Gaming - Page 850

Ubisoft has outlined the PC system requirements for The Crew 2, while also announcing that the game will have support for steering wheels, 4K and 21:9 monitor support, mouse and keyboard support, multi-monitor support, and more.

The Crew 2 system requirements are quite low, with gamers needing an Intel Core i5-2400 or AMD FX-6100 processor with at least 8GB of RAM, and a relatively average GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870 to run The Crew 2 at 1080p at 30FPS on low settings. If you want to run 1080p 30FPS on high settings, the GPU requirements are bumped to the GTX 760 and R9 270X.

If you want to game at 1080p 60FPS, Ubisoft recommends an Intel Core i5-4690K or Ryzen 5 1600 mixed with a beefier GTX 970 or GTX 1060, or the Radeon RX 470 minimum.

DICE has officially unveiled and shown off gameplay from Battlefield V, with more details coming out as the hours go past today. We now know that DICE teamed with NVIDIA for Battlefield V, after years and years and many Battlefield games that were optimized for Radeon as DICE used to work with AMD... until now.

Senior Producer at DICE, Andreas Morell, said in a press release: "With Battlefield V, we wanted to align with a partner who shares our passion for PC gaming. By combining our talented development team with NVIDIA's advanced gaming technologies and robust GeForce PC gaming platform, we're creating the most physical, immersive, and visually-striking way to experience Battlefield V".

NVIDIA chimed in, saying: "As the PC platform, we're helping the Battlefield V development team create the definitive PC experience. NVIDIA engineers are working with the Battlefield V developers at DICE to bring the best aspects of the GeForce gaming platform to bear for PC gamers, meaning GeForce Experience will deliver Game Ready drivers, Optimal Playable settings, and other NVIDIA-platform features for Battlefield V. In addition, we are working on integrating cutting-edge technologies, optimizing performance, and creating the definitive PC experience".

EA's learned a whole lot from Battlefront II's PR nightmare controversy, and now the company seems to be heading towards a new layered strategy with Battlefield V.

Earlier today EA and DICE confirmed that Battlefield V's premium pass has been abolished. EA, like other publishers, typically monetizes its biggest games in a two-pronged approach: microtransactions in the form of, say, lootboxes and piecemeal one-off cosmetic skins, and macrotransactions, which typically include season passes like Battlefield's premium pass. So if EA is eliminating one prong, it strongly hints that the other prong will be sharpened to a fine point so as to skewer as much recurring revenue as possible. Given everything DICE's panel of devs said at today's Battlefield V reveal event we think that cosmetics will be monetized. This lines up with previous reports.

Here at TweakTown I talk a lot about engagement and how it has transformed the games industry--games are now longer, multi-year affairs with tons of in-game purchases and other options that provide millions--or in EA's case, billions--in revenue over time. Publishers not only use this money to fund free content updates--which is what EA is doing with Battlefield V--but also use that cash to fuel stronger development cycles, buffer earnings, and continually churn the wheelhouse of their business. There's just one big catch: it all depends on how the game is monetized. Lootboxes carry a strong stigma of gambling and after Battlefront II, EA is eager to push away from all that flak. And if there's one thing I learned from the reveal it's that Battlefield V is aiming hard at engagement.

EA and DICE today announced that Battlefield V won't have a premium pass-style macro-transaction revenue model.

Big publishers are always keen on finding new ways to boost engagement while not alienating a core sect of their fanbase. One of the best ways to splinter a millions-strong playerbase is by locking certain maps and modes behind a season pass or paid DLC structure, thus ensuring that free players are gated off from certain content. With Battlefield V, DICE's big new WWII-based shooter, EA has abolished the premium pass and will now even out the playing field.

"No, there's no more premium pass in this game. This means no more paying for maps, no more paying for modes. This is something the community has asked for and something the team really believes in. What we want is a game where people stay together, where they play the game together and get to go on this journey through World War II together," DICE's Ryan MacArthur said during the reveal event.

Battlefield V's new reveal trailer shows off the kind of havoc gamers can expect from the WWII-based shooter, and also highlights some new movement mechanics.

