Game Informer

Eldest Souls, as you might have guessed by its name, is a Souls-like experience. Before you roll your eyes at the idea of yet another “one of these,” this game trims the fat, so to speak, by removing enemy grunts and maze-like exploration to focus on one element: epic, sweat-inducing boss battles.

From an enraged werewolf-like warrior to a formidable ice golem, Eldest Souls’ rogue’s gallery is no joke in terms of challenge. Thankfully, you can keep the odds leveled at all times, thanks to a healing system that restores HP each time you land a powerful blow. No need to fuss over running out of estus flasks or other pick-ups. Want to regain that chunk of health you just lost? Charge up your sword and acquaint it with the flesh of your opponent. Not only does this system encourage a more aggressive playstyle, but it rewards that boldness by essentially letting you heal as much and as often as you like. Of course, that can be easier said than done. Bosses won’t just bend over and let you wail on them after all. 

Intrigued? If so, join Marcus Stewart, Dan Tack, and Alex Van Aken as we take a look at Eldest Souls opening boss battles and give the skinny on what makes the experience tick. Since we’ll be showing off New Game + footage, you’ll also get a glimpse at some cool late-game abilities.  

Ghost of Tsushima is the gift that keeps on giving to fans of the samurai game. After wrapping up the initial story of Jin and his trials, Sucker Punch Productions continued on this adventurous path with Legends. Legends included even more to do, including squading up with friends for a multiplayer experience that took the Tsushima journey into the realm of the supernatural. For those that have not dived into what Legends has to offer, the studio has announced that a standalone release is on the horizon, as well as the revelation that a new mode is coming soon. 

With the Director's Cut of the game set to release in the next two weeks, Sucker Punch wanted to give even better news for those itching for more samurai goodness. Legends will allow gamers to join in on raid adventures without owning the base game itself or the Director's Cut. The Legends pot is even sweeter with the arrival of a new mode called Rivals, which will be dropping on September 3, and will pit two teams of two against one another in the fight against hordes of enemies. The objective is to defeat all enemies and collect Magatama. Magatama can be used to hurt the other team, which provides a leg up on the competition for which team can perform the best. 

With only a few weeks until launch, Amazon has decided to take another month to polish New World before release. Announced today on Twitter, the upcoming MMO will now be launching on September 28 instead of its previously planned date of August 31.

New World’s Twitter account provided a statement alongside the announcement of the delay. Stating the change in timeline is due to feedback from players over the course of the beta.

Also, the studio revealed over one million players logged into the beta and collectively played for over 25 million hours, a number provided by a New World representative. Amazon Games also talks about New World being very popular on Twitch and Steam over the beta.

A message from the New World team. pic.twitter.com/oAZdK7dxTn

Jeff Steitzer is every part of the Halo experience as the music and Master Chief himself, so when he lent his voice talents to  Destiny 2, minds were blown. Known simply as "Halo Man," Steitzer brings the Halo multiplayer experience to life in a way that most fans of the franchise treasure. For those that may not remember, Bungie was the original studio behind Halo before it was passed off to 343 Industries, and it is also the studio behind the current online game Destiny 2. So the crossover into the realm of Guardians? Not as unexpected as one might think, but every bit as cool. 

Shared in my Destiny 2 clan, the video uploaded onto the Baguette, Eiffel's Blade YouTube channel (what a name) shows Steitzer harnessing his inner Lord Shaxx and Saladin. Shaxx is easily one of the most motivating characters in gaming, I'd dare say. Nothing quite lights a fire within me than hearing his loud "YESSSSSSSSSS" proclamation that oozes pride over a particularly notable move in PvP. Lord Saladin is also tied to PvP with Iron Banner, though I always jokingly call him Lord Salad Fingers of the Iron Banana because maturity is vastly overrated. 

During today’s Street Fighter V Summer Update stream, we got more than we expected. Not only did Capcom show off near final versions of both Oro and Akira, the final DLC character was revealed. Not launching until November is a brand new character for the series named Luke. He’ll be joining and completing the cast as its final addition.

