May 2021

For the first time ever, the Tribeca Film Festival has announced video games among its Official Selections, with eight games garnering the inaugural honors.

The eight games chosen as the gaming industry's first-ever Tribeca Official Selections are as follows:

• Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
• Lost in Random (Zoink, Electronic Arts)
• NORCO (Geography of Robots, Raw Fury)
• Sable (Shedworks, Raw Fury)
• Signalis (rose-engine, Humble Games)
• The Big Con (Mighty Yell)
• Twelve Minutes (Luis Antonio, Annapurna Interactive)

Each game will be included in the Tribeca Games Spotlight, a livestream showcase as part of Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest on June 11 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. The event will also feature playable demos of all eight titles using Parsec technology, and anyone interested in signing up for a time slot a demo can do so at the Tribeca Games website.

Star Wars Day (May the 4th) may be behind us, but one of the best Star Wars deals we've seen all week has popped up two days later. Today at Amazon, you can save up to $40 on Star Wars-themed Instant Pots, including a particularly adorable design with Baby Yoda (aka Grogu, aka The Child). The six-quart Baby Yoda Instant Pot Duo is on sale for $60 (down from $100) today, matching its lowest price ever on Amazon. This is also just a great deal on an Instant Pot in general, as the same non-Star Wars model usually goes for around $89. And if you're not crazy about Baby Yoda like the rest of the world, there are other Star Wars designs on sale as well--you can snag a mini white BB-8 Instant Pot for $60 and a sleek Stormtrooper design for $70. These deals weren't available earlier this week for Star Wars Day, and there's no telling how long they'll stick around.

With Mother's Day coming up in a few days--yep, that's this weekend, on May 9--now's your last chance to pick up a gift for mom as well. So if she's into Star Wars and/or doesn't own an Instant Pot yet, this would make an excellent last-minute Mother's Day gift. Each of these Instant Pots comes with free one-day Prime shipping, so you can count on it arriving on time, and gift wrapping is available too.

Ubisoft has announced The Division Heartland, a free-to-play game set in The Division universe that's in development at Red Storm.

Heartland is a standalone game, and Ubisoft says you don't need to know anything about the franchise to enjoy it. The game will have an "all-new perspective" on The Division series, and it takes place "in a new setting."

The original Division was set in New York with the sequel moving to Washington D.C. With the title Heartland, it seems the new game will head to the middle of the country.

Heartland is scheduled to release in 2021 or 2022 for PC, consoles, and the cloud. There will be early testing for the game and you can sign up for that here.

Heartland is one part of Ubisoft's wider effort to grow the Division franchise to help it reach a wider audience. Another part of this is a new Division mobile game. No information about this is available yet, however, outside of its existence.

PlayStation 5 owners now have another way to watch live TV from their console. The YouTube TV app has arrived on the console, allowing users in the US to stream live TV.

YouTube TV costs $65/month and it allows for up to three simultaneous streams, along with DVR support from the cloud. There are dozens of live channels, including major networks and local news stations. You can plug in your zipcode here to find out what's available in your area.

YouTube TV is already available on Xbox consoles, while the app was previously available on PS4 before it more recently came to PS5, as was discovered first by Android Police. A full list of compatible devices is available on Google's website.

For more on YouTube TV, check out GameSpot sister site CNET's preview of the service in the video above.

The PlayStation 5 may be getting a new design in 2022, but it likely will be limited to its internal architecture. Due to the global semiconductor shortage, the PS5's CPU might get swapped to help scale up production.

The potential redesign was originally reported by Taiwanese outlet Digitimes, which suggests that semiconductor foundries are already preparing for the new PS5 architecture and targeting 2022 for production. As relayed by Dr. Serkan Toto on Twitter, Digitimes reports that Sony is aiming for a new "semi-customized" 6 nanometer CPU chip from AMD.

While Digitimes remains the only outlet to report on the specifics of the change, Sony itself has confirmed that it's thinking seriously about an architecture change to alleviate supply chain issues caused by the semiconductor shortage. In its earnings report, as shared by VGC, Sony CFO responded to a question about meeting second-year sales goals by saying, "For example, we could find maybe a secondary resource, or by changing the design."

We're reached out to Sony for comment and will update this article with any additional information we receive.

