Sony's two new PlayStation Plus subscription tiers now offer a seven-day free trial.

Both the PlayStation Plus Extra (£10.99/month) and Premium (£13.49/month) options will now give you seven days to try the service before being billed.

It's worth noting these trials are not available separately - you are essentially selecting to sign up to Extra/Premium via their various monthly/three-monthly/annual billing options, and just get seven days free up front.

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Rumors are swirling that another familiar face might be on its way to Epic Games’ everpopular battle royale game. If you’re wondering whether Goku is coming to Fortnite then we’re here to break everything down for you.

A huge part of Fortnite’s continued success is due to Epic Games’ incredible post-launch support of the game, which has included consistent updates and numerous crossover events. Fortnite has become so much more than a battle royale title over the years, creating something of a meta for itself as characters from all across pop culture have found their way into the game. Now, it looks as though Dragon Ball Z’s Goku might be next.

Is Dragon Ball’s Goku Coming to Fortnite?

Well, that’s if leaks from datamined game files prove correct. HYPEX, a well-known dataminer in the Fortnite community, noted over on Twitter that a new cel-shaded Creative prop called the ‘Stamina Container’ sports a logo nearly identical to that of the ‘Capsule Corp’ logo from the Dragon Ball franchise. It’s also surrounded by the same anime outline as other anime cosmetics seen in Fortnite previously, such as Naruto.

So, what could this mean? Could Goku be coming to Fortnite, or is this a more general tease for a Dragon Ball Z crossover event of some kind?

A few weeks ago, Rare received the tragic news of the passing of Rob Ashby.

Rob was the stalwart of our customer service and support teams, taking care of online safety and security across our studio and games. In the six years Rob was with us at Rare, he grew our customer service capability for Sea of Thieves as it grew from pre-launch to the at-scale game it is today.

Although a private person, Rob was a friend, colleague, mentor and crewmate to so many of us at Rare, and equally to our partner teams. We all thought the world of him, and the news of his passing has weighed heavy on us all. Rob was a kind and thoughtful person; someone who dedicated his career to the incredibly important work that goes on behind-the-scenes to make games what they are.

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Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter's #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week it's another big one, because my eye was caught by Columbo 64, bullying dice, a variety of horrible horror games, and just some great-looking colours. Come admire!

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Ahead of its monumental acquisition by Microsoft, Activision now has an official publisher page on Steam.

In recent years, the company has favoured Battle.net for its PC games. However, this new page on Steam suggests that Activision is readying itself for the completion of the biggest deal in gaming history.

Fans of Activision's various franchises have taken to forums such as Reddit and ResetEra to share their feelings about this move by Activision. In short, everyone is hopeful about what this might mean for the developer's various games on PC (ahem, Tony Hawk).

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Japanese actor and voice artist Jun Shison will portray Kurama in the live-action Netflix adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho. This news comes a day after the initial reveal of live-action Yusuke, whom Takumi Kitamura of Tokyo Revengers will portray. An image released alongside the announcement gives us a look at what Kurama will look like in the show. We can see his signature red hair and Chinese-inspired outfit. [Thanks, Comic Natalie!]

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Previous live-action roles from Shison include Masa in The Way of the Househusband and Atsumu “Yukiatsu” Matsuyuki in Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. He also voiced protagonist Hibiki in Bubble, starring alongside voice actor veterans such as Mamoru Miyano and Yuki Kaji.

Shison states that he's been a fan of Yu Yu Hakusho since his student years and was surprised he got the part. While he is happy, he also feels immense pressure because of how many Kurama fans there are. He also states that he thinks the reason Yu Yu Hakusho remains so popular is because of the character dynamics. While everyone fights for their own reasons, they hold respect for each other and fight for each other, which is something everyone in any country or generation can relate to.

The UK government has called for games companies to take greater responsibility in protecting children and young people from harm linked to loot boxes, including mental health issues and gambling problems. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said that games companies and platforms needed to ensure parental purchase controls and age restrictions were in place to let kids play without the risk of harm, and to put parents’ minds at ease. Xbox’s parental restrictions on loot box purchases for under-18s were singled out for praise, and the government now say they will legislate if the rest of the industry doesn’t follow suit.

