The teaser train just won’t stop ahead of Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2’s release tomorrow, with Epic Games releasing yet another tweet, this time confirming the involvement of Agent Mewosicles in the new season, as well as a Midas Touch… or an emphasis on gold.

The tweet, which can be seen below, has a number of things to note. The first is the obvious ‘Nine Lives’ on the right of the image.

This is likely in relation to the Agent Meowsicles character that was seemingly hinted at in datamined files a few weeks ago. There’s a possibility that Agent Meowskers is going to be a new skin in the current season, but the character may have a larger part to play in the story that remains to be seen.

The Apple AirPods and their successors have been huge hits for Apple—but are you making the most out of your pair? We present to you some of the tricks and features you might not have come across yet—from using your AirPods as a remote listening system to sharing audio between two pairs of earbuds, here’s how to make…

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UPDATE 19/02/20: It's disappointing news for console players, as while cross-save between Switch and PC is now official, CD Projekt Red has said the feature will not be brought to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. In the near future, at least.

The reason for this is because the option was "designed for the Switch version specifically, together with Saber Interactive - the team which was closely cooperating with us on the Switch port," CD Projekt told USgamer. "There are no plans regarding similar functionality in the other versions of The Witcher 3."

Aard luck.

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I’m Alice0 and I’m here to say, some great Bethesda games are out in a DRM-free way. GOG this week added the Dishonored games and two of the new Wolfensteins. That’s some lovely gaming right there, so I’m just briefly highlighting it for people who prefer their games without DRM. They’ve got hefty discounts for one week to celebrate the launches too.

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Last week, after a lifetime of timidity, I finally bit the bullet and played my first competitive ranked game of Age Of Empires 2. Needless to say, I got battered. A big medieval boot stomped my fingers from the first rung of the ranked ladder, and I splashed back into the mire where I belonged. But after a week licking my wounds, practising build orders, doing maths with 14 wiki tabs open, and archer-rushing my way through endless 1v1 comp stomps, I came back for another go.

This time, my arrow-spamming, catapult-happy Ethiopians were facing off against the Japanese, on the map known as GOLD RUSH. As its name suggests, this map is all about fighting for control of gold deposits, almost all of which spawn on a massive hill in the middle. A massive hill… covered in tigers. Aggressive map control would be even more crucial here than it had been in the Black Forest, while tigers would become suddenly, and drastically, relevant. But had I learned my lessons from my first defeat – and could I seize my first win on the back of it? Draw your reading swords, armchair knights, and charge on to find out:

The creators of Burnout have announced their next project - an open world follow-up to last year's Dangerous Driving.

Dangerous Driving 2 has a "holiday 2020" release window for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and - unlike its predecessor - Nintendo Switch. I wonder if it'll turn up on next-gen consoles too?

This sequel is again made by Three Fields Entertainment, the British indie studio set up by former Criterion bosses Fiona Sperry and Alex Ward.

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I'm really not sure what I was expecting from No Man's Sky's next update after Hello Games surprise-released a music and audio tool at the end of last year, but I'm almost one hundred percent certain it wasn't an organic spaceship you can grow from an egg. And yet here we are, with the Living Ship update due out today on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

No Man's Sky's fascinating new mode of transport - a somewhat unnerving blend of insect and tentacular deep sea monstrosity - can be grown from Void Eggs, a process initially requiring players to complete the new Starbirth mission sequence that begins at the Space Anomaly.

Hello Games notes that Living Ships come with their own unique range of organic technologies, and that players can hatch and evolve procedural upgrades in order to grow their own custom ships. Furthermore, multiple ships can be hatched from additional eggs.

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Tangible and expected rewards loosely linked to performance were, among other kinds of extrinsic gratifications, found to decrease intrinsic motivation. ...

THQ Nordic parent company Embracer Group has acquired World War Z developer Saber Interactive for an initial $150 million. ...

However, the game is financially "fine" and its publisher is glad that core fans are pleased.

The post Shenmue III Is “Not a AAA Mass-Market Product” Says Publisher About Sales appeared first on Siliconera.

Yesterday, Kickstarter became the first tech company to unionise in the US. In a vote that ended up with 46 employees voting for, and 37 voting against, the staff will now join over 100,000 other workers represented by the Office And Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).

The crowdfunding site has helped loads of games get the funding they need to get their feet off the ground, making this wonderful news for both the tech and the games industry alike.

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I've skipped all of the DLC for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order so far (one: the game is on my back-burner, and two: despite cool characters, the content seems uninspired and stale), but I might have to make an exception for the final release of the season pass, Fantastic Four: Shadow of Doom.

As confirmed this morning by Nintendo, the Doctor Doom-centric DLC is releasing on March 26, 2020. If you already got Rise of the Phoenix and Curse of the Vampire, well, it won't be much longer. I'm at a burned-out point with Ultimate Alliance 3 where I need a gameplay or story shakeup – preferably both!

