Gamespot

The next Nintendo Direct is coming up very soon, it seems. Reporter Jeff Grubb of GameSpot sister site Giant Bomb said on Twitter that the rumored September showcase will happen sometime during the week beginning September 12.

Plans could still change, but Grubb said that if it does shift, the change in timing would be reportedly "very minor." Before this, GamesBeat reporter Mike Minotti said Nintendo might have considered delaying the unannounced event due to the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II. Nintendo operates a global business, with offices located around the world, including in the UK where events are being postponed and canceled out of respect for the National Mourning Guidance.

Tom Hanks is known primarily as an actor, but he is also a producer, author, amateur historian, and apparently a video game creator. Hanx101 Trivia released on Apple Arcade recently, which, as the second part of the name implies, is a trivia game.

Hanx101 isn't Hanks' first flirtation with interactive media. He also released the Hanx Writer app which capitalizes on another of his passions: typewriters. Hanx101 Trivia, however, is arguably his first step into the world of video games. Even for the occasions where his Toy Story character, Woody, appears in video games, his brother Jim Hanks takes care of the voice work.

"Trivia is for kids. Knowledge lasts a lifetime," Hanks says in a quote offered up for the game. "Compete against the entire world with Hanx101 Trivia and you will become a fascinating human being 101 facts at a time." It's a bold claim from America's dad, but he does have an undeniably trustworthy face.

The actual game lets you participate in daily trivia with and against friends in various categories like music, books, geography, and more as you make your way through various chapters. Hanx101 Trivia is available exclusively on Apple Arcade and can be downloaded here.

The world has been awaiting the arrival of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl with bated breath since developer GSC Game World announced it was in development over a decade ago. After a somewhat troubled development cycle, things finally seemed to be getting on track, and Stalker: 2 Heart of Chornobyl was planned for a December 2022 release. But after Russian mortar attacks on Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv (where the GSC Game World's headquarters are located) and other wartime events impacted the game's development earlier this year, production on Heart of Chornobyl ground to a halt, leaving the game's release date up in the air--and now preorders have reportedly been paused.

According to a report by Polish gaming website XGP, Microsoft has removed the ability to preorder the game from the Xbox Store and has begun refunding players who have preordered a copy.

Microsoft's reported rationale for the change with preorders is due to the unconfirmed release date. It's currently unclear if Microsoft is refunding Stalker 2 preorders globally or just in western markets. The article claims that players who preordered Heart of Chornobyl from the Xbox store are logging in to find messages informing them their preorders have been canceled and the money they spent on the game has been refunded.

Hogwarts Legacy is arguably the most anticipated Harry Potter game of all time, and it’s set to arrive next year on February 10. But if you’re looking to save a bit of cash on your next wizarding adventure, you’ll want to head over to Green Man Gaming today to make use of a generous Hogwarts Legacy preorder discount.

God of War: Ragnarok fans have created custom PS5 covers to celebrate the upcoming launch of the game. Anderson and Debora, a pair of artists who celebrate their favorite games with custom creations, posted photos of the PS5 skins that will be sold through their Gom.Gom.Figures storefront.

The console covers will cost around $460, and there'll be two options available: a console cover for PS5 owners who keep their device in a vertical position and a version that's designed for PS5s arranged in a horizontal layout. Both versions have a faux stone shell, Nordic runes, and decorative inlays in their design, with the horizontal version featuring Thor's hammer Mjolnir as an attention-grabbing extra.

Gotham Knights won’t arrive until October 21, but right now you can cash in on a great preorder deal from Green Man Gaming. Head over to the retailer from now until September 14, and you can save over $10 on both the standard and Deluxe versions of Gotham Knights on PC.

Steelrising just launched on September 8, but Fanatical is already giving action-RPG fans a way to pick it up at a discount. When using promo code STEELRISING26 at checkout, you can snag the action RPG for just $37.21, down from its usual price of $50.

Content warning: this story talks about suicide.

Gears of War studio The Coalition has pledged to donate money and help raise awareness about suicide for September's Suicide Awareness Month. The company said in a blog post that it will donate 1% of net revenue from Gears of War games and merchandise to organizations dedicated to preventing suicide and promoting mental health improvement. This will run through June 2023.

