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Following reports in August that two of Irrational Games’ top developers–director of product development Tim Gerritsen and 13-year studio veteran and former art director Nate Wells–had left the company, it now appears that the BioShock Infinite studio may have lost another two of its team members.

According to Superannuation and Kotaku, Irrational Games combat design director Clint Bundrick and artificial intelligence lead Don Norbury had both left the studio earlier this month to join, as detailed by their individual LinkedIn accounts (here and here).

Following the departure of Gerritsen and Wells in August, Irrational announced that the original BioShock art director, Scott Sinclair, would fill Wells’ role amid reports of multiplayer cancellations. Irrational later brought in Epic Games production director Rod Fergusson to help complete the game.

BioShock Infinite was announced in 2010, and was originally scheduled to be launched this month. In the run up to the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo–at which it was not present– it was announced that the game would be delayed to February 2013.

When BioShock Infinite does ship, it will do so with great sales expectations. In August 2011, one analyst suggested that the game would be a significant financial boon for Take-Two, saying that it could ship 4.9 million copies.

BioShock Infinite is set in a chaos-plagued airborne metropolis called Columbia. Gamers assume the role of Booker DeWitt, a former member of the feared Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which was the nation’s largest security company in the late 19th century.

For more on BioShock Infinite, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

Microsoft has reiterated its previous statements that the multiplayer component of 343 Industries’ upcoming shooter, Halo 4, will require at least 8GB of free space.

The publisher announced today that Halo 4 will ship on two discs. According to Microsoft, the second disc will contain data that will need to be installed on an Xbox 360 hard drive or compatible flash storage device with at least 8GB of available memory in order to access Halo 4’s multiplayer features.

However, Microsoft revealed to GameSpot that once the data is installed, only the first disc will be required to play Halo 4’s campaign and multiplayer content.

Previously, Microsoft advised that for an “optimal experience” players should install the entire game to their hard drives. It was not mentioned how large the entire Halo 4 install would be.

Multiplayer in Halo 4 is broken into two components: War Games and Spartan Ops. War Games has players battling one another in a range of classic and new game types, some of which has been previously detailed. Spartan Ops is a new experience for the Halo franchise, and is an episodic game mode that will see players working through new story-driven experiences on a weekly basis.

Halo 4 is due out worldwide on November 6. For more on the game, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

Obsidian Entertainment’s recent Kickstarter project, titled Project Eternity, is now the highest-funded video game on the crowd-source funding platform.

According to its Kickstarter page (via Polygon), it has surpassed Double Fine Adventure’s Kickstarter campaign total of $3,336,371. At the time of writing, Project Eternity’s total is at $3,348,171, and has 22 hours left before the project closes. The project started on September 14 and had exceeded its pledged goal of $1,100,000 within 24 hours.

Due to the goals being met, the developers will use the extra funding to possibly feature new playable races, factions, crafting systems, and a personal stronghold for players to store gear and weapons in. The developers will also attempt to enlist the aid of Neverwinter Nights 2’s creative lead George Ziets. If the campaign reaches beyond $3.5 million, the developers will add a final goal, called “Big Big City”, where the game will feature a giant city hub, reminiscent of Athkatla from Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn.

Project Eternity is an isometric party-based fantasy RPG that will be developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the company behind Fallout: New Vegas and the upcoming South Park: The Stick of Truth.

Metro: Last Light will not ship with a competitive multiplayer component, as had been originally planned, developer 4A Games explained on its website. A representative from the company revealed that multiplayer for Metro: Last Light never much of a focus for the studio anyway.

“We never dedicated too many resources to the MP component beyond prototyping; it never entered full production,” reads a line from the statement. “By making the decision when we did, we think the single player campaign will benefit as a result.”

The statement goes on to say that it was “probably a mistake” to have announced the multiplayer component in the first place. However, just because multiplayer will not ship with Metro: Last Light, the possibility was left open for it to arrive later.

“Right now we’re 100 percent focused on the single-player campaign and not thinking beyond that,” the statement explains. “We don’t like throwing away work though. [Metro: Last Light multiplayer is] a project we could potentially return to after Metro: Last Lightships.”

Lastly, the developer confirmed that this news will not affect the release of Metro: Last Light, which is slated for sometime during early 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. For more on Metro: Last Light, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be the latest game to offer a downloadable content season pass. Activision announced a $50 Black Ops II DLC pass today that includes four expansions. These will arrive first on Xbox Live and will also be available for standalone purchase at $15 each.

