Eurogamer

Lego Builder's Journey is a stunning game with a comprehensive ray tracing feature set that gives the title a CG-like quality on a high-end gaming PC. This makes the new PS5 release rather intriguing. Like the PC, it promises ray-traced visuals, unlike last year's release on Xbox Series consoles - so can the PS5 deliver a top-class experience and how does it compare to the conventionally-rendered Xbox versions?

Before we get into the comparisons, let's break down Lego Builder's Journey into its building blocks. This is a rather limited title, essentially a series of small puzzle stages, presented from an isometric perspective with limited camera movement. The original release targeted iPhones and iPads after all, with simple and graphically basic levels that wouldn't look particularly exciting on consoles or PC. But this relative simplicity, along with a conversion from Unity's more limited Universal Render Pipeline to their advanced High Definition Render Pipeline, allowed Light Brick Studio to really scale up the visual quality when it shipped on PC last year. Even without raytracing features the title looked excellent, with carefully implemented SSR, ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering, and volumetric lighting.

Ray tracing, of course, took the title to the next level, solving all the problems inherent to the screen-space techniques and delivering a much more accurate lighting simulation complete with RT for shadows, ambient occlusion, global illumination and reflections. An upgrade like this would likely prove very challenging for a typical AAA title that was built from the ground-up with precalculated solutions in mind, but here, a ray-traced pathway was eminently feasible and produced great results. So how well do these console releases compare to the top-end PC release?

Sky Broadband launched its new full fibre broadband package, Gigafast, in April 2022 and it's their fastest FTTP service yet.

If you and your family or housemates all regularly play online multiplayer games, work from home and often watch content on Netflix, Twitch, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and other streaming services on separate devices - you'll more than likely benefit from all that Sky Broadband Gigafast has to offer. Ahead, we thought we'd share the benefits of the new package and why it might be worth considering switching or upgrading to.

Before we dive in, you can also compare Sky Broadband's other great full fibre offerings, including their Superfast, Ultrafast and Ultrafast Plus services over at our best Sky Broadband deals guide. Our best full fibre (FTTP) broadband deals guide can also help you compare prices and speeds with other popular full fibre providers.

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Choosing between Rogue Legacy 2 classes can be a bit overwhelming with so many options available.

Playing a certain class requires you to unlock it with gold coins first. Even then you can’t just pick the same character for every run, as you only get three random classes pulled from what you have unlocked.

You’re not always guaranteed to get a certain one, but this guide will cover the best classes in Rogue Legacy 2 for both general gameplay and boss fights.

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Memory Fragments in Rogue Legacy 2 are small blue orbs you will come across in your travels throughout the roguelite’s deadly castle.

When you first interact with a Memory Fragment, your character can hear a thousand whispers, but can’t make out a voice. This is because a special item is required to read Memory Fragments.

You need to read Memory Fragments in Rogue Legacy 2 in order to progress with the story, so finding the item needed to translate ‘a thousand whispers’ is essential.

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Nintendo Switch Sports is out now (29th of April). It's a reboot of the classic Wii Sports game, and is available to play on Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED, but it won't work on Nintendo Switch Lite.

Wii Sports became a staple in living rooms back in 2006 thanks to its easy-to-play selection of sports that required skill to master, were a lot of fun, and could be played with others. Nintendo Switch Sports is brining back two of the sports from the Wii version, Tennis and Bowling, and is adding four new sports with Chambara, Football (Or Soccer), Badminton, and Volleyball. A Golf mode will also make it's way into the game as a free update in the autumn.

The Nintendo Switch has been out for five years now, and with the Joy-Con controllers having motion sensors in them it always felt like a Wii Sports style of game was a big miss from the Nintendo Switch library. Now it's finally here you can get back to challenging your family and friends in a variety of sports. Find out where to buy it in the UK and US below.

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Sony has confirmed it has removed the ability for existing PlayStation Plus subscribers to extend their subscription - blocking the ability for anyone to stack future membership via pre-paid cards - until the revamped service arrives in late June.