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Eagle-eyed fans have spotted four unannounced factions in an official Total War: Warhammer 3 developer video released by Creative Assembly.

Skip to the 9:50 mark in the video below and you'll hear the studio team discussing victory conditions, and see an exhaustive list of factions noted under the heading "Domination Campaign Victory".

Intriguingly, this list includes four factions new to the Total War: Warhammer series and unannounced so far. These, fans reckon, are likely candidates for DLC in future.

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A new report states that Russia is looking into making its own game engine. This comes as support from other companies has been pulled following Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

The report by Kommersant (via PC Gamer) states that "a number of major players in the Russian IT market including VK" [Russia's own Facebook alternative] are currently in talks with the Ministry of Digital Development to create a "domestic game engine (a means of developing video games) and the possibility of allocating state funding for it."

Talks regarding this new engine began in May, when Russian developers allegedly voiced their concerns that they will soon have limited access to other engines such as Unreal or Unity. During these talks, the initiative was described as "important and urgent" for Russia's video game developers.

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The developer of PowerWash Simulator has told players not to look at the sun, in order to avoid a game-crashing bug.

This bug is linked to the game's lens flare, developer FuturLab has said, and can occur on Xbox consoles when playing in multiplayer.

Reducing the amount of time you look at the sun "isn't a great workaround", the developer admitted via a post to Twitter. But until a hotfix (sorry) is rolled out, it's all there is. And, y'know, not looking directly at the sun is just solid advice in general.

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Pokemon nerds, listen up: The Pokemon Company is looking for an archivist to create an “internal The Pokemon Company International Company Archive and Museum.” As the archivist, your job will be to develop a company archive to catalog all pieces of lore, both in-game and out. This will include all eight (nine, if you include Scarlet and Violet) generations of games and span around 1,000 species of Pokemon. [Thanks, Vice!]

The Pokemon archivist will need to create both physical and digital archives. They will also need to provide a “descriptive metadata schema” so that others can search through them. This data bank will encompass the games, anime, movies, and trading card game. Since this is a “museum,” the archivist will need to acquire “artifacts” such as cards. You likely will not need to include all of the Pokemon-related goods or jewelry that other companies have released. Lastly, you will have to create a security protocol.

Please stay cool today and drink lots of liquids! And stay indoors if you can - it's absolutely baking outside.

To take the edge off just a little bit, here's a quick list of some of our favourite chilly video games.

Is this video games' greatest icy mountain? It's certainly the only one where you can race a penguin through its innards. Rumour has it that Mario 64's designers sometimes built locations before they had decided what to do with them, and there's something of the open-ended playground here. Cool, Cool Mountain belongs on any list of beautiful, chilly video games, but it's also an heir to Isamu Noguchi's legendary Play Mountain.

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So, after all the interviews and surveys and research and committee hearings, all the 'surprise mechanics' memes and hyperbolic tweets full of false equivalence ("They're just like football stickers"... "They're basically casinos")... After all that, the UK Government has done what any parent would when faced with two squabbling children: shout "just sort it out would you?" and close the door.

The UK Government was always unlikely to legislate against loot boxes. For one, the video games industry contributes nearly £3bn to the UK economy, which is more than double the fishing industry (and if Brexit has taught us anything, fishing must be one of the most important industries in the world). It understandably doesn't want to meddle in one of the UK's fastest growing sectors.

Legislating against loot boxes is also going to be expensive. If the Government did decide that loot boxes are a form of gambling, then it would require a massive expansion of the Gambling Commission. The NERA Economic Consulting 2021 Report estimated that it would almost double the Commission's annual costs. Meanwhile, the communications regulator Ofcom, which could help here, have their hands tied by the ongoing farce that is the Online Safety Bill.

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It usually takes a well-balanced lineup to achieve success for a team sport, which is almost always the case in Mario Strikers: Battle League. Having a good team composition ensures that you are covered both on the offensive and defensive sides of things, and depending on your preferences, you might lean towards either end when picking your squad. If you are looking for the best teams in Mario Strikers: Battle League, read on.

