civil War in 2016 and his own 2018 movie became a massive, global phenomenon. He's part of the ever-increasing lineup of Marvel Rivals and is set to co-lead Skydance's 2026-bound Marvel 1943, and whether it'd be T'Challa, Shuri, or Azari, the hero has never headlined a game on his lonesome, making EA's decision to kill it so frustrating. It certainly doesn't appear to be affecting its three-game deal with Marvel; both companies have since said the partnership will continue with Motive's Iron Man game and at least one other project yet to be announced. But in the wake of this news, and EA's alleged treatment of its original, non-multiplayer franchises like Dragon Age, it's hard to fully buy that either of these projects, or any single-player project at the publisher's internal teams will come out, which puts the people actually making those games in an unfair light. The games industry's problems didn't start with Cliffhanger and Black Panther, and they'll continue well past this moment in time. But it speaks volumes that an attempted game of this caliber starring a character from one of the biggest media franchises around right now can't get off the ground and the team behind it is paying for EA's past, unrelated financial troubles. More than anything, the studio should've gotten to have its moment in the sun, as all developers do for the games they've spent nearly a decade or less of their lives making. Those opportunities feel like they're becoming increasingly rarer in this industry, and it won't be good for anyone should it continue becoming the norm.
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Electronic Arts cancels ‘Black Panther' video game, shutters Cliffhanger Studios in latest cuts
Electronic Arts has canceled development of its anticipated 'Black Panther' video game and closed Seattle-based Cliffhanger Games, the studio behind the project, in its latest move to streamline operations and refocus on core franchises. The decision, first reported by IGN and confirmed by EA, follows a wave of layoffs that have rocked the Bay Area video game publisher in recent weeks. In April, EA dismissed between 300 and 400 employees and scrapped a new game in the 'Titanfall' universe. Fewer employees were affected in this latest round, though EA declined to specify the number. 'These decisions are hard,' Laura Miele, president of EA Entertainment, wrote in an email to staff on Wednesday. 'They affect people we've worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We're doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA.' The 'Black Panther' title, developed in collaboration with Marvel and Disney, was announced in July 2023 as the first in a planned three-game partnership. Cliffhanger Games was led by industry veteran Kevin Stephens, who had previously overseen Monolith Productions. At the time, Stephens promised a 'definitive and authentic Black Panther experience' that would let players explore the fictional African nation of Wakanda. The move reflects a broader shift at EA to double down on its biggest properties. In the company's fourth quarter earnings report, CEO Andrew Wilson pointed to the 'incredible success' of its revived college football title and 'the enduring strength' of its soccer franchise, noting a record year for EA Sports. Looking ahead, Wilson teased a summer reveal for the next installment in the 'Battlefield' franchise. The closure of Cliffhanger and the game's cancellation mark EA's third major restructuring effort in 2025, highlighting the publisher's retreat from licensed IPs in favor of internally owned brands like 'Apex Legends,' 'The Sims' and 'Battlefield.'
Geek Tyrant
4 days ago
- Business
- Geek Tyrant
EA Cancels BLACK PANTHER Game as It Shuts Down Cliffhanger Games — GeekTyrant
Well, that's it. EA's single-player Black Panther game is officially canceled, and with it, the end of Cliffhanger Games before the studio ever shipped a title. The news comes in the wake of EA's latest wave of layoffs, which continues to reshape the publisher's priorities and studio lineup. IGN confirmed that the open-world, third-person action-adventure set in Wakanda is no longer happening. Cliffhanger Games, the Seattle-based team working on the title, has also been shut down. Originally announced in 2023, the Black Panther game was one of those rare superhero projects that generated excitement based on potential alone. We never got a trailer, no gameplay footage, just the promise of exploring Wakanda in a rich, story-driven experience. Marvel fans seemed pretty hyped. The game was being helmed by a team of seasoned developers, including Kevin Stephens, formerly of Monolith Productions (the Middle-earth games), and other veterans from Halo , God of War , and Call of Duty . It had pedigree, ambition, and one of Marvel's most beloved heroes at the center. But big ambition alone doesn't pay the bills. While EA hasn't issued a public-facing press release, an internal email circulated to staff framed the decision as part of a broader corporate strategy: to "sharpen our focus and put our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities." These cuts are part of a sweeping restructure. EA's President of Entertainment & Technology, Laura Miele, addressed the emotional toll of the layoffs: "These decisions are hard," Miele wrote. "They affect people we've worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We're doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we've had success helping people land in new roles." Just a month ago, EA laid off 300–400 people—including roughly 100 at Respawn, resulting in the cancellation of a Titanfall game that hadn't even been officially announced yet. It's part of a downsizing effort impacting around 5% of EA's workforce. CEO Andrew Wilson had previously said: "We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry. 'This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow." There is still hope on another front. Skydance New Media is deep in development on Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra , a narrative-driven action-adventure that teams up Captain America and Azzuri (T'Challa's grandfather, the Black Panther of WWII) in occupied France. That game, led by Amy Hennig ( Uncharted ), is still very much alive. As for EA, they're doubling down on their known moneymakers, Battlefield , The Sims , Skate , and Apex Legends . Meanwhile, projects like Motive's Iron Man and the next Jedi and Mass Effect games appear safe... for now. But for those hoping to run through Wakanda as Black Panther in a focused, cinematic solo experience? That dream just got snapped.
Black America Web
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
EA Cancels ‘Black Panther' Game, Shutters Cliffhanger Games Studio, Gamers React
Source: EA/ Cliffhanger Games / Black Panther That Black Panther standalone we were all excited for is no longer happening. IGN broke the news that EA has taken away Cliffhanger Games' heart-shaped herb and has cancelled one of the games Marvel fans have been eagerly anticipating since it was first announced back in July 2023. According to the website, EA Entertainment President Laura Miele stated in an email that the recent changes, cancellations, and other moves were aimed at 'sharpening our focus and putting our creative energy behind the most significant growth opportunities.' The bad news for the gaming industry doesn't stop there, EA is also laying off an unspecified number of workers on both mobile and central teams. IGN reports that EA declined to comment on the specific number but believes, while not confirming that the number is less than the roughly 300 employees let go last month across Respawn and EA's Fan Care teams. 'These decisions are hard,' said Miele. 'They affect people we've worked with, learned from, and shared real moments with. We're doing everything we can to support them — including finding opportunities within EA, where we've had success helping people land in new roles.' Gamers Are Sad About Black Panther's Cancellation & Layoffs At EA As you can imagine, the gaming community isn't taking this news very well. 'You've got to be fucking kidding me. First Wonder Woman (a female led game) gets cancelled and now Black Panther (a poc led game) gets cancelled, and neither of them ever had a video game before. This really is Trvmp's America…' one post on X, formerly Twitter, read. ' more layoffs as the Black Panther game cancelled and the studio closed it keeps getting worse :(,' Kinda Funny and GamerTag Radio's Parris Lilly said. While we are not getting the Black Panther game, EA says it is still committed to bringing us that Iron Man game currently being developed by Motive, and will focus on Battlefield , The Sims , Skate , and Apex Legends . What a sad time to be a gamer and Marvel fan, just saying. The video game streets are still talking; you can see those reactions below. EA Cancels 'Black Panther' Game, Shutters Cliffhanger Games Studio, Gamers React was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
