December 2021

It’s the last day of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit 2021, and it saved the biggest announcement for the end. The company has developed a suite of new technologies designed specifically for the mobile gaming space, called the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform. On top of this, it has teamed up with Razer to create a handheld dev kit powered by the new chipset in the hopes that developers will produce tailor-made experiences for the device.

What does that mean? The Steam Deck might have some handheld competition before long, as Qualcomm is aspiring to jump into the market with this Android-based product. While the device is only available to developers right now, I went to San Francisco to speak with Qualcomm Technologies’ senior director of product management, Micah Knapp, before the announcement and to try out the revealed hardware.

Before jumping into impressions, here’s what developers will find bundled up in this kit – which is hopefully a baseline for what gamers can expect when the device eventually hits the market.

If you've been playing Jurassic World Evolution 2 and are of the opinion it very much needs more dinosaurs, you're in luck. Frontier has announced the park management sim's first paid DLC expansion, which introduces four new Early Cretaceous era creatures.

Arriving exactly one month after Jurassic World Evolution 2's release, the Early Cretaceous Pack (as the DLC is unfussily known) costs £5.99/€7.99/$7.99 USD and adds two new land dinosaurs, one new flying reptile, and one new marine reptile - the Wuerhosaurus, Minmi, Dsungaripterus and Kronosaurus respectively.

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Politicians in the US have announced a new legislative bill - named the Stopping Grinch Bots Act, after the Dr. Seuss character that stole Christmas - which seeks to curtail the scalping of high demand toys and goods.

The bill, which specifically targets scalpers using bots to snap up online inventories of in-demand items in order to resell them at significantly higher prices, doesn't limit its focus to the video games industry, but it would certainly cover items such as consoles and graphics cards - both of which have been hit particularly hard by scalping as a result of supply chain issues worsened during the pandemic.

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If a secret is what makes a woman 'woman,' then what makes a Survivor 'Survivor'?

The post Identity V x Detective Conan Essences Feature Iconic Quotes appeared first on Siliconera.

DMM and Koei Tecmo released another trailer introducing a character that will appear in their upcoming Musou game Touken Ranbu Warriors.

We get to take a look at Namazuo Toushirou, including both gameplay and cutscenes. It’s the latest of a series of trailers introducing several characters, on top of Ichigo Hitofuri.

He’s voiced by Soma Saito, whom you may know as Chongyun in Genshin Impact, Ike-P in The Caligula Effect, and Lann in World of Final Fantasy.

You can check him out below.

Here’s how Koei Tecmo officially describes the game:

Today third-party developers have revealed quite a lot of new assets about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, including airports and a relevant aircraft.

First of all, new screenshots of Glasgow Airport (EGPF) have been released by Pyreegue. We also learn that it’ll release this week, on top of a list of features, alongside the promise that a custom VDGS system will be implemented after release.

Fortnite Jumpman challenges are now in the game alongside the new Jumpman Zone, a basketball-centered custom Creative map. The enticing thing about this new Creative mode is that it offers free cosmetics for all players, and for those who purchase the new Jordan skins in the Item Shop, even more styles for Fortnite X Jordan characters can be earned. Here's how to get all of the free Fortnite Jordan skins and cosmetics.

Free Fortnite Jordan skins and Trickshot challenges

There are three possible rewards to earn in Fortnite's Jumpman Zone. One of them, the Deep In The Paint spray, can be earned by all players who complete all 12 Trickshot challenges inside the Jumpman Zone game mode. If you purchase the Cool Grey Bundle from the Item Shop, you'll also unlock additional cosmetics for the two characters in that pack, Swish and Hangtime, along the way to completing those 12 Trickshot challenges.

You can't use these alternate styles unless you purchase the base skins in the Cool Grey Bundle, but the Jumpman Zone will remain in Creative for the foreseeable future, meaning you could do all the challenges whenever you'd like and buy the characters at a later date. Here's the full list of Trickshot challenges and their rewards:

It's a new day in the Fortnite Item Shop, which means a new slate of digital goods is on offer in Fortnite's ever-expanding storefront. Today's inventory includes the return of an older collaboration, made new with additional items, as well as the ongoing availability of the newest Marvel hero. Here's everything in the Fortnite Item Shop for December 2, 2021.

