Battlefield 2042 will bring the long-running franchise to a new scale, and for players, that means getting access to characters with their own abilities. Named Specialists, each comes with their own passive and active ability, as well as a certain combat role that they're oriented towards. They're a means by which players can approach the battlefield in a different way, with no two Specialists being alike.

That being said, the game's Specialists can be broken up into groups. Each has abilities that push players towards a certain archetypical Battlefield playstyle, whether that's assault, engineer, support, or recon. With the game's fluidity for loadouts, they're how players will further specialize their classes.

At launch, Battlefield 2042 will have 10 Specialists, although more will be added to the game post-launch. A full list breaking down the game's list of Specialists can be found below. Battlefield 2042 is launching on November 19 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

N64 and Genesis games are joining Nintendo Switch Online. But there are still Nintendo Switch Online games we want that we don't yet have!

The post What Nintendo Switch Online Games Do We Still Need? appeared first on Siliconera.

Blizzard has officially announced the new name for the Overwatch hero formerly known as McCree. After announcing plans to rename the character because he was named after an ousted Blizzard developer, the company revealed on Friday that McCree's new name will be Cole Cassidy.

The change from McCree to Cassidy will be made in Overwatch beginning on Tuesday, October 26.

Related to this, Blizzard said it planned to begin a new narrative arc for Overwatch in September, with McCree expected to play a key role. Due to the name change, however, Blizzard is delaying the new arc until later this year.

Looking ahead, Blizzard said it will no longer name Overwatch characters after real employees. The company also vowed to "be more thoughtful and discerning about adding real-world references in future Overwatch content."

"We know that actions speak louder than words, and we hope to show you our commitment to making Overwatch a better experience in-game and continue to make our team the best it can be," Blizzard said.

After streamer Valkyrae’s skincare line RFLCT drew criticism for its promises to help offset the negative effects of computer light,” the YouTube has issued a statement. Yesterday, Valkyrae posted a voice note acknowledging the pushback and promised to answer questions in a future stream.

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Maybe you’ve been playing Metroid Dread since it hit Nintendo Switch on October 8, but put it down out of frustration from being stuck in the dang game. Or is that just me? Good news: you’re not actually stuck. It’s just easy to not realize what blocks are destroyable while you’re exploring.

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Pokemon has always featured some pretty amazing designs, but what would it look like if someone combined the existing characters with creatures from other anime. That is exactly what one Redditor did in a recent post to the Pokemon subreddit.

As you can see below, user Leoiruga has made some dazzling crossover art that combines the beloved Nintendo franchise with other adorable creatures from Digimon, Tenchi Muyo, and Cardcaptor Sakura.

These Pokemon designs include combinations like Espeon and Ryo-Ohki, Pikachu and Kero, and Persian and Tailmon. The results really speak for themselves, as they create some pretty amazing-looking characters.

The open beta for Battlefield 2042 was chaotic, buggy, and pretty limited given the scope of the latest game in the long-running shooter series. For developer DICE the beta was one more thing: a learning experience. In an article posted yesterday Battlefield 2042 devs introduce five new specialists and a host of…

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CD Projekt has announced that it has acquired The Molasses Flood, the studio known for games like The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. 

This news comes by way of a press release from CD Projekt that says The Molasses Flood is a perfect fit for the studio group. The studio will be working on one of CD Projekt’s IP, although it will retain its own identity and won’t merge with any existing teams in CD Projekt. 

“The Molasses Flood will be working in close cooperation with CD Projekt Red, but will keep their current identity and will not be merged with existing teams,” the release reads. “The studio will be working on its own ambitious project which is based on one of CD Projekt’s IPs. Details about the project will be announced in the future.” 

CD Projekt specifically cites The Molasses Flood’s technological insight and experience as reasons for the acquisition.

“We’re always on the lookout for teams who make games with heart,” CD Projekt president and CEO Adam Kiciński writes in the press release. “The Molasses Flood share our passion for video game development, they’re experienced, quality-oriented, and have great technological insight. I’m convinced they will bring a lot of talent and determination to the Group.” 

While recent seasons of Fortnite have received glowing praise from the game's massive community, some players still long for the original Fortnite map in Chapter 1. One player who clearly felt that way went to such great lengths that he's recreated the entire Chapter 1 Season 2 map within Fortnite Creative mode, including accurate locations, loot drops, and even its own Battle Star system.

Fortnite Athena Royale

Calling the original creation Athena Royale--Athena is the name of the Chapter 1 map--content creator Atomic TheBoyDilly has painstakingly rebuilt the OG Fortnite map, and in the process, nearly perfected the replica according to players. While some players have pointed out some minor differences, Atomic TheBoyDilly has been responsive to suggestions and seems intent to keep working on the map to improve it further.

