In case you somehow missed the internet exploding with excitement over it, Hades 2 has entered its Early Access period and fans are already having a great time with the highly anticipated sequel...a lot of fans, it turns out. Supergiant Games' Hades 2 has peaked at a massive 103,567 players for its first 24-hours per its Steam Charts, with 97.1% of its current reviews trending on the positive side.

In addition to the impressive player stats, Hades 2 is also the number 1 game on Steam's current Top Selling Games chart. Hades 2 also ranks in the seventh spot on the Steam chart for the Top 100 Most Played games currently, ranking behind Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Apex Legends, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Stardew Valley, and HELLDIVERS 2.

Currently Hades 2 can be played exclusively on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and givcn that the game is in early access players aren't experiencing the game in full. As for the full release, Supergiant has said the following:

"We expect the full version of Hades 2 to include a more-complete, more-polished set of features and content in comparison to the Early Access version, along with Steam Achievements and the true ending to the story. During Early Access, our plan is to release a Major Update every few months containing new features and content, followed soon after by patches to shore up any issues. We are looking to release the first of these Major Updates later this year. An in-game Development Roadmap provides more context on where we're at in development and our current priorities."

What's incredibly impressive about Hades 2's early access version is that it already has more to offer to players by the way of environments, foes, and fully-voiced characters than the full release of the original Hades game, indicating the level of work that went into getting the sequel where it is, and how much more it will take Supergiant to get the game where they need it to be. As this is Supergiant's first sequel, they've previously noted that their goal was to "re-capture the sense of wonder and delight of its predecessor," something that many players feel they've accomplished already just based on the first bit of time with the ability to enjoy early access.

Supergiant Games notes on the game's Steam page that they "expect Hades 2 to be in Early Access development at least through the end of 2024." Given the nature of Early Access development, they don't have a specific end date planned at this time, which also means there's not an official release date for the full release of Hades 2 just yet, but with the impressive 24-hour early access debut, it looks like promising reactions are ahead for the game.

Are you trying out Hades 2 in Early Access, or will you be waiting patiently for the game's full release?

NetEase Games and Marvel Games are approaching the beginning of the Closed Alpha Test (CAT) for their upcoming 6v6 team-based free-to-play shooter, Marvel Rivals. With the CAT just days away, the developers have noted that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have signed up for the chance to participate in the test, with the game's Discord channel passing 100k members. Due to this overwhelming level of excitement the clearly highly anticipated game won't be able to accept everyone who signed up for the CAT, but the developers have noted they're "rolling out extra chances to snag a spot during the CAT," and "fast-tracking our upcoming test plans to get more of you into the Marvel Rivals action as soon as we can!"

NetEase and Marvel also released an overview for the CAT, which includes that the test will kick off May 10th at 5:00 PM PDT and run until May 20th at 11:59 PM PDT, with five different modes unlocked to experience:

• Tutorial: Learn the basic techniques of fighting as a Super Hero with Galacta!
  
• Quick Match: Choose your hero, defeat enemies, and complete mission objectives!
  
• Pocket Universe: Respawn at a flexible location and eliminate as many enemies as you can!
  
• Custom: Create Customized Matches to play with or against your friends!
  
• Competitive: Ascend through the ranks amid thrilling and intense battles!
  

Players can also sign up for a 6v6 tournament with a hefty prize pool called Dawn of Legends, which will roll out in three phases:

• Registrations from May 10th to 13th (PDT)
  
• Open Qualifiers from May 14th to 16th (PDT)
  
• Knockout Stage from May 17th to 19th (PDT)
  

Plus, since they're launching a Twitch channel and rolling out a Content Creator program for the first time, Dawn of Legends will be live streamed on Twitch, so players looking forward to Marvel Rivals that won't get a chance to participate in the CAT or tournament can watch from the sidelines. And if you're not looking forward to playing alone but you will be part of the CAT test, if you reach certain milestones you'll be able to earn additional invite codes to bring in your friends, as well as additional opportunities to secure these coveted invites through other means which you can read about at the bottom of the page here.

NetEase also published a Frequently Asked Questions page for Marvel Rivals to address common player questions including progress transfer in the future, controller support, recommended system requirements for the CAT, and more. Notably, the FAQ page includes that the following content will be available during the test:

"During the Closed Alpha, players will have access to the following characters: Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hela, Hulk, Iron Man, Loki, Luna Snow, Magik, Magneto, Mantis, Namor, Peni Parker, Punisher, Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Storm, Scarlet Witch, and Spider-Man. Also, players will be able to enjoy three game modes (Convoy, Domination, and Convergence) and three maps (YGGSGARD: YGGDRASILL PATH, YGGSGARD: ROYAL PALACE, and TOKYO 2099: SHIN-SHIBUYA)."

Are you hoping to participate in Marvel Rivals' CAT, or are you patiently waiting for the full release?

A new season of Marvel Snap, A Blink in Time, has arrived to PC and mobile devices, introducing five new cards, two extra locations, and extra additions for players to acquire throughout the season. While the previous season centered on Thunderbolts, A Blink in Time doesn't have a specific tie-in for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, offering more of a range than limiting to what's ultimately a small group in the greater Marvel universes.

A Blink in Time

As for the new characters coming to Marvel Snap, the five additions include:

• Blink (5 Cost, 6 Power) - On Reveal: Swap the last card you played with a higher-Cost card from your deck.
• Nocturne (3 Cost, 5 Power) - You can move this once. When this moves, replace its location with a random new one.
• Sage (3 Cost, 0 Power) - On Reveal: +2 Power for each different Power among all other cards here.
• Namora (5 Cost, 5 Power) - On Reveal: Give +5 Power to each of your cards alone at another location.
• Sasquatch (6 Cost, 10 Power) - Costs 1 less for each card you played last turn.

Players can expect new cards to be released weekly starting with Baron Zemo, last month's Season Pass Card, releasing as a Series 5 card on May 7th. Nocturne will join Zemo the same day with Sage following on May 14th, Namora on May 21st, and Sasquatch on May 28th. New series cards aappear in the Spotlight Cache and Token Shop. As your Collection Level increases, the caches become available for you to unlock one of the Series cards, Spotlight Variants, and more. The spotlight caches for this season include:

May 7th

• Caiera
  
• Nocturne
  
• Selene
  

May 14th

• Sage
  
• Legion
  
• The Living Tribunal
  

May 21st

• Namora
  
• Skaar
  
• Black Knight
  

May 28th

• Sasquatch
  
• Ravonna Renslayer
  
• Havok
  

Marvel Snap players also have new locations and albums to secure, including:

Locations

• Panoptichron: Cards that didn't start in your deck get +2 Power here.
  
• Cancun: Power here doesn't count toward winning the game.
  

Albums

• Dan Hipp Album on May 7th:
  
• Collect 3: Werewolf By Night Avatar
  
• Collect 6: 1000 Credits
  
• Collect 9: Heimdall Shocked Emote
  
• Collect 12: Werewolf By Night Variant
  
• Rian Gonzalez pieces on May 15th:
  
• Collect 3: Silk Avatar
  
• Collect 6: 1000 Tokens
  
• Collect 9: Gambit Swoon Emote
  
• Collect 12: Silk Variant
  
• All Chibi Rian Gonzalez album on May 31st:
  
• Collect 3: Iron Lad Avatar
  
• Collect 6: 1000 Credits
  
• Collect 9: Iron Lad The Thinker Emote
  
• Collect 12: Iron Lad Variant
  

In addition to all of the above listed new content to Marvel Snap, players can also experience two shop takeovers that introduces a Jubilee variant and a chibi focused shop that will include a lot of new variants to Rian works including Cyclops, Dracula, Miles Morales, and Wolverine. Plus, there are multiple ways to earn boosters, credits, and two X-Men '97 cards just in time for the finale via Twitch drops, including:

• Watch 2 hours to earn: 65 Random Boosters
  
• Watch 4 hours to earn: 350 Credits
  
• Watch 6 hours to earn: Mister Sinister and Bishop X-Men '97 Variants
  

Enjoy the new season, and see you on the battlefield!

Wizards of the Coast will update the System Reference Document for Dungeons & Dragons in early 2025, paving the way for third-party support for the newest version of the popular tabletop roleplaying game. Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coasts detailed plans to update the System Reference Document (commonly referred to as the SRD) with content from the upcoming 2024 and 2025 Core Rulebooks. The new version of the SRD will be released in "early 2025" shortly after the release of the new Monster Manual and will "provide revised rules at the same scope" for third-party creators to make rulebooks, adventures, and other content to support Dungeons & Dragons. As with the current version of the SRD, this new SRD will be released under a Creative Commons license.

In early 2023, it emerged that Wizards of the Coast planned to revoke and revise the Open Game License (OGL), which had been used for over 20 years as the legal framework to allow for third-party creations using Dungeons & Dragons rules that were outlined in the SRD. The planned changes to the OGL, which were seen as much more restrictive than the previous arrangement, alienated many content creators and publishers who had worked with Dungeons & Dragons, led to a grassroots campaign that attracted national attention, and ultimately led to Wizards placing the current SRD under a Creative Commons license. While Wizards of the Coast backed down from these changes, many companies moved forward with plans to release new fantasy-themed games that could potentially compete with Dungeons & Dragons.

Wizards had previously said they would update the SRD with the planned rules changes, but provided no timeline for the update. There was a two year gap between the release of the current Fifth Edition ruleset and its related SRD, so the quick turnaround is something of a pleasant surprise provided that the new SRD doesn't include any major omissions. The release of the new SRD means that third-party content creators should be able to quickly provide additional rules support and adventures for the new revised version of 5th Edition D&D, giving players options in between "official" D&D releases by Wizards.

The 2024 Core Rulebooks for Dungeons & Dragons will be released beginning later this year, adding several new subsystems, new character-building methods, and balance changes to many classes and subclass features,

Prime Video gave us enough of a walk down memory lane in The Ghoul's mind during the events of Fallout season 1 to see flashes of his life as Cooper Howard, leading up to the massive reveals about Vault-Tecs activities and, unfortunately, his wife Barb's specific role in it. There's still a lot more to go into both leading up to the bombs being dropped and how that shaped Cooper's life into who he is now hundreds of years later, including one big question - what happened to Cooper, Janey, and Barb when the bombs dropped?

From the season 1 opening we know that Janey was with Cooper when the initial bombs were dropped, and that the two raced away on horseback toward an unknown destination. It seems fairly safe to assume that Cooper took Janey to whatever vault the two had a spot reserved in along with Barb based on the finale, where Cooper finally gets to ask Hank where his family is, implying both Barb and Janey are still alive. While Coop was able to ask his question he still doesn't have an answer, which means audiences are left to speculate as to what happened to them.

Are they in stasis in Vault 31 awaiting their turn to be a vault overseer? Another option could be that Barb is now controlling things in New Vegas, given that particular game's 15-16 year setting before the series...or maybe even that she's passed the torch to Janey. Given that Janey was outside when the bombs were dropped, it's possible that she experienced side effects from the radiation just like her father has.

A big question that has circled back into my mind frequently - when Cooper arrived at the vault with Janey (assuming that's what happened), was his entry denied at the door, or did he refuse knowing some of the truth behind Vault-Tec's activities? I'm of two minds here: the first that Cooper would not abandon Janey willingly, but he was also pretty upset that Roosevelt wouldn't be allowed in the vault and generally knew the corporation his wife worked for couldn't be trusted.

Personally, there's one brief reference that I'm hoping is elaborated on that I feel was made for a reason: in 01x06 of the series, we see Cooper tell his Wife, "I think about it. Quitting showbiz. Buying us a ranch up in Bakersfield. Get back to being a real cowboy again." She shuts this down immediately with the implication that the vault in Bakersfield isn't "one of the good vaults," which undoubtedly sent her husband and the spokesperson of the vaults himself skeptical - even more-so than he already was.

What you may not have caught here is that Bakersfield is actually a rather significant location for Fallout lore, as what remains of Bakersfield is what Necropolis, the City of the Dead, was built on - and Necropolis is a Ghoul city. What's also in Bakersfield is one of Vault-Tec's intentionally faulty vaults as suggested by Barb, Vault 12, which was designed to have a door that didn't actually close so the effects of radiation could be studied. Those effects, of course, is that the population of Vault 12 became Ghouls...which seems like a direct reference for a reason.

Did Cooper try to go to Bakersfield after the bombs dropped and he was separated from his family, is this simply just a quick reference for fans to catch, or could it be a hint of what's to come in Cooper's future? If you want to talk about The Ghoul, you can find me on socials @amazingspidrhan!

At long last, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf seems to have a release window. First revealed all the way back in 2018 at The Game Awards, the next entry in the Dragon Age series has been in the works for far longer than many fans expected. Now, nearly ten years after the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, it sounds as though BioWare is gearing up to let loose Dreadwolf at some point in the coming ten months.

Outlined in new financial documents from Electronic Arts today, the publisher revealed that it has two projects releasing in its current fiscal year that it hasn't yet announced. One of these titles was said to stem from an IP that Electronic Arts itself owns. Not long after this information was shared, reporter Jeff Grubb spoke up and said that this game in question is indeed Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Grubb didn't have anything else to say about when the RPG might arrive, but if it is truly releasing in this fiscal year, this means that it would launch by March 31, 2025, at the absolute latest.

Near the end of 2023, BioWare itself shared some brief new information about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Specifically, the studio said that it would look to finally share more details about the game at an undetermined time in the summer of 2024. With this window rapidly approaching, it seems likely that BioWare will show off Dreadwolf in a big way soon, perhaps during June's Summer Game Fest event. Whenever the game is shown off, gameplay footage and a release date are both a near certainty to be divulged.

For now, the only thing that's known for certain about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is that it's in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Further down the line, BioWare has confirmed that it's also working on a new Mass Effect installment that should continue the story seen in the franchise's original trilogy. A launch window nor an official title for this project has yet to be shared in any capacity, though, as it's likely still many years away from release.

After more than a decade without a new game in the Top Spin franchise, publisher 2K Games finally launched TopSpin 2K25 late last month. The game boasted solid scores at launch, nabbing a 78 from Metacritic for the PlayStation 5 version. That said, TopSpin 2K25 wasn't without its issues, and developer Hangar 13 has been hard at work on the first patch. That dropped today, though it took some time before the TopSpin 2K25 devs made the patch notes available. Thankfully, they've posted them on Twitter and the official site, giving players all the information they need to see what's changed in the new update.

The most notable change in the new update is that several Pro Players have had stat adjustments. Unfortunately, 2K Games didn't specify which players have been changed in the patch notes, but reports on Reddit claim that Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have been nerfed. Hopefully, 2K adds more transparency in these player updates moving forward. For now, you'll just want to check the subreddit to see if players find more nerfs or buffs.

Beyond that, the team has added some new features for MyPlayer and Career Mode. Now, you'll be able to select from 30 new countries when creating your character. Meanwhile, the team has changed some objectives in career mode to ensure that players don't see as many repeats. Finally, there are some general server stability improvements, though again, 2K Games didn't provide many details about what they're doing behind the scenes.

Below, you can find the full patch notes for the May 7th update. TopSpin 2K25 is available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of new patches for TopSpin 2K25. Players on the official subreddit have been asking for 2K to address some of the gameplay issues (most notably accuracy and power), so it would be great to see the team address those problems in a future update.

TopSpin 2K25 May 7th Update Patch Notes

• Pro Player Stats Adjustments - Updated stats for some pros to address community feedback.
• Additional Countries for MyPLAYER - Added approximately 30 new countries as selectable choices in MyPLAYER.
• Career Mode Status Objective Update - Addressed a reported concern regarding instances where the Career Mode "status" objectives for Young Gun and New Talent were repeated.
• Server Stability Improvements - Made adjustments to improve server stability.

Remedy Entertainment, the creators of the Alan Wake games including Control, is no longer moving forward with its multiplayer game known only by its codename, Kestrel. This decision marks the end of the development of game that once had a completely different project name and release plan when it was formerly known as Vanguard. Remedy said that the game was still in its concept stage, and now that work on it has finished, those who were working on Kestrel will be reassigned to some of Remedy's other games that it's working on.

Remedy has talked about Kestrel sporadically during its various updates providing transparency on its in-development projects. Back in November, Remedy said that it'd be rebooting Vanguard as Kestrel instead. Vanguard was to be a free-to-play multiplayer game which was already quite the departure from the games Remedy is typically known for, but it became more in line with Remedy's portfolio when the November update confirmed that it would be a premium game instead with a "strong, cooperative multiplayer component." Tencent has been on board to co-publish the game ever 2021 when the Vanguard agreement was reached.

Fast-forward to today and we have Remedy announcing now that it's not moving forward with Kestrel. Now, other projects "will get experienced developers reassigned from Kestrel."

