September 2022

Further investigation of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard is needed by the UK’s competition regulator, a statement on the government’s website confirmed today. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began the preliminary stage of their investigation at the beginning of July, with a deadline set for September 1st. That initial stage of investigation found that the deal could “substantially lessen competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services”.

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Square Enix has opened a special website for its TGS 2022 schedule and lineup. The publisher will be showcasing new and upcoming games such as Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion, Forspoken, and Romancing Saga, among others. Furthermore, the in-person booth will allow players to get some first-hand experience with these titles before they release. For those unable to attend, Square Enix will also be hosting live broadcasts over the course of the four-day event.

Tokyo Game Show 2022 will be held from September 15 to 18, 2022, at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan. Square Enix plans to host both a physical booth as well as live streams during the event period. These broadcasts will showcase games including Star Ocean 6, Valkyrie Elysium, Harvestella, The DioField Chronicle, Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, Nier: Automata EOY Edition, and Tactics Ogre: Reborn.

River City Girls Zero will appear on more platforms. Arc System Works has published a Japanese website for the game, which will be known in the country as Shin Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-tachi no Banka -with River City Girls Extra-. The Japanese Switch release, along with the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC versions, will appear digitally on September 22, 2022.

Japanese and English subtitles and voiceovers will appear in all builds by default. The additional subtitles on the Switch and PlayStation platforms will depend on the user's region. The Japanese and Asian versions will include Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. The Western releases will instead feature French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The Xbox and PC versions will be a universal build containing all of the aforementioned languages.

Arc System Works has also uploaded a new Japanese trailer for River City Girls Zero:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCknKQVinK4

River City Girls Zero is an enhanced port of the 1994 Japan-exclusive Super Famicom (SNES) game, Shin Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-tachi no Banka. WayForward first revealed the title at Limited Run Games' live stream in mid-June 2021, with the same year as its initial release window. However, it later delayed the game's release to 2022.

Paradox Interactive has unveiled Toxoids, a new Species Pack DLC for Stellaris that'll bring the "most stubborn species in the game's history" when it comes to PC on 20th September.

Toxoids will give players the tools to "gamble the future of their planets for immediate gains" on release, with empires featuring the new species able to grow and adapt faster than most creatures - albeit often with nasty consequences for their neighbours and themselves.

To that end, the expansion introduces two new Origins: Knights of the Toxic God and Overtuned. The former revolves around a mysterious power rumoured to be buried under toxic sludge which can be unleashed on the galaxy if found, while the latter gives players the chance to play as a species able to gain more and more traits at the expense of their own lifespan.

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In October 2019, global pop sensation Lady Gaga appeared confused as to what Fortnite was.

"What's fortnight?" Gaga tweeted, elliciting numerous responses.

One reply, from blue-haired Fortnite streamer Ninja, asked Gaga to play with him. "who are you," was Gaga's response.

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Not content with completing Elden Ring with one hand, Twitch streamer MissMikkaa is now playing through the game on a dance pad.

With all the bizarre ways of playing, this feels inevitable right?

The one-handed run was already an impressive feat - especially as it was quickly followed by a one-handed level one All Remembrance run - but now she's playing with her feet instead.

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343 Industries has shared its latest development roadmap, and it's not good news.

The biggest news is that the game's next season has been delayed to March 2023. That's an excruciatingly long time to wait. For context, Battlefield 2042, which released around the same time and also suffered delays, is also on Season 2, with the next Season planned for the end of this year.

The bad news doesn't end there, as split-screen local co-op has now been cancelled outright. "In order to improve and accelerate ongoing live service development, and to better address player feedback and quality of life updates, we have reallocated studio resources and are no longer working on local campaign split-screen co-op," 343 said in an accompany development video.

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For those that had hoped to see upcoming space horror The Callisto Protocol make its way onto Xbox Games Pass at release, this seems unlikely.

Chatting to TrueAchievements, Striking Distance Studios' chief technology officer Mark James said the Game Pass model was a "difficult" one in financial terms for independent studios with single-player games - something The Callisto Protocol is.

"I think those services are built towards some of the open-world style and repetitive multiplayer games. I think games [like that] survive well on that service," James said when discussing the possibility of seeing a title like The Callisto Protocol joining Game Pass.

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UPDATE 2/9/22: PQube has issued a lengthy response to yesterday's claims by indie developer Corecell, in which it was accused of witholding funds from the Thai studio behind AeternoBlade 2.

