Halo: The Master Chief Collection Not An Xbox Play Anywhere Title; Dev Also Talks Cross-Play

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Following the announcement of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC, many wondered if the title would be included in the Xbox Play Anywhere program. As it turns out, it won’t.

Halo studio head Bonnie Ross recently confirmed during a livestream that it won’t be an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so those who bought it on Xbox One will have to buy it again if they want to play on PC. That being said, Ross teased that those who buy it twice may get some bonuses.

“While MCC shipped before the XPA Play Anywhere, we are exploring ways to make sure that we show our appreciation and recognition for the support we’ve had from the amazing fans on MCC and we’ll have more to announce as we get closer to launch,” she said during an HCS stream recently (via Kotaku).

Xbox Play Anywhere is a program that Microsoft announced in 2016 that lets you buy select digital games on Xbox One or PC and get a copy on the other system at no extra cost. All progress and saves carry between platforms, so it’s a nice way to … play anywhere. There are dozens of games in the Xbox Play Anywhere catalog now, including Cuphead, Crackdown 3, Forza Horizon 4, Gears of War 4, and many others.

Also during the broadcast, community director Brian Jarrard confirmed Halo: MCC won’t support cross-play between PC and Xbox One at launch, though this feature could come later if the community wants it and if it makes sense for the studio. While there is no cross-play between Xbox One and PC, people who buy MCC on Steam and the Microsoft Store can play together.

Finally, 343 confirmed it will hold a Reddit AMA on March 19 where it will answer questions about Halo: MCC on PC, the newly announced Halo Insider Program, and more.

Halo: MCC is coming to PC later this year, beginning with Halo: Reach, which is also headed to Xbox One. On PC, the releases will follow individually, for separate purchase, in chronological order: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-the-master-chief-collection-not-an-xbox-play-/1100-6465668/

New Call Of Duty Game Confirmed For Mobile, Teases Battle Royale

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Activision is bringing a new Call of Duty game to mobile devices, and now what appears to be the first trailer for the title has come online. The game, which appears to be simply titled Call of Duty: Mobile, is a free-to-play game that promises “heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled action of Call of Duty with you wherever you go.”

The game features “multiple game modes” across a number of different maps, including popular ones like Nuketown and Crash. According to Activision, the game is “optimised for mobile,” but it’s not exactly clear what that means in practice. At the end of the video, it appears Activision is teasing a battle royale mode, but it’s not confirmed at this stage.

Call of Duty: Mobile also includes weapons and characters from previous Call of Duty games, including Black Ops and Modern Warfare. However, it’s described as a standalone game that is not directly connected to any previous entry.

Activision is making Call of Duty: Mobile with “high-end” phones in mind, but the studio is also working to allow it to be “broadly accessible for as many other devices as well.”

Call of Duty: Mobile is coming to Android and iOS, and you can pre-register now. Signing up gets you access to the opportunity to earn in-game rewards and learn about upcoming beta tests, which are set to begin later this year.

Last year, Activision announced a new Call of Duty mobile game for China that it was developing alongside Tencent. This is that same game, developed by Tencent’s studio Timi, but now it’s being expanded to other regions like North America, South America, Europe, and other places.

Call of Duty: Mobile isn’t the only new Call of Duty title coming this year. This year’s mainline instalment is on the way, and it’s expected to feature a campaign mode which is notable since 2018’s Black Ops 4 left it out. The game is rumoured to be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 from developer Infinity Ward, but this is not confirmed.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-call-of-duty-game-confirmed-for-mobile-teases-/1100-6465667/

The Division 2 Skills Bug Patched, With Another On The Way

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A bug in The Division 2 has been discovered that prevents proper use of skills, and Ubisoft has assured that a fix is on the way very soon. The bug apparently impacts both the length that skills are deployed and their cooldowns.

Players on the Division subreddit say the bug causes skills to deactivate only a few moments after triggering them. Then, in an odd fluke, the cooldown timer resets to 15 seconds, significantly shorter than usual. The community has tried testing the bug and so far hasn’t been able to identify a specific cause.

The good news is that it won’t be a problem for much longer. In a maintenance note, Ubisoft says it will be fixing the bug with a brief maintenance period today, March 18, but it warns there may be “remaining issues” related to the bug. The team is aiming to resolve those with another patch later in the week. In the meantime, Ubisoft suggests avoiding the “Extra” and “Overlap” talents, which it says appear to be the main culprits.

If you’re struggling with The Division 2 even without the bugs, we have you covered. Check out our beginner’s tips and how to level up fast, or just read up on the best guns. Or read up on reviews from around the industry.

