WWE’s SummerSlam event takes place this Saturday, and Epic is getting in the mood by announcing that 16-time world champion John Cena will five-knuckle shuffle his way into Fortnite.

Cena arrives on July 28 and comes outfitted in his full-on entrance gear as well as his shirtless in-ring gear. You can pick up a set that includes a “you can’t see me” emote, WWE Championship Title Back Bling, and Five Digit Slapper pickaxe. Personally, I’m chuckling at the idea of the PG-friendly Cena adjusting attitudes with guns instead of bodyslams. 

While Cena isn’t the first wrestler to appear in Fornite – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has him beat there – it’s cool to see regardless, and, as a wrestling fan, I hope this trend continues. Fortnite already acts as the ultimate “forbidden door” for various media properties, so let's throw more sports entertainment into the mix by adding stars from WWE, AEW, Impact, New Japan, and other promotions. That would certainly entice me to dive back into action. 

Do you plan on chasing victory royales as Big Match John? Let us know in the comments! 

Masters Copenhagen, the latest major event on Valorant’s esports calendar, concluded over the weekend. And as has been the case so many times throughout the game’s short history thus far, it produced some absolutely wild results. FunPlus Phoenix (FPX), a Chinese-owned but European team, took home the crown after a five-map thriller with the Singapore-based Paper Rex (PRX).

In many ways, the story behind FPX’s big win is utterly incredible. Despite being one of Valorant esports’ oldest core rosters, having been together since 2020, this was the team’s LAN debut. They sadly missed out on Reykjavik earlier this year due to VISA issues complicated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, a tournament many experts had picked them to win. This time around, at Copenhagen, they arrived as firm underdogs behind Fnatic, a team they have consistently lost to in recent months at the domestic level.

And yet, FPX overcame the odds and their rivals, though not before being defeated by Fnatic and Korea’s DRX in the group stages. In the end, it was a run through the tournament’s lower bracket that paved their path to the grand final and a win over the people’s favorites in PRX, who so many adore for their aggressive, flashy playstyle. FPX walked away with the trophy, $200,000, and valuable circuit points towards the end-of-year main event, Champions.

Punishing Gray Raven developer Kuro Game debuted a new look at Wuthering Waves, its new game. Titled "Sunoare", the trailer showcased more in-development footage of the open-world action title.

Check out the Wuthering Waves gameplay trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01vz41sCr84

The Wuthering Waves trailer shows off a mix of cutscene, combat and environmental traversal gameplay. A male playable character travels about a large open-world map with long vistas. They and other, unnamed female playable characters, are shown gliding through the air while holding an umbrella-like glider. The glider itself is made up of multiple rigid panels, similar to the one used by Fragile in Death Stranding. Characters can swim, climb, swing on ropes, and even run along vertical walls.

They can use these moves in combat, too, to gain height advantage on enemies. The trailer also shows an in-game town or settlement of some kind. From some of the character interactions shown, it may be a hub for quests or narrative events in the final release of Wuthering Waves. In combat, characters can belt out combos, and the gameplay shows free-switching of different characters in the party. As the game is in development, no UI or interface is visible, though.

With the launch of the PlayStation VR2 is rapidly approaching, PlayStation gave fans more information as to what separates the sequel from the original. In an early blog post, Sr. Staff Product Manager, Yasuo Takahashi, breaks down a few important features that will make this an improvement.

Check out their official descriptions below.

See-Through View

The “See-Through View” is exactly how it sounds. While wearing the headset, users will be able to see the surrounding area due to the PS VR2’s embedded front cameras. Users only have to press the function button on the headset, or use the Card in the Control Center, and it will bring up the option to choose between viewing the surrounding area or viewing the content on display in the PS VR2.

In the last few years, Supermassive Games has positioned itself as a standout maker of choice-led interactive games that let players write their own story.

With titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures Anthology under its belt, the Guildford-based studio has reached critical acclaim for its narrative design and branching storylines.

The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of cinematic horror stories that Supermassive releases annually, starting with 2019's Man of Medan. The games don't follow one story, the anthology can be enjoyed in any order, with each of the three titles being a standalone story.

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A new report from Newzoo today says that the global video games market is estimated to make $197 billion in revenue for the year of 2022.

The market intelligence firm says that the figure represents an increase of 2.1% year-over-year.

