Gaming - Page 450

I first wrote about Scorn way back in 2017. Now after 4 years of development, it looks like the ultra-weird FPS is finally ready for release.

According to a flash mention during Gamescom 2021, Scorn will release sometime in Fall 2021. That's pretty close and it's possible we could see the nightmarish shooter launch near or on Halloween this year.

The developers at Ebb Software haven't given an update on Scorn for a while but the Gamescom reel did a good enough job. Oh, and Scorn will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass on both consoles and PC. Remember, it's an Xbox Series X console exclusive (not coming to PS4, PS5, or Xbox One) but it's also launching on Steam.

UPDATE:New findings confirm the new PS5 model's APU runs cooler than the launch model, and the extra heat output is due to more heat being processed by the smaller heat sink.

Sony's new PlayStation 5 model doesn't just have a better screw to adjust the base--it actually has a different heat sink too.

The new CFI-1100B model PS5 is lighter and cheaper to make than the original model, but according to tech YouTuber Austin Evans, the new PS5 actually runs hotter than the launch edition.

The Last of Us Part II would've been a different game without Infamous Second Son, and might've taken even longer to develop.

Like Microsoft's, Sony's internal teams often collaborate with one another and share vital tips--or even game assets--to save valuable time. That's what happened with Sucker Punch, who shared their own version of a digital Seattle with Naughty Dog in order to help the studio solidify a post-apocalyptic city.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Naughty Dog President Evan Wells revealed the Infamous Second Son was a big help to making their controversial award-winning game.

A post from voice actor Dave Jackson kicks off speculation of a new Grand Theft Auto 6 character, but the reality may be disappointing.

In a recent Facebook post, experienced voice actor Dave Jackson announced he'll be playing "police chief captain McClane in the new Grand Theft Auto series." Jackson is a legitimate voice actor with an expansive portfolio that encompasses commercials, cartoons, and video games.

Gamers think Captain McClane might be an NPC in Grand Theft Auto 6, and while that's possible considering GTA 6 is probably set in Vice City, it's more likely that Jackson's character will be included in a GTA Online expansion.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a system-seller for the Nintendo Switch, where I personally purchased the Switch exclusively for Breath of the Wild and man, was it worth it. But what about at 8K with ray tracing?

Digital Dreams has teased The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at 8K -- so 7680 x 4320, which is orders of magnitude better than the 1152 x 648 that the Switch handheld mode runs the game. That's just 81% of 720p, and 720p is nothing against 4320p.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at not just native 8K but also with ray tracing reshade preset Beyond All Limits. It really does look awesome at 8K 60FPS and with the Beyond All Limits preset installed and makes me want to replay the game on my PC like this, so bad.

Gearbox Software has spent a staggering $158 million to open a third studio in Montreal, Canada where it will focus on Borderlands 4 and new IP development.

Gearbox has made a massive power play to solidify its future. The company is spending $158 million to launch a new Montreal-based studio. To put that investment into perspective, Embracer Group paid $363 million to buy Gearbox in February (with a $1 billion bonus clause). Gearbox also earned roughly $51 million last quarter and made up 12.7% of Embracer's total Q1 2022 revenues.

While Gearbox is technically owned by Embracer, the parent takes a hands-off approach and lets its publishing labels and subsidiaries make their own business models. Saber Interactive, for instance, has made huge acquisitions with the likes of Metro developer 4A Games.

Since Halo Infinite won't be ready until December, Microsoft is celebrating Halo's 20th anniversary with a custom Xbox Series X console...that no one can actually buy.

It's not often that a games franchise stays active for 20 years, so when it happens, it's a big deal (or it should be). Thanks to COVID-19 and "complexities" with development, Halo Infinite won't be a part of the franchise's 20th birthday on November 15. Microsoft is instead releasing a special edition Halo Infinite-themed Xbox Series X that predictably sold out immediately.

Now scalpers have listed the Halo console up on eBay at exorbitant markups. The system retails for $549, or about $50 over standard console MSRP because it includes a copy of Halo Infinite. There's a few listings for $1,000 but there are also a few for around $800.

Halo 3 custom games browser is coming with Master Chief Collection's season 8 update--a move that should prove to be massively popular if gamers don't like Halo Infinite.

If the recent tech test is anything to go by, Halo Infinite will be a total blast. The gunplay is smooth and satisfying and matches are tense and chaotic. Should Infinite's multiplayer falter (maybe because of the controversial shift to challenge-only progression) then gamers should have something really good to fall back on: Halo 3 customs.

