Knockout City is Still Free to Play up to Street Rank 25

The free trial period for Electronic Arts' Knockout City has ended but new players can still play for free. The catch is that they can only level up to Street Rank 25 before having to purchase the full game. If you're trying to get any friends into the game or learning the ropes before making a purchase, this offers a fairly decent amount of playtime.

Knockout City is developed by Velan Studios and has already amassed two million players thus far. It's essentially futuristic Dodge Ball with its fake-outs and knocking the opposing team out with balls. The addition of Ultimate Throws, tackles, different ball types and more give it a lot more spice though.

You can check out our review here for more details. Knockout City is available for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC with cross-platform play supported between them. More content in the form of new maps, modes and cosmetics is set to arrive post-launch so stay tuned for more updates.

Grounded Will Receive "Larger and Slightly Less Frequent Updates Going Forward" – Obsidian

Obsidian Entertainment isn't exactly known for making survival titles, but the developer tried its hand at the genre with Grounded, which turned out better than most people had anticipated. Since its early access launch last year, the game has been receiving updates at a pretty steady clip- but it seems Obsidian is going to adopt a new approach when it comes to those updates.

In a newly published update, Obsidian confirmed that it's going to release updates to Grounded at a slower cadence, with the game's upcoming updates being larger and adding more content, but coming farther apart than they have up until now.

"We are approaching the one-year mark from the Game Preview/Early Access launch and we still have so much that we want to do for the game," the developer wrote. "Some of these larger features take time, and with a small team it's difficult to release content every month while balancing larger tasks that need to get done to finish the game. We will be looking at doing larger and slightly less frequent updates moving forward, which will allow us to make our updates more meaningful with more and better content. Our goal is to find the right balance of keeping the game fresh with new things while giving the team enough time to make quality features. As always your feedback in this process is critical as we figure out a good release cadence as we continue on the path towards our 1.0 launch."

Meanwhile, the game's next update will be in June, with the May update being pushed back, and will be one of the largest updates for the game so for.

"We are hard at work on the next update (0.10.0), which is one of our largest yet, which is on track to be released at the end of June. We have decided to not do an update for May and focus our efforts and polish on the larger update coming next month," Obsidian wrote.

Grounded is currently available in early access on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Biomutant's Upcoming Patch Will Address Difficulty, Narrator Settings, Dialogue Pacing, and More

Biomutant launched recently after numerous delays and years of anticipation, and while there's definitely a good number of players out there who're enjoying the open world action RPG, it's fair to say that by and large, the game has failed to live up to expectations. A number of issues are, of course, just baked into the experience, but there are some that can be addressed- and will be addressed soon, it seems.

Developer Experiment 101 recently took to Twitter via the game's official page and confirmed that the first update for the game is currently in the works, and will be making changes and fixing bugs "based on community feedback." This will include addressing issues with dialogue pacing, narrator settings, difficulty, graphical settings for things such as motion blur and depth of field, tuning for loot and enemies, and other issues in sound and combat. By the looks of it, it's going to be a pretty comprehensive update. The developer also says that the patch will likely arrive for PC before it does for consoles, though an exact timeframe for when to expect it hasn't been given.

In our review of Biomutant, we awarded it a score of 5/10, saying, "Biomutant works best on paper, but it has too many derivative elements for anything alone to stand out." You can read our full review through here.

Biomutant is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Assetto Corsa 2 Planned for 2024

Kunos Simulazioni's racing simulation series Assetto Corsa might not be counted among the bigwigs of the genre like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, but there's a dedicated fanbase that swears by its brand of authenticity and simulation. And that's definitely been reflected in the sales the game has enjoyed as well- which, of course, means that its publishers want to keep building on that.

Digital Bros, parent company of Assetto Corsa publisher 505 Games, recently published their quarterly fiscal report, in which they confirmed that Assetto Corsa (including the additional episode Assetto Corsa Competizione) has sold a total of 12 million units, raking in over €66 million of revenue. Assetto Corsa 2 is in development as well, and is currently targeting a launch in 2024- so, you know, it's going to be a while.

Before that, however, there's still more Assetto Corsa coming up. A mobile version of the racing simulator is also in the works, Digital Bros confirms, and it will be out some time this Summer.

Assetto Corsa Competizione, meanwhile, is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will be launching for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year.

New Nintendo Switch Pro Listing Pops up on Amazon Mexico

The rumours surrounding a new Switch model – colloquially being referred to as the Switch Pro – have been gathering momentum for a long, long time now, but it's starting to look like we're at a point where an official announcement from Nintendo is imminent. Recent reports have suggested that the console is going to be announced soon before a launch later this year. Ahead of that, a premature retailer listing seems to have spilled the beans on the console's existence as well, adding more fuel to the already roaring fires.

As spotted by @Alphabeat_g on Twitter, a listing for the "New Nintendo Switch Pro" was recently spotted on Amazon Mexico. Retailer listings can be made erroneously, of course, but Amazon Mexico in particular has leaked things accurately in the past (inadvertently, of course), while there's also the context of months upon months of incessant leaks to consider in this particular case.

Of course, the product being called the New Nintendo Switch Pro is interesting, to say the least, and makes one wonder whether there are two "New Nintendo Switch" models coming up, one regular and one of the "Pro" variety. It's been claimed in reports that the current default Switch model is going to be replaced, so this would definitely fall in line with that.

