December 2022

Microsoft's proposed buyout of Activision-Blizzard is currently being scrutinized by competition regulators in various countries, but despite previous (and existing) objections the American Federal Trade Commision now looks likely to approve the deal. The news comes from the New York Post, who quote former FTC chairman William Kovacic as saying the deal is 70% likely to proceed.

There's a web of politics involved, but the short version is that insider sources say Microsoft have won over another member of the four person FTC panel, meaning any vote on whether to launch a lawsuit would result in an even split that would effectively OK the deal. That would reduce current FTC Chair Lina Khan's authority over the body, so to avoid that she might just let Microsoft have at it.

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As I write this I'm installing the PC patch for The Callisto Protocol, which will hopefully fix the stuttering that I experienced (that everyone on PC experienced, judging by the steam reviews). I will report back. But there's another issue that I was still working out my feelings about when I wrote the review, and is a complext thing to explain. It is this:

The Callisto Protocol wants you to learn and experiment with its systems, but it strongly disincentivises this at the same time.

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2022 was a good year for shooter fans. While the launch of a new shooter title (FPS or otherwise) is pretty common every year, the variety we received in 2022 was fantastic. From massive, online battle royales to smaller, quirky indie shooters and everything in between, this year really did have a little something…

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There’s a new premium weapon skin bundle coming to Valorant soon, and it looks like a good one. Called Cryostasis, it’s designed around a frigid, icy theme. Whether or not it has upgrade tiers that include special effects, audio, and a finisher remains to be seen.

Update: The Cryostasis bundle is confirmed to have upgrader tiers and a finisher. There is also a special effect that sees ice grow on your weapon throughout the game. The bundle is likely to cost 7100VP.

That’s because the bundle hasn’t been detailed yet beyond a quick tease from Riot Games via social media. In case it wasn’t clear from the picture above, the Cryostasis bundle includes the following weapons:

• Hammer (melee)
• Classic
• Bulldog
• Vandal
• Operator

Valorant Cryostasis Bundle Price & Release Date

We don’t have official word yet on the price, but we’re going to assume it’s at least a deluxe-tier bundle, if not a premium-tier bundle. That would put the price at either 1250 VP or 12750 VP. Again, we’re speculating here until we know more, so we’ll be sure to update this article with more information as and when we hear it.

As for the release date, it’s not actually coming this week along with the patch but the following one: Wednesday, Dec. 14.

For more on Valorant, check out our overview of the upcoming Chamber nerf that is likely to be included in tomorrow’s patch. There are also a whole bunch of Agent changes that are likely to come soon as well if the PBE server trial goes ahead.

Move to the side Paw Patrol: The Movie, and S.W.A.T. Firefight, as, per Flix Patrol, there’s a new movie at the top of the charts on Paramount+, one with an eccentric family at its center: 1991’s The Addams Family. 

The successful release of Janna Ortega’s Wednesday on Netflix has made many people nostalgic for The Addams Family’s nineties movie. The film has become number one in Paramount+, but it’s also on Netflix’s Top 10 movies all over the world, from Australia to Argentina, Panama to Bulgaria, Slovenia to the United States.

The classic movie was a triumph of the imagination and used all the advancements in movie magic and tech, to improve what the old tv show could do, making it funny while creating some amazement in its younger viewers. The Addams Family was directed by Men in Black’s Barry Sonnenfeld and had an incredible cast in Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Judith Malina, and Christina Ricci in one of her first movie roles ever. 

The film was a box office success, as it earned more than a hundred million dollars worldwide, and had a sequel a couple of years later: Addams Family Values. The original film worked pretty well with both critics and the audience, as per Rotten Tomatoes, the critics gave it a 67% percent rating, while the audience gave it a 66% rating, proving that if you’re looking to have some fun, with sight-gags, one-liners in an old school entertaining movie, this would be a perfect choice, especially if you’re also a fan of Netflix Wednesday.

You can watch The Addams Family on most streaming platforms like Netflix, AMC+, and Paramount+.

Electronic Arts shared that the first gameplay of the upcoming Star Wars action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be aired soon.

To be precise, it’ll be showcased at The Game Awards on Dec. 8, later this week.

Alongside the announcement, we also get new artwork showcasing the protagonist Kal Kestis and his faithful droid BD-1 in a heroic pose.