"Codename Kestrel showed early promise, but the project was still in its early concept stage," said Remedy's CEO Tero Virtala." Our other projects have advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development, and increasing focus on them provides us with benefits. We can reallocate talented Kestrel developers to these other game projects, and many of our support functions get additional focus on their operations. This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well. I want to thank our Kestrel development team. Though we decided to discontinue the project for wider Remedy benefits, our team has done good work and provided us with valuable learnings. I also want to thank Tencent for their partnership so far. They have been very professional and supportive."

With Kestrel now finished, the other projects Remedy has in the works include a Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake, Control 2, and another game codenamed Condor. The first of those are pretty self-explanatory with the Max Payne games getting remade and Control 2 a sequel to the Alan Wake universe game Control, but Condor is one game that's not quite as transparent. We know that it's also a multiplayer project and is a spin-off from Control. It'll be a four-player PvE game from Remedy and 505 Games, and it's in the works for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.

"Remedy Entertainment, developer of the award-winning game Control, has signed an agreement with 505 Games under which Remedy and 505 Games, an international video game publisher and a subsidiary of Digital Bros Group, will co-publish and develop a new 4-player cooperative PvE (player vs. environment) game, codenamed Condor," Remedy said back in 2019 when plans for the game were more solidified.

Last month, a ban against TikTok was approved by the United States House of Representatives and Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden. The law gives ByteDance 270 days to divest from TikTok, with a possibility of a 90-day extension. Rather than seeking a new owner for the company, ByteDance has filed a petition in federal court seeking to overturn the ban. In the filing, ByteDance calls the ban "unconstitutional," and claims that a divestment like that would simply be impossible; according to the filing, this would result in TikTok ceasing to exist early next year.

What TikTok is Saying

The original TikTok ban passed by the House of Representatives in March failed to reach the Senate, as there were concerns about the original timeline that had been proposed; that original ban would have only given ByteDance 165 days to sell off the company. It wasn't until the number of days was given an increase that holdouts like Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington agreed to vote in favor of the ban. However, ByteDance is arguing that even this isn't nearly enough time.

"The 'qualified divestiture' demanded by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act. Petitioners have repeatedly explained this to the U.S. government, and sponsors of the Act were aware that divestment is not possible. There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere," TikTok's petition reads.

Is the TikTok Ban Unconstitutional?

The petition from ByteDance goes on to state that even if such a thing were possible, it would still be unconstitutional. One of the reasons the U.S. government has opposed TikTok is the company's alleged ties to the Chinese government. Congress has long argued that TikTok could be used to spy on private citizens, an argument that predates Joe Biden's time as the United States President. However, ByteDance is claiming that if the Act were to be upheld, it would give congress the power to "circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security," stating that this could be used against newspapers and websites, as well. Basically, the argument ByteDance makes is that this power could be widely used as a weapon against any platform that congress claims is a security threat, even if there isn't enough evidence to prove it.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. At this time, it remains to be seen how this will play out, but determining the constitutionality should result in the proposed ban being delayed even further.

Do you think TikTok has a strong case? How do you feel about the ban? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Nintendo has teased that its next video game console will be very similar to the Nintendo Switch. For multiple years at this point, it's been an open secret that Nintendo will likely make a "Switch 2" as its next console. Despite this widespread belief, Nintendo itself hadn't confirmed as much as the Japanese gaming publisher instead chose to not even share that it was working on new hardware. Now, that silence has finally come to an end with Nintendo's president essentially verifying that the next hardware from the company will be a revamped version of the Switch.

As reported by David Gibson on X (or Twitter), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said in a call today following the release of the company's latest financials that its upcoming console would be the "next model" of the Switch. Furukawa didn't provide any other details about what the platform might have in store, but this is basically our first confirmation that a Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be released in due time from Nintendo.

When it comes to the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, well, we still have no idea when it might come about. Furukawa revealed this morning that the console is set to be unveiled before Nintendo's current fiscal year comes to a close, which ends in March 2025. However, it was stressed that this reveal wouldn't take place during the next Nintendo Direct presentation, which is now known to be transpiring in June 2024. Instead, this Direct will be related to new games that are launching on the current Switch model in the back half of 2024.

Currently, not much is known about what the final year of the Switch might have in store. Later this month, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is set to hit the platform and will be followed by Luigi's Mansion 2 HD in June. Metroid Prime 4 then remains the one last major Switch exclusive that has yet to arrive on the platform. To this point, Nintendo hasn't updated fans about the status of this new Metroid Prime entry since 2019 when development on the project was rebooted entirely.

[H/T VGC]

Most fans of developer CD Projekt's The Witcher series are hoping to hear news about whatever's coming with the new trilogy the team is working on. However, the developers have continued to work on a new project for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt that should inject new life into the 2015 classic. The REDkit is a new suite of modding tools for The Witcher 3 that lets players dive in and create their own stories within Geralt of Rivia's world. After hosting a playtest session last month, CD Projekt has announced that REDkit will launch on May 21st for players who own The Witcher 3.

What Is The Witcher 3's REDkit?

As mentioned, REDkit is a new modding tool for The Witcher 3. The developers say, "This powerful tool offers advanced features and unparalleled flexibility, enabling you to unleash your creativity by crafting new quests, characters, animations, and more."

Essentially, players can edit almost everything in The Witcher 3, letting them create basically anything. If players want to build an entirely new territory filled with its own quest lines, they can. With so many players wanting more from The Witcher franchise, especially with the success of the Netflix series, it seems like plenty of modders will be jumping in to create in-depth mods for players to explore. That said, the tool's success does rely on modders using it. Hopefully, REDkit is easy enough for creators to take advantage of and we see several nifty projects coming out relatively soon. If nothing else, that'll make the wait for whatever The Witcher 4 becomes a little more bearable.

The Witcher 4 Release Date

As of this writing, we don't know much about The Witcher 4. A recent report claimed it wouldn't be out until around 2028, which means it might launch on PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox. However, it's worth remembering that CD Projekt's last release, Cyberpunk 2077, struggled out of the gate. The team might take extra time to polish The Witcher 4 before launching, pushing that release date even further. It's also worth noting that the developer has at least four other projects in the works, and it will probably provide support for Fool's Theory's upcoming The Witcher Remake. Suffice it to say, the team is very busy these days.

Another recent report from the developers themselves claims that The Witcher 4 will include brand-new gameplay and mechanics for the series. The team hasn't outlined what those new features will be, but it seems like The Witcher 4 is shaping up to be CD Projekt's most ambitious game thus far. And, if the 2028 rumors turn out to be correct, we might not learn more for a few more years.

The Witcher 3: REDkit launches on May 21st on PC. While the modding tool is only available on PC, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt is also available on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox consoles. However, those consoles will not be able to take advantage of the mods from REDkit.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of the biggest success stories of 2023. The Nintendo adaptation proved to be a huge hit with audiences, bringing in a worldwide box office of $1.36 billion. According to a new report from Deadline, the movie didn't just generate a ton of cash, it also was the most profitable film released last year. After breaking down the movie's revenues and subtracting its various expenses, Deadline estimates Universal's studio net to be an impressive $559 million. That number brings it in well ahead of Barbie, which took the second place spot at $421 million.

Readers should note that these are estimates, so these numbers could vary from what Universal has internally. However, it does give us a pretty good idea just how valuable the partnership has been between Nintendo and Universal. The two companies finally announced a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie back in March, which is targeting a release date of April 3rd, 2026. At this time, details are very slim, but hopefully we'll learn more as the movie's release date starts to get closer.

A Major Change for Nintendo

The success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie has led to a major change in direction for Nintendo. After the critical and commercial failure of the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie back in 1993, the company was understandably hesitant to allow additional Hollywood adaptations of its franchises. However, Nintendo has been increasingly looking for ways to expand the audience to people that don't play video games. The partnership with Universal has not only led to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it's also resulted in attractions at Universal theme parks around the world.

Nintendo has already seen some positive impact for its video game business as a result of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. During the company's financial results last November, Nintendo revealed that sales for existing Mario games on Switch had seen a notable increase over the previous year, while new users for Mario mobile games were up even higher. Nintendo directly attributed those increases to the movie's success, and that's not surprising as we've seen other successful video game adaptations do the same for games like Fallout 4.

The Legend of Zelda Movie

In addition to Nintendo's partnership with Universal, the company is also working with Sony on an adaptation of The Legend of Zelda. At this time, details are very slim about the film, but unlike The Super Mario Bros. Movie, this one will be in live-action. The Zelda movie will be directed by Wes Ball. It remains to be seen whether the Zelda adaptation will find nearly as much success for Sony and Nintendo, but hopefully the two companies can come up with something that pleases existing fans and newcomers alike.

Are you surprised by how well The Super Mario Bros. Movie did for Universal? Do you think the Zelda movie will be similarly successful? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

This morning, Xbox made major waves when it announced the closures of several studios, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks. The move has been met with a lot of shock throughout the video game industry, from both the developers that worked at these companies, as well as those at other studios. Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler jumped in on the conversation, with some harsh words about the acquisition culture that has taken over the video game industry over the last few years. Mahler said that today's events are the reason "why we didn't allow Moon Studios to get acquired by a big publisher."

"I've lived through the 90s and saw what happened when smaller studios got acquired by EA," Mahler wrote on Twitter. "Never again."

The Video Game Industry's Acquisition Problem

Over the last few years, a number of smaller studios have been gobbled up by bigger companies, such as Xbox, PlayStation, and Embracer. Unfortunately, these acquisitions have led to a steady stream of lay-offs and studio closures. Mahler is very much justified in his hesitation to sell to a bigger studio, but unfortunately, employees at these companies don't have any say in those kinds of decisions. There are plenty of people at Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks that didn't get a vote on any of these acquisitions and are now out of work.

In a follow-up Tweet, Mahler tagged both Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, inviting the former employees of these studios to apply for positions at Moon Studios. It remains to be seen whether anyone will take him up on this offer, but hopefully this will lead to at least some developers finding a new place of business.

What Games Has Moon Studios Worked on?

Clearly, the decision to remain independent has worked out for Moon Studios! The developer has released several critically and financially successful games over the last few years, including Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Last month, Moon Studios released No Rest for the Wicked in early access on Steam. The game is currently planned for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, but won't be released on consoles until after the early access period has come to an end.

It's somewhat unsurprising to see Mahler weighing in on today's events. The Moon Studios CEO has often been outspoken about a number of different trends in the video game industry, and that hasn't been limited to the current acquisition craze. Following the release of Cyberpunk 2077, Mahler had a number of harsh words to share about the game's status at launch as well as other games that failed to deliver on their pre-release hype, including No Man's Sky. In 2021, Mahler called CD Projekt Red and Hello Games "snake oil salesmen" and accused them of telling "tall tales that held absolutely no substance."

Are you happy that Moon Studios has resisted acquisition offers? Do you wish more video game developers would stay independent? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

A third Gray Zone Warfare hotfix went live this week to once again take a crack at the bug that's been causing players to quite literally lose their heads when joining servers. Previous hotfixes have attempted to fix the same issue, though even after those, it was discovered the invisibility persisted. Other changes included in this same update were directed at things like crashes players were experiencing, but like the other smaller hotfixes before it, this latest patch doesn't have quite as much to it as a full-on update.

As such, the patch notes for Gray Zone Warfare Hotfix #3 are pretty brief, so we'll get right to them with those fixes found below:

Gray Zone Warfare Hotfix #3

Fixes

• [Fixed] An issue that prevented players from canceling matchmaking.
• [Fixed] A crash in the friends panel when searching for friends.
• [Fixed] A common ui crash.
• [Fixed] Several other, more general client and server crashes.
• [Fixed] An issue where players lost their head, clothes, or containers after rejoining a server.
• [Fixed] An issue where the dlc apparel would appear in the stash after claiming.

Changes

• [Changed] Optimized server connections to prioritize joining already running servers.

Marek Rabas, the CEO and co-founder of Gray Zone Warfare developer Madfinger Games, tweeted about the update as well and specified that this one should indeed fix the player head issue. Rabas also told players that there's a larger patch on the way that'll head to open beta soon for players to test out before it goes live for everyone else.

"Hey, the hotfix is live! It should resolve all the issues with storing player persistent data and fix your heads. We're still working on a larger patch, which will transition from internal to open beta testing this week," Rabas said. "We had to slow down a bit due to national holidays and the need for people to take vacations, so they don't burn out. Hope you understand. Thank you for playing #GZW and supporting us. It means a lot to the whole team."

Crashes and bugs have been pretty much everything that the hotfixes have consisted of thus far, though the one before today's did add one feature that players had been asking for. Gray Zone Warfare asks players to choose a faction when they start the game, but players were realizing that if they and their friends chose different factions, they couldn't play together on the same team and had no way to reset their choice to remedy that. Hotfix #2 added an option to do so, but it's best done early on since it means wiping your progression if you want to repick your faction.

Gray Zone Warfare is now available on Steam as an early access release.

EA Sports FC 24 is currently in the midst of its annual Team of the Season promo in Ultimate Team. As of this writing, it's the Bundesliga's turn up to the plate, which means high-rated cards for players like Harry Kane, Florian Wirtz, and several other top stars from the German league. However, the developers at Electronic Arts are continuing to work on EA Sports FC 24's technical aspects in addition to the new Ultimate Team content. To that end, the team revealed Title Update #14 a week ago, and it's finally been added to the live version of the game earlier today.

Unlike some of the more recent Title Updates, this one is relatively minimal. Don't expect to see any massive changes to gameplay following this patch. Instead, this is more focused on fixing various visual glitches and ironing out stability problems. The most notable change is that Electronic Arts has finally fixed the issue where Contracts weren't applying to cards in Ultimate Team. While rare, this issue has been incredibly annoying for Ultimate Team players, so it's good to see the team finally address it. For anyone who loves EA Sports FC 24's ability to emulate the look of matchday, the team has also implemented several updates for gloves, balls, and kits, making the digital players look even more like their real-world selves.

Below, you'll find the full patch notes for Title Update #14. EA Sports FC 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms. Now is a great time to hop into Ultimate Team if you've been sitting on the sideline. It's never been easier to quickly get great players into your lineup with Team of the Season currently running. And that will only get easier as we move forward through the six-week promo and into the summer.

EA Sports FC 24 Title Update #14 Patch Notes

The Title Update #14 is now available for all versions of EA SPORTS FC 24, and includes the changes below.

Ultimate Team

Addressed the following issue:

• Addressed a rare situation in which a Contract did not apply to a Player Item as intended.

General, Audio, and Visual

Addressed the following issues:

• Updated instances of incorrect text, UI, and ad boards displaying.
• Updated some gloves, balls, and kits.
• Addressed instances of stability issues that could have occurred.

Thanks to those who've provided and continue to provide feedback. Throughout the course of the EA SPORTS FC 24 season, we'll provide you with more information and updates if and when they become available. Be sure to follow @?EASFCDIRECT on X and to check out the EA SPORTS FC Tracker for the latest news and updates.

• The EA SPORTS FC Team

Xbox made the shocking announcement this morning that it would be shuttering Arkane Austin, the studio behind Prey and, most recently, Redfall. Within the past week, questions have started to arise about Redfall and its DLC, which Bethesda promised to players when it launched in 2023. Now, it's known that this DLC will never be seeing the light of day as work on Redfall has now ended completely in light of Arkane Austin closing.

In an email sent to Microsoft employees today, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty announced the end of Arkane Austin. Within the email (obtained by IGN), Booty said that Redfall's most recently update, which launched this past November, would be the final one that the game ever receives. As for the DLC that was promised to players who purchased the "Bite Back Edition" of the title, Booty said that Xbox would look to "provide make-good offers" to those who may have already spent their money on it.

"Redfall's previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game," says the internal email from Booty. "The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC."

Initially, Redfall's DLC was set to add two new playable characters that would feature "new skills and unique gameplay." Following the dismal launch of Redfall, though, the game's player base quickly dwindled to the point that virtually no one seemed to be playing it across Xbox or PC platforms. As a result, hearing that the DLC has been canceled isn't a huge shock, but to see that Arkane Austin has now been shut down altogether is a move that many are greatly upset with Xbox for making.

How do you feel about seeing this work on Redfall end so suddenly? And are you someone who has been patiently waiting for the game's DLC to arrive following its launch last year? Be sure to let me know all of your own thoughts on social media at @MooreMan12.

This morning, it was revealed that Xbox will be closing Tango Gameworks, the studio behind The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush. In a year where the future of the Xbox brand has been a huge question among fans, this might be the worst decision the company has made in a very long time. The development studio was a small one and relatively new, having only existed since 2010, but it presented a great opportunity for Xbox to expand its audience. However, Tango Gameworks has now been closed, alongside Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games. As a result, that opportunity has been squandered, as Xbox continues to chase short-term profitability while sacrificing any long-term prospects for the brand's future.

