December 2022

I’ve played a lot of games in my lifetimes. I say ‘lifetimes’ because I have lived many different lives, all of which have been incredibly uneventful and have mostly revolved around playing different games.

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Making video games is very hard. It can take years of work to ship even a small game. One aspect that can take up a particularly large amount of time and resources is building a custom engine, which is why many devs utilize Unreal, Unity, or another pre-existing engine to help speed up development. That’s very common,…

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The year is 1994. You’re playing SimCity 2000 and you’re thinking, man, wouldn’t it be amazing if I could somehow get down into the game and walk these streets.

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One of the big reasons Fortnite became one of the biggest games on the planet is because it could run on anything, from phones to tired laptops to hand-me-down desktops. That’s created an expectation that the game is graphically basic, but as we head into 2023, the shooter—first released in 2017—just got one hell of a…

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BioWare has finally dropped December’s daily and weekly objectives for Season 3: Luck of the Draw for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and from the looks of it, there’s plenty of content to keep fans engaged for another month.

Running through the list, several objectives in SWTOR are repeats of the previous month; for example, the daily objective throughout the month is to earn 25,000 Personal Conquest Points for a player’s Legacy, with an overarching goal of 200,000 per week.

Each week will also feature a unique task tied to specific classes; for example, the third week of the month will feature Peace or Power, an objective that requires completing missions as a Jedi Knight or Sith Warrior—two of the best classes in SWTOR.

Better Analytics makes a return, which has players gathering G.A.M.E Analysis Modules from season objectives, Flashpoints, Uprising, Operations, Lair Bosses, as well as enemies and advancing the season reward track. To capitalize on this, be sure to have PH4-LNX out as a companion to increase the likelihood of earning more modules at one time.

For the more involved tasks in Star Wars: The Old Republic, Legacies of Revan require players to play through a series of flashpoints, such as Maelstrom Prison, The Foundry, and Boarding Party, to name a few. Said flashpoints award a varying degree of points, with the option to earn bonus points for taking down bonus bosses.

Another fun mission SWTOR players can embark on is testing their skills against dangerous enemies in both Capital Punishment and Fearsome Foes, wherein The First and Dread Pirate Karvoy, respectively, must be brought down.

Third-party developers had tons of relevant news to share for Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons including aircraft and scenery.

We start with Just Flight, which provided an extensive look at the exterior, interior, and lighting of its upcoming vintage regional airliner Fokker F28 Fellowship.

The developer plans to release the aircraft in the first half of 2023.

Marvel Snap‘s new season, titled The Power Cosmic, has just gone live. And yes, that means it’s time to start your climb back up to Infinite rank yet again. There are some changes with the ranked rewards this season, as players will not longer be getting an exclusive cardback once they hit 100.

Instead, the Infinite rank reward is now a title, Herald of Galactus.

For folks who may already have a title that they love (my personal favorite is “Working” From Home), this should ease up a lot of stress and ladder anxiety that comes with wanting the fancy new cardback. Instead, the two new cardbacks have been relegated to the paid track of the season pass.

If you purchase the season pass, you’ll also get Silver Surfer right off the bat, along with cool variants for The Collector and Infinaut. Over the next few weeks, we should also see new cosmic-themed locations pop up as Featured Locations as well.

Marvel Snap is now available on PC and mobile devices.

Monster first aired on Japan’s Nippon Television in 2004 and was met with immediate praise. Now, nearly two decades later, the cerebral serial-killer thriller based on the manga of the same name returns for even more fans to enjoy. On Jan. 1, 2023, the New Year kicks off with all 74 episodes of the revered anime available for streaming on Netflix U.S.

Naoki Urasawa’s original manga hit Big Comic Original magazine in 1994, and tells the twisted tale of neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma, and his descent into a tangled web of murder and moral quandary as he reconciles his oath to protect human life and the heinous actions of a former patient.

With over 20 million copies sold, Monster is among the best-selling manga series of all time. Its success is due in large part to Urasawa’s intricate storytelling, and a restrained, nuanced approach to weaving such a sobering story in a medium known for fantastical, and hyper-violent narratives.