Newegg has a big sale on a range of PC hardware today, with some great savings on all the bits you need to build or improve your PC. One of the best deals lets you save on Samsung's ridiculously fast 980 Pro M.2 NVMe SSD, which you can pick up for $30 off using offer code EMCXEWEX3 at checkout. This deal is also exclusive to the 1TB version, which makes it big enough for a games library you access frequently, too.

When it was announced, the 980 Pro was pegged as the first NVMe SSD that might be compatible with the PlayStation 5 for internal storage expansion. Sadly, Sony has yet to detail plans for any SSD compatibility, with the company expected to update this feature later this year. Without testing it's not certain that this will work with the PS5, so just be warned about that in case you're looking to get ahead of the curve.

Nintendo has had a profitable financial year, one that has seen it invest a record amount of cash in its research and development projects. As noted by Niko Partners senior research analyst Daniel Ahmad, Nintendo spent approximately $880 million in R&D during the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, with the bulk of the money going towards increased software and outsourcing costs for the Nintendo Switch.

Japan-based analyst and investment adviser David Gibson summarized comments made by the company at an investor Q&A after its latest financial results were made public, with Nintendo confirming that it was also investing in a future successor to the Switch. While the company is constantly researching new technology, R&D spend also went towards online investments in addition to development on the next Nintendo console.

Wizards of the Coast and Interplay are casting a resurrection spell on a 2000s-era classic RPG. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance returns to the fray on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on May 7 with PC and mobile versions arriving later in the year.

Those looking for a robust experience should temper their expectations, as this is being called a "re-release" and not a remaster. The port will be playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility however, with support for two-player local cooperative play returning from the original release. A minute-long trailer announcing the shadow drop was released, and you can watch it below.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance originally launched in December 2001 for PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. The isometric action RPG from now-defunct Snowblind Studios followed three playable heroes--each with their own abilities and strengths--through a hack-and-slash adventure set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe.

The shadow-dropped re-release is well timed, as Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance is set to carry the Dark Alliance torch on June 22. Baldur's Gate 3, another upcoming game in the Baldur's Gate saga, released in early access in October with the full launch date still unannounced.

Epic has revealed Fortnite Wild Weeks, new in-game events that will cycle in and out every seven days for the next several weeks of Season 6. The first Wild Week kicks off today and emphasizes fighting with fire. If you're already hard at work on the Fortnite Week 8 challenges then you already know this week's Legendary Quest trades XP for structures lit ablaze, and Epic says that's no coincidence.

Also joining the fiery fray is the Flare Gun, which makes its return for one week only. The Flare Gun debuted in Chapter 2 Season 3 but has been vaulted since the Marvel-centric Season 4. When fired toward the sky, the Flare Gun will briefly reveal all nearby enemies, but if fired horizontally at structures or opponents, the Flare Gun will quickly engulf the area in fire.

Like the Primal Flame Bow, it's especially useful in clearing out wooden structures, be they player-built or pre-standing buildings. Fireflies and flame bows will also be in greater supply around the island, proving Epic really wants things to heat up as we play through the final few weeks of Season 6. Fire will even spread farther and deal more damage per second for this limited-time event.

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In today's world, our lives have become more and more internet-focused. Everything from working, to socializing, to general entertainment can be found on the internet. As we move to a digitally-dependent society, the ability to stay connected and maximize entertainment while safeguarding our sensitive information has never been more important.

The VPN Unlimited Lifetime and PlayStation Plus 1-year Subscription Bundle does just that. This bundle offers users the security and peace of mind of a powerful and reliable VPN with the boundless entertainment found on a PlayStation Plus subscription. Best of all, this bundle is currently available for only $50, whereas separately, these subscriptions have a combined value of $258 (that's a savings of 80%).

While the internet is essential to nearly every facet of our lives, using the internet is far from safe. Cyber thieves can attack you, stealing sensitive information from both shared public Wi-Fi and personal networks. That's why using a virtual private network is becoming an absolute must.

It's a big day for Metro Exodus, as Deep Silver and 4A Games have released the game's Enhanced Edition today, May 6, on PC, and announced details on a free upgrade for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The Enhanced Edition is described as a "radical update" that makes Metro Exodus look better with ray-tracing support for those who strong enough rigs. PC players also get better frame rates and improve resolution.

