Bandai Namco, publisher of Dark Souls, Elden Ring and Soulcalibur, has reportedly been targeted by a ransomware attack.

Word of the hack was surfaced by malware tracker vx-underground, which spotted a claim by notorious ransomware group ALPHV, otherwise known as BlackCat.

A post by the group suggested it was poised to release data acquired from Bandai Namco's servers "soon" (thanks, Kotaku).

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 is characteristically awash with sales on PC gaming hardware. But what if you don’t have the Amazon Prime subscription required to partake of them – or if you just don’t like Amazon? Cheap new peripherals/monitors/SSDs/other gubbins can still be yours, as plenty of other retailers are running sales this week to give Prime Day some healthy competition. In some cases they’ll even have the same kit as Amazon but at a matching or even better prices. Thus, this list, which gathers together all of the best anti-Prime Day deals I’ve found.

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On July 11, 2022, Konami added the Wandering Travelers Selection Pack and Dragonmaid Structure Deck to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel store. In solo mode, you will also be able to play through the lore of Wandering Travelers. Each Wandering Travelers pack will cost 100 Gems, with the Dragonmaid Structure Deck costing 500. [Thanks, Gamer!]

With the inclusion of the Dragonmaid structure deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, you will be able to get a Dragonmaid-themed protector or Mate in the shop as well. The Dragonmaid archetype consists of Dragon Monsters, with House Dragonmaid serving as the mascot. Dragonmaid focuses on getting the ‘dragon’ forms of each Monster in your hand or graveyard. The ‘human’ Monsters transform into their ‘dragon’ forms during the Battle Phase. Additionally, players should strive to summon House Dragonmaid when they can. She is a Fusion Monster, and most Dragonmaids' dragon forms are immune to destruction when there is a Fusion Monster on the field.

At least a few Eurogamer readers were probably in secondary school in April 1995, when Hubble took the famous Pillars of Creation photograph. It is impossible to restate just how much of an impact this image had: it was space seen in an entirely new way. It changed our collective idea of what the universe might look like.

It's rippled down in popular culture across movies and video games. If you want to see a really great example of its impact, imagine this opening shot to the film Contact but in a world that never got to see any Hubble pictures:

Today we'll all be getting to see the first images from Hubble's successor, the James Webb Telescope. It's time to have our views of the cosmos rearranged once again. We wanted to celebrate this moment in some way, and how better to do it than take a look at some of the great space vistas from some of our favourite video games? Just a few. Please add any shots of your own in the comments.

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A gameplay trailer for Kingdom: The Blood has been released, based on the hit Korean Netflix show.

The show is set in medieval Korea during a zombie apocalypse and focuses on prince Lee Chang attempting to investigate a mysterious illness afflicting the king.

The game, from developer Action Square, is an adaptation of the show set for release on PC and mobile globally.

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If you’re hard up for cash and on the lookout for a brand new video game, we may have some good news for you. Yes, Prime Gaming — Amazon’s bespoke gaming service — is offering a pretty legendary title that’ll likely keep you busy for a few hundred hours.

That’s right, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is currently up for grabs today for the rather enticing price of, well, absolutely free. That being said, there are a few caveats to be aware of.

Firstly, the offer is only eligible to PC users. So, if your platform of choice is solely on console, then this offer will unfortunately be null and void for you.

Secondly, you’ll also need to be subscribed to Prime Gaming (which is included in an Amazon Prime subscription) to be able to take advantage of this freebie. If you’re wondering, this subscription service will set you back $14.99/£7.99 a month, though it’s worth noting that new users can snag a 30-day free trail, which you can cancel at any time.

Boasting an impressive 86 Metacritic score from 28 reviews, Mass Effect Legendary Edition was definitely one of the most critically-acclaimed games from 2020.

For those unaware, though, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a remastered collection of all three of BioWare’s hugely successful sci-fi RPGs. The largely derided fourth sequel, 2017’s Mass Effect Andromeda is unfortunately not a part of this collection.

