Gaming News

STALKER 2 Delayed Until End of 2022

STALKER 2 developer GSC Game World has taken the decision to delay the game until later this year. As announced on Twitter, the developer has notified its fans that STALKER 2's new release date has been shifted back to December this year. "We have made a decision to postpone the release of STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl to December 8, 2022," reads a statement from the development team. "These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game. STALKER 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC, and it requires thorough testing and polishing. We are convinced that development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project." The delay to...

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PUBG Going Free-To-Play Is ‘In No Way a Response’ to Fortnite and Apex Legends

PUBG: Battlegrounds' recent decision to make the game free-to-play is "in no way a response" to similar successful free-to-play shooters such as Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, who have all similarly adopted that model. During an interview with GamesRadar, studio creative director Dave Curd discussed its move to a free-to-play structure on PC and consoles from today. "We came to the decision to make PUBG: Battlegrounds free to play because we feel that it is truly the right time," explained Curd. "Our game is in a great place with eight maps, an engaged community, and our deep gun mechanics, so this is the natural next step and a great way to introduce more players to our universe. I know there are a lot of people...

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Titanfall 2 Fans Finally Have a Solution To Its Persistent Online Problems

A fan-made Titanfall 2 mod going by the name of Northstar may finally be the solution that fans have been looking for in order to remedy the game's persistent online problems. As reported by PC Gamer, the Northstar mod was released in December and essentially allows fans to run their own custom servers in Titanfall 2. For the Titanfall community, this is a massive and incredibly important change to the game, as it allows players to bypass Titanfall 2's official servers, and at the same time, its constant issues with DDoS attacks. Similar to other modern shooters, Titanfall 2's official servers use matchmaking playlists that allow players to jump into games with ease. However, vulnerabilities in the game's servers have left them open...

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Aussie Deals: Super Cheap Sackboy, Low Entry LEGO and Monster Hunter Rise Plus a Freebie!

Today we have something of a coda for yesterday's cheap platformer extravaganza. If they're not in your collection already, go score the below copies of LEGO The Hobbit and LEGO DC Super-Villains. Zoning right the hell out as you destroy things and collect the studly rewards within is great for the ol' mental health. Especially if you can enlist somebody for a bit o' co-op. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s our Aussie deals wrangler. You can watch him game on YouTube. Continue reading...

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How Much Dying Light 2 Is Too Much? – Unlocked 526

We have a random assortment of Xbox topics to discuss this week, from Dying Light 2's supposed 500-hour play time, Amazon getting the Fallout TV show off the ground with a big name attached, Xbox Game Pass landing another big third-party game on day one, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our latest IGN Unfiltered interview, where Joseph Staten – one of Halo's original creators and now the head of creative on Halo Infinite – discusses his fascinating career: Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan! For more...

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#SaveRedDeadOnline Is a Cry For Support From Red Dead Online Fans To Rockstar

Fans of Red Dead Online are fed up with Rockstar's seeming inattention of late, and they've been making their feelings known on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit with the hashtag #SaveRedDeadOnline. The hashtag kicked off after Rockstar published an announcement on January 6 about new content coming to Red Dead Online... though most of those using the hashtag would probably hesitate to call it content. The gist of the update is that it increases the rewards for doing a bunch of existing activities in Red Dead Online for a period of time, making it easier to earn gold, experience, items, and other currency. It's all enhancement to stuff that's already there, rather than anything new. An announcement of improved in-game...

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Call of Duty Is Teaming Up With Attack On Titan For a New Event

Attack on Titan and Call of Duty are crossing over for a new item pack that turns you into a member of the infamous Survey Corps in Warzone and Vanguard. The Tracer Pack: Attack on Titan: Levi Edition Bundle includes several new skins for various weapons and more. Chief among them is a new skin for the Daniel Yatsu operator that gives him Levi Ackerman's split hairdo, beige Survey Corps jacket, and white jabot collar. Here's what else is included: A new finishing move, MVP highlight, and highlight intro based on the Survey Corps high-flying aerial slash maneuvers they use against titans. An emblem emblazoned with the Survey Corps wings. Three weapon blueprints: The "Historia," designed for close-range from-the-hip fire, and the...

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LEGO Overwatch 2 Set Delayed Over Workplace Allegations at Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject. LEGO has decided to delay a new Overwatch 2 LEGO set, as the company continues to review its relationship with Activision Blizzard due to misconduct and harassment allegations against the game developer. First reported by The Brick Fan, the Overwatch 2 Titan set was supposed to be released on February 1. Now, LEGO says it will update fans on the partnership once the company comes to a decision. "We are currently reviewing our partnership with Activision Blizzard, given concerns about the progress being made to address...