Newzoo attributes mobile game consumer spending as the main driver of 2022's total worldwide consumer spending.

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Sony released a PlayStation Blog post fleshing out some of the new features for its upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset. 

PS VR2 now sports a see-through view. By hitting a button or using the Card in the Control Center, you can disable game footage and see your surroundings without removing the headset. This is thanks to the device’s embedded front cameras, making it less of a hassle when you need to check on something in the real world. Sony also notes that this mode is for viewing only; you can’t use it to record. You can, however, broadcast yourself while playing PS VR2 games by connecting a PS5 HD camera to the consoles. 

The play area, as in the virtual boundaries allotted for VR play, can now be customized. You can use the headset cameras and Sense controllers to scan the room and dynamically map out the play space to your liking. These settings are then saved until you move to a different play area. 

Lastly, PS VR2 sports two viewing modes: VR and Cinematic. VR mode displays VR content in a 360 degree view in 4000 x 2040 HDR video format (2000 x 2040 per eye) and 90Hz/120Hz frame rate. Cinematic Mode lets players view non-VR media and the PS5 interface in 1920×1080 HDR video format with 24/60Hz and 120Hz frame rate.

Today Sega and Creative Assembly revealed the second legendary lord that will be included in the Champions of Chaos DIC for Total War: Warhammer 3.

It’s Festus the Leechlord, champion of Nurgle, who aims to spread plague and disease all over the old world and beyond.

Festus can either heal his own troops or deal damage to the enemies on the battlefield (and you need to choose between the two).

His legendary lord effects are quite appropriate to his nature.

Faction Effects

• Vassals gain poison attacks and spread Nurgle’s corruption
• Can brew Plagues
• Souls +25 when a plague is spread

Lord Effects

• Plague duration: +3 turns (local armies)
• Battle healing cap: +25% (Lord’s Army)

You can see him in action in the trailer below. Apparently, we’re getting an in-depth gameplay video tomorrow as we did for Azazel.

Total War: Warhammer 3 is currently available exclusively for PC.

Today, fans will finally be able to get their hands on the big new update that Rockstar Games has been touting for the online version of GTA V, as GTA Online The Criminal Enterprises is now available. This free update brings plenty of exciting new opportunities for players, including lots of new missions, vehicles, weapons, and rewards to cash in on.

One of the biggest new additions is Operation Paper Trail, which sees you become an IAA agent that has to help Agent ULP crash a far-reaching criminal conspiracy theory that’s come to life. You can check out a full breakdown of GTA Online’s The Criminal Enterprises features right down below:

Today we got a little bit more information about PlayStation VR2, Sony's next foray into the world of virtual reality.

A new blog from PlayStation has detailed the user experience features available upon its release.

These include a very useful looking see-through view and a customisable play area set up, among others.

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Nier: Automata is my favorite game of all time, renowned and criticized for its unconventional narrative design and eccentric characters. Years after seeing the action JRPG’s numerous endings and earning the platinum trophy, I never expected to miss out on so many well-kept mysteries. However, an Automata player recently discovered a secret room leaving hardcore dataminers baffled and excited. 

Someone randomly posted a video on the Nier Automata subreddit showing they found a secret room in the Copied City. So far no one else has worked out how they managed to make this secret door appear. Literally 1 person on earth has accessed this room and we are uttered mind blown pic.twitter.com/g7W4JxiNDg

Thanks to the recent release of Stray, the internet is in no shortage of cat content. If this isn't enough for you though (and let's be frank, we could all do with more cats at all times), then you're in luck.

Modder KangieDanie has uploaded a splitscreen multipawer - sorry, multiplayer - mod for PC that lets you play through the campaign in local co-op.

KangieDanie notes that the mod is in very early development so if you decide to give it a try, you're inevitably going to run into some bugs.

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Today Atlus hosted a livestream presenting the results of the fan survey launched back in May, providing interesting information on what its customers want from the popular developer.

We learn that 44,731 people compiled the survey in total, of whom 13,971 were from Japan and 30,760 were from North America. European fans were not involved, albeit it’s likely safe to assume that many cheated and simply responded to the North American survey.

Among the information provided including which games of the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series the fans started with and more, we hear what they hope to see a remakes of. Below you can find the full ranking.

Interestingly, Persona 3 and the Persona 2 duology took the top spot supported by the same percentage of respondents, followed closely by the original Revelations: Persona.

