Gamespot

Diablo Immortal's next "mini-update" is set to introduce a slew of limited-time events into Blizzard's free-to-play mobile game, but it may be changes to multiplayer requirements for high-difficulty dungeons that will interest players the most.

Headlining the new update, which goes live August 17, is the new Fractured Plane limited-time event. As detailed in a new Blizzard blog, the Fractured Plane will task players with overcoming a 15-floor gauntlet, albeit with a catch. Entering the event will replace a player's existing loadouts with a selection of pre-selected skills. From there, players will discover temporary legendary gear to use over the course of the run. Players who conquer all 15 floors without dying more than five times will be able to select six legendary items discovered during the run, and then receive one of those six at random as a reward.

Blizzard writes that the event is a way of getting players to try new skills and items they wouldn't normally use, and provides "players with an opportunity to start from scratch to see how well they can play their class no matter the circumstances." No end date for the Fractured Plane event is given in Blizzard's patch notes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will launch on October 28, rebooting the title in 2022 and reuniting players with the series' iconic characters from Task Force 141. Here is everything you need to know in order to get hands-on with the game before launch.

Modern Warfare 2 MP beta platforms and dates

Activision has announced that Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer beta will be open to everyone, regardless of platform or whether you've preordered the game. However, PlayStation users will get first access to the beta, and those who preorder the game will get early access as well.

The beta begins September 16 with the early access period for people who have pre-ordered, before opening up to all PlayStation members September 18-20. Xbox and PC players can jump in for the second weekend, starting September 22 for those who have preordered. Finally, Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer beta will be open to all players for the final weekend from September 24-26.

• PlayStation Early Access: September 16-17
• All PlayStation Access: September 18-20
• All Platform Preorder Access: September 22-23
• Open beta for everyone: September 24-26

How to play the MP beta

If you're on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC, you just need to find the beta in your platform's store and download it. The beta will be completely free. Notably, Call of Duty PC players will still be able to play on the usual Battle.net launcher, but Modern Warfare 2 will now give the option to also play on Steam.

By now, you've probably seen it: the young heroine of the upcoming game Forspoken flits her way through empty fields and hadokens bad guys into pillars of ash, quipping all the way. "So, let me get this straight…" she begins, adopting the ironic, mocking tone of so many contemporary pop culture heroes. Throw in some mentions of "freaking dragons" and "killing jacked-up beasts," and you have the makings of an instant internet meme.

It didn't take long for people to start cracking jokes at the ad's expense. Content creator and voice actor ProZD was one of the first to get in on the action:

FunnyWes from Bloodborne PSX put together an amusing take on FromSoftware's beloved game:

When Epic added the new Charge SMG to the Fortnite loot pool this season, pretty much everybody reacted the same way: "What the hell is this, and why would I bother with it?" The very sight of the thing, which required players to hold the trigger to charge up a long, impossibly fast burst of bullets, was met with revulsion.

The folks I play with wouldn't even touch the thing, and that seems to still be the prevailing wisdom on Reddit and other places where folks discuss Fortnite amongst themselves. It has its defenders, of course--nothing is ever truly universally disliked--but they're usually drowned out by the haters.

Despite all the rhetoric, I had some success with the thing, getting a few winning kills with it not long after the gun was added to the game in July. But then I stopped using it, some combination of the general disdain and the weirdness of the gun poisoning my mind against it. And I became like everybody else, audibly scoffing every time a Charge SMG popped out of a loot chest.

But no more of that. I recently got back on the Charge SMG train, and I don't want to get off. And though I may feel alone in my enjoyment of this thing, I actually do have some good company on my side: both Loserfruit and Ninja have produced videos where they were pleasantly surprised by the thing.

The official PC Games Pass Twitter account changed its profile picture to something that looks an awful lot like Death Stranding's Icelandic American vistas, prompting speculation that the package delivery game would be coming to Game Pass.

The account changed its profile to the image above and then tweeted "sometimes we just like a good landscape picture #NewProfilePic" Though the picture doesn't have any recognizable landmarks from the game, its foggy, lush, and rock-laden mountainscape certainly fits Death Stranding's bill.

Keep in mind though that this is the PC Game Pass account, not Xbox Game Pass. None of the other Game Pass Twitter accounts have made similar teases. Additionally, both the launch edition and the Director's Cut of Death Stranding have already received PC ports. Therefore, if Death Stranding is coming to Game Pass, it may only be on PC. That means this news doesn't indicate that Death Stranding will go cross-platform or reveal anything about Kojima's upcoming partnership Xbox Game Studios.

