Betawatch: Elyon and Diablo II Resurrected kick off beta events

More closed beta for Elyon? It's more likely than you think. It's actually certain, in fact. The game has showed off its rune attributes system as well as all six classes as the closed beta helpfully hums onward. A lot of people wanted to check this one out, so we're curious what people thought about […]

PWE's Remnant: From the Ashes turns two with a new trailer and sale

PWE's co-op shooter Remnant: From the Ashes hasn't gotten much press lately, in spite of being just two years old, but that's to be expected as the game got its last real DLC back in 2020, and a few other things happened that year that might have stolen your attention. In any case, it's back […]

Hi-Rez's Paladins is adding a new trickshot champion and 'urban' map rework

Hi-Rez's shooter Paladins is getting playtime in my house again thanks to the dumpster fire still raging over at Blizzard that's made Overwatch persona non grata, so the preview of a new champion has a sliver of my attention. Her name's Saati, and she's a bounty hunter with some gunslinger and drow vibes. "No expense […]

Conan Exiles PC launches server transfers, adds small animal pens, and balances weapons in latest patch

The latest update to survival sandbox Conan Exiles on PC doesn't really come with any expansion-level updates or content additions, but what it does feature is a lot of little additions and quality-of-life improvements that are still likely very welcome to players. One of the top features of this new patch is the introduction of […]

Project X is a mobile 'social sandbox MMO' full of resource gathering and house building in closed beta

This one will need a little bit of context because the name Project X carries a tiny bit of history here. Back in 2018 we got a look at a tactical shooter MMO called Project X, which was being built for SpatialOS and developed by UK studio Automaton Games; the shooter later changed its name […]

EverQuest II's player-run Festival of Unity is back this weekend with a variety of games and events

The self-described longest running player event in EverQuest II history has returned for another year of in-game summer fun. It's the Festival of Unity, an event that promises song, dance, and plenty of games for players to take part in, and it runs all the way until this coming Monday, August 23rd. The festivities already […]

Final Fantasy XIV brings back The Rising for its eighth anniversary on August 27

Another year of operation is moving into the rear-view mirror for Final Fantasy XIV, and that means another iteration of The Rising coming around once again starting on August 27th. This year's celebration has a faintly ominous tone to it from the preview that we've gotten so far, although considering that Endwalker is just around […]

Mortal Online 2 announces 'savage' September 6 stress test

After a goodly while in closed alpha combat testing, Mortal Online 2 thinks that it's ready for the next best step and is proposing that you join it in holy betamony. On September 6th, this hardcore PvP MMORPG will kick off a stress test for those fortunate enough to get a key. During the beta, […]

Star Citizen showcases hospitals and hints at related gameplay mechanics coming in alpha 3.15

Generally, nobody wants to visit a hospital, but the location's arrival to Star Citizen with the upcoming alpha 3.15 release will make going to a hospital on various planets something of a necessary matter, at least according to the reveals from this week's episode of Inside Star Citizen. The next alpha build will feature four […]

Grab a Conqueror's Blade Aswaran Hero Attire key from My.Games and MOP

We're deep into Conqueror's Blade's eighth season, Dynasty, with the Sun Dragon Festival at its height. In celebration, My.Games has granted MOP a bundle of keys for our readers! The keys unlock the Aswaran Hero Attire Pack, which includes Aswaran Hero Attire, Radiant Sun Banner, and Optimal Cannon, with an approximate value of $20 US.: "Donning […]

Pantheon recaps new hire and pre-alpha, outlines to-do list before alpha

Pantheon's August producer letter has arrived this week with a bunch of good news for fans of the game: Visionary Realms has hired a new associate content creator straight out of the community, and it's still riding high from the pre-alpha session held earlier this month. "It was 33 straight hours of testing and it […]

Global Chat: Hitting that endgame wall in MMOs

MMO blogger Digital Visceral recently wrote about a situation that many of us encounter in our games: Hitting that max level and feeling at a loss as to where to go from there. In this case, it was maxing out in Fallout 76. "In Fallout 76, 50 is the last meaningful character level threshold. Crossing 50 […]