The statement discusses issues with Corecell, and claims that while it was "prepared to pay the full guarantee for the game", this was held back by "significant quality issues" it identified. PQube also offers a more general response to what it sees as the "inevitable" challenges of working with numerous developers over the years.

PQube's response lies below in full:

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After growing to become one of the most-leaked games in franchise history, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed Mirage is real and we'll be learning more about it next week.

That's because the publisher is hosting a Ubisoft Forward on Sept. 10 at Noon P.T./3 p.m. ET, which has been previously advertised as the event where we'll learn more about the future of Assassin's Creed and more. It seems Assassin's Creed Mirage will be the big highlight of the show, but it's possible we learn more about Assassin's Creed Infinity, which is Ubisoft's in-development Assassin's Creed live-service platform. We might even learn about non-Assassin's Creed games, too. 

Assassin's Creed Mirage is the next Assassin's Creed game.

We can't wait to tell you more on September 10 at Ubisoft Forward: 9PM CEST | 12PM PT. #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/92LoEcrrWs

It’s no surprise that GTA Online has grown tremendously since it’s initial launch in 2013. Heists are at the forefront of activities to complete for online players. Here’s how to start heists in 2020 in GTA Online.

How to Start Heists in GTA Online

Ok, so you’ve got your crew and you’re ready to collect a big score. Well, something you’ll need before being able to do any heist is an apartment with a heist room.

The leader of the heist will need to be at least level 12 before you can begin.

Not every apartment you can purchase in GTA Online has a heist room so here is a list below of purchasable properties that include one.

You can purchase properties by clicking up on the D-pad to pull up your cellphone. Go to the browser and select Maze Bank Foreclosures. From there you can purchase any property you have the money for:

Ubisoft has just released a new animated short focusing on the new operator set to hit Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Grim, ahead of the launch of Operation Brutal Storm.

Titled “Be ready for Grim,” the short follows Grim on a mission to secure a data breach. Entering the location by himself, Grim discovers the cause of the commotion is Karina “Nøkk” Gaarddhøje and proceeds to tangle with her. Nøkk manages to escape with the information she came to steal, and the trailer ends with a bevy of foreshadowing as Grim ponders what the sneaky operator’s end goal was.

You can check out the trailer for yourself, as well as a brief description of Rainbow Six Siege, for yourself right down below.

Rainbow Six Siege is an exciting, new approach to the first-person shooter experience that puts tactical combat and masterful destruction at the center of the action. Lead your team of unique operators through tense and thrilling combat scenarios, and achieve victory through smart preparation and strategic improvisation.

It’s no secret that Fortnite is home to a colorful cast of characters, and some serve as in-game NPCs. Most of these NPCs operate as mini-shops and are helpful, there are other ways to interact with them as well. Here’s exactly how to challenge a character to a duel in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3.

How to Duel a Character

Please note: while you can shoot any NPC and they will engage you in combat, that doesn’t count as a duel. At present, there are only three NPCs that you can duel for whatever rewards they happen to give.

The map locations can be seen below.

These NPCs are:

The Titanfall franchise might technically still live on today through battle-royale spin-off Apex Legends, but the unfortunate fate of the beloved Titanfall 2 is still a sore spot for diehard fans. It was so darn good, and yet its lackluster commercial performance meant that EA Games was never prepared to greenlight another sequel. Well, miraculously, it’s now back in the spotlight over on Steam as the game has surged in popularity over the past 48 hours.

Player numbers tracked over on Steam Charts are up by a whopping 231% to over 8,000 at the time of writing, and they’ve been as high as 12,000. That’s four times the peak player number in the same month last year!

Titanfall 2’s numbers have actually been steadily increasing over the past 12 months or so, perhaps owing to the continued success of Apex Legends, which is set in the same universe and remains immensely popular. That, in tandem with Steam sales discounting the price to metaphorical peanuts, is likely prompting new players to give it a try, and with such a thriving player base still actively enjoying the game they’re clearly sticking around to enjoy the action.

Of course, if you’ve played Titanfall 2 then you’ll remember that while its multiplayer was sublime, the truly brilliant aspect of the game was its single-player campaign. It’s one of the very best of the past decade, and arguably of any shooter ever. Ironically, the lack of a campaign in the original Titanfall was considered a big boohoo from enthusiasts of the franchise, and the addition of one for the sequel was highly anticipated.

Cars are somewhat unique in Fortnite in that they can run out of gas and need to be filled back up at a gas station’s pumps. Though gas stations can be hard to find as they are somewhat spread out across the map, we’ll help you know where to look and go. Here are all the gas station locations in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3.