Of course, right now, it's all just speculation, and all we can do is wait for official word from Nintendo. Meanwhile, another recent report revealed some more potential new details on the console, including the inclusion of an ethernet port, USB 3.0, a Surface-style back flap for tabletop usage, and more. Read more on that through here.

Two Point Campus Listed on Microsoft Store

Sega's Two Point Hospital has some new Sonic the Hedgehog crossover content coming in July but that's not all that developer Two Point Studios has in store. A Microsoft Store listing for Two Point Campus has emerged for Xbox One and PC (though it will likely be announced for PS4 and Nintendo Switch as well). No release date was provided.

As the name indicates, Two Point Campus is all about building the "university of your dreams." Players can customize every aspect of the campus, right down to the benches, picket fences and sculptures. Students can indulge in various courses from Knight School to Gastronomy but you'll have time to bring in different teachers – from "eccentric professors" to "madcap researchers" – and create libraries, clubs and so on for your students.

Over time, you can learn more about each student from their desires and quirks to relationships and friends. It's all about creating a worthwhile environment to educate and nurture them. Neither Sega nor Two Point Studios have made an official announcement about Two Point Campus but a reveal should be coming soon. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Destruction AllStars Adding AI Bots to Online Matches

Destruction AllStars has been out for a couple of months now, having been free on PlayStation Plus for two months and then retailing for $19.99. However, it seems that Lucid Games is already looking to add AI bots to matches to make up for low population counts. Over on the game's sub-Reddit, the developer said that, "With a community the size of Destruction AllStars, spread out across the world we do have peak times and low times of player activity for online matchmaking.

"We want to ensure that matches are filled to capacity with as many real players as possible, but when missing X amount of players when queuing for a match, AI bots will take the remaining places." This won't affect Blitz, the competitive mode added when Season One debuted earlier this month. Lucid Games is adamant that Blitz will "never feature Bots" so don't worry about AI teammates dragging you down.

This may lead one to think that player population counts have dropped very low since launch. However, the developer ensured that the game's peak times are "UTC 4 PM-10 PM on weekdays and UTC 2 PM-1AM on weekends." This isn't much different from other multiplayer titles, especially with the weekend having a wider range of hours with more players.

Time will tell if the game's population actually drops low enough to affect matchmaking in the long run. At any rate, there's no definite date for the release of AI bots so stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Destiny 2 Xur Exotics – Sweet Business, Lucky Raspberry, Apotheosis Veil

You'd think that with the number of Exotics added to Destiny 2 each season that Xur's inventory would improve over time. Regardless, he's in the Winding Cove in the EDZ till tomorrow's weekly reset. The Exotic weapon this week is one that's been in the game since launch – Sweet Business.

Though fashioned as a gatling gun, it's actually an auto rifle with a much larger magazine. Accuracy is increased when hip-firing and picking up any ammo will automatically reload the weapon. Firing continuously results in higher range and rate of fire. Not the best weapon but a novelty that's worth checking out for 29 Legendary Shards. The Exotic gear this week includes Lucky Raspberry (Hunter chest), ACD/0 Feedback Fence (Titan gloves) and Apotheosis Veil (Warlock helm), each for 23 Legendary Shards.

Lucky Raspberry is good for Arcbolt grenade users thanks to its increased chaining. Apotheosis Veil will regenerate health and ability energy when using your Super while also boosting the recharge rate of allies' class abilities. ACD/0 Feedback Fence will build up energy with melee hits, reduce damage from an incoming melee strike and unleash the built-up energy in a surrounding area, damaging nearby foes. Nothing too crazy, all in all, but each item has its perks.

Ghost of Tsushima Developer Looking to Recruit Writer for Open World Project

Given the critical and commercial success enjoyed by Sucker Punch's open world action adventure game Ghost of Tsushima, it's easy to assume that a sequel is all but guaranteed and almost definitely almost in development. A new job listing posted by the studio also seems to suggest that work on the game is already underway.

A job ad for the position of Senior Writer was recently published by Sucker Punch (via Gamasutra), and it states that the developer is looking to recruit someone for work on "impactful, character-driven stories" on their next project, which is an open world game. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that game is going to be. This isn't the first time a Sucker Punch job listing has hinted at a sequel's development, after all.

Meanwhile, the job ad also mentions "emotional stories, memorable characters, and strong dialogue", so it would seem like they're looking to improve upon the already solid story they told in Ghost of Tsushima with the sequel.

Ghost of Tsushima has sold 6.5 million copies worldwide, and a film adaptation is also currently in the works.

Dying Light 2 Could Feature Cross-Play and Have Microtransactions, as Per ESRB Rating

Techland's upcoming open world action-adventure game Dying Light 2 finally received a long-awaited and meaty update recently, with the developer revealing a bunch of new gameplay details and finally confirming a firm release date for the title. With a few months still to go before Dying Light 2 launches, we're probably going to be getting several more details on it from Techland in the time before it launches- a couple of those, however, have seemingly been revealed in the game's ESRB rating.

The ESRB rating, which just went up, mentions both, user interaction across all the platforms the game is available on, as well as in-game purchases, which, of course, refer to cross-platform play and microtransactions respectively. Of course, neither details has yet been officially confirmed by Techland- in fact, we don't even have concrete details yet on what the game's multiplayer elements are going to look like for the cross-play detail to mean much. Even so, in the absence of an official announcement, an ESRB rating is as official as it gets.

Dying Light 2 is out on December 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.