Since the Xbox brand first made its debut, one of the company's biggest struggles has been with audiences in Japan. In the region, Nintendo and PlayStation dominate, and Microsoft has struggled to make any kind of headway. When Microsoft purchased Bethesda and ZeniMax Media in 2021, Tango Gameworks was one of several studios that came under the Xbox umbrella. The studio had previously worked on The Evil Within games, which were highly praised by horror fans. Xbox does not own a lot of studios based in Japan, making this a rare exception. Founded by original Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, the studio could have finally helped Xbox get the kind of first-party titles that would appeal to Japanese audiences.

Why Tango Gameworks Was a Perfect Fit for Xbox

Less than two years after the ZeniMax/Bethesda purchase, Tango Gameworks delivered Hi-Fi Rush. Surprise released during an Xbox Showcase event, the game immediately saw critical praise, and went on to receive several award nominations later that year. There were reports that sales for Hi-Fi Rush weren't what Xbox was expecting, but it takes time for a new franchise to find an audience. Xbox seemed to be well-aware of that fact, and Hi-Fi Rush was one of several games that the company decided to bring to PS5 earlier this year. While some Xbox fans worried that removing the exclusive nature of these games would make people less likely to buy an Xbox console, the move seemed to make it more likely that Hi-Fi Rush could get a sequel. Those hopes were dashed this morning.

It's not just frustrating that today's move will ensure that The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush go away; it's everything else Tango Gameworks could have delivered for Xbox. Right now, Xbox is lacking an identity. Outside of Xbox Game Pass, there's nothing truly positive that people associate with the brand. The best days of Halo seem to be in the past, and some of Xbox's most exciting future exclusives are Marvel's Blade and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle; two franchises that are owned by Disney.

This whole decision is incredibly short-sighted, and even people are Xbox are questioning it. Over the last year, there have been countless studio closures and lay-offs throughout the video game industry; at this point, gamers, pundits, and developers are almost growing numb to it. But the Tango Gameworks closure exemplifies a problem where short-term profits for the industry are being greatly prioritized over long-term growth. Tango Gameworks is the type of studio that Xbox should not only have kept around, but also invested in. For Tango Gameworks, Hi-Fi Rush was an attempt to show that the studio could produce something that wasn't horror-related like its previous titles had been. Not only did the studio accomplish just that, it gave Xbox a rare must-own game that actually belonged to Xbox.

A Foreboding Future for Xbox

It's very hard to be optimistic about the future of Xbox right now. The constant lay-offs, studio closures, and lack of significant exclusives have made this console generation a bleak one. The problem is, it shouldn't be! Between the purchases of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, Xbox now owns a ludicrous amount of industry talent in addition to popular franchises like Fallout and Call of Duty. And yet none of the company's fans feel any kind of positivity about Xbox. Everything feels chaotic, and no one seems to be planning for the years ahead. Tango Gameworks could have been -- should have been -- a vital part of Xbox's future; a multi-talented studio creating games that appeal to audiences in both Japan and the west. Unfortunately, Microsoft snuffed out that hope.

At the end of the day, every company cares about the bottom line. Cash is king, and everyone is looking to show their shareholders a little bit more with each report. This is hardly just an Xbox problem, as so many other publishers have been doing this exact same thing over the last few years. But these short-term gains are truly killing the future of Xbox, while also leaving talented developers out of work. In the coming days, we'll likely learn more about Microsoft's rationale; the company will try to put some kind of positive spin on today's events, and pretend that Xbox fans have nothing to worry about when it comes to the future. But it's getting harder and harder to feel any kind of optimism towards this company.

Are you upset over the closure of Tango Gameworks? Do you feel any kind of optimism about Xbox? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The latest update for Mortal Kombat 1 has rolled out across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms. As expected, this patch has notably added Mavado as the game's latest Kameo fighter, which follows the arrival of Ermac a few weeks back. Beyond this, NetherRealm Studios has also made some other tweaks to various characters in MK1 that will shift the meta just a bit.

Downloadable at this point in time, the latest update for Mortal Kombat 1 contains some platform-specific fixes for those on PC and Nintendo Switch. Additionally, the update has some overhauls for Invasions and Online play, with the latter solving crashes that have occurred in multiplayer battles. As for the characters that have been altered with this update, NetherRealm has made some slight changes to Sub-Zero and Quan Chi on the main roster while Shujinko and Sonya are the Kameo fighters to be adjusted.

To get a look at everything that has been overhauled with this new Mortal Kombat 1 update, you can view the full patch notes down below.

Mortal Kombat 1 Mavado Update Patch Notes

PC Steam & Epic Games Store

• New Online Benchmark UI screen displayed when failing to meet Krossplay Matchmaking FPS or Storage Speed thresholds
• Fixed an issue where the game wouldn't boot properly if using certain 3rd party software
• Fixed a stability issue with Invasions mode's Tarkatan Colony mesa
• Fixed certain stutters that could occur when dropping below 60FPS in an Online match

Nintendo Switch

• Fixed announcer's voice getting cut off after selecting Arena in practice mode
• Fixed issue where Kung Lao's hat is missing during the intro cinematic
• Fixed Kenshi's 'Festival Disguise' skin to properly change to equipped palette

General Fixes & Adjustments

• Move list corrections & Localization fixes
• Added Mavado Kameo to Roster
• Adjusted head physics during The Klassic Brutality
• Fixed rare issue that could cause a crash while using the Copilot feature on Xbox

Online

• Fixed issue that could cause Xbox players to see a blank pop-up when receiving an invite from a Krossplay Private King of the Hill
• Fixed rare crash that could occur while using Social Menu

Invasions

• Some Encounters in Season of Huntress are no longer required to reach the Season Boss
• Dark Star Johnny Cage Energy Balls now do less damage
• Adjusted difficulty of Raiden Trial: IV Encounter
• Fixed rare issue that allowed player to walk through gate in Fengjian Village without using the Tea Kettle key
• Fixed rare issue that could cause some opponents to have incorrect names during Ambush fights
• Fixed rare issue in Tea House Mesa that could cause the camera to behave incorrectly
• Fixed issue that could cause Geras Time Trial III to not complete if he takes damage
• Fixed "Inner Titan" Talisman still granting infinite super meter after the buff has expired
• Fixed rare issue in some encounters that could cause the opponent to have an incorrect animation after winning the match

Character Specific Adjustments

• Main Fighters
• Sub-Zero
• Fixed issue that could cause Ice Slide to clip into opponent when cancelled into from Attacks near the edge of the Arena
• Quan Chi
• Fixed issue with "Charged by Nether" and "Seeking Power" skins using the same palette
• Kameo Fighters
• Shujinko (Kameo)
• Adjusted how Kopy Kat & Mimic are displayed in move list
• Fixed issues with move list that could occur after a Practice Reset while morphed into opponent Shang Tsung's Kameo
• Adjusted when Shujinko can be pushed by opponent during Mimic Triple Ground Skull
• Fixed lingering sound effects that could occur during Mimic Ermac's Death Embrace
• Sonya (Kameo)
• Slightly increased recharge delay of Energy Rings when used more than once in the same combo

May 2024's free games for PlayStation Plus have arrived across PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 platforms. This past week, Sony announced that it would be bringing four titles to PS Plus in May, which is one more than most subscribers are used to getting. Now, all four of those games are available to begin downloading and playing, although the full lineup isn't accessible for those who might only have a PS4.

As a whole, May 2024's PlayStation Plus games include EA Sports FC 24, Ghostrunner 2, Tunic, and Destiny 2: Lightfall. All four of these games are available to play natively on PS5 and PS4, except for Ghostrunner 2, which is solely playable on PS5. Destiny 2: Lightfall happens to be this month's bonus addition as it is the most recent expansion that Bungie release for D2. Its arrival on PS Plus comes about roughly one month ahead of the launch of Destiny 2: The Final Shape, which is set to be the game's final expansion.

In addition to all four of these titles on PS Plus Essential, those at the Extra and Premium tiers will be getting a new arrival on the Game Catalog later this week. That game is Animal Well, which is set to be the latest day-one addition to the PS Plus Game Catalog. It's not known what else might be heading to PS Plus Extra and Premium this month, but the full lineup should be divulged by Sony next week.

You can learn more about all of the new games joining PlayStation Plus for May 2024 down below.

EA Sports FC 24

"EA SPORTS FC 24 is a new era for The World's Game: 19,000+ fully licensed players, 700+ teams, and 30+ leagues playing together in the most authentic football experience ever created. Feel closer to the game with three cutting-edge technologies powering unparalleled realism in every match: HyperMotionV, PlayStyles optimized by Opta, and an enhanced Frostbite Engine.

Develop club legends and improve your players with the brand new Ultimate Team Evolutions, and welcome women's footballers to the pitch alongside men as you craft your dream XI. Write your own story in Manager and Player Career, and join friends on the pitch with cross-play in Clubs and Volta Football."

Ghostrunner 2

"Blood will run in the highly anticipated hardcore FPP slasher set one year after the events of Ghostrunner. Adventure through a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk future that takes place after the fall of the Keymaster, a tyrant who ruled over Dharma Tower, the last refuge of mankind. Jack is back to take on the violent AI cult that has assembled outside Dharma Tower and shape the future of humanity."

Tunic

"Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in Tunic, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure. Stranded in a ruined land, and armed with only your own curiosity, you will confront colossal beasts, collect strange and powerful items, and unravel long-lost secrets."

Destiny 2: Lightfall

"In a Neptunian city under siege, find strength in your fellow Guardians as the end to all things approaches--the Witness is here. Arm yourself with new rewards and unlock new Dark powers to triumph in Lightfall's unforgettable Legendary mode.

Travel to Neptune and discover a neon metropolis unlike any you've explored in Destiny 2. Meet the Cloud Striders, join the fight against the Shadow Legion, and prevent devastation in the technologically advanced secret city of Neomuna."

Helldivers 2 had quite the roller coaster of a weekend after Sony announced and then later dropped the requirement to have a linked PlayStation Network account to play the game on Steam, but prior to all that transpiring, the most that players were worried about was whether or not the explosive weapon the Eruptor was ricocheting to result in friendly fire kills. Arrowhead Game Studios addressed those concerns briefly last week and said that there was indeed an issue with the Eruptor that technically was causing players to explode themselves or their teammates even if the cause was a bit different than what players assumed. Regardless, an update was promised to fix that issue, and an update is exactly what Helldivers 2 players got this week.

Arrowhead released a Helldivers 2 update Tuesday morning addressing the Eruptor and its friendly fire woes. The weapon's explosives weren't ricocheting off of armor, but it was throwing out shrapnel which in turn was causing friendlies to take damage. That's since been fixed with the weapon itself getting a buff to compensate for the lack of shrapnel damage, though two enemy types were buffed as well in the same update.

The full patch notes for today's Helldivers 2 update can be found below:

Balancing

Primary, Secondary, & Support Weapons

R-36 Eruptor

• Increased explosion damage by 40 and removed shrapnel from the explosion
• This is to avoid cases in which players would randomly one-shot themselves or their teammates in a huge radius around the explosion

Enemies

• Increased Shrieker sight and hearing range slightly.
• Increased Gunship hearing range slightly

Fixes

Gameplay

• We have fixed issues with the way Damage-over-time effects were being applied. This should fix issues where only the network session owner could apply them, and other cases where they would be applied inconsistently.
• Firing the Punisher Plasma while wearing a shield backpack no longer damages the Helldiver
• Fixed issues with some weapon scopes not being aligned in First-Person-View.
• The sound when stimming no longer plays while being interrupted
• Major orders with the "Kill task" now track score correctly. Previously it counted the entire squad's kills once for each player, meaning it would multiply the score by the number of people on the mission; this is now amended.
• Helldivers can no longer land on tall rocks in the "Horde Defend Missions"
• Helldivers can no longer land on top of bug pillars in Deactivate Terminid Control System missions
• Fix for the reinforce stratagem not being present if a Helldiver leaves the session before readying up and then hot joining the active session

Crashes

• Fixed a crash that could occur when all players were dead on the "Deactivate Terminid Control System" mission
• Fixed a crash that could occur on game shutdown
• Fixed a crash that could occur when leaving the mission and rejoining
• Fixed a crash that could occur at the end of cutscenes
• Fixed a crash that could occur when diving into missions
• Fixed a tutorial crash that could occur on PC when ALT+Tabbing
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur when using beam weapons
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur for players on startup when using VPN
• Fixed a soft lock that could occur if the player would open the text chat while having the stratagem menu open
• Other general crash fixes

Social Menu Fixes

• PC players adding friends through friend codes can no longer show up as "Unknown"
• Fixed overlapping footers inside menus
• Steam friends should now be visible in Social Menu, even though Friends List is not set to Public in Steam Privacy Settings
• Recent Players list will now include hot-joining players
• Players are now able to unblock players that were not in their friends list beforehand
• Fixed issue with empty friend-names in Social Menu
• Lobby privacy mode text updates immediately when changed
• Player names longer than 26 characters should now update properly in the Social Menu
• Fixed issue where non-host players could kick others indiscriminately including the host

Other

• Total purchased counter on the right side of the Robotics Workshop section no longer displays 7 / 8 despite all stratagems being purchased
• Resolved some edge cases related to Steam AppId related errors on login

ComicBook was invited to preview the upcoming Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, and while I'm generally not the target audience for multiplayer games like this, I have to say I had a really great time in my two preview rounds, and I'm honestly looking forward to playing the game's full release and checking out the other maps it has to offer. It's as stylized and campy as you would hope a Killer Klowns video game would be, the maps are impressive, and the gameplay is perfectly straightforward and intuitive, so you don't have to spend too long figuring out how to play before you can be bashing human or Klown brains in.

As mentioned, I was able to play two rounds on this game, so I played as both a Klown and a Human. If you're on the Klown side you're on a team of three with the ability to spawn minions to help you out, and if you're a human you're on a team of seven. The objectives are as you'd expect in a horror game - the Klowns are trying to kill humans and harvest their organs, the humans are trying to...not have that happen, of course. Your ultimate goal as a human is to escape, and you've got multiple opportunities to do so throughout the 15-minute round, if you're able to survive being harvested.

I had a lot of fun with both rounds - it's super serotonin inducing to bash humans with a hammer as a Klown, but Human is great for me personally because it involves a lot of stealth, which is always my preferred method of handling combat. There are noticeable gameplay differences between the two - Klowns move much slower (thanks, big shoes), humans are nowhere near as strong. Klowns can fast travel around the map, Humans cannot. Humans die "permanently" (you can be revived one time, but you're in observation mode ((playing a mini game to get an item just in case you are revived)) until then, Klowns respawn if a human is lucky enough to take them out. The escape routes you're seeking as humans seem really fun and sometimes force you to make tough (and harsh) choices.

I really enjoyed the overall design for the game, particularly for the user interface which is just as fun and campy as you'd hope (and pretty much expect) something based on an 80s movie about space clowns to be. Throwing caution to the wind too often for a game where the stakes are pretty high, I was particularly enjoying the details in the map I explored - they're well designed explored the carnival. Apart from visuals the sound is great as well - sound effects while playing as a Klown were so fun, and I'm a big fan of the cotton candy gun sounds.

In my preview session the developer team continually referred to the game as the "best space clown game ever made," and while that's because this is (the only one ever made?), its lack of competition doesn't mean it's any less impressive. I can easily see myself convincing nine of my friends to play a few rounds of this game, and that's only after a two round preview!

A new update for Sea of Thieves has dropped across all platforms. This past week, SoT made waves (pun intended) when it finally released for PlayStation 5. In tandem with this release, Season 12 of the game went live and brought with it a ton of new content to experience. Now, in the wake of this launch, a new hotfix for Sea of Thieves has been let loose to resolve various problems that have started to appear.

As a whole, update version 3.0.0.1 for Sea of Thieves isn't all that massive. The patch primarily looks to fix a couple of gameplay issues that have started to appear, with one overhaul being tied to the Megalodon and it being unwilling to fight against players. Rare has also improved the game's performance on Xbox platforms and has made some changes to the War Chest and Pirate Emporium. In all likelihood, another patch of this nature should be on the horizon as Rare continues to find more problems that need to be addressed.

Until then, you can find the full patch notes for this new Sea of Thieves update attached at the bottom of the page.

Sea of Thieves Update 3.0.0.1 Patch Notes

FIXED ISSUES

Gameplay

• Crews engaging a Megalodon should no longer find that it suddenly becomes passive and leaves the encounter. Be prepared to fight!

• Players are no longer able to get into a state where they can rapidly throw many throwing knives faster than intended.

• Shooting a ranged weapon at a player holding a Gunpowder Barrel should now consistently hit and detonate the barrel first, rather than sometimes hitting the player behind it.

The War Chest

• Players firing a Bone Caller at Skeleton Ships should now progress the Skeleton Squared Commendation.