Oro’s normal attacks and special moves were shown off in detail on the Spring stream, but as this elderly warrior is gearing up for release, we got to see a deeper dive into his V Skills and V Triggers. His V Skill I is like a projectile he had in Street Fighter III. This skill called Onibi is a bouncing orb Oro seemingly flicks from his nose which can be used to distract an enemy while approaching for an attack. Minomushi is his second V Skill. It’s a small forward hop that grants two attack choices: a punch used to start combos, and a kick which is safer, less punishable option. You can even cancel into Minomushi from certain normal attacks and choose which route to take next.

Are you ready to swing giant clubs, slashy swords, and parry… everything? Welcome to Grime, the game where you play as a surreal organism where your head is like, a black hole or something. Now, it would be easy to label Grime a sidescrolling Souls-like, and that’s what it pretty much is, but there are other aspects about it that make it more interesting than just heading from checkpoint to checkpoint and taking on tremendous bosses. Don’t get us wrong though, taking on weird and creepy bosses is absolutely a highlight here.

The parry system in the game is called absorption, and it’s aptly named, because you actually absorb the enemies. What does this mean? Well, in addition to giving you important resources that let you heal yourself (forcing you to master parries if you want to live), the system allows you to take traits of the monsters and add them to your kit. So by absorbing the life essence of your enemies, you can unlock new and powerful skills that will help you survive. Some moves flash red, you can’t parry those, so you’ll have to dodge. Of course, you’re going to want to upgrade your core stats like health, force (stamina), strength and more in order to use better weapons.

The latest iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator was released in Summer 2020 – a particularly harrowing season in a year filled with mandated self-isolation and worldwide panic. Yet, there was no better time for an escapist game like Flight Sim to lift off the proverbial tarmac. Boasting incredible technological advancements that map and render the entire globe – real-time weather effects and flight traffic patterns also included! – players could brave the untamed skies from any runway of their choosing. The recent console port has been highly anticipated for quite some time. Now on a television screen, the graphical and sonic fidelity continues to be unmatched as far as simulators go. But do the true-to-life mechanics translate nicely to the Xbox Series X/S? They do … mostly.

[UPDATE]: 5:31 p.m. Central 8/3/2021 – During the Street Fighter V Summer Update stream, Cammy and Guile were announced to be the new Street Fighter representatives in Fortnite. These new skins will be released on August 7. 

According to a tweet from Fortnite’s account today, it looks like Street Fighter’s world warriors aren’t done with the battle royale genre just yet. The message simply reading, “Here comes two new challengers!” is accompanied by a character select screen which may give us a hint at which duo is dropping on the island during chapter 2, season 7.

While there’s plenty of interesting choices from all over the Street Fighter canon, including Oro and Akira who will joining Street Fighter V shortly, Super Street Fighter 2’s character select was chosen for this teaser for a reason. Of the total roster from that version of the game, our potential list of combatants is narrowed down from 12 to 10 since Ryu and Chun-Li already debuted in Fortnite earlier this year.

That’s right, we’re here with more zombie goodness. But this time, it’s coming straight from the franchise that catapulted zombie infection stories back into the limelight: The Walking Dead. Maybe you missed out on Skydance Interactive’s popular Saints & Sinners VR game that dropped a few years ago. A free content update, called the Aftershocks, is on the way and promises a good portion of new story content, collectibles, and tools to help survive the scourge in New Orleans.

The update will be available to players that have already completed Saints & Sinners’ main campaign mode. There’s already over 20 hours of game to enjoy, so the Aftershocks Update looks to amplify and bolster the fun and horror. You can watch the trailer above. Based on an emailed press release, Skydance Interactive still has plans to introduce more content to the VR title. Saints & Sinners earned a spot on our Best VR Games For Your Oculus Quest 2 list, so be sure to check that out for other interesting VR experiences. 

Earlier this week, we reported a joint lawsuit with Bungie and Ubisoft that focuses on a notorious hacker ring that sells cheats as a subscription service for games like Destiny 2 and Rainbow Six Siege. The lawsuit is going after those profiting from "destroying the integrity of the online experience," which centers around intellectual property disputes rather than simply cheating. To learn more about the law behind the suit, Game Informer gleaned insight from a lawyer that specializes in exactly this type of case. 