After years of fans longing for a way to merge their Overwatch profiles across various consoles, Blizzard is finally adding cross-progression to the popular first-person hero shooter. With the addition of this feature, players will gain access to all their in-game cosmetics and statistics regardless of what platform they are playing on. The merge will officially go into effect on October 4--the same day Overwatch 2 launches--though those looking to take advantage of cross-progression can enable the feature starting today.

Merging your various Overwatch accounts into one comprehensive profile is as simple as logging in using any one of the systems you play on. Once you are logged in, you should be immediately prompted to identify, select, and confirm the accounts you wish to merge. Players will be able to merge one account from each of the following platforms: Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Once you complete these steps, Blizzard will prepare your accounts for synchronization. Be warned, however, that if you do not go through the steps to merge your profiles when the game prompts you to, you will forfeit the ability to do so at a later date. Furthermore, once you merge a console account, you will be unable to link to a different console account on the same platform.

All players looking to merge their accounts must have a Battle.net account, which you should theoretically have already if you've previously played Overwatch. Once you elect to merge your accounts, all your cosmetics and progress across systems will be stored using on this account, which will then share the content across your system profiles.

The end of Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted is fast approaching. However, fans looking for a bit more story before they say goodbye are in luck. Players logging into Destiny 2 for the last week of Season of the Haunted will receive a message that says High Alert: Anomaly Detected - H.E.L.M. This message will show up in the Milestones tab on the Destination page as well, marking the final story beat for Season of the Haunted. The ship's proximity to the Nightmare-ridden Leviathan and the Crown of Sorrow has brought strange things onto the H.E.L.M., such as the growth of Egregore. Now, concluding the story of Season of the Haunted, Calus has one last message for the Guardian.

Players don't just get a story bit, they also get rewards for completing this short quest. Next, the Milestone says to debrief with Zavala at the Tower--this gives players an Ascendant Shard, and an Exotic Sparrow called Trauermarsch that matches the Season of the Haunted's gear theme. These rewards are one-per-account, which means completing this Milestone on another character will only give an Umbral Engram.

With Season of the Haunted's story concluded, next week's reset starts Season 18. Bungie hasn't given any details about the upcoming seasonal story or the Arc 3.0 subclass changes. Earlier, the This Week at Bungie post shared information on Exotic weapon and armor changes players will see next season. Players may get additional information from this week's Bungie post or may have to wait until Bungie hosts its Destiny 2 Lightfall showcase on August 22--all we know so far is that the showcase will delve into the next major expansion.

QuakeCon 2022 kicks off on August 18, but ahead of the event, you’ll find tons of great Bethesda games available with steep discounts. PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC are all represented in the savings, with hit games like Deathloop, Fallout 4, and plenty of retro hits on sale for low prices. Below you’ll find a breakout of some of the best deals.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic's pre-patch will arrive August 30 and will allow players to create Death Knights, level up the new Inscription profession, and more.

Blizzard has outlined the pre-patch schedule in a new blog post. Come August 30, all existing Burning Crusade Classic servers will be converted into Wrath of the Lich King Classic servers. In addition to Death Knights and Inscription, the patch will also introduce the achievement system and introduce major changes to each of the game's classes.

Alongside details about the pre-patch, Blizzard has outlined when the expansion's first raids and arena season will begin. Arena season 5 will launch October 4, with the expansion's opening raids of Naxxramas, the Obsidian Sanctum, and The Eye of Eternity unlocking October 6.

Disney's D23 expo kicks off in September, and this year there'll be a digital showcase devoted to featuring new content from upcoming Disney and Marvel games, hosted by Kinda Funny’s Blessing Adeoye Jr., and livestreamed through its social channels. According to Disney, new reveals for Disney Dreamlight Valley, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, as well as the first look at Skydance New Media's Marvel game.

Described as a Marvel ensemble game, the game was officially confirmed in October last year and development is being led by Uncharted writer and director Amy Hennig. Skydance New Media's game will be a "narrative-driven, blockbuster action-adventure" title featuring an original story set in the Marvel universe.

In the reveal for the project, Hennig described it as a game about "humanity, complexity, and humor" set in the Marvel universe. Beyond the Skydance project, there's plenty of other content on the horizon that features Disney and Marvel properties. Disney Dreamlight Valley might look like it's inspired by Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, but this slice-of-life sim makes plenty of effort to differentiate itself from those properties.