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Call of Duty Warzone Facing Even More Problems With Invisible Skins

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject. If this headline feels familiar that's because it almost certainly is. Last week we reported that Call of Duty Warzone was facing issues with a skin that was accidentally causing players to turn almost completely invisible. Now, only a week later, players are once again reporting that enemies in the game are disappearing before their eyes. As spotted by VGC, the issue of invisible skins in Call of Duty Warzone appears to have once again returned. Following reports from the community, Raven Associate Community Manager Austin...

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Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection Announced For Nintendo Switch

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection - which includes Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin's Creed Revelations - will be released on Nintendo Switch on February 17, 2022 for $39.99. Switch owners will soon be able to experience the full tale of Ezio Auditore da Firenze in one complete package, and this collection will take "full advantage of the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch, including enhanced features such as Handheld Mode, HD Rumble, Touchscreen Interface, and Optimized HUD." Furthermore, all solo DLC will be available alongside two short films - Assassin's Creed Lineage and Assassin's Creed Embers - that "dive even deeper into Ezio's story." Assassin's Creed: The Ezio...

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Best Webcam 2022

Whether you have a crammed schedule full of video calls or you're starting your first game streaming channel on Twitch or YouTube, a quality webcam is just about as important as having a quality microphone. Presenting a clear picture of yourself is vital to make a strong connection with people on video calls or with an audience while streaming games. The webcams on most gaming laptops generally are the bare minimum of what you can use to get the job done. A dedicated webcam can offer a clear picture with minimal latency, and some even go above and beyond by delivering 60fps or 4K video. We've picked out the best webcams to step up your streaming and video calls, especially if you pair them with a quality microphone for streaming...

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Polish Studio Far From Home Unveils Next-Gen Sci-Fi Survival Game Forever Skies

Two years ago, a group of Polish AAA industry veterans launched a new studio in Wrocław with big ambitions of making next-gen, "AA+" games. Now, Far From Home is ready to unveil its debut project: a sci-fi survival game about climate disaster called Forever Skies. Originally code-named "Project Oxygen," Forever Skies is a first-person, action/survival game that takes place on a ruined Earth years after a massive climate disaster renders it uninhabitable. It's expected to launch on PC in early access later this year, with a next-gen console release to follow. With the announcement, Far From Home shared a teaser trailer for Forever Skies that gives an idea of what players will experience in the post-apocalyptic world. You play as a...

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Days Gone Sequel Would Have Explored a ‘More Technical Direction’

Days Gone game director Jeff Ross has said in a recent interview that a sequel to the game would have moved the series in a "more technical direction" had Sony decided to revisit the franchise for a second time. In a recent interview with USA Today's ForTheWin, Ross spoke further about where he would have taken Days Gone 2, stating that among other aspects he'd have liked to have delved further into the relationship between the series' main protagonist Deacon and his wife Sarah - who for large parts of the first game the player spends time searching for. “Yeah, they’re back together, but maybe they’re not happy,” Ross explains in the interview when talking about the pair. “Well, what can we do with that? Okay, we were married before...

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Warcraft Movie Director Wants To Make a Full Throttle Film

Warcraft director Duncan Jones really wants to make a Full Throttle film. The filmmaker, who also created the modern sci-fi classic, Moon, took to Twitter to remind Disney that he wants to adapt the iconic LucasArts point-and-click adventure game. “If you could all tell [Disney] how much you’d love them to let me make Full Throttle for [Disney+], that would be adorable and I’d be very appreciative,” he said. Full Throttle was originally released in 1995 and tells the story of Ben, the leader of a biker gang who gets caught up in an intriguing conspiracy of murder, mayhem, and motorbikes. It’s a classic of the point-and-click adventure genre, and for many gamers of a certain age, was an introduction to gaming. A recent remake from...

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Rainbow Six Siege Has Changed Creative Director for the Third Time

As Rainbow Six Siege moves towards its seventh year, Ubisoft has announced that new creative director has been appointed. As revealed on Ubisoft's website, the game's current creative director, Leroy Athanassoff, will be leaving Siege to work on other Ubisoft-made games projects. Siege's art director, Alexander Karpazis, will step up to fill the role. This change in staff marks the third time that the game has introduced a new creative director over its almost seven year lifespan. In light of his departure, Athanassoff spoke briefly about his decision to leave the position. "I wanted to let you know that due to personal reasons, I will be leaving my role of Creative Director on Siege to pursue other opportunities at Ubisoft," said...

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A Fix for Halo Infinite’s Big Team Battle Matchmaking Bug Is on the Way

A fix for Halo Infinite's Big Team Battle matchmaking bug is on the way, says developer 343 Industries. In a post-holiday update post, Halo Infinite's Community Director, Brian Jarrard, has stated that the team has been continuing to work on a fix for the game's Big Team Battle bug that has been affecting matchmaking in the game. "As you know, we’ve been dealing with some frustrating issues with BTB nearly since launch and despite a few attempts at solving and mitigating before the holiday break, we were not able to get this fixed," explained Jarrard in the post. "While BTB has remained playable, there are matchmaking issues that increase with more players and larger fireteams have a low chance of successfully joining into a game...