Best Teams in Mario Strikers: Battle League

Whether you are just starting out in Mario Strikers: Battle League or looking to win another championship to add to the mantle, there are just some teams that make sense when it comes to specific situations. Together with a specialized goal-scoring threat, the rest of the team will have great supporting functions to keep you winning in even the toughest of battles.

Even though Genshin Impact Version 2.8 has recently debuted, we’ve already gotten many details and sneak peeks regarding the 3.0 update. So, if you want to find out about this newest version, here’s an accumulation of rumors and leaks, including a release date, and potential banners for Genshin Impact 3.0.

Genshin Impact 3.0 Release Date

Based on miHoYo’s previous six-month timeframes, Genshin Impact Version 3.0 will come out on Aug. 24, 2022. But, be aware that the release date can change over time since other circumstances can affect the game’s development. Nonetheless, fans can still look forward to the eventual debut of new characters, items, and locations.

Genshin Impact Banners

Although information about the upcoming update is vague, Genshin Impact’s official Twitter did showcase its latest members: Tighnari, Collei, and Dori. With these details in mind, they will likely be the newest character banners, though they haven’t been officially confirmed yet.

It’s shaping up to be a somewhat quieter week for War of the Visions, though there’s still plenty of new content to look forward to on Wednesday. The big headlining feature is the release of Eliza, a new Ice-based UR unit, as well as Ranell, a free Dark MR unit that players will be able to get through acquisition quests.

First off, here’s a sneak peek at her kit:

• Cage of Thorns: Lowers target’s Ice Res for 3 turns, then deals Dmg (L) and lowers Move by 1 for 3 turns.
• Triple Flight: Deals 3-Hit Dmg (M) to target and reduces AP upon Critical Hit
• Warning Volley: Deals Dmg (M) to targets within range and lowers CT (S).

Eliza will be a 90-cost unit and she’ll be added to the general pool after her featured banner this week, so everyone will have a decent shot at getting her eventually just by doing summons. She’ll have the Hunter main job, with Ranger and Trick Lancer as her sub jobs.

In addition to that, we’re also getting Ranell, and here’s what her kit looks like:

• Blinding Trinity: Deals 3-Hit Dmg (M) to targets within range and chance of inflicting Blind for 3 turns.

Her main job is the Operative, which is what we got with Ildyra (Sweetheart) as well, with Pugilist and Sniper as her sub jobs. Both characters will be released in War of the Visions this Wednesday.

There are also a few minor updates coming to the game soon, including Guild Battle Proxy Play. Essentially, what this means is that if a Guild Member registers for Proxy Play in advance, their Guild Leader or Sub Leader will be able to control their attack party for them during Guild Battles.

Amazon's Prime Day deals have shaken the UK physical charts up this week, with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga back at No.1.

Sales for Warner Bros' title were up 83% week-on-week, and particularly boomed on Switch (up 175%) and Xbox Series X|S (up 140%).

Further down the charts, a handful of Ubisoft games reappeared, boosted by Prime deals as well. Far Cry 6 saw its sales increase 275% week-on-week and charted at No.6.

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The Fortnite 21.30 update has just arrived in Epic’s Battle Royale title, with No Sweat Summer quests queued up for later this week, while Ice Cream Consumables and a new Prime Shotgun weapon are live right now.

The No Sweat Summer quests will give players 15,000 XP each for completing and require players to do typical actions, as well as some summer-specific things, like carrying the ‘No Sweat’ sign and placing it at a sponsorship location, or making a character dance to a Boogie Bomb. You’ll also need to jump on umbrellas along the beach, and kick a beach ball and a giant beach ball, as just a few examples.

There’s currently no word on how long the quests or the No Sweat Summer event will run for currently, but we’d hazard a guess at it lasting for at least a couple of weeks.

To get suitably in the summer spirit, players will also now be able to find icecream cone consumables throughout the map. Icecream cones recover a small amount of health when used. Some of these also have an additional side effect, such as the Frozen Icecream Cone which apparently makes everything slippery, and Lil’Whip’s Special Serve which replenishes both health and shield. The Spicy Icecream Cone also recovers health and speed.

