Given the success of standalone battle royale games like Fortnite, the inclusion of a battle royale mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was not a major surprise. But its announcement did immediately raise questions about whether that mode, Blackout, would be permanently bundled with the full game. And now, sure enough, Activision is experimenting with separating that content out--though not quite as fully as some might have expected.
Activision has announced the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Battle edition. This is available now exclusively for PC, and it's essentially a discounted version of this year's CoD game with the Zombies mode stripped out. What that means is you get access to both Blackout and the suite of standard multiplayer modes. It's priced at $40/£35, although until January 6, you can pick it up for $30/£27. It's only sold through Battle.net, Blizzard's Steam-like client that serves as the home for the PC versions of fellow Activision Blizzard titles Black Ops 4 and Destiny 2.
These are not stripped-down versions of Blackout or multiplayer; you get access to the full modes, just as if you bought the standard version of Black Ops 4. If you go this route but end up wanting Zombies, you can upgrade to the digital standard edition to receive access to that along with 1,100 Call of Duty Points and some digital edition bonuses.
"The Black Ops 4 Battle edition is a great way to bring even more new players into the game and allow them to jump into the incredibly fun Multiplayer and Blackout modes which fans have loved so much since day one," said Rob Schonfeld, Activision's senior VP of global digital and mobile commerce.
Black Ops 4 was notable for leaving out the traditional single-player campaign, though the overall package was still strong, as you can read about in our review. Breaking out Blackout appeared to be an inevitable move, not unlike selling the remaster of Call of Duty 4 as a standalone product after it was initially bundled with Infinite Warfare. As for the possibility of a PS4 or Xbox One release of the Battle edition, there's been no official word yet, but we've contacted Activision for a statement and will report back with anything we learn.
Now that Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode beta has been live for a week now, Rockstar is beginning to implement changes based on player feedback. The goal of the changes, Rockstar says, is to create "a more balanced, fun, and rewarding overall experience." As a thank you to everyone who has played the Red Dead Online beta, Rockstar is offering free in-game money and gold bars.
Anyone who played the beta between when it first started and tonight, December 6, at midnight PT (3 AM ET / 8 AM GMT / 7 PM AET on Friday, December 7) will receive a gift of RDO$250 and 15 gold bars to spend on anything they'd like. These items will begin arriving today and will finish rolling out to all eligible players by December 14.
Much of the criticism of Red Dead Online has been based on the pricing of in-game weapons and other items. To that effect, Rockstar says it will increase the cash and gold payments for various activities as well as decrease the prices of many weapons. If you already purchased a weapon that's getting a price cut, the difference will automatically be refunded to your balance by December 10. You'll also receive an alert message to that effect.
The values of various items and animal parts will be rebalanced soon, and Rockstar is working on bug fixes that should be addressed in the coming weeks. If you have feedback about the Red Dead Online beta, you can submit it here.
As for our experience with the game so far, we loved the campaign but have found the online experience to be much more hit or miss.
Season 7 of Fortnite has begun on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Following the release of the big 7.00 update, a load of new content is now available in Epic's hit battle royale game, including a new vehicle, skins, challenges, other cosmetics, and much more.
With the arrival of Season 7 comes a new Battle Pass to purchase. As before, this costs 950 V-Bucks and grants players immediate access to two new skins: Zenith and Lynx, both of which can be leveled up throughout the course of the season to unlock new styles. The Battle Pass itself can be leveled up as well by completing weekly challenges, which in turn will unlock new rewards and cosmetics. As an added bonus, those who own the Season 6 Battle Pass will start off with five free tiers when you purchase Season 7's.
More than 100 new cosmetic items are available through the Season 7 Battle Pass, ranging from skins, emotes, toys, adorable new pets, and more. Epic has also introduced a new type of cosmetic this season called Wraps. These resemble wrapping paper and can be applied to vehicles, weapons, and other items you find in the game to customize their look. You can see all the new items up for grabs in our Season 7 Battle Pass rewards gallery.
Every week in Season 7, Epic will roll out a new set of weekly challenges to complete. Just as in Season 6, these are divided up into two categories. Free challenges are available to all Fortnite players, while Battle Pass challenges are reserved for those who've purchased the Season 7 Battle Pass. You can pick up a Battle Pass at any point during the season and will retroactively unlock any rewards you've earned based on the tier you've reached, but there's a benefit to buying it early--namely, Battle Pass owners can earn extra XP for completing any four challenges each week, allowing you to level it up more quickly.
On top of the standard weekly challenges, there are also new Snowfall challenges--Season 7's equivalent to the Hunting Party challenges from Season 6 and the Blockbuster challenges from Season 5. These are completing by clearing all of the objectives from a given week. In turn, they'll unlock a special loading screen that features a cool piece of artwork as well as a clue pointing to a free Battle Star hidden somewhere around the island, so you'll want to complete as many weekly challenges as you can in Season 7 to snag these rewards.
All season long, we'll be putting together guides on all of the trickiest challenges in Fortnite: Battle Royale to help you unlock those precious Battle Stars more quickly and easily. You can find all of our Season 7 challenge guides to date below, but be sure to check back regularly as the season rolls on and we add more guides to the list.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 7 Challenges
Week 1
Free
Pick up an item of each rarity (5) -- 5 Battle Stars
Dance in different forbidden location (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Play matches with at least one elimination (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Stage 1: Dance on top of a crown of RVs (1) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal headshot damage to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle Star
Stage 1: Search ammo boxes in a single match (5)-- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents in different named locations (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Reward: 5K XP (after completing four challenges, only for Battle Pass owners)
As of November 2018, the PlayStation 4 is five years old. In gaming terms, Sony's flagship gaming device has well and truly reached middle age, and after a brief mid-life crisis in 2017, the current year has been a good one for the market-leading console. It's got itself in shape at the spider-gym, bought itself an android servant, and even had a son. Has this metaphor been stretched far enough yet? Good. Let's take a look at the year that was for the PS4.
Games, Glorious Games
PS4 exclusives have come thick and fast in 2018. Shadow of the Colossus kicked the year off with the nostalgic thud of giants hitting the ground, before God of War smashed its way into every PS4 owner's living room. Kratos was back, having generated a son, a great beard, and--of all things--a conscience since our last adventure with him. And what an adventure this current-gen one turned out to be. God of War is easily one of the best games of the year, marrying satisfying combat with an engaging story, all while turning a character who was once an over-the-top caricature akin to The Simpsons' Angry Dad into a complex, fascinating, and mature man.
Next, Detroit: Become Human saw David Cage being David Cage again, causing everyone who likes David Cage's games to exclaim how this was so David Cage! and everyone who dislikes David Cage's games to bemoan how this was so David Cage… Whatever you think of the French auteur's writing, his stories are unlike anything else in the medium, and the games industry is a stronger and more diverse tapestry with his wool woven into it. Detroit's "What if the humans are the bad guys?" storyline might be a little on-the-nose, but its detective gameplay and interesting cast makes it a unique and worthy addition to the PS4's catalogue of exclusives.
The final big exclusive of the year was Spider-Man--yet another video game reboot of our friendly neighborhood superhero. It was a game about a comic book character that managed to satisfy both newcomers and hardcore Marvel fans at the same time. Crucial to developer Insomniac's success was how satisfying Spidey's iconic swinging felt when traveling throughout New York, and we can't wait to swing back there with the game's final DLC chapter, Silver Lining.
It looked like the end of the year might be a little sparse for PS4 owners--until two PSVR games came from nowhere to blow everyone away. First, Astro Bot Rescue Mission proved to be one of the most charming, inventive platformers in years, despite Sony barely whispering its name from the rooftops prior to launch. Sony Japan Studio's delightful family game was followed in November by Tetris Effect. "Tetris?!" I ignorantly exclaimed when I saw people getting excited about the ancient franchise's latest iteration. "What could Tetris possibly do differently in 2018?" Oh how wrong I was.
Unfortunately, beyond these and the early 2018 triumphs of Moss and The Inpatient, PSVR owners may feel a little deprived of reasons to keep hold of their headsets going into 2019.
Elsewhere, PlayStation gamers enjoyed exclusivity over Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Tetris Effect, Iconoclasts, and more, while many other blockbuster titles had some sort of deal with PlayStation this year. Whether it was Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's early DLC drops, FIFA 19's kits, or Red Dead Redemption 2's bundles and early bonuses, it was without doubt a vintage year for third-party games on PS4--plus, PUBG finally came to PS4 with exclusive cosmetics. Unfortunately, Days Gone and Dreams did not launch in 2018 as planned--here's hoping they light up 2019 instead.
Uneventful
Sony's E3 2018 was a disappointment, with only a handful of games shown off at a bumbling, disjointed stage show. "Maybe Sony is gearing up for a huge Gamescom," speculated the imaginary people inside my head. Uh, well, the publisher didn't have a show in Cologne at all this year. Paris Games Week? Nope. PSX? Canceled. The Game Awards? Naughty Dog is busy that night.
Then came the news Sony is skipping E3 2019. All signs point to the platform holder preparing for an inevitable PlayStation 5 announcement, but it's hard not to feel a little short-changed in the meantime. Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us: Part II, and Death Stranding are all on the way, but we've no idea precisely when they'll arrive--and crucially, we now don't even know when we'll see any more of those big upcoming titles.
It's entirely possible Sony will hold some event of its own--potentially in the same vein as EA Play or even Nintendo's Directs, or perhaps something harking back to the PlayStation event in 2013, where the company first revealed the PS4. Either way, we're hoping there's a hardware reveal of some sort in 2019, or it could be a fairly slow year for PlayStation news.
In early 2019, however, Sony will stop giving away PS Vita and PlayStation 3 games as part of PS Plus, and they won't be replaced by additional PS4 titles. This is worse than it initially appears since many of those PS3 and PS Vita titles were part of Sony's Cross-Buy scheme--which means PS4 versions came at no extra cost. With those PS3/Vita freebies stopping in March, the quality and profile of the two remaining games given away each month had better improve further, or people will understandably be disappointed with getting less bang for their buck.