The big addition today is the new line of Jumpman AKA Jordan cosmetics. We previously saw Fortnite and Jordan collaborate on some original characters two years ago, but today's collab sees those past characters reborn with different colorways and even different Jordans on their feet. The cosmetic set comes inseparably packed together as the Cool Grey Bundle for 1,800 V-Bucks, which is comparatively cheap given that it includes two skins--licensed skins, even. The bundle includes the following items:

• Hangtime skin (grey version)
• Swish skin (grey version)
• Cool Grey back bling
• Trickshot Style Challenge Packs

There's also the new Dunk On 'Em emote to complete the look. The added challenge packs allow you to play in the new Jumpman Mode inside the Fortnite Creative Hub and unlock additional styles for the skins. These challenges and the new Creative mode will remain available even after the characters leave the store, so as long as you get the characters yourself before then.

You can jump into the new mode with Creative code 5519-3138-2454 and read more about the collaboration here.

Pokemon Go's The Season of Heritage event features Incense Day with the Ice and Ground-type Pokemon, Swinub. Professor Willow has discovered some mysterious ruins with a mysterious door, hinting at an incredible power sealed within.

According to Blanche, this door's first mechanism requires Stardust to unlock, along with the local Ice and Ground-type Pokemon to help out. On Sunday, December 5, Swinub will be attracted to Incense from 11 AM to 5 PM local time. It'll have the exclusive move, Ancient Power, as well.

Some other Ground-types available include Onix, Cubone, Rhyhorn, Whooper, Phanpy, Barboach, and the rare Larvitar. These are available from 12 PM to 1 PM, 2 PM to 3 PM, and 4 PM to 5 PM. For Ice-types, players will have the chance to encounter Seel, Jynx, Snealsel, Snorunt, Snover, Vanillite, and the rare Galarian Darumaka. These Pokemon will also be attracted to Incense between the hours of 11 AM to 12 PM, 2 PM to 3 PM, and 3 PM to 4 PM local time.

Solar Ash is out tomorrow, December 2, and finally answers the question: What would happen if Shadow of the Colossus starred Shadow the Hedgehog? While it doesn’t actually feature Sonic’s frenemy with the Hot Topic color scheme, Solar Ash is fast, frenetic, and stars a character on sci-fi roller skates, so you get the idea.

Heart Machine’s follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter is a major departure from their 2016 indie gem, eschewing tough-as-nails 2D combat in favor of fast and fluid cinematic action. Does it work? Well, critics mostly seem to like it, though some have more serious reservations than others.

In our Solar Ash review (by yours truly), I praised the game’s boss battles, puzzles, and exploration, but took issue with the way Solar Ash doled out its story.

For an even more detailed look, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

• Game: Solar Ash
• Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4
• Developer: Heart Machine
• Release Date: December 2
• Price: $40

GameSpot - 8/10

“Much of what you see in Solar Ash makes little sense, but you move through it so quickly, the boss battles you fight are so exhilarating, and the puzzles you solve to reach them are so satisfying, that the dream logic of this world's construction feels like the necessarily slight distance to keep the good times rolling as you move from Point A to Point B.” - Andrew King [Full review]

Actor Simu Liu, who starred in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, will be a presenter at The Game Awards next week. The announcement didn't say what Liu will be presenting at the awards showcase, but one of the awards of the evening is a likely bet.

Liu isn't the only big name signed up to appear at the awards show, as organizers recently announced that 17-time Grammy winner Sting will perform his song from the League of Legends TV show Arcane during the event.

Last year's The Game Awards featured a number of celebrities presenting awards, including Brie Larson, John David Washington, Gal Gadot, Keanu Reeves, and Christopher Nolan. Presumably additional presenters for the 2021 Game Awards will be announced in the days ahead.

The Game Awards 2021 takes place Thursday, December 9, starting at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. It's a live show with in-person attendance at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Six state treasurers have called upon Activision Blizzard to make meaningful change after numerous reports of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other workplace issues. As reported by Axios, treasurers from California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Delaware, and Nevada have sent a letter asking the Activision Blizzard board of directors for a meeting.

The treasurers want to discuss Activision Blizzard's response to the lawsuits and reports, in addition to the investment risk these issues pose. The treasurers also said they would consider a call to vote against the re-election of current board members.