Season Two of strategy title Age of Empires 4 kicks off today with a big update. It's headlined by a new event, Age of Discovery, that brings plenty of rewards.

Elsewhere the season brings a plethora of bug fixes and balance changes to tweak gameplay.

Age of Discovery is the first of two events this season and involves completing a number of tasks for unique items.

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Supermassive Games, the British studio behind The Dark Pictures Anthology, Until Dawn and recent release The Quarry, is now fully owned by Copenhagen-based company Nordisk Games.

The Scandinavian outfit previously bought a 30.7 percent stake in Supermassive just over a year ago. There's no word on how much today's deal was worth.

Nordisk Games, part of the Egmont media group, also owns a small roster of other game developers, including the Stockholm-based Just Cause creator Avalanche Studios and Metroid Dread maker MercurySteam.

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Monorail! Humanity’s greatest form of transport after dirigibles and the tuktuk. Space survival sandbox Astroneer has been good enough to plonk in the ability to construct our own railways among the stars in its new free rails update. It looks like a pretty chill addition to an already chilled take on the survival genre, if I’m using my chills correctly. Raise your visor and have a watch for yourself below.

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Kadokawa announced that it will release a character encyclopedia for the Kirby series on September 28, 2022. It will cost 1,500 JPY, which is approximately $11. This book is in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the series. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

The book will include over 1,000 characters – both allies and enemies – who have appeared throughout the 35 Kirby titles. Aside from pictures and which games they appear in, each entry will also include previous artwork and information. There are no samples of the pages, so it is unknown what statistics or information will appear in the character biographies.

For those in Japan, there is also a Kirby book fair that Kadokawa is hosting. It started on March 24, 2022, and features exclusive prizes such as library cards and bookmarks. Depending on when you purchase your book and which period you submit your receipt in, you will get different prizes. Those who submit their receipts before July 15, 2022, will get a library card that is covered in Kirby, for example.

If you left Earth in a rocket ship in the 1820s, headed for Jupiter, I guess that would be pretty incredible by itself. What I want to talk about today, though, is something I continue to find mind-bending. On your journey, as you moved between Mars and Jupiter, you would pass four other planets: Vesta, Juno, Ceres and Pallas.

It's likely that you know all this stuff already, so apologies for going over it again. These four planets were discovered between 1801 and 1807, lying in what we now consider to be the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They hung around in text books and the popular imagination as planets until, I gather, the 1850s, when they were demoted.

I was thinking of this again this week because of the James Webb Telescope, which should hopefully be giving us its first pictures by the time you read this. This telescope will peer deeper into our universe than we've ever been able to look before. And along the way it will probably not just discover new stuff, but change the way we think about old stuff.

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The co-op flight test for Halo Infinite is still due out this week, according to community manager Brian Jarrard.

Many players expected it to launch yesterday, 11th July, but it's still not live. It should still arrive this week, though.

"The team is still working on our upcoming Halo Infinite network co-op Insider flight build. While we always said our 'target was the week of July 11', many sites reported it simply as 'starting July 11.' Still hoping for this week, but it will not start today," tweeted Jarrard yesterday.

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With the fifth season of Cobra Kai poised to crane kick its way to Netflix on later this year, it’s safe to say that excitement is reaching fever pitch for the dojo-battling action-comedy series.

Hopefully, questions will be answered, butts will be kicked, and Sensei Johnny Lawrence – with his new partner in crime, Daniel LaRusso – will deliver a handful of his signature “learning opportunities” to the ramshackle crew of nerds and outsiders.

So, to celebrate the Karate Kid follow-up, we thought that now would be the perfect time to test your knowledge on how well you remember the lesser-known characters in William Zabka and Ralph Macchio’s evolving on-screen rivalry.

That’s right, all you’ll need to do is correctly identify these twelve characters from a single image and you’ll walk away with a flawless victory. Well, they do say that a picture paints a thousand words, right?