Call of Duty Season 5 is just around the corner, and Treyarch has confirmed the upcoming season will include "The Archon" as the final map for Vanguard Zombies.

Treyarch tweeted a Zombies teaser on August 15, saying "Koritfex must die. Vanguard Zombies concludes in Season 5 with The Archon." The developer included an image of the logo artwork for The Archon, which is a stone-style text with glowing red symbols. The tweet also added confirmation that this final map is going to be a traditional round-based experience.

Since launch, the Zombies' Dark Aether storyline has focused on Vanguard operators working with Professor Krafft and others to stop Nazi commander Oberführer Von List, who used a mystical artifact to bond with the Dark Aether's God-like creature Kortifex the Deathless. Using Kortifex's power to reanimate the dead, Von List planned to use an army of the dead to win World War II. With Season 5's release, it sounds like the Vanguard operators are finally ready to bring the fight to Kortifex and stop Von List and his Nazi zombies.

Square Enix has announced that Chosen Traveler Primrose is now a playable character in its mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. Players can claim Primrose for free and add her to their parties.

Primrose's character is described as a "beauty sharpening the fangs of revenge in this desert land." Her abilities will include the following:

• Power
• Dancer
• Sunshade

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is set years before Octopath Traveler. Players will have the opportunity to experience a new original story while exploring the world of Orsterra. Players in-game are known as "the Chosen One" and will fight enemies who want to unleash darkness on your land.

Similarly to the original Octopath Traveler, Champions of the Continent has 2D pixel art mixed with 3D/CG effects. During combat, players will have eight party members and will be able to select over 64 playable characters in-game. In addition, players will have the opportunity to speak to NPCs, and how you talk to them will affect how they view you.

Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a free-to-play mobile game. You can download it on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

For more Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent news, check out our interview with the dev team.

Apex Legends updates frequently bring new bugs to the game. But while last season's bugs had a serious impact on gameplay, many of Season 14's bugs have proven to be both helpful and hilarious. Such is the case for a new bug that allows Horizon to attach her Black Hole ultimate ability to Vantage's tactical Echo Relocation ability. The result? A flying black hole that can chase fleeing enemies and suck them into Horizon's drone.

Deliver Us Mars, an adventure game from developer Keoken Interactive, is the latest game to be delayed this year. The title, which was initially set to release on September 27, will now come out on February 2, 2023.

A statement from the developer reads, "Whilst we understand this news might be disappointing, we are excited for you all to face the challenges of Mars, traverse its hostile environments, and discover the mystery of the ARKs. Your patience will allow us to deliver the best experience we can."

You can read the full statement below:

Deliver Us Mars takes place on the surface of the red planet, putting players in the shoes of Kathy Johnson, who goes there with a team of astronauts to retrieve technology that can revitalize life on Earth. All the while, Kathy is seemingly in pursuit of answers surrounding her father's disappearance and believes she may find them on Mars. Keoken is hoping to deliver an "immersive astronaut experience" as Kathy climbs across Mars' landscapes and caves, treks through its dust storms, and solves puzzles in abandoned stations.

Deliver Us Mars will land on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and Xbox One on February 2.

NFL Blitz, the beloved over-the-top football game that was a staple in the late '90s, is returning this fall as a home arcade cabinet from Arcade1Up. The new cabinet is dubbed NFL Blitz Legends and includes remastered versions of the first three games in the series: NFL Blitz, NFL Blitz '99, and NFL Blitz 2000: Gold Edition. NFL Blitz Legends is available to preorder now for $600 ahead of its early October release.

NFL Blitz Legends was made in partnership with the NFL, and Arcade1Up also worked with the Field Greats Association (FGA) to get real NFL legends in the games like they were originally. While it's unclear at this time if all of the players who appeared in the original games will be present in the cabinet versions, Arcade1Up provided a list of some of the stars who are on board:

There's no denying that we all love taking on the role of adorable animals in video games, and an upcoming Steam game called Squirrel with a Gun promises to capitalize on that by letting us play as the titular rodent while wielding a deadly weapon. Precious!

See, while the recent feline-centric Stray let us experience what it's like to be a cat, Squirrel With A Gun will let us enjoy the everyday life of a squirrel doing typical squirrel things--you know, like holding up a human at gunpoint and stealing their iPhone. In other words, it's pretty standard stuff.

Four years will have passed by the time that God of War Ragnarok arrives, and if your memory is feeling rusty, then you have two options for a refresh on all things Kratos. You can either read, or you can cut out the heavy mental lifting and watch a story recap instead.