Monster’s anime is widely considered to be the best of the 2000’s, and boasts one of the best anime villains of all time. A near shot-for-shot adaptation of the source material, the series is hailed not only for its fidelity to Urasawa’s original vision, but its superb art direction, voice acting, and uncompromising dedication to slowly building tension to a fever pitch.

Urasawa’s masterpiece lands on Netflix amid the streaming platform’s initiative to stake its claim as a haven for anime content. With the second season of Pokemon Ultimate Journeys and the final season of Ultraman slated for release in 2023, anime fans have lots to look forward to beyond Monster’s release on New Year’s day.

CD Projekt Red has announced that Gwent: The Witcher Card Game, will stop receiving report by the end of 2024, with the studio's plans shifting to something it's calling Project Gwentfinity.

Speaking with IGN, the studio laid out some of its short- and long-term plans for its Witcher spin-off game. In 2023 Gwent will have three expansions in April, July, and September that'll release 72 cards total ahead of more esports tournaments. Monthly balance changes are still expected to be made, and two more esports tournaments are planned. However, the majority of the team will be moving onto a new project, with only a few team members staying behind to support Gwent until its sunsetted in 2024.

As support winds down, the team will move to a reimagined version of the game which it's calling Project Gwentfinity--its name perhaps suggesting that the team views this successor to be better suited as a live-service. Project Gwentfinity will have a seasonal progression system that'll reward players for having a creative deck, and it will also have a new balancing feature that allows the community to vote on what changes will be made. Few other details have yet been revealed, and it's likely the team will be heads-down for a while before we hear much more about it.

The team's communications manager kicked off Gwent's farewell tour on Twitter over the weekend, inviting the game's community to make the new year "as epic as possible."

Capcom announced that the PS4, PS5, and Xbox ports of Monster Hunter Rise will be digital only. So far, it does not plan to release physical copies of the game. This is an update to the news from early December 2022 that Monster Hunter Rise will appear on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One. [Thanks, Gematsu!]

For reference, the only way to get a physical version of the game is to purchase it for the Nintendo Switch. When Capcom ported it to PC in 2022, it was also digital only. The lack of a physical release of Monster Hunter Rise is the latest in updates regarding the PS4, PS5, and Xbox ports.  Capcom previously announced that there would be no cross-save support between the PS4 and the PS5 versions of the game.

There has finally been word on the fate of the annoying Crow’s Perch fast travel marker in the next-gen versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The new updated version will see the location of the previously horrendously placed marker moved instead to the courtyard.

That’s right, there will be no more appearing at the edge of town and having to run in. Now you’ll actually travel into Crow’s Perch proper when you have business in the area. As it turns out, the placement of the marker will actually be background flavor during the Bloody Baron quest as a villager works on placing it. Though, it won’t be immediately available on your first trip into Crow’s Perch.

This information comes from Reddit user ParkerP11, who translated an interview CD Projekt RED developers gave to the Polish outlet Gry Online. The quote reads:

So the marker isn’t available from the start, but once we’ve taken Filip Stenger’s story far enough that the functional marker doesn’t break anything, the marker becomes an active fast travel point. Developers arranged all this with the help of a villager who works on placing this object during the quest and at the right moment, just finishes his job.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt next-gen versions will release for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on Dec. 14, where we will be able to see all sorts of other issues that have been ironed out.

You were likely sold on the idea of this movie from just the headline, which makes perfect sense considering that it stars Eddie Murphy. If you’re going into this expecting a quasi-Father of the Bride remake, you’re on the right track.

The movie is titled You People, which is the most perfect title imaginable after watching Jonah Hill completely embarrass himself in the trailer.

Netflix summarizes the film in the trailer’s description as follows:

A new couple fall in love and find themselves confronting societal expectations and generational differences amidst their families’ clashing cultures in this comedy from Kenya Barris.

Also part of the cast in the role of Jonah Hill’s parents are David Duchovny (The X-Files, Californication) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep). This movie is incredibly stacked with stars and is primed to make a big splash when it premieres. You People will arrive on Netflix in early 2023 on Jan. 27.