So, without further ado, grab your karate gees and prepare to show no mercy as we take a trip back to the San Fernando Valley in Twinfinite’s latest quiz. Just remember: Cobra Kai never dies!

Wondering about the faces of statues in Thor: Love and Thunder’s Gates of Eternity? We’ll help you unveil their identities by analyzing the trailer and the fight against Gorr the God Butcher. So, here’s a full breakdown of every figure within the latest film.

All Thor: Love and Thunder Eternity Statues Listed

If you were able to catch a few notable faces within the Gates of Eternity, you might have been surprised to see multiple cosmic beings that rule over the universe. Find out who makes a brief appearance in the newest journey for Thor and the rest of the gang.

If you’re wondering how you can get Zora in Dislyte, we’re here to help.

Just like most other characters in the game, Zora can only be obtained through the gacha system. But if you’re new to Dislyte, we’ll walk you through that process down below.

Summoning Zora in Dislyte

Once Zora gets added to the game on July 12, players will have a chance of obtaining her while making use of the Echo feature. From the main menu, click on the Echo option, then use your Gold Records to start summoning Espers.

Because Zora is a Legendary Esper, however, you’ll probably need to sink quite a lot of Gold Records before you luck out and get her. Legendary drop rates are set at 1% in Dislyte, but you’re guaranteed to get a Legendary at every 120 pulls. So even if you happen to pull a Legendary before hitting pity, it’s still possible to get any of the other Legendary Espers already in the game.

It's got to the point where my phone is unlocked and Pokémon Go is open in my hand as soon as I leave the house. A twirl of the map screen, a quick survey of the local area, and I'm off. On the days I don't have something or somewhere specific to walk at lunch, or after work, I let the game choose my route. A creature on the Nearby radar, a gym or raid to battle on the horizon. Job done, daily step count up, dopamine gained.

This month is Pokémon Go's sixth anniversary and yes, six years on, a lot of people still play Pokémon Go. Perhaps that's not a surprise - with a launch that big, any game would linger on in the public consciousness, and on the billion or so devices it has been downloaded upon to date. But that, of course, is not why millions of people still regularly play - and the reasons why people do are as diverse as its player base.

Pokémon Go is still primarily a collection game, built on a hugely successful live service model which continually rolls out new events, rotates available creatures, tempts you with exclusives, and lets you do it all while showing off to others. What's your Pokédex total? How many Shiny Pokémon? How good are their stats? Pokémon Go is the perfect franchise for Niantic's real-world exploration model - and if this was a State of the Game for Niantic, or indeed the genre of game Pokémon Go helped popularise, I'd have a lot of things to say about how no one (including Niantic) has ever come close to topping it.

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Wondering if Pearl is in competitive Valorant? This guide will answer everything you need to know about the question.

Pearl is a map introduced in Valorant Episode 5 and released alongside the usual battle pass, skins, bundles, and balance adjustments that come with each new seasonal update.

Can You Play New Map Pearl in Competitive Valorant?

At the time of writing, Pearl is set to enter the competitive Valorant queue later today, July 12, and the launch of patch 5.1. This follows the release of Episode 5 two weeks ago when Pearl was first added to the game.

As is typical, the new map was kept separate in order to iron out any bugs or issues. It was also available to play in Unrated, Deathmatch, Spike Rush, and other alternate modes. Now that the map is considered perfect, it’ll then be rolled out into Valorant Competitive playlists when the new patch drops later this afternoon.

Again, Pearl not featuring in competitive Valorant for the first two weeks is entirely normal. This was also the case with Breeze and Fracture when these two maps were first added to the game. Given Valorant’s competitive community is so integral to its success, Riot Games does everything it can to make sure that bugs and glitches can’t be exploited by players in Competitive to give them an unfair advantage over the opposition.

If you’re looking for more Valorant Episode 5 content, we’ve got you covered. We’ve got a full preview of the new map Pearl, a breakdown of the new battle pass cosmetics, and much more you can check out below.

