Gaming News

Aussie Deals: Score a Bunch of 2021 GOTY Contenders for Dirt Cheap!

Today you're getting a side order recommendation with my usual main serving of tasty discounts. I want to throw a quick spotlight on the "PlayStation to Plate" initiative. Basically, PlayStation AU has teamed up with restaurateurs Bistro Morgan, Mary's and The Italian Bowl to recreate iconic in-games dishes you can order via Deliveroo. As per usual, I only recommend quality items in these columns—I've sampled all three dishes myself. I say: ate out of 10, would mung again. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam's an Aussie deals wrangler who absolutely rift apart the Ratchet themed dessert. He's @Grizwords. Continue reading...

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Raven Software Walkout Over Recent Layoffs Gains Support From Blizzard and Other Activision Employees

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. On Monday, December 6, members of the Raven Software QA team announced it will hold a walkout to protest the layoffs of over a dozen QA contractors working on Call of Duty games like Vanguard and Warzone. The walkout has now garnered the support of the wider Activision Blizzard companies with walkouts from ABK employees in Texas, Minnesota, and California joining in. According to the ABetterABK employee group, quality assurance testers in Texas, Minnesota, and Blizzard’s Irvine headquarters will join Raven Software employees...

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PSA: Halo Infinite Campaign Download Requires a Separate 4GB Patch First

Are you having trouble installing the Halo Infinite Campaign? You may have to troubleshoot a bit to get it up and running including resetting your system and installing an update for the Halo Infinite multiplayer first. As players wake up to get started on the Halo Infinite campaign, some are encountering issues where either the campaign update is downloading slowly, or the Xbox app doesn't seem to recognize the campaign is live yet. Some players have encountered a pre-order banner when launching the campaign when it should be already available. According to users online and verified by IGN staff, there are a couple of ways to fix these issues. First, on the matter of slow downloads through the title screen, Halo senior designer on...

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God of War PC Specs Revealed, and Horizon Zero Dawn Adds a New PC Feature

God of War developer Sony Santa Monica has revealed the game's specs ahead of its move to PC while Nvidia has announced that Horizon: Zero Dawn's PC edition is also getting a new feature today. The PC specs for God of War have been released by Sony Santa Monica prior to the game's Steam launch on January 14, 2022. As per the specs detailed below, to run the game at its minimum requirements of 720p resolution at 30FPS, players will need to be packing an Nvidia GTX 960 or AMD R9 290X alongside an Intel i5 processor (or equivalent) and 8GB ram. The game itself will require around 70GB of free space which can be installed on a standard hard drive, though it's recommended that players run the game via a solid-state drive (SSD) even at...

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Blizzard Employee Holds Public Press Conference Detailing Experience With Harassment and 'Alcohol-Soaked Culture'

Attorney Lisa Bloom and Christine, a current Blizzard employee, held a press conference outside of Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, California today to share her story about the “alcohol-soaked culture of sexual harassment” at the company. Christine appeared in front of a crowd in front of Blizzard’s headquarters today to describe her experience at the company she’s been with for the past four years. Christine spoke about her elation when she was first hired and how it turned to horror as she became subject to repeated sexual advances and comments. She also says a supervisor propositioned her for sex. After making a complaint, Christine described encountering retaliation from the company including receiving a demotion and denying...

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World War 3: Closed Beta Impressions

As modern tactical military shooters go, World War 3, currently in closed beta, does a fair amount right. It captures fast-paced, tactical combat in contemporary settings well and spices it up a bit with inventive gadgets and a ridiculous amount of customization options. But the work it takes to indulge in all that excess doesn’t feel worth it, and at this stage in development, it’s been rough to even connect to a game long enough to put any in. World War 3 looks impressive. The small details in places like soldier uniforms really blew my mind. I can’t speak to its accuracy, but the micro-accessories that spot your gear appear exactly like the real-world counterparts to my untrained eyes. Not much about it, be it the gear or the...