"This is a multi-year commitment our studio is making to give back to our community and create real-world impact," the studio said.

Crisis Text Line is The Coalition's first partner, and the studio hopes to work with more groups around the world in the time to come. Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7 mental health support and crisis intervention resource that is available in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland. People in the US can reach a trained crisis counselor by texting "PAUSE" to 741741 or WhatsApp at (443)-SUPPORT.

Crisis Text Line CEO Dena Trujillo said partnerships like the one with The Coalition are "critical to addressing the mental health crisis in America."

The Coalition's new program, Never Fight Alone, aims to help people who feel as if they are alone. The studio added that the Gears of War series is known for its themes of "loss, grief, trauma, and even suicide." The company added, "We build connection when we process hard things together, and the beating heart of Gears of War has always been about belonging and connection."

If you happened to miss out on NBA 2K23 preorder deals, Newegg has you covered. From now until September 18, purchasing a digital copy of the Xbox or PC version of NBA 2K23 from Newegg will land you some great bonuses--including a three-month PC Game Pass membership and up to 35,000 VC.

The biggest downside to the deal? Only Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC copies are eligible for the goodies. However, anyone looking to buy NBA 2K23 within the next few days should seriously consider giving Newegg a closer look. Here’s what’s up for grabs on each console.

The PlayStation Store is offering steep discounts on more than 800 indie games, giving you an affordable way to stock up on titles you may have missed over the past few years. This includes Bugsnax, Death’s Door, Disco Elysium, and more.

The version of Call of Duty: Warzone that launched in March 2020 will be renamed "Warzone Caldera", according to a new report, and will continue to receive updates alongside Warzone 2.

With more information about Warzone 2 on the horizon as part of the upcoming Call of Duty Next, some fans have wondered what exactly will be happening with the original version of Warzone. Reporter Tom Henderson on Twitter claims the game will be undergoing a name change on November 28, and that "it looks like original Warzone will continue to receive updates/DLC."

Going off the new name, it seems the original Warzone going forward will focus primarily on the Caldera map set in the Pacific, which was introduced as part of what Activision Blizzard called "Warzone Pacific" alongside Call of Duty: Vanguard Season 1 in November 2021. Warzone originally launched five months after the release of 2019's Modern Warfare, and heavily featured characters and weapons from Infinity Ward's latest entry in the franchise. Like its predecessor, Warzone 2 will be launching some time after the October 25 release Modern Warfare 2, and will feature many of that game's mechanics, vehicles, and weapons.

Apple products rarely receive meaningful discounts, but right now you can grab two of the company's excellent laptops at 20% off their regular retail price. Best Buy is selling both the 14- and 16-inch models of the MacBook Pro for $400 less, which works out to $1,599 and $2,099 each, respectively.

Corsair has announced a new mechanical keyboard, which combines an ultra-slim design with wireless technology and durable materials. The Corsair K100 Air Wireless also comes equipped with dedicated media keys similar to its bigger and beefier wired K100 sibling, and you'll be able to save up to 50 unique profiles on the keyboard.

Externally, it has an ultra-thin 17mm profile, aluminum frame, and Cherry MX RGB ultra low-profile tactile mechanical keys. What this means is that the keyboard resembles the low profile that you'd typically find on a laptop, but the acoustic feedback is similar to an MX Brown switch and creates a more subtle typing experience. This key setup is usually favored by office and content creators who want a quieter sound when typing and a smooth tactile bump when they press the keys. Basically, low-volume keys with a satisfying push experience.

Corsair says that the battery will last up to 50 hours from a full charge with RGB lighting activated. If you turn backlighting off, however, that number jumps to a whopping 200 hours. You'll be able to seamlessly switch between wireless connections with the press of a key. Up to three device profiles can be saved, and the K100 Air is compatible with both PC and Mac. If you run out of juice while using the keyboard, you can utilize a wired connection with a detachable USB-C cable.

A number of the company's other technologies have also been incorporated into the K100 Air Wireless, including Axon hyper-processing, Elgato Stream Deck software integration, and iCUE software.