All Gas Stations in Fortnite

One of the new week 13 challenges tasks players with refueling a vehicle at three different gas stations over the course of a single match. For challenges like these, it is paramount to plan a route out ahead of time, so you aren’t lost while fights are going on around you.

Fortunately, the challenge also marks your map with all the locations needed to get it done. There are 13 possible gas stations to visit, and you can see them all below

Back at Geoff Fest, I spoke with Glenn Schofield about The Callisto Protocol, its gore system, spiky walls, and batteries. From what I'd seen and heard, I was keen to see more of the sci-fi horror game that's not Dead Space but is also quite like Dead Space.

So, at this year's Geoffscom I was able to see a 20-minute presentation of some new Callisto goodness and then chat with Striking Distance Studios' chief technology officer Mark James about what I'd seen. We touched on dismemberment, 3D printers, and Shaun Of The Dead, naturally.

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If you thought things could get awkward and tense in Crusader Kings 3 then just wait for the arrival of its Friends And Foes pack on September 8th. There’s also the upcoming free Bastion update, which introduces memory maps for characters, the loyal and disloyal traits, and revamps childhood events. Have a watch of the trailer for Friends And Foes below, old buddy, old pal.

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Last week HyperX announced their first-ever gaming monitors, the Armada 25 and Armada 27, and within a couple of days I was being led into their Gamescom booth to try each of them for myself. After a disappointingly uncomfortable preview of the Samsung Odyssey Ark, it was nice to get to grips with a far more utilitarian pair of monitors – albeit not without a party trick of their own, namely HyperX’s Armada Gaming Mount.

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The Pokémon Company has filed a lawsuit against six Chinese companies over a mobile game for “copyright infringement and unfair competition behavior.” It is claiming over $72 million in damages and demanding public apologies on major social media platforms, gaming websites, and app stores. The proposed apology tour…

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It’s been years since we got news about Pikmin 4, Nintendo’s next entry in the beloved RTS puzzle franchise. But don’t worry. If you’ve been craving some minion management, puzzle solving, cute worlds to explore, and maybe even some platforming, then you should check out Tinykin. And best of all, this excellent Pikmin…

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A bit of artwork from the long-rumored Assassin’s Creed Mirage appeared to leak last night. Then this morning, Ubisoft finally confirmed that the game is real, maybe earlier than it had intended to make the official reveal. It’s quite a leaky ship over there.

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Fans of Halo Infinite have spent the past few days deliriously anticipating the game’s next roadmap, hoping it’d outline salvation for the floundering multiplayer shooter. Today, 343 Industries unveiled its plans: a wave of delays, a handful of imminent updates, a promised feature canceled. Needless to say, fans are…

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UPDATE 2/9/22: Gremlins duo Gizmo and Stripe will arrive in MultiVersus as separate playable characters, developer Player1stGames has now confirmed.

"Gizmo and Stripe will be separate iconic fighters joining the roster," the studio confirmed via Twitter. "Gizmo's up first! Feel free to choose between cute and cuddly or scaley and chaotic. Decisions, decisions... what's your choice?"

Look for Gizmo to pop up next week, per publisher Warner Bros' previous tease.

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Today Xseed Games announced that it will release the upcoming JRPG Trinity Trigger in the west.

The game will release for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch in early 2023, a few months after the Japanese release which is happening on September 15.

Below you can enjoy the trailer released to accompany the announcement.

The game is set in a world named Trinitia, which is lush and beautiful, but also the battlefield of an ancient war between the gods of order and chaos. As a result, their weapons have been thrust into the ground and remain in the form of massive “Holy towers.” The main character, Cyan, meets a mysterious creature named “Trigger” that can change form according to the summoner’s thoughts and wishes.

His life is turned upside-down when he discovers that his fate is to be the warrior of chaos, a proxy of the war between the god, so he sets out on a journey to change his fate, afterward meeting Eris and Zantis.

Cyan, Eris, and Zantis are all playable by up to three players, bringing back the concept of multiplayer JRPG.

Characters can switch between 8 types of weapons, and one of the keys of this game is to find out which weapon type is the weakness of each enemy.

The video opens by telling views that the series of areas that players will get to explore are called the Starfall Islands. While it has been said previously, the main goal in this new adventure for Sonic the Hedgehog will once again involve hunting down the Chaos Emeralds. No, despite the name, they are multiple colors.

You can see the trailer below, it should build up any hype you have if you were already on board.

