Plenty of action and value, with a steep, inscrutable learning curve

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When Fallout 76 released with its numerous issues, Bethesda's Todd Howard made a phone call to Xbox boss Phil Spencer that ended up helping to turn things around.

During the Bethesda-Microsoft briefing on Thursday, Howard recalled that Spencer was one of the first people he called when things went south with Fallout 76. Spencer directed Howard to some people at Xbox who gave Howard and his team at Bethesda some good advice about how to turn the ship around and get Fallout 76 back on the right path. As has been well-documented, Fallout 76 struggled at launch, both in terms of performance and stability, as well as claims from fans that it was not a true Fallout game because of its online nature and the absence of NPCs.

"When that game launched, the litany of issues we had, we let a lot of people down," Howard said of Fallout 76. "There was very little we didn't screw up, honestly. One of the people that I called was Phil. I said, 'Hey you know there's many things we're dealing with, what advice do you have?' And he put me in touch with some people at Xbox who were able to look at all of the games in the system and what was important and what wasn't important for games that made it for the long-haul."

"And that kind of advice really, really helped us and now, seeing Fallout 76 being one of the most played on Xbox ... we're just incredibly fortunate to be there."

Howard's comment was meant to demonstrate the long and fruitful relationship that Bethesda and Microsoft have enjoyed over the years leading up to the announcement of the acquisition.

The $7.5 billion deal is now complete, and this opens up the door for the two companies to work together more closely than before. During the event, Spencer said a major pillar of the acquisition was to bring Bethesda games to Xbox Game Pass exclusively.

Microsoft has made a habit of dropping Easter eggs in its remote streams during the coronavirus pandemic. So with the Bethesda-Xbox roundtable event celebrating the acquisition, surely we were going to be teased about the setting of Elder Scrolls VI, a Starfield-themed Xbox console, and the blood type of Doomguy, right? As it turns out, nope.

That may be in part because of the venue. Rather than a remote event in which we spied on the offices of various Xbox executives, this one was held at Bethesda headquarters. That office space has plenty of Bethesda decor, ranging from a life-sized Doom Slayer to Corvo's mask from Dishonored, but none of that seems to be particularly new or unexpected.

"I find myself explaining what game design means to a lot of people from different backgrounds, some of whom don't know anything about games. I like to describe my job in terms of 'The Door Problem.'" ...

Gaming monitors are typically used in conjunction with PCs, but they can also be a great option for consoles. With the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, there's increased interest around not only 4K TVs but also monitors that take full advantage of the next-gen consoles' power. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will work well on almost any quality screen, but you'll need a monitor with HDMI 2.1 to take full advantage of the consoles' capabilities and play games in 4K at 120fps. At the moment, there are no monitors on the market that boast HDMI 2.1 ports, but if you're not looking to take advantage of 4K and 120Hz at the same time, you can save some money on a more affordable monitor. Before we get into our recommendations, here's what you need to know about picking the best monitor for PS5 or Xbox Series X right now.

Since 1999, Family Guy has been making fans laugh with hilarious jokes, cutaway gags, and parodies about pop culture. To celebrate over two decades of the animated sitcom, we’ve come up with a trivia quiz that tests fans’ knowledge of the show.

Below, we’ve compiled some challenging questions from across every season that you’re going to need to wrack your brain to solve. So get ready to take our Family Guy trivia quiz below.

(Image source: Fox Broadcasting Company)

Genshin Impact's Hu Tao is something special, thanks to a unique moveset and personality. But while challenging, she's worth the trouble.

The post Genshin Impact’s Hu Tao Is Challenging in a Good Way appeared first on Siliconera.

Each week, the Epic Games Store puts up a free game, which you can add to your library no strings attached. This week’s offering is Surviving Mars, the space-faring city-builder game about...surviving on Mars. It’ll be available until March 18.

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Now that the ZeniMax acquisition is official, studios like id Software and Bethesda have officially joined Team Green. Bethesda and Xbox have always had a strong working relationship, but now that relationship is "Facebook Official" and means more resources, bigger teams, and so much more. 