There are plenty of great gaming accessories out there, but the mClassic is definitely one of the coolest and most practical devices. Created by Marseille, the mClassic is a plug and play dongle that upscales the resolution of your games. It's an incredible little accessory for Nintendo Switch owners and, perhaps more importantly, retro gamers. The mClassic is currently on sale for $80 (down from $100) at Amazon as well as directly through Marseille. This Labor Day deal runs until the end of the day (September 9).

The mClassic is capable of bumping up the resolution of Switch and retro games to 1440p. It's featured on our list of the best Nintendo Switch accessories, but it's also one of the most useful accessories for retro gaming on old Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Sega systems.

Krafton has collaborated with the British vehicle manufacturer McLaren Automotive to bring the McLaren GT to PUBG just in time for the 19.2 update. In addition to the new car skins, the 19.2 update will also bring new content to the game, including a new weather system in Deston, a new vehicle, and more.

PC players will have access to the McLaren GT vehicle skins from September 7 to November 2, while console players will be able to obtain the skin from September 15 to November 10. To celebrate the collaboration, players can get the McLaren GT Standard-Onyx Black, which features a vehicle skin, costume, gear, emote, and more from in-game McLaren Loot Caches. They will then be able to equip the McLaren Skins to vehicles via the new vehicle interaction feature.

Players will be able to make the following vehicle skins workshop when McLaren tokens are used:

• McLaren GT Standard - Silica White
• "McLaren GT Elite - Volcano Yellow

They will also have the opportunity to craft their own McLaren vehicles. Here are some of the customizations players can do in the workshop:

• Vehicle colors
• Brake calipers
• Wheels

Anyone who purchases any McLaren vehicle skins can open up special car containers that'll have a driveable McLaren in the pre-game lobby. The McLaren containers and vehicles will be removed from the match as soon as the game starts.

The Not-So-Friendly Neighborhood Food Truck will be a new drivable vehicle for players in Deston. The new car can fit up to four people and has a large, vertical window on one side of the van. There's also a new weather system coming to Deston, which will make both lighting and weather more realistic throughout the game.

Just about every week brings something new to Destiny 2, whether it's story beats, new activities, or interesting new combinations of elements that let players devastate each other in the Crucible. Iron Banter is our weekly look at what's going on in the world of Destiny and a rundown of what's drawing our attention across the solar system.

Season of Plunder isn't the first time Bungie has brought some swashbuckling into Destiny 2, and true to form, the pirate-themed season has its hull filled with pirate-themed puns. In the season's first mission, you recruit a pirate crew from the Forsaken expansion's crime lord quest-giver, the Spider, who you can call on in missions to help you face the Pirate Lords you're tasked with sending to Davy Jones's Interstellar Locker throughout the season.

Early in the season, though, there was something about these alien pirates I couldn't stop puzzling over, and it turned out to be more irritating than a peg leg covered in splinters. It was my crew's names, each clearly a riff on some privateer parlance. Each of the pirates you recruit is an Eliksni character, an alien race whose members tend to have names that end with sounds like "siks" or "raaks". Thus, the crew who joins you on your missions consists of the venerable space sailors Flotsiks, Jetsiks, Ransiks, and Halsiks.

Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier began its fourth season recently, and with the Variant Mode event that had allowed players to play as Sephiroth wrapped up, an all-new Style Mastery was added: Trickster. With the game almost approaching 10 Mastery Styles, Trickster is definitely one of, if not the best, Mastery Style for players to use.

Trickster is a suave and dapper Style joining Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier. With its melee attacks using cards to slash, throw, and explode on impact, it really has made a name for itself with its powerful Mastery Style in comparison to the other newly added Mastery Styles such as Dragoon alongside Machinist already present in the game. We will break down how to effectively play Trickster, its best Materia choices, which of its two Skills to use, and more in this guide.

Melee Attacks

Trickster has a three-window melee combo. First, the user does a quick forward slash using its card that propels the player in the direction. The second part of its combo is two quick slashes in a row that move the user forward. If the full combo is used, then Trickster leaps back slightly and throws several cards that explode on impact.

Having had a chance to see a 30-minute gameplay presentation of New Tales from the Borderlands, I'm cautiously optimistic about the upcoming consequence-driven episodic adventure game. What I saw has left me intrigued--even if it didn't quite match the irreverent charm of the original game. I'm willing to give the game the benefit of the doubt but I am a little worried that this sequel may not live up to the narrative highs of its predecessor.

