Gaming News

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Release Windows for Rest of 2024 Reportedly Revealed

A new report has revealed launch timings for Xbox games throughout the rest of 2024, spilling the beans on when to expect everything from the next Call of Duty to Indiana Jones. The Verge reported that Bethesda is currently targeting a September release for the Starfield expansion Shattered Space. In a recent interview, Bethesda development chief Todd Howard announced a fall release window for the expansion. Elsewhere, Activision plans to release the next Call of Duty, which some fans believe is called Black Ops V, in late October, according to The Verge. The same report claims Obsidian’s Avowed and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 follow in November, leaving MachineGames’ hotly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to launch...

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Call of Duty Fans Are Squinting at Microsoft’s Direct Showcase Tease, Believe It Hides Black Ops V

This week, Microsoft announced the timing of its Xbox showcase event in June as well as a follow-up Direct for a mystery game that looks like a clear tease for the next Call of Duty. This year’s mainline Call of Duty is reportedly a Treyarch-developed Black Ops game set in the Gulf War. Some had even thought it might be called Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War, following the naming convention set out by the previous Black Ops game, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. However, following Microsoft’s tease, eagle-eyed Call of Duty fans are giving the image included the zoom and enhance treatment, and believe the redacted section conceals the words Call of Duty Black Ops V. As many fans have pointed out, you can almost make out the ‘OPS’...

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Helldivers 2 Dev to Patch the Eruptor After Community Investigation Reveals Ricochet and Shrapnel Issue

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has issued a statement on recent changes to the way ricochet works in the game after members of the community pointed out one weapon in particular was killing players more than it should. After this week’s release of patch 01.000.300, which tweaked a long list of weapons, stratagems, and enemies, a debate emerged about the state of ricochet. According to the initial patch notes: “Shots that ricochet from heavy armored enemies will now properly hit the Helldiver who fired them. Trigger discipline is highly recommended.” Players then reported getting killed more often by shots that ricochet, but there was confusion about what exactly was happening. Clips shared on social media appeared to show players...

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Bethesda Makes Free Fallout 4 Next-Gen Update Available to Those Who Received the Game via PlayStation Plus Collection

Bethesda has made Fallout 4’s free next-gen update available to those who received the game via PlayStation Plus Collection. Not all who received Fallout 4 via PlayStation Plus were able to upgrade to the native PlayStation 5 version for free when the update went live last week, sparking confusion among PlayStation gamers. Bethesda eventually made it available to those who have Fallout 4 via a PlayStation Plus Extra subscription, apparently leaving those who grabbed the game via the PlayStation Plus Collection promotion out in the cold. However, Bethesda has now made the next-gen update available to all PS Plus subscribers, including those who received Fallout 4 via the PlayStation Plus Collection. In a statement, Bethesda said this...

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A Ton of Under $10 LEGO and Star Wars Titles, Plus the Top Picks of a High Percent Off EA Sale!

Not to embrace my inner Palpatine and deal in absolutes, but Star Wars Squadrons (PC, XO) going for $2.99 is an absolutely sith hot deal. First of all, it's just a great game. Second of all, it has cross-platform multi, which means you're much more likely to find like-minded pilots to explode. And lastly, (on the platforms that support it) it provides some of the best wish fulfilment VR action one can buy—for two dollars, ninety-nine. In retro news, I'm marking the legs 11th birthday of 2013's Mortal Kombat with a big asterisk on the celebrations. You see, while it sounds crazy to say it now, the original release of this title was refused classification in our country because we didn't yet have a R18+ rating for video games. After...

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Rise of the Ronin Sales Pacing Ahead of Nioh and Its Sequel, Koei Tecmo Says

Rise of the Ronin may be a little shy over a month out from its release on PlayStation 5, but that isn’t stopping the action RPG's sales from outpacing its spiritual predecessors, Nioh and Nioh 2. News of Rise of the Ronin’s sales comes from Koei Tecmo’s recent financial report. In the report, Koei Tecmo noted that Rise of the Ronin’s sales are surpassing the Nioh series and that it might usher in a “significant step toward mid to long-term growth” for the holdings company despite being a new triple-A game. No specific sales figures, however, were mentioned. Back in 2022, Team Ninja had announced that the Nioh series collectively had shipped 7 million units worldwide. In tandem with Koei Tecmo’s internal findings of Rise of the...

