Gaming - Page 689

In the wake of recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Washington has once again taken aim at violent video games, especially first-person shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Rainbow Six.

Despite multiple studies showing violent video games don't lead to real-world violence, U.S. President Donald Trump and other politicians call for tighter control and regulation on visceral interactive media.

"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a recent address to the nation. "It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this and it has to begin immediately. We have to seek real bi-partisan solutions."

Halo: Infinite will look and play best on Project Scarlett and PC, 343 Industries says, and we'll see some 'special tricks' being used on the enthusiast platforms.

In a recent interview with YouTuber Blackmist523, 343i exec Frank O'Connor says that Halo 6 (aka Halo: Infinite) is aiming at powerful hardware and will be optimized for Scarlett and PC.

"Obviously the special citizen will be Scarlett and we've worked with that hardware team to make sure the game shows up amazingly on it. We work with them to make sure that we know how to make the game look amazing on it. It will also look incredible on Xbox One. And it will also be for PC for the first time, day and day so that's exciting for us too.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare progression and saves may not migrate across multiple platforms at release.

One of Modern Warfare's biggest features is cross-play. Gamers across PS4, Xbox One, and PC will be able to play together right at launch, which is absolutely huge for engagement levels. But there's one potential fly in the ointment: saves may not freely transfer and may be bound to a specific platform or account. This means your multiplayer progress and campaign saves may be locked to each individual platform--get to max rank in PS4 and you may have to start from scratch on PC.

Cross-play is no small feat and Infinity Ward is still busily working on the intricate logistics of gaming's Big Three playing together. Cross-saves are still in the works too, but haven't been explicitly confirmed by the studio. When asked about cross-platform progression, Modern Warfare multiplayer designer Joe Cecot said: "Still figuring this out. More info to come in the future!"

Notorious for gaming the system, billion-dollar publishers like Activision-Blizzard have a new trend to thwart microtransaction scrutiny: delay them post-release.

Pretty much every big game nowadays has microtransactions--especially ones from EA, Activision-Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive. Despite this knowledge (something I continually warn gamers of), publishers like to obfuscate info by promising free updates and content. But they don't always relay the price of the content, and are starting to use bait-and-switch tactics to avoid release controversy.

A recent Jimquisition video reminded me of this tactic, and Sterling does a good job articulating what's happening. The whole idea is to set the stage for monetization at release, but only launch microtransactions post-launch. That way reviewers won't remark on it in their reviews, which can make or break a game. The reviews leading up to release are critical for a game's sales. Nobody wants another Battlefront II lootbox fiasco on their hands.

The Entertainment Software Association accidentally doxxed over 2,000 games journalists.

The ESA just messed up big time. The company, which puts on the annual E3 show every year, was responsible for a mass leaking of key games media. The ESA accidentally published a document listing contact info of some 2,000 registered media. The information, which included personal mobile numbers and addresses of journalists, was made public and freely available on the E3 Expo website. This huge breach in trust in one of the tightest-knit industries on the planet could be a killing blow to E3.

With big players like Sony and EA missing E3, the trade show is already on shaky ground. Journalists are already pushed away now that E3 is open to the public. The jeopardization of their personal info is pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back, and the ESA will likely see far less media registration for E3 2020, a critical event that sets the stage for the next-gen console generation.

League of Legends developer Riot Games is cooking up their very own fighting game that will soon hit the scene. The news was confirmed at this years EVO and marks the first game outside of League of Legends for Riot.

EVO, the biggest fighting game tournament in the world is currently being held in Las Vegas and during the many streams Riot Employee and EVO founder, Tom Cannon took to stream to reveal some news. According to Cannon, he can confirm what has been called the "worst kept secret in the universe", that Riot Games is currently working on their very own fighting game that will no doubt be set in the universe of League of Legends. While Riot Games hasn't officially confirmed it will be within the universe of League of Legends, its hard to believe that it won't be.

A quick history lesson, back in 2011 Tom Cannon and his brother Tony created their own development studio called Radiant Entertainment and developed a game called Rising Thunder. In 2016, Riot Games decided to acquire Radiant Entertainment and since then it has been assumed that they have been working on this untitled fighting game for Riot. A Riot Games representative spoke to IGN about the announcement and said "We're working hard to create a game truly worthy of the vibrant fighting game community and are making progress, but still have a long way to go before we're ready to share more details."

Quake II RTX is getting some improved graphics thanks to modders, with Team Blur Games releasing a bunch of high polygon items and objects that can be used in Quake II source ports... this includes Quake II RTX.

Team Blur Games has updated the 3D models for both the Armor Shard and StimPack, as well as teasing some work-in-progress models for both the Barrels, and Key Pass. There are improved weapon models being worked on by other modders, but we don't know if they'll be baked into the RTX-powered version of the game.

If you want to check out the first high polygon items and models for Quake II RTX then you can grab them here.