Similar to its predecessor, Destiny 2 is filled to the brim with a handful of tricky quests that may baffle you. A Spark of Hope is one of the difficult quests in the game that unlocks after the New Light prologue. If you’re also having a hard time completing the “A Spark of Hope” quest, then you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ve got you covered with a comprehensive guide to starting and completing Destiny 2 A Spark of Hope quest.

Unity CEO John Riccitiello has released an apology for his comments in a recent interview, in which he described developers who shun monetisation as "pure" and "brilliant" but "also some of the biggest fucking idiots."

The interview followed Unity's announcement that it is merging with IronSource, a monetisation specialist, with his comments following a question about discussing how to get players spending early on in the development process.

Riccitiello at first tweeted a brief apology, simply writing: "Clickbait. Out of full context. Deeply sorry if what I said offended any game dev. Absolutely love the people that make games. Creative, hard work."

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If you’re wondering how to make a Splash Potion of Weakness in Minecraft and what it does, here’s what you need to know.

In Minecraft, players have the freedom to craft a variety of potions and consumables. The Splash Potion of Weakness is one of them, and we’re here to help you out with crafting it.

How to Make Splash Potion of Weakness in Minecraft

In order to craft it, you’ll need two key items: Gunpowder and a Potion of Weakness.

The Potion of Weakness can be crafted if you have the brewing stand, one Water Bottle, and one Fermented Spider Eye. Simply open the brewing stand menu and heat it up by using one Blaze Powder.

Then, put the Water Bottle in one of the bottom flask slots, and add the Fermented Spider Eye in the top slot to begin the crafting process. This will give you a Potion of Weakness.

Gunpowder is pretty easy to obtain, and you can get them off exploding Creepers. Creepers are one of the most common enemies you’ll encounter in Minecraft, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one. Just make sure to keep your distance when it explodes.

Jean-Luc Sabourin is an artist based in Canada.

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Mages has released a series of trailers introducing many of the characters that will appear in the upcoming Science Adventure visual novel Anonymous;Code.

We get to see Takaoka Pollon, Aizaki Momo, Yumikawa Cross, Maki Wind, Ozutani Tengen, Nonoka Hosho, Lyddie Kmar, Kurashina Bambi, Sawai Riko, Kyogoku Iroha, Samezu Kaoru, Soga Asuma, Okuda Ewan, and Graham Kingley.

This is another chance to see the game’s rather distinctive character design and enjoy some of its voice acting in Japanese.

Incidentally, we already know that Anonymous;Code is coming to North America and Europe courtesy of Spike Chunsoft in 2023 for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. Japanese gamers won’t have to wait nearly as long, as the release in Japan is on July 28, 2022.

Speaking of waits, the game has taken a long route to finally reach its release after several delays. It was announced all the way back in 2015 so much that at some point, it was supposed to come on PS Vita.

You can watch the trailers below.

They say that the best defense is a good offense, so it’s time to follow those wise words and find the best attacking characters in Mario Strikers: Battle League to score some goals. Luckily, there are various characters that you can build out and optimize for scoring power. Whether you need a player who can take hits, dodge attacks, or give the perfect pass, you’ll want the forward who works best for your playstyle. Here is a guide to finding the best characters for your team.

During a recent pre-season friendly between defending Italian champions AC Milan and German side (and GamesCom attendee favourites) FC Köln, the presenters tried something I don’t ever remember seeing on a football field before: they strapped cameras to some of the players, so that anyone watching from home could get…

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When the next Sims 4 expansion—High School Years—is released, it will be accompanied by an update to the base experience adding a new feature for all players: a ‘Sexual Orientation’ toggle.

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With the release of As Dusk Falls gradually approaching, it’s a great time to look over the cast of the exciting interactive game. In the exclusive debut, you may notice a few familiar faces and voices of the video game industry, along with other talents taking on a more prominent role in this storyline. So, here’s a list of every known actor and actress joining the roster of As Dusk Falls.