Deep Silver went on to say that the Enhanced Edition makes every light source "fully ray-traced," also noting that the upgrade is so extensive that it requires a ray-tracing capable GPU as its minimum spec. "[It] will be delivered as a separate product--it is not a simple 'patch' to the base game--instead it will be offered as an extra entitlement to all existing Metro Exodus PC players," Deep Silver said.

Everyone on PC who already owns Metro Exodus gets the Enhanced Edition for free across Steam, Good Old Games, the Microsoft Store, and the Epic Games Store.

The other big announcement is that the Metro Exodus next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be available starting June 18, free for existing owners. This comes as part of the Complete Edition, which boasts 4K/60fps gameplay with ray-tracing available for lighting on PS5 and Xbox Series X (but not Series S). The upgrades apply to the base game and its expansions. Players can also expect better load times and more.

Rocket League--the original game--could be coming to mobile devices. Psyonix announced Rocket League Sideswipe as an iOS and Android exclusive spin-off game back in March, but it appears that separately from this, the main game could be coming to mobile, too.

A presentation obtained by The Verge (via 9to5Google) shows the apparent plans for Epic Games' studios in 2021. It looks to be a little outdated, as it still refers to Rocket League Sideswipe with a temporary name, but the presentation also makes mention of something called Rocket League "Next." This will be the next-generation client for the game, and according to the presentation, will feature cross-play and cross-progression for PC, console, and mobile. A mobile beta is listed for Q2 2021, though that could have changed since the presentation was made.

The game will be completely separate from Rocket League Sideswipe, though that game will feature friends list integration and some sort of cross-game incentive. Sideswipe's tentative iOS Testflight release window is Summer 2021.

We've seen some pretty great discounts on Nintendo Switch exclusives this week, but GameStop's deal of the day offers a stellar discount on one of the best Nintendo Switch games: Super Mario Odyssey. The brilliant 3D platformer is on sale for just $30 today only at GameStop. This is a price we very rarely see, even during the holidays. As such, it's possible Super Mario Odyssey will sell out before the deal expires tonight.

Odyssey is one of the most inventive Mario games in franchise history thanks to its level of freedom and expanded bag of platforming tricks for the plumber to employ. The lavish open-world kingdoms are littered with great platforming sequences, clever puzzles, and a bevy of secrets. Though primarily thought of as a solo experience, Super Mario Odyssey also has a fun co-op mode where one player controls Mario's sentient hat Cappy. It earned a rare 10/10 in our Super Mario Odyssey review.

Deals on first-party accessories are few and far between now that we're in a new console generation, but Xbox Series X and Series S owners can take advantage of a rare deal over at Newegg today. Through the rest of the day, you can pick up an extra Xbox Wireless Controller for $53, down from its $60 list price, with promo code 93XQY47 at checkout. This "Shell Shocker" deal is only available for the Carbon Black shade.

This is the new Xbox Wireless Controller that released alongside the Xbox Series X|S, but thanks to Microsoft's backwards compatibility, it'll work great with Xbox One as well. So even if you haven't upgraded to the newer consoles, you can snag this controller to take advantage of its improved features, knowing it'll work with your next console when you do upgrade. The new Xbox Wireless Controller features textured hand grips and triggers, a clickier, circle-shaped D-pad, and, of course, a new Share button that makes taking screenshots and recording video easier than ever.

This week's GTA Online update pays tribute to the military-industrial war machine, with events and discounted vehicles all themed around mobile army action. All this and more was detailed in a new Rockstar blog post, which you can read the highlights of below.

Double Rewards On Mobile Operations Missions

Players who own a Mobile Operations Center can launch new missions that will reward them with double the usual cash and reputation points until May 12. As an added bonus, any completed Mobile Operations mission also tops up in-game bank accounts with an extra GTA $100,000, research speeds on cutting-edge technology such as ballistic equipment has been tripled, and supplies have been discounted by 50%.

The Dark Portal opens all over again on June 1 with the worldwide launch of World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic.

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Ubisoft announced today that the next installment in The Division franchise, Heartland, will be out between 2021 and 2022. The Division Heartland will be a new free-to-play standalone game set in the same universe as The Division and The Division 2.

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In this 2019 GDC talk, Blizzard Entertainment's Natasha Miller shares why Blizzard chose to prioritize social systems in Overwatch. ...

The Division Mobile isn't Ubisoft's only plan to expand the franchise's reach. A standalone free-to-play spinoff, The Division Heartland, is also in the works for PC, consoles, and the cloud. ...