Topics discussed include looking ahead, teasing projects "we're not ready to announce yet," the subject of exclusivity, Game Pass, and more. What Xbox exec Phil Spencer had to say about exclusivity is making its rounds and echoes what has previously been stated about what this acquisition means. In his most recent statement, Spencer stated that not all games will be exclusive but that the more significant objective is to have more Game Pass-only titles to share with players.

It's the question everyone's been eager to have answered since news broke that Microsoft was acquiring Bethesda and parent company Zenimax Media last year, and now Xbox head Phil Spencer has clarified Microsoft's stance on exclusivity for future Bethesda games.

Speaking as part of tonight's lengthy Xbox and Bethesda "roundtable" event, Spencer chose to address the issue directly. "I see it in the community, I listen to the podcasts and all the questions," he said, "so I'm going to try and be as clear as I can because I just think it's fair."

"Obviously I can't sit here and say every Bethesda game is [an Xbox] exclusive, because we know that's not true," he explained. "There's contractual obligations that we're going to see through. We have games that exist on other platforms and we're going to go and support those games on the platforms they're on. There's communities of players - we love those communities and will continue to invest in them - and even in the future there might be...either contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we'll go do."

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Xbox's new FPS Boost feature is already available for a few games like Far Cry 4 and New Super Lucky's Tale, but the company confirmed duing the Microsoft-Bethesda roundtable livestream that some titles in Bethesda's catalog will also get access to the feature "soon."

Microsoft general manager Aaron Greenberg said on the livestream that the teams at Xbox are "already working" on bringing the feature to Bethesda games. Greenberg didn't specify which Bethesda games these would be, but he said the company will "announce [them] soon."

"And the teams are already working on adding FPS Boost to a number of [Bethesda] titles soon," Greenberg said. "I know we're going to announce [them] soon. Not today, but soon."

It's unclear how "soon" Bethesda and Xbox plans to announce the games that will receive the FPS Boost feature, which almost doubles a game's frame rate by using the more powerful CPU and GPU inside Xbox Series X|S consoles. The feature provides for a smoother gameplay experience, so it could be beneficial for titles like Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Both of the aforementioned games hit Xbox Game Pass on March 12, alongside 18 other Bethesda titles. This includes classics like Doom 1993 and newer games such as Rage 2.

When WIT Studios was announced the Kickstarter their upcoming feature-length anime, The Girl from the Other Side, they’d hoped to raise at least $27,620. After just one day, the project has already doubled that amount.

The projects official Twitter account confirmed that the goal was met yesterday morning, thanking fans for their quick support.

For the uninitiated, The Girl from the Other Side tells the story of a world in which a human girl Shiva and a cursed, non-human “Teacher” live. It is a fascinating tale that feels like a cross between a picture book and a poem.

The official description of the series is listed below.

In a world split between the Inside and the Outside, those living in both realms are told never to cross over to the other side, lest they be cursed. A young girl named Shiva lives on the other side, in a vacant village with a demonic guardian known only as “Teacher.”

Although the two are forbidden to touch, they seem to share a bond that transcends their disparate appearances. But when Shiva leaves Teacher’s care to seek out her grandmother, the secret behind her mysterious living arrangement comes to light.

The Girl from the Other Side feature will be one hour long and is set to release March 10, 2022.

If you’re still looking for more anime-themed content, be sure to check out our latest posts. Those include everything from the best senpai in anime to amazing Isekai shows you’ll want to check out.

If you've ever wanted Halo socks or a Master Chief mug, Best Buy has you covered with a new Halo Infinite collector box full of themed merch. Available for $40, the Halo Infinite collector box contains a Master Chief art print, a tiny collectible Energy Sword, the aforementioned socks, and more. It releases March 28, but you can preorder it now.

If you're looking for more Halo Infinite merch, Best Buy has a number of cool options. Best Buy's exclusive Master Chief Funko Pop has an awesome camo finish, while the 8-inch Master Chief figure can hold your phone and controller while you're not using them. The best Halo figure, however, is definitely the Dark Horse Master Chief PVC statue. It features Chief in a strong, majestic pose as he holds the iconic assault rifle and surveys the area.

Halo Infinite is expected to release this fall, and if you want to be ready for its release, you can reserve your copy ahead of time. Check out our Halo Infinite preorder guide, which features a discounted bundle that comes with the aforementioned Dark Horse statue.