Today's Battlefield V unveiling was pretty intense. While the team at DICE spent a while discussing new features of the WWII-based shooter with Trevor Noah, the real goods came at the very end via an explosive trailer. The footage seamlessly blends cinematics with what appears to be actual in-game footage from the newly announced Grand Operations mode (like Operations from BF1 only much more grandiose), all with the destructive and action-packed war we expect from the series.

One thing that's particularly interesting about the trailer is how the player character actually moves in the gameplay portions. We can clearly see him blasting an MG42 while moving on his back and even firing in prone stance while moving. These are just some of the new movement mechanics in Battlefield V, which DICE affirms will change gameplay altogether.

Psyonix, the developers and publishers behind the battle-car success Rocket League have decided its time to roll out yet another content update for their players, this time round we are hit with the update that has been titled 'Salty Shores.'

Psyonix revealed the content update through a trailer that has been released onto the Rocket League YouTube channel. The trailer showcases that players will be able to enjoy a new arena that is located on a beachfront, new items, a brand new battle-car and also a teaser to a new in-game event called Beach Blast.

At the moment there is no information about the event Beach Blast, but what we do know is that the event begins on June 11th and will run until July 2nd. The content update will be arriving to players on May 29th and will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Blizzard have released the two-year anniversary patch for Overwatch, the new patch includes the anniversary skins as well as a bunch of new content for players.

Blizzard has released a slew of screenshots for the newly released anniversary skins, they include skins for McCree, Brigitte, Bastion, Doomfist, Symmetra, Torbjorn and even Junkrat. Not only are skins released throughout this update but hero changes have also been made to a select few.

There has been quite a lot of complaints amongst the community about Brigitte being slightly too strong. So to subside the communities cries, Blizzard have decided to tone her down just a tad by changing two of her abilities. Firstly, they have decided to increase her 'shield bash' ability cool down from 5 seconds to 6 seconds and secondly, her maximum armor per player for her 'rally' ability has been reduced from 150 to 100.

Human Head Studios has taken to their YouTube channel to release a new very short gameplay video of Rune: Ragnarok.

For those that are not aware, Human Head Studios is designing a sequel to its 17-year old Rune game that is set in a time where monsters, gods, beasts and the environment threaten the survival of the human species. According to the developer, players will be immersed within a world that is dripping with Norse mythology inspired content.

From the above short video, we can see that the combat system is not that creatively challenging and almost seems bland. Keep in mind though that this title is still in its alpha stages, which suggests that in time we could see improvements to the combat system and the many other aspects of the title that seem not quite up to scratch.

Ubisoft Milan and Nintendo have partnered up to bring Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle fans a new DLC featuring Donkey Dong and an epic adventure!

Players will be able to embark on an epic adventure to stop the vengeful Rabbid Kong who is now using his newly equipped powers in attempt to entirely take over a new mystery island. According to the description given in the video, players will be able to team up with "Donkey Kong, Rabbid Peach, and a moody new Rabbid hero, Rabbid Cranky on a journey across four brand-new environments. Discover a world full of reinvented tactical gameplay, new enemies, and secrets to uncover."

This new DLC is included in the Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Season Pass and will be released on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo Switch in June. At the moment there is no official release date set but we will be sure to update you as new information is released.

After the controversy over Paladins developer Hi-Rez Studios using Overwatch splash art in their recent advertisement for a newly released skin, the developer has fired their art contractor.

Yesterday, a Redditor pointed out that the new skin splash art for Lex has an identical background image to that of Overwatch's control map Lijiang Tower. Hi-Rez Studios' art director took to the Reddit thread under the user title 'ThunderArtBrush' and said that the "art was created by a overseas partner studio for Paladins Strike and had not much in the way of oversight in its content creation by anyone internally at Hi-Rez."

Kotaku has reached out to Hi-Rez Studios for a statement on this issue and the Paladins brand manager, Alex Cantatore replied in an email statement saying "We are very disappointed that a contractor for our mobile hero shooter, Paladins Strike, made use of artwork from another game in the splash art for our Covert Ops Lex skin. Unfortunately as this piece came from what was previously a trusted outsourcer, it did not go through a full internal review cycle at Hi-Rez and made it to the public."