"We're concerned that the current CEO and board directors don't have the skillset, nor the conviction to institute these sweeping changes needed to transform their culture, to restore trust with employees and shareholders and their partners," Illinois state treasurer Michael Frerichs told Axios.

GameSpot has reached out to Activision Blizzard for comment.

The state treasurers are in charge of investing large amounts of money for the states, but it is currently unknown how much Activision Blizzard stock the states own, which directly relates to how much influence they have over the company. Frerichs said that this puts a bigger public spotlight and more pressure on Activision Blizzard, regardless of the amount of stock the states hold.

Microsoft has announced that it is currently searching for more Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Insiders. Sharing the news in a new Xbox Wire post, the company said that it is looking for the next wave of Xbox Insiders interested in joining one of the Alpha rings.

Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead are "invite-only" rings, whereas anyone can join the Delta and Beta rings. Insiders in the Alpha rings may receive builds earlier than the rest of the Insider rings, and while Alpha Skip-Ahead usually receives builds that may be from a future release, both rings receive features that have not yet been released to other rings.

This is part of the Xbox Update Preview program, where Insiders can check out the latest work-in-progress features the Xbox team are currently working on before they are released publically. Users in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings may submit feedback to Xbox.

“We don’t share specific details, but we look at a variety of factors like high-quality submitted feedback, quest/survey participation, and playing games,” Microsoft said. “More importantly, we select users who let us know they are interested in participating!”

According to Microsoft, for those interested, it doesn't matter what ring fans are already in or how long they've been part of the Insider program. A new survey is available now in the Insider Hub titled “Joining new rings.” Here's how to navigate:

After taking place last year in an empty studio, The Game Awards 2021 will once again commence in front of a live crowd. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the annual celebration of the gaming industry will emanate from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, bringing with it awards for the past year's slate of games and announcements for what's to come next.

The Game Awards and Keighley himself will be teasing what's to come at this year's event via their social media accounts, so far including Shang-Chi star Simu Liu as a presenter and a live performance of "What Could Have Been" from Arcane: A League Of Legends Story by music legend Sting.

For the month of December, Amazon is offering another rotation of free games for Prime subscribers. Additionally, Prime subscribers can also claim in-game loot in games like Genshin Impact, GTA Online, and more.

In total, there are nine free games: Criterion Games' 2010 racing game Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, apocalyptic survival game Frostpunk, colorful outer space adventure Journey to the Savage Planet, and stylish co-op puzzle game Morkredd.

Spellcaster University--where you get to be the director of magic college--will also join the lineup, along with Youtubers Life, a sim where you get to live your influencer dreams, Stubbs the Zombie, an action game where you play as a zombie chomping on people, Football Manager 2021, a sport team management sim, and finally, the complete Tales of Monkey Island--a graphic adventure game.

If you're not an Amazon Prime subscriber already, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial to try these free games out.

Microsoft and Chipotle are working together on a special promotion for Halo Infinite. Now through the end of the year, you can use the promo code HALO117 at checkout to get five challenge swaps for the game's multiplayer mode. The challenge swaps let players change out their challenges to better suit what they want to work towards.

The terms and conditions state that you need to order an entree to get the swaps, but there don't appear to be any other catches. Additionally, Chipotle shoppers can redeem 100 loyalty points for five challenge swaps. Codes are sent to your email and can be activated through this redemption page on Halo Waypoint.

What's more, Chipotle has announced a Halo Infinite multiplayer tournament called the Chipotle Challenger Series. There is $65,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, along with the nice treat of free Chipotle for a year. The tournament takes place December 10-13, and you can register now.

This isn't the only unique Halo Infinite partnership, as Microsoft is also working with Swarovski for special-edition Master Chief and Energy Sword crystals.

December is usually a quiet month for gaming, barring exceptions like last year's launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and this year it's mostly business as usual. Mostly. Microsoft's launch of Halo Infinite on December 8 is easily its most high-profile release of the year, and after years of development, Master Chief's next adventure is already carrying a ton of expectations on its Mjolnir armor-clad shoulders.

Halo Infinite will also be going up against Final Fantasy XIV's Endwalker expansion, which was slightly delayed from its original November launch date, as well as several other smaller titles.