Sony is offering both of those options for anyone looking to find out about what went down in 2018's God of War game, so if you're in the mood for some reading, you can click here and visit the PS Blog for a text-based recap. Option B is more exciting, as it features a storybook format hosted by Felicia Day and the severed head of Mimir. You can watch the Myths of Midgard video below, but naturally, there are spoilers ahead. If you're looking to simply play God of War before its sequel arrives, the game is available on PS Plus Extra and Premium for PS5 and PS4, the PS5's PS Plus Collection library, and can also be purchased on PC.

Several fire engines were reportedly called to Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters today after a fire broke out in the building. Nintendo's Japan headquarters contains business and game development departments, and has multiple floors.

According to police reports through Japanese media (via VGC), a fire broke out on the third floor and partially burned several desks and chairs, but fortunately, no one was injured. While the police and fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire, it's believed that the small blaze was started by an electronic device that was being charged.

Even if the entire building did catch fire, Nintendo has contingency plans to help it continue operating. As Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained to shareholders previously, the company will prioritize protecting its employees in the wake of a natural disaster, secure assets for a recovery effort, and implement "various proactive measures " to get its operations back up and running.

Japan sits on the most active earthquake belt in the world and is also currently experiencing a record summer that has seen the temperature soar to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit on several days. Nintendo announced that it would soon be expanding in order to have more game development space. The company plans to to build two new major offices where more games can be developed in-house, and the first building will be located next to Nintendo's current Kyoto headquarters.

Private Division has announced that it will be publishing a game set in J.R.R Tolkien's Middle-earth universe developed by the Weta Workshop, a company best known for their VFX and prop work in the cinematic adaptations of both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Middle-earth Enterprises has licensed the "literary works of the series" to the developer to work from and interpret in this upcoming game. “The Lord of the Rings IP is home to so many remarkable stories, and no entity is better equipped than the team at Weta Workshop to create a distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience," reads a statement from Private Division on the partnership.

Though Weta Workshop is mostly known for its effects work in film, the company did form a gaming division in 2014 that is now working on this title. Little is known about the game currently, but Private Division's statement does note that the title is early in development and currently slated for release in Take-Two's (which owns Private Division) 2024 fiscal year. This means that barring any delays, folks should expect to play this game between April 2023 and March 2024.

We're at the start of a new week and that can only mean one thing: a fresh Wordle guide. We're back with more Wordle answers after the weekend. Today, August 15, brings a fairly common word for the answer, but players can certainly still struggle to guess the word. In order to help any players that are struggling to formulate guesses, we have a list of hints, and even the full answer to the August 15 Wordle.

I personally was able to guess this answer by going with one of our recommended starting words, and then going with a couple more words to get four letters, some of which were in the right spot. From there, I plugged in a word that made sense with the letters and structure I had, and it turned out to be the right answer. For players that might not get that lucky with their guesses, we have a couple of hints to get your mind on the right track. We also have the full answer further down for players that simply want to move on from today's Wordle.

Today's Wordle Answer - August 15, 2022

We'll begin with two hints that will help players get on the right line of thinking for their guesses. The hints might give away the answer to some players, and others might have to read the full answer below the hints.

Genshin Impact's version 3.0 update, The Morn A Thousand Roses Brings, will go live on August 24. Developer HoYoverse says that this update will add new characters and quests in the Sumeru region, which has expansive rainforest, desert, and city sections.

The big gameplay edition will be the Dendro element, the seventh and final piece in Genshin Impact's elemental system. According to the developer, Dendro can trigger burning, bloom, and catalyze reactions when used with pyro, hydro, and electro elements respectively, with more advanced combinations also available.

As for the Sumero region, the rainforest features plants and creatures with dendro characteristics and monsters can switch between different states or attack sequences on the fly. You can expect Shroom-kin to be dominant here and a new boss enemy, the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, definitely won't be a fun guy to tangle with. Another new Boss enemy is the Electro Regisvine, which lurks deep within the rainforest.

Dendro characters will be added to the roster of playable ones and include five-star character Tighnari, a researcher who can do charged attack and elemental burst damage over multiple phases, and Tighnari's protege Collei, a four-star character who can obtained by completing the Graven Innocence seasonal event.

Microsoft has kept exact details on Xbox One sales close to its chest for several years now, but the company has confirmed that its console was outsold by the PS4 by a very wide margin.