With just six guesses to get the answer right, you’ll need to guess smarter in order to outwit the Wordle puzzle of the day. In this guide, we’ll go through all of the 5-letter words starting with F and ending with K to give you a good idea of where to start and aid you on the quest to maintain your streak.

Note that the following list of words has been tested and will work in Wordle. However, if you spot any missing or incorrect words, please inform us via the comments below so we can take a look at the list and update it if necessary.

All 5 Letter Words Starting With F and Ending With K

• flack
• flank
• flask
• fleck
• fleek
• flick
• flisk
• flock
• flunk
• frack
• frank
• freak
• frisk
• frock

With this list of words at your disposal, you are in a much better position to try and overcome Wordle for the day. Using the colors, you can then further refine your answer. Green indicates the right letter in the right position, yellow signifies a correct letter in the wrong position, while grey means that letter is not present in the answer.

Keep plugging away; eventually, you will get the right answer in six guesses or less. If you’d much skip the hassle, here is the answer to today’s puzzle.

A good start can go a long way when it comes to a guessing game like Wordle, and knowing certain words is definitely helpful. In this guide, we’ll go through all the 5-letter words ending with CK to give you a direction to start lend you a hand on your quest to maintain a hot streak.

Note that the following list of words has been tested and will work in Wordle. However, if you spot any missing or incorrect words, please inform us via the comments below so we can take a look at the list and update it if necessary.

Since its release in September of 2020, Phasmophobia has steadily grown into one of the most popular and acclaimed cooperative horror experiences available on the market. The game is currently sitting comfortably with “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews from players on its Steam page, but is Phasmophobia available on PS4? And how much is it? Twinfinite has your answer below.

Is Phasmophobia on PS4 & How Much Is It?

Unfortunately, Phasmophobia is only available in Early Access via Steam and as a result is not able to be played on the PlayStation 4. When it comes to its price tag, Phasmophobia is currently available for purchase at $13.99 USD or £10.99 GBP.

Although the game isn’t available on any platform other than PC, developer Kinetic Games has confirmed that it has plans to release console versions of Phasmophobia once the game has more content on offer.

Considering the fact that Phasmophobia has received several updates adding content such as new enemy types, new maps, and new difficulty levels that consistently bring players back into the fold to investigate its haunted locales, it’s only a matter of time until the title eventually finds its way to the major consoles.

Until then, however, Kinetic Games is completely focused on improving the PC version and expanding the tools and content available to its players. It’s also important to note that Kinetic Games does plan to increase the price once the game reaches a fully released state.

If you’ve found yourself wondering whether or not Bungie owns Halo Infinite, you’ve come to the right place. Although Bungie has been entirely focused on the Destiny series since the release of its first title in 2014, the studio is perhaps best known for creating and developing the Halo series for Microsoft platforms from 2001 to 2010. If they created the franchise, does Bungie own Halo Infinite? Read on to find out.

Does Bungie Own Halo Infinite?

The short and speedy answer here is no, Bungie does not own Halo Infinite. Bungie was initially responsible for creating nearly every game in the Halo series, but that changed after the release of 2010’s Halo Reach.

Bungie was formed in 1991 and got its start making first-person shooters, RPGs, and tactics games for Macintosh computers. Of these releases, the FPS trilogy Marathon is the most well-known, but Bungie also saw its first console game release with 2001’s Oni, a third-person action game that additionally launched on the PlayStation 2.

In June of 2000, Microsoft announced that it had purchased Bungie and would be integrating the studio into the Microsoft Game Division. Bungie’s next project, Halo: Combat Evolved—at the time planned to be a third-person shooter—was then reworked into a first-person game that would serve as a launch title for the original Xbox.

Halo: Combat Evolved was an immense success that sold millions of copies, solidifying the series as a staple in the gaming sphere and leading to the release of multiple sequels from Bungie that were similarly successful: Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach. In 2007, three years before Reach’s release, it was announced that Bungie would be exiting the Microsoft umbrella and operating as an independent LLC.

Today third-party developers had a lot of news to share about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, on top of a release.