Ryan Meyer is an attorney that specializes in intellectual property as part of the international law firm known as Dorsey & Whitney. His focus primarily targets IP infringement within the games industry and tells Game Informer that the recent lawsuit is just the latest in a growing trend of studios looking to lessen the scope of those that make money off of breaking their property. It is important to remember that while studios have been making strides at banning cheaters from their games, lawsuits related to this sort of online activity primarily focus on the monetization of IPs that do not belong to those behind these types of hacks. 

One of Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s most satisfying moments comes in taking down Dr. Robotnik/Eggman’s Death Egg Robot (which is technically a mech when you really think about it but we won’t split hairs). Jakks Pacific agrees, because it has created a toy replica of the iconic boss battle so that you can take it down all over again in real life.

Nerdist first spotted the new toy, dubbed the Giant Eggman Robot Battle Set. Besides dropping the name “Death Egg” likely due to reasons of children, the impressive figure stands at 9 inches and sports bells and whistles such as articulated limbs, shooting hand missiles, and retractable jetpack flames.

If you’ve been following the zombie video game scene for a while, you probably dedicated a few hundred or more hours to Turtle Rock Studios’ Left 4 Dead series. The four-player co-op FPS took the world by storm over a decade ago and its sequel brilliantly continued the zombie-slaying goodness. If you’re feeling a little nostalgic in anticipation of the upcoming Back 4 Blood, then maybe you should drop into Zombie Army 4 because the main characters from Left 4 Dead 2 are now playable in a free DLC package. 

A new Back 4 Blood beta period is on the way, this time including a little more content to dive into before the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor arrives later this year. For those itching to get into the action, here is everything you need to know before jumping into the Back 4 Blood beta. 

When is the Back 4 Blood beta? 

For those that pre-ordered the game, the first wave of beta access commences on August 5 and will run until the 9th. The open beta will continue on following that early access period from August 12 through August 16. Interested players can go here to register for a shot at the first beta period, as well, though entry for those dates is not guaranteed. 

Both beta portions are available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. 

What is included in the Back 4 Blood beta? 

Both portions of the Back 4 Blood beta will feature two maps for the Swarm PvP mode, two co-op maps to fight off Ridden with buddies, and new weapons and build decks for players to master. Back 4 Blood beta players will also be able to play as Mom for the first time as well as other characters such as Evangelo, Holly, Walker, and Hoffman. 

Every once in a while, we are greeted by a work of art that steals our breath away, and on rarer occasions, makes us incredibly hungry. The controller pictured above checks both of those boxes for me.

McDonald's Australia prototyped this mouth-watering PlayStation 5 controller and intended to give away 50 of them during a week of video game live streams that served as a fun way of celebrating the company's 50th anniversary. McDonald's Australia quickly backtracked from the giveaway, and IGN learned that the controller was shown in error and was not going to be made. In a statement sent to IGN, McDonald's says, "there is no commercial relationship between McDonald's Australia and Sony PlayStation."

Press Start received additional statements from McDonald's that say that Sony hasn't authorized the use of the controller for any promotional materials with the company and that the streaming celebration has been delayed. McDonald's will now be giving away 50 channel subscriptions and Macca's 50th Birthday Hoodies when the streams return.

Wreckfest gets a free update today that’s fueled by nostalgia for the car combat games of old. In this case, Carmageddon is making a grand comeback in the form of a new tournament themed after the cult favorite series.

It’s a fitting marriage. Both franchises are all about smashing opponents to bits in violent high-speed races (although one has significantly more cows involved). The month-long Carmageddon Tournament kicks off today and features two big events alongside a pair of new tracks. 

Carnage Accumulator takes place in Carmageddon’s Bleak City map. This free-roaming mode challenges racers to mow down zombies and destroy AI racers to rack up the highest score possible with a three-minute time limit. 

Death Race is a weekly event set in either Bleak City or Devil's Canyon, another classic Carmageddon track. The objective is simple: race through various checkpoints using Carmageddon: Max Damage’s Eagle R vehicle and cause as much wanton destruction as possible along the way. Players also receive the Eagle R as a free reward just for playing.