Epic Games has outlined its massive plans for Fortnite at E3 2018 this year, with teh developer pledging an exciting new Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am match that throws up $3 million in charity prize money that the gamers will be able to donate to a charity of their choice.

The roster of gamers includes legendary eSports gamer and NZXT case hero Ninja, Community star Joel McHale, and plenty of others. Epic said that they will be announcing more duo pairs over the coming weeks, with the "epic showdown will be streamed live starting at 3:30 PM PST on Tuesday, June 12th. Tune-in for a chance to win exclusive swag".

Fortnite Party Royale was also announced for June 12, where Epic will be celebrating all things Fortnite. The party is invite-only, but you can visit the Fortnite booth at the LA Convention Center showfloor during E3 to win or receive your Fortnite Party Royale party.

Fortnite is on a train of success that doesn't seem to have an ending in sight, with developer Epic Games pledging a huge $100 million into Fortnite and its future in eSports.

The Fortnite team wrote on the Epic blog: "Since the launch of Fortnite: Battle Royale we've watched the passion for community competition grow and can't wait to empower you to battle with the best". The team continues: "We're getting behind competitive play in a big way, but our approach will be different. We plan to be more inclusive and focused on the joy of playing and watching the game".

Epic Games' massive $100 million investment isn't over the next couple of years, it's for the first season of Fortnite's eSports run. This means we can expect some big cash prizes, Fortnite championship events and livestreams, and so much more in the next 12 months.

PUBG has never been the most optimized game on the market, especially when you compare it to the more mainstream Fortnite (which also runs on Unreal Engine 4), but it doesn't mean the development team is sitting around doing nothing.

PUBG community lead Ryan Rigney posted on the official PUBG subreddit, where he said the team is working on a bunch of new stuff that will make Battlegrounds fans happy. Rigney said: "If you're worried about us just forgetting about it-we haven't. I'm currently working with the devs on a 'dev letter' to dig into some specific steps we're taking on performance. I feel your pain on the performance problems... my machine has been struggling too, recently. But I hope you guys don't stop giving reps like me the benefit of the doubt when we say we're working on it. This stuff simply takes time".

Personally, I think the sheer mention of limb penetration has me more excited, with Rigney adding: "Btw limb penetration is coming. We've found a pretty elegant solution for it. Will share more when it's ready".

Battlefield V's marquee artwork has been shown off ahead of schedule thanks to an early page on Sony's PlayStation Network.

Tomorrow EA and DICE are set to showcase Battlefield V's new content, mechanics and storyline during an official reveal event, but a small piece of the surprise has been unwrapped already. The art popped up as part of a event reminder pane on the PS Network that adds even more evidence of a World War II setting.

The shooter will have familiar features like an episodic War Stories-driven campaign mode with a co-op twist, and there've been rumors about a battle royale mode to boot.

During today's corporate strategy meeting Sony Interactive Entertainment President John Kodera said that the PlayStation 4's lifecycle is essentially winding down, which paves the way for the new PlayStation 5 console. But when will it release? There's no rush, most analysts say.

The general consensus among games industry analysts is that Sony's next-gen PlayStation console won't arrive until 2020 or thereabouts. While no one knows for sure when Sony will launch the console and successively push the spotlight to the PS5, NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella predicts that the Japanese games-maker won't flip the switch until Fall 2020. This would coincide with Sony's Fiscal Year 2020 timeline ending on March 31, 2021, which falls in the company's current mid-term plan cycle.

"I'm forecasting PS5 no earlier than fall 2020, which would mean at least 3 more holidays of big releases to enjoy on the platform, and a perfectly normal cycle length. Just because a next gen is mentioned is meaningless to the breadth and depth of content that is coming," Mr. Piscatella wrote on Twitter.

343i's new in-progress Master Chief Collection update lets you significantly reduce hard drive bloat.

