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Borderlands 3's campaign is 30 hours if you rush it
Borderlands 3 has all the major pillars of a service game: near-infinite replayability via a huge RPG-and-item grind, co-op online multiplayer, and a sprawling story arc that spreads across multiple locales. Gearbox is going all out on that last front and claims the sequel's campaign will last well over 30 hours.
Gearbox has been working on Borderlands 3 for a long time now, and has one major goal for the sequel: to go bigger, better, and farther than ever before. That includes 1 billion guns, new baddies, fresh characters with new skills and build opportunities, offworld exploration across multiple planets, and a substantial campaign mode. All of this new content will be pretty expansive and makes for a rather long-winded storyline.
According to the devs, Borderlands 3 will last 30 hours if you rush through the quests and missions. For comparison's sake, Borderlands 2's campaign took around 32 hours to beat if you took your time. "If you beeline it through, and I mean beelining it through, it might take you 30 hours to complete the main story," Borderlands 3 creative director Paul Sage told PC Gamer.
Continue reading: Borderlands 3's campaign is 30 hours if you rush it (full post)
New Call of Duty 2019 will be revealed soon
Infinity Ward's new Call of Duty game could get revealed later this month, with a big showcase planned for E3 2019.
Activision typically announces a new Call of Duty game every May or so, and this year should be no different. Company COO Coddy Johnson confirmed Infinity Ward's next Call of Duty shooter would be revealed during Activision's second quarter (from April - June).
"We continue to feel incredibly good about this year's game coming from Infinity Ward. The game's going to be revealed later this quarter. I think it's going to be really clear then why we're really so excited about the release," Johnson said in Activision's Q1'19 earnings call.
Continue reading: New Call of Duty 2019 will be revealed soon (full post)
Diablo 4 could be revealed at Blizzcon 2019
Blizzard is ramping up development on a bunch of new projects, and some of them could be ready for a reveal at Blizzcon 2019.
Blizzard is working on more new games than it ever has before, and some of them include Diablo IV, a possible Overwatch sequel, new IPs alongside mobile games. Diablo IV has already been rebooted once, and sources say it'll resemble Diablo II with a darker thematic scope. But it might be a long ways away and no one's sure when it'll get revealed. Now in a recent earnings call, Blizzard President J. Allen Brack says Blizzard is incredibly eager to show off these new games and teases some big plans for this year's annual Blizzcon event.
"I've said consistently that the Blizzard pipeline is larger and richer than ever before. It includes PC and console releases," Brack said in the call.
Continue reading: Diablo 4 could be revealed at Blizzcon 2019 (full post)
Master Chief Collection on PC has new progression system
Every game in the Master Chief Collection PC's version could have a unified progression system with armor unlocks.
In a recent Halo Waypoint Update, 343 Industries confirmed a new progression system is coming to Halo: Master Chief Collection on PC and consoles. This new feature may employ Halo Reach-level Spartan customization, armor unlocks, level-ups and specific in-game rewards across all of the six Halo games.
The idea is to engage the online community with weekly/daily challenges, an expansive armory system with tons of options, and a linear ranking system with feats and accomplishments tracking.
Continue reading: Master Chief Collection on PC has new progression system (full post)
Activision-Blizzard boosts dev headcount by 20%
Activision-Blizzard is ramping up to make new games and services, and will recruit more developers to fill in this robust pipeline.
Right now Blizzard is working on more new projects than it ever has. After not releasing a new product for years, the studio plans to release a fusillade of new games and content throughout the next year or so. This expansive roadmap includes Diablo IV, possibly a new IP, and mobile ports followed up by expanded updates for existing titles. To bring this new robust pipeline to fruition, the billion-dollar Activision-Blizzard duo are increasing development headcount by 20%.
A few months ago the company fired 800 non-game developers in a big restructuring move. The new business plan sees the publisher focusing strongly on existing, wholly-owned IPs (meaning more sequels are on the way) along with monetization and services.
Continue reading: Activision-Blizzard boosts dev headcount by 20% (full post)
Respawn bans nearly 1 million cheaters from Apex Legends
Apex Legends was home to over 50 million people at one point so it shouldn't come as a surprise when you hear about the ban hammer being used, but developer Respawn has been busier than most developers are banning 770,000 cheaters in total.