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Halo Infinite's Open World Was Reportedly Cut Down From a Zelda-Like Size

Halo Infinite's open world was reportedly cut down from a scale similar to that of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, to what it is today. Apparently, almost two-thirds of the planned game was chosen to be cut in in the move. According to a report on the game's development by Bloomberg, 343 decided to drastically slash the game's open-world map in 2019 as it attempted to stabilize the direction that game was heading. Reportedly, by the summer of 2019, Halo Infinite had hit a number of issues. As per the report, the studio took the decision to cut almost two-thirds of the entire planned game in an effort to streamline production. As part of this decision, the outlet notes that the game's open world was significantly scaled down...

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Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Is Up for Preorder

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is slated to release for PS5 on January 28, 2022, with a PC release to follow sometime in 2022. Legacy of Thieves Collection includes remastered versions of the PS4 games Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. If you already own either of those games, you can upgrade to a digital version of this collection for $10. Let’s dive into the details. Preorder Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection Get it at Best Buy - $49.99 Get it at Walmart - $49.99 Get it at PlayStation Store (digital) - $49.99 Those who want a physical copy of the game, or a full-priced digital copy, can preorder at the links above. How to Upgrade to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection Let’s say you...

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Halo Infinite: Memory Agent Is a Spotify-Exclusive Narrative Podcast That's Out Now

Xbox has released a Spotify-exclusive narrative podcast called Halo Infinite: Memory Agent - a new story that follows a secret agent from the Office of Naval Intelligence as she attempts to deliver vital information to Master Chief. While this mission would be dangerous enough if everything was perfect, this agent suffers from a condition that resets her memory every seven hours. Luckily, she won't be alone as she will have the help of an AI companion and "battlefield reports of others who have encountered the legendary hero." Throughout the six-episode series, she will not only learn more about her past and that of Master Chief, but she will also piece together "just how important her task may be." Each episode ranges from 8-11...

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GTA Online Is Getting a Franklin Story Expansion, Set Years After GTA 5

Rockstar has announced that GTA Online will be receiving a story-focused expansion, 'The Contract', featuring GTA V character Franklin, and set years after the events of the game's single-player campaign. Due for release on December 15, the story will focus on Franklin working in his new "celebrity solutions agency", and will feature Dr. Dre, who has composed new music for the game. Announced on the Rockstar Newswire, the expansion (which, like all GTA Online updates, will be free) introduces F. Clinton and Partner, an agency that offers 'solutions' to the problems of Los Santos' elite. Your GTA Online character will meet Franklin through Lamar Davis, and will be tasked with taking the business to the next level. As part of that...

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You Can't Preload Halo Infinite's Campaign, But It'll Be a Shorter Download If You Already Have Multiplayer

343 Industries has revealed that fans won't be able to preload the Halo Infinite's campaign ahead of its release today. While the announcement is likely to disappoint those hoping to delve into the campaign as soon as possible, the studio has stated that players who've already downloaded the game's multiplayer beta will find that their overall download time for the game is significantly reduced. News of the announcement was shared on Twitter where Halo Support confirmed that players who have pre-installed the beta will have a far shorter wait in order to fully install the game. While the account does note that download sizes may vary depending on the platform players are using, a rough guide can be found in the tweet below. As can...

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Halo Infinite Review Discussion (No Spoilers!) – Unlocked 523

This week's episode is all about Halo Infinite (read the spoiler-free review if you haven't already). We can FINALLY talk about it now that the review embargo has lifted. We discuss everything we did and didn't like about Master Chief's glorious return,. but don't worry – this conversation is spoiler-free. We'll do a full Halo Infinite spoilercast on next week's episode. 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...