New Tales from the Borderlands is a clean break from the original game. It follows a new trio of characters--altruistic Anu, ambitious Octavio, and violence-first-questions-later Fran--as they work together to find a Vault Key, each for their own ends. You guide the story through dialogue choices and quicktime events, resulting in a number of short-term or long-term consequences that can color the story.

Gameplay-wise, it looks a whole lot like the original Tales from the Borderlands. But the humor in New Tales isn't working for me as well as what we got in the original Tales--I think it's because I really liked the protagonists of Tales (Rhys and Fiona) from the very first trailer, while I still haven't been able to quite connect with Anu, Octavio, and Fran, even from the snippet of the game I saw.

That said, I am excited about how the game plans to handle the evolving morality of the three characters. In terms of character alignment, all three seem rather chaotic, though Anu seems to primarily lean towards chaotic good, while Fran is more chaotic evil, and Octavio lands somewhere in the middle.

Apex Legends Mobile Season 2.5: Hyperbeat launched alongside a large collection of cosmetics (via both the Hyperbeat battle pass and the Hyperbeat Store) and an equally large number of seasonal events. The most recent of these events, Rising Through The Ranks, is the very first of its kind, and tasks players with ascending the tiers in Ranked Mode while unlocking prizes along the way.

Previously, seasonal Ranked Mode rewards weren't revealed until the end of the season (or very shortly beforehand). But as of Season 2.5, players can now see the upcoming Ranked Mode rewards and the challenges they'll need to complete to obtain them. Keep reading for a closer look at the Rising Through The Ranks event, along with some tips to help you climb all the way to Masters and unlock that awesome mobile-exclusive Bangalore skin.

Getting started

Depending on how recently you've played Apex Legends Mobile, you may or may not be greeted by a splash screen advertising the event when you first log in. Select "Go!" to be taken directly to the event hub. If the splash screen does not appear, you can reach the event hub by selecting the purple "Season Event" banner on the right side of the main lobby screen. This will take you to the Hyperbeat seasonal hub.

The Walking Dead comic series is no stranger to adaptation. The franchise has successfully made the jump to TV shows, plenty of solid console, PC, and VR video games, and probably even a cereal. Walking Dead has already had a handful of mobile game adaptations, as well, but All-Stars is the zombie franchise's first step into the popular mobile genre of character collecting, and focuses on the larger legacy of the comic book.

We spoke with developer Funflow's CEO, KyungHyun Son, over e-mail about The Walking Dead: All-Stars, how it looks to the original comic book for inspiration, and how exactly it fits into the larger Walking Dead mythos.

Head of Xbox Game studios Matt Booty sang high praises for Forza Motorsport, the upcoming eighth entry in the Forza Motorsport series, during an episode of Xbox's official podcast.

"We just did a really comprehensive review of Forza Motorsport," Booty said. "It's amazing. It's going to, again, reset the high bar for what simulation and competitive racing games can be." Those are quite the complimentary words for Turn 10's upcoming game.

Booty, who worked on racing games in the past, also offered insight into how making racing sims has changed, and how it hasn't. He pointed out that yes, there are now "science-fiction-like" technologies like ray-tracing available, but certain things haven't shifted as much. "A lot of the process about how a track is laid out, how teams work on different environments, the track surface, and the cars--a lot of that is still the same," Booty said.

Forza Mortorsport is set to release sometime in Spring 2023 and will be coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch for both PC and Xbox. So far, Turn 10 has emphaszied how punched-up Forza Motorsport's graphics and physics are. The studio has said it spent a lot of time improving tire collision models, leading to smoother, even more realistic drives.

Turn 10 will also include a redesigned pit experience in the upcoming Forza Motorsport, offering players more customization options. For more information, you can check out our Forza Motorsport Release Date, Cars, And Everything We Know article.

Last August, Bethesda announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would be remastered for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. But it appears that Skyrim may be coming to the Nintendo Switch too.