PlayStation Now could also benefit from some TLC from Sony--it's a revolutionary platform that has been almost forgotten about since its launch in 2015. The company has allowed it to fall by the wayside to such an extent that Xbox Game Pass--with its cheaper entry point and day-one access to first-party titles--seems to have overtaken PS Now in many people's minds. If utilized correctly--with better promotion, more games, and a lower asking price--Sony's streaming service could be huge, especially now it's added the ability to download titles as well as play them instantaneously via the cloud.
Hear, Hear
Last year, I wrote how a worrying amount of hubris seemed to be setting into Sony's strategy amid its incredible success with the PS4. Another lackluster E3 and a continuing backwards compatibility policy that looks greedy when compared to Microsoft's more consumer friendly offering are signs that point to this arrogance having not totally disappeared, but Sony has taken positive steps forward in 2018.
Cross-play had become an increasingly sore topic for Sony: Microsoft and Nintendo's willingness to allow cross-play between their ecosystems made the PlayStation publisher look like the bad guy. It took a true phenomenon in Fortnite to change Sony's mind, but eventually the platform holder agreed to let PS4 owners play online against their Xbox One- and Switch-owning friends. Right now, it's only Epic's battle royale game that works with the feature--which is still in the beta phase of testing--but more games are expected to be added soon.
Another announcement welcomed by Xx_Ssnipezz_69_xX and many more PSN users around the world was the ability to change your PSN ID finally being available. Again, it's only in beta right now, with a full rollout scheduled for early 2019, but I am so glad to be getting rid of my existing (and embarrassing) PSN ID.
These developments are great in and of themselves, but perhaps more importantly, they indicate Sony is listening to its customers, and that's a promising sign as we head towards the next generation of consoles. Arrogance gave us the PlayStation 3, while humility gave us the PlayStation 4. Stay humble, Sony.
Other Matters, In Brief
The PlayStation Classic was a huge disappointment, lacking a number of key PS1 titles and display options. The miniconsole is a poor way to play the 20 included games, but you'd have to be anything but poor to buy it thanks to its $100 / £90 / AU $150 price tag.
PS4's system software update 6.00 arrived, though you'd be forgiven for not noticing: the patch changed basically nothing, despite the grandiose number.
RIP, PS Vita.
The Verdict
This year has arguably been the PS4's strongest yet. A stellar list of exclusives, typically strong third-party support, a couple of standout PSVR titles, and some fan-pleasing announcements form a 2018 in which Sony has played the right card at almost every turn. Outside the PS4 ecosystem, the picture is decidedly less rosy--Sony's no-show at a number of events and barebones PlayStation Classic mean this has been by no means a perfect year, and 2019 is looking a little bare at present--but the PlayStation 4 itself is in better shape than ever.
The Good
The Bad
Some amazing games came to PS4 this year, with many of them--particularly God of War--likely to go down as some of the best games of this generation.
PSVR could still do with some more love.
Sony appears to be listening to its fans again, and the air of arrogance that had crept in to the company's messaging last year seems to have been curtailed.
PlayStation Now's potential remains unfulfilled.
PlayStation Plus remains good value--for now, at least.
The PlayStation Classic felt like a rush job that does not offer the best the 20-year-old console has to offer and presents it in a lackluster way.
It's been more than seven years since the release of Id Software's Rage, one of the company's few non-Doom, non-Wolfenstein, and non-Quake titles. A post-apocalyptic shooter with vehicle combat, Rage was an outlier for the developer--it was its first attempt at open-world sensibilities, and while it packed some strong first-person shooter mechanics from a company known for such things, it struggled as an open-world game and in turning the broad strokes of its world into an engaging setting.
With Rage 2, Id is returning to a world full of mutant bad guys and Wild West-esque survivors, and this time it has help for the open-world side. Id teamed with Avalanche Studios, the developer behind the Just Cause series and Mad Max, to nail down the open-world component of the package. In theory, that's going to allow both developers to focus on what they do best in Rage 2.
Meanwhile, it looks like Rage 2 is taking a more vibrant approach to its visuals and design, leaning into the explosiveness of its shooting while moving away from the brown, drab look of the world in the first game. Technological improvements in the years since Rage was released should also allow Id to get closer to the original conception of that game in its sequel.
Here's everything we know so far about Rage 2, from its story conceits to its release window.
Release Date And Platforms
There's no hard-and-fast date yet, but Bethesda says Rage 2 will hit Xbox One, PS4, and PC in Spring 2019.
Story and Setting
The broad strokes of story carry over from the original Rage, in which an asteroid struck the Earth in 2029, basically turning it into a post-apocalyptic hellscape. While there were some survivor communities scattered around the world, much of it was populated by mutants and roving bands of outlaw scavengers, making it a dangerous place in general. Much of the game world in Rage was desert thanks to the cataclysm, and survivors contended with the Authority, a technologically advanced faction that considered itself the overall government of the Wasteland. It turned out the Authority was responsible for awful experiments on people, some of which resulted in the mutants.
The first game was all about Arks, specialized suspended animation pods hidden underground that were supposed to help certain people survive the asteroid and rebuild civilization, as part of the Eden Project. As an Ark survivor, you emerged way behind schedule in 2135. The Authority was created by an Ark survivor who sabotaged the project so that only Arks containing those loyal to him would surface on time while the others stayed buried indefinitely.
The first Rage ended on a pretty unsatisfying cliffhanger, with the remaining dormant Arks all getting activated in hopes of bringing all those survivors to fight the Authority. It doesn't appear that Rage 2 is doing much to complete that story, although elements from it still exist in the world and might hint at what's going on. Instead, it jumps 30 years into the future, when the planet is finally starting to recover from the catastrophe. You play as Walker, a resident of a settlement called Vineland and a member of its survivors, the Rangers. The Rangers use Nanotrites, an element from the first game, to give themselves special abilities. You're forced to leave Vineland when the Authority comes knocking, and it seems Walker becomes the last of the Rangers after that attack.
In the Eden Assault Rage 2 gameplay trailer, you are sent to find Dr. Kvasir, a character from the original game and a former Authority scientist, who sends you to an Eden facility to activate Eco-15, a machine orbiting the Earth from before the asteroid impact. What's not clear is how these elements factor into the overall plot.
What we do know is that the recovering world now sports more biomes, like jungles and wetlands, that offer up new environments to explore. Those will also help make Rage 2 a whole lot less brown than its predecessor--although vehicular combat through desert landscapes like those of Mad Max: Fury Road are also definitely a big part of the experience.
A Faster Gameplay Style
It looks like Id Software learned quite a bit from the acclaim that followed the release of Doom in 2016. Rage 2's gunplay looks altogether faster, more kinetic, and more ridiculous than that of the original. An element from the first game, Nanotrites, make a return, and basically grant you superpowers, with moves that let you jump high into the air and slam the ground to send enemies flying, or project them through the air with energy from your hands. You can also build up and access something called Overdrive, which lets you become even more of a juggernaut, pushing both your body and your guns "beyond their limits" to wreck enemies. The overall effect seems like a mix of Doom, the first Rage, and Bulletstorm, with lots of opportunities for creative kills.
Making its return from Rage is the Wingstick, a deadly boomerang-like weapon you could throw at enemies that returns to your hand. Rage 2's Wingstick has been upgraded to take down multiple targets and to track enemies around corners, giving you new options for dealing with guys in the thick of battle. There are also other spiffy trinkets like grenades, and some kind of items you can throw at enemies that create suspension fields that float enemies and can be used to catapult yourself up to the proper height for a powerful ground-pounding Slam move.
If You See It, You Can Drive It
Vehicular combat is also back in a big way, and it seems that driving around in an armored car covered in guns is probably how you'll engage with the open world most of the time. In trailers, Rage 2's vehicular combat looks a lot like what Avalanche put together in Mad Max, and it all has a very Fury Road effect as you wreck members of different factions as they try to blast you with energy traps, explosives, bullets, and more. For your part, Id's trailers for the game show the player driving a vehicle bristling with a variety of weapons, including mounted machine guns and mortars--but you'll also be able to drive any vehicle you come across in the world.
Id has also said that Rage 2 has improved its open-world gameplay significantly over the previous game. Instead of a "go here, do this" approach, the pairing with Avalanche has increased the sort of emergent gameplay and freedom of choice that's a signature of the open-world genre. Expect to see that translated into events like races to participate in, as well as having to deal with roaming enemies in vehicles as you try to get around.
All Sorts Of Enemies
Like the first Rage, you'll go up against a host of bad guys in Rage 2, which compose a number of different factions. First and foremost are the soldiers of the Authority, which are mutants married with technology that lets them fly around or challenge you with powerful weapons.
Id has also mentioned the Goon Squad in trailers, a group of insane, punk-looking folks who are mostly just excited for murder. There's also the Immortal Shrouded, a more technologically advanced faction that uses camouflage and machinery to try to get the drop on their enemies. There are other factions, including the River Hogs, which Id hasn't detailed yet, and it sounds like there might be more enemy factions that haven't been revealed yet. There are also a variety of enemies, including the Mutant Crusher id showed off in the Eden Assault video, which looks to be an Incredible Hulk-sized pink goon bent on crushing you.
Moving Away From Multiplayer
The first Rage had a couple of multiplayer modes, but that won't be the case in the sequel--it's a single-player-only game. That's a result of the game being "so damn big," according to director Magnus Nedfors.
Will There Be Loot Boxes?
Apparently not, according to Nedfors. Player progression beyond new Nanotrite abilities, which in the Eden Assault trailer came from the Eco pod players called down from orbit, is a bit of an open question. Id apparently has elements in the game meant to keep players engaged over the long haul but hasn't revealed many details about what they might be.