Just over 4.3 million games were sold in the UK during November, a drop of 7.3% over the year before, according to the latest GSD figures.

One of the big reasons for this is Call of Duty. This year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launched in October, whereas last year the Activision Blizzard game arrived in November.

Even so, Call of Duty was still the biggest game of the month in November by a big margin. In fact, with just four weeks on sale, Modern Warfare 2 almost outsold Call of Duty: Vanguard's lifetime sales to date.

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Those soft, eerie strings. The tinkling glockenspiel motif. The camera pans out to show the formidable Shinra corporation building towering over the polluted slums of Midgar, illuminated in sickly greens. The hero arrives on a train and another Final Fantasy 7 adventure begins.

It's a familiar opening for Final Fantasy 7 fans, especially those coming to Crisis Core for the first time, who are yet to experience the PSP prequel to Square Enix's most popular game in its illustrious series but eager to explore this world once more.

And plenty of fans have been gained over the two and a half decades since Final Fantasy 7 released on the PlayStation. It means that now, Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion (what a mouthful) has a fair bit of heavy lifting to do, as a 2022 remaster of a 2007 prequel to a 1997 game that received a celebrated Remake in 2020. It's for fans of the original PSP game looking for an update. It's for fans of the original JRPG looking for an expanded story. And it's for fans of Remake looking to experience the game's roots - and perhaps even a hint of what's yet to come.

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Midgar sprawls out over the horizon, the sky swathed in industrial smoke and the covering of night. The camera pans between steel beams as the Shinra logo comes into view, and from the horizon a helicopter lurches forward. The familiar notes of “Bombing Mission” begin to play. As that helicopter door slides open, Zack Fair steps forward, only moments later hurling himself towards the moving train below. He grins with excitement as he barrels into enemy soldiers, leaping from one train car to the next until he stylishly flips down onto the train platform below. It’s an almost beat for beat recreation of the opening from Final Fantasy VII, and it immediately informs players of how integral a character Zack is to the overall narrative of the game’s extended universe. Once a character mostly swathed in mystery, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion tells the story of what transpired before Avalanche, before Sephiroth’s fall, and before Cloud Strife took up the iconic buster sword as his very own.

The narrative follows Zack during his early days at SOLDIER under the tutelage of Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st Class. The first few hours of the game are colored with his enthusiasm, as he has yet to discover what Shinra developed as part of its SOLDIER program. Shortly after the game kicks off and Zack finishes his first major mission to suppress a revolt in Wutai — a sovereign nation rebelling against Shinra — his mentor goes missing, and with him another SOLDIER 1st Class, Genesis Rhapsados. Promptly promoted in their absence, Zack is assigned to track them down, with the later task of eliminating them.

Expressive visuals and refined combat bring the 2007 game back to life

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Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion on PS5

Without a doubt, Final Fantasy VII is the biggest and most beloved game in Square Enix’s historic JRPG franchise. Infamously lauded as “quite possibly the greatest video game of all time” back in 1997, FFVII has spawned plenty of spin-off games, a movie, and gave birth to one of the most anticipated modern remakes we’ve seen in the last decade. Most of the aforementioned spin-off games feel like shameless cash grabs perhaps, but we shouldn’t forget that little gem on the PSP from 2007 that helped reframe the entire epic saga.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remake of the PSP RPG, and as I mentioned in my early preview of the game, it looks and feels wonderful. Reunion is a lovely encapsulation of your rose-colored memories of what Crisis Core was like on the PSP; the character models look crisp and clean, the entire game is fully voice-acted now, and there are little improvements to the combat system that make it feel much more fluid and snappier.

Players take control of Zack Fair, a 2nd Class member of Shinra’s SOLDIER, who feels like the antithesis of Cloud Strife right off the bat. Zack is warm and sunny, and while his goofy antics may be off-putting at first, he quickly matures into a much more nuanced character with more depth than you might expect.