This week, PlayStation Plus subscribers found they were unable to redeem pre-paid voucher cards and extend their subscription time - even if it was about to run out. Bewildered customers were told the situation was "temporary", but not given further explanation.

Now, Sony has updated its FAQ page for its upcoming PlayStation Plus changes and ackwnowledged the move - and said that, for now, you'll only be able to redeem pre-paid vouchers you have bought after your current Plus membership expires.

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Stardew Valley players are competing in a meme to mod grandpa's bed.

If you're unfamiliar with the farming sim, the game opens with you inheriting land from your grandpa who has sadly passed away - shown in a brief scene at the start.

However, modders are now altering the scene to show grandpa in a variety of new... situations.

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New release windows have been revealed for several upcoming indie games, including Stray and Cult of the Lamb.

In a tweet from PlayStation, that also comes with a colourful teaser, the company revealed that Stray will be coming to consoles this summer. Previously we had been given an "early 2022" window but, given that we are now into Q2 and not been told a more concrete date, this new timeframe isn't exactly a surprise.

Along with Stray, We are OFK will also be releasing this summer. Meanwhile Cult of the Lamb, which was previously only slated for a release "later this year" will be coming our way this autumn.

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UPDATE 4pm UK: Ubisoft has acknowledged today leak of Skull and Bones test footage, and told fans to keep an eye on the horizon for official news.

A short clip of footage from the game was posted by Ubisoft to Twitter this afternoon, hours after the leaked footage begain circulating. More on all that below.

ORIGINAL STORY 2.30pm UK: Footage of Ubisoft's unreleased pirate game Skull & Bones has leaked.

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I have something of a penchant for cartoons. Growing up in the 80s, those wonderful, badly-animated, cheesy 'toons had a big impact on me, sparking an interest in all things sci-fi and fantasy that blossomed into a love for history, mythology, technology and, you guessed it, computer and/or video games. Heck, I'm wearing a Ulysses 31 T-shirt as I write this! If it wasn't for Masters of the Universe and Thundercats, I wouldn't be here. I'd probably be rich, successful and very boring indeed.

In other words, I was always going to want to take a look at Mythforce, the first-person, co-op, roguelite stab 'em up from Beamdog. Knowing that this was too big a job for one woman, I sent out a message to a hand-picked team of specialists, triggering a humorous montage of their beeping communicator watches interrupting their everyday lives and them having to, I dunno, hand off their cats to random strangers before rushing away to answer the call to action. Alone, I may just be Caelyn Ellis, freelance game journalist, but when joined with my group of elite gaming legends, we become MYTHFARCE!

Mythforce had already piqued my interest before I was asked to check it out. Even without the wonderful 80s cartoon aesthetic, first person melee combat will always get my interest and I'm always down for a bit of co-op with my chums. If you've played Left 4 Dead or Warhammer: Vermintide before, you'll have a good idea of what Mythforce is all about. Grab some friends (or random strangers, or just go solo) choose a character and try to get to the end of the level without falling prey to the monster and traps that are in your way. The main difference is that, instead of having hand-crafted levels, Mythforce uses a series of procedurally generated arenas with fixed set pieces along the way.

After employees from Blizzard Versailles were made redundant in 2020, a move that preceded the studio's closure, those affected began a legal battle with the company. Now, staff that were made redundant have won their appeal.

As reported by French outlet Gamekult (via Gamesindustry.biz), an appeal court has invalidated the redundancies that led to the closure of the branch in 2020. As such, those looking to seek further legal actions will now potentially be entitled to "further compensations, equivalent to a minimum of six months of salary".

But while this is certainly still a victory in itself, it does not mean former Blizzard Versailles employees will find their positions reinstated in a different studio.

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Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida hopes the forthcoming game will "bring back anew the passion" players had in the series.

His comment is taken from the Final Fantasy 35th anniversary Uniqlo magazine, which accompanies a new line of t-shirts celebrating the series.