There will also be a sub-dimension called Cyber Space that sonic will be able to move in and out of at certain times, and there’s sure to be a big mystery around how such a weird place ties into the Starfall Islands. Once again it is emphasized that while Sonic Frontiers isn’t open-world it is “open-zone”, meaning the areas that Sonic gets to explore are open but contained.

Other than that it seems a good portion of Sonic Frontiers will be similar to gameplay we all know and love: running around and picking up rings. The Starfall Islands will also feature puzzles for Sonic to figure out, which feels like a page has certainly been taken out of the Breath of the Wild playbook.

Sonic Frontiers, the new installment in Sega’s flagship franchise, promises to be a massive evolution of the franchise, with a new gameplay format and style compared to Sonic’s last few outings. With that in mind, is Sonic Frontiers an open-world game?

Is Sonic Frontiers Open-World?

The short answer is, yes, Sonic Frontiers will be the first open-world game in the franchise, with Sega playing up that this title offers “open-zone platforming.” Sonic will touch down on the Starfall Islands, an open-ended world where he will be able to platform, solve puzzles, and engage with enemies as he typically does.

With this new open-world area, gamers will prepare themselves for more action and combat-oriented gameplay than in past Sonic titles. The larger world will also offer Sonic more room to run around, which also means players will have flexibility in the order that they choose to tackle the game.

At the start of 2022 it was looking like this was going to be a banner year for DC comics, especially in the movies department. Unfortunately, with one bad news story after another like cancelled movies and TV shows, DC fans are getting hit with yet another disappointment. It looks like Warner Bros. Discovery is axing DC FanDome for 2022.

Graeme McMillan at Popverse wrote,

“DC released a statement to Popverse reading, “With the return of in person events, Warner Bros. Discovery is excited to be able to engage with our fans live at numerous comic-cons around the world and will not be scheduling DC FanDome for 2022.”

It’s worth noting that DC’s San Diego Comic-Con presence was extremely limited with one movie that has already been talked about extensively in Black Adam and a follow-up to the first Shazam. Granted, both look to be good projects, but it was a meager showing considering the hopes coming into the year.

The other interesting part of this is that WB Discovery is opting to completely pull out of hosting their own event. There are no plans to host another digital event and it looks like they’re just going to focus on bringing their big reveals to events like Comic Con.

This announcement comes as a follow-up to the recent string of canceled DC films and shows that were planned for the coming years. Fortunately for DC fans, it looks like the Harley Quinn animated series will be returning for a fourth season.

Over the years, Stephen King has been responsible for some of the most beloved stories in cinema, as the many different adaptations of the large and diverse array of books he’s written over the years have resulted in some excellent films. According to a recent poll by USDish, It seems that one series stood out amongst the rest.

In the report, it was revealed that everyone’s favorite creepy horror clown took the top two spots for the most searched Stephen King films on google. It: Chapter Two had a total of 12 states, while It (2017) had a total of 8 states. You can see the official breakdown yourself below.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has just started streaming its third episode, “The People vs. Emil Blonsky.” While the episode mainly focuses on the parole of Emil Blonsky, there is a moment at the end of the episode that introduces four new characters in a group known as the Wrecking Crew. In the scene, the crew attempts to steal the blood of She-Hulk for an unknown boss. So who exactly is the Wrecking Crew in She-Hulk?

Who Is the Boss of the Wrecking Crew?

The leader of the Wrecking Crew is a man named Dirk Garthwaite, also known as the Wrecker. In the comics, Wrecker got his powers when he was accidentally awarded powers by the goddess Karnilla, who granted him super strength and abilities. Garthwaite would then go on a rampage, using his signature weapon of a crowbar. He was later captured by Thor, who sent him away to prison, where Garthwaite met and befriended three other men, Brian Calusky, Eliot Franklin, and Henry Camp, who would all eventually escape alongside Wrecker.

Who Are the Wrecking Crew?

In order to bestow powers upon his friends, Wrecker decided for the four of them to all grab hold of his crowbar during a lightning storm, which, when it was eventually struck, it spread his power amongst the four of them.

Eliot Franklin would become Thunderball, a man who fights using a ball and chain, Brian Calusky became Piledriver, who relies on his fists for brute strength, and Henry Camp is known as Bulldozer, who will typically ram into people using a helmet.

A Tweet from notable Fortnite leaker/dataminer @ShiinaBR has corroborated other reports in agreeing that Gwen Stacy will be joining Fortnite, likely as Spider-Gwen. She will be available somewhere in the Chapter 3 Season 4 battle pass.