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A Surprising Manor Lords VR Mod Is Even Impressing the Game's Developer

Manor Lords, the medieval-themed strategy game released in early access last week, recently got a mod that allows it to be played with a VR headset, and it's even caught the attention of the game's developer. Flat2VR, a community of modders and developers aiming to port "flat" games into virtual reality, announced on X/Twitter that there is now a VR mod for PC players looking to play Manor Lords on a virtual reality headset. Flat2VR notes that the mod currently uses mouse and keyboard controls and that "it works perfectly" in six-degree-of-freedom VR (6DOF VR). It's made possible thanks to UEVR, a mod that allows developers and modders to make VR mods for games powered by Unreal Engine. A video shared by the modding group caught the...

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A Tekken 8 Streamer Is Rapidly Rising Through Ranked Mode With a Script That Mashes Only One Button

Longtime Tekken character Eddy Gordo has always been a little polarizing, particularly in Tekken 8, and one streamer has found a way to make him even more of a pain to fight, rising through ranked mode using a script that spams one button. Over on Twitch, jimmashima is currently streaming ranked mode matches of Tekken 8 using Eddy Gordo as his fighter. The streamer is using a script that keeps spamming "3," or the Left Kick move, to attack their opponent. Aside from the obvious repeated kick show on stream, jimmashima also provided a little UI for the controller, showing the button inputs and the repeated pressing of the "X" button to attack. The jimmashima "3ddy" bot has caught the attention of the community outside of Twitch, too...

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Assassin's Creed Mirage for iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Gets June Release Date

Assassin's Creed fans embedded into the Apple hardware ecosystem can rejoice, as Ubisoft announced today that Assassin's Creed Mirage for iOS and iPadOS will arrive in early June. In a press release, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin's Creed Mirage will be released on June 6 for the iPhone 15 Pro series and iPad Air and Pro tablets powered by the M1 chip or newer. This will be the most recent port of Ubisoft's open-world game since its initial release on October 5. This will be the first time an Assassin's Creed game that was originally released on consoles and PC will be available natively on iOS and iPad. Although pre-ordering is now available on the App Store, Ubisoft has not publicly shared how much this port will cost. However, it...

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Diablo IV "Loot Reborn" Coming May 14; Ditches Normal Season Model to Focus on Reworking Loot

Blizzard has announced the next season for Diablo IV called "Loot Reborn," but instead of introducing new mechanics and focusing on a seasonal story, season 4 will be all about reconfiguring itemization, buildcrafting, and addressing a myriad of tweaks and improvements requested by players. In an advance showcasing of Season 4, IGN sat down with Loot Reborn's leadership team to discuss this major deviation from what players have come to expect from a typical Diablo IV season. "For this season we made an assessment along the way where, it really seemed like what we should be focusing our time on is making really substantial update to the item game," lead producer of seasons Tim Ismay explained. "This season, very differently from...

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Chunky Fallout 76 Patch Removes a Ton of Bugs

Bethesda has released the hefty patch for Fallout 76 that removes a ton of bugs but weighs in at around 20 GB on console. With all things Fallout now enjoying a significant boost following the breakout success of the Fallout TV show, Fallout 76 is enjoying a significant rise in player numbers. Last week, Bethesda announced that Fallout 76, its most recent mainline Fallout game, saw over one million people play in a single day. Fallout 76 launched in November 2018 across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and was savaged by critics and players at release. However, over the last five years, Bethesda has worked to improve the game, turning around sentiment to such an extent that Fallout 76 now enjoys a ‘mostly positive’ user review rating...

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Escape From Tarkov Rival Gray Zone Warfare Shoots to Top of Steam Sales But Reviews are 'Mixed'

Realistic first-person shooter Gray Zone Warfare is currently Steam's best-selling game as extraction rival Escape From Tarkov endures a community revolt, though its also being panned with "mixed" user reviews. Gray Zone Warfare's Early Access began today, April 30, 2024, timed just as Escape From Tarkov players are sharing their frustration at "shameless" and "tone deaf" developer Battlestate Games. But while Gray Zone Warfare, which promises similar tactical FPS gameplay, is currently the best-selling Steam game above Manor Lords, Helldivers 2, and Fallout 76, players are having significant issues, including poor performance, frustrating design choices, unsatisfying gunplay, and connectivity issues. "Can barely manage 60 frames...