Xbox is no stranger to offering a wide variety of controller options with unique colors and designs. That being said, the newly revealed Aqua Shift Special Edition Xbox wireless controller may just be the most beautiful peripheral revealed for this gen to date.

It's shimmery, it's a calming blue, and it's coming out soon with the newest Xbox wireless controller being added to the lineup. In addition to the Design Lab's return that allows Xbox fans to create their own unique designs, this special edition Aqua Shift design is a cool blue with notes of icier tones and smooth purples. With a similarly colored palette of triggers, joysticks, and buttons, the entire design of the latest controller may just be lovely enough to curb some of that rage quit buildup. Maybe. 

According to the official Xbox blog post revealing the newest controller, "Aqua shift features a surreal, color-shifting blue shimmer that you need to see to believe. Playing with the way the prismatic color moves across our controller, you’ll feel like Aqua Shift comes to life in your hands. Inspired by the fantasy that gaming brings into our lives, we know this mystical beauty will add that magic your controller collection needs."

With the recent Halo Infinite Flight test, the next step of Master Chief's journey is on a lot of our minds. To celebrate all of the Halo Infinite talk, the navigation app called Waze is offering a special Halo-themed update for its service. Yes, that means you can get directions from Master Chief himself. 

The Halo-themed update for Waze includes both Master Chief and the Banished War Chief Escharum as voice options. This is only for a limited time so if you're looking to take that Halo love to a new level, you're going to want to do so fast. 

In addition to Chief and Escharum's voice commands, the ability to change your car's icon to a Spartan super-solider or alien war chief is also available, as well as different profile "moods" to either mainstay character. According to the official blog post revealing the new promotional package, "Join the UNSC and the legendary Master Chief to help humanity tackle every obstacle thrown at them — whether it’s an interstellar alliance or rush hour traffic. Spartan-117 has dismantled the Covenant, turned the tide against the Flood, and battled the Banished — with that kind of experience in your corner, the mission of successfully making that dinner date will be no problem. Of course, having an all-terrain terror like the Warthog doesn’t hurt either."

It's a new month, which means new games are joining the ever-growing Xbox Game Pass library. This month's additions for those that have Xbox Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate includes two different Skate titles, the beloved Hades, and more. 

 Before diving into which new games are coming to the Microsoft subscription service, here is a brief overview of what Game Pass even is. The Xbox Game Pass library continues to change with new titles being added. From day one launches of hit games to indie treasures that deserve their stage time just as any other game, the Game Pass membership allows Xbox fans a chance to have instant access to an eclectic library without having to shell out $60 for each experience.

Now, let's get into which games are on the way: 

Late July saw the details concerning a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard by the state of California go public, sparking a global outcry from the gaming community. Allegations include instances of gender discrimination, workplace abuse, sexual harassment, and a culture that contributed to one employee ending her life. As both the industry and the gaming community call for change, the company has announced that Blizzard president J. Allen Brack is leaving the company, and Game Informer was told by a source close to Activision Blizzard that this is one of several moves in place, adding that this ousting "feels rushed" and "thoughtless." 

[UPDATE]: 4:58 p.m. Central 8/3/2021 - Game Informer has also confirmed that Jesse Meschuk, Activision Blizzard's head of global human resources (HR)  has also departed the company after being referenced in conjunction with the ongoing labor lawsuit. 

The announcement of the leadership shakeup comes via Blizzard itself. In a public statement, it was said that Brack is stepping down, effective immediately, with Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra taking over as co-leaders moving forward. Oneal joined the company back in January as executive vice president of development, providing leadership to both the Overwatch and the Diablo franchises. Ybarra comes from a background in leadership at Xbox, having joined Blizzard back in 2019. 

Take Two released its Q1 earnings report alongside a conference call today, which revealed there’s a new IP coming from the company. Better yet, it’s going to be announced later this month. Along with this tease, we caught a glimpse at what releases are planned for the remainder of the 2022 fiscal year from Take Two’s brands and beyond.

