August 2020

Activision boasted a big second quarter in its financial results, driven in part by the rapid growth of its free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone. The spin-off from last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reached more than 75 million players to date, according to the company's second-quarter 2020 financial report.

That's the first updated player count we've heard since it was riding high on its explosive first month with 50 million players. The growth over the last few months has been slower since its debut, but that's not surprising in itself, and another 25 million is still a huge success.

The success of Warzone has had a knock-on effect with Modern Warfare as well. Activision Blizzard said that Modern Warfare has added more players outside of a launch quarter than ever before, mostly due to players upgrading from Warzone. The company has already specified that Warzone will continue to evolve with content from future Call of Duty campaign releases.

Nintendo is giving Switch players another chance to win My Nintendo Gold Points. The company is hosting online competitions in two of its Switch games this month: the stretchy-arm fighter Arms and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

First up is the Arms North American Open August 2020, which takes place this Saturday, August 8. The top player will win a prize package that contains download codes for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, its Fighters Pass Vol. 2, and Splatoon 2. The rest of the top four, meanwhile, will take home 2,500 My Nintendo Gold Points, which is equivalent to $25 USD in Switch Eshop credit.

Microsoft has changed "Xbox Live" to "Xbox online services" in the company's service agreement. The service has also been amended to refer to "Xbox consoles" instead of "Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles." The changes are effective starting October 1.

The change comes after Microsoft has been making tweaks to Xbox Live, removing the option to buy yearly and six-month subscriptions for Xbox Live Gold. This makes it only slightly cheaper to buy Xbox Live Gold instead of buying Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

GameSpot has reached out to Microsoft for comment.

If you've been dying to get a closer look at the PS5's key accessories--like the new DualSense controller--Sony has you covered. As first spotted by Twitter user Wario64, the company recently added 3D renders of upcoming PS5-related items, including the DualSense, the Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, the Media Remote, and the HD Camera.

While there's not a lot else to say about these items--except that we can now confirm that they do indeed have a third dimension--the models are quite snazzy. Sony recently revealed that your old DualShock 4 will not work with PS5 games, though it can be used to play PS4 games.

This is apparently due to PS5 games taking advantage of the DualSense's new features, particularly haptic feedback. A new report also suggested that Sony's next big PS5 event will be later in August, though plans could change. Additionally, if you were wondering why the PS5 is so much bigger than its predecessors, that's due to the fact that it generates far more heat than the PS4.

Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, Valorant, and more, has announced that all teams will be taking a week off, with the majority being off during the week of August 10. Some teams will be staggered to ensure that games and servers continue to run smoothly during the time off.

"As game developers, we're all hyper aware of the effects of crunch and project-based deadlines," Riot Games said. "We owe it to ourselves and to you to prioritize our health as a team (well, many teams) so we can bring you new experiences long into the future."

Riot Games also said that update and game release schedules will be shifted to accommodate for the time off, to ensure it isn't "just cramming more into the following week." The studio will be announcing the schedule changes for its individual games over the next few days.

QuakeCon is this weekend, and along with news about all things Bethesda, you can save on a bunch of games in the publisher's back catalog on just about every platform. The Nintendo Switch Eshop has joined a pretty big Xbox Store sale and PC sale at GOG with its own deals on Bethesda games. Admittedly, the Switch's sale is much smaller, simply because there aren't very many Bethesda-published titles on Switch. That said, you can still save on the solid ports of Doom (2016), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and more until August 10.

More Nintendo Switch game deals

A popular CoD feature is making its way to Call of Duty Mobile. The Gunsmith, which allows you a great deal of customization over your weaponry, will be hitting the game starting with the next season.

The Call of Duty Mobile Twitter announced the feature with a short trailer showing it off. In it, we can see a gun being fitted with a variety of attachments, from scopes to barrels and grips. The trailer also promises that the swappable equipment will give you a greater degree of finesse over your weapons' stats, like accuracy and range. Finally, it promises more stickers and cosmetic customization.

Activision had previously teased this feature in a separate tweet, saying "Customization is the future." The feature has long been requested by the community for several months, which makes sense as the Mobile incarnation has been importing popular features from its PC and console siblings.

Crossy Road creator Andy Sum and game designer Marcus Grambau have revealed TombStar, a new top-down shooter with space Western elements, and a visual design that was influenced by late '80s morning cartoons.

