Ever since its introduction last year, Final Fantasy XIV's current raid tier - Alexander - has been a great subject of contention. Some fans feel it doesn't quite hold up to the previous raid, the Binding Coil of Bahamut; while others are simply tired, broken and find it too difficult to continue out of lack of interest. So what happened? We had the opportunity to speak with producer/director Naoki Yoshida at Gamescom this past week about some of the lessons they've learned and what fans can expect going into Patch 3.4. "The player feedback that we received with the Binding Coil of Bahamut series was they wanted more challenge, they wanted more difficult content," Yoshida explained. "So with this feedback with Alexander we implemented two versions of the same content with Normal Mode and Savage Mode. With Savage Mode, we made it really brutal - really difficult with so many gimmicks and mechanics. "However, we heard feedback from players that now the Savage Mode of Alexander is too difficult. For the next one we're trying to make it easier because what we want to do is bring more people in to challenge this raid content." Continuing, Yoshida added it wasn't just difficulty

Due to the horrible and violent attacks in Europe and in the rest of the world the security level at Gamescom 2016 was increased. These changes apply to normal visitors, business visitors and members of the press alike. Security checks will start each day on 07:00 a.m. and may lead to longer queues and waiting time. Cosplayers are welcome at Gamescom, but weapon replicas or weapon-like items, regardless of shape, size or material are not allowed on the Gamescom booth area. Weapon-like items will be confiscated by the Gamescom staff at the entrance. Cosplayers are also asked not to use these items in public places in Cologne, because they may terrify the population. Walking acts by the exhibitors make a return to Gamescom and during these official events, weapon replicas are allowed for the staff members. These items have been checked before the start of Gamescom and are labeled. They are not allowed to be used when the item has left the booth area after a security check. To minimize waiting times the host suggests to leave backpacks at home, because they consume most of the time during security checks. You can find the official safety measures via the links below: Gamescom-Cologne.com: Increased safety measures for private visitors Gamescom.de: Verstärkte Sicherheitsmaßnahmen

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics announced the booth schedule for Tomb Raider at Gamescom 2016 in Cologne, Germany, which starts next week The "20 Years of Tomb Raider Celebration" takes the center stage. At the consumer booth (Hall 9, B31 & B4) you can play Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. Test the new co-op "Endurance Mode", the "Blood Ties" and "Lara's Nightmare" content. Players of the last two contents will be awarded with a  20 Year Celebration lanyard. You can also take a picture with the official Gamescom Cosplay Ambassadors Lena Lara and Lady Crossader or visit the stage shows a the PlayStation booth in Hall 7 (B021). There is a daily Tomb Raider trivia with prizes, a cosplay gathering and a Q&A with composer Nathan McCree and Senior Community Manager Meagan Marie, who also wrote the upcoming 20 Years of Tomb Raider book. Here is the full schedule as posted on the official Tomb Raider blog: Wednesday, August 17 (Media Day) 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Demo & Presentation of Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration co-op “Endurance Mode” and first look at “Blood Ties” | Square Enix booth, Hall 9, B31 & B41 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Tomb Raider Trivia | PlayStation booth, Hall 7, B021 Thursday, August 18

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV will be shown in selected German cinemas during the 30th Fantasy Film Fest. The festival was founded 1987 in Hamburg and features movies from genres such as fantasy, horror, thriller, black comedy or anime. We created a list for you, showing all dates and cinemas at a glance. While the season ticket for the whole festival is already sold out, individual movie ticket preorders will be available online and in each cinema, starting with Berlin on August 08th. The full movie will be shown with the original English voice over and single ticket prices vary from 9-12€. Source: FantasyFilmFest.com  

With the help of the alternative rock band "The Class" IO Interactive teased the upcoming fourth Hitman episode set in Thailand. https://youtu.be/fDFZ71nH8gg Last month several Hitman websites received a vinyl with three songs from their latest studio album without further notice. The Class released their music video for the song "Are We Stars" on YouTube two days ago, containing visuals with a striking resemblance to Hitman gameplay scenes in Thailand.  It is all very subtle but you can clearly recognize exotic buildings and lonely beaches. An episode in Thailand was initially announced as a post launch content for April 2016, before IO Interactive changed the release structure. Other locations to look forward to are the USA and Japan. Source: Hitman-HQ.de - Neue Thailand Mission in Musikvideo angeteasert

At Japan Expo 2016 in Paris we had the chance to preview the first ten minutes of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and met Director Taleshi Nozue and Marketing Division Manager Akio Ofuji. Both signed Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV cards we brought with us and now is your chance to win them! https://youtu.be/XloUyuDHPNA Who can enter? Any fan worldwide can enter to win. No purchase necessary. What do I have to do? Tell us which Kingsglaive character you like most and why in the comments below. Only one comment per user can enter. Who will win the autograph cards? We will randomly choose two winners from the eligible comments below. Each of the winners will receive one autograph card. When does the giveaway end? We will close comments/entries on August 8, 2016 at 22:00 CEST/16:00 EDT. Good luck! We are curious for your answers.

Eidos Montreal happily announced that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has achieved gold status, meaning that it's ready to go to the press plants for mass production. After five years of development and its announcement in April 2015, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released on August 23, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Here is the latest live action trailer, providing an emotional overview of the game's setting: https://youtu.be/EUhgQ-LZCa4

Earlier this year Epic Meal Time visited Square Enix in Japan for a very unique cuisine experience. Both now released a four minute long Behind the Scenes video showcasing the fun creations of that meeting. The highlight of the video is the gigantic special hamburger from the Final Fantasy XV game, Epic Meal Time tried to rebuild in real life. Because of the Japanese high quality A5 ranked meat and other ingredients a single burger would cost approximately £60 (roughly $80/70€), according to Hajime Tabata. https://youtu.be/GDJcq0Czsi4 Final Fantasy XV is due out worldwide on September 30 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Entertainment website Fandom attended the San Diego Comic Con and got the chance to sit down with members of the Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV cast for an interview. Two videos have been uploaded, one with Lead Writer Dan Inoue, Director Takeshi Nozue, and Marketing Manager Mat Kishimoto while the second one features the actors Andrea Tivadar (Crowe Altius) and Liam Mulvey (Libertus Ostium). https://youtu.be/3WDwAoF5rQc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NhfE7AJbzg Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV will be available digitally on August 30 while the Blu-Ray release is set for October 4, 2016.

Some video games have strange names and some are just difficult to pronounce. Because of that Square Enix released a new video called "Deus Ex - What's in a Name?" to not only  improve your diction in an entertaining way, but also to explain where the name is actually coming from. https://youtu.be/sW9cmARl8uk Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released on August 23rd, 2016 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The next stop for the game will be at Gamescom in Germany, August 17-21, 2016.