Pirate Emporium

• The Blow Bubbles Emote has now had its price corrected from 249 to 149 Ancient Coins. Players who purchased the emote at the incorrect price will be reimbursed 100 Ancient Coins.

Performance and Stability

• Players on Xbox attempting to play Sea of Thieves before the full game package has been installed should no longer experience instability during play.

Microsoft announced this week plans to shutter several different Bethesda and ZeniMax studios with four different developers impacted. One of those is Arkane Austin, the developer behind Prey and, more recently, the troubled Redfall, while another is Tango Gameworks, the studio responsible for The Evil Within, its sequel The Evil Within 2, and its newest games HiFi Rush and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Alongside Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, Microsoft is also shutting down Alpha Dog Studios and Roundhouse Games with individual projects such as Redfall and Mighty Doom also impacted by the decision.

The sweeping, unexpected closures of different Bethesda and ZeniMax studios was announced in an internal email sent out by Xbox's Matt Booty (via IGN). For Alpha Dog Studios, the developer will close down entirely with its Mighty Doom mobile game to sunset on August 7th. Roundhouse Games will be folded into ZeniMax Online Studios to work on The Elder Scrolls Online.

The Tango Gameworks closure is a particularly surprising one here given the warm reception the studio's gotten amidst its two Evil Within games and HiFi Rush. The latter was a sharp departure from what horror games Tango was known, and though there were rumors that the rhythm-platformer game didn't well as well as it'd hoped to, it was received well by players and just recently made the multiplatform jump.

Looking at Arkane Austin's Redfall and how poorly it faired, one might be less surprised by that studio's closure, but surprised still given the games that it's worked on in the past. Booty said some developers working at Arkane Austin will be joining other studios, but as for Redfall, the most recent update that the game got will be its last with no plans to continue forward with the previously announced DLC.

"This studio will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda," reads an excerpt from the email obtained by IGN. "Arkane Austin has a history of making impactful and innovative games and it is a pedigree that everyone should be proud of. Redfall's previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC."

Following Booty's internal email being made public, individual studios have posted their own announcements. Tango Gameworks shared a tweet confirming its closure as did Alpha Dog Games. Arkane Austin shared another addressing what Redfall players will get as compensation for investing in the Hero Pass and the Bite Back Edition.

Princess Peach: Showtime! has been available on Nintendo Switch for less than two months now, but the game is off to a very strong start. According to Nintendo's latest financial results, the game has already sold more than 1.22 million copies, officially joining a long list of million sellers on the system. That's not too surprising considering that Peach has long been one of the most iconic women in gaming, but it could bode well for a sequel, or at least a shorter wait for the character's next starring role in a game.

While Princess Peach has been playable in video games since Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988, Showtime is just the second solo game the character has ever had. The first was 2005's Super Princess Peach, which was released on Nintendo DS. That game went on to sell 1.7 million copies during its lifetime, so it will be interesting to see if the Nintendo Switch game can manage to surpass those numbers. Nintendo DS remains the best-selling Nintendo system ever at 154.02 million units sold, so it had a slightly larger install base than Nintendo Switch, but the company's current platform isn't far behind; as of today's numbers, Nintendo Switch has sold more than 140 million units.

A New Direction for Princess Peach

Princess Peach: Showtime! seemed to set the stage for a potential new spin-off series for Nintendo. The game gave Peach new transformation abilities (some of which were more enjoyable than others), as well as her very own set of enemies and supporting characters. It remains to be seen if this will be a one-off like Super Princess Peach was, or if we could see these mechanics and characters continue on in a second game. With Peach having played a major role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it makes sense to establish a series centered around her, just as Nintendo has done with Luigi's Mansion. Peach will always remain a part of the Mario family of characters, but we could see her start to step out from behind the shadow of Nintendo's mascot.

Princess Peach: Showtime! Developer

Princess Peach: Showtime! was developed by Good-Feel, a studio with a long history working alongside Nintendo. While the Japanese company is not owned by Nintendo, Good-Feel has worked on several Nintendo published games, including Wario Land: Shake It!, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and Yoshi's Crafted World. The company has also pitched in on other Nintendo games, including Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Wii Play: Motion. As Nintendo starts to make plans for its next video game console, it's a safe bet we'll see Good-Feel working on something new. Whether that will be another Princess Peach game, or something else entirely, remains to be seen!

Are you happy to see Princess Peach: Showtime! is selling well? Have you picked up the game on Nintendo Switch? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Early this morning, Nintendo made some big announcements about the company's future. In a post on Twitter, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa officially announced that the successor to the Nintendo Switch will be revealed before the end of the company's current fiscal year, which is set to conclude in March 2025. We don't know exactly when the announcement will come, but we do know when it won't happen, and that's next month; Furukawa also announced that a new Nintendo Direct presentation will take place in the month of June, which will exclusively focus on software releasing for the current system.

"We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year. It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation," Furukawa wrote on Twitter.

June Nintendo Direct

The Nintendo Direct in June isn't too surprising; the company has typically held events that month, using those presentations as a way of laying out plans for the holiday season. During last year's June presentation, several new games were announced, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the Super Mario RPG remake. As of this writing, Nintendo has just two first-party games announced for release in 2024: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, which are set to release in May and June, respectively.

In 2024, Nintendo has largely focused on smaller games, as well as remakes of existing titles. Fans and pundits believe that games like Another Code: Recollection and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake have been used to fill out Switch's final year, as Nintendo studios like Nintendo EPD and Next Level Games work on Switch 2 titles, such as the next 3D Mario game, Luigi's Mansion 4, and more.

When Will the Next Nintendo System Release?

Nintendo is promising a reveal for the so-called "Switch 2" before the end of its fiscal year, but the prevailing theory has been that the system will actually be released by that point, as well. Most recently, rumors have suggested that the new system will come out in March 2025, which would be 8 years after the launch of Nintendo Switch. The system was originally expected to launch in the second half of 2024, but a number of outlets reported that the system was pushed back. We don't know what games to expect at launch, but many believe that we'll see a brand-new 3D Mario game in a style similar to Super Mario Odyssey. Given the massive, worldwide success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it would make sense to launch a new system with a new Mario!

Are you excited for June's Nintendo Direct? When do you think the new Nintendo console will be revealed? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Nintendo Switch Online subscribers across Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED have been surprised with a free Zelda download that SNES nostalgics will especially appreciate. And unlike some Nintendo Switch Online deals, this one does not require the Expansion Pack. That said, it is available only for a limited time, or, more specifically, only available until June 3. Further, it is going to require you to play a game first.

This morning Nintendo specifically announced new profile icons based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Nintendo Switch Online. Naturally, these icons include character portraits of Link and Zelda, as well as three other characters from the SNES game.

Before you can claim any of these icons -- which cost 10 Platinum Points a pop -- you will need to boot up the SNES app on the console and start The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. You don't have to actually play it, but it at least has to be booted up before you can gain access to these icons.

Once availability of these icons expires next month, the opportunity to own these icons will likely forever be gone as Nintendo rarely releases the same icons more than once, especially ones released in this style of promotion.

For those somehow unfamiliar with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it is an action-adventure game from Nintendo that debuted in 1991 in Japan before coming to North America in 1992. An SNES exclusive, it is notably the third game in The Legend of Zelda series. It is not only considered one of the greatest games released for the SNES, but it is widely hailed as one of the greatest games ever made, evident by its 95 on Metacritic. And like many games from this era of gaming, it actually holds up quite well for any Nintendo fan yearning to revisit it or anyone looking to check it out for the first time.

For more Nintendo Switch Online coverage -- including all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online news, all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online deals -- click here.

Early last year, Deathverse: Let It Die developer Supertrick Games announced that it was taking its survival battle royale was being taken offline to be "redeveloped." However, it was soon revealed that the team would instead be moving forward with a full redesign of the game, which has now morphed into what the developer is calling a remake of Deathverse: Let It Die. If that sounds confusing, you're in luck because the developer has recently posted a new Developer Diary detailing exactly what players should expect from the Deathverse: Let It Die remake. It's just as strange as fans would expect.

Deathverse: Let It Die Is "Let It Die 3"

The new Developer Diary features a sit-down with Deathverse director Hideyuki Shin and a member of his staff cosplaying as the franchise's mascot Uncle Death. Shin starts by saying that the team is working on the remake of Deathverse, but notes that this new version of the game aims to "please both fans of Let It Die and Deathverse." That means this won't be a simple remake of the battle royale.

Shin said, "To be specific, with Deathverse, we created a game centered around player-versus-player, but there were a lot of things we felt could be improved. After considering those, we decided to make a game that, like Let It Die, has a clear gameplay loop you repeat many times, but also lets you fight against other players. We're trying to take the fun parts from both games to make something new."

Essentially, the team is building an action roguelike with heavy exploration. Like Let It Die, it'll feature single-player and co-op gameplay, but it'll also incorporate some of the PvP action players loved in Deathverse. The team didn't get into specifics beyond that, but Shin did say that the ratio between the two games is "7 to 3? Or 8 to 2? So Let It Die takes the larger portion."

It's not completely clear what this new game will look like, though Uncle Death did share a screenshot that features a character eating a hamburger, so there's at least that to look forward to. More seriously, it seems like we'll have to wait for a future Developer Diary to see the game in action before we know exactly what we're dealing with.

That said, it could be some time before we see the Deathverse: Let It Die remake in action. Remember, the team is porting everything over to Unreal Engine 5, which is going to take quite a bit of work. It also seems like there have been some major redesigns around the project. Most likely, we won't see the project launch until 2025, at the earliest.

Darkest Dungeon 2 launched to solid reviews nearly a year ago, and the developers at Red Hook Studios are currently working on getting the tough-as-nails roguelike ready to launch on PlayStation platforms. However, that doesn't mean the team is leaving the PC version of the game behind. The team previously revealed that it's working on mod support for the PC version of Darkest Dungeon 2, but today, Red Hook put an official release window on the new addition. If everything goes according to plan, mod support will be in Darkest Dungeon 2 "before the end of June."

Darkest Dungeon 2 Mod Support on PC

Before announcing the release window, Red Hook made it clear that it's taken longer than some fans expected to get mod support up and running in Darkest Dungeon 2 because the team built the sequel on a new engine. That said, it's almost ready for prime time, which is exciting news for fans who are looking for more to do in DD2. However, it's important to note that mod support will be rolled out over time. The team would rather players have access to some of the tools now instead of waiting until everything is ready. That also means the team can work on mod support concurrently with console releases and the upcoming Kingdoms expansion.

This first version of mod support will "tackle the initial mod loading/overwriting logic and Steam workshop integration." That means players will be able to create custom items (Red Hook mentioned "trinkets, combat items, inn items, and more) and give heroes new palettes. Red Hook plans to continue building on the feature, eventually giving players the tools to even create custom classes, though that's likely still relatively far away in the development pipeline. Either way, it's an exciting time to be a Darkest Dungeon 2. There's a ton of new content on the horizon and a forthcoming PlayStation release will bring the game to a whole new audience.

Darkest Dungeon 2 PlayStation Release Date

Last month, it was announced that Darkest Dungeon 2 is finally coming to consoles, at least if you have a PlayStation 4 or 5. DD2 will launch on those platforms on July 15th, and if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber you can grab 15% off the purchase price if you preorder. Anyone who wants extra content for the game can also pick up The Binding Blade DLC, which adds two new heroes, a new quest line, a wandering boss, and more. If you want to save a buck, the base game and DLC are currently available in a bundle, giving you a nice discount for grabbing everything.

Red Hook is also working to have the new Kingdoms DLC ready for later this year. It'll be completely free for players on PC (and likely on PlayStation consoles) and adds three new monster factions. The expansion doesn't have a release date attached yet, but Red Hook says it should be ready in late 2024.

Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated is an official manga series with Magic: The Gathering serving as one of its core story components, and Viz Media will finally be bringing this manga to the United States very soon! Magic: The Gathering is no stranger to anime or manga as Wizards of the Coast has teamed up with all sorts of pop culture juggernauts like Godzilla, Hatsune Miku and more for special cards in the official trading card game. It seems these collaborations go the other way as well as an official manga series based on the game has been a big hit in Japan.

Katsura Ise and Takuma Yokota's original Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated manga follows a pair of students in the 1990s that form an unlikely friendship thanks to their mutual love of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. First debuting as a one-shot in 2018 before being picked up into a full series with fifteen volumes under its belt as of the time of this publication, Viz Media has announced they have licensed Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated for an English language release later this Fall. Check out the official announcement from Viz Media below:

Announcement: Attention Magic: The Gathering fans! The original Japanese manga, "Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga," with story by Katsura Ise, and art by Takuma Yakota, releases Fall 2024. Includes an exclusive card! pic.twitter.com/IVpEbr12ID

-- VIZ (@VIZMedia) May 3, 2024

What Is the Magic: The Gathering Manga?

Originally crafted as a one-shot from Katsura Ise and Takuma Yokota, Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated is currently running as a full serialization within the pages of Kadokawa's Monthly Shonen Ace magazine since its debut in 2018. It's a series released in full cooperation with Wizards of the Coast, and Viz Media will even be launching the English version of the manga in the United States with an exclusive trading card packed together with it when it hits shelves in the Fall later this year.

As for what to expect from this new Magic: The Gathering manga series coming our way, Kadokawa teases the story for Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated as such, "Seems like in everything he does, geeky Tokigawa Middle School student Hajime Kano always comes in second place behind popular honor student Emi Sawatari. But when Hajime takes a trip to a new game store he's been hearing about, their rivalry takes an unexpected turn. Welcome to the early days of Magic: The Gathering, when a trading card game shaped a generation forever!"

Since unveiling the original Oculus (now Meta) Quest 1 several years ago, the developers at Reality Labs have produced two new iterations, with the Meta Quest 3 launching late last year to largely positive reviews. If the platform has one killer app, Beat Saber is certainly a contender. The game's become one of the must-play VR titles since its launch and the developers at Beat Games have continued to iterate with new modes and songs. However, as Beat Saber matures and Reality Labs has stopped producing new Meta Quest 1s, the team has had to make the difficult choice to end support for the game on that particular platform.

Beat Saber Support Ending on Meta Quest 1

Beat Saber's Meta Quest 1 support is ending on November 2nd. At that point, players will be unable to use the multiplayer function and Beat Games says, "Leaderboards functionality might be phased out in the future." Regardless, the team will stop issuing new updates for the Meta Quest 1 version at that point and will no longer provide customer support.

Basically, you'll still be able to play Beat Saber on your Quest 1, just don't expect any bug fixes or further changes. Thankfully, your copy of the game and any songs you purchase as DLC will carry over to any of the other headsets in the Meta family. So, if you decide to purchase a Meta Quest 3, all of your content will be waiting for you on a device that Beat Games continues to support.

This is disappointing news for fans on Meta Quest 1, but it's not too surprising. After all, if the team wants to continue to innovate inside Beat Saber, they can't be held back by old hardware. Some might prefer the team worked on Beat Saber 2, but this is also a solid step because players won't have to worry about re-buying their song DLC if Beat Games launches a new game. Either way, the developers have certainly given fans plenty of notice about support going away. Now, it's up to the fans to decide if they want to shell out for a more modern headset or stick with an unsupported version of the game.

What's New in Beat Saber?

Alongside the announcement about Beat Saber no longer supporting the Meta Quest 1, the team revealed a new update. This is a smaller update that simply fixes a few visual glitches and song timings, but Beat Saber's latest major patch was one of its more exciting drops for hip-hop fans. The new Hip Hop Mixtape dropped on April 9th and it includes the following tracks:

• 2Pac - "All Eyez On Me (featuring Big Syke)"
  
• Nicki Minaj - "Anaconda"
  
• Snoop Dogg - "Gin and Juice"
  
• Eminem - "Godzilla (feat. Juice WRLD)"
  
• Outkast - "Hey Ya!"
  
• The Notorious B.I.G. - "Hypnotize"
  
• Dr Dre - "Nuthin' But A "G" Thang"
  
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - "The Message"
  
• Pop Smoke - "The Woo (feat. 50 Cent, Roddy Ricch)"

Beat Saber is available on PlayStation VR, PC, and Meta Quest.

It looks as though three hugely popular weapons from the Call of Duty series should soon be coming back to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone. Currently, MW3 and Warzone are in the midst of Season 3 Reloaded, which went live a little under a week ago. With Season 3 now over halfway finished, the focus is beginning to turn to Season 4, which should kick off near the end of May. To that end, new leaks have now suggested that three fan-favorite guns should be coming back to Call of Duty with this next wave of content.

As reported by Charlie Intel, data miners have recently discovered that the STG44, Kar98k, and Spas-12 are all set to return to MW3 and Warzone in the future. A specific release date for these guns has yet to be disclosed, but given that they're now appearing in the data for each Call of Duty title following the start of Season 3 Reloaded, it suggests that a launch in Season 4 is quite likely. As a result, we should learn more directly from Activision on this front in the weeks ahead.