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Fortnite Is Officially Moving to Unreal Engine 5

As part of the start of Fortnite Chapter 3, Epic Games has announced that Fortnite development has shifted to Unreal Engine 5, the latest version of the company's graphic technology. Last year, after the gorgeous Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said Fortnite would make the shift to Unreal Engine 5 in mid-2021, adding that the new version is meant “to do things that are absolutely not possible today.” Earlier this year, Unreal Engine 5 was officially released in Early Access, letting game devs test out the new tools and features in the next-gen engine. More Unreal Engine 5 tech demos and projects are already starting to crop up. Major studios like Gears of War team The Coalition have begun...

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Destiny 2 Is Getting Halo-Themed Weapons for Bungie's 30th Anniversary

Bungie’s 30th-anniversary celebration is live and, as fans guessed, Halo-themed items are coming to Destiny 2 including weapons based on Halo weapons like the Battle Rifle and Energy Sword. When Bungie announced its 30th-anniversary celebration, the company revealed it will be celebrating all of its past with items inspired by classic Bungie games like Marathon. But the biggest Bungie series of them all, Halo, was not mentioned. Still, fans expected Bungie would honor this part of the company’s history, and today the company has. The Halo weapons and cosmetics in Destiny 2 have different names. For example, the magnum is called Forerunner Exotic Sidearm or the BxR-55 Battler in the case of the Battle Rifle. These 7 weapons are...

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Aussie Deals: Console Versions of Battlefield 2042, Far Cry 6, Back 4 Blood Chopped by Over 50%

Today is all about getting the biggest shooters of 2021 into your collection for way less. Fair warning: I personally reckon the latest Battlefield needs some serious patching, but the Portal mode does offer a greatest hits mix of the best BFs of yore. What about Far Cry 6 and Back 4 Blood? They're damn solid choices if you dig co-op. At these prices, you can effectively buy two for the price of the original RRP, to make your teamwork dreams work. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam's an Aussie deals hound who can't wait for the next Horizon. He's @Grizwords. Continue reading...

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First Full Trailer for Halo Will Premiere at The Game Awards

The Game Awards won't exclusively focus on big game awards and reveals, as host Geoff Keighley has revealed that the first trailer for the long-awaited Halo TV series will be shown off during the event. It will continue what's already a huge week for the Halo franchise, with the release of Halo Infinite's campaign happening tomorrow. To teased the event, Keighley posted a quick video showing UNSC soldiers and Marines running through a hangar, with iconic Halo vehicles like Warthogs and Pelicans shown in the background. Get a quick look at the footage below. The show is set to debut on Paramount Plus next year, and we already know much of the cast. Pablo Schreiber will star as Master Chief, with Danny Sapani and Olive Gray set to...

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Amazon Server Outage Causing Login Problems For League of Legends, PUBG, And Other Major Games

Amazon Web Services [AWS] has been suffering outages for much of the day, impacting many of the most popular multiplayer games. League of Legends, Valorant, and PUBG are some of the games impacted by the downtime today. New World's US East server is currently down. The issues are preventing players from logging in to these games, with Uplay and the Epic Games Store also affected. Amazon says that it has identified the root cause of the problem and is seeking solutions that will mitigate the downtime, but does not yet have an ETA for a full recovery. "We continue to work toward mitigation, and are actively working on a number of different mitigation and resolution actions. While we have observed some early signs of recovery, we...

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Seven Things You Need to Know About Frontier Pilot Simulator

Frontier Pilot Simulator lets you live out your fantasies of working as an up-and-coming cargo pilot transporting goods across an alien world. But the life of a space trucker isn’t easy. The development team over at RAZAR will test your mettle and push your frontier skills to the limit. Those who manage to persevere will experience an emergent, mission-driven story and a real-time economy with free flight and trading. Got your attention? Then buckle up and get ready to lift off -- here’s seven things you need to know about Frontier Pilot Simulator. Choose Your Ride So what will you be piloting, exactly? Currently in Frontier Pilot Simulator you can choose from three detailed vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, aircraft. There’s...