Respawn is talking with gamers about what is going on behind the game itself, with Respawn executive producer Drew McCoy penning a recent blog post that talked about cheaters in Apex Legends. He said: "We can't share details on what we're doing so as to not give a head's up to the cheat makers. But what we can say is that we're attacking this from every angle: from improvements in detecting cheaters, to bolstering resources and tools, to improving processes and other sneaky things to combat sellers and cheaters".
Respawn is now showing some of these "high-level stats" on the progress into smoothing things out in Apex Legends when it comes to cheaters. This includes:
Continue reading: Respawn bans nearly 1 million cheaters from Apex Legends (full post)
GTA 6 will reportedly feature multiple big cities
Rockstar is hard at work on the next-gen Grand Theft Auto 6 and while we don't know much about it we do know the developer "has some ideas" about the game and recently there was the mega-hot rumor that Sony paid "big money" be a timed exclusive to the next-gen PlayStation 5 console.
But now there is a new rumor from a purported leak on Pastebin that says that the next-gen GTA 6 will be absolutely huge and will feature "multiple big cities which players can travel across". The game will reportedly see you play a "kind of drug lord" that will start off as a small time player in Liberty City, but you'll work your way up through the ranks and become the drug lord.
The leak says that Rockstar is waiting to see how next-gen console sales go because GTA 6 won't work on the PS4 because of "memory restrictions", a strange part of this leak because Rockstar would be absolutely foolish not to release teh next-generation Grand Theft Auto 6 on previous-gen consoles (as well as the next-gen consoles).
Continue reading: GTA 6 will reportedly feature multiple big cities (full post)
Corsair launches Carbide 175R for just $60, still has RGBs
Corsair has just launched the latest member of its Carbide Series family of cases in the new Carbide 175R RGB that acts as a new entry-level mid-tower chassis that will cost just $60.
The new case has a super-slick clean line design that packs RGB cooling in the front for a bit of style, and an edge-to-edge tempered glass side panel. Not bad considering it costs $60.
There's huge room for high-end water cooling with support for multiple radiators at up to 360mm, as well as the Carbide 175R able to house a huge 6 x 120mm or 4 x 140mm cooling fans inside.
Continue reading: Corsair launches Carbide 175R for just $60, still has RGBs (full post)
Call of Duty sells 300 million copies in 15 years
Billion-dollar franchise Call of Duty has amassed more than 300 million copies sold worldwide, Activision confirms.
Call of Duty is one of the most popular and lucrative entertainment forces on the planet. Now in a recent earnings call, Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick revealed the series has pushed over 300 million sales across its 15 year lifespan.
"Call of Duty recently passed its 15th anniversary and is one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time with cumulative sales exceeding 300 million games," Kotick said.
Continue reading: Call of Duty sells 300 million copies in 15 years (full post)
Secretlab unveil 3 new Game of Thrones-themed gaming chairs
With the final season of Game of Thrones now rolling out fans of the show will be surprised to see that gaming chair company Secretlab have released three new gaming chairs themed absolutely beautifully in Game of Thrones style.
The new chairs come with three houses right now with the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryens. Each chair is individually styled to their respective house, with colors changing between them and styles varying depending on the art used on the chair. Secretlab, as always, has put their heart and soul into these beautiful new Game of Thrones themed gaming chairs.
Secretlab's new Game of Thrones gaming chairs will be available in the OMEGA and TITAN gaming chair lines with the Game of Thrones themed OMEGA costing $389 while the TITAN costs $429.
Continue reading: Secretlab unveil 3 new Game of Thrones-themed gaming chairs (full post)
RAGE 2 system requirements revealed, modest specs required
RAGE 2 is right around the corner with Bethesda releasing the PC system requirements for the game, with the new id Software developed shooter requiring just modest PC hardware.
The game looks bloody good on high-end PCs but you won't need a new GeForce RTX 2080 Ti to play RAGE 2, as id Software requires just an Intel Core i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X processor, 8GB of RAM and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 3GB or AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB graphics card as well as 50GB of HDD space.
Minimum System Requirements:
Continue reading: RAGE 2 system requirements revealed, modest specs required (full post)
Ubisoft rumored to release new game in Tom Clancy franchise
Ubisoft could be getting ready to reveal a new game in the Tom Clancy franchise according to some new rumors and a leaked event, with an invitation for an event called 'Skell Con' planned for May 9.