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Aussie Deals: Price Stomped Platformers, Low Monies MK 11 Ultimate and More!

For no particular reason at all, a whole bunch of platformers are on sale today. Is it National Kleptomania Day or some sort of Shin Splints Awareness Week? No idea. Just double-jump in and start collecting these in your cart, like so many crates/coins/studs. Shallow end of the genre difficulty pool is that Spyro Trilogy on Switch. The confidence-shredding deep end is Super Meat Boy on Steam. Enjoy! Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s our Aussie deals wrangler. You can watch him game on YouTube. Continue reading...

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Netflix Is Moving Into Games In a Very Smart Way, Phil Spencer Says

Phil Spencer thinks Netflix is smart for leveraging its successful streaming business and jumping into video games. In an interview with Kara Swisher for the New York Times’ Sway podcast, Spencer spoke more in-depth at video games’ continued growth and how it’s oftentimes a trendsetter for tech companies. Including how some tech companies look to games for inspiration. Take Netflix, for example, which announced it’s making steady inroads into games first by including mobile games in with existing Netflix subscriptions, and then by acquiring critically-acclaimed studios like Nightschool. Spencer believes this is the right approach for the streaming giant. “I think it’s smart what [Netflix is] doing,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer says...

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Best Laptop for Video Editing 2022

It takes time to create a stunning video. From the first brainstorming session to scriptwriting, to actually filming – it's a lot of work. The last thing you want to do at the end of an edit session is to wait for your work to be rendered and ready to share with the world. A speedy laptop for video editing is about more than just the latest processor. You'll also want a powerful GPU to speed up exporting, but often that means you'll give up some portability. Although, that's not always the case, as you'll see below. The spec sheet of most video editing laptops reads a lot like a gaming laptop, with color-tuned displays, RTX 20-series GPUs, and cooling systems to ensure everything keeps running. But that's necessarily a bad thing...

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Rockstar Parent Company Wants Zynga to Turn Its Biggest Series Into Mobile Games

Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two just bought Zynga in a practically unprecedented $12.7 billion deal, and part of the reasoning is that it wants the opportunity to bring some of its biggest console and PC game properties to mobile. In an investor presentation following the announcement of the deal, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick discussed the deal and presented a slideshow to investors. Under a slide titled, 'Product Portfolios are Highly Complementary', Take-Two shows how the company's respective games and studios can be used in tandem. Of particular interest to many fans will be the line-up of Take-Two games, with the likes of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, BioShock and Mafia listed alongside a caption reading...

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Elden Ring Is Now Steam's Most-Wishlisted Game

From Software's upcoming action-RPG Elden Ring has begun 2022 with a flourish by becoming Steam's most-wishlisted game. As spotted by Eurogamer, Elden Ring, which is directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and includes world-building elements by Game of Thrones novelist George R. R. Martin, has become Steam's most wanted upcoming release. Slated for release on February 25, Elden Ring's move to the top of the Steam wishlist rankings ends a 12-month unbeaten streak from Techland's Dying Light 2: Stay Human, which maintained pole position throughout the entirety of 2021. Other notable entries on the list include Recreate Games' multiplayer physics brawler Party Animals, the PC release for Santa Monica Studios' God of War, and FNTASTIC's...

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Best 2-in-1 Detachable Laptops 2022

The many affordable tablets on the market can be handy when you just want a lightweight device to take with you on the go but also want an extra-large screen to enjoy media on. Unfortunately, standalone tablets just don't tend to have the same productivity chops of proper laptops, especially since they tend to lack a keyboard and many of the ports of a laptop. But, 2-in-1 detachable laptops offer the best of both worlds. With a 2-in-1 detachable laptop, you're getting all your computing hardware packaged into the form factor of a tablet, and you can get a seamlessly designed keyboard dock that turns the device into a fully functioning laptop. Better yet, by making your laptop and tablet one and the same device, you won't have to deal...

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Elden Ring's Character Creator Has Leaked And Fans Love How In-Depth It Is

Footage of the Elden Ring character creator has leaked, and fans are pleasantly surprised to find it's a much more in-depth system than that featured in Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Leaked by YouTuber ER-SA, the character creator allows for the making of much more natural looking human characters than FromSoftware's previous games. Part of that comes from the graphical fidelity of Elden Ring; while arguably not quite on par with the PS5 Demon's Souls remake, the characters are far more comparable, and of a significantly higher quality than those seen in Dark Souls 3 or Bloodborne. A comparison between recent FromSoft character creation results was posted to Twitter by fan SkeleMann: Additionally, a number of slider options allow a...