Fujimi Models released a model of a velociraptor that has the same colors as the Evangelion Unit-01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is not to scale. As well, it is a re-color of the existing free-research velociraptor model from Fujimi. The Evangelion velociraptor model came out on December 6, 2022 and costs 4180 JPY. That is approximately $30.60. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

The velociraptor will not require any glue or paint to complete. You will be able to snap all of the joints and parts together. Because you will be able to move the neck, arms, and legs, you can pose this figure if you wish. There are also stickers to put onto the figure. This is for patterns that the makers were not able to re-create with paint.

When a show is as iconic as Neon Genesis Evangelion, there are some things that are instantly recognizable even if you only have a passing understanding of the source material. An example is the purple-and-green colors of the Evangelion Unit-01 appeared on the Shinji version of Cake.jp’s Evangelion cake. There were even purple-and-green crawfish figures (from Fujimi Models) that came out in 2021.

UK publisher Rebellion is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. As part of that, the company is giving away one of its most notable games – Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000. This is the updated version of Rebellion's best stab at AvP, which originally released in 1999, and was published by Fox Interactive.

You can grab the game by heading over to Rebellion's storefront, where the offer is displayed proudly on the front page. There is a minor catch. You have to sign up to Rebellion's newsletter, after which a Steam key for the game will be sent to you.

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New leaks have appeared online which reportedly show details for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2's Season 2.

Key art from marketing material show-off a Japanese theme, with artwork teasing the return of the classic map Castle (thanks, WhatIfGaming).

Castle was originally a multiplayer map in Call of Duty World at War, set in an old Japanese fortress in World War 2. The map most recently made a return in Call of Duty Vanguard, but this would be the first time the map would appear in the franchise's modern theme of shooters.

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CD Projekt Red has announced plans to wind down support for Gwent, its Witcher card game spin-off, and laid out how it will hand over future balancing decisions to Gwent's community of players.

The game's final 72 cards will release next year in three expansions, set to launch in April, July and September 2023. After this time, CD Projekt will transition from its own monthly balance changes to a system voted on by players.

Dubbed as "Project Gwenfinity", the idea is that Gwent can be left to just a skeleton crew within CD Projekt to keep an eye on, while the game's community decides on tweaks to exisiting cards to keep up with the current meta.

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Today's big Disney Dreamlight Valley does more than add content themed around Toy Story and Lilo and Stitch - it also brings some welcome performance improvements, tweaks and bug fixes.

Patch notes promise "optimised game stability on all platforms" but for Nintendo Switch in particular, where developer Gameloft has put a "considerable focus" this time around.

The popular Disney life sim is now fully compatible with Steam Deck and verified by Steam.

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300 quality assurance staff members at Zenimax, the holding company for the likes of Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios, and id Software, have unionised with the Communications Workers of America.

Following a four-week election process, should the majority of workers support unionisation, Microsoft, who purchased Zenimax for $7.5bn in 2021, will recognise the union.

The company has also pledged to remain neutral throughout this process. "We applaud Microsoft for remaining neutral through this process and letting workers decide for themselves whether they want a union," said CWA president Christopher Shelton.

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Microsoft has formally confirmed its offer of a 10-year contract to keep releasing Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms after its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

In an opinion article on the deal published in the Wall St Journal, Microsoft president Brad Smith committed to making its 10-year COD contract "legally enforceable by regulators in the US, UK and European Union" - territories in which the company was previously felt to be struggling to get its acquisition agreed without making some sort of concessions.

The majority of the opinion piece repeats the same arguments for the deal we've heard from Microsoft many times before - that it would be good for both consumers and game developers, and that Microsoft is still struggling in a sector where it is "stuck behind Sony's dominant PlayStation and the Nintendo Switch".

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Before its launch, The Callisto Protocol sold itself on its gory content, and especially its visceral death animations, but how grotesque could one game really be?

Well, Zoe Delahunty-Light has carried out the very grim task of finding every single scene in which the protagonist, Jacob Lee (and a few others) gets unalived by the game's blood-thirsty Biophage enemies.

Do be warned though, if you do watch Zoe's video (above), you will probably end up on a list somewhere, although at least Zoe will already be there to keep you company.