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Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's First DLC Character Is Garfield

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is about to develop a love for lasagna and a hatred of Mondays. IGN can exclusively reveal that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's first free DLC character will be Garfield, the memetic orange cat originally created by Jim Davis. Developer Ludosity released a trailer this morning showing some of Garfield's moves, which include a brief cameo by his teddy bear, Pooky. It shows off some of his new moves as he bounds about and engages the rest of All-Star Brawl's cast, making the famously lazy orange cat seem far more energetic than usual. Garfield joins a cast that includes Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob Squarepants, and other Nickelodeon mainstays. While Garfield began life in a comic strip, he's most famous for his...

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Ubisoft Announces Quartz, a Blockchain-Powered NFT Cosmetics System

Ubisoft has announced its first foray into the world of blockchain technology and NFTs. Called Ubisoft Quartz, it will offer limited-edition cosmetic items for Ubisoft games that can then be re-sold on third-party marketplaces for cryptocurrency. It will launch in beta on December 9, starting with items for Ghost Recon Breakpoint. The NFT items that Ubisoft Quartz offers are called Digits, and each is a limited edition, in-game cosmetic item. Every Digit is made ‘unique’ by a serial number that will be visible on the item. For example, a rifle may have its number on the magazine, or a helmet could be ‘engraved’ across the rim. Furthermore, embedded in the Digit’s metadata is your Ubisoft Connect username. As a Digit is sold to new...

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Ubisoft Could Reconsider Its New NFTs If Environmental Impacts Aren't Solved

Ubisoft has today announced Ubisoft Quartz, its first blockchain-powered NFT system. But while NFTs are a source of excitement for some, many are concerned about their environmental impact due to the energy consumption they require. Ubisoft says that it has chosen an energy efficient system for Quartz, but has told IGN that it will reconsider the project if the blockchain ecosystem proves to be unsustainable. Talking to IGN ahead of the Ubisoft Quartz announcement, Nicolas Pouard, VP of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab, said: “That’s a first step for us. If we see [blockchain technology] cannot go [more energy efficient], if it’s not sustainable, of course, we will think again of what we are doing. But for now, on the technology we...

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Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection Arrives on PS5 in January and PC Later

Sony has announced that Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will launch for PlayStation 5 on January 28, 2022, and at a later date for PC on both Steam and Epic Games Store. The collection will include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will have a variety of graphical updates, including Fidelity Mode for those who want to play the game on a 4k display with a 30FPS target framerate. The high framerate patch from the PS4 versions of the game makes a return as well, which targets 60FPS. Players who have a compatible 120hz display will be able to play in Performance+ Mode, which targets 120fps at a 1080p resolution. As for PS5 features, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves...

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Game Developer Accuses Real-Life Weapons Manufacturer of Stealing Its Gun Design... Twice

The developers at indie studio Ward B really like designing fictional guns. The small team has been posting highly detailed weapon designs for its in-development game, Oceanic, since 2019. Crucial to the team’s work – and the small following around Oceanic’s development – is that while the weapons in question are meant to reflect tech created 200 years in the future, they must look like they could feasibly work in reality. “We're looking to have them very, very scientifically explainable,” CEO Marcellino Sauceda tells me. “There's actually a few weapons we ended up scrapping and not putting in the game because there were design flaws that we weren't too happy with in the end.” In fact, Ward B’s commitment to believability was so...

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Halo Infinite Won't Let You Replay Campaign Missions, Breaking With Series Tradition

In a move breaking with longstanding series tradition, Halo Infinite's campaign won't let you replay its story missions - meaning that the only way to do so would be to access them again through a different save file. In a statement issued by Microsoft to Polygon, the company confirmed that story missions in the game can't be replayed once completed. The change comes in stark contrast to previous Halo games, which have traditionally allowed players to replay missions through a dedicated menu system. "The postgame does give you the option to keep exploring the wider environment, but for missions like the first two, where you're not on the ring yet, you can't replay from the same save file," Microsoft clarified. "You'd be able to get...