It looks like Ubisoft isn't the only one putting some love into the PC version of its upcoming game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, but Activision and Beenox (the team working on the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) are, too.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will support uncapped FPS, rock an FOV slider, and include HDR (as well as much more) on the PC. We can also expect some advanced mouse settings (gotta have that) and a new Realism Mode that should keep hardcore fans happy.

Remember that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will also roll out with a single-player mode, and we can't forget the undeniably gorgeous ray tracing technology. There'll also be cross-platform gaming allowed, so PC gamers can play with Xbox One friends at launch which is going to be a very big deal indeed. Those PC gamers won't have friends after they kick their console gaming friends' asses, that's why.

Epic Games just finished up the Fortnite World Cup, where a 16-year old took home $3 million in his victorious game... but did you think that was it for Fortnite in 2019? Think again.

The Fortnite Champion Series (formally known as the Championship Series) kicks off on August 17, which will see teams of 3 fighting through their respective regions for five weeks of matches. This will include a bunch of weekend main events, Cash Cups -- as well as solos on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and then trios on Fridays.

Whoever comes out on top will battle with other regional teams on September 20-23, with each event rolling out with its own prize pool and "millions of dollars" up for grabs in the Fortnite Championship Series.

Ubisoft has just detailed a bunch of stuff for the PC version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, with the first of which seeing full integration of AMD's FidelityFX technology, but there's oh-so-much more. Check out the PC features overview trailer:

We can expect 4K support, 21:9 UltraWide and even multi-monitor support, uncapped FPS, major Discord integration since Ubisoft partnered with the company, full control customization, and even -- drumroll please, a standalone PC benchmark. Best. News. Ever. The full list of PC features:

Ghost Recon Breakpoint launches on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on October 4 -- it'll also be launching on Google Stadia later this year.

Remedy Entertainment has just updated the PC system requirements for its nearly-here Control, with the original specifications much higher, the new specifications will make the game appeal to the mainstream.

In the previous specs, Remedy said gamers would need a GeForce RTX 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon VII or better as "recommended" specs, alongside an Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. The new system requiremetns see the CPUs bumped down to the Core i5-7600K and Ryzen 5 1600X, while the GPUs get knocked down severely to a GTX 1060/1660 or RX 580.

These changes are absolutely huge, but the ray tracing requirements have also been dropped heavily down from a GeForce RTX 2080 (!!) down to a RTX 2060 (!!!). There's no explanation for these changes, but I'm hoping we aren't getting a heavily watered down version just before launch -- that would end Remedy at this point.

Bungie is delaying its new horror-themed Destiny 2 expansion to October, where it can best be enjoyed during the hallowed month.

Right now Bungie has a lot on its plate. Not only is it crafting Shadowkeep, a big new expansion taking us back to the haunted depths of the moon, but it's also working on a free-to-play version of Destiny 2. Dubbed New Light, the F2P version includes the base game and two lesser expansions (Curse of Osiris and Warmind), plus a handful of Forsaken content (the Forsaken story arc, raids, dungeons, and exotic quests aren't in). It's a pretty big deal. It'll also have cross-saves on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.

To get all of these spinning plates to land safely without crashing, Bungie decided to delay Shadowkeep and New Light into the year's spookiest month. Both the expansion and F2P version will now launch on October 1 instead of their original September 17 date. This gives the studio enough time to refine the experiences, which isn't something they're necessarily used to.

The new $199 handheld-only Switch Lite appears to have a revised 16nm Tegra X1 chip for slightly better battery life and thermals.

The FCC recently published some internal teardown photos of Nintendo's Switch Lite that strongly indicate a die shrink. The SoC itself is obscured with thermal paste, but it looks smaller than the 20nm Maxwell Tegra X1 chip used in the original 2017 Switch. In 2016 we exclusively reported the Switch would be powered by NVIDIA, not AMD. It's likely the Switch Lite houses a Maxwell Tegra refreshed on 16nm, but all of the other specs and performance power should be the same. We won't see the beefier Pascal-based Parker Tegra X2 SoC in the Switch Lite. This isn't a boosted chip--just a shrunken one.

Nintendo's reasons for this refresh are two-fold. One, smaller chips are more power efficient and typically produce less heat, which is critical for a handheld system that'll play huge games like The Witcher 3 on its 720p screen; and two, a new Tegra revision will close an on-chip vulnerability that's being exploited to add homebrews and ROMs onto the Switch.

On the heels of its disappointing NEO GEO Mini, SNK promises to launch a new console with beefier power.

SNK is making a next-gen NEO GEO console that aims to keep the brand name alive and well into the modern age. Mostly known for its excellent arcade games like Metal Slug, King of Fighters, and Samurai Showdown, the NEO GEO was a rare-ish 90's console with a hefty price tag. This new system should be a celebration of SNK's past glories and make these games more accessible to the masses.

So what should we expect from the so-called next-gen console? Basically SNK is probably making their own Atari VCS counterpart. The idea here is to recreate the old arcade experience. Here are my predictions. SNK will provide a machine with adequate specs that connects to a TV for home play, complete with optional high-cost fight sticks. The console will connect online to a digital storefront ecosystem where gamers can buy classic NEO GEO games. The box could even come pre-loaded with old-school titles, too.