It’s not just Stranger Things that gets to star undead wizards this year. World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King Classic releases on September 26th, Blizzard have revealed. Take a nostalgic trip back to Northrend to tackle the evil Lich King, Arthas Menethil, and check out what’s changed since the original. Watch the trailer below to refresh your memory from all the way back in 2008.

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Stray has completely taken over the internet, with seemingly everyone on my timeline currently playing the futuristic feline adventure. But one YouTuber has taken what is, to most folks at least, a fairly chill cat game and made it much harder by figuring out a way to beat the entire game without taking any damage.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a huge game, both in scope and in the anticipation levels of its dedicated fan base. Its ambitions match! There's a ton to do, see and learn. With all this, though, comes high expectations. So does it meet them? Let's go through the menu.

Characters

The protagonists of the game, two combat teams from the game’s main warring factions, are out to... save the world? Handle everyone’s problems? It’s a fairly standard JRPG setup, though Monolith does a good job making you invested in their adventure and its secrets. The two main heroes, Noah and Mio, are “off-seers,” experts in sending off dead fighters in a world very much full of them. This is used to center the story on life and death, and the consequences of an abbreviated existence.

The tone of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 feels like a mix of the original Xenoblade and the Wii U-exclusive X. It’s more serious in tone, and more realistic in visual presentation. It’s also less of a “handheld” game. We didn’t have any issues playing it on our Switch Lite, but it’s clear that the game’s designed for a larger, TV-based play experience. Xenoblade 2 had large text, hidden interface elements and such, and that’s just not here. It’s also a darker, more atmospheric game, while 2 was generally a vibrant anime world.

Bullet time has gone in and out of fashion, yet it remains accepted as cool by everyone who has ever knocked back a fistful of painkillers and murdered half of New York City. Rollerskating has gone in and out of fashion too, and anyone who's glanced at Instagram for the past couple of years will know which stage of the wave we're at. Rollerdrome fuses these two oscillating trends in the story of a rollerskating hotshot with a vendetta against human heads. I got a look at the first few levels and, so far, it's a flashy spin on the slow-mo gun fight.

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When Final Fantasy veteran and survivor of the Xenosaga games Tetsuya Takahashi set out to make the original Xenoblade Chronicles, it was with the intention of creating nothing less than a JRPG masterpiece. His team at Monolith Soft were tasked with making a game that would restore the balance between systems and story that had been knocked out of whack by certain giants of the genre throughout the noughties, and one that would bring the JRPG back to its 90s pomp.

Upon its release in 2010 the first Xenoblade Chronicles met its brief and then some; coming six months after the high-budget hobble of Final Fantasy 13, Takahashi's game restated and refined the elements that helped make JRPGs so beloved in their heyday. Monolith Soft created a seemingly boundless fantasy world whose impossible horizons stretched on for miles (featuring landscapes as breathtaking as Breath of the Wild's, a game Monolith Soft helped create alongside Nintendo in its frequently employed role as a support developer) . Here was a JRPG infused with an infectious sense of adventure matched by some exquisite systems. At the time it was nothing short of a revelation.

Subsequent entries struggled to have the same impact. Xenoblade Chronicles X, a fantastic and fascinating spin-off, was held back by the Wii U's paltry user base as it shifted the balance towards its open world systems; Xenoblade Chronicles 2, meanwhile, had its appeal limited by some of its more questionable character designs and the excesses of its story as it was crowded out in the Switch's busy launch year. With Xenoblade Chronicles 3 coming during a relatively quiet summer for big new games, it feels like the timing might be right to restore the JRPG crown to a beloved series.

There's an old Lohman and Barkley radio sketch about a guy at a McDonald's drive-thru whose brakes have failed. He's persistent, though. He circles the joint, racing along, getting his order out in bursts. One...Burger...

It's a lovely joke, and a joke with a certain kind of shape to it. Something of the Doppler effect. You listen and you hear the arc, the sound of something coming very close and then swinging away again. You get to hear the sensation of a curve, a loop. Maybe he was just hungry.

Anyway. This week I asked a couple of people who are making Rollerdrome at Roll7 what an ideal Rollerdrome map should look like. I thought they might talk about arcs or loops, and they did, in a way. But only because of what arcs and loops do to players. The ideal Rollerdrome map is a churn, I was told. No corners, as such. Everything brings you back to the centre and once you're at the centre, you never stop. Out again, but never too far. Always coming back. Always returning. One...Burger...