"Sony has surpassed Microsoft in terms of console sales and installed base, having sold more than twice as many Xbox in the last generation," Microsoft explained in Portuguese documents submitted to Brazil's national competition regulator (via a Game Luster translation and The Verge).

Sony recently confirmed that it was winding down production on the PS4 and that it will no longer report shipments of its last-gen console, which had lifetime sales of 117.2 million as of March 2022. That would mean that Microsoft sold less than 58.5 million units, which is roughly in line with an Ampere Analysis report that estimated the install base of the Xbox One to be at 51 million units as of Q2 2020.

Metroid is a classic game that is often understood as a clumsy run at the ideas that would be perfected in Super Metroid. However, older tech and design sensibilities do not merely limit, they also facilitate. Metroid’s particular virtues can be obscured by the impression that some sequel or remake does what it was trying to do better. While there is a clear lineage between them, Super Metroid has distinctly different sensibilities than its predecessors. Super Metroid is not a refinement. Rather, it emphasizes certain elements of a potentially wide genre space. Revisiting Metroid with an open mind and clear eyes shows a world of possibility that Super confines.

There's no getting around the fact that Metroid can be difficult to revisit. It was treading new ground in a time that had foundationally different sensibilities than now. It can come across as unfair, even cruel, and it is without the more contemporary affordances of a map and plainly stated objectives. That bareness, though, is a strength, making its hostile alien world more difficult to comprehend. While new abilities increase survivability, the world never really becomes safe in the way it can in later entries. Infinitely spawning enemies, deliberately confusing layouts, and the lack of clear markers for items make the world strange and at least a little unknowable.

While Metroid is without plot except in the barest gestures, it does have an arc. As Samus descends deeper into the planet Zebes, the more metallic and cold the environment becomes--until she reaches its source, the horrific prison of flesh and metal that is Mother Brain. A metal heart beats at the center of a wild world, a steel poison creeps through plant-covered capillaries. It's legitimately poetic, but relies entirely on imagery to make its point. Even the notoriously silent Super Metroid is more explicit.

The MultiVersus Season 1 patch notes have been released, introducing a fresh set of changes to the Warner Bros. platform fighter in two waves: the first today, and the second "shortly afterward."

Battle pass progression gets a major boost in this new patch, with post-match point rewards doubling from five per win and three per loss to 10 per win and three per loss. Certain battle pass missions have also been made easier--the "Get 125 Assists" season quest has been reduced to just 50 assists, for example--while all class-specific daily missions (except Tank-based quests) have been temporarily removed.

Bugs Bunny, Velma, and Finn have been dramatically changed in the MultiVersus Season 1 patch, with all three fighters receiving massive downgrades after dominating the competitive scene in the early going. Iron Giant also received some nerfs, while Garnet, Arya Stark, and Lebron all saw multiple buffs.

The Season 1 patch comes after a slight delay, which was announced by the official MultiVersus Twitter account just days before the original August 8 release date. The first new character of the season, Morty Smith from Rick and Morty, will join the roster August 23, followed by Rick Sanchez himself later in the season.

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.

Solstice is probably my least favorite of Destiny 2's annual events. The summertime celebration originally kicked off alongside the Moments of Triumph, marking the end of a Destiny year and helping players commemorate all the cool stuff they'd done with a nice set of glowing armor to boot--but it tended to be a heavily grindy event that lacked the fun personality of Halloween's Festival of the Lost or The Dawning of the holiday season. Solstice also tends to be an intense grind, and if there's one thing I'm not a fan of in the Destiny games, it's grinding content over and over.

For 2022, Bungie made some significant changes to Solstice, however. It altered the way its special event armor works, adjusted the special EAZ location and the events that take place there, and introduced a new "Event Card" system, both for ticking off objectives and for earning premium rewards as part of the event. Solstice looks very different in 2022, and now that it's over, we can take a look at the three-week summertime celebration to run down what worked, what didn't, and what we might expect from additional annual events as Destiny 2 goes forward.

THQ has revealed more information about its upcoming project SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake during its 2022 games showcase. SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake is a "spiritual sequel" to Battle For Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated, which was released in 2020.

The Cosmic Shake will be a 3D platformer with themes focused on the worlds, costumes, and banter between SpongeBob and Patrick. Players will travel throughout different periods, such as the Wild West, Prehistoric, and more, while Patrick accompanies you as a small balloon.

In SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake, SpongeBob messes with the fabric of the universe while playing with a vial of wish-fulfilling Mermaid's Tears. Because of that, Patrick is turned into a balloon. This sends SpongeBob on an adventure across time to fix his mistakes and restore Bikini Bottom.