I started playing Oddworld: New ‘N Tasty and oh god, I’m going to have to save all 299 of these Mudokons, aren’t I?

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Can you play Roblox on PS4 or PS5? Sadly, the answer is no. Roblox is one of the most popular online game platforms out there, raking in 199 million monthly active users across all current platforms, but since its official launch in 2006, PlayStation users have been left out. The question then is will Roblox ever come to PS4 or PS5? Let's explore which platforms Roblox is currently available on, and which platforms it might launch on in the future.

Will Roblox Come To PS4 Or PS5?

The answer is most likely yes. In a July 2016 stream on the Roblox Twitch channel, now-former social media manager Jack Hendrik gave what we believe was one of the last updates on whether or not Roblox is coming to PS4.

"Soon?" stated Hendrik. "It is in production, that has been confirmed. We are working on [Roblox] for PS4. I do not have a release date for you guys."

Can You Play Roblox On PS4 Or PS5 Now?

Many other sites offer guides on how to play or how to get Roblox on PS4 and PS5 now. The fact is there is no way to play Roblox on PS4 or PS5. Navigating to the Roblox page via the PlayStation console's browser, logging in, and attempting to access Roblox that way will not work. PS4 and PS5 do not currently support Roblox, so there's no way to brute force it.

Can You Play Roblox On Xbox One Or Xbox Series X|S?

Yes, as far as consoles go, Roblox is available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. You can access it from the Microsoft Store.

Learn how the GDC organizers are working to make sure GDC Showcase has a positive social and environmental impact on the world of game development. ...

Bethesda Game Studios managing director Ashley Cheng has shared some high-level details on two of the company's most-anticipated upcoming games: Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI.

During the Bethesda-Microsoft briefing, Cheng said the team working on Starfield is uniquely positioned to succeed because the developers themselves have worked together for years on other open-world RPGs in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises.

"Today, the team working on Starfield have all worked on several open-world RPGs together. This shared experience and chemistry doesn't happen overnight. It takes a long time and it's a lot of hard work," Cheng said.

Cheng didn't mention The Elder Scrolls VI by name, but the game's logo flashed on screen when Cheng spoke about the upcoming games from Bethesda Game Studios.

"As we work on our next-generation of games, I can think of no better place to be than here at Xbox. No matter how crazy the idea, the team at Xbox always says yes, 'Let's try it.'"

Release dates for Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI have not been announced yet, but Starfield will come first, and then The Elder Scrolls VI, according to the current schedule. They are presumably being developed for next-gen hardware and PC.

Also during the event, Cheng said Microsoft has "always been a great partner" for Bethesda Game Studios, going back to the days of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, which launched as an exclusive for Xbox.

"Xbox has been a great partner; always ready to help solve problems, like figuring out how to optimize performance and push the hardware as much as we can," Cheng said.

Thundurus is back in Pokemon Go for a limited time. The Gen 5 Legendary is appearing in its Incarnate Forme once again until March 16, and this time, you'll have a chance to encounter a Shiny version. If you're looking to add the Legendary Pokemon to your collection, here are some tips to help you beat and catch Thundurus.

Thundurus Raid Schedule

Incarnate Forme Thundurus is appearing in five-star Raid Battles again from March 11-16, giving you only a few days to catch it. In order to participate in a Thundurus Raid, you'll need to have either a standard Raid Pass to join the battle in-person, or a Remote Raid Pass to join remotely. Both are on sale in Pokemon Go's in-game shop, but Niantic is also giving away one Remote Raid Pass in its free weekly item bundles, which are available every Monday in March.

How To Catch Shiny Thundurus

As previously mentioned, Shiny Incarnate Forme Thundurus is also appearing in Raids until March 16. However, your odds of finding one are fairly slim, and there's no way to tell if Thundurus is Shiny until you've already defeated it and made it to the catching phase. If you're hoping to catch a Shiny version, your best bet is to participate in as many Thundurus Raids as you can before the Legendary leaves the game again.

Animations from the grim darkness of the far future

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Another new Amazon Luna game appeared, as Sega decided to send Sonic to race on the service with Team Sonic Racing.