Roblox's shameless exploitation of child labor is why we can't have nice things

I didn't think I'd be back so soon writing "Roblox" and "this is why we can't have nice things" in the same post two days in a row, but here we are. People Make Games has put out a video confirming everything you already suspected about the game: that it's overvalued and grotesquely exploitative. Quintin […]

Perfect Ten: My top 10 MMO pet peeves

In general, I try to be an optimistic fellow. When it comes to MMO gaming — you know, that hobby we apparently love and enjoy — I'd rather look on the bright side than the angry, cynical, disgruntled dark side most days of the week. There needs to be balance between such outlooks to be […]

Former RuneScape composer sentenced to 22 months in prison for sexual assault

Ian Taylor, the former composer for both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, has admitted to the sexual assault of a young girl and has been sentenced to prison for 22 months for the crime. The assault apparently took place in December but wasn't reported to family and police until early 2021; according to Taylor's confession, […]

QuakeCon 2021: Skyrim's anniversary edition, Elder Scrolls Online Waking Flame, Fallout 76's Fallout Worlds

While most gamers are preoccupied with the big Skyrim news out of QuakeCon – that Skyrim is getting its 14th edition, the Skyrim anniversary edition, on November 11th, with some solid mods packaged in – our audience is going to be laser-focused on the announcements for Bethsoft's multiplayer titles. Elder Scrolls Online hyped up the […]

CODEX, an MMO based on the Shards engine, launches early access today after a brief delay

Just last week we first reported on CODEX, a project that licensed Legends of Aria's Shards Engine for the purpose of creating an MMO. This title's hook is that players will encounter "seasons" of the game with a beginning, middle, and resolution before the almighty reset button is hit. While CODEX's early access prologue was […]

World of Warcraft reverses course on player customization and promises more

Back in February, Blizzard reversed its stance on player customization options for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. Originally, players had been told that further customization options for the various races would be added throughout the expansion, but during BlizzConline it was instead stated that there would be no further customizations added. Apparently, some combination of recent […]

The Daily Grind: What do you think about taxes in MMORPGs?

Today I want to talk about everyone's least favorite thing: taxes. I snagged the idea from a Reddit thread a while back that was complaining about the tax system in Albion Online. The way it works is that guilds with built-up islands and territories and players who rent and outfit crafting stations in base-game cities […]

Massively Overthinking: The MMO roadmaps worth following

This week's Massively Overthinking comes to us from longtime reader KenFromChicago. "As MMO reporters covering the MMO field, having some idea what to look for coming down the pike seems beneficial," he writes. "As such, what 'roadmaps' do you like from MMOs, and what qualities do you like about the best of them?" I thought this […]

Swords 'n Magic and Stuff promises housing, mod support, world events, dungeons, and more in roadmap

There's plenty of things to come for the cutesy cubic multiplayer RPG Swords 'n Magic and Stuff, at least according to a roadmap update shared by the devs of Kindred Games. The map itself, which is embedded below, promises a wide variety of items in progress like housing, in-game mail, and a detailed stats panel, […]

EverQuest II's ongoing server hardware upgrades should produce results by September

EverQuest II has suffered some legendary outages in the last year – one even kept players offline for over a week, and there were additional incidents in April and June. Daybreak has been tackling the issues with hardware upgrades, which it says is going well – so well that it's going to keep at it […]

PlanetSide 2's NSO faction revamp arrives to PlayStation 4 on August 25

If you've been following along with the news coming out of PlanetSide 2, you know that it's been mostly about the Nanite System Operatives faction revamp. You also know that most of those updates have been arriving to the PC version of the game. But fear not, PlayStation 4 robot friends, because the devs at […]

PSA: Star Citizen is holding another free fly event until August 27

You want to hop into the 'Verse of Star Citizen but you also don't feel like investing in a starting package for a game that is taking years to leave alpha. Or maybe you've read all the grumbling or the effusive praise and want to know what things are like for yourself. Whatever your reason, […]