Under the umbrella of the 2K brand, this new franchise will be revealed within a few weeks according to today’s prepared statements from Take Two President Karl Slatoff. After covering previously announced titles like NBA 2K22, WWE 2K22 and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Slatoff talked a little about this new project by saying, “In addition, later this month, 2K will unveil details of another exciting new franchise planned for launch during this fiscal year.” There’s been no word from the company regarding which studio is working on this title or what it may be, but we can infer its aiming to be released by March 31 of next year.

Also in the presentation was this tidbit about other games coming by the end of FY 2022: “As we continue to develop our pipeline, there has been movement in some of our planned releases, including two of our immersive core titles shifting to later in Fiscal 2022 than our prior guidance had contemplated.” While these games go unnamed as well, Take Two’s report shows three unannounced projects listed as new iterations of existing games listed alongside the new generation releases of Grand Theft Auto 5, GTA Online, and Kerbal Space Program.

After so much silence, we finally have our first (small) look at Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series, as well as when we can expect to watch it. The show, which has yet to reveal the official title, is slated to premiere on September 2, 2022. While we don't have a trailer to feast those eyes on, we do have an image teaser that seems to be our first look at the kingdom of Númenor. 

The break of silence happened via a short and simple tweet from the Lord of the Rings TV series Twitter account. With a teaser image and release date for the pilot, "a new journey begins" is only the start of us learning more about Amazon's take on the beloved Tolkien universe. 

On September 2, 2022, a new journey begins. pic.twitter.com/9tnR7WqDoA

“Does this do anything?” is one of my favorite questions to ask while I’m running around a video game world. A lot of the time, the answer is no. But I keep asking because every so often, I find a game that rewards my curiosity in the best ways. Recently, Acid Nerve’s Zelda-like Death’s Door earned a spot on that list of games for one small, but delightful gag where cutting a sign in half affects both the physical object you attacked and its corresponding pop-up dialogue bubble. This is such a fun detail that doesn’t need to be in Death’s Door, but it is, and the game is better for it. This fun homage got me thinking about the joke’s inspiration, The Legend of Zelda, and how great the series has been at creating these kinds of interactive moments, especially its latest entry, Breath of the Wild.

As an open-world game, Breath of the Wild is centered around exploration. That exploration isn’t limited to simply allowing players to climb every mountain in view – though to be clear I did try to climb every mountain in view – the game’s physics system gives players agency to tackle challenges in extremely unique and unprompted ways. The first taste of this Breath of the Wild-style freedom involved a boulder and a whole camp of unsuspecting Bokoblins.

This past weekend was Halo Infinite's first official technical test, and we here at Game Informer couldn't wait to dive in. This game's early access testing period was my only objective over the last several days outside of basic hygiene, and to say that I can't wait for more would be a massive understatement. That being said, can we talk about the bots in this game because holy heck, are they nothing like I was expecting. In fact, they are straight up just serial killers with a mean sadistic streak... 

When you hear bots, you think EZ win, right? Well, in Halo Infinite, they are mastermind slaughter experts. When we first jumped into a match on Friday with our GI community over on Twitch, myself, Alex Stadnik, and John Carson were blown away by the vehement aggression from the AI enemies. This aggression is actually pretty cool. We want a challenge, challenge us, bots! With that in mind, none of us were prepared for the level of venom these programmed little jerks had to offer. 

Venom's comic book identity changes as quickly as the seasons. He started as a bad guy who ate plenty of brains and battled Spider-Man, transformed into a vigilante who did some good (and some bad), and then went full-on hero to save the universe, an act that led to him gaining god-like powers and aging well beyond his years. The movies featuring this beloved character appear to be keeping things simple. Venom and his his host, Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy), just want to be left alone – and eat a few brains when possible. Other symbiotic characters complicate these efforts and they have to fight to the death. The latest foe to want a piece of Venom is Carnage, who is bonded to Cletus Kasady (brought to life by Woody Harrelson).

Companies teaming up for in-court goals is nothing new, but the latest case is seeing Bungie and Ubisoft joining forces to take those that are selling cheats to court. The aim is not necessarily to go after those using them (though that has been the case in the past), but to go after those making these cheating programs and selling them for profit. 