When it comes to the three guns in question here, they happen to be from three different weapon classes. The STG44 is one of the most iconic assault rifles from the WWII-era Call of Duty games, although it hasn't been seen in a current entry in quite some time. The Kar98k is then a bolt-action rifle that has also previously come to Warzone and other titles, although it's primarily associated with the WWII entries. Lastly, the Spas-12 is arguably the most popular shotgun ever in Call of Duty and first appeared in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. For it to now be coming back is a huge deal as it will likely become the most-used shotgun across MW3 and Warzone.

As mentioned, Season 4 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone are broadly set to begin at the conclusion of May or beginning of June. Whenever we learn more about the launch and additional content that will come with Season 4 of MW3 and Warzone, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop here on ComicBook.com.

Pokemon Go's next Community Day event will be taking place on May 19th, and Niantic has seemingly revealed which Pokemon will be getting the spotlight: Bounsweet! The Grass-type Pokemon appeared in a short teaser video shared to the official Pokemon Go Instagram account, alongside the date of the event. Normally, this would be a pretty open and shut case, but the video actually features a second Pokemon as well. Prior to Bounsweet jumping out of some bushes, the shadow of a Toucannon can be seen flying overhead, and the Pokemon's cry can be heard.

The teaser can be found in the Instagram post embedded below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Poke?mon GO (@pokemongoapp)

Why Bounsweet is Likely May's Community Day Pokemon

Naturally, this teaser has caused confusion among viewers. Some fans are wondering if this means that we'll see two Pokemon highlighted during the event, or if there might be a second surprise Community Day for the month of May. It's impossible to say for certain, but it's likely the event is simply going to focus on Bounsweet. There was only one Community Day listed for May as part of the schedule released before the start of this season. In fact the only other May event on that calendar has now been confirmed as Flock Together Research Day, which will be taking place on May 11th.

Given that, the appearance by Toucannon in the trailer above is likely meant as a reference to Bounsweet's Pokedex entry. That entry states that Bounsweet "tries to resist being swallowed by bird Pokemon by spinning the sepals on its head." If Niantic truly was planning to tease two Pokemon for this Community Day, or to have two events this month, the company would have likely featured Pikipek in the video, rather than Toucannon. Toucannon is Pikipek's final evolved form, so it would make a lot more sense for its shadow to appear. We won't know for sure until there's a full announcement, but it seems pretty clear the focus is going to be on the Grass-type.

What Does Shiny Bounsweet Look Like?

The Shiny version of Bounsweet swaps out the Pokemon's traditional colors for some nice pastels. The green sepals on Bounsweet's head have been switched with a light purple, while the Pokemon's dark pink body is now a lighter shade. Finally, the Pokemon's lower torso has more of a yellow coloration, as opposed to the standard white. An image of Shiny Bounsweet from Pokemon Sword and Shield can be found below.

Bounsweet has two evolved forms: Steenee and Tsareena. Evolving Bounsweet into Steeny requires 25 Bounsweet Candies, and then another 100 Candies to evolve it into Tsareena. All three of these Pokemon are pure Grass-types. Bounsweet and its evolved forms first appeared in Pokemon Sun and Moon, so they hail from the Alola region.

Are you excited for May's Pokemon Go Community Day? Do you think the event will exclusively focus on Bounsweet, or will it also feature Pikipek? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Ahead of its launch on PC later this month, Ghost of Tsushima developer Sucker Punch Productions has provided clarity on whether or not players will need to link their PlayStation account in order to play. Within the past week, there has been a ton of blowback on Sony after the publisher revealed that Helldivers 2 would soon require players on PC to sign-in to their PSN account to experience the game. Although this decision was eventually reversed, it naturally led many to wonder about how Sucker Punch would have to approach this situation with Ghost of Tsushima. Now, we seem to have our answer.

In a recent post on X (or Twitter), Sucker Punch said that a PSN account will not be required in order to experience the single-player content in Ghost of Tsushima. As a result, anyone can purchase the game on Steam or the Epic Games Store and will be able to play it without having to sign-in to a PS account. However, Sucker Punch made clear that this wouldn't extend to Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, which is the game's multiplayer component. When trying to play Legends, a PSN account will be needed before the experience can begin.

In light of Sony reversing this ruling with Helldivers 2, there's a chance that this plan could also change with Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. For now, Sucker Punch hasn't provided a further update on the matter, though, which suggests that a PSN account will likely be required when the game hits PC next week. If and when this potentially changes, though, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop here on ComicBook.com.

As mentioned, Ghost of Tsushima will release next week on May 16 for PC across Steam and EGS. This version of the game will be the Director's Cut, which means it will contain all of the post-launch DLC that came to Ghost of Tsushima later on. Additionally, the Legends multiplayer mode will be crossplay-enabled, meaning that PC users can play with those who own the game on PS5 and PS4.

Developer Respawn Entertainment is dropping the Season 21 update in Apex Legends, but the team has shared the full patch notes a day early to give players a chance to look through everything before the update goes live. We've known a bit now that Season 21 will include a new Legend named Alter, with her abilities being revealed a few days ago in the highlights blog. However, the Season 21 update is much more than just the new Legend. Apex Legends is also bringing back Solos mode for the season while changing up the map rotation to include Broken Moon, Kings Canyon, and World's Edge.

Outside of those big ticket items, the team at Respawn is introducing all kinds of balance updates and bug fixes. The list is huge (as you can see below), but it includes updates to the Care Package and changed drop rates to ensure that any time an unarmed player opens a loot bin, they will automatically get a weapon. As Respawn says, no longer will you be "bringing knuckles to a gunfight." That's only the tip of the iceberg. If you're an Apex Legends die-hard, there are a ton of new changes to sort through.

Below, you'll find the full patch notes for the Season 21 update. Apex Legends is available on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms.

Apex Legends Season 21 Patch Notes

NEW LEGEND: ALTER

Alter is an agent of chaos, primarily concerned with having fun and bringing about the end of the world. Everything is a game to her, and she is always looking for an advantage. Her kit adds an entirely unique dimension to the Apex Games, allowing her to create void passages through geo or escape through the Void to her Nexus when her enemies believe they have the upper hand. Her ability to craft unsuspecting rotations through the world will sow new levels of disorder in the ring and she can't wait to watch the whole place burn.

For more details on our newest and most devious Legend, check out our Highlights Blog. Read more about her abilities below.

PASSIVE: GIFT FROM THE RIFT

Can remotely interact with a deathbox to claim one item. Cannot be a shield core.

TACTICAL: VOID PASSAGE

Creates a portal passageway through a surface.

ULTIMATE: VOID NEXUS

Create a regroup point that all allies can remotely interact with to open a phase tunnel back to that location.

UPGRADES

Level 2 Upgrade Options

• Ultimate Cooldown: Reduce Ultimate cooldown by 30s
• Void Vision: Extend highlights and see health bars after exiting Tactical

Level 3 Upgrade Options

• Eternal Nexus: Voic Nexus no longer times out
• Tactical Cooldown+: Reduce Tactical cooldown by 10s

SOLOS TAKEOVER

In case you missed it, Solos will be taking over Duos from May 7, 2024 to June 24, 2024. We've taken aspects of some of our most popular modes and integrated them to keep things interesting: use your Battle Sense to detect nearby enemies, tear things up with pre-kitted weapons and attachments, and keep the fight going with auto heal and Second Chance mechanics.

UPHEAVAL MAP ROTATION

The following maps will be available in Pubs and Ranked for the first half of this season:

• Broken Moon
• Kings Canyon
• World's Edge

PATCH NOTES

BALANCE UPDATES

Care Package

• Wingman returns to the floor
  • Projectile size reduced to pre-care package values
  • Damage reduced to 45 (was 50)
  • Skullpiercer Elite removed
  • Hipfire accuracy reduced
  • Now takes Boosted Loader Hop-Up
  • No longer takes magazines as an attachment
• Devotion enters the Care Package
  • NEW Reverse Hipfire: sustained hipfire will tighten accuracy instead of widen
  • Damage increased to 16 (was 15)
  • Magazine size increased to 54 (was 48 at purple)
  • Reserve Ammo: 324
  • Empty reload time significantly reduced

Gold Weapons Rotation

• Nemesis Burst AR, Triple-Take, Peacekeeper, Prowler PDW, Longbow DMR

Guaranteed Weapons out of Loot Bins

• The first loot bin opened by an unarmed player will always contain a weapon

Dev Note: Bringing knuckles to a gunfight isn't the most engaging gameplay, so we're improving weapon acquisition consistency in the early game. When completely unarmed, opening a bin will guarantee at least a low tier weapon.

Retrieving Banners from Death Boxes

• Collecting a banner will no longer lock the player out of critical gameplay actions
  • Running, shooting, punching and reviving will all break out of the banner collect animation while still registering as a successful collection
  • Players can immediately interact with a Death Box a second time while the animation is playing or continue holding the interact button to collect and enter a Death Box in one flow

Dev Note: It's happening, it's finally happening! I've died, you've died, we've all died trying to help our allies get back in the fight, but at least now we can't blame grabbing the banner! Collecting banners is a positive action in Apex and for too long we've punished that action with a brief moment of pure helplessness. We're putting your gun quite literally back in your hands, so get out there and save some Octanes and Wraiths!

Survival Items + Support Bins

• Survival items now only spawn from a support bin's tray if the team is in need

Dev Note: Survival items have been feeling abundant lately so we're reducing their frequency in support bins by only spawning them when players meet specific requirements (like needing a Mobile Respawn Beacon when you've got eliminated allies)

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

30-30 Repeater

• Skullpiercer Hop-Up removed

Dev Note: The 30-30 has been dominating the mid-long range for a few seasons and our recent adjustments weren't quite enough to dethrone it. Removing the Skullpiercer should create some space for other Marksman and Sniper rifles to shine.

Charge Rifle

• ADS recoil improved and stabilized

Dev Note: The Charge Rifle remains a high risk-reward weapon, however the risk slightly outweighs the reward. We've taken a smoothing pass at its recoil so it shouldn't be quite so unwieldy when firing.

Longbow DMR

• Skullpiercer Hop-Up removed
• Barrel Stabilizer attachment removed
• Base recoil significantly improved
• Projectile gravity reduced
• ADS in and out time reduced

Dev Note: We've always considered the Longbow a great entry level sniper that's easy to run. Over time, we've come to realize that being a good entry level weapon and requiring lots of attachments to come online are at odds with one another. Simplifying the Longbow's loot chase to make it more base level approachable is intended to improve its early game effectiveness and overall consistency as a sniper.

Triple-Take

• Now takes Boosted Loader Hop-Up

Dev Note: The Triple-Take is a strong weapon on paper, but it can feel a bit sluggish to maximize damage output. Providing quick reloads and extra ammo in the mag allows players to keep pressuring for longer with more chances to punish.

Hop-Ups

• Skullpiercer removed from the loot pool
• Boosted Loader added to the loot pool
  • Reloading while near empty will speed up reloading and overload the next magazine with extra rounds

1x Digital Threat Optic

• Removed from loot pool and all locked set weapons

Dev Note: The Digi represents a sharp power spike in Apex--a single loot item that both counters and synergies with a specific Legend. Its power ebbs and flows with the Legend meta in a way that proves very difficult to tune. We're giving the 1x Digi a hiatus while we investigate healthier optic based perks.

LEGENDS

Ash

• Arc Snare
  • Changed to left-hand cast
  • No longer stows weapons or interrupts consumable use when launching
• Phase Breach: inspired by some Alter tech, nearby enemies will be highlighted for players traveling through the Void

Dev Note: It's about time, huh? Allowing Ash to fire her Arc Snare with her off-hand has been something we've wanted to do for a while now. Holstering and redrawing her weapon to use the snare put Ash at a disadvantage in combat and minimized a lot of her play options. Ash should now be able to be much more active with her snare and apply pressure more aggressively when successful.

Ballistic

• Whistler: damage from a planted smart bullet increased to 10 (was 5)
• Upgrades
  • Care Package Insight: removed
  • NEW Sling-Shot: improves Ballistic's base sling weapon to a blueset at Level 2 and a purpleset at Level 3

Dev Note: We're replacing a lackluster perk with something more interesting, especially for those Ballistic players that like tapping into their sling weapons in non-Ult scenarios. Three Tac related upgrades is plenty, let's make some room for that third weapon.

Breakout: Level 2

• Lasting Bullet: Smart Bullet duration in-world is tripled
• Care Package Insight: Reveal Care Packages

Upheaval: Level 2

• Lasting Bullet: Smart Bullet duration in-world is tripled
• Sling-Shot: Sling weapon levels up with each upgrade selection

Bloodhound

• Beast of the Hunt
  • Cooldown increased to 4m (was 3m)
  • Knocks with Ult active no longer extend duration
• Upgrades: Level 3
  • Tactical Cooldown: removed
  • Taste of Blood: buffed HP gain on knock to 50 (was 25)
  • NEW Long Hunt: knocks extend Beast of the Hunt duration

Dev Note: Beast of the Hunt has a lot of power baked into it considering perfect vision through smoke, increased move speed, and a generous extension timer. We wanted to break that down to see if players lean into a specific playstyle and ax the uninteresting hidden power of a decreased Tac cooldown. Bloodhound synergizes very well with two of the most popular Legends at the comp level, but we want to be mindful of their appeal across skill bands. We're not doing anything big to this approachable Legend until we gauge their place at the top-end in a digi free world.

Breakout: Level 3

• Taste of Blood: Gain 25 hp on knocks while Ultimate is active.
• Tactical Cooldown: -5s Tac Cooldown
  

Upheaval: Level 3

• Long Hunt: Knocks extend Beast of the Hunt duration.
  
• Taste of Blood: Gain 50 hp on knocks while Ultimate is active.
  

Catalyst

• Piercing Spikes
  • Cooldown decreased to 20s (was 25s)
  • Long Cast upgrade integrated into base Tactical
• Dark Veil
  • Dark Veil length increased to 45m (was 40m)
• Upgrades
  • Long Cast: removed
  • Long Veil: moved to Level 2
  • NEW Ferro-Door: fully rebuild and reinforce missing doors with Passive.

Dev Note: Catalyst could use some love after her Ult nerfs, and Sister Spikes needed some competition. Hopefully making Tac charges more available with a baseline cooldown buff and creating a situationally strong alternative via passive upgrade helps strike a balance. Now that the Ult upgrades are decoupled, there are some difficult choices to make at both levels that we suspect are influenced by match flow. Will you hunker down with a friendly zone pull, or will you need an upgraded wall to help with rotations?

• Sister Spikes: Increase max number of active Spikes by one.
• Long Cast: Increase Spike throw range by 40%.

• Long Veil: Increase Ultimate length by 15m.
• Sister Spikes: Increase max number of active Spikes by one.

• Resilient Veil: Increase Ultimate lifetime by 5s
• Long Veil: Increase Ultimate length by 15m

• Ferro-Door: Fully rebuild and reinforce missing doors with Passive.
• Resilient Veil: Increase Ultimate lifetime by 5s.
  
  
  

Caustic

• Gas damage and slow now stops immediately after Caustic's squad is eliminated
• Gas damage ramps from 4 -> 10 max (was 5 -> uncapped), damage on knocked players down to flat 4 (was 5)

Conduit

• Radiant Transfer
  • Can no longer target a Revenant while Forged Shadows is active
  • When Revenant activates Forged Shadows, any temporary shield generation ends immediately. Revenant will keep any temporary shields generated before activating his Ultimate.
• Upgrades
  • Battery Collection: removed
  • NEW Battpack: can stack up to 3 Shield Batteries per inventory slot (doesn't stack with Gold Backpack)

Dev Note: Conduit maintains a healthy pick rate and has cemented herself as a strong Support pick even after her last round of nerfs. We don't want to hit her effectiveness as a Legend that pushes the tempo in combat. This is a targeted nerf to one of her synergies that felt more exploitable than we'd like.

• Battery Collection: See Battery Count of death boxes.
• Bigger Jam: Jammer damage radius increased by 20%.

• Battpack: Stack up to 3 batteries per inventory slot.
• Bigger Jam: Jammer damage radius increased by 20%.
  
  

Crypto

• Neurolink
  • Network Traffic upgrade now integrated into base kit
  • Squadcount banners are now visible anytime the drone is in a deployed state
• Upgrades: Level 2
  • Tac & Ultimate Cooldowns: removed
  • Network Expansion: moved to Level 2
  • NEW Quick Ping: improved drone handling (faster accel/decel)
• Upgrades: Level 3
  • NEW Satellite Imagery: drone scan persists for an additional 1.5s
  • NEW Hackathon: cut the drone cooldown in half, gain a speed boost anytime he uses his Ult or the drone is destroyed

Dev Note: Crypto's upgrades at the start of Season 20 left a lot to be desired. We hope this suite of changes resonates with a couple different playstyle types--particularly when it comes to players' affinity to pilot the drone more actively vs. passively.