Roblox sees net losses for Q2 2021, struggles with toxic player-generated content

We've got a bunch of Roblox news on deck today. First, there's the Q2 2021 investor report. Readers will remember that in Q1, the company behind the game had just gone public and was just issuing its first earnings report, which was eye-opening, as it reported gross revenues of $387M but net losses of $134.2M. […]

Fallout 76 doubles its experience ahead of this weekend's QuakeCon

It's just about time for QuakeCon, an event wherein every Bethesda game gets a seat at the table. Yes, even Fallout 76 is getting to show off what's coming next and what's happened recently, and the team is eager for you to check out the various panels over the weekend. But you'll also have a […]

Starbase plans to amend its stance on stream sniping citing language that is 'too encouraging'

We're not sure exactly what Starbase developer Frozenbyte thought would happen when the game's griefing policies outright read "stream sniping is allowed," but apparently there's been enough of a whirlwind reaping that the devs have acknowledged on Twitter the policy was "currently too encouraging" to the behavior, leading to an incoming amendment to the policy. […]

SOE's Jeff Butler gives an epic three-hour interview on EverQuest, Vanguard, and EverQuest Next

If you're going to interview one of the most notable names behind EverQuest and Vanguard, it helps if you also worked at SOE back in the day. Therefore, it's great to see former EverQuest Game Designer Shawn Lord interview former EverQuest Producer Jeff Butler on his time with the MMO. In this dense and fascinating […]

LOTRO producer interview talks more about legendary item and monetization revamps

You'd barely even know that there's an expansion on the way for Lord of the Rings Online if you only took in the current pulse of the game's community. That's because everyone is downright eager to hear what SSG is doing in regards to two problem areas in the game: the obtuse legendary item system […]

Final Fantasy XIV plans a stress test for the Japanese data centers… but not North America or Europe

Ahead of the release of the Endwalker expansion, Final Fantasy XIV's staff wants to make sure that the game's servers are up for the imminent strain they'll encounter. This is both a reasonable and understandable plan. As such, a stress test will be run on the Mana data center, one of the game's Japanese centers, […]

Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its healers in Endwalker?

Here's an interesting facet to consider: Unlike most of the other entries in this Wisdom of Nym series about Endwalker speculation, this one isn't relying on the benchmark trailer, as there's nothing distinct to be said about what any of the healers are getting in Final Fantasy XIV's next expansion. Scholar, White Mage, and Astrologian […]

Pokemon Go's New Zealand rollbacks show Niantic is more concerned with local law than actual safety

Good news: New Zealanders have had their Pokemon Go PokeStop and Gym radius restored to 80 meters, exactly what the community has been asking for in its demands for the return of COVID-19 changes to the game that would keep players safe and boost the game's accessibility for rural and disabled gamers. The bad news […]

Cyberpunk 2077 patches in further improvements, balance changes, and free cosmetics

If it's been some time since you fired up the single-player RPG Cyberpunk 2077 or you've been on the fence about buying in owing to all of game's release problems, perhaps this latest patch will offer enough incentive to return to Night City. The patch itself features a variety of improvements aimed at increasing stability, […]

Elyon deep-dives its rune attributes system as CBT2 progresses

If there's one thing that seems to be a major feature of Elyon, it's the variety of systems that let players customize their character. Whether it's the skills system or the effects of gear and gear enhancement, there are a number of ways for players to craft their character, and now the game is showcasing […]

NCsoft says Lineage W will launch this year for PC, mobile, PS5, and the Switch

Last week, we covered NCsoft's initial reveal of Lineage W, yet another entry in the long-running Lineage franchise. Lineage W, however, was initially pitched as a mobile MMO, which didn't have our audience especially enthused, especially since we've been waiting for Lineage Eternal aka The Lineage for seven years. That might change today, NCsoft has […]

Guild Wars 2 brings back its fourth season of living world play next week

We're sure you're all pretty busy playing Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons first beta right about now – and if you're not, then you might want to, since it's free and our own columnist has already written how much fun he's had with the Virtuoso, Willbender, and Harbinger. However, if you're already tiring of […]

EverQuest designer's throwback MMO rebrands as Monsters & Memories

You may recall that earlier this year we reported that former EverQuest and DCUO developer Shawn Lord was working on a "throwback" MMO, which was operating under the codename of "Project_N." Well, as of now this game has a proper title, which is Monsters & Memories. "The name is a reference to the nostalgia we […]

The Daily Grind: What MMO delay has annoyed you the most?