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Best RAM 2021

There are so many PC parts to think about when you're building or upgrading your gaming PC, and amid that mountain of specs, few parts are more puzzling than memory (or RAM). At the baseline, it may seem simple, as there's the RAM's capacity to think about, with 8GB to 16GB generally being acceptable for mid- to high-end systems. But, once you start digging deeper, RAM gets astoundingly complex. Beyond the capacity, you'll have to consider things like whether you want to take advantage of dual- or quad-channel memory, the memory speed you want to run at (yes, RAM has a clock speed much like a CPU), and perhaps the even more complicated CAS latency and memory timings. All of these things will vary between different memory kits, so you...

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People are Praising Spider-Man in Fortnite, Especially the Web-Slinging

Spider-Man has officially joined Fortnite Chapter 2 and people have been impressed at how smoothly Spider-Man swings around with his webs. The friendly neighborhood superhero was introduced into Fortnite this past weekend as the game transitioned to Chapter 3, Season 1. New, Spider-Man-specific mechanics were introduced where players can now slide and even swing to imitate Spider-Man's movements. As you can see from the clip below, Peter Parker's webs attach to buildings rather than just magically sticking to some nebulous spot in the air, providing a more realistic depiction of traversal. There's a real sense of height that makes the web-swinging feel thrilling. Additionally, the momentum and direction at which he swings look...

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John Wick Creator Working on Battle Chasers TV Series

After a 20-year hiatus from the last issue of the comic book series, Battle Chasers is making its long-awaited return with new chapters of the comic, as well as a new, live-action TV series. Deadline has revealed that John Wick creator Derek Kolstad is working on a new Battle Chasers TV show for Alcon Entertainment. “As a storyteller — as well as a super fan of unapologetic and unrelenting action — I can’t wait for people to feel as giddy as I did when I first laid eyes on Battle Chasers,” he said. “The world which Joe has created here, coupled with the characters therein, is both unique and yet familiar. Adapting this for the small screen is gonna’ be a jon.” The new series is being written by Kolstad and will be based on the...

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What Do The Game Awards Look Like in the Metaverse?

What does it mean to hold gaming's biggest annual awards show in the metaverse? That's a question Geoff Keighley has been puzzling over since 2019 when he partnered with JJ Abrams to tease a new Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker clip at The Game Awards. This clip then debuted within Fortnite just two days after. Keighley says it was "really powerful" to go from The Game Awards backstage to the Fortnite live event with millions of people gathered online in-game to watch the clip. He recalls a moment before the clip went live when the event was delayed for a moment to give more people a chance to join in. While they were waiting, someone on the Fortnite side suggested he speak to everyone. "I talked into this mic and suddenly ten million...

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The Best Gaming Performances of 2021

A good story can make or break a game, and quality performances are essential to turning those words on the page into scenes that carry weight and emotion. After all, the best script in the world isn't worth much if it's delivered with all the charisma of a rock. That is, unless a rock is what you're going for – looking at you Drax. These are the best gaming performances of 2021: Jason E. Kelley (Colt Vahn - Deathloop) The amnesiac protagonist is a well-worn trope, but Deathloop puts a wonderful spin on it with Colt Vahn, voiced pitch-perfectly by Jason E. Kelley. Much of Colt’s appeal comes from his bewildered, colourful language as he attempts to find out who he is and what he must do. Kelley adds a brilliantly funny edge to each...

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The Best Racing Game of 2021

2021 was one of the best years for racing games in recent memory. Two long-running series put out two of their best entries yet, while two unconventional racers surprised us with their frenetic fun. These are our picks for the best racing games of 2021. F1 2021 It’s a fascinating fluke that Codemasters’ first true attempt at infusing its annual F1 franchise with a full story mode coincided with the most dramatic real-life F1 season in years, but F1 2021’s new ‘Braking Point’ saga ushered in a brand new way to play what’s still the strongest simulation package of a single motorsport on the market. The series debut on current-gen consoles, F1 2021 is also the best the series has ever looked – and the ability to adjust individual...

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