Today 343i announced that it will soon start test flighting MCC's season 8 content. This update is absolutely massive for legacy Halo fans and includes a Halo 3 custom games browser. This will add a whole new dimension of engaging gameplay as players jump back in to relive old hilarious maps and gametypes. Halo 3 customs are revered as some of the most enjoyable experiences in Xbox gaming. Right now Halo Reach has a customs browser and I've found a ton of ridiculous gametypes like Fat Kid, Get to the top!, Desert Bus, Jump Rope, and even some great Invasion maps (yes, it is possible to have fun with Invasion).

EA's newly filed patent will reward genuine players with in-game rewards for proving they're human.

EA has outlined a unique non-invasive way to combat bots while also rewarding authentic players at the same time. A new patent aims to create an interactive Captcha where players solve a puzzle or complete an objective to get an item in return--maybe some in-game currency, points, or a special cosmetic skin. In the process EA will learn if they're actually human or not.

Make no mistake: EA loves bots, but only the bots it has made specifically for games. After all, Battlefield 2042 will be populated with AI bots to provide "24/7 Battlefield mayhem",

343 Industries is catching more flak for Halo Infinite, and this time the bruhaha surrounds a controversial change to multiplayer progression.

According to 343i's John Junyszek, Halo Infinite's multiplayer battle pass progression will be locked behind challenges. That means gamers will only earn XP payouts when completing or progressing towards specific in-game challenges, e.g. getting 50 kills with the pistol or 20 back attacks. Bear in mind gamers can only have a set number of challenges activated at once.

The move has divided the Halo faithful. Gamers find the new progression system to be controversial and some say users will play the game differently; instead of playing to win, users will be playing to unlock more XP from challenges.

The Apollo 11 moon landing is one of the greatest achievements humans have ever made, but what if there was a wicked twist after Neil Armstrong put his first foot on the moon?

The launch trailer for "Humankind" shows off this awesome twist as it depicts Neil Armstrong setting down on the moon and walking towards the flag-planting location. Upon reaching the location, he notices a footprint on the moon's surface, only to see another astronaut standing in front of him, but it's an astronaut from Brazil.

The two astronauts duke it out on the moon for the honor of being the first country to plant the flag, only to realize they aren't alone in this quest as astronauts from competing countries proceed to run down a moon hill to join in on the fight for 1st place. The launch trailer for a strategy game called "Humankind" developed by Amplitude Studios, where players will have the opportunity to take their civilizations through the ages of human existence and eventually even reach the moon.

Fallout 76 project lead Jeff Gardiner has left Bethesda Game Studios, and fans wonder where the game will go from here.

Today Bethesda's underdog Fallout live game lost one of its key leaders as Jeff Gardiner departed from the studio. Gardiner had a 15-year run with Bethesda Game Studios and worked on a number of the company's highest profile games including Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 before punctuating his time at BGS with with Fallout 76.

"My time at BGS has come to an end. It has been an amazing ride, from producing the Designers on Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim to Lead Producer of Fallout 4, and finally Project Lead of Fallout 76. I will miss my co-workers and want to thank the amazing fans. Stay tuned," Gardiner announced on Twitter.

Halo Infinite's PC spec requirements just got updated on Steam and they're actually pretty steep.

343i is going all out with Halo Infinite's PC version, complete with 4K 60FPS gaming, FOV sliders, ultra-wide support, and a ton of user settings and tweaks. These optimizations apparently come at a cost and Halo Infinite will have somewhat tough recommended specs on PC.

According to the newly revised Steam spec requirements, the developers want you to have a Radeon RX 5700 XT or an NVIDIA RTX 2070 GPU--both are pretty tough calls given the GPU shortages--alongside an AMD R7 3700X or Intel i7-9700K CPU. There's no spec target outlined but we're guessing the minimum specs are for 1080p (at least we hope so) and the recommended target 1440p and above.

Destiny 2's huge new Witch Queen expansion is the beginning of the end of an epic seven-year saga of lore and conflict.

The Witch Queen is an epoch shift for Destiny 2. The expansion fundamentally changes the live game with a bunch of new features like weapon crafting, a new glaive weapon archetype, and seasonal subclass tweaks. The mindbending Savathun expansion also sets up the beginning of the end of the game's current storyline.

During its big showcase event, Bungie confirmed the Light vs Dark saga would end with the new Final Shape expansion. The current cadence is The Witch Queen (2022), Lightfall (2023), and The Final Shape (2024?).