Sometimes things get delayed. It happens. It's generally not a desired outcome by any of the people making an MMO, but you just need to make the game go through a bit more iteration or refinement before players get their hands on it. Or you've found a couple of horrible bugs that will absolutely crash […]

The Repopulation says it's been 'quite the adventure' as it gives a fall development roadmap

Many people may have written off sandbox MMO The Repopulation a long time ago (especially when it changed hands), but perhaps decision was a little premature. The current owners seem dedicated to improving the game by taking what they were given and guiding it along with their vision. "This has been quite the adventure, however, […]

ARK Survival Evolved shares new critters, wipes beginner servers, dates Genesis Part II server transfers

It's been a fair bit of time since we caught up with the latest goings-on for dinosaur-ish survival sandbox ARK: Survival Evolved, so allow us a moment to round up some of the various smaller updates that have been made since the 2021 Summer Bash event. First off, it's all about those fresh new beasties – […]

Pokemon Unite gets mobile release date, Sword and Shield to remain competitive center

Today's Pokemon Presents wasn't the most exciting for fans of multiplayer online gaming, but there were a few kernels of information for us nonetheless. While the new information on the upcoming Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl shows off some neat stuff, like customizable bases returning, simple online lobbies, non-combat pokemon contests, and digging mini-games that can be […]

Continent of the Ninth Seal is moving over to Valofe from Webzen for publishing

If you had some deep attachment to Webzen because the company was behind the publishing of Continent of the Ninth Seal, today's news will be sad, as it has just been announced that Valofe will take over publishing duties for the title soon, with a specific date of transfer to be announced later. No progress […]

Bless Unleashed brings around a summer event of tracking down salamanders

Swimsuits! Weapon skins! The satisfaction of scooping up adorable lizards that happen to be blue and on fire! All this and more can be yours in Bless Unleashed with the game's summer event, which asks players to go around scooping salamanders for rewards. This probably sounds almost trivially easy until you note that the salamanders […]

Black Desert PC adjusts potions and ramps up skill XP earnings, Black Desert Mobile releases the Lahn

It's a tale of two updates for the same IP as Black Desert on PC and Black Desert Mobile both have some updates arriving this week that players of either game will want to know about. Starting with the PC version of the game, this week's update makes some changes to potions that include reducing […]

Book of Travels attempts to elaborate on the TMORPG sub-genre

The question of what a tiny multiplayer online RPG (or TMORPG) is was touched on by Book of Travels developer Might and Delight before, but the studio felt that the new sub-genre needed a little bit more elaboration, which brings us to this video featuring game designer Roberta Alves to talk about the concept. As […]

The Stream Team: Taking a live first look at the closed beta test of Elyon

Today is the day that Elyon — aka the MMORPG formerly known as Ascent: Infinite Realm — is heading to its second closed beta, and MOP's Chris is going to be there to hop in, try things out, offer some initial impressions, and hopefully look pretty good while doing it. Join in today at 2:00 […]

Playable Worlds' lead designer: 'We're in the game industry because we love games'

Earlier this month, Playable Worlds' Greg Costikyan, the lead designer for Raph Koster's upcoming unnamed sandbox MMORPG, opened up about the way games get made. (In fact, if you're a TTG fan, you should read the comments – our TTG folks were positively squeeing about his involvement, and he even swung by to chat.) Costikyan's […]

Lord of the Rings Online progression server moves forward into the Mordor expansion

If you're among those playing on the Lord of the Rings Online Anor Legendary World (aka progression server), then your time has come to face the dark of Mordor. As of today, the server has added the Mordor expansion and all of its bright and happy little delights. Like volcanic worlds, ash-choked land, and lots […]