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Skates are cool. That was my takeaway when 16-year-old me watched Whip It in theaters, grinning dumbly as Elliot Page and Kristen Wiig rammed into each other while skating around wildly in an arena. Rollerdrome takes things to the next level. This game is, like, forget that kiddy shit. We’re making roller derby actually deadly, and we’re going for more of a Hunger Games vibe than the grungy, teen emo stuff you see in Whip It.

Fair enough, Roll7. Let the games begin.

I didn’t know much about Rollerdrome before I actually got my hands on the preview build, and I was certainly surprised to learn that it was from the same team that made the OlliOlli games. My colleague Andrew will tell you that OlliOlli World is a lighthearted, goofy game that celebrates skateboard culture with lots of fun customization options to make your experience feel distinct. Rollerdrome is nothing like that at all.

Instead, what we have here is a dystopian world set in 2030, where corporations have effectively ruled the world. In true Hunger Games spirit, the citizens –or the sheeple, if you will– have grown increasingly desensitized to violence, an issue that’s only exacerbated by the emergence of a new bloodsport: Rollerdrome.

In Rollerdrome, people put their skates on and enter an arena. It’s just like roller derby, except instead of trying to lap each other to score points, you’re, uh, shooting each other with firearms instead. Players take control of Kara Hassan, a new Rollerdrome contender who’s looking to make her way to the top of the game. Your job is to eliminate all other contestants, while pulling off cool tricks in the arena to impress the crowd.

Reviewed on: Switch
Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Monolith Soft
Release: July 29, 2022

Monolith Soft has struggled to recreate and magnify the novelties of the first Xenoblade Chronicles adventure since its 2012 release. The third chapter in the science-fantasy JRPG series suffers the same frustrating fate as XC X and XC 2. Despite its first-rate combat and character progression features, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a bloated trek across vast but lifeless environments further diminished by an unaffecting narrative with one of the worst ensemble casts in the franchise.

XC 3 employs a real-time battle system where “Arts,” advanced skills mapped to the controller’s face buttons, give fights a natural, straightforward cadence. By canceling auto-attacks into Arts while balancing cooldown timers, I made quick work of most early-game enemies. However, seeking stronger challengers defending rare treasures or simply grazing off the beaten path forced me to reconsider conventional attack patterns and interact with every mechanic. From taking control of a healer and issuing a “group up” tactic so I could save my team with wide-reaching AoE Arts to toppling staggered enemies with combos, every decision I made felt valuable and rewarding. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Switch

Whenever a new Xenoblade Chronicles game is announced there’s a mad dash online for fans to absorb as much information about the game as possible. This devoted fanbase the franchise has cultivated over the last decade only continues to grow with each successive fantastic game Monolith Soft puts out. Fortunately for fans, it looks like they might have another hit on their hands with Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

In Xenoblade Chronicles 3 we see three soldiers of Keves (Noah, Eunie, Lanz) join up with three soldiers from the rival nation of Agnus (Mio, Sena, Taion). Following their newfound freedom from their shackle-like Flame Clocks, they seek to free others from the cycle of violence.

The existence of every colony is inexorably tied to its Flame Clocks. These massive clocks are displayed on each colony’s giant mech known as a Ferronis. Additionally, the Flame Clock can be seen in a single eye of each colony member. Failing to keep a Flame Clock above empty spells certain death for a colony which in turn is the catalyst for the forever wars that Noah and his friends are trying to end.

Bandai Namco released another character trailer of its upcoming fighting game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R.

This time around, we can enjoy a look at Stardust Crusaders antagonist Hol Horse, alongside the power of his stand Emperor.

You can watch the trailer below.

On 26th September, World of Warcraft Classic players will be able to get their hands on the Wrath of the Lich King expansion (something that we kind of suspected already, as it was leaked ahead of time).

To accompany this official announcement, however, we also have a new trailer from Blizzard. Here, the gates to the frozen plains of Northrend are opened once again as battle ensues all around.

You can check it out for yourself below.

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Heads up there are vague spoilers for Better Call Saul season 6 episode 9 in here.