One of my most-worn t-shirts as a kid prominently featured Doctor Doom, so I kinda can't pass this up even if it's more of the same. I guess if I'm getting Shadow of Doom, I might as well go all-in.

Doom has some of the best out-of-context comic panels around.

Nintendo's second season of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC characters will be also be its last.

That's according to Smash Bros. boss Masahiro Sakurai himself, writing in his weekly Famitsu column (via Ryokutya2089 and translated by PushDustin).

It means the forthcoming six characters included in Ultimate's Fighter Pass Vol. 2 will be the game's final additions to its bulging roster.

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In multiple interviews with Polygon, store managers and staff speak of plummeting morale

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Removed from sale on Steam in January due to an issue with Microsoft’s now-defunct Games for Windows Live service, Grand Theft Auto IV returns to the service on March 19 as Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition. The new version of the game includes the core game and Episodes From Liberty City but no longer supports…

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We all know the Final Fantasy VII Remake is going to be a bit different. We've seen new faces, remixed faces, and Midgar as a whole is going to feel a lot bigger.

While we've already seen some of those changes in the form of the summons shown off so far, Final Fantasy VII Remake is adding a few completely new ones into the mix on top of the Chocobo Chick: Carbuncle (who shields the party) and Cactuar (who fires off its signature 1000 Needles attack). Shown by way of the game's official Twitter account, you can see all three of them in action. But there's a catch.

Chocobo Chick is a pre-order bonus for everyone, Carbuncle is a First Class/Digital Deluxe exclusive, and Cactuar is a Digital Deluxe/physical exclusive. While Cactuars started off as regular old enemies they eventually evolved to a new plane of existence entirely, becoming a mascot of sorts for the series. Carbuncle has also shot up in cachet in recent years, having hosted a big-deal Final Fantasy XV demo.

Square Enix shared new Final Fantasy VII Remake videos giving us a closer look at the Cactuar, Carbuncle, and Chocobo Chick summons.

The post Final Fantasy VII Remake Videos Show Off Cactuar, Carbuncle, Chocobo Chick Summons appeared first on Siliconera.

Today we're giving you a glimpse at three special #FinalFantasy VII Remake DLC summons. Take a look at Chocobo Chick, Carbuncle & Cactuar in battle!

Chocobo Chick comes with every pre-order of #FF7R, find out more here https://t.co/5ITHMObkaH pic.twitter.com/KPr7OK3Meu — FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (@finalfantasyvii) February 19, 2020

pic.twitter.com/IB3Hik4JuQ

After disabling the option to buy Grand Theft Auto IV in January, Rockstar now say 2008’s open-world murder simulator will return to sale in March with a few changes. Microsoft’s awful Games For Windows Live technogubbins is being removed because it caused the trouble in the first place, and that’s great news. It seems some folks will also receive the expansions or base game for free too. Unfortunately, Rockstar are also removing GTA IV’s multiplayer mode and will temporarily disable several radio stations. A mixed crimebag.

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The developer of the upcoming Homeworld 3 is also working on a first-person spaceship laser-cutting game called Hardspace: Shipbreaker.

Blackbird Interactive's Hardspace: Shipbreaker is described as a spaceship salvage sandbox game with "true-to-life" physics and demolition effects. It's due out this summer on Steam Early Access and is published by Focus Home Interactive. The gameplay video below gives you an idea of how it works.

Early Access launches with two classes of spaceship to salvage, upgradable salvaging tools and perks and the first act of the story campaign. Expect more spaceship classes, missions, daily challenges, leaderboards and modding support through the Early Access period.

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Boston's preeminent video game convention will be one major exhibitor lighter than usual. Sony just announced that it's pulling out of PAX East due to safety/health concerns raised by the coronavirus outbreak.

In an update to its previous PAX East plans, Sony said "Today, Sony Interactive Entertainment made the decision to cancel its participation at PAX East in Boston this year due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19 (also known as 'novel coronavirus'). We felt this was the safest option as the situation is changing daily. We are disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern."

The PAX East PlayStation booth was set to have hands-on opportunities with a lot of highly-anticipated first- and third-party games on PS4 including: The Last of Us Part II, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nioh 2, MLB The Show 20, Persona 5 Royal, Predator: Hunting Grounds, and Spelunky 2.

Combat in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a beast of two natures. At its best, it is elegant and satisfying, and rewards careful preparation. At its worst, it’s like banging your head against a wall. Good thing we’ve compiled the below The Witcher 3 combat tips then, to help you achieve the former and steer clear of the latter!

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Hello Games has released the latest in a long line of updates for its interplanetary exploration title No Man's Sky. Along with a huge list of bug fixes and mechanical tweaks, the "Living Ship" update adds some very strange new vessels, ships which are, as the name suggests, organic creatures in and of themselves.