The post Team Sonic Racing Parked on the Amazon Luna Service appeared first on Siliconera.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time arrives on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Switch tomorrow, giving us some of the most polished versions of last year’s excellent platformer alongside one that struggles a lot but gets the job done. Digital Foundry compared the PS5 and Switch versions side by side, and the…

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The CW’s plan to resurrect USA’s 2004 series The 4400 definitely comes across as the network’s latest go at bringing aliens/futurism/superhero drama to television. Presumably, it will happily exist alongside things like the Arrowverse and the Roswell reboot. But since it’s been so long since the original was on air,…

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Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein return; The Evil Within makes Game Pass debut

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As part of a lengthy and largely revelation-free "roundtable" event this evening, Microsoft and Bethesda have announced that 20 Zenimax Media titles will be making their way to Game Pass on Xbox, PC, and Cloud from tomorrow, 12th March.

It's a big old list, bringing some absolutely massive titles over to Microsoft's subscription service from all across Zenimax's studios. id Software's seminal first-person shooter series Doom gets a lot of love, for instance, with the Game Pass arrival of the original 1993 Doom, Doom 2, Doom 3, Doom 64, and Doom Eternal, alongside id's post-apocalyptic shooter Rage 2.

MachineGames steps into the Game Pass ring with Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, while Arkane Studios is represented by sci-fi shooter Prey, alongside Dishonored Definitive Edition and Dishonored 2.

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If you’ve ever been curious to check out a Valorant esports competition, the next seven days of Riot Games’ official Valorant Champions Tour promise to deliver some of the most compelling professional matches the game has seen yet in its short history.

Across several different regions around the globe, three Challengers series over the past two months have been building to Masters Stage 1, which kicks off in a matter of hours for North America and over the next couple of days for other regions.

Today Microsoft hosted a roundtable livestream about the acquisition of Bethesda.

The finalization of the deal has been announced yesterday and today we get more details from head of Xbox Phil Spencer, Xbox head of games marketing Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox marketing Sarah Bond, and head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty on the Microsoft Side

On the Bethesda side, we hear from executive producer Todd Howard, head of marketing Pete Hines, SVP of development Todd Vaughn, and VP of communications Erin Losi.

• Todd Howard mentions that the deal is “surreal.” Bethesda had a lot of chapters and many of them have been done alongside Xbox. Howard himself has always been calling Phil Spencer to “bounce things off of” even before the acquisition. His advice was also useful to improve things for Fallout 76.
• Spencer talked about exclusivity. While he can’t promise that every Bethesda game is

“Obviously I can’t say here and now “Every Bethesda game is exclusive.” We know that’s not true. There are contractual obligations that we’re going to see through. We always do in every one of these instances.

We have games that exist on other platforms. We’re going to support those games on the platforms they’re on. We love those communities and we’ll continue to invest in them.

Even in the future, there will be things that have either contractual things on different platforms.

But for Xbox customers, the thing I want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists.

In today's contest you can win Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 4!

Look, I just refuse to put the "The Official Videogame" part in this title. It's just too long. Monster Energy Supercross 4 is a perfectly fine title without having to complicate things by noting that's it's the official videogame of the brand. Are there imposters? Is there an unofficial version? We can just assume it's official at this point.

Anyway, we've got some copies of Monster Energy Supercross 4 to give away! Just remember that it's the official videogame.

Here’s a radical idea: Turn every social space in a video game into a menu.

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A slew of Bethesda games are being added to Xbox Game Pass this week. 20 titles from the publisher's catalog will be available on Game Pass starting tomorrow, March 12, 16 of which will be playable on console, PC, and mobile via cloud streaming.

Among the additions are well-known releases such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Doom Eternal, as well as some older Bethesda titles like the original Doom, Doom 64, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The full list of Bethesda games coming to Game Pass, as detailed by Xbox Wire, can be seen below:

• Dishonored
• Dishonored 2
• Doom
• Doom 2
• Doom 64
• Doom 3
• Doom Eternal
• Fallout New Vegas
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Prey
• Rage 2
• The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• The Evil Within
• Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Wolfenstein The Old Blood
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood

The Microsoft-Bethesda roundtable video presentation didn't have any real news about the future of both companies, but it won't be much longer until we get some real news.