Final Fantasy fan and translator Aitai Kimochi shared a translation of Naoki's comments on Twitter, as he noted the game is now in the final stages of development.

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Bungie has suffered a setback in its bid to punish a group of cheaters who sold "hacks" for Destiny 2.

A court has dimissed much of Bungie's legal action against cheat site AimJunkies, in which it had alleged copyright and trademark infringement, as well as breach of contract, "tortious interference" and "unjust enrichment" (thanks, TorrentFreak).

AimJunkies had argued back and said its cheating software was its own work, not a copy of Bungie's code. The Destiny developer's other claims, it continued, should also be kept out of court per clauses in Bungie's own user license agreement. Now, a US judge has largely agreed.

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A Mega Moment is a special research quest released as part of Pokémon Go’s Mega Evolution rework in April 2022.

To access this quest, you need to be Trainer Level 5 or above. It’s also a branching quest, which means it will play out slightly differently depending on a certain choice you make.

Below you’ll find all of the A Mega Moment quest steps and rewards in Pokémon Go.

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Tales of Arise has now sold 2m copies globally.

That's between both physical and digital sales, just six months after the previous milestone announcement of 1.5 million.

"We are so grateful for your precious support. Thank you!" tweeted the official account.

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Razer make some of the most popular gaming accessories out there including great-sounding headsets, and mice and keyboards that feature some of the best RGB displays.

If you're looking to upgrade a specific gaming accessory, Razer will likely have something to match your theme and budget. Right now is a great time to go ahead and get yourself some Razer gear thanks to their Chroma Mania event, where you can grab a Razer Gift card worth up to £59/$50.

To get this free gift card you'll need to purchase from the selected assortment of Razer mice, keyboards or headsets. The promotion runs till 4th May 2022, so there's still a bit of time make use of this offer.

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Video games are wonderful things. They offer an escape from the mundane rigour of everyday life and give us the chance to experience whole new worlds of fantasy and adventure. However, while Marvel's Guardians of the galaxy certainly does this in spades with its eclectic cast and bustling locales, there is one area that is (for me at least) just like home.

Yes, I am talking about that damn fridge on the Milano that just will not stay shut. No matter how many times you get Star-Lord to close the door, it will always reopen again (and again and again and again).

But it turns out I am not alone in my quest to get that door closed (we need to save energy here people). In fact, that little seemingly benign door has been closed a grand total of 18.6m times. Much like the Guardians of Galaxy devs do as well, I admire the tenacity.

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Pokémon Go's upcoming set of official Pokémon Trading Cards has been shown off, with several dozen designs now available to browse.

Due to launch on 1st July via various box sets and booster packs, this "first wave" of products marks an unusual collaboration between the long-running Pokémon TCG and a Pokémon game not made by main series developer GameFreak.

Pleasingly, many of the designs feature nods to the game - such as stalwart Pokémon Go gym defender Blissey pictured sat atop a Valor gym.

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A new video showcases just how good a Spider-Man game for the next generation could look.

The video in question shows footage from a demo, and uses the Megacity environment from The Matrix Awakens (you can check out Aiofe and Ian giving the Matrix a whirl below).

But back to Spider-Man. A YouTube user with the nickname Menterial used Lewis Fiford's Spider-Man (thanks, DSOG) to add everyone's favourite neighbourhood superhero into the sprawling Matrix city.

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Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has now confirmed what was widely expected: its new entry in Activision's long-running shooter series will be titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Yes, that's exactly the same name as the same studio's 2009 classic - which, with apologies, is now 13 years old.

Infinfity Ward revealed the name last night via Twitter, alongside the game's logo. To me it looks more like MIIW rather than MWII. Others, meanwhile, have said it reminds them of Nine Inch Nails.

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Mega Kangaskhan is Mega Evolution of Kangaskhan, the Gen 1 Pokémon that has proven rather elusive over the years in Pokémon Go.

This is due to its regional exclusive release - but thanks to the arrival of the Mega version in raids in April 2022, means it is now far more accessible across the world.