Thanks to VGC, we now know Skyrim was rated in Taiwan earlier this year and is now classified in Europe. The report claims that PEGI has also rated the game, which is currently listed to release on August 31, 2022. Although nothing has been officially confirmed, this suggests that the Anniversary Edition for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may be could to the Nintendo Switch.

Players who purchase the anniversary edition will receive an upgraded version of the base game and the following downloadable content: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. In addition to an upgraded version of the game, players will receive new content from the in-game Creation Club, including bosses, dungeons, quests, weapons, and spells.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was first released in 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Since then, it's been rereleased several times and has spanned three console generations.

Ooblets has hit its 1.0 release after a period of early access. This farming/life simulation management game combines the experience of revitalizing a small town with the collection aspects of Pokemon. While Ooblets is a relaxed experience, the game isn't always clear about its mechanics and some important pieces of information are obscured. Here's everything you need to know to get started on your journey in Ooblets.

The vast majority of tasks aren't time sensitive

Ooblets has you move to a new town, without a job or any money. In exchange for an abandoned farm, you agree to help Mayor Tinstle fix up the town. Quickly, you will have a laundry list of tasks, which can feel overwhelming. It's important to note that none of those tasks are time sensitive.

There are, in fact, only two things that are time sensitive in Ooblets: Challenges and Ooblets. The available Challenges to improve the Wildlands will rotate every couple of days and the available Ooblets that can be found will change each day.

Occasionally when talking to random townsfolk, they will give you a task to bring them an item or find their missing Ooblets. These tasks can be completed whenever, although you won't be able to talk to the person again until you complete the task.

Mario Kart Tour's gacha elements are getting removed, according to a tweet by the game's official account. Starting in late September, all pipes that can be fired by rubies will receive the axe and will no longer be available.

Pipes are packages players can "fire" in order to receive karts, drivers, and other items. It's essentially like a "pull," and what comes out of each pipe fired is unknown. Players could earn rubies in-game or through spending real legal tender.

Now with the change, items like drivers, carts, and gliders will be located in a separate shop where players can exchange rubies towards a specific item they desire--instead of relying on luck and quantity as in the the previous gacha system

Two of Twitch's most popular streamers, Ninja and Pokimane, are scaling back their presence on the streaming platform.

Ninja, whose real name is Tyler Blevins, announced on Twitter that he is taking a break from Twitch. His return to Twitch is uncertain. "I just need a break... I don't know when I will be back, or where." He did not offer any further details surrounding the nature of his departure.

As for Pokimane, whose real name is Imane Anys, she in a video on YouTube that she plans to spend less time streaming on Twitch and will instead focus on publishing non-gaming content for different platforms.

"I hope it doesn't sound big-headed of me to say, but nowadays when I see things on Twitch, it kinda feels like, 'been there, done that,'" she said, as reported by PCGamer.

Pokimane went on to say streaming is a "hyper-competitive industry" and that she is feeling burnt out. "Ultimately, the reason I say this is because I'm just at a point in my life that it doesn't feel creatively fulfilling to feed into that anymore," she said.

Though they're certainly not as exciting as the potential offensive playbooks in Madden 23, defensive playbooks are equally as important. The old saying goes, "Defense wins championships," and that rings true in Madden as well. If you don't have a solid defense to stop an opponent, then it likely won't matter how many points you're able to put up with your offense. Of course, having the right playbook is only half of the battle, as you also need to understand the different defensive formations and how best to use/control them.

Even so, we're here to help you win that portion of the battle by offering up our picks for the best defensive playbooks in Madden 23. We will be going over six of the default playbooks in Madden 23, but they will not be in any particular order. It's also worth noting we're basing this off of the current state of the game, so if EA decides to patch a certain part of Madden 23, some of these playbooks might lose their viability.

Best Defensive Playbooks in Madden 23

We won't be categorizing these defenses in any manner, as most playbooks have the same base coverages. However, some stand out from the rest due to having a specific coverage or more plays from a single formation.

Kansas City Chiefs

As of right now, it seems as though the meta defensive playbook in Madden 23 lies with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs boast the terrific 33 defense from the Nickel package, which has been unstoppable in the early going of the game. However, the Chiefs also have Even 61 in the 43 package, which features some solid plays. There's also Dime Normal, Big Nickel, and other packages that players can utilize to their advantage. Dime Normal specifically has the DB Blitz 1, which has been wreaking havoc so far due to how fast defenders can get to the quarterback.