The map is limited to just 50 players and only playable in solo mode, and Atomic TheBoyDilly is still working out some of the flaws he perceives to be present, like a lack of floor loot. Nonetheless, reviews from fans have been very positive so far. You can get a good look at the map in this fan video featuring a good old-fashioned rocket ride.

Square Enix patched the controversial digital rights management and anti-cheat software Denuvo out of Nier Replicant, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider earlier this week.

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Social deduction multiplayer game, Among Us, rocketed to extreme popularity last year thanks to its ease of access on mobile phones, PCs, and a handy Switch release, and now it’s finally coming to PlayStation and Xbox consoles. 

Among Us is a great game, and it has also doubled as a great way to hang out with friends during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Its popularity is sure to rise even higher now thanks to these two new console releases. It will hit PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on December 14, which is the same day Among Us hits Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass.

Among Us developer Innersloth announced that PS5 and PS4 versions of the game were coming, with a new Ratchet & Clank skin to celebrate the release, but an actual date was never given until now. Similarly, Xbox announced that Among Us would be coming to its consoles this year, too, but a release date was not given until now.

Third-party developers had plenty of reveals to make today about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, on top of a relevant aircraft release.

First of all, DC Designs offers a new look at Concorde, both the external model and the flight deck. You can see an FMC that will operate similarly to the Airbus A320, so the aircraft will support both basic and complex flight planning.

It is safe to say that music is a vital part of the success of video games. Whether it’s setting the mood for the conflict to come or helping you rage in the middle of a fight, there are so many great examples of music making video games better. Arguably the best example for this is Halo.

To this day, even people who have never played this sci-fi epic can likely hum the Halo Theme performed by composers Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori. If you need further proof of this, just look down below at the recent post to the game’s subreddit by DarkKody28.

In the post, you can see that beloved musical duo Twenty One Pilots performed the theme song to Halo live at a recent show in Boston, using drums, a trumpet, and a guitar. According to the comments, this is something that the band does regularly, indicating they either really like Halo or are just as in love with the theme song as everyone else is.

Epic Games, creator of the massively popular and lucrative battle royale Fortnite, decided to end a popular policy of allowing staff every other Friday off earlier this week. According to a new report by Bloomberg, which a source corroborated for Kotaku, the move angered staff who were caught off guard by the sudden…

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Two more SMT V demons are here, and each one hails from Asia. The latest videos look at Moh Shuvuu and Mishaguji.

The post SMT V Moh Shuvuu and Mishaguji Trailers Appear appeared first on Siliconera.

Smite is getting a Transformers battle pass, which is quite a different theme from Smite's previous Stranger Things-themed battle pass. Launching on November 16, the Smite x Transformers battle pass doesn't mean that autobots will enter as all-new playable characters in the MOBA game. Instead, certain Transformers will be available as skins for existing Smite gods.

Here's a list of which gods will get which autobot skin:

• Starscream (Jing Wei)
• Megatron (Ra)
• Optimus Prime (Geb)

From the trailer, it looks like the skins are from Generation 1--the original Transformer franchise--designs, which is pretty great.

Smite's Transformers battle pass price isn't known yet, but the regular TMNT battle pass cost 750 gems, so roughly around $15 USD. The premium tier of the TMNT battle pass cost 1350 gems which is very roughly equivalent to $21 USD. Players can probably expect pricing for the Transformers battle pass to fall somewhere around those values.

Good Smile Company has more Hatsune Miku figures on the way, and each one is a Nendoroid. It took to Twitter to reveal the latest look at the Snow Miku 2022 Nendoroid. Then, after that, it announced Miku Expo 2021 and Maneki Miku Ver Nendoroids are coming too. First, here’s the new Snow Miku. Her design is based on art from Detsu. In April 2021, people had a chance to vote on which one would be used as the inspiration for the 2022 figure. Detsu’s proved most popular. Now, there’s a painted prototype of it. We're excited to reveal the […]

The post 3 New Hatsune Miku Nendoroids Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s Friday, so you know what that means. Time for another weekend of relaxation and fun where we get to watch anime. And what better way to get you in the mood to watch anime all weekend than by checking out the best anime memes we’ve found from across the internet.

Whether it’s Naruto, Demon Slayer, or Bleach-based content, these anime memes will surely help you beat the Monday blues. So sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the hilarious gaming memes we found from across the internet last week.

And definitely be sure to let us know which ones were your favorites in the comments below. Also, don’t hesitate to leave any other great memes that we may have missed down there to help make us all laugh.