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Sentai Daishikkaku, or Go Go Loser Ranger, will get an anime adaptation. So far, there is no news on the cast or the release window. Shochiku will produce it, with Keiichi Satou (Tiger & Bunny) as the director. Negi Haruba, who wrote The Quintessential Quintuplets, wrote the original manga. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

[gallery columns="2" ids="942211,942212" link="file"]

As opposed to the romance-focused narrative of The Quintessential Quintuplets, Go Go Loser Ranger centers on superpowers and battles. The manga started serialization in February 2021 as part of Weekly Shonen Magazine. It draws clear inspiration from the sentai genre, though with a twist. The tagline for the show is "Who decides justice and evil?"

Go Go Loser Ranger follows the story of D, who is the foot soldier of a group of kaijin. Several years ago, a super sentai group called Dragon Keepers defeated the evil kaijin army. However, since then, the foot soldiers who survived the battle have to act out their defeat every weekend in front of a human audience. D decides to rebel against the status quo.

You can watch the trailer for Sentai Daishikkaku, or Go Go Loser Ranger, here:

According to Cinema Today, The First Slam Dunk has made close to 1.3 billion yen in its first two days in theaters. This would be around $9.7 million. In addition, around 847,000 people watched the movie between December 3 to 4, 2022. [Thanks, Cinema Today!]

The movie is #1 on the Top Most-Attended Movies in Japan ranking from December 3 to 4, 2022. In second place is Suzume no Tojimari, which has been in theaters since November 11, 2022. Tsuki no Michikake, which also just aired, is in third place. While Toei did not release much information on the plot prior to the movie’s release, The First Slam Dunk follows Shohoku’s match against Sannoh High during the second round of the Interhigh. It also adapts Pierce, which is a one-shot that focuses on Miyagi’s past.

You can watch the trailer for The First Slam Dunk here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o7-Cgetho4

The Naruto anime turned 20 years old this year, and a special art gallery to commemorate the Naruto 20th anniversary just opened in Japan. Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto provided a new illustration to celebrate the occasion. The art showcases Naruto as he appeared early in the show as well as his older incarnation from its end.

Check it out below. The original Naruto 20th Anniversary piece of art will be exhibited in the space itself, which is called Naruto the Gallery.

https://twitter.com/naruto_20th/status/1599690042313777153?s=20&t=KkzHK_7Qc7UOyajzr16j9Q

The illustration also includes a message from Masashi Kishimoto. In it he says:

"Congratulations on the opening of Naruto the Gallery! I'm looking forward to enjoying the anime's 20-year history! Even as the original creator, the anime has influenced me greatly, and I took my own inspiration from watching it."

Naruto the Gallery is a special exhibition located in the UDX building in Akihabara, Tokyo. Its grand opening is set for December 10, 2022, and it'll remain open through January 31, 2023. Within the event space, attendees can see exhibits celebrating iconic moments from the anime, as well as production material from the show and other art. There'll also be exclusive Naruto 20th Anniversary merchandise on offer.

Yahoo published its Japan Search Awards for 2022, and both Spy x Family and Splatoon 3 were among the most popular. The awards look at search terms that became more popular than usual between 2021 and 2022. There are multiple categories, ranging from musicians to athletes to products. The entire list is available on the Yahoo website.

Because Yahoo is a popular search engine in Japan, these winners give a good look at cultural trends in the country. This article will focus on four of the select categories, as well as noteworthy entries in other ones. For some of them, Yahoo gave reasons for why a particular term became more popular that year.

Microsoft has announced that it’s raising the price of first-party Xbox Series X/S games to $70 beginning in 2023. 

IGN first confirmed the news, with a Microsoft spokesperson telling the outlet that "This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles." First-party Xbox Series X/S games such as Starfield, Redfall, and Forza Motorsport will be among the first titles to have the $70 price tag when they arrive next year. The price of Xbox Game Pass appears unaffected, and the Microsoft spokesperson continued by saying, “As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.” 

Given the increasingly exorbitant cost of triple-A game development, the price rise was only a matter of time. In an October live interview with The Wall Street Journal, Xbox head Phil Spencer said as much when he stated that the company couldn’t keep its products at the same price forever. "I do think at some point we'll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices." 