Activision did not offer much in the way of specifics regarding DLC for Black Ops II, but did say that they will take the form of multiplayer maps and Zombies content. These offerings are expected to be made available beginning in 2013.

The Black Ops II season pass was announced only for Xbox 360. It is unclear if it will also be offered for PlayStation 3, PC, or Wii U. Activision’s announcement today stated, “Season Pass and DLC Map Packs may not be available on all gaming platforms.”

Additionally, Activision announced today that all features for its Call of Duty: Elite social service for Black Ops II will be free. Elite launched with Modern Warfare 3 last year and carried a $50 yearly price tag. A paid subscription to the service granted gamers a host of downloadable content delivered every month.

The Call of Duty: Elite platform for Black Ops II will boast a number of revisions to existing features as well as new offerings altogether. Some of these include a dedicated Zombies channel where players can track their personal statistics and tablet support for Call of Duty: Elite TV, which will feature developer tips, among other things.

Despite mixed reviews, Resident Evil 6 came out on top on its debut on the week of September 30 in Japan.

According to Media Creates’ latest sales update, the PS3 version of the survival horror title sold 634,933 units for the week. The Xbox 360 version was at fifth place with 41,652 units sold. The sixth game was praised for its narrative structure, but was panned for its overemphasis on set pieces and execution of scripted events.

Capcom recently announced that the additional content on the game disc, specifically the No Hope difficulty mode and new co-op portions, is free and “incomplete” as it requires an actual download to work.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 also made its appearance on the list. The soccer title was at second place with 223,884 units sold. The game was praised for its pacing and ball physics, but was criticized for it single and multiplayer modes. For more information, check out GameSpot’s recent article on the game.

Other debuts on the list included PSP RPGs Summon Night 3 and Sol Trigger. The former was at third place with 51,453 units while the latter was at fourth place with 42,037 units sold. Summon Night 3 is a re-release of the RPG with the same title that came out in 2003. This version features a new brave medal system and additional guest party members. Sol Trigger is a brand new RPG from Image Epoch. The game features a Sol system where party members can use Sol energy to do special commands and resurrect each other during battle.

On the hardware side of things, the PS3 took the top spot in sales with 42,218 units due to the fact that the Super Slim versions of the console came out on October 4. The 3DS XL was at 39,046 units while the regular 3DS was at 24,623 units. The PS Vita is below the 10,000 sales mark as it was 7,957 units for the week. Its cousin, the PSP, was just above it in sales at 17,769 units.

Top Japan Game Sales of September 30 – October 6

Software
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Sales Unit
1. Resident Evil 6 / Capcom / PS3 / 634,933
2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 / Konami / PS3 / 223,884
3. Summon Night 3 / Namco Bandai / PSP / 51,453
4. Sol Trigger / Image Epoch / PSP / 42,037
5. Resident Evil 6 / Capcom / Xbox 360 / 41,652
6. Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode / Nintendo / 3DS / 34,288
7. New Super Mario Bros. 2 / Nintendo / 3DS / 30,225
8. SD Gundam G Generation: World Over / Namco Bandai / PSP / 28,730
9. F1 2012 / Codemasters / PS3 / 14,454 10. Pokemon Black 2, Pokemon White 2 / Nintendo, Pokemon Company / DS / 12,208

Hardware

PS3 – 42,218
3DS XL – 39,046
3DS – 24,623
PSP – 17,769
PS Vita – 7,957
Xbox 360 – 4,894
Wii – 4,849
PS2 – 894
DSi XL – 344
DSi – 330

The Darkstalkers franchise is back. Today at the 2012 New York Comic-Con, Capcom announced Darkstalkers Resurrection, a downloadable two-pack that includes Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge and Darkstalkers 3.

The bundle will be available in early 2013 for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for $15. Darkstalkers Resurrection includes a range of new features including online play, high-definition graphics, replay sharing, a Spectator mode, in-game achievements, a challenge/tutorial mode, and an unlockable archive of concept art.

Online play for Darkstalkers Resurrection takes advantage of GGPO, which promises a “virtually lag-free” experience. Matchmaking has been upgraded, now affording users additional options including region-matching, ping lock, and ping display.