Anthem is the latest game from fan-favorite RPG studio BioWare. Following in the footsteps of the studio's previous work, Anthem is a third-person action-RPG. You play as a Freelancer, someone who pilots an exosuit called a Javelin in order to explore an alien world and defend its inhabitants from dangerous creatures and wandering hostile marauders.
The game was first revealed at Microsoft's E3 2017 presentation. Since then BioWare has released a smattering of details concerning Anthem's systems and a handful of gameplay footage. To ensure you're kept up to date on everything there is to know about Anthem, we've compiled all the information we have on the game so far: how it plays, its release date, and more.
Anthem bears a resemblance to games like Destiny and The Division, in that it's a shared-world multiplayer shooter where you create a custom character, complete missions, collect loot, and upgrade your character's weapons and equipment. All the while, there's a main story campaign packed with NPCs with their own unique stories who you can build relationships with. There's some player choice thrown in, but don't expect the same multi-branching dialogue choices seen in previous BioWare games.
While inherently an online cooperative multiplayer game, it's possible to experience all of Anthem by yourself. That said, both camps can be affected by live events, which alter the world in subtle yet significant ways. For example, reality-distorting rifts known as Shaper Storms are random events that can cause unexpected dangers. A day-and-night cycle and dynamic weather system also serves to mix up gameplay experiences, affecting the types of enemies you encounter.
When you're not out fighting or exploring the world of Anthem, you're spending time in Fort Tarsis, a safe haven that acts as the game's central hub. When in the fort, you can customize your Javelin, acquire new missions, rest in your personal home base, and interact with other players. In an intriguing shift from normal play, you assume a first-person perspective when inside Fort Tarsis. Refer to the E3 2017 footage above for a brief taste of what it looks like to accept a mission request in Fort Tarsis and then deploy into battle with your Javelin.
You're not completely blocked from customizing your Javelin when out in the field. You do have access to a Stryder, a forward operating base where you can tinker and rest in-between expeditions.
Release Date And Closed Alpha
Anthem is set to launch February 22, 2019. However, a closed alpha will run from December 8-9. If you're interested in jumping in, you can fill out EA's Playtesting form. If you pre-order the game, you'll receive access to a pre-launch demo. For more details on how to purchase Anthem, check out our pre-order guide.
What Are The Javelin Classes?
The focus of Anthem is its Javelins, which are super-powered Iron Man-like suits that act as player classes. There are four types in total at launch: Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm. Each have their own particular abilities, weapons, ultimate attacks, as well as a laundry list of strengths and weaknesses depending on your playstyle. You may equip two weapons to their loadout at a given time and can cycle out different sets between missions. It's also possible to switch Javelins between missions. Below you can find summaries of each Javelin class.
Ranger: The Ranger is the all-rounder exosuit that's the most versatile of the bunch, appearing to be able to handle most combat situations effectively. Aside from heavy weaponry, it can equip nearly every weapon type under the sun. It balances both ranged and melee attacks and can switch between them in the thick of battle with relative ease. This is the definitive Javelin for beginners.
Colossus: If your interests lean towards heavy weaponry--something that the Ranger isn't readily capable of--then the Colossus is the suit you'll want to spend time with. It is the brute of the game, possessing all manner of firepower, like homing missile launchers, mortars, flame throwers, and heavy cannons. Not to mention it can also topple enemies in its path with its massive chassis and shield. While slow in its movement speed, it does have jet propulsion that can help you get out of harm's way if a battle becomes too hot.
Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, Storm
Interceptor: The Interceptor is the polar opposite of the Colossus in that it's all about agility and mobility. It's incredibly proficient at melee attacks and abilities that can weaken enemies, so expect a lot of hit-and-run tactics when using this flashy and acrobatic Javelin.
Storm: The Storm bears similarity to Destiny's Warlock in that it appears to be Anthem's mage class. As you'd expect from its name, Storm makes use of lethal elemental attacks. Unlike other Javelins, it can effortlessly float above ground for extended periods of time, so as to hail down a barrage of elemental damage. With such power at its fingertips, it has little in the way of defensive capability, which very much makes this Javelin best suited for advanced players.
How Does Matchmaking Work?
Before heading out into the world with your Javelin, you have the option to matchmake with up to three other players. You can choose to either invite friends, fellow guild members, or other like-minded players; you needn't worry about player levels amongst the group as you can join up with anyone without consequence to experience and loot earnings. It's also possible to simply jump out into the world on your own without assembling a squad.
Regardless of how you choose to proceed, you're then prompted to pick either an objective on the map to accomplish or choose Free Play mode where you can explore the world at your own pace. You catch a brief glimpse of matchmaking in the E3 2018 footage above.
What's The Loot System Like?
Like its shared world contemporaries, Anthem features a loot system. The quality of loot you receive is determined by your current pilot level, so even if you're paired with higher-level players, you'll only obtain loot that corresponds to your pilot level. Some loot is drop-specific from certain enemies, while others are earned by completing certain questlines. It's worth noting that loot is instanced, and therefore cannot be stolen by other players.
Loot is divided into six categories denoting its rarity. The names of the loot tier list are as follows: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Masterwork.
Will There Be Loot Boxes? Microtransactions?
There will be not be loot boxes in Anthem. That said, you can purchase cosmetic items for your Javelin with real or in-game currency--with the exception of cosmetics included with special editions of the game. There will also be armor packs that change the appearance of your Javelin.
General Impressions
We haven't had many opportunities to play Anthem, but we did get a chance to try out the game at E3 2018. Below you can find some brief impressions about how it felt to play.
The launch of Red Dead Redemption 2's online multiplayer mode, Red Dead Online, quickly resulted in complaints about how the in-game economy works. Rockstar was quick to acknowledge that feedback and it's now outlined the first wave of changes it's implementing--including a free gift of money and gold bars for players.
Although real-money microtransactions are not yet available, progression felt both slow and confusing out of the gate, with the relative value of different items making little sense. With a new update, Rockstar says, "Today we are starting to implement the first set of adjustments to the game including changes specifically geared towards creating a more balanced, fun and rewarding overall experience, across all modes and missions."
It's tackling this in a variety of ways. That includes increasing how much money and gold you earn from various activities, reducing the price of "most" weapons, and adjusting the value of certain items. Regarding the price reduction of weapons, that may sound like frustrating news for those who have done the grinding needed to buy them, but Rockstar will offer refunds to compensate for the difference. Those refunds should begin arriving today but may take until December 10 to be deposited.
"Of course our efforts to improve and balance the Red Dead Online Beta will continue," Rockstar said. "We are conscious of and still evaluating an assortment of further adjustments based on feedback from the community. We are currently working on fixes for some persistent bugs that are causing some players to be kicked from sessions, and we aim to have fixes for these live next week. We will also continue to review all the feedback and suggestions so please keep them coming to reddeadonline.com/feedback."
Alongside the changes outlined above, Rockstar will offer an apology of sorts with a free gift to everyone who has logged into Red Dead Online between launch and tonight, December 6, at midnight PT (3 AM ET / 8 AM GMT / 7 PM AET on Friday, December 7). If you're eligible, you'll receive $250 of in-game cash and 15 gold bars. This will be available to some players today, and everyone who qualifies should have their freebies by December 14.
Red Dead Online is currently in beta, and Rockstar warned ahead of its launch to expect things to not go entirely smoothly--and we've found the experience to be lacking so far. There was some indication that progress could be wiped, but as of now, Rockstar doesn't have plans to do so. For more on what to expect in the new update, read the patch notes below.
Red Dead Online Week 1 Update Patch Notes
Increasing the cash and gold payments across a number of different activities including Free Roam Missions, Free Roam Events, replays of A Land of Opportunities Missions, Showdown Series modes and more.
Reducing the prices of most weapons in the Wheeler, Rawson & Co Catalogue and Gunsmiths. For players that have already purchased weapons at the previous prices, we will automatically deposit the difference to player balances starting today - please look for an alert message the next time you log in to the Red Dead Online Beta to notify you of this change, refunds may take up until Monday, December 10th to reach all eligible players.
Balancing the values of select pelts, skins and fish as well as horse reviver and pamphlets.
Over the years, The Game Awards has become one of the biggest events in the industry. This year's ceremony is happening tonight, December 6, at 8:30 PM ET (5:30 PM PT). You can expect to see accolades showered on the makers of some of the best games of 2018, along with new trailers for upcoming games, plus 10 game announcements. To celebrate the event, Microsoft has decided to put on a special sale on Xbox One games between now and December 9.
Some of the year's biggest titles have gotten the discount treatment, including Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which is down to $40 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, on sale for $48. Anyone looking to jump into Destiny 2 can grab the Forsaken Legendary Collection for $36, which comes with nearly everything that's been released so far. But if you want all that, plus the upcoming year's worth of content updates to go with it, you can get the Complete Collection for $70.
Smaller games are discounted as well. One of the biggest indie games of the year, Dead Cells, is down to $17. And it's safe to say Yoku's Island Express is among the best pinball-meets-Metroidvania games ever made; it's on sale for just $7. And for fans of the Blue Bomber, Mega Man 11 is down to $24.
You can find more of our picks below, or check out the full list of discounts on Xbox Live.
The Game Awards will kick off soon, providing loads of trailers and game reveals alongside the accolades and a look back at the year that was 2018. You'll probably want to check it all out live to see the events as they happen, and you can do that right here. The event kicks off tonight, Thursday, December 6, at 8:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM PT / (Friday at 1:30 AM GMT / 12:30 PM AET).
While there are sure to be plenty of surprises, some studios have already begun teasing their upcoming announcements. Obsidian will be showing off an apparent space-themed game, Ubisoft teased a Far Cry announcement with a bang, and we're going to see something big for Fortnite unrelated to the kickoff of Season 7. Other companies have dropped hints that could suggest announcements on the way too, so check out everything we know or think we know.