• Tactical Cooldown+: Reduce Tactical cooldown by 10 seconds.
• Ultimate Cooldown: Reduce Ultimate cooldown by 20%.

• Network Expansion: Passive & Ult range increased by 25%.
• Quick Transmission: Improved drone handling.

Beakout: Level 3

• Network Expansion: Passive & Ult range increased by 25%.
• Network Traffic: Deploying the drone calls out squads in the area.

• Hackathon: Double drone recharge rate; gain speed boost when it explodes.
• Satellite Imagery: Drone scan persists for 1.5 seconds.
  
  

Fuse

• Upgrades
  • Big Bang: removed
  • NEW Ring Master: gain access to Ring Consoles
  • Scar Tissue:
    • Simplified and buffed damage mitigation to remove lingering burn effects
    • Take a flat 20 damage when crossing The Motherlode instead of 37 (50% of 75 hp) over time
  • Wreckless: fixed explosive damage mitigation not being applied on continuous Knuckle Cluster hits (should only take about 32 damage from a full Knuckle Cluster now with Wreckless)

Dev Note: Fuse is destruction and chaos. The goal of these changes, whether it be a new strategic-level upgrade or a simplification of a convoluted damage model, is to bring some method to the madness.

• Big Bang: See ordnance through walls & death boxes.
• Scar Tissue: Take 50% damage and ignore slow effects of The Motherlode.
  
  

• Ring Master: Gain access to Ring Consoles.
• Scar Tissue: Take 20 damage and ignore slow effects from The Motherlode.
  
  

Newcastle

• Mobile Shield: throw anim speed increased (~2.5x faster)
• Castle Wall
  • Will now destroy incoming projectiles headed towards the front of the wall while energized. It will not destroy projectiles fired from behind the wall nor bombardments from other Legend's Ultimate projectiles.
  • Castle Wall energized duration increased to 1m (was 30s)
• Upgrade - Stronghold: increased energized duration to 3m (was 2.5m)

Dev Note: The Castle Wall's in-game strength rarely matches the grandeur of its presentation. More often than not, the wall serves as a grenade beacon to surrounding threats knowing that Newcastle just jumped to an ally in distress. An Ultimate-level wall should not fail as much as it does, especially on a Support Legend that's built around turning the tide when his squad starts losing the advantage. The wall now requires more calculated counterplay and makes the Stronghold upgrade a more compelling option. We were also finding the long wind-up when tossing his Mobile Shield left him pretty vulnerable trying to get back to his weapon, so we've sped up the animation to let him be more reactive with it.

Octane

• Upgrades
  • Wreckless: removed
  • Mad Hops moved to Level 2
  • Thick Skin: now Level 2 and 3, updated to take 5 less Stim damage to reflect that it can be selected twice (was -25%)

Dev Note: Octane has a "Plus Ultra'' tattoo, so we shouldn't inhibit his ability to double down on his tac or ult. While Wreckless was thematically fun, Octane already has one of the best forms of explosive damage mitigation that's less hidden: stim away.

• Thick Skin: -25% Stim damage
• Wreckless: -50% Explosive damage

• Mad Hops: Gain an extra Launch Pad charge.
• Thick Skin: Take 5 less Stim damage.

• Mad Hops: Gain an extra Launch Pad charge.
• Airborne Agility: Change directions with Launch Pad double-jump.

• Airborne Agility: Change directions with Launch Pad double-jump.
• Thick Skin: Take 5 less Stim damage.
  
  

Wattson

• Upgrades
  • Falling Stars: Pylons will stop spawning Arc Stars when her squad is eliminated
  • Split Circuit: no longer reduces shield regen capacity

Wraith

• Into the Void and Dimensional Rift: nearby enemies will be highlighted for players traveling through the Void

MAPS

• Broken Moon shattered
  • New POIs: Cliff Side, Experimental Labs, Solar Pods, Space Port, Quarantine Zone, Underpass
  • Breaker Wharf updated
  • New rotations to switch things up and keep squads on the move
• Added new possible Ring Console, Survey Beacon, and Crafter spawn locations to World's Edge and Storm Point, and further evened out the probability of a prop spawning at any specific location
  • World's Edge
    • Added possible Ring Console spawn locations to Mirage ? Trois and Survey Camp
    • Added possible Survey Beacon spawn locations to Survey Camp and The Geyser
  • Storm Point
    • Added possible Crafter spawn location to Command Center
    • Added possible Survey Beacon spawn locations to The Wall, and the unnamed POIs Northeast of Checkpoint and at the edge of the map East of Storm Catcher

  MODES

  Solos

  • Six week Duos takeover
  • 50 players
  • Second Chance Respawn
    • Automatically respawn once if you die in the first 4 rounds
    • Second chance converted to EVO if unused by the round cutoff
  • Battle Sense: HUD indicator when enemies are within 50 meters
  • Auto Heals
    • Health regenerates out of combat
    • Auto heal starts after each kill
  • Additional adjustments to loot pool, circle sizes, and round times to accommodate solo play

  Mixtape

  • Lockdown added to rotation: Zeus Station, Monument
  • Mixtape Map Rotations
    • Default rotation
      • Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome
      • Gun Run: The Core, Wattson's Pylon
      • Lockdown: Monument, Zeus Station
      • TDM: Skulltown, Zeus Station
    • Mixtape rotation (5/24-5/28)
      • Gun Run: The Core, Wattson's Pylon
      • Lockdown: Monument, Zeus Station
      • TDM: Skulltown, Zeus Station
    • 1st Week of Pride Month (6/1-6/7)
      • Control: Barometer
      • Gun Run: Wattson's Pylon
      • Lockdown: Zeus Station
      • TDM: Zeus Station
    • Mixtape Rotation (6/11-6/17)
      • Control: Barometer, Caustic Treatment
      • Lockdown: Monument, Zeus Station
      • TDM: Skulltown, Zeus Station
    • TDM 24/7 (6/18-6/24)
      • Rules
      • Scorelimit: 35
      • Time Limit: 10 minutes
      • Increased health regen
      • Skull Town, Zeus Station, Monument, Thunderdome, Wattson's Pylon, Fragment
  • LTM Rotations
    • 5/24-5/28 Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome, Caustic, Barometer, Lava Siphon
    • 5/31-6/3 Control: Production Yard, Thunderdome, Caustic, Barometer, Lava Siphon
    • 6/11-6/17 Gun Run: Skull Town, Zeus Station, Thunderdome, Wattson, Fragment, The Core

RANKED

• All players in a premade Ranked squad must be within 3 Rank tiers of each other or they will not be allowed to progress to matchmaking
• No tuning changes to be made to ranked scoring for the launch of Upheaval

Dev Note: While we are happy with how Breakout Ranked was received, there is some feedback that we want to address for the start of Upheaval. As always, we'll be monitoring feedback and data for any required tuning changes during the season and any major updates required for the future.

Season Reset

• Where you ended in your last season of Ranked will determine where you start in Upheaval
  • If you ended your last season in Rookie, you will be reset to 1 RP
  • If you ended your last season above Rookie, you will be reset to Bronze IV

Split Timing

• Split 2 will take place at the same time as the .1 patch, not a week after like in previous seasons

Upheaval Ranked Rewards

• Your end-of-season rewards will now be determined by the highest Rank tier you achieved during the entire season
• Split Rewards: your season-end reward badge will be animated if you match or surpass your Split 1 Rank in Split 2
  • If you do not achieve this, you will get the normal version of your badge

WORLD SYSTEMS

• Improved end ring generation system

BUG FIXES

• Equipping an Evac Tower or Mobile Respawn Beacon will no longer close the inventories of all other players in the match
• Firing Range: fixed some edge cases where Legend change was available when it shouldn't be
• Fixed occasional crash when interacting with an enemy's crafted banner
• "Mischief Medic" no longer appears as "Highlighted Healer"
• Olympus: players can no longer enter/exit Vault without key
• Survey Beacons and Ring Consoles should now be pingable again from the map
• When hip firing with the Devotion, it will now properly track its reticle

LEGENDS

• Ballistic: duration of speedy whistler restored to 2s
• Bloodhound
  • Passive markers no longer appear for teammates not on player's squad
  • Players can once again be scanned by two Bloodhounds at the same time
• Catalyst: fixed Dark Veil not charging for a short duration off of spawn
• Crypto: recall audio when the drone is far away from you is audible once again
• Maggie: Removed drill burn audio for players in the area of effect while phased
• Removed Wraith Shadows from the void if you aren't playing as Wraith
• Wattson: resolved bad spawn points for Arc Stars generated from the Falling Stars upgrade

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Additional security improvements
• Airdropping Replicators now project a beam upwards as they are descending to help differentiate them from other airdrops
• Back by popular demand, you can requeue at the end of Pubs BR and Mixtape matches
• Ballistic: can now add any locked-set weapon into the sling where it will be converted to the proper locked-set tier and restored to its original state when being moved out (red-tier still not allowed)
• Death Box Flyers: option to automatically ping the location of the Death Box will be prompted when knocking it from a Flyer's grasp
• Improved the choice of consumables that are auto-selected when either reaching full health, reaching full shields, or when dropping your last selected item. The new choice should more intelligently select shield consumables or prioritize syringes for quick healing. These changes were made to help new players have more optimal outcomes.
• Improved use interactions with doors when self res is available
• Map spawn audit for all Mixtape Modes: Phase Runner, Habitat, Thunderdome, Zeus Station
• Upgraded to the latest version of Easy Anti-Cheat

Pings

• Should now go through all translucent surfaces like windows
• Players can now request for Grenades (Arc Stars, Frag Grenades, and Thermites)
  • Works similar to healing items: hold the Grenade button to open the Ordnance Wheel, hover on an ordnance item, select Ping to request

Thunderdome

• Airdrop location adjustments
• Control
  • Moved C capture point to landing pad
  • Adjusted spawns attached to B capture point

GRAPHICS

• Added new "Map Detail" PC video setting to adjust the amount of environmental decoration and set dressing (this may improve performance for players with low-spec PCs and those targeting high framerates)
• Changed the way players opt-in to the DX12 beta: if you're playing via the DirectX 12 beta now, the launch argument "-eac_launcher_settings SettingsDX12.json" should be changed to "-anticheat_settings=SettingsDX12.json"
• Improved accuracy and visual fidelity of baked environment lighting for static outdoor objects
• Improved accuracy of baked lighting for dynamic objects, to avoid situations where Legends would appear unlit
• Significantly improved CPU performance of the Rendering Hardware Interface (RHI), mostly benefitting the PC DirectX 12 beta

PlayStation Plus subscribers on PS4 and PS5 have only one more day, aka today, to download three free games because come tomorrow, May 7, they will no longer be available as free downloads via the subscription service. And this is the case for every subscriber. Whether you have a PS Plus Essential subscription, a PS Plus Extra subscription, or a PS Plus Premium subscription, you can download all three of these games, and once downloaded they are yours to keep, as long as you maintain an active subscription. If your subscription lapses, you will lose access to all three games, and any other game you downloaded for free via PS Plus, until you subscribe back up.

The three games in question are April's monthly free games lineup, which consists of the "underrated" Immortals of Aveum, as well as Minecraft Legends and Skul: The Hero Slayer. Tomorrow, all three of these games will be replaced with Destiny 2: Lightfall, EA Sports FC 24, Ghostrunner 2, and Tunic. Until then, PS Plus subscribers have a chance to save $120 on the trio of aforementioned games.

Below, you can read more about each game, courtesy of an official production description, and check out an official trailer for each game as well:

Immortals of Aveum

About: "Immortals of Aveum is a single-player first-person magic shooter that tells the story of Jak as he joins an elite order of battlemages to save a world on the edge of abyss. With legions of soldiers on both sides of the Everwar, he must uncover the mysteries of Aveum's troubled past, if there's any hope for saving its future. Master three forces of magic and unleash spells with deadly skill in a game that defies first-person shooter conventions.

Minecraft Legends

About: "Discover the mysteries of Minecraft Legends, a new action strategy game. Explore a gentle land of rich resources and lush biomes on the brink of destruction. The ravaging piglins have arrived, and it's up to you to inspire your allies and lead them in strategic battles to save the Overworld!"

Skul: The Hero Slayer

About: "The human race attacking the Demon King's castle is nothing new and has happened countless times before. What makes this time different though, is that the Adventurers decided to join forces with the Imperial Army and the 'Hero of Caerleon' to lead a full onslaught in hopes of wiping out the Demons once and for all. They attacked the Demon stronghold with overwhelming numbers and succeeded in its total destruction. All of the demons in the castle were taken prisoner except for one lone skeleton named 'Skul'."

For more PlayStation Plus coverage -- including all of the latest PlayStation Plus news, all of the latest PlayStation Plus rumors and leaks, and all of the latest PlayStation Plus deals -- click here.

For the last few days, a number of Disney Dreamlight Valley players have found themselves stuck while trying to complete a quest related to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The game mistakenly allowed players to purchase an item called 3D Glasses from Scrooge's Store prior to starting the "Oswald's Many Dimensions" quest; any players that did just that immediately found their progress in this quest halted. Gameloft announced today that it has pushed through a fix that should allow all stuck players to move on to the next step in that quest once the game has been rebooted.

Players should be cautioned that this is only a temporary fix; the actual cause of the issue has not been resolved just yet. Gameloft is working on a complete fix, but no time table has been revealed just yet.

"Please note: It is still possible to trigger this issue for the time being, so we urge players to NOT purchase the 3D Glasses from Scrooge McDuck's store until they are prompted to do so as part of the 'Oswald's Many Dimensions' quest," a post on the game's official Twitter account reads.

How Players Can Still Trigger the Progress Bug

From the way that statement is worded, it sounds like the progress issue can still be caused if players aren't careful! Hopefully at this point players have been made well-aware that they are not to purchase the 3D Glasses until they've been prompted to by Oswald. Presumably, the full fix will prevent the item from showing up in Scrooge's store until that prompt, but we don't know when to expect it just yet. It's possible we might not see a full fix until the game's next free update, which is currently slated to arrive in late spring.

A Rift in Time DLC

Following the announcement on Twitter, many players shared their appreciation for today's update. There has been a lot of frustration surrounding this progress bug, particularly for players that were excited about adding Oswald to their village. Of course, this only has an impact on those that purchased the game's expansion A Rift in Time. Oswald is the latest exclusive Villager that was made available through the DLC, following Gaston and EVE in the first act. The paid DLC is completely optional, but it does give players access to those exclusive Villagers, as well as new recipes, new items, a new story, and new locations to explore.

Gameloft has broken up the DLC into three acts in total. Act II was released alongside Update 10 on May 1st, and Act III will be coming out sometime this summer, alongside Update 12. At this time, we know very little about Act III, only that it will wrap up the storyline centered around Jafar.

Are you happy to see this temporary bug fix in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Did you purchase the 3D Glasses before you were supposed to? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Disney Lorcana's latest Starter Decks build on an emerging theme in the game - cards that synergize based on their classifications. Later this month, Ravensburger will release Ursula's Return, the fourth card set for Disney Lorcana. Like the previous two sets, Ursula's Return will add a handful of new mechanics, namely an alternative method to shifting Floodborn characters into play and the new Sing Together variant, which allows a player to use multiple character cards to activate certain Song cards without paying its ink cost. However, the two new starter decks focus instead on another area of the game that's slowly grown in usefulness over the past year - the ability to have cards synergize with other cards of the same classification.

Every character card in Disney Lorcana has at least one classification, which have mostly served as fluff over the first year. While some cards provide benefits to specific classifications (Moana - Of Motunui was one such card that protected Princess cards and was found in one of the very first Starter Decks), the dominant metagame decks have largely eschewed away from that. However, there seem to be more and more cards that cater to classifications in Disney Lorcana, which hopefully should push the game towards having one or more decks that cater to "tribal" gameplay, to borrow the now defunct Magic: The Gathering term.

The Amber/Amethyst Ursula's Return deck is built primarily around the Madrigal family of Encanto fame. While the deck utilizes many of the same core strengths as The First Chapter deck with the same card typing (with an emphasis on flooding the board with characters and keeping them alive through healing), the various Familia Madrigal characters all have subtle ways they support each other. Mirabel Madrigal - Gift of the Family adds a lore to all other Madrigal classified cards when it quests, while Pepa Madrigal - Weather Maker naturally syncs up with her daughter Dolores Madrigal to trigger a card draw effect. One perk to this deck is that it has several card draw abilities (including Look At This Family, which uses the aforementioned Sing Together keyword) that should help players push characters and maximize the foundations of what should be a pretty nifty Madrigal-themed deck, especially if players grow it with additional copies of the critical Mirable Madrigal - Gift of the Family card.