However, you will still need to beat it - which is where learning about the Mega Kangaskhan counters and Mega Kangaskhan weakness will come in handy.

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Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: hexes, inventories, and space bombardment.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

I've loved Loot Rascals ever since I first saw it. The colour! The wonderfully gormless faces! The HEXES!

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Respawn Entertainment's previously confirmed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel is reportedly now targeting a 2023 launch, and will be skipping previous-gen consoles in favour of a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC release.

That's according to VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb in his latest Grubbsnax episode (as transcribed by VGC), who claims publisher EA and Respawn had initially been aiming to launch the Fallen Order sequel later this year, but that those plans have since changed and the game "is for sure now not coming out until 2023".

This later-than-planned release date combined with the decision to drop support for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in favour of the newer consoles and PC means, according to Grubb, the development team won't "have to worry about trying to straddle these generation lines".

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Activision Blizzard stockholders have overwhelming voted in favour of Microsoft's proposed $69BN acquisition of the publisher, with 98% of shares approving the transaction.

There's still some way to go until the deal is finalised, however; while Activision Blizzard stockholders - and, earlier in the week, board members - have now given the deal the go-ahead, it's still subject to regulatory review around the world, by the likes of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, to determine if the deal constitutes unfair competition.

Should the deal make it through regulatory review, the acquisition has until June 2023 to close, whereupon Microsoft will welcome some of the industries most recognisable franchises into its fold, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, and mobile hit Candy Crush.

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UPDATE 29/4/22: More games which look likely to join the upcoming PlayStation Plus Premium service have been found on Sony's servers, in addition to the three originally found below.

Data for the all-time PS1 classic Worms Armageddon, as well as its follow-up Worms World Party, have also now both been spotted (thanks, Gematsu).

As a reminder, PlayStation is yet to officially confirm the games which will join its Premium service when it launches on 22nd June in Europe

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The observant among you may have deduced that Rogue Legacy 2 is the sequel to Rogue Legacy, a rather spiffing roguelite platform-me-do from 2013. The game’s big twist on the old procedural generation and permadeath combo was that each new character was the heir of the previous one, inheriting their predecessor’s estate. In practice, that meant spending the gold acquired on each run on permanent upgrades to improve your chances on further expeditions. With all but the most unsuccessful runs yielding enough gold for at least one upgrade, the frustration of failure is ameliorated, leaving you raring to go once more.

To aid you in your exploration, you enlist the Architect, a clever old codger who can fix the layout of the castle between runs, leaving you able to build on successful exploration instead of dealing with a completely rearranged map. You pay for this privilege with a hefty chunk of gold, but it’s still a handy tool, especially when you’re close to taking out a boss and don’t want to have to find the bugger again each time.

Rogue Legacy 2 takes the traditional sequel route and gives you more of what made the first game great. There are 15 classes, up from nine, which have even more variety than before. Same goes with traits, spells and equipment. More excitingly, it adds hefty metroidvania-style traversal upgrades. There’s nothing especially new or unusual here, I’m sure I’m not spoiling anyone’s fun by mentioning that a double jump is involved at some point, but the extra manoeuvrability makes for some fantastic aerial acrobatics. The aforementioned double jump can be combined with dashes, the ability to spin kick off of enemies and projectiles, and all kinds of other tricks that allow you to fly through the levels. Quite literally, in some cases.

Terraria's latest update, 1.4.3, introduces an unexpected crossover with Don't Starve Together, the hit indie survival game by Klei Entertainment.

In the crossover, players explore The Constant, a world seed inspired by Don't Starve Together's environments. Players can encounter mechanics, pets, weapons, equipment, emotes, and bosses new to Terraria.

Update 1.4.3 also introduces a plethora of improvements and bug fixes, including further optimisations for the Steam Deck. You can see all the patch notes here.

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Microsoft has announced a new Xbox and Bethesda Games showcase set for 12th June at 6pm UK time.