1047 Games announced today that its free-to-play portal-based arena shooter, Splitgate, will end feature development following the release of its next and final battle pass. Given the fact that the highly popular game is still in its infancy (and only came to consoles just over a year ago), many fans were caught off-guard by the announcement. Even more surprising was the revelation that the team at 1047 Games is working on a new game set in the Splitgate universe.

"After careful consideration and much deliberations, the 1047 Games team has determined that in order to build the game fans deserve--and to build it in a way that isn't trying to retrofit and live-operate an existing product--we are ending feature development of Splitgate," read a portion of a message tweeted from the official Splitgate Twitter account earlier today.

Call of Duty Season 5: Last Stand recently went live in Warzone, and now a new update on September 2 brings a change to the season's recently added gas mask toggle setting. This latest update should make the gas mask easier to use for those who use the new manual option.

According to Raven Software's patch notes, Warzone's gas mask will now appear in the first slot of the Quick Inventory Menu for easier access during engagements for players using Season 5's Manual Gas Mask toggle setting. Additionally, the Manual Gas Mask text description was improved in the settings menu to better detail how players can manually equip the gas mask.

The developer also included an update for Season 5's limited-time Heroes Vs. Villains community event. The Hero and Villain event tokens will now reward 200 points, which is up from the 100 points the tokens awarded at launch of the event. This point change will be implemented for all Warzone modes.

For Season 5's new Supply Box UAV Killstreak, a change was made to make sure players are able to locate the best loot. The update removes Warzone's Resurgence supply boxes from appearing on Supply Box UAV scans to focus the scan on the best supply boxes for players.

Clefairys in Pokemon Go will gather en masse during the Harvest Moon on September 10. From 6 PM to 9 PM local time, trainers will encounter Clefairys more often in the wild--and if they're lucky, they may be able to catch a Shiny Clefairy.

Pokemon Go's Season of Light just went live on September 1, marking the start of a new season and the appearance of the Nebula Pokemon Cosmog. The Season of Light will end in December, and like other seasons, the story of the featured Legendary will slowly unfold.

September will also feature a Psychic Spectular event focused around Deoxys and Mega Alakazam. Deoxys' raid day will take place on September 11, and all formes of Deoxys will appear at an increased rate in five-star raids. Inkay will also be receiving a dedicated special day, and on September 3, trainers can participate in a limited research for Inkay.

September's Community Day is on September 18, and the whole slate of Community Days for Season of Light has been announced. Community Day Classic will take place on November 5.

With Pokemon Unite’s one-year anniversary coming to a close, there is still a week left of Pika Party. Pika Party is the new 4v4 Quick Match mode celebrating the Electric-type Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu. The entire map is changed to the aesthetic of Pikachu, from the walls, balloons, colors, and there are even holograms of Pikachu littering the map. But that is not all littering the map. Every Wild Pokemon is now Pikachu, with certain Pikachu providing different buffs alongside a massive Gigantamax Pikachu taking the middle spot, which is normally reserved for Legendary Pokemon such as Zapdos or Regigigas.

Be sure to check out our detailed Pokemon Unite: Basics of Boost Emblems guide to help in understanding Pokemon Unite’s newest system, the Boost Emblem System, as well.

This guide will go through the best-Held Items for Pikachu, the best moveset, the different buffs Wild Pikachu awards on defeat, the different rewards you will obtain from playing Pika Party, and more.

Held Items

Pikachu is a ranged special attacker. Low endurance with a slight lean on mobility, that is able to consistently deal massive damage. Pikachu is one of the higher-tier Pokemon in the game, and a powerhouse when used properly.

The must-have items for Pika Party are:

It's the very first week of Season of Plunder in Destiny 2, and Xur has arrived to offer a few classic Exotics to players. Here's where you can find the Agent of the Nine this weekend and everything he's selling.

This week you can find Xur in the Tower, in the Hangar area. For his weapon, Xur is offering Skyburner's Oath. Hunters can pick up the Raiju's Harness chest armor; Titans can grab the Eternal Warrior helmet; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Aeon Soul gauntlets.