At the edge of the Frontier Galaxy, players will have to fight back against the Grimheart Gang, using one of three unique renegade heroes to survive procedurally generated stages laced with bullet hell obstacles.

QuakeCon kicks off this weekend, and to celebrate, game stores are launching sales on Bethesda's biggest franchises, including Doom, The Elder Scrolls, and Dishonored. PC games store GOG is the latest to launch its QuakeCon deals, offering steep discounts on some fantastic DRM-free games.

GOG's sale excludes Doom Eternal (which you can find on sale at Fanatical, which has a flash deal on Doom Eternal for $27.59 right now), but it spotlights classic Doom titles like Doom 3: BFG Edition for $6 and Doom II bundled with Final Doom for $3.

Older Fallout games feature in the QuakeCon promotion, including the excellent Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition and Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition for $6 each. Plus, Dishonored's Definitive Edition is down to $7, while Dishonored 2 is available for just $10. For a great intro to the first-person action series, consider picking up Dishonored: Complete Collection for $24, which bundles Dishonored: Definitive Edition and all its DLC, Dishonored 2, and the standalone adventure Dishonored: Death of the Outsider.

Team Alto has announced that its modern mobile classics Alto's Adventure and Alto's Odyssey are coming to consoles and PC. The Alto Collection releases August 13 as a digital-only compilation for $10 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a Switch version to follow shortly after. On PC, it will be available via the Epic Games Store for free until August 20.

For those unfamiliar with the Alto games, they are some of the best mobile games in recent memory. Set up as an endless runner with a one-button control scheme, you play as a snowboarder who glides and jumps across gorgeous landscapes.

Respawn is adding another limited-time mode to Apex Legends during Season 5: Fortune's Favor. Called Always Be Closing Evolved, the mode is scheduled to go live in Apex Legends on August 11 and stay until August 18.

The new mode is an evolution of Always Be Closing, one of the seven modes introduced in the Season 4: Assimilation limited-time event Grand Arcade Soiree. In Always Be Closing, the ring never stops shrinking, which encourages squads to keep moving as opposed to finding a safe spot to hole up. Always Be Closing Evolved is the same concept, but all players also start with a Mozambique shotgun and an Evo Shield.

Though Respawn has not confirmed the start date for Apex Legends Season 6, the release of Always Be Closing Evolved may point to the upcoming season beginning this month, as the release of this new mode mirrors Apex Legends' transition from Season 4 to Season 5.

Marvel's Avengers has been teasing PlayStation exclusive content and recently announced that everyone's favorite wall-crawler, Spider-Man, will only be available on PS4 and PS5. But PlayStation is getting a few other extra goodies, like timed exclusive access to cosmetics, and free bundles with in-game currency.

As detailed on the PlayStation Blog, each time a new hero launches, PlayStation players will get 30-day exclusive access to one of their Legendary Outfits, Emotes, Epic Takedowns, and nameplates. That includes each of the launch heroes, along with any post-launch heroes like Hawkeye. In addition, PlayStation Plus members will get a free bundle alongside the launch of any new heroes. That bundle includes a Rare Outfit, nameplate, and 100 Credits. At launch, you'll get a Ms. Marvel bundle.

The blog didn't specify the exclusive looks, but it did show off some cosmetics we haven't seen before. Those include the Iron Man Solaris Outfit, the Hulk Champion Outfit, and Ms. Marvel Battle Suit outfit. And as previously announced, PlayStation players will get early access to the beta.

Valorant has rolled out a large new patch that introduces changes to almost every aspect of the game, from competitive play on-down. First, the patch introduces a new agent to the game, Killjoy. A master of tech, Killjoy comes equipped with a turret, an Alarmbot that tracks enemies and makes them more vulnerable to damage, and a trap called "Lockdown" that can potentially disable enemies for up to 8 seconds.

Like previous updates, this patch also takes aim at nerfing Raze's explosive kit. Her Showstopper rocket launcher now takes slightly longer to equip, and her Blast Pack grenade damage has been reduced by a third. However, it now does more consistent damage to objects, making her effective against build-heavy agents like Killjoy.

Destiny 2 servers are now back online following maintenance, and you can begin playing the online shooter again. When you first log in, you'll need to download and install a small hotfix, update 2.9.1.2. You can get the full rundown on what to expect from the update below in the full patch notes, which cover PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia versions of the game.