Halo Infinite (Dec. 8)

The next chapter in the Halo series looks like it'll be hitting a mix of traditional action with more freedom than ever before, as Master Chief will be exploring a new world filled with mystery, danger, and vantage points that are just begging for you to take a grappleshot swing over them. A game of two parts, Halo Infinite's campaign will be a separate paid product, while its multiplayer launched earlier in November as a free-to-play product. Both parts of the Halo Infinite experience will also be available through Game Pass, so you won't have to worry about missing out on either part of the package.

At this time of year, most people are running on cerebral fumes and are in dire need of a short break. If you're worried that you'll need a tune-up before you head back into work, Nintendo's latest Big Brain should give your grey matter a solid workout. At least that's the intention, as the critical consensus on the latest Big Brain Academy appears to be lukewarm.

Reviews paint a picture of a game that has a reliable selection of brainteasers, but the new shift towards competitively comparing your overall intelligence and high scores in these mini-games might be discouraging to people who want a deeper focus on personal improvement.

"Brain vs. Brain is centered around competition, and feels a little less approachable for it," critic Steve Watts said in his Big Brain Academy: Brain Vs. Brain review. "That's not to say the game itself shames you. Dr. Lobe is as positive and encouraging as ever, always couching weak spots in gentle terms and nudging you to spend some more time practicing any fields where you didn't excel. But when you create a puzzle game ostensibly about measuring intelligence, and then pit a player against both friends and a worldwide gaming audience, it's going to be fertile ground for planting self-doubt."

Titanfall is no longer available for sale. The game has been removed from storefronts starting today and will be removed from subscription services on March 1, 2022.

Developer Respawn announced the news via Twitter. While the Xbox One launch title will no longer be available for purchase, servers for the original Titanfall will remain online so that players who already own the game can continue playing. The game is currently playable via EA Play, EA's subscription service, which is also included as part of Xbox Game Pass PC and Ultimate.

Titanfall is unique in that the game doesn't have a traditional single-player campaign, but rather a multiplayer campaign where players can play through the game's "story" via multiplayer matches.

Respawn didn't elaborate on why the decision was being made to pull the game from storefronts, but it did reassure fans that the studio is still dedicated to the Titanfall franchise.

"Rest assured, Titanfall is core to Respawn's DNA and this incredible universe will continue," Respawn's statement reads. "Today in Titanfall 2 and Apex Legends, and in the future. This franchise is a north star for the caliber of experiences we will continue to create here at Respawn."

Microsoft and Swarovski are teaming up for a special collaboration to celebrate the launch of Halo Infinite and the 20th anniversary of the series. The crystal company made new collectibles inspired by Master Chief's Mjolnir helmet and the Energy Sword.

They aren't going on sale publicly, but fans can enter a contest to win one. Swarovski made 117 in total, in celebration of Chief's Spartan number.

"At Swarovski we know gaming is the future, and we are incredibly excited to be entering the gaming space with this partnership," Swarovski CEO Michele Molon said.

The Mjolnir helmet was molded from a single piece of crystal and has 140 facets, while the Energy Sword crystal has 204 facets and is made from 13 cut crystal pieces. "Each piece of crystal perfection is a microcosm of the franchise values, asking you to become the hero for every adventure to come," Swarovski said.

Battlefield 2042's newest patch will arrive on December 2, bringing with it more than 150 bug fixes, changes, and improvements across the game.

As detailed by DICE, some of those changes include improved level geometry so that players don't get stuck, the elimination of various visual glitches, fixes to spawning issues, and adjustments to various collision issues.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Major changes are also coming to the Battlefield 2042's UI. The collection screen is getting adjusted to make it easier to use and more clear as to what players are actually selecting. New indicators will soon show players that can revive you when downed, as well as indicators for players that can provide health or ammo if you are low on either. Enemy vehicles and players will now also display health bars when looked at from certain distances.

Big additions are coming to the game's Battlefield Portal mode as well. In addition to various bug fixes for the mode, new builder options have been added, such as Rush game modes for all of 2042's All-Out Warfare maps, a new vehicle team deathmatch mode, and new official templates for game types like Gun Master and Infection.

The update looks to also fix a hit registration issue that has been plaguing the game: one that causes bullets to deal no damage to enemy targets. DICE says in the patch notes that "further improvements are still being investigated" in regards to the issue.

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