Xur Location

Spawn in using the Courtyard transmat zone in the Tower to find Xur this week. Head left and down the stairs to enter the Hangar section, then hang another left. Make your way to the north end of the area and look for a staircase that will take you onto a catwalk, where Xur is waiting.

Xur is present every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET each Friday. His exact location is always a mystery when he first arrives, as he is not listed on the map, and for novice players, he can be easy to miss. However, there are a set number of locations where he takes up residence, including the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher's Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ.

NHL 23 is looking to bring some big changes to the franchise when the puck drops on October 14. Hockey fans who game on PC will be left out of the fun once again, although this time around both PlayStation and Xbox users will be able to play against each other--thanks to the inclusion of cross-play. Two versions of the game are now up for preorder, each with a slew of exclusive bonuses.

Here's a closer look at NHL 23 preorders and all the bonus content you'll get for reserving an early copy.

NHL 23 Preorder Bonuses

Preorder the NHL 23 standard edition, and you’ll get quite a bit of bonus content. This includes the following:

• X-Factor Women HUT Choice Pack (1 of 4)
• 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone Ability Unlocks (Instant)
• Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel Jersey (Digital)
• Be A Pro X-Factor Shot Unlocks (2), XP Boost, and Bonus Trait Points

Preorder the NHL 23 X-Factor edition, and you’ll get all the above content plus a few more goodies:

One of the best parts of Destiny 2 is experimenting with its Exotics, armor mods, and subclass setups to find interesting loadouts for your Guardian. For Season of Plunder and the overhauled Arc subclass, some of the builds available can produce shocking results, pun fully intended. Warlocks have some great loadouts to tinker with, and you can easily live out your Emperor Palpatine fantasy with builds that channel pure "unlimited power" energy with Arc 3.0.

For Season of Plunder, one of the first Warlock builds that we've started playing with is a combo of new Exotics that'll turn your space wizard into a force to be reckoned with. Echoing the Solar 3.0 grenadier build that was popular in Season of the Haunted, combining these two Exotics and fine-tuning your armor mods, Aspects, and Fragments can create a Guardian that disintegrates entire waves of enemies with relative ease. Here's how you can turn your Warlock into an elemental force to be reckoned with.

A new bundle is available on Fanatical that lets you score five games for just $22, picking from a catalog that includes Dishonored 2, Fallout 4, The Evil Within 2, and more.

Koei Tecmo has released a new gameplay trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, a new Souls-like action game from Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, and Stranger of Paradise developer Team Ninja.

The trailer shows off the game's intense-looking swordfighting based on Chinese martial arts. The gameplay trailer also spotlights some of the otherworldly enemies and environments that players will explore. Check it out below.

Koei Tecmo also announced that the first publicly playable demo for Wo Long will be available at Koei Tecmo's booth at the Tokyo Game Show, which begins September 15. Producers Fumihiko Yasuda and Masaaki Yamagiwa will be on hand at the event to showcase a brand-new stage.

Speaking to IGN, Yasuda said the biggest different from Nioh, in terms of gameplay, is an emphasis on speed.

"There's no stamina gauge like you had in Nioh, so you'll constantly be confronted by a multitude of situations in which you need to react immediately. You can choose to play more aggressively, but there are also a lot of new ways to evade enemy attacks."

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is in the works for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC for release in early 2023. The game will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass for subscribers on console and PC.

With Destiny 2’s Season of the Plunder came loads of new weapons and gear to hunt for, but players have been eagerly seeking the new craftable Taipan-4FR Void Legendary linear fusion rifle that comes from a pretty straightforward quest. This quest isn’t part of the seasonal story, and it feels more like a review on how to craft weapons at the Enclave's Relic. There's a chance to get the red border Deepsight Taipan-4FR to drop from activities, but this quest guarantees that you'll receive enough to be able to craft your own.

You don't need to be a god roll enthusiast to see that Taipan-4FR has the potential to become a powerful Heavy weapon for PvE activities after upgrading its Weapon Level. Traits like Clown Cartridge and Firing Line become available at Weapon Level 10, and Triple Tap at level 8. Those traits make it strong, but Enhanced traits (better versions of the original traits) become available at the Relic at higher Weapon Levels. This linear fusion also has the Veist Stinger Origin trait, where damaging an enemy can reload the magazine and increase movement speed when aiming down sights. All of this is to say, being able to craft a linear fusion rifle with exactly the right perks--when it also has Veist Stinger--is something you shouldn't skip.