NVIDIA's SHIELD TV is looking like it may be one of the longest supported Android devices to date.

NVIDIA has started to push the new Android Experience 8.0 which is powered by Android 9 Pie and pushes the aging SHIELD TV device to yet another Google Android version upgrade.

NVIDIA initially released the SHIELD TV with Android 5.1 over four years ago and has seen frequent updates over the past four years. This does bring to questions, as we reported a short while ago, that NVIDIA has new FCC filings for new SHIELD TV gear and accessories. Will NVIDIA pull the plug on updates to the first-generation Shield TV with the potential introduction of a new unit at CES 2020?

Anthem, one of EA's biggest new IPs and most costly gambles in the last decade, was barely mentioned in the publisher's quarterly report. Is EA starting to pretend Anthem doesn't exist?

EA talked a lot about Apex Legends in its Fiscal Year Q1'2020 earnings report. Anthem, which was set up to be a big new service shooter, was only mentioned twice--once as a throwaway comment on new IP and the other to describe the game's impressive digital numbers. But apart from that EA pretty much ignored the game (buyers are ignoring it too). So what gives? Is Anthem doomed? Has EA shelved the product into maintenance mode after the initial sales spurt? Hopefully yes...and I say that with the best intentions.

Right now BioWare has a lot on its plate. The studio is endemic with depression, anxiety, and has become a hostile work environment. Team members are crunching themselves into dust. Anthem's dev cycle was disastrous for studio morale and was responsible for Dragon Age 4 being rebooted. Now a big portion of BioWare is looking forward and crafting Dragon Age 4 and even laying the framework for a new Mass Effect game.

There's more than meets the eye with Ninja's recent jump to Microsoft's Mixer platform. It's a perfect indicator in what Xbox is and what it will become: a business built around engagement.

Microsoft loves engagement. The whole idea is to pull consumers into a rich digital ecosystem of services, community content, multiplayer, online storefronts, and recurring microtransactions. And so far it's working quite well.

This gameplan transforms consoles into portals to services, and one-off game purchases into long-winded experiences that rake in money over time. These days, one of the most critical avenues to engage an audience is streaming; it's kind of like an interactive advertisement for a specific game built around "influencers" with millions of viewers. It's a potent force, and it's the exact reason why Microsoft is courting the world's most popular streamer.

No Man's Sky's big new Beyond update drops in less than two weeks, bringing full VR support and a new online experience.

Ever since I started working at TweakTown my profile highlighted one of my gaming dreams: to see the weird sci-fi splendor of No Man's Sky in VR. That's going to happen very, very soon. Today Hello Games announced No Man's Sky Beyond will drop August 14 as a free update on all platforms, and will support VR on PSVR and Steam VR compatible headsets.

Beyond is the biggest thing Hello Games has ever done. It'll adapt the entire No Man's Sky experience into an interactive, galactic VR exploration extravaganza, and packs in No Man's Sky Online, a new kind of seamless multiplayer where gamers can join up and take on the cosmos. I have to admire Hello Games for making No Man's Sky into a live game that's literally not monetized with microtransactions. Not only that, but the team rolled out a ton of expansion-sized content packs and didn't charge for them.

GameStop is one of the biggest video game retailers on the market at the moment, and unfortunately the retailer has suffered another blow as the company is preparing to lay off numerous workers.

A memo which was leaked onto Twitter states that more than 50 "field leaders" are in preparation of loosing their jobs. The positions that are queued up to be lost are: regional managers, district mangers, loss prevention managers and HR staff. According to the memo, GameStop is cutting their losses and are looking to "reduce our cost structure and build efficiencies into our field leadership organization so that we can reinvest in the business."

The memo continues and says "These decisions are not easy, but necessary to help us reduce costs to enable revenue-driving initiatives that will help grow the business once again." It seems GameStop are looking at re-structuring their entire business, perhaps this decision has been influenced by the gaming market prominently now purchasing games online rather than physical media. I would think that GameStop would be conceiving a business idea that coincides with both physical media purchasing as well as online purchasing.

Gearbox Software has released another brand new character trailer for the newest installment in the Borderlands franchise, Borderlands 3. Introducing Moze and her trusty best-friend mech Iron Bear.

Moze became attached to her mech suit after a deathtrap battle that she was thrown into, only Iron Bear and her were standing after the fight ended and ever since then they have become best-friends. Moze seems to have her very own D. Va suit and while it might seem that Iron Bear takes care of most of the fighting, Moze repays the favors by keeping Iron Bear running smoothly and soundly with constant repairs.

Players will be able to customize Iron Bears guns that are mounted onto the suit, so depending on your playstyle, players will be able to outfit Iron Bear with a satisfying variety of different chaos reigning weapons. Alongside the character trailer, Gearbox has released a breakdown of Moze and her abilities, visit the official Borderlands website here if you are interested in reading a more in-depth review of the character. Borderlands 3 will be released on September 13th on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. If you happened to miss the Zane character trailer reveal, visit this link here to watch the trailer.