It is now Amazon Prime Day 2022, Amazon’s misnomerly two-day long bargain hunt. I’m assuming you’re not reading this for the discounts on grip tape and toothbrushes, so here are all the best Prime Day deals on PC hardware across Amazons UK and US.

Unlike the kinds of Amazon deals you’d find during, say, Black Friday, Prime Day offers are only available to Amazon Prime subscribers. They’re going quickly, too, lasting from July 12th to the end of July 13th at the very latest. Still, there are inarguably some good prices here, on a lot of quality PC hardware; the deals you’ll find below are my picks of the thousands available. You can also read up on everything you need to know about Prime Day, as well as how to find the best Prime Day deals for yourself.

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When it comes to box office sales, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the closest you can get to a sure thing. With the latest entry in the form of Thor: Love and Thunder coming to theaters last week, there is plenty of excitement both for fans as well as the executives behind the growing MCU. If you are wondering about how much did Thor: Love and Thunder make at the box office, we have the latest figures for you.

Thor: Love and Thunder Box Office Earnings

In the first weekend since the movie was released, Thor: Love and Thunder has put up some impressive numbers, with a $143 million debut in North America, and another US$159 million internationally according to Variety. That is a combined sum of $302 million since its premiere.

Although the $143 million sales is still a little below the domestic estimates of $150 million, Thor: Love and Thunder has already outperformed its predecessor, with Thor: Ragnarok opening to $123 million back in 2017 in North America.

The movie sees the return of Taika Watiti as director, with Chris Hemsworth being joined by Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, and the Guardians of the Galaxy on a new adventure. The big threat this time around is Bale’s Gorr, and Thor: Love and Thunder also paves the way for the appearance of more godly figures in the MCU.

For players who love themselves a good Metroidvania, chances are, the reveal of Crowsworn late last year would have been some welcomed news. Developed by the indie studio Mongoose Rodeo, the game was notable for its excellent visuals and favorable comparisons to the likes of Hollow Knight. With such hype, it is no wonder that fans of the genre are eagerly anticipating the game. If you have been wondering about the release date for Crowsworn, let us help you out.

When Does Crowsworn Come Out?

As of now, Crowsworn is targeting a release sometime in late 2023, with the team hopeful of finishing it before then. The game will be set for launch on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, as well as the PlayStation and Xbox family of consoles.

Having more than exceeded the initial Kickstarter goal, Mongoose Rodeo will be putting the final sum of about $1 million to good use with several stretch goals, including free DLC, animated cinematic cutscenes, a boss rush mode, and more.

Here’s a quick look at Crowsworn’s plot:

In Fearanndal, a dark and oppressive world, where even the air seems to carry weight, you awake from a deep slumber. You find yourself in a coffin, buried in an unmarked grave, surrounded by unfamiliar territory. Seemingly void of purpose, you venture forth attempting to retrace your steps and regain your lost memories.

Leaving your grave behind, you discover the small dilapidated village of Angsthel. The village is inhabited by peculiar characters with unknown intentions. The inhabitants speak of a world cursed by a dark god. They speak of a world forced into perpetual penance for the sins of its fathers.

Wondering how Thor got his eye back in Thor: Love and Thunder? Here’s what you need to know.

Thor: Love and Thunder is bringing the love and thunder of Thor to theaters. The fourth Thor movie and the twenty-ninth MCU movie has tons of laughs and heart. However, as these Thor movies are part of the larger MCU, one cannot just watch the standalone titles and expect to know the complete picture of what is happening. Certain elements may be introduced into standalone titles that are fixed or resolved in other installments, with Thor’s eye being one of those very things.

How Did Thor Get His Eye Back in Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor actually got his eye back before the events of Love and Thunder. In Infinity War, Thor meets up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Rocket hands him a new eye that he stole to put into his head.

If your memory’s a little vague on those events, here’s exactly what happened.