Meanwhile, the Sapphire/Steel Ursula's Return deck leans heavily on the Hero classification, with several cards buffing up or taking advantage of Hero cards in play. Anna - True-Hearted, one of the signature cards of the deck, gives other Hero cards an additional Lore when she quests similar to Mirabel Madrigal - Gift of the Family. However, there are plenty of other cards that also use Hero cards in some fashion, including Anna - Braving the Storm (which gets an extra lore if another Hero is in play), Philoctetes - No-Nonsense Instructor (which gives all Heroes Challenger +1 and scores an additional Lore whenever a Hero enters play), Imperial Bow (adds Challenger +2 and Evasive to a Hero character) and One Last Hope (which gives a character Resist +2 and lets that character challenge ready characters if they're a Hero.) While Anna - True-Hearted is the featured card in this set, honestly, I feel that players should look at more copies of Philoctetes - No-Nonsense Instructor as a potential way to beef up this deck.

What's really interesting about both decks is that they're both very different from the dominant decks in Disney Lorcana right now, which focus on control and quickly overwhelming opponents thanks to the use of cheap songs. Neither of these decks really touch on the dominant metagame, which is pretty normal for Starter Decks, but offers a rough awakening should players try to use one of these kind of decks at a Store Championship. Hopefully, the meta shifts towards these more synergetic decks because I think decks popping off is a lot more fun then choking an opponent's deck to death slowly.

Ursula's Return will be released at hobby stores on May 17th and mass retailers on May 31st.

Last week, Abiotic Factor launched to rave reviews from its community. The survival crafting game gives players full control over character creation, meaning they can give their players positive and negative perks to build truly wacky characters for the multiplayer game. That said, the game did launch in early access, which gives the developers at Deep Field Games the ability to quickly react to issues the community finds while playing. To that end, the team released a new patch today, targeting many of the problems that were noticed over the weekend. While Abiotic Factor's early access run is still young, this is the largest patch the developers have released thus far, making it an important one to get right.

One of the major changes with this update is the fixes for the Server Browser. Now, it should be much easier to find games with friends, which is only going to make Abiotic Factor's playerbase grow. The team has also added the ability to use World Save backups, letting you recover progress if your main save is corrupted. Deep Field has also fixed things like pots disappearing from stoves, scientists losing their keypad hacker, and much more.

Below, you can find the full list of patch notes for Hotfix 0.8.0.9803. Abiotic Factor is available now on PC platforms via early access.

Abiotic Factor Hotfix 0.8.0.9803 Patch Notes

You'll know you're on the right version because the above version will match the one at the bottom of your screen while in the main menu and in-game.

Keypad Hacker Note:

• Some scientists are reporting that their Keypad Hacker has gone missing. Please make sure you check your Keypad Hacker slot in your equip slots (bottom left) if you shift click to move your Keypad Hacker from your inventory to your hot bar it may end up there instead, as intended. Your Keypad Hacker is not going missing it is actually going to the correct location.
  
• If your Keypad Hacker is in your Hacker slot you simply need to press interact on the keypad to get it to work.
  

Containment Bulletin:

• There have been increased reports of activity from IS-0091. Science help us all. As always, researchers; if you see it, report it!
  

Temporal Correction Warning:

• GATE scientists have detected a mistake in the temporal flow, a strange disruption in time and space allowing scientists to venture into hidden portal worlds and skip content unintentionally. This has been corrected in the following ways.
  
• Additional security measures have been added to the Laser Lab. However, something has grown over top of those security measures, and we don't want to touch it, so we'll leave it to you.
  
• If you have previously accessed the Laser Lab in an existing world save, or are currently in the Laser Lab after updating to this version, this new growth will likely not be an issue, but future world saves will encounter these hurdles.
  
• A properly locked door has been added to a very high up catwalk in Labs.
  

Server Browser Updates:

• The Server Browser has received several filter options and a search bar to help you find your friends (or enemies.)
  
• Server Browser names are now trimmed if too long, instead of spilling over into the rest of the UI like an uncontained growth.
  
• The server browser has been massively optimized. Thank you for playing and hosting so many servers that it became an actual problem to solve. Much love from everyone here at Deep Field.
  

World Save Backups:

• World Saves now create a backup when hosting from the main menu.
  
• This backup can be used to recover corrupt world progress. We are still investigating a rolling backup.
  
• If your world is corrupt, a button that says "RESTORE BACKUP" will appear. This can fail in very bad cases, but should help in some.
  
• We are aware that world corruption and item loss are rare but very major issues when they occur, and they remain our top priorities. Please keep submitting bugs (and your world save data) through the Issue Report Form.
  

Player Corpse Changes:

• We investigated a lot of reports about bodies becoming stuck in places that players can't access. We've made the following changes to correct this.
  
• If the player corpse location has bad data, it would previously default to the death location, which is often unsafe or unreachable. If this happens now, the corpse will try to return with the player to their respawn location.
  
• If this fails, the corpse will move to the Cafeteria in the Office Sector.
  
• Upon rehosting a server, ALL corpses that are not looted will appear in the Office Cafeteria as well. If you can't find your corpse, there's a good chance it ended up there.
  

The Stove Stuff:

• We've noted some players have experienced pots and pans being lost from stoves. Let's quickly talk about how this happened and what you need to be aware of.
  
• Stoves had bad data on them due to a bug with stove state saving that slipped under our radar. We're a small team and we only found the issue once 7000 people started playing at once. When we fixed this issue in the latest hotfix, old stoves from older saves still had that corrupt data, but new stoves did not. This caused players' items to go missing, or appear to go missing, when they interacted with the stove.
  
• For the deployable stoves, repackaging them and redeploying them (if possible) would fix this issue. For the fixed stoves, this was not possible, so those stoves will still be exhibiting this problem.
  
• In this update, all stoves from existing saves will now dump out pots and pans. You may see a slight overabundance of these items in the form of some bags on stoves, so go scoop them up and enjoy this crockware compensation.
  
• We believe we have corrected the issues laid out here, but we are getting some reports here and there. We are unsure if those are people playing on old versions or not, so please report anything else that happens outside of what was explained here and please include your version number. Thank you, and happy cooking!
  

General Changes:

• Recipes on HUD have shrunk a bit. Remember, you can clear any auto-pinned recipes in your crafting screen if you want them out of the way!
  
• We hear a certain trader is now willing to give you Welding Masks, if you've got what he needs in return.
  
• Added some new paint to the Trader deposit box.
  
• Throwable Nets now salvage into paper scrap, if you really want to get rid of them.
  
• A few key enemies will now always drop their gib loot, instead of bio scrap.
  
• Added drop-shadow to text chat to improve readability.
  
• Grenade weights are now better balanced across all grenade types.
  
• All items now take only 1 of their Repair Item to repair, instead of several. We are working on more repair improvements but they will be bundled together in a general repair quality-of-life update.
  
• Empty liquid containers no longer show red in the item slot background, because this was misleading players into thinking the item was broken, instead of just empty.
  
• Sneaking XP is now a bit easier to gain, is gained at a faster rate and from further range.
  
• Lime Paint, Green Paint, and Carapace Arm armor recipes are now obtainable. You may find some new items associated with these recipes, but they're probably nothing to pick up your quill and write home about.
  
• The initial welcome and analytics opt-in screen has now been localized for all available languages.
  

World Changes:

• The Security Office on Offices Level 2 has had a timer installed on the shutters, for safety reasons.
  
• IS-0018 should no longer have a chance to break when packaging it. We still don't recommend packaging it.
  
• Some researchers have reported IS-0018 reappearing in its containment cell after it has been moved or destroyed. Someone should check that out.
  
• A certain door by the Synchrotron will now unlock after the [redacted] event, making it easier to access the room. Frake apologizes for making you walk all the way around. Who knew she had the keys the whole time!
  
• Some previously non-interactable water in the Labs is now interactable.
  
• A previously inaccessible vent near the Enders Containment Block is now accessible.
  
• Some GATE staff may have carelessly left a sledgehammer aboard IS-0138.
  
• A shipping container in the Induction Wing is reported to have contained some mining equipment, for those on the hunt for a new pickaxe.
  

Dedicated Server Changes:

• Plants and other items will no longer decay when no one is present on the server. Plants will still grow for a time, however, and may need water when scientists return to their crops.
  
• Reduced some logging spam and improved our ability going forward to provide good log data to server hosts.
  

Bug Fixes:

• Updated some voice lines on certain Order enemies, mostly around connecting them to the correct volume sliders.
  
• Filled a few holes in the Wildlife Pens.
  
• Metal Bucket now has proper metal bucket texture. Who would've thought?
  
• Fixed a logical issue that could cause sinks to not refill properly over time, as intended, under normal settings.
  
• Fixed the AA setting not actually setting AA unless visiting a terminal.
  
• Fixed an issue affecting the drop rate of Order weaponry.
  
• Wherever the Wristwatch's watch-face was running off to, we think we've resolved that problem and it should remain happy and content where it belongs - on your wrist.
  
• Hovering over the little blue-purple (blurple?) icon on recipes now works again and will display a helpful tooltip.
  
• The Breachers will now cough up their shotguns, helmets and other belongings, if you force them to.
  
• Deployed signs can no longer be used as bridges. If you have any bridges made of signs, no you do not.
  

If you are interested in KNOWN ISSUES, click here.

Thank you all once again for enjoying your time in the GATE Cascade Research Facility!

The feedback you have all already provided has been immensely helpful, as have all the bug reports and suggestions, keep it up! Please also keep helping each other out in the community, it has been amazing to see how welcoming everyone is.

Thank you from the bottom of our volumetric flasks.

Onward -- to science.

The book includes over 50 recipes inspired by the game, with a focus on seasonal ingredients. You can pre-order a copy here on Amazon in hardcover for $18,81, which is 34% off the list price and an all-time low for the pre-order period. The release date is just around the corner on May 14th 2024. Note that pre-order customers will automatically get the biggest discount that occurs between the time that they pre-order and the launch date. Odds are this will be the lowest price offered. Some examples of recipes in the book include the following:

• In Spring, enjoy a delicious Complete Breakfast made with fresh early spring rhubarb, followed by a filling Farmer's Lunch.
• In Summer, snack on tasty Crab Cakes and, as a dessert, the almost unanimously adored Pink Cake.
• In Fall, cozy up with some Pumpkin Soup and the Survival Burger.
• In Winter, warm up with the seasonal Roots Platter, Seafoam Pudding, or the ever-odd Strange Bun!

Stardew Valley is available via Nintendo Switch, mobile phones, PC, PS4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One. Meanwhile, it is playable on PS5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X via backward compatibility.

"Stardew Valley is an open-ended country-life RPG," reads an official pitch of the game. "You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won't be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town's most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!"

A rumor about the next mainline Resident Evil game has surfaced online. While previous rumors have suggested Capcom is hard at work another remake from the series' past, it sounds like Resident Evil 9 will come first. While there have been many rumors about Resident Evil 9's supposed existence, and word that it is aiming to release in January 2025, there haven't been many spilled details on the game. While we still don't have a plethora of details on the rumored survival-horror game, we do have word of its setting, or at least its supposed setting.

The rumor comes the way of Dusk Golem, a common source on Resident Evil scoops. In the past, they have proven reliable, but they have also been off the mark in the past as well. In other words, take everything here with a grain of salt. According to the insider, the game is set in a rural town on an island in South East Asia sea. The locale is said to be inspired specifically by Singapore.

If this sounds familiar, it's because it sounds similar to the most recent mainline entry Resident Evil, aka Resident Evil Village. While Resident Evil Village was in a locale inspired by Eastern Europe, it was also set in a small, rural town. If Resident Evil 4 and 5 are more your speed, you will enjoy this, but if you like the more urban environments of say Resident Evil 2, this could be a disappointment.

In Resident Evil Village, the setting was arguably a character itself. A lot of emphasis was placed on the setting, compared to some other games in the series, especially. The rumor doesn't say this, but it sounds like this may be the gameplan with Resident Evil 9 as well.

Unfortunately, this is the extent of the rumor. So far, it has not drawn Capcom out for any comment, and we don't expect this to change for a handful of reasons, however if it does, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. In the meantime, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. What do you think of this rumored Resident Evil 9 setting? Where would you set the game if you were in charge?

Supergiant Games has now released Hades 2 in early access. Within the past month, Supergiant held a technical test for Hades 2, which marked the first time that the game had become playable. Following the conclusion of this phase, those at the studio said that the highly-anticipated Hades sequel would soon be launching in early access but didn't provide a date for its arrival. Now, that release has come about today without any prior warning.

As of this moment, Hades 2 can be played exclusively on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Given that Hades 2 is currently only available in early access, this means that the game isn't complete just yet. In the months ahead, Supergiant will begin adding more content to the experience and will eventually finish its throughline story with a 1.0 update that's expected to drop in 2025. This release method is the same one that Supergiant implemented with the original Hades, which proved to be a big benefit for that game's success.

In addition to releasing for PC, Supergiant also let loose a new trailer for the early access edition of Hades 2 that can be viewed here:

"We expect the full version of Hades 2 to include a more-complete, more-polished set of features and content in comparison to the Early Access version, along with Steam Achievements and the true ending to the story," Supergiant said of this version of the game. "During Early Access, our plan is to release a Major Update every few months containing new features and content, followed soon after by patches to shore up any issues. We are looking to release the first of these Major Updates later this year."

For the time being, Hades 2 isn't available to experience across consoles that would include PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. With the previous Hades, though, console editions ended up releasing after the game reached its final, 1.0 version. As a result, the same thing will likely happen with Hades 2, meaning that these versions of the roguelike should arrive at some point in 2025.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre publisher Gun Media has revealed several issues that are currently being looked at by the game's developers. The latest batch is broken into two sections: fixes that are currently under investigation, and those that still require more information. Some of these issues are more ambiguous than others, but the developers did offer some additional hints on Twitter and the game's official subreddit. The full list of issues that the team is looking to address can be found below:

Under Investigation:

• Skill Tree Respec Issue
• Nancy's Endurance
• 'Tracker Tagged' Perk
• 'Wait A Second' Perk
• 'Back For Blood' Perk
• Johnny's Movement

Needs More Info:

• Matches Not Ending Correctly
• Grandpa Perks Not Saving Between Matches

Gun Media has confirmed that Tracker Tagged isn't going anywhere, but the team is investigating feedback that it's not working as intended. Multiple players asked questions about the changes to Johnny's movement, as well. The only clarification provided is that the team has gotten "feedback surrounding potential unintentional experiences with his movement" that are now being investigated. It looks like this could be some kind of nerf for the character, as some believe that he's simply too fast when attacking, and it makes him overpowered. Of course, some Killer mains take issue with that assessment, and feel that he should remain as is. For now, fans will just have to wait and see what the investigation brings.

Upcoming Content

While The Texas Chain Saw Massacre developers are working on balance changes and bug fixes, many players are wondering about the status of actual new content. Virginia was added as a new playable Victim back in March, alongside the new Mill map. Killer mains have been patiently awaiting the arrival of the game's next villain. At this time, we don't know anything about them, or when they'll be added. The developers also announced a museum mode, which sounds similar to the "Virtual Cabin" from Friday the 13th: The Game. Like the new Killer, we have no idea when museum mode will arrive, but hopefully fans can expect to see this new content sooner, rather than later!

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Sale

Those looking to get into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are in luck, as it's currently on sale for PC. The game is one of several that have been discounted as part of the Humble Spring Sale, and can be found on the platform for just $19.99. That's 50% off the standard price, and the deal will be good through Tuesday, May 21st, so there's still a lot of time left to take advantage. Readers interested in grabbing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre while it's on discount can learn more at Humble's official website right here.

Are you excited for any of these changes to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Do you think Johnny needs a nerf? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The Best Buy Weekly Deals this week include $40 off one of the greatest games ever made, the first notable discount off a new 2024 release, and a hefty amount of savings on a 2023 RPG. Meanwhile, a collection of classics has also been discounted, allowing gamers to get their hands on each game for less than $7 a pop. As for the deals themselves, they are available across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and Xbox One. There are also Nintendo Switch deals, but the four top deals we have highlighted below do not include the Nintendo Switch.

Of course, these are limited time deals, though Best Buy doesn't note when exactly these deals expire. That said, considered they featured in the Weekly Deals, they will presumably expire at the end of the week. Below, you can check out the four best deals featured. This includes not just pricing information for said games, but trailers and descriptions for said games as well.

Red Dead Redemption 2 -- $19.99

About: "America, 1899. Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him."

WWE 2K24 - $44.99

About: "Experience a gripping retelling of WrestleMania's greatest moments in 2K Showcase of the Immortals in WWE 2K24, where you can relive a collection of some of the most unforgettable, career-defining matches."