One of the most annoying things about MCC and (Halo 5) is having to download and install so much content. The Xbox One is quite slow at installing disc-based games, but the frustration amplifies when you have to download gigabytes worth of content online--all of which fill up your hard drive quite fast. When I first played MCC I wanted a singular option: to be able to separate the games as components or "modules" if you will rather than having to download or install the whole package at once.

Now 343 Industries is delivering this option. Albeit belated, the update is quite welcome, and is part of The Master Chief Collection's Intelligent Delivery system. With this system gamers can now select various pieces of the four Halo games to install. Want to just play Halo 2 Anniversary's campaign? You'll be able to isolate that mode and download/install it, and even if you choose to install the entire shebang, you can set certain games/modes as priority over others.

Sony today affirmed that it will continue pumping resources, R&D, and cashflow into the development of new and existing IPs to fortify the PlayStation banner across the PS4 era and beyond.

Japanese hardware giant Sony recently outlined its next mid-term plan for business operations, which sees various segments being streamlined for optimum revenue generation. Sony's most lucrative branch, the Games and Network Services segment, won't change too much in terms of focus: Sony asserts that production of new first-party content will continue onward alongside increased focus on the PlayStation Network's services and PS hardware. The current generation has taught us that big first-party blockbusters like God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn are bona-fide system-sellers, helping the PS4 family of systems reach new heights of 79.4 million sales worldwide.

The PS Network is the bedrock of the PlayStation brand and the company wants to get as many people subscribed to PS Plus and other services, and arguably more importantly, properly engaged on the network. Digital sales and subscriptions are part of the ecosystem but games are the main driving force for the brand itself--after all, it's the games that attract people in the first place. To further this strong growth Sony said in its third mid-term plan that it will "aim to strengthen its content IP by creating and utilizing IP for first-party titles and harnessing growth opportunities in areas such as add-on content."

The Kojima Productions founder, Hideo Kojima has teased a Death Stranding experience at this years E3 through at tweet featuring a screenshot.

This tweet came shortly after Naughty Dog's Vice President, Neil Druckmann teased an appearance for The Last of Us Part II with a tweet saying "T-minus 3 weeks. #E32018". The very same quote came with Kojima tweeting a screenshot of moss with the caption "+1 on the T-minus 3 weeks. #E32018 DecimaxKojima=DS."

Both of these titles and Sucker Punch Productions' Ghost of Tsushima and Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man are going to be the center spotlight for Sony Interactive Entertainment for E3 this year. As we lead closer into the event we could see some more of these teasers as the companies will be trying to increase the hype as much as possible.

At the moment all Super Smash Bros. fans are waiting to hear about the new games upcoming roster, a new leak has suggested Metroid's Ridley will included even though Nintendo did say the character is simply to large to work in the game as a fighter.

According to DasVergeben, the leaker who revealed Star Fox Grand Prix Metroid's Ridley will be apart of the new roster for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title. The leak comes from DasVergeben's "reliable sources" that have told him that "Ridley is a newcomer, the game is infact a sequel, but there will be assets being reused to some extent."

DasVergeben also mentions that from another seperate source that confirmed the news about Ridley has also told him that Ice Climbers would also be making a return in the new game and also that "everyone is coming back from Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS. That includes all of the guests."

Paladins, the free-to-play hero shooter developed by Hi-Rez Studios has stumbled upon some controversy after Reddit users deconstructed Lex's newly released Paladins skin character artwork advertisement.

From the above image we can see the top half being the advertisement that was choosen by Hi-Rez Studios to promote the newly released skin. The bottom half of the image is clearly a direct copy of Overwatch's Lijiang Tower map art. This Reddit post managed to gain so much traction that it has caused Hi-Rez Studio's Art Director, ThunderArtBrush to comment on the matter, here is what was said "This art was created by a overseas partner studio for paladins strike and had not much in the way of oversight in its content creation by anyone internally at Hi-Rez. We will be looking into this immediately."

What is more amusing is that this was not the only piece of artwork that seems to be stolen from a Blizzard title, a Redditor has also brought everyones attention to a supposed "glitch" that happens when "logging into the game (Strike)". It appears that from the screenshot there is almost an identical theme to the Paladins background choice and Blizzards Heroes of the Storm.