Meanwhile, some other publishers have gone out of their way to point out they won't be showing anything new. Those include The Last of Us 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. Rocksteady also pointed out that it won't be bringing its unannounced project, and in the process dispelled some persistent rumors that it was working on a Superman game.
The Fortnite grind keeps on rolling. Season 6 came to an end this week, but just mere hours later Season 7 launched. This means there's a new Battle Pass with new cosmetics, and Battle Stars to earn through doing challenges. Fortnite's Season 7, Week 1 challenges are live, and if you've spent V-Bucks to get a paid Battle Pass there's one challenge that may prove tricky to complete.
Said challenge asks the player to "dance on top of a crown of RV's" in exchange for five Battle Stars. The dancing part doesn't need explaining, you're probably very familiar how to bust some moves in Fortnite. However, locating those crown of RV's is the difficult part. To take the pressure off, we've done it already and we can point you in the right direction. In the list below you'll find three options for where you can find the RV's. There's also a map to show you exactly where to go, and if you watch the video above you can see how we completed the challenge.
Fortnite Season 7, Week 1 Crown Of RV's Locations
RVs - South of Paradise Palms, at the edge of the map near the desert village.
Metal Turtle - North of Lonely Lodge
Submarine - Mountain East of Frosty Flights
The other more difficult challenge for the week is available to everyone and involves dancing in seven different forbidden locations. Again, dancing is the easy part, it's finding the right place to do the dance that's difficult. Just like with this challenge, we've got a detailed guide on exactly where you need to go to complete the challenges. Here's Fortnite's forbidden locations--get to dancing.
As previously mentioned, the new season brings with it a new Battle Pass and over 100 cosmetics for players to unlock. We've gone through the entire Battle Pass and put together a gallery to show you everything it there. You can see all of Fortnite Season 7's new Skins, Back Bling, Emotes, Sprays, and more here.
The Fortnite Season 7 update is available now and is packed with new content. Arguably the most important of it all, however, is the introduction of two new pets: Hamirez and Remus. The former is a chubby little hamster: "Give her a wheel and she's be your best friend," Epic says in her description. Hamirez is wide-eyed and loving life, from the looks of it. Occasionally she'll swing from her wheel, falling off and scrambling back up in very cute fashion.
Remus, meanwhile, is a husky that is described as being "untamed and unafraid." He hangs out in a little basket, constantly looking in different directions and occasionally getting on his hind legs to take a peek at what's happening in the distance. Again, another adorable addition to the pet selection. Both Hamirez and Remus have alternative looks, which you can check out below.
Click image to view in full screen
New pets are just a small part of what Fortnite Season 7 offers. The new Battle Pass includes over 100 cosmetic items that can be unlocked by doing challenges to score Battle Stars, which then level up your pass. We've gone through the entire Battle Pass and put together a gallery featuring all Fortnite Season 7's new Skins, Back Bling, Gliders, Sprays, Harvesting Tools, Emotes, and more. Check it out to see if there's anything that tickles your fancy.
If you do spot something that you want, the best way to get it is to start knocking out those challenges. Season 7, Week 1's challenges are available now, and one of them is quite tricky. It requires you to dance in a number of forbidden locations, and if you don't know where they are you could spend hours looking. Lucky for you, we've put together a guide to the forbidden locations to make this challenge a breeze.
Another major new addition to Fortnite that comes alongside Season 7 is Creative. This is an extension of the Playground mode Epic Games experimented with during Season 6. When you boot up the game now, you'll find a third option alongside Battle Royale and Save The World. In Creative, players are given their very own island where they can build Fortnite experiences to their taste. This can be done alone or with friends, and creations are saved from session to session. You can learn more about Fortnite Creative here.
The first batch of challenges for Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 7 are now available and, among them, there's one that'll have you doing some illegal dance moves. In the free tier of challenges for Week 1, Epic wants you to dance in seven different forbidden locations and will give you five Battle Stars in return, which will help you earn some of those new skins. Here's where to go and what to do
You might remember a similar challenge from Season 3, and while the mechanics of it are similar, you'll have to hunt down the right spots to get your dance on. Peppered around the island are signs that forbid adventurers on the island from grooving. Rules are made to be broken, especially if doing so helps you get closer to unlocking sweet, sweet cosmetics. So, all you need to do to complete the challenge is locate these signs, stand next to them, and bust a move. As we said, the locations have been remixed over time (the map itself has changed significantly for Season 7), so we've put together a guide that'll show you exactly where to go.
Take a look below and you'll find a list of the exact locations of the signs and, to make it even easier, we've put together a map to serve as a visual aid. Use that information and before long you'll have done all the illegal dancing that you need. Alternatively, you can watch the video above to see us do it, and play along.
Fortnite Season 7, Week 1 Forbidden Locations
Llama North West of Junk Junction
Hill South West of Frosty Flights
Edge of the map South of Frosty Flights
Mountain South West of Dusty Divot
Pier in Lazy Links
Hill south of Risky Reels
Epic Games has detailed everything that is new and different in its Fortnite Season 7 patch notes. The start of a new season means significant changes, and Season 7 is no different. Not only has an iceberg crashed into the Island and transformed some areas, while making new ones available, but there's also a whole new vehicle to check out. X-4 Stormwing plane marks the first instance of Fortnite giving players the opportunity to take to the skies and actually stay there for an extended period of time (gliding doesn't count--sorry).
Obviously, a new season means new cosmetics. We've put together a comprehensive guide that features every new unlock that is available as the refreshed Battle Pass. Those that are really into expressing themselves through Fortnite's skins will be glad to hear that Epic has introduced Wraps, a new type cosmetic that lets you change the way weapons and vehicles look.
The arrival of Fortnite Season 7 brings with it a fresh batch of cosmetics to unlock. As with previous seasons, players will be able to earn Battle Stars, level up their Battle Pass, and get access to a variety of new Skins, Back Bling, Gliders, and Harvesting Tools. However, developer Epic Games has also introduced a new type of cosmetic called Wraps.
As detailed in the Season 7 patch notes, Wraps let players give their vehicles and weapons a fresh new look that, in some cases, can be made to match. So if you like to coordinate your outfits, this will be a welcome new addition. Wraps are earned in the same way as other cosmetics are, namely by completing weekly challenges to earn Battle Stars. Fortnite Season 7, Week 1's challenges are now available, and they include dancing in forbidden locations and on top of RVs.
Below you'll be able to see all the Wraps that are currently available as part of the Season 7 Battle Pass, so if one of them catches your eye you'll know exactly how much grinding you'll need to do to get it.
Click image to view in full screen
Of course, there's a whole bunch of other cosmetics to unlock in the Fortnite Season 7 Battle Pass. We've grabbed screenshots of all of them, so you can see it all here. But new cosmetics isn't the only thing Season 7 brings, as there's also a new vehicle called the X-4 Stormwing plane, which seats a total of five players and is equipped with a gun (which can overheat). Items have been placed in the Vault, balloons have been adjusted to work in conjunction with weapons, and the map has been significantly changed.
Beyond that, Epic Games has also launched Creative, which gives players their own island where they can join up with friends to create custom Fortnite experiences that suite their tastes. "It's a brand new way to experience the world of Fortnite," Epic explained. "Design games, race around the island, battle your friends in new ways and build your dream Fortnite. It's all happening on your own private island where everything you make is saved."
Fortnite Season 7 is now live, which means developer Epic Games has hit reset of the challenges and we're starting anew. There's a fresh Battle Pass to be purchased and it's packed full of new cosmetics to unlock. To do that you'll need to earn Battle Stars and level up the Battle Pass. The easiest way to do this is to complete the weekly challenges, and Season 7, Week 1's are now available--and they include those tasking you to dance in forbidden locations and on top of RVs.
For its debut week, Season 7 asks all players to pick up items of each rarity, dance in seven different forbidden locations, and play five matches with at least one elimination in each of them. Those are the free challenges available to everyone, but if you've spent money to get on the paid tier of the Battle Pass (which again costs 950 V-Bucks and lets you unlock a ton of new skins and cosmetics), you've got a selection of additional challenges.
In the paid Battle Pass challenge tier you'll need to dance on top of a crown of RVs, with more stages of that specific challenge opening up after you've done that. Other challenges in that grouping ask the player to do 500 points of headshot damage, eliminate opponents in five different named locations, and search five ammo boxes in a single match. That final challenge is another multi-stager, so additional step will become available once the ammo boxes are searched. You can take a look at the full challenge list below.
Free
Pick up an item of each rarity (5) -- 5 Battle Stars
Dance in different forbidden location (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Play matches with at least one elimination (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Stage 1: Dance on top of a crown of RVs (1) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal headshot damage to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle Star
Stage 1: Search ammo boxes in a single match (5)-- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents in different named locations (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Epic Games has detailed everything that is new and has changed in its Fortnite Season 7 patch notes. Naturally, a big event ushers in the start of a new season, and this time an iceberg has smashed into the island. As a result, there's new frosty areas and everyone is wrapping up to stay warm (that means there's cool new wintery skins).
Fortnite Season 7 has officially begun with the release of the 7.00 update, and the patch notes detail the huge number of exciting new additions from Epic Games. As with previous new seasons, this is a substantial patch that also initiates a major new event. This time around, an iceberg collides with the Fortnite Island, which changes areas to give them an icy new look, expanding the map, adding a plane, new skins, and much more.
"Discover new areas such as Frosty Flights, Polar Peak, and more," Epic says in the patch notes. "Uncover what's in the new Battle Pass, rule the skies with the new X-4 Stormwing plane, and change the style of some of your favorite weapons and items with Wraps in Battle Royale."
The plane can carry a total of five players--the pilot plus four others who hang out on the wings. It features a mounted gun to turn it into a mobile offensive powerhouse, though the gun can overheat.