Death Stranding is a game built on limitations. The new director's cut re-release on PlayStation 5 removes a lot of those limitations and eases the pain of meticulous gameplay.

The quality of life improvements in the new Death Stranding Director's Cut are so good it's almost like playing the original game with cheats. Today at Gamescom, Kojima Productions outlined some of the new major adjustments and tweaks coming to the $50 Death Stranding re-release that will probably irk anyone who beat the game at launch.

As I outlined in our Death Stranding PC review, the game is built on monotony and constantly paying attention to a million little things. Carry weight, not tripping over a rock, carefully balancing on a ladder over a gigantic precipice fall. The new Director's Cut makes things far easier for new players.

Halo Infinite will not release in time to celebrate Halo's 20th anniversary, and Microsoft is instead releasing a custom $549 Xbox Series X instead.

Halo will turn 20 years old on November 15, 2021. Sadly due to coronavirus interruptions and internal development complexities, Halo Infinite won't be ready in time for the big day. Instead, Microsoft is giving fans an opportunity to buy a premium product that will sell out nearly instantly to commemorate two decades of one of gaming's most pivotal shooters.

The new custom Halo Infinite Xbox Series X is priced at $549, or about $50 more than the usual Series X console as it comes with a copy of Halo Infinite. The system is already sold out at retailers like Walmart and has yet to go on sale on sites like Best Buy. Considering base Xbox Series X consoles are still flying off the shelves due to extreme demand, don't expect to actually get one of these snazzy custom consoles.

Each of Halo Infinite's multiplayer seasons will tell a specific story and have a set theme, 343 Industries has confirmed.

Today 343i released a cinematic trailer for Halo Infinite's first multiplayer season. The footage shows the origin story of Academy Commander Agryna, a new Spartan introduced in Halo Infinite that trains recruits in the pre-war simulations division. Like Halo 4's Spartan Ops, it looks like Halo Infinite's multiplayer seasons will also tell the story of a band of new Spartan recruits as they jump into the fray to show a new perspective of the war. Gamers will get to forge their own storyline in a free-to-play environment as Master Chief battles Cortana and the Banished on Zeta Halo.

Like Battlefield 2042, Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer will also tell a story. While specifics are light, 343i has confirmed each multiplayer season will spin its own event arc that somehow ties into the Halo Infinite campaign. The first season, Heroes of Reach, will chronicle the legendary conflict outlined in Bungie's 2010 FPS epic.

Halo Infinite's multiplayer and campaign will launch together on December 8, missing both Xbox's and Halo's big 20th anniversary celebration.

The rumors were right: Halo Infinite will launch in December 8, a month after Call of Duty Vanguard. The news was announced with a multiplayer cinematic trailer, but still haven't shown off any actual new campaign footage of the game. Infinite will also miss Halo's once in a lifetime 20th anniversary on November 15.

343i's Joseph Staten says the team is currently polishing the campaign--maybe we'll get some footage soon? "We're putting our finishing touches on our most wide-open, feature-filled Halo campaign ever, and today I would like to announce that Halo Infinite's campaign and multiplayer will launch together on December 8, 2021,"343i's Joe Staten said.

Blizzard confirms Diablo 2 Resurrected won't get any major new features added from now until launch, and the open beta matches the content found in the final game.

There's bad news for D2R players on consoles: Lobbies and chat rooms won't be in the final game when it launches. In fact, the beta is basically the final version of the game. Blizzard says they aren't adding in any new features outside of bug fixes until after the game's release.

"We've heard the community feedback but with four weeks till launch we're focused on stability and optimizations. No new features till after launch," Diablo head Rod Fergusson said on Twitter.

Horizon Forbidden West has been delayed to February 18, 2022 on both PS4 and PS5, Guerrilla Games has confirmed.

As many expected, Aloy's big ambitious new sequel won't release in 2021 and has been pushed back to early 2022 to give Guerrilla more time to polish the experience. The PS4 port hasn't been cancelled though and Forbidden West is still a cross-gen game on both PS4 and PS5.

"We have entered the final stage of development, but we were a bit uncertain if we would be able to deliver the game with the level of polish and quality that we strive for. It's no surprise that our teams were impacted by the global pandemic, and we've been adjusting to new workflows and other challenges while keeping our teams safe and prioritizing a healthy work life balance," said Horizon Forbidden West game director Mathijs de Jonge.