We start with Digital Design, which will release Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport (LFLL). According to the developer is coming this week.

It’s one of the busiest airports in France, so it’s bound to be a welcome addition to the simulator.

Digital Extremes, the studio behind Warframe, announced over the weekend their brand new game: Soulframe. And the latter is most definitely not the sequel to the former.

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Atlus released another of its daily trailers of the upcoming JRPG Soul Hackers 2, focusing on one of the demons that will be featured in the game.

This time the trailer reveals Dionysus, a demon that has been part of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise since Shin Megami Tensei: if… and also appeared in the recent Shin Megami Tensei V.

Like most daily trailers, we also get the daily horoscope, which sees Capricorn at the top of the fortune ranking and Sagittarius at the bottom. Looks like it’s my lucky day today.

You can check the video out below.

Soul Hackers 2 releases for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (Steam and Windows Store) on August 26, just one day after the Japanese launch on August 25.

South Korean game developer Shift Up and Level Infinite released a new trailer of the upcoming mobile game Goddess of Victory: NIKKE.

The trailer features one of the squads of heroines included in the game, Protocol Squad, formed by Sherlock Holmes fangirl Novel, armed with the submachine gun Sixth Sense, and the nerdy hacker Exia, armed with the sniper rifle Utopia Unsealed.

You can check them out below, with a brief introduction of each character and a glimpse of their gameplay.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, which is coming for iOS and Android, it was originally revealed at an event in 2019 alongside Project EVE (which is coming to PS5), and then showcased again at the end of 2020.

 It’s defined as a “third-person shooter RPG” and registration for the global closed beta is currently available.

Today Crunchyroll was at Japan Expo 2022 in Paris and it announced a few interesting anime series that it will localize in the relatively near future.

We start with Avex’s Muv-Luv Alternative Season 2, which will air in October day and date with its Japanese debut, continuing the story of what’s considered by many the best visual novel series of all time.

It’s actually one of the original isekai (and as such it definitely doesn’t suffer from the genre’s recent oversaturation), in which easygoing high-schooler Takeru Shirogane finds himself on an alternate Earth in which humanity is being exterminated by an alien race named BETA. It’s an absolutely tragic story of growth, sacrifice, courage, love, and passion that has been punching fans straight in the heart for two decades.

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games released a new video about content coming in the next update, while the game passed a relevant milestone in registered accounts.

Specifically, the number of registered accounts just passed 4 million, having reached 4,005,821 at the moment of this writing.

As usual, we should keep in mind that it’s known that not all of them are paying players. The number includes free accounts created for a variety of reasons, including Free Fly events like the one that recently concluded. That being said, it’s still definitely a flattering number.

Incidentally, the crowdfunding total is at almost $488 million and it’s currently sitting on $487,953,140.

The video focuses on a Q&A with live director Todd Papy as he discusses a wide variety of topics related to the upcoming update Alpha 3.17.2, which will come soon.

You can watch the video below.

Recently, creative director Chris Roberts provided an overview of the state of development and of the plans for 2022 and beyond.

For the sake of full disclosure, do keep in mind that the author of this article has been a Star Citizen backer since the original Kickstarter campaign several years ago.

Unity boss John Riccitiello has apologised for calling developers that don't prioritise monetisation in the creative process "fucking idiots".

Earlier this week, Riccitiello was slammed for stating that mobile developers who don't seek to squeeze monetisation from their smartphone games represented only "a very small portion of the gaming industry", calling them "the most beautiful and pure, brilliant people" that were also "some of the biggest fucking idiots".

After insisting the interview was "clickbait" and "out of context", Riccitiello has now apologised for his "crude word choice" and said if he had been "smart in choosing [his] words" he would have said that he is "working to provide developers with tools so they can better understand what their players think, and it is up to them to act or not, based on this feedback".

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Glen Schofield has shared another fresh peek at the denizens of The Callisto Protocol.

In a new interview, Striking Distance Studios CEO Schofield tells us a little more about how the upcoming sci-fi horror came to be and how the story was written, along with some all-new gameplay footage, too.

You can check out the brief interview below:

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