You can check it out below.

The game was originally announced back in May, but Electronic Arts took the cinematic approach back then, so we have yet to see gameplay. That being said, the wait won’t be long.

Xbox will join the growing trend of selling new blockbuster console games for $70 (likely £70) next year.

This includes the biggest hitters from Microsoft's first-party line-up for 2023, such as Bethesda's Starfield, Arkane's Redfall and the company's own Forza Motorsport reboot.

Of course, as is standard on Xbox, all of these will continue to be made available on day one as part of Xbox Game Pass. There's no suggestion today of any other pricing being changed - such as for that subscription service, or for Xbox hardware.

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Shonen Jump finally ended its promised new run of four new manga series with Fabricant 100. As with the past three, it is available outside of Japan. People can start reading its first chapter on Manga Plus and Viz Media immediately.

Fabricant 100 comes from Daisuke Enoshima. The series begins with the backstory into fabricants. These are beings who aren’t human. A doctor attempted making them, hoping to create a perfect one, eventually creating 100 of them. However, all of the imperfect fabricants are constantly searching for “perfect” parts from ordinary humans. And so the series follows Ashibi Yao and that fabled 100th one the doctor created as they hunt the 99 others to protect humanity.

Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Super Card Game is going to get a Digital Version. At the December 2022 Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour, a teaser appeared for the project. Sometime in 2023, a virtual version of the card game will appear. Platforms weren’t announced, but there will be a closed beta test.

Here’s the official teaser trailer for Dragon Ball Super Card Game Digital Version. The video begins with the existing TCG’s logo. Then, it shows a number of cards from the game. After that, it confirms the new version. Apparently, the official title will just tack “Digital Version” on to the end of the game’s title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olNSaa8JR8I&ab_channel=OfficialBandaiCardGamesChannel

However, aside from the trailer, there aren’t any other details about the project. We see Goku about to unleash a Kamehameha on a field of cards after the Son Goku card appears in the teaser. It doesn’t show any more than that. Instead, it says the next announcements regarding the game will appear at the March 4-5, 2023 Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour.

The Dragon Ball Super Card Game is available physically worldwide now, and the Digital Version is in development for undisclosed devices. It will appear in 2023, with a closed beta preceding the official release.

A realm that collapsed into darkness will be reborn. Touhou Danmaku Kagura: Phantasia Lost is getting made, officially. Developer UnknownX released a promo for the resurrected title at Winter 2022 Indie Live Expo on December 4, 2022.

Check out the extended teaser for Touhou Danmaku Kagura: Phantasia Lost below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PPpCOoDMbw

Phantasia Lost is the rebooted edition of mobile rhythm game Touhou Danmaku Kagura, which ended service in late October 2022. UnknownX began a crowdfunding campaign to fund its efforts to salvage the now-defunct gacha game as a single-release product on PC. That campaign has to date raised over 92 million Yen (about $675,423 USD), more than 6 times the initial funding target. These campaigns activated stretch goals for a Switch edition, as well as for a new theme song produced by band Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets and singer-songwriter Kayoko Kusano.

The teaser tells the story of how Gensokyo, the home of the many characters of Touhou Project, fell to ruin, with its cities, people, and even memories subsumed by sand. Reimu Hakurei awakens, with no memory of who she was, and must collect the Mitama Cards to restore the lost memories of the realm, that it might be reborn in truth.

A new Fire Emblem Engage teaser details Corrin, the protagonist of Fire Emblem Fates. Unlike Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Corrin's female incarnation appears as an Emblem character this time around.

Check out the Fire Emblem Engage Corrin teaser below.

https://twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1599667781468684288

In Fire Emblem Fates, Corrin was born to the royal family of Hoshido, but was kidnapped and raised as part of the royal family of Hoshido's longtime foe, Nohr. Following the prologue, Corrin is given a choice of whether to return to Hoshido or continue siding with Nohr in the war between the two kingdoms. Fire Emblem Fates then split the story between two separate releases. The Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright release follows the storyline of Corrin siding with Hoshido, while the Conquest release follows the Nohr plotline. A third route, Revelation was released later as a downloadable expansion.