The arrival of a new season also means a new Battle Pass is available. It features over 100 new cosmetic items for players to unlock. Epic has introduced a new cosmetic type for Season 7 called Wraps, which "allow you to customize your weapons and vehicles with all new looks to match and complement your favorite outfits."
Balloons have been adjusted so that they can now be used in conjunction with weapons. Additionally, a bunch of items have been Vaulted, meaning they're no longer accessible in standard matches for the time being. Those include the following:
Shadow Stones
Port-a-Fort
Chiller
Clinger
Double Barrel Shotgun
Shockwave Grenade
One of the big new modes coming to Fortnite alongside Season 7 is Creative, a sandbox experience that empowers players to craft their own unique Fortnite experiences either alone or with friends on their very own island. "It's a brand new way to experience the world of Fortnite," Epic said about the mode. "Design games, race around the island, battle your friends in new ways and build your dream Fortnite. It's all happening on your own private island where everything you make is saved." Take a look at the full patch notes for Fortnite: Battle Royale and Creative below. You can head to the game's official website to see what's new with Save The World.
Fortnite Update 7.00 Patch Notes
Weapons + Items
X-4 Stormwing Plane
5 total seats.
Seats 4 passengers (on the wings) and a pilot.
Has a mounted machine gun. Be careful, it can overheat.
Players will go into the skydiving state when exiting the X-4 Stormwing.
Use the roll buttons for sharp turns.
Pressing both will fly upside down.
Double tapping roll buttons will do a barrel roll.
Can boost and airbrake for extra mobility.
Balloons
Balloons have been reworked so that while they are equipped, it is possible to use weapons and items.
Players can attach up to 3 Balloons to their back, lifting off the ground when the 3rd Balloon is attached.
Press jump while in the air to release Balloons one at a time.
Reduced stack size from 20 to 10.
Updated scope crosshair on Scoped AR and Thermal AR.
Vaulted Items
Note: Each new season gives us an opportunity to evaluate the current item rotation. Our goal is to have a reasonable number of items to learn, while avoiding duplicates or overlapping functionality. Based on recent (and upcoming) item additions, we've selected the following for vaulting.
Shadow Stones
Port-a-Fort
Chiller
Clinger
Double Barrel Shotgun
Shockwave Grenade
Gameplay
Map Updated
New Biome: Iceberg
New Location: Frosty Flights
New Location: Polar Peak
New Location: Happy Hamlet
Other unnamed Points of Interest (POIs) have also appeared across the island.
Icy Surfaces can be found in snowy areas.
Players will slide on certain frozen surfaces.
Ziplines can be found around the Iceberg and near Expedition Outposts.
Latch on and zip from one end to the other.
Aim, fire, or use items all while conveniently traveling on Ziplines.
Minimap updated.
Increased the chance of final circles ending on the outer edges of the map.
Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug causing weapon impact effects to play when shooting friendly players, even though no damage was being dealt.
Events
New Tournament: Explorer Pop-Up Cup
Material cap set to 700/500/300 for Wood/Stone/Metal.
Players receive 100/50/50 Wood/Stone/Metal on elimination.
Resource rate increased by 40%
+50 effective health on elimination.
Safezone Changes
Increased chances of Supply Drops in later circles.
Circle 9 now travels twice as far but takes twice as long to close.
Some tournaments will now feature a limit on the number of matches that can be played during an event session.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue which prevented players from receiving elimination rewards if a player they downed was eliminated by the Down-But-Not-Out timer ending or if their team was fully eliminated.
Performance
Optimized spawning pickups when a player is eliminated.
Optimized the performance of the Dynamite fuse.
Switch audio performance improvements - falling sounds no longer hitch.
Minor Switch rendering optimizations to help general framerate.
Audio
Reduced the volume of bullet and pickaxe impact audio on the starting island.
Added a hit notification audio cue when a vehicle you're riding in recieves damage.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that would cause in-air glider audio to continue playing when eliminating a gliding player.
Fixed an issue that would cause vehicle audio loops to get stuck on.
Fixed "crackling" audio heard on Mobile/Switch when shooting weapons or emoting.
UI
The Calamity, Dire, Ragnarok, and Drift Challenges have been moved to a new section at the bottom of the Challenges tab.
Added filtering and updated the layout of the Locker.
Vehicle Damage Numbers have been added!
Vehicles now have a unique damage number pop color and show damage numbers.
Polished the Store layout to support a larger number of tiles without needing to scroll.
Minor update to the player feedback UI to add reporting categories and a list of other players in the current or last-played match.
Bug Fixes
Fixed Battle Pass information from being displayed in the Lobby tab for players that have not purchased a Battle Pass.
Fixed the header entry in the daily Challenges screen to work correctly when clicked.
Moved the Nvidia Highlights button to the top right of the Battle Royale lobby to avoid conflicts with chat click zone.
Fixed an issue where the Two Factor Authentication screen could sometimes cause input to become unresponsive.
Replay
Bug Fixes
Nameplates will no longer sit above other HUD elements, such as the map.
Mobile
60 FPS enabled on the iPad Pro 2018.
4x MSAA Anti-Aliasing turned back on for iOS.
Improved performance on all Galaxy Note 9 devices as well as the North American variant of the Galaxy S9 Plus.
Added support for the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018).
Bug Fixes
Fixed the black border on the iPad Pro 2018.
Fixed graphics settings on previous supported iPad Pro models.
Fixed incorrect quality settings for iPad 6th Generation.
Fixed occasional shadow flickerings in the game lobby.
Creative
Overview
Creative Hub provides access to your own island, the islands of other friends who have joined on the server, or featured islands selected from the community.
Player Islands are your creative space that automatically saves.
Players will be able to keep a server active for up to 4 hours at a time.
Battle Pass owners will start with 4 islands to allow for different creations. On December 13, all players will receive 4 islands.
Friends can visit your island and island owners can set permissions to determine if your friends can edit/build while visiting.
The My Island menu is accessible through the Main Menu in-game while on your island.
Gameplay
Phone
This is the in-game tool your character holds that's used to edit, copy, and manipulate props in the world. Experiment with its features to discover all the things it can do.
Fly mode allows players to quickly travel around their island and create in mid-air.
Double jump to start flying.
My Island menu
The "Game" tab starts and stops player-created games. When a game is stopped your island reverts to its pre-game state.
You may experience functionality issues with this feature as we continue to make improvements.
The "Game Settings" tab sets health, fall damage, spawn location, etc and can be changed at any time through the My Island menu.
The "Island Tools" tab resets your island back to its original state and sets who can build on your island.
Creative Inventory
Accessed from the inventory menu.
Inventory allows you to spawn prefabs, devices, weapons, or consumables.
Use Inventory to create your own chests or llamas for your island filled with items you select.
Prefabs are pre-made structures the player can place on their island with throwables.
Devices are placeable items that allow you to create games.
Prefabs
8 obstacle courses
25 buildings from Battle Royale
34 galleries of building tiles and props
Devices
New Devices
Ice Block
Damage Rails
Speed Boost
Timer
Scoreboard
Player Spawn
From Battle Royale:
Spikes
Chiller
Bouncer
Launch Pad
Mounted Turret
Cozy Campfire
Performance
The memory bar at the bottom of the HUD provides feedback on how much you can build on your island.
This will change as we gather more data on performance and memory usage.
Social
Players will have the ability to join in progress games with any of their Epic friends, even if they are not in a party together. Find your friend in the social panel and select Join Creative Server. Your friend must have their Privacy option set to Friends or Public to allow those who aren't in a party to join.
Replay
Replays will record the entire 4-hour play session, however, these will be saved in 30-minute individual files.
Replays are off by default and can be enabled in the settings.
Mobile
Creative buttons added as well as a new "Creative" visibility setting. Buttons with extra functionality are in the HUD Layout Tool.
The "Creative" visibility is off in the tool by default, so buttons will be hidden until they are turned on.
The latest update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has arrived. The patch notes, which were posted by developer Treyarch on Reddit, confirm a series of PC-specific changes and the introduction of a new Team Deathmatch playlist, as well as some bug fixes and updates for the Blackout battle royale mode.
One of the PC-specific changes is the ability to change the jump/mantle keybind to only mantle for second press; a small tweak, sure, but it's a welcome one if that's what you wanted. The update also fixes a graphical bug on PC could cause black or white squares to show up.
For all versions of Black Ops 4, the new update adds a new Team Deathmatch playlist where the final score is 85 instead of 75. You can find this playlist in the game's "featured" category. For the Blackout mode, the update fixes a bug that caused an error screen to display when pressing the Deploy button in the lobby, in some circumstances.
One problem that is not fixed with this new Black Ops 4 update is an issue related to Aim Assist and Deadshot Dealer not working properly in Zombies mode, while Treyarch is also working on a fix for players experiencing issues with Death Stashes in Blackout. "We will release a fix for both issues once we've tested them thoroughly--thanks for your patience," Treyarch said.
You can see the full December 4 patch notes for Black Ops 4 below, as posted by Treyarch on Reddit. The notes cover PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
TDM 85, Chaos Domination, and Safeguard on all platforms in Featured
Zombies Origins Character Missions in Blackout on Xbox One/PC
Blightfather event in Blackout on Xbox One/PC
Misc. bug fixes in MP, Zombies, and Blackout
ALL PLATFORMS
Multiplayer
Featured Playlists
TDM 85 added to Featured.
Team Deathmatch with a score limit of 85.
Safeguard added as Featured Playlist (Xbox One/PC); remains in Featured category on PS4.
Escort the robot into enemy territory to secure the win.
Chaos Domination added to Featured category.
Zone capture time reduced to 3 seconds.
Round score limit increased to 150.
Match score limit increased to 300.
Hardcore Kill Confirmed added to Featured category.
Control added to Featured category.