EVE Online's July economic report may have unveiled the number of active subscribers

EVE Online has kicked out its monthly econ report for July, which has plenty to snare the interest of the industrious Capsuleer, but it's a particular section of the report that may have cast a light on how many subscribers the internet spaceship sandbox has. The section in question is the ISK Sinks and Faucets […]

Elder Scrolls Online is delaying the console arrival of Waking Flame and update 31 an extra week

Console folks, you're going to be waiting some extra time for your crack at Elder Scrolls Online's next DLC and update. ZeniMax made the announcement that it'll be delaying as of this morning. "To ensure a smooth and stable launch, we have made the decision to move back the release date of The Elder Scrolls […]

Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins Review (PS4)

It's a gripping story, even if you aren't a massive fan of the Doctor.

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Madden NFL 22 Review

Another year, another Madden game. But is Madden NFL 22 worthy of your hard-earned cash?

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The Best RPGs on PS4

Want to get away from the real world for a while? Peruse our list of the best RPGs on PS4 and pick up an absorbing games to get lost in.

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The Magnificent Trufflepigs is Coming to Nintendo Switch Next Week

The Magnificent Trufflepigs, a metal-detecting game with a dash of romance, is coming to Nintendo Switch next week.

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Dying Light is Getting a Gloriously Ridiculous Low Gravity Event

Aliens have come to Harran and, after messing around with the city's gravity, have set the stage for a rather silly in-game event.

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Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions Has a New Trailer

Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions has a new trailer, featuring Mr T and some other people who probably don't matter.

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Hell Architect Review

Hell Architect puts you in charge of tormenting the damned but it's not as much fun as you might think

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Hockey Sim NHL 22 is Hitting the Ice This October

Hockey sim NHL 22 is landing on consoles, but not PC, this October.

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Quake Has Been Remastered And it's Available Right Now

Quake has been remastered for consoles and PC and it's available right now, courtesy of Bethesda's QuakeCon celebrations.

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How to Transfer Your PS4 Save Into Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut on PS5

Upgrading from the PS4 version of Ghost of Tsushima to the PS5 Director's Cut and want to transfer your save? Here's how you do it.

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How to Observe Leaders in Ghost of Tsushima

Making your way through Ghost of Tsushima and wondering how you observe Mongol Leaders? Here's everything you need to know.

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How to Access Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut

Wondering how you access Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut? We've got all the information you need right here.

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How to Get the Ghost Armour in Ghost of Tsushima

Playing through Ghost of Tsushima and wondering how you get the Ghost Armour? Here's everything you need to know.

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Tetris Effect: Connected is Now Available on Steam

For the first time, Tetris Effect: Connected is available to purchase on Steam, featuring multiplayer and cross-platform play.

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The Five Best Moments from Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is full of tense standoffs, dramatic twists, and challenging decisions. These are the best moments from Jin's journey.

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The Best Games Like Stardew Valley

Want more games where you can farm, cultivate your own property and mingle with townsfolk?

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Samurai Shodown's Update Patch 2.41 Improves Characters' Performances and More

SNK has just put out patch notes for the latest update to come to Samurai Shodown, patch ver.2.41.

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Henchman Story Conquers the World This October

Working for a supervillain? What could possibly go wrong. Find out this October with Henchman Story.

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Fleshy Co-op Platformer Struggling is Coming to PS4 and Xbox Next Month

Released on PC and Switch last year, Struggling is now, uh, struggling its way onto PS4 and Xbox One.

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The Vale: Shadow of the Crown Invites You to Play With Your Eyes Closed

Out now on PC and Xbox, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown tasks you with playing as a blind warrior, relying only on your hearing.

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Halo Infinite – 343 Industries is "100% Committed" to Holiday 2021 Launch, Release Date Announcement Coming "Very Soon"

Microsoft and 343 Industries announced at E3 in June that Halo Infinite would launch this Holiday, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer said not long afterward that the shooter's development team remains committed to that launch window. Well, we're nearing the end of August now, and a release date is yet to be announced- so should fans be worried? Well, apparently not.