Fortnite Chapter 4 is here. Following the Fracture live event on December 3^rd, the Herald and her chrome army obliterated The Island, sending chunks flying in all directions across space. Then, the island began repairing itself, forming an entirely new world filled with new locations, weapons, and mechanics. Blindly jumping into an all-new map can be a bit overwhelming, so here’s a list of every change introduced in Fortnite Chapter 4.

I am a proud Scaramouche hater. When he was first introduced, I couldn’t stand his obnoxious taunts, his weird coat-shorts combination, or his embarrassing bowl cut. I’ve since warmed to his now more-compelling backstory, but there are fans out there who have been waiting for this villain to be playable since he first…

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Starting next year, Microsoft will raise the price of its first-party games from $60 to $70, joining other publishers and video game companies who are doing the same. Welcome to the era of the $70 game, folks.

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Overwatch 2 will begin its second season this Tuesday, Dec. 6 and Blizzard has announced a few changes on how players can earn Ramattra, the game’s newest hero, a bit faster than previously detailed.

“After reviewing data for Season 1, we’re moving Ramattra in to Tier 45 of the Battle Pass and making a few more weekly challenges easier to complete,” Aaron Keller, the game’s director, announced on Twitter.

Ramattra had been previously placed at Tier 55 in the battle pass for free-to-play players to unlock, same as Season 1’s hero Kiriko, but has now been moved up to an earlier tier. The director also did not detail how much easier the new weekly challenges would be.

The change comes as players criticized the seemingly high requirements to unlock new heroes without paying for the seasonal passes, since purchasing the $10 battle pass would instantly unlock the new hero. Players who did not want to pay would have to grind to get the new hero or wait for a specific hero challenge to complete when the season is over. The original Overwatch had added its new characters in free updates, but had stopped with the game’s transition to the now free-to-play Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 Season 2 will begin on Dec. 6 and is available for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The MCU doesn’t stop. After Phase 4, Marvel announced many new projects, but Kevin Feige and his team still haven’t decided on castings for those movies. While we wait, here are 12 actors we want to see in the MCU, and the role they could play; without any actors from any Marvel FOX movies, so no Anya Taylor-Joy (The New Mutants), Zoe Kravitz (X-Men: First Class), or Bill Skarsgard (Deadpool 2):

Traveling is one of life’s finest past-times, allowing for exploration of places never seen before for extended periods. As any gamer can relate, traveling is fun, but at a certain point, the feeling of withdrawal starts to kick in after periods of being separated from a gaming setup. Not to mention, layovers and delays are not fun at all.

However, it seems that one airport located in South Korea has found the cure for the withdrawals and other traveling issues. Check out the footage below.

Today Rare and Microsoft released a cinematic trailer for the next adventure that is coming to Sea of Thieves.

The adventure is titled “The Rogue’s Legacy” and the trailer certainly goes from cheerful at the beginning to rather dark at the end.

We see the tavern keeper Tasha as she finds a note from Skeleton lord Captain Briggsy that leads her to find a treasure chest. Yet, when she wakes up in the morning, she finds out she’s turning into a skeleton herself.

The adventure will become available later this week on Dec. 8, and will be removed from the game on Dec. 22.

It follows “Return of the Damned” which saw Flameheart’s triumph causing Pendragon to be banished to the Sea of the Damned.

You can watch the trailer below.

Sea of Thieves is currently available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. You can also grab it via Game Pass.

The game is currently in its 8th season, having introduced new PvP features that let players pledge their allegiance to either the Guardians of Fortune loyal to the Pirate Lord and his allies, and the Servants of the Flame, sworn to Flameheart.

Just when Cyberpunk: Edgerunner fans thought their tear ducts could finally stay dry, artist B-OH released their cover of the mega-popular song “I Really Want to Stay At Your House” by Rosa Walton and Hallie Coggins. The song was originally featured in Cyberpunk 2077 but soared in popularity after the release of Edgerunners back in September of this year.

For those unfamiliar with B-OH, they’re a youtube channel dedicated to creating remixes to various popular anime tracks and other unique forms of music. The channel seems to be a passion project for its creator and the ever-popular song by Rosa and Hallie seems to have inspired B-OH.