Apex Legends has long been an engaging and fast-paced battle royale that is brought to life by a multitude of playable legends, each bringing something unique to your team's composition. A myriad of defensive, offensive, support, and recon characters ensure that players have plenty of freedom to choose what type of role they'd be best at, but there will always be a few legends that sit on the top of the game’s meta--just as there will always be some that fall short of greatness. Here's our tier list of the best legends in Apex Legends.

S-Tier

These legends are invaluable additions to any team composition and have few, if any, major weaknesses. In this tier, we have three legends.

Bloodhound

Bloodhound consistently ranks among the most used characters and boasts an incredible win rate. This is due to their staggeringly good kit of abilities, the best of which is a tactical that scans enemies through walls to reveal their location to all teammates. Additionally, they can track the location of enemies on the ground to find engagements, and their ultimate speeds them up and grants them quicker recharge time on their tactical ability. There simply isn’t a better recon character to have on your team.

Wraith

Developer Sloclap has revealed that Sifu's summer update is launching on August 31. The update adds several new features to the action beat-'em-up game, including gameplay modifiers, a scoring system, and more outfits.

The new gameplay modifiers can both make Sifu a whole lot easier or more difficult. You could, for instance, make Sifu more approachable by giving yourself infinite health or unbreakable weapons, or really test your skills by removing respawns or reducing the protagonist's max health to one hit point.

You can mix and match modifiers to your heart's content. Using the ones that make the game easier will prevent you from earning Trophies, however.

If turned on, the new scoring system allows you to work towards a letter grade with each encounter. The system takes into account your successful combos and finishers, as well as how often you're hit. But there's more to this system than the bragging rights.

"Getting high scores will unlock some extra content such as outfits or new gameplay modifiers," Sloclap marketing manager Felix Garczynski said at a Sifu preview event. "For example, the bullet time mode or the low gravity--options that are really just for fun--will be unlocked through the scoring system."

As for outfits, the summer update adds both the Enforcer Armor and Master Hand. The former is only unlocked if you buy the Deluxe Edition of Sifu, while the latter is available for everyone. Notably, the Master Hand has gameplay ramifications, dressing the protagonist up in a stylish coat and hat. The hat will only stay on your head as long as you haven't been hit, however, so the only way to keep the hat on for the entire game is to make it through Sifu's entire story without suffering a single blow.

Pokemon Unite is getting three new champions in September: Mew, Dodrio, and Scizor. Their release dates will be staggered across the month. Mew will arrive first on September 9, Dodrio on September 14, and Scizor on September 28.

Mew is a ranged attacker and has more learnable moves than other Pokemon. Uniquely, it can also forget and learn moves again during battle--something other units can't. Usually, when you select a skill for a Pokemon, the Pokemon can't change it mid-battle. To get Mew, players will need to collect mural fragments. How these fragments are earned is currently unknown.

Accompanying Mew is a new map called Theia Sky Ruins Unearthed. It's a floating arena with Legendary Pokemon to fight and will also host Legacy Trainer Showdowns--a new feature where players can fight against Trainers from various Pokemon titles, including Raihan and Leon from Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as Korrina from Pokemon X and Y. All ranked and standard matches will be moved to Theia Sky Ruins starting September 2.

Earlier today, a report suggested that Amazon was set to announce an acquisition of games mega publisher Electronic Arts. However, a subsequent report has swiftly refuted that notion. All of this comes amid previous reports that EA had been exploring the possibility of an acquisition or merger. Following the news of the rumored deal, Amazon's stock briefly rose before settling down again in morning trade.

According to sources that spoke to GLHF, Amazon's purchase of EA Games was set to be announced later today, but that claim has been disputed by CNBC. "I have talked to some people who would actually know if there was something going on, and they say there's nothing going on," CNBC's David Farber said. Farber also mentioned that Comcast-NBC Universal had been approached by EA for a potential deal, but it eventually fell through.