Miscellaneous
Addressed an issue where the game could freeze when a player inspected their Player Card immediately after entering a lobby.
Zombies
Miscellaneous
Addressed an issue that prevented players from equipping Warpaints.
Blackout
Miscellaneous
Addressed an issue that could cause players to receive an error after pressing the Deploy button in the Blackout lobby.
General
Stability
Fixed a crash that could occur if the player lost internet connection or disconnected.
XBOX ONE/PC
Blackout
Character Missions
Zombies Origins Character Missions (Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen) available to find and complete.
Event
Blightfather event enabled in all playlists.
Reduced the health of the Blightfather in Solo and Duo playlists.
PC
The following updates are live in the game on PC today, including the changes above and in this week's global 1.08 update, in version 265.44(57).12.0.x.0.24825 :
General
Mantle
Added an option to change Jump/Mantle keybind to only mantle on Second Press.
Create-a-Class
Addressed an issue that caused the left navigation arrow to be missing for Custom Classes.
Miscellaneous
Fixed a graphical issue that would cause black or white squares to display.
Fixed an issue where the wrong static reflection could cause some surfaces to appear with improper lighting.
Multiplayer
Maps
Temporarily replaced Seaside Sunset and Firing Range Night with standard daytime versions in map rotation to accommodate playlist updates. These night map variants will be re-introduced in a future update.
The upcoming fourth Men In Black movie now has an official title. The movie's social network pages reveal that it's called Men in Black International, a confirmation that comes just days before Sony Pictures is set to host a panel for the film at Brazil Comic-Con. The "International" part of the title suggests the agents will be on an international mission of some kind this time around.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson star in the new film, which is directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton, Fate of the Furious). Emma Thompson from Men in Black 3 is reprising her role as Agent O. Other members of the cast include Rafe Spall, Liam Neeson, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kumail Najiani. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, who starred in the first three, are not coming back for International, as the story instead focuses on the characters played by Hemsworth and Thompson.
The movie is set in the same universe as the first three Men in Black films, but details about the plot are unknown at this stage. Men in Black International hits theatres on June 14, 2019.
The original three Men in Black movies were box office smashes, collectively bringing in more than $1.6 billion at the box office. The latest one, 2012's Men in Black 3, was the biggest success of the bunch, bringing in more than $624 million during its box office run.
Veteran actor Steve Buscemi's next role is that of the Christian God in the TBS show Miracle Workers, and we're now getting a first look the actor in the role.
The network posted a trailer for Miracle Workers today, showing Buscemi playing a version of God who doesn't really care about people anymore. Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe plays Craig, an angel. And, well ... better to let the official show description (via Collider) explain for itself:
"A comedy set in the offices of Heaven Inc. When God plans to destroy the Earth, two low-level angels must convince their boss to save humanity. They bet him they can pull off their most impossible miracle yet: help two humans fall in love."
Miracle Workers was created by Simon Rich, who was a writer on Saturday Night Live before creating the FXX show Man Seeking Woman (which was based on his book The Last Girlfriend on Earth). The show also stars Karan Soni (Deadpool), Jon Bass (Baywatch), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers).
Miracles Workers is just the latest TBS original show. It joins others like Angie Tribeca, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, People of Earth, Wrecked, Search Party, American Dad, and Conan.
There will be no further additions to the Xbox One's backwards compatibility catalog until the New Year, Microsoft has confirmed. Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb wrote on Twitter that Xbox is pausing releases until 2019 because the team is taking some time off for the holidays.
2018 was another big year for the backwards compatibility library, as Microsoft added more than 100 titles to the catalog during the year. There are now more than 550 games in the library, of which 57 are "enhanced" for Xbox One X.
In 2018, Team Xbox added over 100 new titles to Backward Compatibility, bringing the full catalog to over 550 games – 57 of which are Xbox One X Enhanced. We're taking a break for the holidays, but stay tuned for more BC news in January. Until then, we'll see you on Xbox Live!🎮 pic.twitter.com/rp4G5iILYt
Microsoft historically temporarily stops releasing major new features or content to its platforms in the weeks leading up to the holidays so it can instead focus on making sure its devices like Xbox One and others are steady and reliable for the many new people coming online during the holidays. All Xbox One models are currently $50 off in the US, and that sale, along with the regular uptick in sales during the holidays, will surely mean many new Xboxes are being switched on during the holidays, so it makes sense that Microsoft would want to focus on that being a good experience.
The Xbox One backwards compatibility library includes Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. New titles are added on a semi-regular basis (apart from this holiday season break), with the latest batch--Duke Nukem Forver, The Darkness, and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified--arriving this week.
As always, if you own these games already, you can simply put the disc into your Xbox One and start playing. If you own them digitally you can find them in your game collection and redownload them. Check out our full list of backwards compatible games for more.
Below, the tough roguelike from Capybara Games, is finally--yes, really this time--coming out. The indie title for Xbox One and PC will launch on December 14, the studio confirmed today.
It has been a very long road to release, as Capybara originally announced Below all the way back in 2013. In 2016, Capybara delayed the game indefinitely. Speaking to GI.biz, Capybara boss Nathan Vella said it was probably a mistake to announce Below so early.
"We're definitely not going to announce things too early [in future], that's for sure," he said. "That's the No.1 learning. We know a lot more about when games are ready to be discussed. In the five years since we announced, we've learned a lot and that's a big chunk of our experience."
Below is a rougelike dungeon crawler where players wash ashore on a mysterious island, and the only place to go is into a cave. Then you delve deeper and deeper in the mysterious "below."
You can watch the launch trailer for Below above. In addition to that, you can check out nine minutes of gameplay in the embed at the top of the page.
Microsoft has big plans for its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Speaking at an event today, Xbox boss Phil Spencer talked about how Microsoft not only wants to bring Xbox Game Pass to PC, which Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella first revealed earlier this year, but also to "every device" out there. Speaking at a Barclays conference in San Francisco, Spencer talked about how Xbox Game Pass--when it eventually comes to more platforms like mobile through streaming--will help Xbox reach billions of gamers worldwide instead of millions.
"When you think about reaching a customer with this content where their only compute device could be an Android phone, you think about, 'What are all the ways that person pays for content today'? So we need to make sure that we're world-class at free-to-play content, but we also look at subscription as a much lower barrier way for a customer to build a library of content," Spencer said.
"So we built Xbox Game Pass--it started on console, it will come to PC, and eventually it will come to every device--we use the flywheel that we have with customers on an Xbox to start the growth in Xbox Game Pass. But as somebody sitting back and taking a longer-term view of where our business is going, you should look at that as a business model that we think scales to billions of people not hundreds of millions of people like retail does."
Xbox Game Pass could come to mobile through Microsoft's new game-streaming service Project xCloud. Microsoft is already testing this service internally, and Spencer mentioned that he was using the service during his recent travels. Right now, the service streams from a data center in Washington, but eventually, it will roll out in other places around the world. Spencer said Microsoft is uniquely positioned for success in streaming because it has Azure data centers around the world already, which would in theory help cut down on latency issues.
Also during the Q&A, Spencer talked about how Microsoft's recent acquisition spree--it's acquired or established seven new studios in the past six months--is all about the company building a bigger network of studios to help support its efforts for Xbox Game Pass and the wider Xbox catalog.
Xbox Game Pass costs $10 USD per month on Xbox One, and for that fee you can play more than 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games. Microsoft sweetened the deal further this year by announcing that all first-party games will launch into Xbox Game Pass, meaning subscribers this year got Forza Horizon 4, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and others at no extra cost. Next year, subscribers will get Gears 5 for nothing extra, while Halo Infinite will also eventually come to the service. While Xbox Game Pass is similar in structure to Netflix, games are downloaded, not streamed. However, Spencer is suggesting that Xbox Game Pass may eventually include support for streaming through xCloud (which is a working title), and that's an exciting prospect to think about.
Xbox Game Pass already has "millions" of subscribers, so it does indeed seem to be off to a good start. According to Spencer, another benefit of Xbox Game Pass is that it introduces players to genres they might not otherwise check out. Developers theoretically stand to benefit from putting their games in Xbox Game Pass, too, as it might help bring in new players potentially years after release in a similar way to how you might check out an old show on Netflix, enjoy it, and watch more.
What are your thoughts on Xbox Game Pass and subscription services for games in general? Let us know in the comments below!
The Resident Evil movie franchise will continue with a reboot set to follow the six Milla Jovovich-starring films that together generated $1 billion at the box office. Now, it's been reported that 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts has come aboard to write and direct the reboot.
According to Variety, which first reported the news, the Resident Evil movie reboot is a "high priority" for producer Constantin Films. That company was also behind the six Resident Evil movies that starred Jovovich and were directed or produced by her husband Paul W.S. Anderson.
Those six movies featured Jovovich as Alice fighting against Umbrella Corp. and zombies. It remains to be seen what the story might be for the upcoming reboot, while details about the cast are also under wraps for now. Production on the film is expected to begin in 2019.
The six Resident Evil movies so far were Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Retribution, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
While Jovovich and Anderson and done with Resident Evil movies, they're now working on a film based on another Capcom property: Monster Hunter. Jovovich stars in the film alongside Ron Perlman; you can see the first image here.
The launch of The Black Armory, Destiny 2's new DLC expansion, should have marked an exciting event for players. Instead, it proved to be a major source of frustration, and in response, Bungie has quickly made a small change to make it more accessible to everyone.
As part of the Annual Pass, The Black Armory will introduce a variety of content over the coming weeks and months, including a new Raid this Friday. The first major piece of content came with Tuesday's update in the form of the first Lost Forge, a sort of Horde mode-style activity for three players. While it does address some complaints about other activities by offering matchmaking (ensuring you don't need to bring your own full group to participate), it did have another big problem: The Power level requirements were way too high.