These organic and sentient vessels can be added to your fleet, allowing you the chance to explore their pretty unsettling interiors in full VR. Hope you like tentacles and tendrils. The origins of these creatures will be explored in an all-new story mission, Starbirth, which will let you incubate, grow, and birth your own living ship... Annnd we're done with lunch.

Battlefield V (Pre-Owned) | $15 | GameStop
Madden NFL 19 (Pre-Owned) | $8 | GameStop
Forza Horizon 3 (Pre-Owned) | $10 | GameStop

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For a second, I didn't believe that the below video really was a Minecraft creation, but it all becomes clear.

So here's the thing: it looks like they're just showing footage of Metroid Fusion. But at 0:30, the camera pulls back and you slowly see that the entire framework of the game is inside of a Minecraft build in creator mode. Created by redditor Nyubug, the way it works is through a 1024x1024 image that can store 256 64x64 sprites. According to them, it is playable and not just a short film.

Platformer advancements in Minecraft have come a really long way. Roughly seven years ago, fans were trying to use rudimentary tools and gadgets to simulate boxes jumping and moving. Now we have this. Astounding. Metroid Fusion is also a prime candidate for testing, as it's become of the more forgotten Metroid games in recent years.

Green Lantern Comic Sale | Comixology

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Past Season Styles Sale | REI

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We all thought that Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road was going to be a new mobile game but it'll be available via Kingdom Hearts Union χ.

The post Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road Will Be a New Game Available Through the Kingdom Hearts Union χ App appeared first on Siliconera.

We've finally heard some news about Grand Theft Auto 4's place on the Steam Store today, but I'm afraid to say it's decidedly mixed, as Rockstar has announced it will return at the cost of multiplayer on PC platforms.

Why on earth is this happening? Last month Grand Theft Auto 4 was delisted on Steam thanks to its reliance on the Games for Windows Live platform. Rockstar explained to USgamer it was unable to "generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game", as Microsoft had officially ended support for Games for Windows Live.

To solve the problem, Rockstar has now decided it will replace all versions of Grand Theft Auto 4 and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City with Grand Theft Auto 4: Complete Edition "wherever it is currently digitally available", including Steam and the Rockstar Games Launcher. As a result of the problems with Games for Windows Live, multiplayer mode and leaderboards will no longer be available in Grand Theft Auto 4: Complete Edition. Sounds a bit incomplete to me, really, but here we are.

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has cross-save now! Yesterday, a brand new update for the Nintendo Switch version dropped, and it’s a very welcome one for us PC players. CD Projekt Red have introduced save file integration with Steam and GOG, so you can continue your adventures with Geralt at your PC or on the go (or docked at your telly if that’s how you prefer to play Switch).

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THQ Nordic has announced that it plans to release a remake of classic RPG Gothic on PC and next-gen consoles. The news comes months after the success of a short playable teaser, which was used to ascertain whether there would be suitable interest in the project from the community.

Released on PC in 2001, Gothic is an epic role-playing adventure in which the player assumes the role of a slave who, against the backdrop of a war-torn fantasy world, takes an opportunity to cast off his shackles and rise above his oppressors. Gothic launched to positive press and would go on to spawn two sequels as well as some spin-off titles.

Some 180,000 players checked out the Gothic Playable Teaser, before filling out a questionnaire in which almost 95% of players expressed great interest in a remake. It is believed that THQ Nordic will hand development of Gothic to a new studio based in Spain. No release date was mentioned, but the remake will not be arriving anytime this year.

Gothic remake announced for next-gen consoles, PC [Gematsu]

We're still nosing around Dreams because it's an unusual prospect and we want to make sure we understand it, but in the meantime, we wanted to share some of the things we've found.

The Dreamverse is a busy place. Launching in early access roughly a year ago was an inspired move. It means there's loads of good stuff to play already and it's curated well, sorted into various categories. The main one you should concern yourself with is the IMPY Award winners, which show off the best things made in year one. You can't miss them - the IMPYs are flagged with a huge image on the Dreamverse homepage.

But it's not just old stuff: it's genuinely staggering to see how much has been made since the game was released last week. There's real ambition on show and the beginnings of some very big dreams.

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Alice L. was the person who really encouraged me to dive headlong into the pool of long build projects that is my fandom of The Sims 4. She is both one third of the Council Of Alices and one third of the RPS VidBud team on YouTube, and she’s just started a new Sims 4-themed video series. In Can We Build It?, Alice L. attempts to build an iconic room from another game but in The Sims 4’s build mode.

In this first one she’s had a crack at the twins’ room in What Remains Of Edith Finch, which should count as doing two rooms, really. Calvin and Sam shared a bedroom, but they had very different design sensibilities. Alice has done a really astounding job recreating it, as you’ll see via the screenshots and comparisons in the video, embedded below.

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