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Aussie Deals: Epic Switch Starter Pack, Cheap PS/PC Peripherals and More!

Today feels like a week to stay off the grid and catch up on your escapism. Blowing stuff up stylishly is always a good time, which is why I've recommended 80% off bargains like Just Cause 4 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. This is also a good day to cheaply replace a mouse/controller that didn't survive your last ragequit. No judgment there. Happens to the best of us. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s playing 3 copies of Yooka-Laylee on 3 TVs with his kids. He's also on YouTube. Continue reading...

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Dying Light 2 Will Take 'At Least 500 Hours' to Fully Complete

Those who are looking to purchase Dying Light 2 on February 4, 2022, and beyond will be happy (or terrified) to know that developer Techland has confirmed it will take "at least 500 hours" to fully complete the game. Techland shared the news on Dying Light's Twitter, saying that the sequel to its 2015 first-person zombie action survival horror game is "almost as long as it would take to walk from Warsaw to Madrid." For those wondering, that walk would take around 534 hours. This news took the internet by storm and there were those who felt that 500 hours was a bit of a daunting mission to undertake. Techland quickly put those fears to rest by saying that the enormous amount of time to reach 100% was reached by doing literally...

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Mario Kart 9 Is Reportedly In Development, 'With a New Twist' - IGN Daily Fix

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, According to an industry analyst, Mario Kart 9 is currently in "active development", will have a new racing twist, and could be teased this year. The speculation surrounding the game comes from Tokyo-based industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, who when writing his predictions for the upcoming year for Gamesindustry.biz, said that a new entry in the beloved racing series is on the way. The ESA has canceled its in-person event for E3 2022, according to a statement shared with IGN by the ESA. But, while they point to upcoming announcements, the future of the show this year and beyond remains unclear. The moderation team behind Battlefield 2042's subreddit has warned fans that they will not hesitate to shut down...

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What to Expect From Star Wars in 2022: The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and More

Boba Fett leads an impressive slate of new Star Wars projects fans can expect in 2022! From misfit stormtroopers to a whole bunch of Mandalorians to the return of The Chosen One himself, Star Wars is adding to the canon in a major way in 2022, even with no new movies on the docket. Here’s a breakdown of all the streaming shows, video games, novels, comics and theme park attractions to look forward to. Grab those quadnoculars and stare straight into the binary sunset. The Book of Boba Fett (December 29) Are you ready for new Boba Fett adventures? We are too, kid! So it’s probably a good thing that the Book of Boba Fett is first on deck to kick off the new year. Premiering on December 29th, the 7-episode season will follow Boba Fett...

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Days Gone Director Says Shawn Layden's Departure Killed Chances for Sequel

Despite a relatively well-received run of games from 1999 to 2007, the Syphon Filter series has seemingly vanished, with no reboot in sight. But Sony appears to have had one on the mind recently, and even pitched it as a project for one of its studios: Bend, which made Days Gone. On a stream yesterday with Twisted Metal director David Jaffe, former Bend Studio director and writer John Garvin and game director Jeff Ross talked about Bend's struggle to get a green light for a Days Gone sequel as the studio's next project. While former Sony head Shawn Layden had apparently championed the game, Ross said that "as soon as Shawn was gone, Days Gone was dead." "It was very obvious that we shouldn’t be talking about Days Gone while we were...

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Forspoken: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Forspoken is set to release for PS5 and PC on May 24. It stars Frey, a young woman in modern-day New York who finds herself transported to Athia, a land of magic and danger. Accompanied by a talking bracelet that has appeared on her arm, she sets off on a journey to find her way back home. You can preorder Forspoken right now from a variety of retailers. It's available in two editions and, depending on where you get it, you may get a preorder bonus. We have all the details about all of that below. Let’s get to it. Preorder Forspoken PS5 Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 Get it at GameStop - $69.99 Get it on PS Store (digital) - $69.99 PC Get it on GMG (DRM: Steam) - $69.99 Get it on EGS - $69.99 Get it on...

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The Next South Park Game Has Got a Very Interesting Choice of Developer

Question Games – which was founded in part by ex-BioShock developers who went on to create The Magic Circle and The Blackout Club – is working on a new South Park game. As spotted by Eurogamer, Question has posted a job advert for a lead level designer to help make "a new video game set in the world of South Park." It's not clear if this is to assist on the South Park game previously announced to be in development at South Park Studios, or is a separate game entirely. We've contacted South Park Studios and Question for comment. Question is an interesting match for the long-running comedy show – aside from its developers' history on beloved games including Thief, BioShock, and the most recent South Park RPGs, the studio's own Magic...

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