But B-OH is not the only person who has taken a liking to the hit song. Currently, the track sits at 70,222,145 streams on Spotify at the time of this writing. Fans gravitated towards the song because of its catchy hook, along with the significant meaning that it has for not only the characters in Edgerunners but also for fans on a personal level. The lyrics describe a longing to remain close to someone you’re not on the best terms with, and they also portray a melancholy yet hopeful energy, and fans can not get enough.

Microsoft has announced that all their first-party titles will receive a price increase starting in 2023. They will follow suit with PlayStation and Ubisoft, and all upcoming games like Redfall, The Outer Worlds 2, Starfield, and future Forza titles will be $70 on release.

However, this will only be for versions built for the Series X|S. Xbox One games will remain at the same price. This news all comes via IGN, where a quote was given explaining the price hike and why it is happening:

This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles,” a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. “As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.

Adding first-party games to Game Pass on day one is the one difference that Xbox has over the competition. It’s why a large number of Xbox gamers will probably take this news with a shrug. The fact that a game becomes $10 more expensive doesn’t matter as much when you can still play it for just $10 a month.

Nintendo Switch Online subcribers can try the full version of River City Girls for free. Nintendo announced it is the latest game in the Free Game Trial series. Starting on December 6, 2022, people will be able to go through the beat'em up. It will also be on sale during the event, as is common for titles participating in the program.

River City Girls is an original spin-off in the beat'em up Kunio-kun series. (Outside Japan, the NES entry ended up localized as River City Ransom.) Misako and Kyoko's boyfriends Kunio and Riki are kidnapped, and the girls go around town beating up enemies to rescue them. The title normally costs $29.99. However, as part of the promotion, it is temporarily $14.99 in the eShop until December 11, 2022.

This comes ahead of River City Girls 2's debut. The game is already available in Japan. However, there is no worldwide release date for the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC game yet. It still has a 2022 release window, however.

River City Girls is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and PC. The sequel is out in Japan and is expected to appear worldwide before 2022 ends. The Nintendo Switch Online Free Game Trial for it will last until December 12, 2022.

Cover and Anycolor, the parent companies of Hololive and Nijisanji, announced the two are working together to combat defamation against their Vtubers. The two issued a join press release confirming their intentions to work together against bad actors. The announcement also noted that both began working together in October 2022 to take action against “summary sites.”

Throughout the joint statement, Cover and Anycolor noted they “condemn” actions of people harassing and spreading lies about the Hololive and Nijisanji Vtubers. They also noted how this distress and invasion interferes with the Vtubers’ livelihoods and fans. The notice acknowledged how it puts people’s health at stake.

As for actions the companies will be taking, a few things came up in the announcement. It mentioned the two developed strategies and took part in “public awareness campaigns.” It also mentioned Cover and Anycolor will enter a settlement agreement with those who operate “summary sites” in the hopes of protecting Hololive and Nijisanji Vtubers. However, it also noted they will be branching out. The statement said, “Going forward, while implementing these countermeasures, we intend to go even further by cooperating with other companies in accordance with the circumstances and matters at hand and intend to work vigorously to eradicate acts of defamation.”

There are a lot of great new Pokemon designs in Scarlet and Violet. We have Tandemaus, a pair of mice that eventually evolves into a family as Maushold. There’s a pig with the perfect name Lechonk. But of all the new Pokemon out there, few can outclass Scarlet and Violet’s Tinkaton as the best of the best. Well, and by extension Tinkatink and Tinkatuff.

First, aesthetically Tinkaton is a great new Pokemon. Each one begins as a pink, tony baby with a small hammer that looks more like a metal rattle. As she grows (and inevitably craves destruction), that begins to become a hammer. So by Tinkatuff at level 24, she starts to turn into a little pink menace. Then, by level 38, she is a full-blown problem with hammer far bigger than she is.

The Hololive Myth Vtubers are now in CounterSide as part of the game’s latest crossover event. To help people get an idea of everything that entails, there’s a new video showcasing the collaboration. It goes over all of the five characters now in-game. People can also hear the voiced lines that will play. Some of the figures they can collect also show up. This comes following the event's announcement back in November 2022.

The video begins by showing the five Hololive Myth members’ CounterSide skins. As a reminder, Calliope is a Lucrecia skin, Kiara is a Yuna Springfield one, Ina’nis is one for Edel Meitner, Gura is a Kaci Bins skin, and Amelia is one for Yang Harim. In each case, people can see the people in character and using attacks. One skin will be a free collaboration mission reward.