Today's game on the RPS Advent Calendar is a story that spans generations, but you'll need plenty of ink and paper to get it down. How's your handwriting? Good, is it? Can you read Latin?

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Around 300 workers at ZeniMax, Bethesda's former parent company before both were acquired by Microsoft, are in the process of forming a union, GI.Biz reports. The effort by ZeniMax workers comes in collaboration with CODE-CWA, the same organisation which assisted in the creation of the recently formed Activision Blizzard unions.

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As reported last week, Valorant looked set to undergo a big rebalance of its Agent utility for Patch 5.12 after a Public Beta Environment (PBE) server patch revealed a host of meta-shifting changes. That rebalance has now been confirmed after Riot Games revealed the full list of patch notes coming to Valorant this week.

Here’s the overview:

Valorant 5.12 Patch Notes

AGENT UPDATES

“With pro play heading into the offseason after the completion of an amazing Game Changers Championship, we’re taking the opportunity to hit some broad updates we’ve been looking to make along with individual Agent changes. 

We’ve increased the point costs of the Agent Ultimates that have large, site-wide footprints. These changes should reduce their overall frequency and increase counterplay against them at the strategic level.

In addition to the Ult adjustments, we’ve also made a tuning pass on Agent ability economy. The areas targeted in this pass include: Total loadout cost outliers (for their respective role), Agents with lack of pistol round buy options, and unintended power relative to the cost of the ability.

To wrap up the broad updates, we’ve taken a pass at the HP of destructible objects in the game.  Damage-over-time area abilities (like Brimstone’s Incindiary and Viper’s Snakebite) now damage enemy utility (read more in the Gameplay Systems Updates), so we’ve increased the health of 1hp destructibles so that they aren’t instantly vaporized—but can still be destroyed by one-shot in most situations. Also, Killjoy’s Lockdown gets a bigger health bump to reduce the number of abilities that can destroy it solo.  Boombot and Prowlers on the other hand have felt like they require unloading too many bullets given their other strengths, so the health of those abilities have been reduced.“

Valorant is getting a sizeable update before the end of the year, and it all kicks off today (or tomorrow if you’re not in the U.S). Along with all the Agent changes we’ve covered already today that are set to rebalance the meta, there’s a brand new game mode to dive into. It’s called Swift Play, and it’s basically a condensed Unrated experience that should work as a perfect mode for casual gameplay.

For Swiftplay, the first team to 5 rounds is the winner, with a 4 round half, modified in-game economy and bonus structure, as well as sudden death overtime.

It’s only in beta for the time being as Riot Games gathers feedback before putting the final touches on it, but you can play right away via the dedicated queue that will pop up as an option once you’ve installed the new patch.

A press release sent to Twinfinite explains that the “goal of this often requested game mode is to offer the core Valorant experience to players who have a lower time commitment, or want to get in as many reps in during a smaller window.”

Here’s the full breakdown of what’s involved in Swift Play:

A new Fortnite Chapter has officially kicked off, bringing a wide range of new features and changes to the popular battle royale title. While Chapter 4 Season 1 is full of exciting additions, there are a few changes that stand apart from the rest and have the potential to shake the Fortnite meta. With that said, here’s the list of the top five features that we feel are the most notable additions in the latest Fortnite update.

Unreal Engine 5.1 Support

With the release of the new Chapter, Fortnite Battle Royale supports Unreal Engine 5’s newest, most innovative features via Unreal Engine 5.1. Unreal Engine 5 brings an unprecedented level of detail to game worlds like Battle Royale Island.

Therefore, Fortnite can now use the Unreal Engine’s newest features like Nanite, Lumen, Virtual Shadow Maps, and Temporal Super Resolution. The best part is these features are now supported on every gaming platform and console, like PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and cloud gaming.

If you’re wondering what these features bring to the table, then Nanite provides highly-detailed architectural geometry, which means buildings are rendered from millions of polygons in real-time, and each brick, stone, wood plank, and wall trim is modeled. At the same time, Lumen reflections provide high-quality ray-traced reflections on glossy materials and water.