In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor faces his sister Hela as they battle over the throne of Asgard. In the ensuing battle between the siblings, Hela manages to pin Thor down and cut out his eye. For the rest of the film’s final battle, Thor is missing his eye, having a bloody hole there instead. The Asgardians are able to escape on the Statesman, where they witness Ragnarok. Thor, finally able to deal with the hole where his eye should be, dons an eye patch.

Third-party developers had news to share today about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, including an aircraft and airports.

We start with IndiaFoxtEcho, with the Aermacchi M-346 Master that is finally ready to be beta-tested.

If you’d like to help out, you can try to be selected for the developer’s new Test Program. You can find all the details here.

I know there have been a lot of attempts at releasing multiplayer mods for Skyrim over the years, but none of those have been as ambitious as the co-op mod Skyrim Together Reborn. It aims to get between two to eight players running around in the same game, completing the same quests and fighting the same monsters.

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Tsukumo Sana of Hololive English Council will graduate from the VTuber group on July 31, 2022. According to the announcement, Cover Corporation had discussed with Sana “the direction of her activities.” However, due to difficulties in continuing her streams, Cover Corporation decided to allow Sana to graduate.

Neither Cover Corporation nor Sana has revealed the details behind her graduation. Sana does note that it was a difficult decision and thanks her fans for all the support. Additionally, she notes that she wishes she could stay for everyone and that she felt like she was in a fairy tale, except that fairy tales "have to end." Sana will still attend Smash!, which will run from July 16 to 17, 2022.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbqJ7JObVBM

Those who purchased merchandise from Tsukumo Sana’s Birthday Celebration 2022 and wish to cancel their orders may do so from the official shop. While her graduation will be at the end of July, members will be able to access members-only content until October 31, 2022. In addition, those who wish to send in fan mail or presents must make sure they will arrive before October 31, 2022.

Comedy group Mega64 just released a super impressive new video in which the team re-enact the entire, epic Maijin Buu story arc from Dragon Ball Z, in just five minutes. To get it done, though, they needed some help.

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If you’re a seasoned Wordle veteran at this point, you would already know that wasting your six guesses can be frustrating and annoying. Instead, try making calculated guesses instead. In this guide, we’ll go through all of the 5-letter words ending with HT 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 Ending With HT

• aight
• aught
• bight
• dicht
• dight
• docht
• eight
• fecht
• fight
• gosht
• hecht
• hight
• kight
• licht
• light
• micht
• might
• nicht
• night
• oucht
• ought
• phpht
• pight
• richt
• right
• sicht
• sight
• tight
• wecht
• wight
• wisht
• yacht

Armed with your newfound knowledge, it is time to take on the challenge proper. Select your pick from the list and use it as your answer in Wordle. Be sure to check the colors to get a better idea of where to make the right adjustments. Correct letters in the right position will turn green, yellow indicates a right letter in the wrong place, while grey rules out the letter entirely.

With knowledge of certain words and the letters involved, you can ensure that your time in Wordle is not wasted on bad guesses. In this guide, we’ll go through all of the 5-letter words starting with N and ending with T 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 N and Ending With T

• naunt
• neist
• nempt
• nepit
• nicht
• night
• noint
• nonet
• nooit

Now that you are caught up with this particular list of words, you should have everything you’ll need to start the game off. Pick your chosen word and input it as your answer in Wordle, and check the colors to get an idea of where you are at. Correct letters in the right position will turn green, yellow indicates a right letter in the wrong place, while grey rules out the letter entirely.

Wordle can provide a challenge even if you are well-versed in the English language, and preparing yourself beforehand is always a good way to start. In this guide, we’ll go through all of the 5-letter words starting with NI 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.

During Brazil’s International Games Festival last week, developer Mark Venturelli (Chroma Squad) was scheduled to give a talk called “The Future Of Game Design.” A few seconds in, he flipped and revealed the presentation’s real title—“Why NFTs are a nightmare”—to a room full of applause.

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