The new event ties together with the Skell Technology 'civilian drone catalog' video that Ubisoft released late last year, which you can check out above. This teaser directed viewers to the Skell Tech website. Gamers are an inquisitive bunch, with some people finding clues that led them to work out the user namd and password to Skell Tech's website.
Once there, the username 'asantos' and password '10068' worked and resulted in the video from Ubisoft dubbed 'Skell Technology' that is embedded above, but you'll notice it's an unlisted video. The video has a voice over from Jace Skell, the owner of the fictional company that talks about what the world could be like with autonomous machines like drones that will "free mankind of its tedious limitations".
Continue reading: Ubisoft rumored to release new game in Tom Clancy franchise (full post)
Man swallows AirPod, poops it out, still works normally
I still remember my brother and I fighting as kids and being the idiots we were bet each other that who won the fight would eat a single cat biscuit, it wasn't poison or bad for you but we knew it would taste disgusting. Guess who won? Yes, that's right bro it was me (hopefully he reads this). But in reality, it is no Apple freakin' AirPod like a man did in Taiwan.
The Daily Mail reports that Ben Hsu "fell asleep with the pair of wireless headphones still in his ears but woke up unable to find one of them. Using an iPhone tracking feature he discovered the device was still in his room and heard its beeping sound following him around. He said: 'I checked under my blanket and looked around but couldn't find it - then I realised the sound was coming from my stomach'".
Hsu went to the hospital and after an X-ray was told that he did indeed ingest it, and that surgery was an option but the doctors waited and the situation solved itself -- yes, he waited and pooped the Airpod out. After the pooped-out AirPod made its splash down (hopefully not literally) it was cleaned and dried and still worked. Hell, the battery was still at 41% with Hsu saying "it was incredible" and his experience with ingesting and pooping out the AirPod was "magical".
Continue reading: Man swallows AirPod, poops it out, still works normally (full post)
Risk of Rain 2 is a lightning rod of sales
Indie sensation Risk of Rain 2 keeps racking up sales and becomes an early access force of nature.
With its 4-player chaos, insane bosses, roguelike replayability, and intense strategic co-op action, Risk of Rain 2 is one of the most entertaining games of 2019. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so: the game has amassed over 1 million copies sold on Steam while in early access. Hopoo has a bona-fide hit on their hands and the game has earned roughly $20 million in total revenues without even being released yet.
This milestone is tremendous. In just a month's time, Risk of Rain 2 sold as much as the original 2D roguelike Risk of Rain did in 5 years. The last we checked, Risk of Rain 2 sold over 600,000 copies in a single week. Three more weeks brought over 400,000 more sales. Hopoo could keep smashing barriers once it starts rolling out new characters, bosses, items, and maps throughout 2019.
Continue reading: Risk of Rain 2 is a lightning rod of sales (full post)
Making new games is only 1/4th of Activision's future plans
Activision-Blizzard isn't just a games company any more, and hasn't been for a long time. Like most publishers, it's pivoted hard towards the billion-dollar live service market and has become the top games-maker outside of Tencent. While new games are definitely on the way, these fresh titles will act as gateways to more monetization for years to come.
Activision-Blizzard is unlikely to make a new game that doesn't have some sort of online hook, especially if its a first-party IP. The company is forging ahead with its new business model, which puts stronger emphasis on live services and successful, wholly-owned IPs like Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Diablo. Now in its latest Q1 2019 earnings report, the publisher reveals its four-pronged approach to future growth. Making new games is only one part of this plan.
In 2018, the same year it earned $7.5 billion in revenue, the company fired nearly 800 non-game dev employees so it could narrow its focus on a four-pronged plan built around engagement monetization, new games, live operations, and mobile ports. These jobs, mostly in marketing and publishing, were deemed redundant as the publisher ramps up dev on new games, new engagement models, and live services to wrap everything together.
Continue reading: Making new games is only 1/4th of Activision's future plans (full post)
Ryan Reynolds converts himself into Detective Pikachu
Imagine stepping into the shoes of one of the most well-known and famous video game and television series characters, Pikachu. Well, Ryan Reynolds shows us how he goes about doing exactly that!
Ryan Reynolds has released a video onto his personal YouTube Channel showcasing his transformation into the cute yellow Pikachu. The video shows Reynolds applying black dots all over his face using a black stencil, this is one of the many steps to doing motion capture. He then advises fans that if they want to begin the motion capturing process they will need to send a recording of there face to an expensive movie studio to render it.