Remnant 2 -- $29.99

About: "Remnant II is the sequel to the best-selling game Remnant: From the Ashes that pits survivors of humanity against new deadly creatures and god-like bosses across terrifying worlds. Play solo or co-op with two other friends to explore the depths of the unknown to stop an evil from destroying reality itself. To succeed, players will need to rely on their own skills and those of their team to overcome the toughest challenges and to stave off humanity's extinction."

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy The Definitive Edition -- $29.99

About: "Three iconic cities, three epic stories. Play the genre-defining classics of the original Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas updated for a new generation, now with across-the-board enhancements including brilliant new lighting and environmental upgrades, with high-resolution textures, increased draw distances, Grand Theft Auto V-style controls and targeting, and much more, bringing these beloved worlds to life with all new levels of detail."

Update version 7.7.1 for Dead by Daylight has today been released by Behaviour Interactive across all platforms. It was only a few weeks back that the mid-season patch for Chapter 31 of Dead by Daylight was released and brought with it a ton of major overhauls. Now, Behaviour has pushed out another such update that should fix a variety of bugs that players have come across in recent weeks.

Available to download now across all platforms, this new Dead by Daylight update is tied almost entirely to bug fixes. Behaviour has resolved a number of issues tied to DBD's audio, UI, maps, and others that are specific to certain characters. Other than this, update 7.7.1 happens to lay the groundwork for the new "Chaos Shuffle" modifier that won't go live until the end of next week on May 16.

To get a look at everything that has been fixed with today's new Dead by Daylight update, you can view the patch notes down below.

Dead by Daylight Update 7.7.1 Patch Notes

Content

Modifiers

• Modifier: Chaos Shuffle opens at May 16th at 11:00:00 AM Eastern Time.
  • This Modifier also features an event tome, opening at the same time.

Perk Updates

Ultimate Weapon

• Now causes Survivors within 32 meters of the locker to scream and show their position (was based on the Killer's position) then gain Blindness for 30 seconds (as before).

Bug Fixes

Audio

• Fixed an issue that caused sound issues in the Mori Preview after previewing The Nightmare or the Wraith.
• Fixed an issue that caused Naughty Bear to have overlapping voice lines in the Mori Preview.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Huntress Inhuman Brute cosmetic sounds to be too low.

Characters

• Potential fix for an issue that caused rubber-banding when moving.
• Fixed an issue that caused a stutter at the end of several interactions.
• Fixed an issue which allowed Victor to be recalled sooner than 30 seconds after latching onto a Survivor.
• Victor now glows red after downing an injured Survivor with a Pounce attack, properly indicating he can be Crushed.
• Victor can no longer latch on to survivors with the Endurance status effect.
• Fixed an issue that caused Victor to be unable to move after switching to Victor while a Bot is crushing him.
• Fixed an issue that may cause Survivors to be unable to wiggle out when a Hook interaction is denied by the server.
• Fixed an issue that caused The Xenomorph to be unable to hit a Survivor placing a turret with their tail attack.
• Fixed an issue that caused The Nurse to not be affected by pallet stuns.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Survivors' left arm to jitters when in downed state
• Fixed an issue that caused The Legion's post-Frenzy hand to snaps upwards before entering the self-stun animation.

Perks

• Toolboxes now properly lose charge when used to charge the Potential Energy perk.

UI

• Fixed an issue when going back to the Main Menu from a "Play as Killer" offline Lobby causing the bottom button prompts to overlap.
• Fixed an issue in the Killer tutorial where two prompts could sometimes overlap.
• Fixed an issue in the Archives where the menu became invisible after watching a Journal's Entry cinematic.
• Fixed an issue where the Killer name would be missing from the daily ritual "The Hunt Ritual"

Environment/Maps

• Fixed an issue in the Nostromo map where the Nurse could blink and get stuck in the hull of the Spaceship
• Fixed an issue where The Blight didn't bounce of wall properly in the Raccoon PD map
• Fixed an issue in Greenville Square where the traps could be placed under the ground next to the shack window
• Fixed an issue in Shattered Square where both pallets of the main building would spawn at the same time
• Fixed an issue in the RPD where the survivors could land on top of a door frame
• Fixed an issue in Lery's Hospital where the killer could not interrupt a survivor from one side of a generator
• Fixed an issue in Autohaven Wreckers where Victor could jump though a sheet of metal in the shack
• Fixed an issue in Greenville Square where the double pallet tile didn't spawn
• Fixed an issue that may cause Meg to be unable to unhook Dwight during the Survivor Tutorial.
• Fixed an issue in Dead Dawg Saloon where the player camera could clip into a rock
• Fixed an issue in Coldwind Farms where the Cow Tree's vault tarp was missing
• Fixed an issue in Crotus Prenn Asylum where Trapper could hide beartraps inside the rocky edge of the hill
• Fixed an issue in Eyrie of Crows where Trapper could hide beartraps inside some roots at the stone gazebo
• Fixed an issue in Hawkins Laboratory where superfluous collisions were affecting player navigation near some closed doors and causing rubber-banding
• Fixed an issue in Hawkins Laboratory where players could hide items in the floor near the storage room doors
• Fixed an issue in Haddonfield where players would collide with the car mirrors and experience frustrating navigation issues
• Fixed an issue in Haddonfield where the End-Game Collapse Cracks would appear on the ceiling of the balcony from one of the large houses
• Fixed an issue in Midwich Elementary School where Killers' vision could clip into a destroyed wall and see outside of the map
• Fixed an issue in Raccoon City Police Department West Wing where Trapper could hide beartraps inside a pile of debris in the library
• Fixed an issue in Raccoon City Police Department where players could climb on top of a duffle bag
• Fixed an issue in Raccoon City Police Department East Wing where players could climb onto the toilets
• Fixed an issue in Toba's Landing where the central computer console from the main base was popping with distance

Graphics

• Fixed an issue that caused bright flashes in the basement and in the end game screen.

Store

• Fix: Auric Cell Offers cards now can be clicked entirely without players needing to click on the button.

Misc

• Fixed an issue where items and add-ons would not get equipped automatically after previously running out of them

A Dungeons & Dragons mystery has been solved after nearly 50 years. The face of the "Red Box Warrior" that appears on Larry Elmore's classic art on the cover of the 1983 "Red Box" for Dungeons & Dragons will be revealed for the first time in WizKids's D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary set later this year. The Red Box Warrior will be one of 10 "secret rare" miniatures that can be found in booster boxes in the 50th anniversary set, joining the likes of the Blue Wizard and Green Knight from the cover of the D&D Basic set and characters from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series. ComicBook has an exclusive look at the Red Box Warrior, and the identity of the character is sure to be a surprise to some.

As you can see in the renders above, WizKids' Red Box Warrior matches the pose of the original artwork, right down to the raised sword and lunging pose. WizKids also points out that their depiction of the Red Box Warrior is "purposefully and clearly" presented as a woman, providing a bit of a surprise for some wondering about details about this iconic warrior from D&D's past.

The Red Box was first released in 1983 and featured a 64 page Player's Handbook, a 48-page Dungeon Master's manual, and dice for the game. For many older Dungeons & Dragons fans, the Red Box was the first introduction they had to the game, and thus Elmore's art served as the first impression as to what players could expect from a D&D adventure. More recently, Elmore revealed an alternate art submitted for the cover, which shows both the dragon and warrior in similar poses, but also a thief and a female magic-user further from the action.

WizKids is also selling a classic red dragon from David Sutherland artwork pulled from the Basic Set (which is where the Blue Wizard and Green Knight from the 50th anniversary set are pulled from) as a separate miniature, so players can get a full dose of old-school D&D boxed set covers and recreate them at their homes.

The D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary set is available for pre-order on WizKids' website. The set will be released in July 2024.

Prior to its launch this coming month, Nintendo has revealed a new trailer for Luigi's Mansion 2 HD. Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS as Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, the forthcoming remaster for Nintendo Switch is set to be one of Nintendo's biggest exclusives in the first half of 2024. To further highlight the improvements that have been made with this version of the game, a new trailer has been let loose that shows off its new visuals.

In total, this new trailer for Luigi's Mansion 2 HD only clocks in at around two and a half minutes in length. Rather than focus on gameplay footage, the video instead features the opening cinematic from Luigi's Mansion 2 which sets the game's narrative into motion. The graphics seen here have clearly been given a big upgrade compared to what was seen on the original 3DS iteration of Luigi's Mansion 2, although the upgraded gameplay is likely the biggest selling point of this remaster.

You can watch this new trailer for Luigi's Mansion 2 HD for yourself right here:

"The Dark Moon that hangs over Evershade Valley seems to have a calming effect on the ghosts that reside there," says the game's synopsis. "The quirky Professor E. Gadd has been studying the friendly spirits. But when the Dark Moon suddenly breaks apart and falls into the valley below, the once-friendly ghosts become hostile. Luigi must stumble into action and summon his courage to restore the Dark Moon to its rightful place in the sky."

As mentioned, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is nearing its launch quickly as the game is set to arrive across Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED platforms next month on June 27. In the near term, Nintendo will also be releasing a remaster of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch consoles later this month. Beyond this, it's not known what else Nintendo might look to release before the end of the year, but we'll likely hear more from the Japanese publisher in the weeks ahead.

A Nintendo 3DS exclusive from 2015 released by Intelligent Systems -- the team best known for the Fire Emblem series -- is seemingly making a comeback. If you were gaming in 2015, there is a good chance you were playing the likes of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Bloodborne, Rcoket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Dying Light, Cities: Skylines, Splatoon, Until Dawn, Fallout 4, Super Mario Maker, Undertale, Halo 5, SOMA, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Kerbal Space Program, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, or a few other notable games that dropped that dropped that year. If you were on 3DS though, you didn't have much to choose from by the time 2015 rolled around. One game that did come out though was Stretchmo.

Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo itself, as a 3DS exclusive, Stretchmo is a sequel to 2011's Pushmo, 2012's Crashmo, and 2014's Pushmo World. The fourth game in the series, you'd assume it was a bigger deal than it was. The game did not get a retail release, only a digital release on the Nintendo eShop, highlighting the smaller nature of its release. While commercially the game was smalltime for Nintendo, it did post decent reviews, earning an 83 on Metacritic. Still, it would be a surprise to see it return on Nintendo Switch or the rumored Nintendo Switch 2 supposedly coming out next year.

Rumblings about the return of Stretchmo is because Nintendo has a new trademark for the game in Australia. This doesn't necessarily mean anything is happening with it though. This is different than a rating board leak, however, to renew or file new trademarks you have to prove you're making use of the IP. So, this begs the question: what is Nintendo doing, or planning to do, with Stretchmo?

Unfortunately, right now all we have are rumblings and speculation, with no clear indication or idea what could, let alone will, come from this. At the moment of publishing, Nintendo has not commented on any of this in any capacity and we don't expect this to change for a handful of reasons that. The chief of these reasons is Nintendo has never commented on trademark speculation in the past. That said, if expectations are bucked and Nintendo does speak up about the matter, we will be sure to update the story accordingly.

A Sonic the Hedgehog online multiplayer game has seen numerous leaks over the last few months. The game's existence was first reported back in January by the reliable Sega leaker Midori, and early footage of the game appeared online in March. Now, Midori has offered some new details about the game, including an apparent name change. In the footage from March, the game was known as "Sonic Toys Party," but it seems the final game will be known as Sonic Rumble. As Midori notes, a web domain for Sonic Rumble was registered on April 18th, but cannot currently be accessed.

Sonic Rumble Platforms and Release Window

According to Midori, Sonic Rumble will be coming to iOS and Android in either June or July, and "release on other platforms is possible." Gameplay in the title will center around competitions for up to 32 players. While the gameplay is going to be similar to games like Fall Guys and Stumble Guys, it will incorporate familiar elements from the Sonic franchise. Players can expect to see classic areas from the video games, which will be filled with Rings, Badniks, and loops.

Players will be able to choose from beloved characters like Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Robotnik, and there will be customization options to give each character a distinctive look. In the leaked footage, we saw a version of Sonic wearing a top hat, but it seems the game will also feature collaborative content. Midori notes that content based on the Persona franchise will appear, and "there are collaborations planned with multiple Sega Group IPs."

Sega IP We Could See in Sonic Rumble

Midori did not go into further detail about this collaboration content, but Sega owns a lot of different franchises, and this could be a great opportunity for the company to highlight franchises beyond Sonic. We could see content based on classic games like Skies of Arcadia, Samba de Amigo, or Jet Set Radio. Sega could also have content timed to coincide with the release of the upcoming Golden Axe animated series, or Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Angry Birds is also a distinct possibility; Sega purchased Rovio last year, and Midori notes that Sonic Rumble uses the company's Beacon technology suite.

Midori has proven to be an incredibly reliable leaker, especially when it comes to all things related to Sega. However, readers are advised to take all of this with a grain of salt for the time being. Plans in the video game industry are constantly changing, and games get delayed or cancelled all the time. That said, there's been so much evidence related to Sonic Rumble over the last few months that it seems likely the game will be arriving soon, as Midori suggests. If the game really is coming in June or July, we should get some official confirmation from Sega in the very near future.

Are you excited to play Sonic Rumble? Does this seem like the kind of game that would appeal to you? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

A new Nintendo Switch 2 report has revealed a major upgrade from the current Nintendo Switch console, but it sounds like it will come at a cost. There have been rumors circulating about the next Nintendo console for well over a year now. According to the majority of these rumors, the next Nintendo console is a Nintendo Switch successor releasing next year, 2025. Unfortunately, we still don't have any official information on the console, but we do have more rumors.

The latest rumor about the Nintendo Switch comes the way of Moore's Law Is Dead, a popular YouTubee and a source who has proven reliable in the past when it comes to hardware. According to the YouTuber, Nintendo has opted for a "crazy low" underclock on the console. The clock will be so low it will be 800 Mhz while in handheld mode.

This is apparently being done to ensure the Nintendo Switch 2 to have a longer battery life compared to the Switch, which is insufficient in this department when running technically demanding games. This upgrade is presumably based on data that reveals many use the Switch as a handheld compared to a TV console.

This is not the only benefit to keeping the clock speed low. As you may know, less power consumption per second means less need for cooling, which in turn means less issues with overheating, something that also impacts the Switch when it runs certain games.

Of course, there are drawbacks to a lower clock, but depending on your playstyle, the upgrades and benefits it provides may be worth it. Further, it's floated that the console could have a faster clock while in docked mode, allowing Switch users the best of both worlds.

All of that said, take everything here with a grain of salt. While the source has proven reliable in the past, they have also been off the mark in the past as well. Meanwhile, even if everything here is accurate, it is also subject to change that could render it inaccurate over time. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things Nintendo -- including all of the latest Nintendo news, all of the latest Nintendo rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Nintendo deals -- click here.

After days of negative publicity, PlayStation announced this morning that it will no longer be going forward with its planned changes to Helldivers 2 on PC. Today was going to be the first day that new sales for the game on Steam would require a PlayStation Network ID to continue playing, with existing players forced to set up an account at the end of the month. The move resulted in the game being inundated with negative reviews on Steam, and the delisting of Helldivers 2 in more than 150 countries. In a post on Twitter, PlayStation called the feedback from players "invaluable."

"Helldivers fans -- we've heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward," a statement on the official PlayStation Twitter account reads. "We're still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we'll keep you updated on future plans."

A Win for Steam Users

Prior to Friday's announcement about the requirement, Helldivers 2 was getting universal praise, and had become one of the year's best-selling games; however in the last few days, many players were actually getting refunds for Helldivers 2, rather than going through the hassle of creating a PSN account. It's not too surprising that PlayStation went back on these changes as a result, but no one could have predicted a policy change would happen so quickly. The company clearly saw this as a losing issue and realized that the bad will and lost sales from Steam users wasn't worth any potential gains.

The change in direction was met with universal praise from players across social media. Some are already talking about reinstalling the game, and how PlayStation could have handled the situation better to begin with. As PlayStation noted in its statement, the company is still learning about how to approach PC gaming, and how that differs from its console audience. With PlayStation increasingly releasing its games on Steam, the company is going to have to figure out what PC users are going to embrace, and what's going to lead to frustration.

How Will PlayStation Handle Future Steam Releases?

It will definitely be interesting to see what PlayStation takes away from this experience. Will future Steam releases require a PSN account at launch, or will PlayStation move away from that entirely? Some Helldivers 2 players suggested that they wouldn't have minded this requirement as much if they knew about it ahead of time, rather than having it forced upon them months after release. The whole fiasco with the game being delisted in certain territories could have also been avoided that way. It's impossible to predict where things might go from here, but this is definitely a win for PC users.

Are you happy that PlayStation decided to go back on this Steam change? What do you think will happen with future PlayStation releases on PC? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!