In Battle For Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated, players were able to play as SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy. But, The Cosmic Shake will only have SpongeBob as a playable character, so THQ gave him more abilities, such as a flying karate kick or being able to roll around on big rocks. In addition, players will also have the opportunity to unlock classic costumes for SpongeBob too.

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake currently does not have a release date. But it's expected to launch on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

THQ Nordic rounded out its showcase on August 12 by ever so slightly teasing a new South Park game in the works.

The tease consisted of the South Park Digital Studios logo and a sound byte of fan-favorite character Randy Marsh during a particularly… high-pressure moment, before saying "It's coming." Let's just say that it's a safe bet this new game will have a sufficient amount of toilet humor for returning South Park fans.

The announcement comes long after THQ initially lost the publishing rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth in a sale to Ubisoft back when it filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The publisher subsequently went under before the trademark for its name was bought by Nordic Games, and the brand was seemingly revived. In a way, this new South Park game is a real full-circle moment.

Little else is known about the game at the time, including its title, release date, what studio will be working on it, or even what genre of game it'll be, considering the most-recent South Park games have been RPGs. After acquiring the publishing rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth, which was developed by Microsoft-owned Obsidian Entertainment, Ubisoft released the game in 2014 and followed it up with its own internally developed sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, in 2017. Since then, there has been little in the way of news about South Park games, despite their popularity.

Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted lives up to its name. Set largely in a new location, the Derelict Leviathan, the season has given the game a distinctive, sci-fi-horror atmosphere as part of both its gameplay and its story. What players experienced aboard the Leviathan is a bigger, more involved version of what Bungie first created in one of its very best levels. The Exotic mission Presage sent players to a ghost ship and told a story of madness and murder--and now we've seen what it prophesied.

The ideas that would become Presage and, later, Season of the Haunted were born when Bungie was figuring out what story it wanted to tell with an Exotic mission in 2021's Season of the Chosen. The team had been throwing around the idea of revisiting the concept of Nightmares--manifestations of memories and trauma, first introduced in the Shadowkeep expansion, that coalesce into powerful enemies players actually have to fight.

During a group interview near the start of the season that included several Bungie developers who worked on Season of the Haunted, senior narrative designer Robert Brookes explained that as the writing team was riffing on possible ideas, one derived from a particular horror movie broke loose.

The rumors were true: a new Alone in the Dark is coming, returning the series all the way back to its 1992 roots, revisiting a game that helped give birth to the survival horror genre. THQ Nordic announced the reboot during its 2022 game showcase, providing an early look at the third-person psychological horror title.

THQ gave GameSpot an early hands-off look at Alone in the Dark, which it calls a "reimagining" of and a love letter to the original. As such, it features a lot of elements from the 1992 title, including its setting, Derceto Manor, and its two main playable characters: private detective Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood. While you'll choose which character to play at the start of the game, both are an essential part of the story. Like other survival horror classics such as Resident Evil, however, Edward and Emily's stories aren't exactly the same, so to get the full picture of what happens in Alone in the Dark, you'll need to play from each character's perspective.

The trailer for Alone in the Dark gives a sense of developer Pieces Interactive's focus for the game, which is set in the Gothic American South in the 1920s. As in the original, the game centers on the mansion of Derceto Manor, but the place has been recast as a mental hospital for rich patients. As in the original game, the characters arrived looking for information about Jeremy Hartwood, but instead of trying to uncover details about the mansion owner's suicide, they're attempting to find him after Jeremy sent a strange letter to Emily. Derceto isn't the only setting you'll visit, either--there are additional locations that make up the game, including an alternate dimension world you'll visit through portals and which seem to be full of monsters.

Developer and publisher 3D Realms is looking to bring back a classic 1990s-style real-time strategy experience with Tempest Rising, an RTS that has you fighting over resources in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Publisher THQ Nordic announced the game with a new trailer during its 2022 games showcase, which shows how Tempest Rising is combining old-school inspirations with modern graphics and a more cinematic presentation.

GameSpot got an early look at Tempest Rising ahead of THQ's showcase, which included some hands-off gameplay of the game's first campaign mission, demonstrated by 3D Realms and developer Slipgate Ironworks. The story finds you taking on the role of a commander in the GDF, a faction born from Earth's governments from before a nuclear war left huge swathes of land irradiated. Facing off against the GDF is the Tempest Dynasty, a group of people who have risen from the hardscrabble life in the irradiated regions. Both factions are fighting to control a new, powerful energy resource called Tempest, which grows up from the irradiated ground like a plant.