Marketing executives Aaron Greenberg for Xbox and Erin Losi for Bethesda Softworks confirmed that they are now talking and sharing ideas for future announcements. Greenberg said "historically it was E3" when Microsoft and Bethesda would make big announcements, but now it may be during a different format. Whatever the case, Greenberg and Losi said players can expect news about the future of Bethesda and Xbox at some point in the summer.

Summer officially runs June 20-September 22 in the northern hemisphere, so you can expect some news during that time period. None of this is a surprise, as it was previously reported that Microsoft and Bethesda would make announcements during events in the summer. These events might take place on the same day, back-to-back, to deliver a big one-two punch, according to the reports.

As for what it could discuss, it could be updates on new games like Starfield or The Elder Scrolls VI, or brand-new games altogether. As for Microsoft, the summer show will be just months before Halo Infinite releases during the holiday, while it was also reported that Xbox has more unannounced games to reveal for 2021.

During today’s conversation about Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the panel announced that a grip of amazing Bethesda games will join Xbox Game Pass tomorrow.

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The Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut add-on has been delayed to April 8, Gearbox Software announced Thursday.

Gearbox cited the recent cold snap in Texas, where the studio is located, which resulted in widespread power outages and property damage, and at least 70 deaths according to a February post from Associated Press.

“Thankfully, all of our team members and their families are safe and healthy,” Gearbox stated. “But our work on Director’s Cut was unavoidably disrupted and we’ve ultimately decided to shift the release date to ensure we deliver the best possible experience. We appreciate your understanding, and we’re excited for you to play Director’s Cut when it releases next month.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/30/borderlands-3-designers-cut-new-skill-trees-official-trailer"]

Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut promises to add a new raid boss, new items, and more as the second half of the new season of content.

While you don't have to catch 'em all, you might want to grab this amazing Charizard Rising Flames statue by First 4 Figures. This incredible Pokémon collectible comes in at an impressive 12 inches with an 8.5" base and includes an epic dynamic pose for Fire fans. 

First 4 Figures is one of the leading collectible companies out there. From 1:1 scale statues to smaller ways to celebrate that fandom joy, this company knows how to make an incredible piece of memorabilia. 

First 4 Figures is proud to introduce our first Pokémon resin statue ever: Charizard Rising Flames! Made exclusively for the Pokémon Center website in the US and Canada, pre-orders are now open! 🔥

► https://t.co/ny3VIItzRW pic.twitter.com/nMSeX97ozT

Get an exclusive look at a surreal new indie horror film

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The Xbox acquisition of ZeniMax (and subsequently, Bethesda) became official earlier this week and already Xbox Game Pass members are seeing the benefits. Every month, Xbox Game Pass continues to expand its library and the latest batch of arrivals includes 20 Bethesda titles. 

Xbox Game Pass Adds 20 Bethesda Games 

Some of these games will also include the new FPS Boost feature in the future, though which titles will receive this buff is still unknown at this time. 

Starting on March 12, 20 Bethesda games will be available on Xbox Game Pass. For those interested, here is what members can look forward to this month. For Cloud, this means that players will be able to use the xCloud service to take these adventures on the go with mobile devices. 

What's coming: 

During the Microsoft-Bethesda roundtable livestream, Xbox head Phil Spencer was asked a question about how the partnership will impact exclusivity on the platform. Spencer said that while there are "contractual obligations" that must be fulfilled, the partnership is really about delivering exclusive games that "ship on platforms where [Xbox] Game Pass exists."

Pete Hines threw the question to Spencer, who noted that he has heard the community and wanted to be as clear as he can because he thinks that transparency is fair. After meandering a bit about how "every Bethesda game [is not] exclusive" due to contractual obligations, Spencer said that Bethesda games will exist on any platform where Xbox Game Pass lives.

"If you're an Xbox customer the thing I want you to know is this is about delivering great exclusive games for you, that ship on platforms where [Xbox] Game Pass exists," Spencer said. "That's our goal. That's why we're doing this. That's the root of this partnership that we're building and the creative capability we will be able to bring to market for our Xbox customers. It is going to be the best it's ever been for Xbox after we're done here."

Spencer also clarified that Xbox has games on other platforms--such as Minecraft--that continue to be supported. Bethesda games will fall into this similar category, as Spencer noted that the company "loves those communities [of players] and will continue to invest in them."