Speaking during the Halo Infinite development update for August, in the midst of a conversation about campaign co-op and Forge not being in the game at launch, head of creative Joseph Staten and community director Brian Jarrard took a minute to acknowledge that though the game's exact launch date hasn't yet been confirmed, it's definitely still planned for Holiday 2021. 343 Industries and Microsoft are currently hashing out some final details, it seems, and a release date, according to Staten and Jarrard, will be announced very soon.

"I do want to acknowledge, it's a little awkward we're talking about things that are in for launch, and frankly, we don't have an official public launch date yet," Jarrard said. "But I did want to just reconfirm, and as we heard Phil Spencer, he made a reference recently- this game is definitely [coming this Holiday], we're committed to releasing this Holiday. And we're pretty close, I think- we're just working through some details right now on kind of what that real date is."

Staten added: "That is absolutely correct. We're 100% committed to releasing this Holiday, both campaign and our first season of free-to-play multiplayer. We just have to work through a couple more details, and we'll be talking about our actual release date very soon."

How soon "very soon" will be remains to be seen, though it's worth noting that Xbox has a Gamescom show scheduled for August 24. It's possible that a release date for Halo Infinite could be announced then. Some rumours have suggested that the launch could come in mid-November.

Either way, it seems like Halo Infinite is definitely launching before this year is out (or almost definitely, if nothing else), so fans can rest easy.


Halo Infinite Won't Have Campaign Co-op or Forge at Launch

Halo Infinite's due out later this year, but it won't be launching with everything you'd want. With 343 Industries working hard to ensure that the game gets out by the end of this year, they've decided to prioritize development in certain areas and push back a couple of features that won't be in the game when it releases.

The news was confirmed by Joseph Staten, head of creative at 343 Industries, who confirmed during the recent Halo Infinite development update that the game won't have campaign co-op or Forge when it launches later this year.

"Unfortunately, as we focus the team for shutdown, and really focus on a quality experience for launch, we made the really tough decision to delay campaign co-op for launch," Staten said. "And we also made the tough call to delay shipping Forge past launch as well."

Staten says 343 Industries made the decision because they don't want to ship anything until they know it's at a minimum level of quality, and they do no feel co-op and Forge are at that level just yet.

"Our number one priority is making sure that whatever we ship, whenever we ship it, it meets the right quality bar. Across all platforms – Xbox devices, PC in all its different configurations. " he said. "And we looked at these two experiences – campaign co-op and Forge – we made the determination they're just not ready. And as a studio, we don't want to ship things if they're not ready."

That said, given Halo Infinite's nature as a live service experience, 343 Industries is going to "keep campaign co-op and Forge in the over a little bit longer" and release them following the game's release as part of its seasonal roadmap. When exactly can we expect that? Staten says the plan right now is to ship campaign co-op in season 2, and Forge in season 3. That means that the goal right now is to release the former three months after the game's launch, and the latter six months after launch- though of course, Staten points out that nothing is set in stone yet.

As for when Halo Infinite will actually launch, there's actually still no word on that yet. Microsoft and 343 Industries have said the game's targeting a Holiday 2021 launch, and it seems they still remain committed to that window. Rumours say that could mean mid-November, but we're still waiting on official word. Microsoft does have an Xbox Gamescom show coming up on August 24, so maybe we'll get more information then.


Destiny 2: Season of the Lost Announced, Mara Sov Returns

Bungie has quite a lot planned for its upcoming Destiny 2 showcase on August 24th. On top of showcasing new details for The Witch Queen, it will also discuss Season of the Lost, the next big season for the game. In a new tweet, it confirmed that Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, would be returning.

What's Mara Sov been up to since the whole Dreaming City curse? How has she been contending with the arrival of the Darkness, Savathun wreaking havoc with the world and other generally distress matters? Perhaps we'll find out in Season of the Lost, which could help set up events for the upcoming expansion.