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Epic Confirms Fortnite Will Return to iPads, but Only in the EU

Epic Games has announced plans to bring back the iPad version of Fortnite, but it will only be available for countries in the European Union (EU). In a post on X/Twitter, the Epic Games newsroom announced that EU Fortnite players who miss playing the free-to-play battle royale natively on Apple's tablet will soon be able to play it again. The statement follows a recent announcement by the European Commission that it now requires Apple to have iPadOS comply with the same rules iOS must abide by as part of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Epic had already said it planned to bring the iOS version of Fortnite back to the EU App Store thanks to the DMA. This comes as part of a wider effort to launch the Epic Games Store on Android and iOS...

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Xbox Games Showcase Announced for June

Microsoft has announced its E3-esque Xbox Games Showcase for June 9, 2024, with announcements from Xbox Game Studios, Activision Blizzard, and Bethesda all promised. Revealed on Xbox Wire, the showcase will take place at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK though Microsoft didn't say how long it would last. It did share a "Redacted" teaser image for what appears to be the next Call of Duty, however, which will have a dedicated Direct immediately after the Xbox Games Showcase. 2024's Call of Duty game is reportedly Black Ops Gulf War, with Treyarch leading development. Microsoft certainly appears confident in the content it's showing off in the additional Direct, comparing it to last year's Starfield Direct, which gave a deep dive...

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Funko Fusion Announces Release Date and Names Jurassic World, Back to the Future, and Other IPs Appearing in Game

Funko Inc. and developer 10:10 Games have announced that 20(!) franchises will be a part of their upcoming Funko Pop-based co-op action game Funko Fusion. They also announced a release date for PC and consoles: September 13. Check out the new gameplay trailer above and a half-dozen screenshots showing off some of the crossover IPs in the gallery below. Expect to see and play as Funko Pop characters from the worlds of Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, JAWS, Shaun of the Dead, Chucky, The Thing, Battlestar Galactica, Umbrella Academy, The Walking Dead, Invincible, and many more. "Our vision at 10:10 Games is to create an incredible co-op videogame experience that will bring gamers from across the globe...

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Housemarque Announces Returnal Graphic Novel and Artbook For The Game's 3-Year Anniversary

Housemarque has celebrated the third anniversary of Returnal with an announcement for a spin-off graphic novel titled 'Fallen Asteria'. It will be released on October 22, 2024, and is available to preorder now at Amazon for $19.99. The listing description reads: "After Helios crashes onto a hostile alien world, Selene Vassos, a lone ASTRA scout must fight for her life against the horrific hostiles that live beyond every shadow and a trail of distorted memories. Can she hold on long enough to track down the White Shadow signal? Mystery shrouds the world of Atropos and Selene begins to wonder: will she find answers at the end of her journey, or is this nightmare inescapable?" It's being created by the Housemarque brand team with...

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Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Pass May 2024 Wave 1 Lineup

Microsoft has announced the first wave of games coming to Game Pass in May 2024. Highlights include Little Kitty Big City, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. First up, on May 2, is Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition across Cloud, Console, and PC. Crystal Dynamics’ action adventure returns to Game Pass as the studio works on a brand new game in the series. IGN’s Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition review returned a 9/10. We said: “TR: Definitive Edition’s good looks are a bonus. It’s still Lara, great pacing, and clever design that make it amazing.” Next up, on May 7, is Kona II: Brume (Cloud, Console, and PC). This first-person narrative game is set in a rural mining village in Northern Canada in 1970. Then...

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Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty Is 15% Off On PC Right Now

If you've yet to play Cyberpunk 2077's incredible expansion Phantom Liberty, then we've got some stellar news for those on PC. The DLC is down to just $25.49 for a limited time, a 15% discount from its $29.99 MSRP, and the best price we've seen on the expansion since its launch last year. This is available for PC players who use GOG, which is DRM-free and requires no activation or an online connection to play. Unfortunately, this does also require that you own the base game via GOG as well, but it's a good deal for anyone who originally opted to support CD Projekt directly with their purchase. If you want to own both on GOG, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is down to $53.59, or Cyberpunk 2077 separately is down to $29.99 instead...

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Todd Howard Explains Why Bethesda Plans to Keep Fallout Set in the U.S.

