Far Cry 4 set in the Himalayas... and 7 other hot rumors this week

The Rumor: Infamous: Second Son developer Sucker Punch has said via its official Twitter feed that PS4 will get pre-downloading features for PSN titles in April. Oddly, however, Sony itself is reluctant to confirm the news. "We know that it is the feature you've been asking for and we are considering it accordingly," a rep told Polygon, clearly unwilling to confirm any such plan. “We do not have specific details to announce at this point in time, but stay tuned for upcoming announcements about system updates and added features,” they added.

Our Take: This is an odd one, since it came from the Twitter feed of a first-party Sony developer. That’s a pretty significant authority. But when the platform holder itself refuses to confirm the news, we’re inclined to suspect the Twitter poster may have spoken prematurely of a feature that’s not yet completely locked in and--perhaps--stands a chance of being delayed. Companies don’t like the word ‘delay’, so we assume Sony will say nothing about it until the feature is a sure thing. It’s worth noting though that the Sucker Punch Tweets haven't been deleted.

The Rumor: According to the software marketing manager within PlayStation Eurasia, Naughty Dog is developing a PS4 version of The Last of Us. The Turkish PlayStation spokesperson let slip that the PS4 version will see a release in Summer. "There is no information about a new The Last of Us game but I can share this knowledge: as of this summer, The Last of Us will be on the PS4. Both on PSN and physically," he said, according to IGN translations.

Our Take: It’s another sort-of-official-but-not-quite rumor, since these are reportedly the words of a man who has Sony’s logo on his business card. On actual official terms, Sony has announced no such release. But Naughty Dog is known to be working on an Uncharted sequel for PS4, so at the very least its sure to be knee deep in development with PS4 tech.

The Rumor: The release of Sucker Punch’s Infamous: Second Son has given the PS4 a significant sale sales boost, according to early reports out of the UK. Figures are yet to be officially confirmed, but according to ‘retail sources’ UK PS4 sales increased 106 percent in the week ending March 22. And this all happened in the month when Xbox One got high profile release Titanfall, was expected to turn around PS4’s chart dominance.

Our Take: With both next-gen consoles having received their first major post-launch exclusives this month, March’s hardware sales figures will be very interesting indeed. US NPD figures won’t arrive for a few weeks yet, but in UK’s weekly charts, Titanfall debuted at no. 1 in its opening week, before dropping last week into third place thanks to Infamous and Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Which console will take March? Place your bets...

The Rumor: As the internet was set ablaze with the furor surrounding Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus VR this week, the New York Times fanned the flames with word that Facebook intends to "rebrand" the Oculus Rift VR headset and its user interface. This, claims the report, came from someone who was involved in the acquisition process.

Our Take: We find it hard to imagine what a so-called “Facebook interface” would look like for a VR unit, but for now, raging Oculus fans can take some comfort in Facebook’s denial of the report--a spokesperson saying that such claims are “not in the spirit of our relationship."

The Rumor: New details for Assassin’s Creed: Comet, an unannounced game purportedly planned for release on PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year, leaked this week suggesting the game will star a sailor and Templars member named Shay. According to reports, Shay will sail up and down the Atlantic coast in a timeframe around 1758. New York will reportedly be one of the cities Shay will visit, among other East Coast US locations.

Our Take: Two Assassin’s Creed titles were leaked last week, AC: Unity has since been confirmed, while AC: Comet remains a rumor. Regardless, these leaks seem fairly solid. We’ll be expecting official word on this in the coming weeks--if not sooner.

The Rumor: Until Dawn, a horror game originally revealed in 2012 as a PS Move-enabled title for PS3, has been transitioned over to PS4 and will be a Project Morpheus title, according to a Polygon report citing anonymous sources.

Our Take: The game was originally scheduled for a 2013 release, but we’ve seen nothing of it since a trailer released in November 2012, which certainly suggests something is up. And its premise--a dark horror in which the Move controller translates your hand movements to that of your in-game character who holds a torch--is a perfect fit for VR. We’re excited to see what developer Supermassive Games has cooked up.

Do you think Facebook’s purchase of Oculus VR is a good or bad thing? Does an Atlantic Assassin’s Creed sound exciting to you? Would you buy a PS4 version of The Last of Us? And which console do you think will win the March sales race? Let us know in the comments below.

Want more? Here’s Lucas Sullivan on why he believes Facebook's $2 billion purchase of Oculus VR is a good thing. And Andy Hartup discusses what AAA games can learn from the six-month Watch Dogs delay.