Other features that will be discussed at the showcase include Bungie partnering with BattlEye to soft launch its anti-cheat in the coming season. There will also be details on revamps for PvP mode Trials of Osiris, returning Crucible maps and much more. As for The Witch Queen, it's slated to release in 2022 so perhaps there will be a release date announcement as well.


LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Confirmed for Gamescom Opening Night Live

It's been a while since we've heard about LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Slated to release this past Spring, it would be delayed to an unspecified date due to Traveller's Tales needing more time. Thankfully, it seems an update is finally coming. Geoff Keighley announced on Twitter that a world premiere new look for the title would be showcased at Gamescom Opening Night Live.

The event takes place on August 25th at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET and will feature over 30 games. Sledgehammer Games' recently announced Call of Duty: Vanguard was confirmed to be receiving its first playthrough at the show. An announcement for the new Saints Row, which appears to be a reboot, has also been confirmed for the same.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is currently slated for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC. It features all nine Star Wars film episodes with about 300 playable characters, a variety of locations to visit and numerous missions to play. Perhaps a new release date will finally be announced at Gamescom. Stay tuned in the meantime.


No More Heroes 3 Gameplay Showcases Boss Battle and Sushi

With No More Heroes 3 coming later this month, it's good to see more gameplay before launch. IGN Japan has a nearly 15 minute gameplay video which sees Travis Touchdown battling foes, ordering sushi dishes and squaring off against Mr. Blackhole. This is another "Galactic Superhero" working under FU who specializes in wormholes. Check it out below.

Set two years after Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, No More Heroes 3 sees Santa Destroy invaded by intergalactic assassins led by the chaotic alien prince FU. In order to save the world, Travis must work his way up the assassin rankings, earning enough money from chores and side jobs to partake in ranking battles to defeat each of FU's henchmen. Said chores include cleaning toilets, mowing lawns and suplexing crocodiles.

Of course, there's plenty of combat to be had as well, especially with the Death Glove adding more abilities and techniques into the mix. No More Heroes 3 is out on August 27th for Nintendo Switch. Head here for more details on what to expect.


Metroid Dread Teaser Sets up Samus' Journey, New Trailer Coming August 27

Nintendo has been releasing regular updates for the upcoming Metroid Dread ahead of its launch in October, and a new trailer sets up Samus' journey in what's being touted as the final chapter of this ongoing story arc, which started with the first Metroid back in the day.

When signs of Parasite X activity, once thought to be long dead, are reported on Planet ZDR and the Galactic Federation loses contact with the seven E.M.M.I. robots it dispatched, Samus embarks on a journey to the planet owing to her immunity to the parasite, where things quickly go wrong. Check out the teaser below.

Meanwhile, in a new Metroid Dread Report blog update, Nintendo has also provided gameplay details relating to Samus' suit, her abilities, and upgrades. Staples like her arm cannon, missiles, and morph ball are, of course, going to return, while you can also expect to see the Grapple Beam, as well as new Aeon Abilities, such as the Phantom Cloak, which temporarily renders her invisible.

Finally, Nintendo has also confirmed that a new trailer of Metroid Dread is going to be released next week, on August 27, which will be "shedding light on new mysteries."

Metroid Dread launches for Nintendo Switch on October 8.


Phil Spencer Talks About Quake's Legacy At Quakecon 2021

During Quakecon 2021, head of Xbox Phil Spencer talked about the legacy left behind by Quake and how much of a cultural impact it had within the industry at large. The original Quake recieved a surprise remastered release yesterday for modern platforms, and is available right now.

Quake was one of the first arena shooters to pioneer the fast-paced action that DOOM flirted with before. The game's deep mechanics left players engaged on online deathmatches for hours on end, and Quake was one of the earliest eSports games in the FPS genre.