A recent Destiny 2 update raised the game's maximum Power level from 600 to 650 for all players. Those with the DLC who can take part in the new Forge activity found that due to steep requirements, they were unable to reasonably play the new mode. Instead, they were forced to grind through existing content to raise their Power level instead of playing what's new--not exactly the experience anyone was hoping for on launch day. Bungie is aware of the complaints and has taken a first step toward addressing them.
"Over the past day, we've been taking in your feedback," Bungie wrote on its website. "It's become clear that we made the initial Power requirements for the Lost Forges too high, keeping those sweet new rewards out of reach. Some players at 600 Power have been unable to dive in and beat the final boss without grinding for new Power first.
"We have just delivered a server-side update to reduce the Power requirements for all the encounters in the Lost Forges by five. We fully acknowledge that this is a small move, but it is the one that we can make today. This is not the full extent of the changes to the player experience that we are investigating, but it should give Guardians at 600 Power a better chance at completing the activity."
Bungie also said it plans to further address questions of how players who are further behind can best boost their Power level and catch up to participate in the new content. "The answers to those questions are coming. We have some existing plans and some new ideas in the pipeline," it said, promising further information in its weekly blog post update on Thursday.
After a long hiatus, Capcom is bringing the Devil May Cry series back to its core storyline and set of characters in serious style. Set for a worldwide release on March 8, 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Devil May Cry 5 is the next major entry in the series, bringing back a sense of style and action that the series helped popularize since its debut in 2001. With multiple playable characters, new weapons systems, and a surprising number of callbacks to previous games, DMC5 looks to be the game that many long-time fans have been waiting for.
Though we're still a few months away, we're still in the dark regarding the new game and what it's setting out to do with its current outing. Ever since its first reveal back at E3 2018, there was a lot to take in, so we've broken things down to a few key points. Here's everything we know about Capcom's upcoming return to stylish-action with Devil May Cry 5.
Devil May Cry 5 is an upcoming action-adventure game. Developed by Capcom, the long-running DMC series has always been about fast, stylish action while using a variety of unique weapons. Over the last 16 years, the series has gone on to inspire a particular brand of action gameplay, where fast-paced action and challenging battles go hand-in-hand. With every game, the stakes and scope of the series has grown, and DMC5 looks to the most detailed and elaborate entry yet.
DMC5 seeks to continue that tradition of stylish action by telling the next major story in the series. With three playable characters--Dante, Nero, and the newcomer V--you'll go through a main story slashing and shooting demons and other monsters. Running on the RE Engine, the same framework powering Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 2 remake, the game will feature the most detailed and richly realized visuals the series has seen yet. According to the developers, DMC5 will be the biggest game in the series, and seeks to incorporate a number of new features and innovations into the core gameplay.
When Does It Release And How Can I Catch Up?
DMC5's release date on PC, PS4, and Xbox One is set for March 8, 2019. If you want to catch up and play the previous games, you can check out the DMC HD Collection compiling the first three games on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Also, DMC4 Special Edition is available on the same platforms and offers a revised take on the game with a total of five unique characters to play as. DmC: Definitive Edition, an update of Ninja Theory's reboot, is also an excellent entry in the series. If you're interested in checking that out, the Definitive Edition is available on PS4 and Xbox One (no PC release, unfortunately).
The Reveal Trailer
After years of rumors and speculation, Devil May Cry 5 made its debut during Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference. The trailer began with an enigmatic voice-over talking over widespread carnage and bloodshed as a result of a demonic invasion. Afterward, we finally saw the return of Nero, riding around in his mobile headquarters with a neon blue Devil May Cry logo on the side. The trailer ended with a tease of Dante riding along on an strange, demonic motorcycle--giving a familiar smirk to the viewer.
Can I Start With This Game?
Though this game references storylines and characters from across the 17 year history, it's totally possible to jump straight into DMC5. Just like with previous games, there will be digest material to help you get up to speed. But more importantly, the game will work as a standalone title, and won't require you to know every single character and their relationships. With that said, the game's plot will make more of an impact if you're familiar with the series.
What's New In DMC5?
Though many details about DMC5 are still under wraps, the game focuses on offering the same thrilling moments of action--with some added twists. In addition to new weapons and tweaks to existing characters, DMC5 will also feature a new training level called the Void mode. In this practice area, which can be pulled up in between missions, you'll be sucked into a space that allows you to experiment with the different moves and weapons you have available for the three playable characters. Pulling from Capcom's wealth of experience from fighting games, you can apply a whole set of options to your sparring partner--adjusting AI, attack damage, and other options--allowing you to get a feel for what your character can do.
How Does Nero Play?
Returning from DMC4, Nero is one of the main leads in DMC5. However, some things have changed since his first appearance that was quickly apparent from watching the debut trailer. For starters, his primary moveset is largely the same, using his Blue Rose revolver and Red Queen sword in tandem, which can charged up for extra damage. However, the Devil Bringer from the previous game--allowing him to yank and grapple enemies from afar--is gone, and he'll now have to rely on the new Devil Breaker system.
Crafted by series newcomer Nico, who works as a shopkeeper in their mobile headquarters, you'll be able to purchase upgrades and new items from her--including new Devil Breakers. Essentially, Devil Breakers are disposable arms that offer Nero different skills and modifiers to his moveset. For instance, the Gerbera arm will allow Nero to fire off projectile lasers, the Tomboy will amplify Nero's sword and gun strength (at the cost of disabling lock-on), and the Buster Arm will function similarly to his original Devil Bringer. There is a tradeoff to having these weapons, unfortunately. The arms are extremely fragile and will break once you've taken enough damage from enemies or if you want to switch over to another weapon--destroying the equipped arm. However, there are plenty of arms scattered around the levels, allowing to find a new one fairly easily.
Where Does DMC5 Fit In The Series Timeline?
Devil May Cry 5 is a direct sequel to the events of DMC4, which saw Nero and Dante face off against Sanctus and the Order of Sparda. While the previous games only seldom referenced past events, opting to keep things more in the moment, DMC5 will have some direct callbacks to past games--even explaining who crafted some of Dante's iconic weapons. Interestingly enough, Devil May Cry 2 will also play into the canon despite having been largely dismissed by fans and the developers in past years. Here's the current chronological order for the series.
DMC5 is a continuation of the story prior to Ninja Theory's reboot. Though DmC: Devil May Cry ended at a point that hinted at a another game, the upcoming DMC title is a direct sequel to 2008's Devil May Cry 4. There are no plans to continue on with Ninja Theory's reboot.
The Gamescom 2018 Trailer
In this new trailer, we got to see more of Nero in action--including his time-stopping devil breaker Ragtime--while also getting a peak at Dante's new weapons and moveset. During the debut trailer, we got a tease at Dante riding a motorcycle, which is a constant throughout the series, but this video showed that it also serves a new weapon for him, called the Cavaliere-B. The weaponized motorcycle turns into two large chainsaws, allowing him to combo back and forth into the vehicle and weapon forms.
How Does Dante Play?
The original devil hunter makes a comeback, and he's exactly how you remember him from previous games. With the largest arsenal of weapons, Dante will be able to swap between a variety of swords, gauntlets, and other firearms on the fly--all while taking advantage of his signature devil trigger, which greatly amplifies his core damage and restores any lost health. After defeating major bosses throughout the game, Dante will acquire a new weapon for him to take advantage of, adding another deadly tool to his set.
One of the newer innovations for Dante is the option to customize specific loadouts for his weapons. In the pre-mission menu, you can pick and choose which weapons you want to bring with you in mission. If you want to come in fully armed--with up to four melee and firearms each--then you can do so. But if you're feeling more traditional and want to stick with one melee and firearm, you can do that too.
Are There Microtransactions?
During TGS 2018, we learned from our demo that DMC5 will feature a form of microtransactions for players to take advantage of. Using a similar method from Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, these purchases will only allow you access to Red Orbs--DMC's currency--and they won't throw the game's balance out of whack, according to Capcom. Many of the major abilities and upgrades you can find are tied to the story, thus requiring you to earn access to them.
The TGS 2018 Trailer
In the most recent trailer, we saw Dante and Nero revealing more of their respective movesets and weapons. The original devil hunter also shows off a brand-new weapon known as the Balrog. This close-range, brawler-focused weapon features two distinct fighting modes channeling punches and kicks. At the end of the trailer, we also got another tease of the elusive third playable character referred to as V.
How Does V Play?
So far, we don't have much information to go on regarding how V will play. However, series director Hideaki Itsuno has stated that V is very different compared to Dante and Nero. In the only firm bit of info we have, the enigmatic character is able to control demons in combat for his own ends. We'll have more information regarding how V plays in the months before the game's launch.
Is There A Special Edition?
Capcom plans to offer deluxe editions of Devil May Cry 5 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Digital Deluxe Edition (priced at $80) comes with the full game, four unique Devil Breakers for Nero--including Mega Man's mega-buster--DLC song packs, and alternate color-schemes for characters and weapons. The US will also get a special Collector's Edition ($150) that comes with the Deluxe version, an artbook, enamel pins, a bumper sticker, and special model of the Nico's motorhome. You can read more about these in our DMC5 pre-order guide.
However, if you're looking for the ultimate way to experience Devil May Cry 5, then you may to check out the Japan-only Limited Edition. Cost upwards of $8600, this edition comes with the deluxe edition and a replica leather jacket modeled after Dante's threads in-game. If you're a die-hard fan that won't miss spending several thousand dollars for video-game memorabilia, then you want to invest in this edition of the game.
Ubisoft has made a big-name hire at its Quebec office, the studio that most recently led development on Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The Canadian developer has hired former EA veteran Mike Laidlaw, who worked at BioWare on the Dragon Age franchise and others.
Laidlaw takes on the role of creative director at Ubisoft Quebec, but Ubisoft did not say what he'll be working on. In a blog post, Ubisoft acknowledged that Laidlaw had been consulting with Ubisoft Quebec on an "unannounced new project" for the past nine months, so it could be that Ubisoft has now brought him on full time for it.