For both Rainbow Six Siege and Destiny 2, PC players especially have been purchasing aimbots, ESP tools to cheat health and radar systems, infinite ammo hacks, and more to gain the advantage in a match versus just actually learning how to be good in the game. For those not interested in having actual skill in a match, these cheats come in handy, but using them can get you permanently banned, while creating them can land you in court. 

Bungie and Ubisoft's lawsuit against Ring-1, a cheat seller that offers subscription packages to impact the online experience for others negatively, was filed on July 23 and names several involved in this operation in front of a judge. The lawsuit names Overpowered, Krypto, and Berserker as the leading offenders, with the lawsuit itself looking to seek retribution for a system that "impairs and destroys not only the game experience but also Plaintiff's overall businesses and their reputation among their respective player communities." 

Following the most recent lawsuit against Activision Blizzard that cites sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and reported abuse, Jeff Strain says "enough is enough" and calls for the gaming industry to unionize. Strain used to work for Blizzard before co-founding both ArenaNet (Guild Wars) and Undead Labs (State of Decay). Now, he's looking to the future of gaming and what that future looks like for those that work within this industry. 

Strain recently reflected on the ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuit and said while he was "disgusted and repulsed," he wasn't surprised in the least. Because of that, however, he's lending his voice to the many already calling for unionization. Not just for one company, either, but an industry-wide sweep. 

Half-Life is an iconic franchise by Valve that changed the face of gaming for the better when it was first released. Because of that, this series has seen many fan iterations and continuations in the past, but it looks like a Half-Life 2 Remastered Collection is in the works. Before you get too excited, this is a fan-made project and not an official remaster, but Valve is reportedly totally cool with it. 

The remastered collection was spotted by PCGN over on SteamDB and shows a collection in the works from modder Filip Victor. While the collection itself says "not Valve-related," it is reported that the company has given consent for the fan project to push forward with development. The report that Valve has given the green light for this project comes by way of Tyler McVicker, a person known for reporting on Valve news. 

I have been able to confirm this projects legitimacy, being made by the former Half-Life 2: Update team.

Report incoming. pic.twitter.com/W0r9cnKhie

You can't really go wrong with an open-world fantasy RPG experience, and developers Ted Peterson and Julian LeFay know a thing or two about crafting an enjoyable exploratory experience. The pair of devs have worked on games like Elder Scrolls Daggerfall and Arena in the past, and now they are working on a new adventure with Once Lost Games for more consequences, more player choice, and a new role-player experience that is designed to be realistic and enthralling. 

Dubbed a new class of role-playing called The Grand RPG, The Wayward Realms aims to offer an experience like none other with designs meant to be as immersive as possible. With an ever-evolving story that is coerced by a virtual Game Master, players will need to survive in a massive open world that is "way bigger than most other games you can think of." Sprawling cities, cascading mountains, dangerous marshlands - The Wayward Realms aims to offer it all. 

There have been several rumors previously about former Assassin's Creed director Eric Baptizat and his role in the then-rumored Dead Space Remake. Still, a nice little LinkedIn update has proven those rumors true. Baptizat left his 16 year-tenure at Ubisoft behind to work at EA Motive, and now we know what drew him to the EA side of gaming. 

For those that may be unfamiliar, Baptizat was the game director for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but his ties to the stealth series expand beyond that. He has previously taken a lead designer role on other Assassin's Creed titles such as Origins, Black Flag, and Unity. Baptizat is pooling his expertise with other Ubisoft veterans, including Watch Dog Legion's Philippe Ducharme and For Honor's Roman Campos-Oriola. A few BioWare vets are also joining the horror remake's efforts and a few members from the original Dead Space team. 

Another day, another review-bombing. Final Fantasy fans are review-bombing Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Series over the platform of choice for the game's release. On Steam, however, the review scores maintain a positive reception, especially with changes Valve has made in recent years to prevent review bombing from occurring. 