For years Fallout fans have wondered if a video game in the franchise will ever leave the United States for another country. According to Fallout lore, the nuclear war of 2077 upon which the franchise is based was not localized to the U.S., but a global event. And so, the idea of traipsing astound post-apocalyptic London or even Canada has long-been mooted by fans. In a new interview with Kinda Funny Games, Bethesda development boss Todd Howard ruled out such a move, confirming that the studio’s plan is to keep the Fallout series set in the U.S. Howard explained the decision by saying he’s a big fan of the “Americana naivete” that informs so much of Fallout’s tone. Fallout is set in a retro futuristic post-apocalypse in which players...

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Skryim Player Lets Twitch Chat Live Voice NPCs With Hilarious and Horrific Mod

An Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim streamer created a mod which let his Twitch chat control what the game's NPCs said in real time, with expectedly hilarious and horrifying results. As reported by Kotaku, Twitch streamer Blurbs shared a clip from the stream on X/Twitter, below, which shared a compilation of some of the most ridiculous results. Beyond the Twitch chat's comments merely appearing on screen, the mod converts them to speech in the style of the Skyrim characters and moves their lips to match. "I have never made a game mod before. Chat can live voice NPCs. It's gonna go horribly," Blurbs said to open the stream. One NPC he approached was a woman in Riverwood, who in her usual voice, declared: "It's said that the lord of all...

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Bethesda Keeps Looking Into Fallout 76 Cross-Play, but It ‘Wasn’t Designed That Way From the Beginning,’ Todd Howard Says

With all things Fallout now enjoying a significant boost following the breakout success of the Fallout TV show, Fallout 76 is enjoying a significant rise in player numbers. Last week, Bethesda announced that Fallout 76, its most recent mainline Fallout game, saw over one million people play in a single day. That focused attention on Fallout 76 has brought its lack of cross-play under the microscope, especially at a time when most multiplayer-focused games do have cross-play. In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Bethesda development chief Todd Howard explained why Fallout 76 does not yet have cross-play, pointing out that when the game was developed it was not done so with cross-play in mind. “We keep looking into it. It [Fallout...

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As the Helldivers 2 Community Argues Over Nerfs and Buffs Following the Latest Patch, Arrowhead Explains Increased Patrols for Solo Players

Whenever Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead releases a big balance update for the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter, the community debates the various nerfs and buffs as it gets to grips with the evolving meta. After this week’s release of patch 01.000.300, which tweaked a long list of weapons, stratagems, and enemies, the debate was especially vociferous. A change to the beloved Quasar Cannon is but one that has led to claims that Arrowhead has nerfed fun out of Helldivers 2. The game’s Discord and subreddit are especially spicy as Arrowhead community managers address concern about nerfs even as they point out that in reality, the patch made significant buffs to a number of key weapons. The Adjudicator, for example, has enjoyed a...

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Final Fantasy Maker Square Enix Takes $140 Million Hit in ‘Content Abandonment Losses’ as It Revises Game Pipeline

Square Enix has revised its approach to PC and console game development, and absorbed ¥22.1 billion (approx $140.9 million) in what it calls “content abandonment losses.” In a warning to the investment community, the Japanese company said it would recognise the extraordinary loss for the fiscal year ended March 2024. This is the result of a change in approach to Square Enix’s development of what it calls HD video games (PC and console, as opposed to mobile and MMO). In its note, the company said it wants to be “more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources”, and as a result of the “close examination” of its development pipeline with this in mind, is taking the multi-million dollar loss. Square Enix did not...

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A Sub Ten Buck Steal for an All-Time RPG Trilogy, Robo Cops a Price Drop, Stellar Blade Deals, and More!

Let's remove the mystery from the headline. Three Mass Effect games are going for next to nothing right now on PC, and you need to jettison your modern perspective misgivings and take a chance on them. Forget the hot mess that was Mass Effect Andromeda. Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2—and, to a lesser extent, Mass Effect 3—were genre-defining RPGs. The remaster process has made 'em much easier on the optical implants. The writing, world-building, and companion NPC bonds you'll forge, meanwhile, all remain timeless. In retro news, today's a day of sombre remembrance for two consoles. 27 years ago, we witnessed the discontinuance of Sega's Game Gear, a battery-guzzling beast that sold 10.62M units that I fondly remember for its Sonic games...