While this tweet doesn’t necessarily give the full details on what form Gwen Stacy will take, @HYPEX gives slightly more details, referring to her appearance as a “Fortnite x Spider-Verse”.

Today Warner Bros. Games presented some rather spiffy videos of the upcoming Wizarding World game Hogwarts Legacy.

First of all, we get a video providing an overview of the world that we’ll be able to visit, from Hogwarts itself to the surroundings, including the beautiful common rooms of the four houses.

Speaking of the common rooms, each was also showcased separately in a series of video, providing you with an in-depth look at your quarters once you’ve picked your house in the game.

We also get some interesting news for dedicated Harry Potter fans. You can link your Harry Potter Fan Club account with your Warner Bros. Games account and import your room and wand into the game.

Linking accounts will also grant you the ccounts will also unlock a “Beaked Skull Mask” and a set “House Fan-Atic School Robes” in the game.

You can check out all the videos below.

Weekly Challenges that use landmarks rather than named locations are tricky, as the landmarks aren’t noted anywhere on the map by name. Fortunately, we have extensive knowledge of the game and are happy to help you find either to get through one of the week 13 quests for that sweet XP. Here’s where Wreck Ravine and Rocky Wreckage are on the map.

Where Are Wreck Ravine & Rocky Wreckage in Fortnite

Wreck Ravine

This is the only one of the two that existed last season. If you followed last season’s Resistance questline, you had to visit Wreck Ravine for the white filing cabinet quest. While the area that used to be Command Cavern turned into Rave Cave, it didn’t spread far enough to affect Wreck Ravine.

You can find it here on your map, just slightly north of Rave Cave.

Multiversus has been making waves with its genius combination of Smash Bros.-like combat and Warner Bros.-owned characters (and a very clear flex of their IPs). You can unleash more than 1% of your power as Shaggy, fly around as Superman, and even wield a basketball as LeBron James. However, Warner Bros. could do so much more, so here are 10 characters we’d love to see in Multiversus next.

Earlier today, The Pokemon GO Team at Niantic announced a new partnership with mobile provider, Verizon. This Partner Research will include free items and Pokemon encounters for Pokemon GO players who get their mobile service through Verizon.

This isn’t the first time that Pokemon GO and Verizon have teamed up to put on an event specifically for customers of the provider. Previously, events featured similar rewards, including exclusive avatar clothing items.

This time around, the event is set to take place from Sept. 1 at 9 AM local time until Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 9 PM local time. Verizon customers will be able to earn, “XP, Stardust, 100 Gengar Mega Energy, an Incubator, a Poffin, a Lucky Egg, and more…”

The Partner Research will also include encounters with the Pokemon Gengar, Clamperl, Pawniard, and Espurr. Each one except for Pawniard has a chance to be shiny.

How to Claim Verizon Partner Research in Pokemon GO

The Pokemon GO Team also shared how Verizon customers can take part in this Partner Research. First, they’ll need to open the My Verizon app. From there, you can tap Verizon Up in the lower right of the screen. In this area of the app, go to Pokemon GO Partner Research to receive your code for this event.

The code you receive from the My Verizon app is valid until the end of the event on Nov. 30 at 9 PM local time.

The official release about the Verizon Partner Research in Pokemon GO can be found right here.

The official MultiVersus Twitter account teased yet another character today within its ever-expanding brawling game, leading some to speculate that Saw content is coming to MultiVersus. But is that really the case? Here is everything you need to know.

Is MultiVersus Set to Introduce Saw?

The short answer is, no, Saw isn’t going to be added to Multiversus. Upon closer inspection, not to mention the description from their official tweet, it appears as though an old cuddly favorite is about to debut instead—Gizmo, of Gremlins fame.

The most fun challenges in Fortnite always seem to be the ones related to traversal. While 50 meters doesn’t seem like all that much, it can be longer than you think. Fortunately, there are some easy places to go for this that require no building on your part. Here’s an easy way to slide consecutively for 50 meters.

Where to Slide for 50 Meters in Fortnite

While you can make a ramp yourself and slide down it, that takes quite a bit of time and does come with considerable risk. Seeing as any ramp you make will have to be quite long, it will stick out like a sore thumb. In that situation, you’re liable to get it broken with you on it, sending you cratering to your death.

Due to that, you are better off visiting a canyon landmark with rounded edges you can easily slide over and down, adding to your momentum. The best place that fits that criteria is Wreck Ravine, which is to the north of Rave Cave.

Here it is on the map, under the cursor. You can see some of the debris when you zoom in this far, so you know what you are looking at.