After that, the trailer goes over other elements of the event. It shows the compose system with the Vtubers. A number of chibi figures inspired by the Hololive Myth members show up. It then closes with a look at how the characters look like in a room interacting with different pieces of furniture.

Here’s the latest trailer for the crossover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTQhIFujSc&ab_channel=CounterSideGlobal

CounterSide is available on PCs and mobile devices, and the Hololive Myth crossover is now live in-game.

Since its reveal in 2016, Lost Soul Aside has been one of the most promising and mysterious projects on the horizon. Today, the upcoming action game made its first peep since its last showing in 2021, showing off its frenetic combat and stylish flair. 

Lost Soul Aside began life as a solo project by developer Yang Bing. Its 2016 proof-of-concept trailer impressed many with its triple-A caliber presentation and Devil May Cry-inspired action, including Sony, who scooped up the project as a third-party PS4 exclusive. Bing is now working with a full team, Ultizero Games. Sony announced last year that Lost Soul Aside will come to PS5 as well. The adventure stars protagonist Kazar and his shapeshifting dragon companion, who transforms into various weapons for Kazar to wield. 

Despite being officially announced for years, today’s video is billed as an “announcement trailer” presumably reintroducing the game to newcomers while reminding everyone else that it still, in fact, exists. The gameplay looks as polished as it ever has, though sadly, we still have no idea when we’ll get to play it. 

Season 2 of Overwatch 2 arrives tomorrow, and it's a bigger deal than it may sound. Overwatch 2 may have marked the beginning of a slightly jarring shift towards the free-to-play model for Blizzard's venerable hero shooter, but it's the release of Season 2 where players will get their first taste of the pace and quality at which future content will be released under the new regime.

I got to spend a few days exploring the new changes that Overwatch 2's second season will bring around this time tomorrow, and I've come away feeling a little torn. On the one hand, the brand new additions - the new Tank, Ramattra, and the new Shambali Monastery map - are gorgeous, intriguing, and enjoyable. On the other, the balance changes to existing heroes really don't seem to have done much to rebalance the most overpowered heroes in the game, which has left me feeling a bit frustrated.

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Aspiring animal fight pit enthusiasts can now skip the hard work of capturing, breeding and training their definitely-willing combatants, and instead jump straight into Temtem's PvP battles. The Pokemon-like MMO's 1.2 update introduces Showdown, a ranked competitive ladder where players are free to twiddle with their line-up using simulated Temtems.

The update also tweaks how PvP ranking works, adds new PvP battle zones, and a beauty centre where you can tweak your character's appearance. There's a new season of cosmetic doodads, too.

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Sad news, card pals: CD Project Red are pulling back from Gwent, with no new cards to be added after 2023. Beyond that the servers will stay online but the devs don't intend to release updates themselves, instead handing responsibility for balance changes over to the community via in-game tools.

Six years of active development seems like a pretty good run, to be fair.

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After hitting alpha last month, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is at last on the horizon - though still the 'far off, squint a bit and you can make out a few basic details' horizon. BioWare have now revealed a sneak peek at an early cutscene, in which chirpy dwarf Varric muses about his old companion/possible ancient Elven god Solas. He's the big bad, you see. The Dreadwolf himself.

BioWare have also released a few bits and bobs in celebration of Dragon Age day, including posters for upcoming Netflix show Dragon Age: Absolution, which is out on Friday. I hope it doesn't do a Dota.

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In the spirit of Christmas and the ruthless pursuit of meme stock shareholder value, GameStop carried out its latest round of layoffs on Monday ahead of its new earnings report, which is due out later this week. The cuts reportedly hit staff working on the company’s crypto push, as well as a number of other…

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Free-to-play shooter Overwatch 2 is launching Season 2 tomorrow and with it a brand new tank character, Ramattra. And like last time, you can either buy the premium battle pass to unlock the new hero instantly or you can grind the free path to eventually gain access to him. But this time, following complaints from…

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Fuser, the DJ game from original Guitar Hero creator and Rock Band studio Harmonix, is shutting down its live service content and ceasing sales. This comes just two years after the music-mixing game launched—and it’s honestly a big bummer.

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