The showcase will be streamed on every video streaming platform imaginable, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.

The announcement is scant on details, though we know it will include upcoming releases for Xbox Game Pass and the wider Xbox ecosystem (read, non-exclusives).

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Yuji Naka, best known as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, says he was removed as director of Balan Wonderworld six months before its launch by Square Enix.

The revelation comes from a Twitter thread posted by Yuji where states he filed a lawsuit against Square Enix following his dismissal, which has now been settled.

Last year, Yuji left Square Enix following the disastrous launch of Balan Wonderworld, which sold less than 2100 copies in its opening week in Japan.

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Six months after its console debut, World Rally Championship 10 has made the jump to Switch. This pure rally simulator looked good on current and last-gen systems, with all of the features you'd expect: satisfying car handling, vehicular deformation, dynamic weather and accurate materials. Of course, we normally expect to see lower resolutions and graphical fidelity sacrifices to get the core of the console experience running on a handheld system, but at first glance this is one of the most heavily pared-back Switch releases in recent memory. So does WRC 10 on Switch compromise too much, or is there the makings of a serviceable handheld sim racer below this modest facade? Let's find out.

First, let's take a look at the headline visual stats. In the base PS4 release, WRC 10 runs at 1080p and 30fps, with TAA to clear up any lingering rough edges. On Switch, in order to fit into the system's much smaller power budget, image quality is reduced to a dynamic 1600x900 for docked TV play. The full resolution isn't often reached, with even the car exhibition mode running natively at 720p instead, and resolution drops to 1152x648 for some stages. And at 648p, the upscale to a full HDTV isn't flattering. For portable play, resolution goes lower still to match the drop in GPU clocks, with 480p resolution typical - although a native 720p resolution is possibly achieved too. The low resolution in either mode is compounded by Switch's lack of effective anti-aliasing to address those jagged edges - besides optional motion blur in the menus.

The storage you have in your computer can make a big impact on how fast your apps and games load. Older hard-drives are slower than modern SSDs, but are really easy to upgrade.

There are loads of good options for SSD upgrades out there, but the one that claim's Digital Foundry's title of best value SSD is the Crucial MX500. The MX500 is a faultless choice no matter your budget, and right now it's even cheaper for you to get.

Both the 1TB and 2TB version of the MX500 are both on sale at Amazon, with respective discounts of 31 and 32 percent. Rather helpfully, the 2TB version is around double the cost of the 1TB version, so both offer the same value for money and you can just pick depending on how much storage you need. The 1TB version has been spotted for around £4 cheaper by Digital Foundry previously, but you're still saving a decent £32.80, and that's ahead of Amazon Prime Day 2022.

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Last night's Halo Infinite Season 2 Community Livestream was interrupted by a secret teaser, which fans speculate hints at the game's rumoured battle royale mode.

The teaser, which played while 343 Industries community director Brian Jarrard and community manager John Junyszek were going through cosmetic unlocks in the Season 2 Battle Pass, showed the logo for a company called "Lux Voluspa" before we hear two voices panicking about a "missing core".

The clip ends with a woman ominously saying "they're here" and the return of the "Lux Voluspa" logo with the slogan: "Artificial Minds. Real Solutions."

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We must have said it about a hundred times but only near the end does it occur to me to actually ask what it means - what Dorfromantik means. I still don't know even after a year of playing the game in early access, and now the game's coming out, in 1.0, it seems like a good time to ask. Because it does have a meaning, and as I discover, the meaning is perfect.

Understanding it depends a lot on being German, because that's where the team, Toukana, is from. Toukana is four people: Timo Falcke, Sandro Heuberger, Luca Langenberg and Zwi Zwausch, and they met doing a game design degree in Berlin. "Dorfromantik" is a German word. "An older word," Zwi Zausch tells me in a video call they all join me for. "And it's usually used to describe the kind of nostalgic feeling you get when you long to be in the countryside."

Perfect, isn't it? The closest word we have in English is bucolic, which sounds like something to do with the plague.