The patch notes don't feature any major additions or changes, as is expected with most hotfixes. One thing of note is that some Leviathan raid rewards have been changed to a weekly lockout; you'll continue to earn multiple weapon and armor rewards, but XP, glimmer, and chances for Exotic and Bright Engrams are all now limited.

Additionally, the Festering Core Master Nightfall's Power level requirements have been fixed--it had been operating at 750 even though 1080 was listed in the Director. Bungie says you should expect a "much greater challenge" next time you give it a try.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Animated Series

The NES Game

Nioh 2 was never a game starved for content, but the first of three planned pieces of DLC, The Tengu’s Disciple, is a substantial addition all its own. It introduces the coastal Yashima region with three new areas and 10 new missions that can, and most likely will, take players at least 10 hours to complete. Even more than that, there’s also a brand new weapon type called the Splitstaff, a large handful of new enemy types, challenging new boss fights, new armor and weapon sets, new soul cores, and new guardian spirits. The quality of the DLC campaign itself isn’t anything to write home about, but this is still an incredible value and a great reason to sink your teeth back into Nioh 2’s stellar combat.

Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1998 animated classic Mulan will now be coming to Disney+ and select theaters in September.

The announcement was made during the company’s 3Q earnings call today, according to Deadline, with CEO Bob Chepak saying that the move is a “one-off” rather than a “new business windowing model.”

The movie will cost $29.99 on top of the $6.99 monthly subscription fee for the Disney+ service in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and a number of countries.

The film will also launch around the world in select countries that the company currently have no plans to launch Disney+ in and countries that have theaters open, such as China.

Mulan has had a troubled history when it comes to releases. It was originally scheduled to release on Nov. 2, 2018, but was delayed to March 27, 2020. While the Hollywood world premiere happened a few weeks before that date, the movie was pulled from the release calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was rescheduled for July 24, then Aug. 21, and then pulled from the release calendar again alongside the delays of several Avatar and Star Wars films from the company.

Mulan will be available on Disney+ and select theaters around the world on Sept. 4 and is rated PG-13.

The post Mulan Hits Disney+ and Some Theaters on September 4 appeared first on Twinfinite.

Activision is hosting its financial conference call for investors and analysts and the publisher talked about the next Call of Duty.

Following the confirmation that the next Call of Duty is coming later this year by Treyarch and Raven Software, Activision Publishing president Rob Kostich provided more details.

First of all, we hear that the success of Call of Duty: Warzone and COD Mobile influenced how Activision looks at the marketing for the new title.

The success of Warzone and Call of Duty Mobile in addition to what we’re continuing to see in our premium games has created entirely new opportunities for the franchise. 

Starting with marketing, it definitely had an impact there and how we think about marketing in this new world.

You’ve seen from our results, right now we have a larger, more engaged, and more global audience than we’ve ever had at any point in time in our history and that means that we can be more direct and more targeted than we’ve ever had before, so that’s a huge benefit for us as we think about marketing on that vector.

Another thing that’s really important in relation to marketing is storytelling. From a storytelling perspective, we can be even more creative, fun, and engaging with our fans than ever before. 

Warzone, in particular, it’s not only a great gaming experience but it’s also a great platform for us to share new franchise news and information directly with our community like we’ve never done before.

This is also a big positive change for us as we think about the business, and to your initial point you were talking about, why you’re waiting for such a long time. 

Activision is hosting its financial conference call for investors and analysts and the publisher officially confirmed the developers of the next Call of Duty.

According to chief financial officer Dennis Durkin, the next chapter of the popular franchise will be developed in tandem by Treyarch and Raven Software.

“As we look ahead, Activision will continue to build on its direct digital relationship with its expanding community as it delivers the next premium installment of Call of Duty, which comes from the wholly-owned Call of Duty studios Treyarch an Raven Software.”

The game is slated to release (as usual) in the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2020.

If you’re unfamiliar with the names, Treyarch is known for the Black Ops sub-franchise, with its latest published game being Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Raven Software isn’t new to working with Treyarch, having assisted the studio on Black Ops 4. They also worked with Infinity Ward on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

If you’re interested in reading more about Activision’s financial performance, you can read our dedicated article from earlier today.

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