"We are thrilled to welcome Mike into the Ubisoft Quebec family," Ubisoft Quebec managing director Patrick Klaus said in a statement. Senior producer Jeff Skalski added, "We're excited to have him onboard. He's the perfect fit for our project and I can't wait for everyone to experience the results."
In his own statement published on LinkedIn, Laidlaw said his current project at Ubisoft Quebec is so compelling that it convinced him to move halfway across Canada from his former home in Edmonton to Quebec.
Laidlaw left BioWare in October 2017. He went on to contribute to the Kickstarter-funded RPG Waylanders, but he's stepping back now that he's joined Ubisoft. In his place, the Waylanders team has brought on former Telltale Games writer Emily Grace Buck to take over "many of the parts" that Laidlaw was contributing to.
Beyond hiring Laidlaw, Ubisoft Quebec is expanding in a major way. The studio recently opened a second office in the Saint-Roch neighbourhood, while it has also talked about its plans to hire 200 more people over time.
No new Dragon Age games have been announced, but just recently, BioWare teased that it might have some news to share very soon. This week, VentureBeat reported that Dragon Age 4 will be revealed at The Game Awards on Thursday evening, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more.
Season 7 of Fortnite is finally upon us. The new season kicks off on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile this in just a few hours. Ahead of that, developer Epic Games took Fortnite servers offline early in the morning at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT as it rolled out the big Season 7 update. [Update] Fortnite servers are back online and the new update rolls out. You can read the full Fortnite Season 7 patch notes to see what's new.
[Original story] Epic hasn't provided an estimate for how long Thursday's downtime will last, although previous maintenance periods have typically run a couple of hours. In any event, the new update looks like it'll be a significant one, as Epic has been teasing that some major changes are in store for the hit battle royale game.
Just as it has every season, Epic will offer a new Battle Pass for purchase beginning Thursday, which gives you access to weekly challenges and can be leveled up to unlock new cosmetics and rewards. This time, Battle Pass holders will get another incentive; they'll have early access to Fortnite Creative. The new mode will be available to everyone on December 13, but those who purchase the Season 7 Battle Pass will be able to jump in beginning December 6.
Beyond that, we don't yet know what awaits in Season 7, although Epic has dropped some clues. The developer has been sharing teaser images each day leading up to the start of the season, confirming some sort of snow theme for the new season. The images have also depicted characters snowboarding and ziplining, while the latest featured a biplane hidden in the background, suggesting that an aerial vehicle may be on the way.
With Season 7 just around the corner, there's only a little more time to finish any remaining challenges from Season 6 and unlock the final Battle Pass rewards. You can find tips and guides for all of the season's tricker tasks in our complete Season 6 challenges roundup.
Authorities in Sweden raided the offices of Payday 2 and Overkill's The Walking Dead developer/publisher Starbreeze today, detaining one person on insider trading charges. Multiple news outlets in Sweden reported today that the country's Economic Crime Authority conducted a surprise raid of Starbreeze's offices in Stockholm, seizing computers and other documents from the premises.
ECA communications rep Niklas Ahlgren confirmed to GI.biz that the organisation conducted a raid of Starbreeze's office. "This morning officals from the Swedish Economic Crime Authority raided the offices of Starbreeze in Stockholm. One person was arrested and items were seized," Ahlgren said. "The raid is part of an ongoing investigation involving suspected insider trading."
The identity of the detained person was not disclosed, nor are further specifics about the charges against this person.
For its part, Starbreeze released a statement confirming that the raid took place "due to suspicions of insider charges." Starbreeze said the company as a whole is not under investigation, however. Starbreeze also said it is cooperating fully with the ECA in this matter, adding that this raid "does not affect" Starbreeze's plans to restructure its business in the wake of troubling financial times for the company.
Earlier this month, Starbreeze filed for "reconstruction" with the Stockholm District Court as a means to help itself secure its future financial position, though whether or not that happens remains to be seen. During the reconstruction period, Starbreeze will continue to pay salaries to its employees, and overall, its operations will "continue as usual."
As part of the reconstruction, Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson resigned from the company, while other members of the Board of Directors also left.
At the end of November, Starbreeze acknowledged that sales of its latest major game, the poorly received shooter Overkill's The Walking Dead were lower than expected. The game launched in November for PC, but its Xbox One and PS4 editions were delayed. As a result of this, Starbreeze will not be able to recognise the $10 million license fee this quarter that 505 Games is paying Starbreeze for the console edition, which it is publishing.
In the wake of these financial challenges, Starbreeze announced it was launching an internal review of its business operations with the aim of reducing costs and focusing more on the core pillars of its business. Starbreeze said it's expecting to see "significant cost savings" as a result of the re-focus. However, Starbreeze shared no specifics on how it would go about cutting costs, or if this move would result in any job losses.
"We have initiated a review of our costs to ensure better alignment with our revenues. We are designing a program towards that end, naturally while keeping a careful eye on revenue development. We must focus on our core business and ensure delivery of the company's important games," Starbreeze said.
Developer David Goldfarb, Payday 2's former game director, responded to the news in a statement on Twitter. He called the situation a "disaster," noting that he suspects management is responsible for the tough times.
All the disaster coming out of Starbreeze and the leadership that appears to be behind it: the casualties are the devs there who were just trying to make games people liked.
"From its restrictive mission structures, unbalanced difficulty and frustrating means of progression, The Walking Dead struggles to justify the time it requires from you," Alessandro Barbosa wrote. "It's a collection gameplay blueprints stacked upon one another without thoughtful consideration on how they might cohesively work together, wrapped up in a dull presentation and mundane combat that very rarely excites. The Walking Dead is a mess of scattered ideas and a lack of direction, and there's no reason to make sense of it all."
It may have begun in an entirely different era of filmmaking, but the Predator franchise is still going strong over 30 years later. The latest entry, simply called The Predator, finds a vicious alien on Earth's soil with a few genetic upgrades. Now it's up to a group of former soldiers to stop it. It's a delightfully violent action flick that Rafael Motamayor called "a bloody, funny mess" in our Predator review. The movie is available now on digital and is coming to 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 18.
If you'd like a copy of The Predator to call your own, you probably have a few questions. Among them: when does it come out, where can you buy it, and how much does it cost? We have answers to all of those queries below, so let's dive in.
Digital
If you want to watch The Predator at home right now, you can do so buy purchasing a digital copy. But if you can wait a few days, most of the disc-based versions also come with a digital copy.
Those in the mood to marathon the series (or pick it up as a holiday gift for the action-horror movie fan in your life) can grab the 4-movie collection. It comes with the 1987 original film, its 1990 sequel, the 2010 film Predators, and this year's The Predator.
This week's sale at GameStop is now live, which means you can save money on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games. You can check out some of the deals in this week's GameStop ad, or you can look below to find the highlights. And if you'd prefer to shop elsewhere, it's worth noting that Amazon has matched many of these prices. In any case, the GameStop deals are going away on December 11, so make your purchases by then.
The Game Awards are coming, promising not only a celebration of the last year in video games, but also a slew of new announcements for the coming year and beyond. The annual award show has become known for hosting game reveals, and this year's event promises to be no different. Eager to get started, some studios have already begun teasing their impending news.
The festivities will begin today, December 6, at 8:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM PT / (Friday at 1:30 AM GMT / 12:30 PM AET). You can check out all of the games we are certain or expect to see below, or read about the games we know won't be there.
Ten New Game Announcements
As part of the promotion behind the event, host Geoff Keighley teased that ten brand new games will be shown for the very first time. This is on top of other updates for various existing games. That will make for a packed show, especially given that it needs to fit all those reveals around the accolades, musical performances, and other variety events.
Obsidian's New Take-Two Game
Obsidian, the developer behind RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, has stated very directly that it will be announcing its next game at the award show. We've seen teases of a retro-futurist space setting. This one will be published by Take-Two's indie label, Private Division. It remains to be seen how Microsoft may be involved in this project, having recently acquired Obsidian.
Far Cry Plus Nuclear Fallout
Ubisoft is planning a Far Cry reveal for the awards. The studio released a short teaser trailer that showed a nuclear explosion and the resulting devastation over rural farmland. The narration explained that after the earth recovered, people became the deadlier threats. It all appears to set the stage for a post-apocalyptic Far Cry game, possibly tying into the events of Far Cry 5. It's unknown at this point if it will be DLC, a spin-off, or an all-new game.
Anthem Shows Off
EA has announced that its upcoming multiplayer RPG Anthem will get a new trailer presented by general manager Casey Hudson. It launches next February, so this will be one of the last big public events to show off the game.
Fortnite Reveals Abound, But More On The Way
Fortnite is teasing something big for the Game Awards. We don't know what it is, but we know a few things that it isn't. Epic has already noted that it won't be related to Season 7, which the studio has already started outlining elsewhere. It also won't be the new creative mode. Keighley emphasized that the creative mode reveal was just "part 1 of the story" and that the Game Awards reveal will "get even crazier." Creative director Donald Mustard will be on-hand to drop the announcement himself.
Dragon Age Breathes Some Fire
Call this one an educated guess. BioWare's Casey Hudson will already be on-hand to reveal something new for Anthem, but that may not be all. Hudson also recently said that the studio is preparing to outline plans for the next Dragon Age. In fact, he specifically said that news will be coming in December, but stopped short of outlining exactly where or when. The Game Awards is one of the few high-profile announcement vehicles in the month of December, so the smart money is on this being the venue.
Super Smash Bros. Maybe
Nintendo always plays its cards close to the blue overalls, but a recent promotional tweet raised eyebrows. The company specifically told fans to watch the Game Awards just before the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, possibly implying an announcement on the way. It could be just the place to announce a solid release date for Piranha Plant, outline the first of the impending DLC roster, or something else entirely.
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