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Climate Replay, an independent group comprising of game developers, gamers themselves and leading climatologists, has shared a stark warning about the use of NFTs and their impact on the planet. It has also begun a pledge, encouraging those in the industry, as well as those who are against the use of NFTs in general, to sign and make positive moves towards a "sustainable, socially responsible, equitable future for all".

Given the rise in blockchain technology, and the growing number of companies looking to implement it in their games, Climate Replay has additionally released a guide addressing everything that is wrong with NFTs.

"NFTs are the digital elephant in the room for the games industry right now, and many are feeling the pressure to pick a side," Climate Replay wrote (via TheGamer). "... This technology has massive implications for games, the climate crisis, and society at large. Our hope is that, by the end of this guide, readers will have a broad foundation of knowledge on top of which they can make truly informed decisions regarding NFTs."

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A group of game testers working with BioWare on its new Dragon Age game are seeking to unionise.

The group, which is part of a contacted game services company named Keywords Studios, were recently told by that company they would need to return to office working full-time, five days a week, beginning in May (thanks, Kotaku).

In-office working - "embedded" within a developer - is one of the services which Keywords offers, and over the years the company has worked with BioWare and others to offer development support in this way.

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Rainbow Six Siege has a new limited-time event that lets you live out your samurai fantasies.

Called Rengoku, the event lasts until 17th May and takes place in a modified version of the Skyscraper map.

Players battle it out in a 5v5 capture point game mode that's similar to Domination in other shooters like Call of Duty, except the capture points move every two minutes. The first team to reach 300 points wins.

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PlayStation owners looking to stock up on their Plus subscription through pre-paid cards report being unable to redeem the vouchers on their account.

Several who have raised the matter with PlayStation customer support say they have been told Sony has "temporarily" disabled the ability to stack Plus subscription time ahead of the new PS Plus changes due in June.

Just yesterday, we covered how existing PlayStation Now owners with an active PS Plus subscription (who will get upgraded to the priciest PS Plus Premium tier) were trying to extend their PS Plus for as long as possible. Per PlayStation's own FAQ page, the company will take the longest-running active subscription when setting the converted membership's end date, essentially allowing Now members to stock up on regular Plus cards to receive the same time as a Premium subscriber.

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Microsoft is celebrating 20 years of Xbox in Scotland with a new partnership with Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers and Lochcarron of Scotland. The end results - Xbox's very own tartan, which is now on a controller (although I also spotted a rather dashing pair of trews, as well).

"The pattern, using the brand's iconic colours, has been endorsed by the Scottish Tartans Authority and entered into The Scottish Register of Tartans," Xbox shared yesterday. "The landmark pattern and limited-edition controllers commemorate the history of Xbox with a contemporary design created by Edinburgh-based tartan designer Gordon Nicolson, makers of the Scotland National Football Team Tartan."

Check out a video showing the making of Xbox's new tartan below, as well as a closer look at a very smartly dressed controller (which appears to be a true Scotsman, as no underwear lies between the controller and its tartan cladding - cheeky).

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Reggie Fils-Aimé says he's a believer in blockchain and so-called play-to-own technology.

Speaking at last month's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Fils-Aimé was asked what role blockchain, crypto and play-to-earn technology had in the future of gaming (thanks, Nintendo Life).

He appeared to be quite enthusiastic about the idea: "So I'm a believer in blockchain, I think it's a really compelling technology. I'm also a believer in the concept of 'play to own' within video games, and I say this as a player where I may have invested 50 hours, 100 hours, or 300 hours in a game, and when I'm ready to move on to something else, wouldn't it be great to monetise what I've built?"

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An Elden Ring player met Jesus in-game.

Reddit user Mar_Reddit shared a video of the holy encounter (thanks Kotaku), where he invaded another player's game only to discover dedicated role-players posing as Jesus and Satan awaiting him in the Rapture pose.

While he thought it was a trap, he moves closer to discover their true identities and share an Erdtree heal incantation like a prayer.

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