"I think it's important for us as players, as people who love the gaming industry, [to acknowledge] what are art form is about, to recognise those franchises that really changed so much that came after them due to the sheer innovation, differentiation, and kind of risk taking the team took. Quake was clearly one of those franchises. You can remember before Quake and after Quake. I think everything that came after Quake both had a bar that the franchise set, and also just an impact on design and multiplayer that we feel in the games we're still playing today. Awesome franchise to recognise and give it its due for what it meant to our industry," Phil Spencer said(as transcribed by PureXbox)

In addition to the console releases, Quake 2 and Quake 3: Arena were also launched on Xbox Game Pass for PC. It's rumored that this is a strategy to revive this classic franchise with the help of MachineGames. Of course, that remains to be seen if the rumors eventually turn out to be true – but fans seem to elated with the surprise nevertheless.


Google Once Considered Buying Epic With The Help Of Tencent Games – Report

Following the Epic Apple lawsuit, a number of documents are still being unearthed pertaining to the gaming giant. A recent document shows that Google wanted to exert more control over Epic so as to prevent the company from potentially taking away profits from the search giant.

As originally reported by Protocol, the report states that Google knew from the outset that Epic wouldn't want to get bought by Google. Thus, a Google executive formulated a strategy to tie up with Tencent Games(who owns 40% stake in Epic) to exert more control on the company and eventually, remove Tim Sweeney as the CEO.

In addition to this, the report also states that Google and Apple also formulated plans to work together to prevent Epic from undermining the commission rates developers have to pay to these giants for putting applications on the platforms. Google reportedly spent millions of dollars to keep some of the top developers in the games space – which includes Activision Blizzard– to not follow in Epic's footsteps.


PlayStation Exclusive WiLD Has Been Cancelled, Insider Claims – Rumor

Renowned industry insider Jeff Grubb recently revealed in a video with Giant Bomb that Michel Ancel's PlayStation exclusive project WiLD has been cancelled. Grubb seems pretty confident on the stance, and there's a number of reasons backing the sentiment.

The last appearance of the game came in the form of a few screenshots shared by creative director Michel Ancel in 2017, following which there's been complete silence on the matter. The game was unveiled during Gamescom 2014, and the scarcity of information surrounding WiLD does suggest that the project has long been abandoned. Michel Ancel also announced his departure from the industry altogether, further supporting the sentiment.

Ancel was also working on Beyond Good and Evil 2 prior to his departure, which is another Ubisoft project that's in development hell at the time of writing. Ubisoft claims that progress is being done on the game, but it seems unlikely that fans will get to hear anything about the game anytime soon.


New Xbox System Update Fixes A Nasty Game Trial Bug

A new update for the Xbox system software has been released which fixes a bug that fans had been facing with respect to free trials. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers get access to select trials of games for a limited period of time, and many complained that the timer kept running even when they quit out of the game.

With the latest system software update, fans can expect to have any and all such issues alleviated. The official Xbox Support Twitter account revealed to fans about the update, which is downloadable right now.

Xbox's strategy with its next-gen offerings in terms of system software remains – "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." That being said, it has proven to be monumental in giving the team more time to work on features that actually matter including but not limited to FPS Boost and Smart Delivery. Keep reading for the patch notes of the latest update.

Patch Notes: 

MISCELLANEOUS

General stability and performance improvements.

KNOWN ISSUES

Audio

Some people are reporting that they aren't hearing audio with Dolby Atmos enabled.

Games

Some players have reported that when returning to a Quick Resume title, their controller isn't responding in the game. Quitting and relaunching the game will resolve this.

Guide

There's an issue in which the audio mixer may not be adjustable.

Some people have reported that trying to launch the guide via controller brings up the power menu instead.

Home

The icon for disc-based titles isn't appearing on the dashboard for some players.

Some people have reported seeing a black/blank screen after installing an update. A simple reboot can often resolve the issue. If that doesn't work, a factory reset is recommended. For instructions, see: How to reset your Xbox console to factory defaults

HDMI-CEC

Some players have reported that HDMI-CEC isn't working correctly. Ensure that your TV supports HDMI-CEC and is also enabled. If the issue persists, please report the problem.

My Games & Apps

Some games might appear with an incorrect "Trial" tag in My games & apps.

Narrator

There are several sections of the dashboard that Narrator doesn't currently read. We're aware of the issue and investigating.