According to Slipgate, Tempest Rising includes separate story campaigns for each of the story's two factions, with RPG-like itemization systems and choices you'll make along the way. But from the looks of things, a lot of the moment-to-moment RTS gameplay will feel familiar to fans of classics such as Command & Conquer. Units have rock-paper-scissors-style strengths and weaknesses, requiring you to bring the right fighters for the job, lest you get wiped out by a superior force.

Just like humans, aliens need places to live, and in management sim Space for Sale, you've got your chance to turn a backwater, bargain-priced solar system into a high-class homestead. There are a bunch of obstacles in your way, however, not the least of which are the creatures that call your solar system home, and the eccentric requests of your alien clientel.

THQ Nordic revealed developer Mirage Game Studio's Space for Sale with a trailer during its 2022 game showcase, which gives a sense of how the top-down management game will work. You play an astronaut property developer to various aliens, a job that requires you to set up plots and meet their potentially weird demands. As the trailer demonstrates, your main goal is to try to sell plots to aliens and earn space money, but there's more to the game than just that element.

THQ also gave GameSpot an early look at the game that illuminates a few of its other elements. Space for Sale also includes sandbox elements, so you won't just be building houses in your solar system, you'll be exploring, gathering resources, and scanning what you find as you make your way around your planets. Making money gives you the opportunity to improve your own base to get more options to improve your property-selling capabilities.

According to Mirage, planets are procedurally generated and encompass a variety of different environments--we saw a sandy desert-like world, as well as a lava-filled one. The planets you'll explore also include a bunch of weird creatures, which will add wrinkles to and play a big role in the gameplay. Some might avoid you while others are aggressive, and some might be useful to your developments, if you can figure out how to outsmart them.

Burnout Paradise was something of a seminal driving game, bringing the ridiculous, crash-happy, and expansive competitive gameplay of the Burnout series to the open-world genre. Wreckreation, the latest driving title from developer Three Fields Entertainment, very much feels like a spiritual successor to the Burnout Paradise legacy, but with a major expansion on the ideas of player control--you're not just driving in the world, you're remaking it as you see fit.

Publisher THQ Nordic announced Wreckreation during its game showcase livestream, and gave GameSpot an early look at the title earlier in the week. The first look at the game leans into the absurdity of its premise, where all sorts of vehicles can compete on player-made tracks and obstacles that can be adjusted on the fly. Wreckreation is a driving focus open-world game, and it sounds like it'll be full of opportunities for competitive vehicular nonsense.

Earlier this month, Twitch announced that TwitchCon would be returning to San Diego with no COVID-19 safety measures in place, per local California guidelines. Today, however, the company announced that it has reversed its policy, implementing a mask mandate indoors and requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for admittance into the event.

"We’ve been listening to all of your feedback and know that many of you–especially those who are immunocompromised and the people who support them–want stricter health measures in place to help you feel safe attending TwitchCon San Diego in person…Today, we’re updating our health measures to require masks in all indoor spaces at TwitchCon. Additionally, we will require all attendees to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative covid test taken within 72 hours of attending the show," reads the now-updated post on TwitchCon's website.

As Call of Duty Season 4 Reloaded continues for Warzone and Vanguard, Treyarch continues to release Year 2 content for 2020's Black Ops Cold War. The newest addition to the game is the Scythe, which is a new melee weapon that joins the most recently added UGR submachine gun. This Scythe can be used in both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, and here we walk you through all the ways you can unlock it.

How to unlock the Scythe

The Scythe is described as a two-handed melee weapon that boasts a quick swing with a wide arc for deadly efficiency. If you want to reap your enemies with this scythe, there are a few different ways you can unlock Black Ops Cold War's newest melee weapon.

Warzone

Challenge: Using a melee weapon, get two kills with Dead Silence in 15 different matches.

GOG is running an impressive deal on tons of indie games this weekend--many of which aim to put your gaming skills to the test. This War of Mine, The Last Stand: Aftermath, Expedition Zero, and more are up for grabs at great low prices, making this a great time to stock up on PC games you may have missed over the past few years.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered may have just launched on PC, but right now there are two great deals going on for the highly anticipated release. One is a straightforward gift card promotion, while the other is offering a slew of goodies--including three free games.