The latest Honkai Impact 3rd tutorial video stars Otto as he explains how the Raven Midnight Absinthe battlesuit works in-game.

The post Otto Explains How to Use Raven in Honkai Impact 3rd appeared first on Siliconera.

“Random rules! Random rules!”

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Cyberpunk and Witcher crew CD Projekt have acquired The Molasses Flood, the American studio behind post-apocalyptic raft ride The Flame In The Flood and base-building game Drake Hollow. Huh! The studio will be making a game set in one of CD Projekt's worlds, which warrants a second: huh! It's all secret for now.

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PUBG Studios’ upcoming PUBG Mobile sequel, New State, will launch on November 11. 

This news comes by way of Video Games Chronicle, which reports that New State, a game set in the future of the PUBG universe, will be a free-to-play, season-based, live-service game. It will launch in 200 different countries and will feature 17 languages in-game for players to choose from. 

New State is already incredibly popular, weeks ahead of its official launch on mobile devices. Over 50 million players have pre-registered for the game. Set in 2051, New State will feature four maps at launch, including the Troi and Erangel maps from the original console and PC PUBG release. 

According to VGC, PUBG Studios says the mobile title’s gunplay system is “on par with what’s found in the PC version” of PUBG. It features a unique player recruitment system, too, as well as plenty of weapon customization. New State’s last technical test before its official launch will take place from October 29 through October 30 in 28 countries worldwide. 

All of the Pokemon featured in this collection will have swirling eyes.

The post Fainted Pokemon Merchandise Will Appear in Late October 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

CD Projekt has just announced that it has acquired the indie game development studio The Molasses Flood. This news comes from a post on the CD Projekt website, and it also states that The Molasses Flood will be working on a project based on one of CD Projekt’s existing IPs.

The Molasses Flood is a Boston-based studio that was founded back in 2014 by industry veterans who worked on BioShock, Halo, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. It’s known for developing the rogulite The Flame in the Flood and village-building co-op game Drake Hollow.

The acquisition won’t be a merge, and the indie studio will still keep its current identity. Studio Head at The Molasses Flood, Forrest Dowling, had this to say about the move:

When CD Projekt approached us about the possibility of working together, we saw an incredible opportunity to reach a much wider audience through a collaboration with a company we love, creating games in worlds we love. We could not be more excited to continue our mission with the support of CD Projekt and their incredibly talented team.

There aren’t any other specific details in regards to the project that’s in the works, but we’ll be sure to keep you informed as new info becomes available.

Good Smile Company is taking Nendoroid pre-orders for the Sango and Miroku figures, but warned that numbers of them will be limited.

The post Inuyasha Nendoroid Limited Pre-orders Open for Sango and Miroku appeared first on Siliconera.

Ever since Saints Row's humble beginnings, cooperative play has been a trademark element of the series. Running around and completing missions with your friends helped distance the series from its open-world counterparts in the games industry, and the feature set has only grown more robust over the years.

"We had done multiplayer in Saints Row 1, and we did multiplayer in Saints Row 2 as well, and that was, almost like the tiniest kernel of what GTA Online came to be – they just knocked it out of the park with anything that we attempted back then, of course," chief creative officer at Volition Jim Boone says. "The big imagination we had was, 'Can you imagine playing this game with a friend, through the entire campaign? Every bit of it.' That took a tremendous effort. Those were the kinds of lessons we learned from Saints Row 1 where we were thinking, 'How can we innovate and how can we expand?'"

It’s a comment I’ve seen hundreds of times, or variations of throughout my time here at Kotaku: internet complaints about the quality of reviews. “A bot can do better than this,” some would cry. So let’s put that to the test.

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The journey nears its end. A few areas are all that remain for Marcus to take on before we close out the adventure through Demon's Souls. Can Marcus triumph against some of the most lethal zones and bosses in this fiery finale? Find out today at 2 PM CST!

In 2009, From Software changed everything with Demon’s Souls on the PlayStation 3. The challenging action RPG would go on to lead the way for a critical subgenre with the Souls games and Bloodborne. With the PS5, Demon’s Souls found a new home with Bluepoint’s remake of the original title. Once upon a time, we began a Demon’s Souls journey that didn’t last long. This time, we’re going through it all. Today, Super Replay returns to its frenzied Friday slot with a new adventure featuring a full playthrough of Demon’s Souls. This Super Replay is sure to be extra hot!

When I think back to the games of my childhood, nothing puts a warm, fuzzy smile on my face like Warcraft 2. As one of the few PC games I had growing up, I ended up playing the campaign over and over again - or at least starting it over and over again - for what felt like actual years. I loved building up my fort and endlessly poking the peasants and peons until they shouted back at me in annoyance, and man alive, there is nothing sweeter than ordering a tooled-up army across the map and absolutely wrecking the enemy in one fell swoop of doom and destruction.