Ignoring the odd font choices for this game, the Pixel Remaster series saw a user rating over a measly 0.7 just last night. This morning, that score was able to mosey on up to a 3.5 at the time this article was written. Critic reviews are sitting at a healthy 80 on Metacritic, with our own Dan Tack previously talking about how much this remaster is worth your time. 

One petulant user writes, "Get the console version, and I'll change my assessment," after scoring the game a 0. "Square Enix long ago said that all installments listed would be available on consoles; we fans demand this minimum." Another poor scorer said, "We want to be able to play these games on consoles. Classic games such as Final Fantasy should not be gated behind mobile phones and computers." 

Epic Games is hosting an in-game music festival later this weekend called the Fortnite Rift Tour and to kick off, the company has announced that pop star Ariana Grande will be headlining the upcoming event. The Grammy-winning artist will be joining millions of battle royale fans worldwide for a musical experiences Epic promises players won't be able to forget. 

The Rift Tour will run from August 6 through August 8 and will feature popular tracks mixed with elements of the game, not unlike previous Fortnite-centered concerts in the past. With the pop star's musical contribution also comes a few themed cosmetics, such as the Ariana Grande outfit and the Piggy Smalls Backbling.

“Working with Epic and the Fortnite team to bring my music to life inside the game has been so fun and such an honor,” says Grande about her upcoming digital performance. “I can’t wait to join my fans and see all of your reactions to such an unforgettable, magical journey to new realities.”

In the lead up to Shin Megami Tensei V's launch in November, we've been rolling out exclusive previews on the highly anticipated RPG from Atlus. In past articles, we've taken a look at the protagonist and the characters, but now we're shining a light on the other side of the fence: the demons.

One of the best moments of Pokémon Red and Blue is finally obtaining the bicycle. Quickly speeding across the world you spent hours trudging across on foot feels liberating and you appreciate it as much as any of your pocket monsters. Well, what if I told you that The Pokémon Company is giving away a real-life version of that bike? That's right it could be yours … as long as you live in Japan.

As spotted by Kotaku, The Pokémon Company is celebrating reaching one million Twitter followers by creating a replica of Generation 1’s bicycle. While garnering a million fans is a big deal, that number has dual significance. It directly references the in-game price tag of the bike, which fans likely remember stood at 1,000,000 Poké-monies (or whatever Pokémon currency is called). Since players’ wallets were capped at 999,999, it was literally impossible to purchase and could only be obtained by trading a bike voucher earned earlier in the game.

Click image thumbnails to view larger version

It’s been a few days since the first three Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters hit Steam and mobile devices, and I’ve had a chance to play through the first title – and I’m absolutely going to be hitting the others. Yes, even 2. While they’re not perfect, they are vastly superior to most of the options that players had to go back and play these classics, and they may eventually be regarded as the definitive editions. Yes, the font is a little off-putting at first, but that can be swapped out in about three seconds, and I also found that I just got used to it after a few hours.

In the case of Final Fantasy 1, it’s quite faithful to the original game with some alterations here and there. Sure, you can get ethers so if you want to play a magic-centric party you won’t find yourself out of spells when you hit a critical boss or you’re tackling an extended dungeon crawl. Yeah, the big bad at the end is definitely not the NES version. And there are various tweaks and foibles throughout, but at the end of the day, it feels adherent to the original experience I had on a crummy TV decades ago, while at the same time serving up some minor quality of life upgrades. Perhaps the best thing about this entire series of remasters so far is the absolutely incredible music.

It's Halo time, baby! The first Halo Infinite Flight Test is now live, and we've got that Spartan spirit! We are ready to rock out with our new Pulse Carbines out. To kick off the testing period for Master Chief's latest adventure, we here at Game Informer are diving all in to make the Halo community proud. Join us, won't you, for a special two-hour stream while we dive right into some multiplayer action. 

The Halo Infinite Flight Test is the first of several early access periods 343 is hosting before the game's launch later this year. This particular testing period offers a first look at multiplayer with just one map. Unfortunately, it's against bots, which would make us losing all the more embarrassing. Which, really, if you think about it, just gives you more reason to watch! Make fun of us, cheer us on, dealer's choice.