The first deal is through Newegg, which is offering a $10 gift card when purchasing Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC. The game is offered as a Steam key and the promotion ends tonight--so swing over to Newegg and check out the deal while you can.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight's alpha is currently in full swing, and while major story points for the upcoming expansion have largely been kept under wraps, a newly datamined conversation points towards a fan-favorite character making a major sacrifice.

It's important to note that the datamined conversation is lacking additional in-game context that could make exactly what's happening more clear. Since it's pulled from the alpha build of the game, it could also be incomplete or subject to change in some way. Still, many players aren't exactly thrilled about what the conversation implies for the fate of a certain Alliance leader. Potential spoilers for Dragonflight are below.

The datamined dialogue (via Wowhead) is a conversation between Night Elf leaders Tyrande and Malfurion, arguably the Warcraft universe's ultimate power couple. In it, Tyrande pleads for the return of the leader of the Green Dragonflight, Ysera, who was killed during the events of the Legion expansion and whose soul is currently trapped in the Shadowlands. The dialogue seems to imply that Malfurion will sacrifice his soul in exchange for Ysera's, though exactly how this would work remains unclear. Below is a snippet of the dialogue in question:

Elden Ring has been a massive hit, beyond any prior From Software action-RPG. Its success, combined with some potential leaks, has prompted speculation concerning an eventual Game Pass release. Below, we break it down, discussing how and when the sprawling Lands Between might appear on Microsoft's subscription service.

Is Elden Ring On Game Pass?

No, the massive Japanese RPG is not currently available on Game Pass.

Do We Know If Elden Ring Is Coming To Game Pass?

No. Publisher Bandai Namco, developer From Software, and Microsoft have released no information or confirmation concerning an eventual Game Pass release of the game.

Will Elden Ring Be On Game Pass?

Maybe! An error or leak, which displayed Elden Ring as available to play on the cloud with Game Pass, prompted a lot of speculation. It's absolutely possible that someone published something too early in error. On the other hand, it certainly could have been a bug, like Microsoft claimed after it was fixed. While the error is currently worth an eyebrow-raise, it's not a solid indication of an eventual Game Pass release.

Previous Bandai Namco collaborations with Game Pass might provide some insight into how an Elden Ring release on the subscription service would roll out. For example, some Bandai Namco games that have since left Game Pass show off a regular pattern: entering the service some months after launch and leaving Game Pass around a year after their inclusion. Ace Combat 7 arrived on the service on March 19, 2020, a little over a year after release, and then left Game Pass on June 15, 2021. Code Vein released on September 27, 2019, joined Game Pass in December 2020, and left on February 15, 2022, a little over two years later. Katamari Damacy Reroll launched on Xbox on November 20, 2020, joined Game Pass on August 5, 2021, and was removed from the service on July 31, 2022.

Adding an Apple TV to your setup is an easy way to upgrade your home theater. Not only do these give you access to popular apps such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, and more, but they’re faster and more responsive than most built-in smart TV platforms (and better than Roku or Fire Sticks). The Apple TV lineup usually costs a pretty penny, but there are a few refurbished models on eBay that are all listed for $100 or less, including two options that offer 4K streaming.

All three products come with the versatile Siri Remote, letting you control the action with your voice or with its intuitive control pad. The Apple TV itself is remarkably small, making it easy to find a spot for it in your entertainment center--even if it’s already cluttered with gaming consoles and other electronics.

Although these Apple TVs are being sold refurbished, they’ve been fully tested and perform like new. They’ve also been reset to the original factory settings. Better yet, the seller is listed as a trusted source by eBay, meaning you can rest easy knowing your Apple TV will function as intended. Free shipping is included, and you’ll have 30 days to return your product (free of charge) if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.

A new cheat has been discovered for 1994 Super Nintendo game Super Punch-Out, allowing two players to duke it out in PVP mode. Discovered by the Twitter account Unlisted Cheats, which specialises in unearthing previously unknown cheats for classic games, the two-player mode consists of two newly-discovered cheat inputs.

As Unlisted Cheats explains, only two cheats were previously known for the game, a sound test and a mode that allowed Japanese name input. Each cheat requires a combination of just two buttons. The account found a new cheat which would put the player in a "free play" kind of mode, allowing them to select which of the game's rivals they want to face. If this mode is selected, a second combination of buttons will allow the second gamepad to control the rival character normally controlled by the CPU.

To enable the cheat, which can be used on an original SNES copy of the game with no modifications, players have to hold Y+R on the second gamepad while on the title pad, then use the first gamepad to press A or Start. This will take you to the character select screen.