Change isn’t for everyone: just ask the 5% of Steam Hardware Survey respondents still using Windows 7. Sadly, even the most eager of early adopters might be looking to find out how to uninstall Windows 11, the very latest of Microsoft’s operating systems. It could be the newly centralised Start menu; it could be the lack of DirectStorage support among games making the best SSDs perform below their full capability; it could just be a single unsquished bug, which remains a risk with the infant OS. Fortunately, if you decide to want to switch back to Windows 10 within 10 days of installing its successor, it’s possible to roll back in just a few, mildly regretful clicks.

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Alright, fine, here’s how to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10. The current stance of this hardware ed is that Windows 11 has some cool features but is yet to fulfil its potential, largely owing to the missing DirectStorage capability – which, to be fair, could be a very big deal when games start supporting it. For now, then, it’s a free but absolutely not an essential upgrade, and you can think of this post as the RPS equivalent of that video where Valve tore down a Steam Deck: we’re not saying you should do this, just that you can do this.

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The announcement mentioned that The Molasses Flood "will work on its own project based on one of CD Projekt’s IPs." That's likely a game set within the Witcher or Cyberpunk universes.

CD Projekt has previously said that it will developer AAA Witcher and Cyberpunk games simultaneously, starting from 2022. It's not clear what property Molasses Flood will work with, nor if this is an additional project on top of those planned developments – CD Projekt says it will announce more in the future.

Players can catch Pokemon to fight in battles and win many medals.

The post Pokemon Corogarena is a New Medal Arcade Game From Sega appeared first on Siliconera.

A genuinely competitive 4K 144Hz monitor with unique features at a fair price. That was the promise of the Eve Spectrum, a unique 'crowd-designed' project that is also the company's first ever monitor. Against steep odds, Eve has delivered the goods. While a few rough edges remain, the Spectrum is a surprisingly competent package, capable of standing against rivals from long-established competitors.

As we mentioned in our first impressions piece nine months ago, the design of this monitor is superb. Rather than imitating the RGB-soaked, metal-and-plastic amalgamations of standard 'gaming' monitors, Eve has opted for a simpler look. With a skinny stand and little ornamentation, the Spectrum could come off as cheap, but the robust materials, monochrome colour scheme and industrial design elevate the monitor to the level of a pre-Cook Apple product.

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Microsoft has released a new update for the Xbox Series X that brings 4K dashboards, a night mode, and a quick settings menu to the console. 

Xbox announced this news in a new Xbox Wire post that details the three main things coming with this update. Before this update, which is now live for all Xbox Series X owners, the console’s dashboard was not truly 4K, but rather, a 1080p resolution upscaled to 4K. The dashboard is now presented in a native 4K resolution, which means that those with 4K TVs or monitors should notice a much sharper image when paging through the Series X dashboard menus. 

“You can experience 4K while browsing the Home, My Games & Apps, Guide, and many other experiences,” the Xbox Wire post reads. “UI elements on the screen, such as game art and buttons, will have increased sharpness and improved text readability.” 

Today Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a new “State of Play” broadcast slated for next week.

The livestream will happen on Wednesday, October 27 at 2:00 pm PDT, 5:00 pm EDTG, 10:00 pm BST, or 11:00 pm CST depending on where you live.

According to the announcement, it’ll last 20 minutes, and it’ll include new looks at previously-revealed games for PS5 and PS4, on top of a few new reveals.

This time around, the broadcast will focus on third-party games, so there likely won’t be any big announcement from Sony itself.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Sony’s partners have in store, especially since there are major games (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy XVI) about which we haven’t heard much in the past few months.

Of course, you can expect full coverage here on Twinfinite as soon as the show airs next week. Below you can read the full announcement:

“Hello again! Just a quick note to tell you that State of Play returns next Wednesday, October 27 at 2:00pm PT / 10:00pm BST. As usual, you can watch our broadcast live on Twitch and YouTube. Hooray!

This time out, we’ll be focusing on announcements and updates for upcoming third-party releases headed to PS5 and PS4. 

The show is looking to be ~20 minutes or so, and will share new looks at previously announced games, plus a few reveals from our partners around the world. “

Bandai Namco is still sharing official launch artwork of Tales of Arise characters, and Shionne, Rinwell, and Kisara appeared in new pieces.

The post Tales of Arise Characters’ Artwork Stars Shionne, Rinwell, and Kisara appeared first on Siliconera.

Sony has announced another State of Play for Wednesday 27th October.

Tune in on YouTube and Twitch at 10PM UK time.

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