If you happened to miss the trailer for the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie, check out Mewtwo's twist entry in the second official trailer here. There is also the first trailer that was released back in late February, if you happened to miss that one as well you can check it out here. Detective Pikachu is slated to hit movie theaters around the world on May 10th.
Continue reading: Ryan Reynolds converts himself into Detective Pikachu (full post)
Bayonetta 3 has design changes compared to the first 2 games
Platinum Games are looking at how they develop their titles, and one of their franchises could be subject to massive design changes in its next installment.
That title is none other than Bayonetta 3. Studio head Atsushi Inaba spoke at Osaka revealing some details about the development process Platinum Games are taking with the coming title. According to Inaba, Bayonetta 3 will see a change in its design process which is based on the findings Platinum Games found with the first two games in the series.
Inaba continues and says that these changes that the studio is looking at doing will help establish a "new foundation" for the company as it moves to self-publish their own titles. If you are interested in the two new IP's that Platinum Games has in development, check out a break down of that here. Despite the design changes for Bayonetta 3, Platinum Games said back in September of 2018 that Bayonetta development is "on course", more on that here.
Continue reading: Bayonetta 3 has design changes compared to the first 2 games (full post)
World War Z update roadmap features new missions/zombie/mode
The recently released Saber Interactive title World War Z has seen quite the popularity as of late, now the developer has issued out the DLC road map for the title to see if they can keep players engaged.
World War Z released back at the beginning of April and since then the title has pushed over 250,000 copies just on the Epic Games Store. Now totaling over 1 million copies sold across all platforms Saber Interactive is now working on trying to keep their playerbase stable with post-DLC content.
The roadmap has been released onto the World War Z Twitter account and shows that "In May, a brand-new mission set in Tokyo will drop alongside a terrifying zombie type that spits a deadly virus and can resurrect if not properly dispatched." Following May will be the June update that will bring a "new six-skull difficulty setting with a unique reward, as well as bonus cosmetics and more." July will feature a new "Weekly Challenge mode, plus additional cosmetics and other goodies." To go alongside these updates will be "wave-based survival mode, private lobbies, the ability to switch classes during PvPvZ matches, field of view (FOV) and level of detail sliders on PC, and more".
Continue reading: World War Z update roadmap features new missions/zombie/mode (full post)
Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew dies aged 74
Some quite sad news has come out of the Star Wars universe today as Peter Mayhew, the actor who played legendary Star Wars character Chewbacca has passed away.
Before Mayhew begun his journey as Chewbacca he was a hospital orderly, originally George Lucas picked up Mayhew for his height as he comes in a whopping seven foot three (220cm). After the filming of the movies, Mayhew went back to his life at the hospital and then returned to play the character again in The Empire Strikes Back and then Return of the Jedi.
The last time Mayhew was able to play Chewbacca was in The Force Awakens which is family describes as "he fought his way back from being wheelchair-bound to stand tall and portray Chewbacca once more in Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The Force Awakens was the last performance of Chewbacca Mayhew could do before passing away at his home in Texas at the age of 74. Before Mayhew died he handed the role of Chewbacca onto actor Joonas Suotamo, who is expected to play Chewbacca in the next upcoming Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker.
Continue reading: Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew dies aged 74 (full post)
Sonic The Hedgehog movie director confirms 'Sonic' redesign
The internet has been subjected to quite a divide since the launch of the first Sonic The Hedgehog trailer for the upcoming live-action movie starring Jim Carrey. Fans' cries have not gone unheard as the director for the movie has confirmed Sonic will be redesigned.
There was quite the heavy amount of skepticism since early March for the Sonic live-action movie. Back in early March some 'style guide' images were leaked that showcased the design of Sonic which sparked outrage on the internet for the design of Sonic's legs, arms, hands, eyes and just overall body. Many fans claimed that Sonic looked much too like a hairy human boy and resembled almost nothing like his cartoon design or game character.
These outcries from fans have not gone unheard as the director of the movie, Jeff Fowler has taken to Twitter to say that him and his team have taken the criticism on-board and that changes will be made. Here is what Fowler said: "Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design and you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount and Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be."
Continue reading: Sonic The Hedgehog movie director confirms 'Sonic' redesign (full post)






