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Todd Howard Talks About Starfield: Shattered Space Expansion, Creator's Kit, and a 'Big Update' Coming Soon

Bethesda fans won’t have to wait much longer before they finally get their hands on Starfield’s first expansion, Shattered Space, and there is even more content on the way, too. Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard updated fans wih more information on post-launch content during an interview with Kinda Funny. When talking about how Starfield will be fleshed out throughout the year, he teased that Shattered Space is scheduled to launch this fall. Details on Shattered Space remain a mystery, though some fans speculate that it will focus on House Va'ruun. In an interview with IGN last year, Howard promised plans to add “a lot of add-on content,” going on to suggest that the team was looking forward to fleshing out Starfield with...

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Remedy Shares Max Payne Remake Update as Tencent Nearly Triples its Investment

In its quarterly earnings presentation, Remedy Entertainment shared an update on its remake of Max Payne 1 and 2, as well as the news that Tencent has nearly tripled its investment in the studio. In a report for shareholders, Remedy announced that Max Payne 1 & 2 remake is expected to move into "full production" during Q2 of 2024 (April through June of 2024). Additionally, Codename Kestrel — Remedy's upcoming multiplayer action game formerly known as Vanguard — is still in the concept stage. Elsewhere, the Control 2 team is finalizing its proof of concept and is expected to advance to the "production readiness stage" during Q2. Codename Condor, a multiplayer game set in the Control universe, is in "the final development stage before...

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Google Play Posts Bizarre Sonic Tribute, Leading Even Sega to Ask 'What Are You Doing'

Google Play recently decided to pay tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog on social media. Reasonable, given that the famous mascot is currently having a bit of a cultural moment. The only problem? Most of it was completely wrong. Over the weekend, Google Play’s X/Twitter account took it upon itself to make an impromptu Sonic The Hedgehog appreciation thread where the chili dog-eating hero gets older the more you scroll through it. But the Google Play’s scrapbook-esque thread's dabbling in historical revisionism of the blue hedgehog would spark a wave of corrections, even prompting Sega's own social media account to ask what was on every Sonic fan’s mind: What are you doing? Google Play’s Sonic-themed thread, which sporadically covers the...

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Todd Howard Seemingly Teasing Two Unannounced Fallout Projects

With the Fallout TV series topping 65 million viewers to become one of the most watched Prime Video shows ever, the pressure is on for more content set in the wasteland, and Bethesda is seemingly ready to oblige. In a new interview with Kinda Funny Games, director Todd Howard appeared to tease two unannounced Fallout projects, saying, "We look at what we are doing with the [Fallout] franchise and then we say do we still feel good about — I can't reveal it now — but here is our runway for Fallout as a franchise." He continued, "When is Season 2 happening. What are we doing on mobile. What are we doing in [Fallout 76]. What are we doing with this thing. What are we doing with this other thing. And when are these landing. And again if...

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Jackbox Is Finally Making an Adult-Themed Party Pack

Jackbox players who are older and have been wishing for an adult-themed Party Pack: your prayers have finally been answered, as Jackbox Games announced at ID@Xbox today that its next party pack is aimed at the older demographic. As the name implies, Jackbox Naughty Pack is the next entry in the party game franchise and is designed specifically for adults. Though there are no details, such as what mini-games would appear in the pack, we do know it is out this year. Jackbox Games has released a new party pack nearly annually since the first installment was released in 2014. Each Party Pack entry consists of five mini-games designed to be played ideally with three or more friends while everyone uses a device with an internet browser...

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Pixar Fest 2024: The Best Merch and Popcorn Buckets at the Big Disneyland Celebration

There's something truly magical about special events at Disney Parks, and one of the most exciting parts is all the new, exclusive merch you can snag up and wear or display with pride. Keeping up with that trend, Pixar Fest has a ton of wonderful options for fans of all ages, and Disney invited me out to Disneyland to check out what guests can expect from the event that has officially started and will run through August 4. While there is a ton to talk about, the popcorn buckets may just be the highlight of all the merch out there. Pixar Fest will allow guests to purchase three buckets - a Coco Guitar, an Alien Pizza Planet Truck, and one modeled after Up's Dug that's exclusive for Magic Key holders - and they are all spectacular. You...

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