In a way, this episode could've been the last. I'm talking about 'Fun and Games', episode 9 of Better Call Saul's final season, which is technically not the latest by the time this piece is live. I think it could've been the last because of the sheer amount of things it ties up, but Better Call Saul, the sleepy, scummy, obsessively detailed prequel to Breaking Bad, is summed up best by the space it likes to give. To end it here, despite the at times interminable wait to see Saul as Saul, would've been too quick.

Over its seven years of runtime, the Breaking Bad prequel has sprawled. Showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould had apparently expected Jimmy McGill, a peevish, bitter, and just infuriatingly lovable young lawyer, to have fully evolved into Saul Goodman, a kind of late-Elvis final, tacky form, by the end of the first season - but they were also known to have not really had a plan for how that might happen, either.

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Amazon is increasing the price of its Prime subscription from £79 to £95 per year in the UK.

For members who pay monthly, you'll pay a pound extra (£8.99 instead of £7.99, for a total of £107.88 a year).

The rise follows a similar price hike by streaming rival Netflix back in March - its second in just 18 months. Both companies offer games as part of their subscriptions.

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Two Valorant players have been suspended from Riot-sanctioned esports competitions following an argument about in-game teabagging.

The news was shared on the Valorant site, stating that Dawn "Dawn" Park and Vivian "Risorah" Dela Cruz used vulgar language and harassed a member of the Galorants community.

Dawn has been suspended from competitions for three months; Risorah has been suspended for nine months.

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There's a big new addition to Pokémon Go today, named Daily Adventure Incense.

This free item will refresh each day and offer you 15 minutes of Pokémon spawns - as long as you keep walking. Included in the list of possible creatures are a long list of uncommon critters, evolved species and... the surprise debut of Galar's Legendary bird trio from Pokémon Sword and Shield!

It's worth noting these three have only a chance to appear, and even then have a low catch and high flee rate. Still, there are already plenty of reports of players successfully acquiring at least one of them, just 12 hours in.

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Free-to-play Warner Bros. brawler MultiVersus slams into open beta today at 5pm BST/6pm CEST/9am PST. We’ll be bringing you some thoughts later this week on whether MultiVersus is any good now it’s out of alpha but, for now, here’s a rundown of when and how you can play today. Check out the trailer below for a quick heads-up on how progression and rewards feature in the game.

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Creator Ron Gilbert has released a new snippet of gameplay from his upcoming release, Return to Monkey Island.

Here, we get our first look at the dialogue options mechanic in-game (you can also see it on the Return to Monkey Island website when you chat to Stan), and meet the formidable Judge Plank.

The clip starts by showing hero Guybrush Threepwood making his way along a snow-ridden and far from tropical street. Those icicles look like they could do some serious damage, and I am getting goose pimples just writing about them.

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A Nexus Mods user is helping players add their purrfect protagonist to Stray on PC.

Modder NorskPL is taking commissions for Stray on a name-your-own-price basis, dependent on complexity.

Already, it seems people have been calling upon NorskPL's services, as their most recent uploads include many requested cat customeowsations.

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Soul Hackers 2 releases in just under a month, and Atlus wants to make sure everyone's on the same page, story-wise. The new Soul Hackers 2 worldview trailer serves that purpose.

Formally called the "World Overview Full Explanation", the Soul Hackers 2  worldview trailer is narrated by Tomokazu Sugita. Sugita's narrated quite a few Atlus trailers, including daily demon features for Shin Megami Tensei V.

Check it out below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4CEzltBAnM

The Soul Hackers 2 worldview trailer establishes the setting as the mid-21st century. It's a time when human technology has stagnated, and its culture has entered slow decline. But lo, the Singularity looms. Technology spontaneously leaves the hands of its creators, evolving on its own. Within the communications network Neuron, a will emerges: Aion. Predicting the imminent end of the world, Aion creates two agents to make first contact with humanity: Ringo and Figue.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, secret organizations battle over the Covenant, the "keyword" to change the fate of the world. The Phantom Society and Yatagarasu war using Devil Summoners. Devil Summoners can form contracts with demons, calling on their power. It's into this Maelstrom that Ringo and Figue enter.

Even more giant lumbering beasts are heading straight for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak when the first of its free title updates lands in August. Expect two new rare species along with a fresh area to explore. Let your finely crafted trousers tremble with anticipatory terror while you watch the trailer below.

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