“After spending 30 hours completing the campaign and beginning to dabble in the endgame, I’m still enamored with The Division 2,” Edmond Tran said in our review-in-progress. “The range of enemy types continues to keep combat encounters challenging, the equipment I earn and pick up continues to feel different and valuable. The ravaged environments continue to intrigue, and sometimes they’re so stunning I find myself needing to take a screenshot before I move on. There is still so much to see in The Division 2, but I want to take the time to see it. I have absolutely no clue why I’m here or what anyone’s motivations are, and I wish I had a narrative purpose to my endless hunger for progression. But I’m glad to be here right now.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-2-skills-bug-patched-with-another-on-/1100-6465663/

Apex Legends Won’t Get Fortnite-Style Challenges For Now, And Here’s Why

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Now that Respawn has shared more details on the new character, Octane, and the first Apex Legends battle pass, it’s confirmed that the battle pass doesn’t feature any Fortnite-style challenges. In a blog post, Respawn said it might consider adding challenges or quests in future battle passes, but not in the first one because the studio wanted to instead give players more time to learn and experiment with the initial roster of characters.

“You’ll notice the first version isn’t built around a complex quest system where you need to do a 720 backflip off of Watchtower Artemis and get two Wingman headshots before hitting the ground,” Respawn said in a sentence that appears to be referencing Fortnite. “While we think there’s really cool design space in quests and challenges for future Battle Passes, we wanted the initial version to allow our players to just play and learn the game.”

While there are no challenges in the first Apex Legends battle pass, which is called the Wild Frontier Battle Pass, there is a progression system that rewards players who try out a number of different characters. “This season is about exploring the new meta and variety of team comps driven by the launch of our first new Legend, Octane,” Respawn said.

Respawn also confirmed that almost everything in Apex Legends’ first battle pass will be forever exclusive to Season 1. The only exception is that Apex Packs will be available every season, and their content won’t be exclusive to any one season.

Looking ahead, Respawn said you can expect future Apex Legends battle passes to include more “improvements, updates, and tweaks.” The studio teased that it has a “lot of cool ideas in the works,” and you can expect those to release over time.

For more on the first Apex Legends battle pass and Octane, check out the stories below.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-wont-get-fortnite-style-challenges-fo/1100-6465660/

Destiny 2: Here’s What You Get For Picking Drifter Or Vanguard

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Destiny 2‘s Jokers Wild expansion is slowly adding to the story of the Drifter, the character who runs the competitive Gambit mode and whose agenda and morality aren’t quite clear. The Drifter acts nice, but he advocates for using less-than-noble methods to fight the enemies of humanity, and there are elements in the Vanguard–the military body governing the immortal Guardians players embody–who don’t trust him.

After spending a bunch of time with the Drifter and participating in his Gambit events, Jokers Wild presents you with a choice: either help the Vanguard spy on him, or side with him and his unorthodox methods. Your choice kicks off a quest line specific to each side, and it has long-term repercussions, including special rewards depending on where your allegiance lies.

Bungie explained exactly what rewards you can expect on its This Week At Bungie blog. Once you choose a side, you’re with them for the long haul, and you’ll get a reward from that side every Tuesday at Destiny 2’s weekly reset through the rest of Season 6.

If you choose the Drifter, you get one of each kind of Gambit Prime Synth each week, plus 100 Infamy points in Gambit. On the Vanguard side, you get 10 Vanguard Tactician tokens, a Boon of the Vanguard item that gives you extra tokens during Strikes, and an Enhancement Core each week. Both sides give a piece of Powerful gear each week–if you pick Drifter, you’ll get a piece of Gambit gear; if you pick Vanguard, you’ll get Powerful Vanguard gear.

Both sides also offer special lore options. Working with the Drifter teaches you more about him, while siding with the Vanguard lets you fill out the lore book called “The Warlock Aunor.”

You’re stuck with your choice when you choose either Drifter or Vanguard, but luckily, it’s possible to make both choices to check out everything. Your allegiance choice only applies to one character, so you can make a separate choice with another one to get both sets of rewards and lore.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-heres-what-you-get-for-picking-drifter-o/1100-6465662/

Kid Goku Joining Dragon Ball FighterZ Roster

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The latest confirmed DLC characters for Arc System Works’ Dragon Ball FighterZ were Jiren and Videl, both of which launched at the end of January 2019. The trailer for the game’s FighterZ Pass 2, which both Jiren and Videl are part of, revealed an additional four slots for unannounced characters. We’ve now learned that Kid Goku, from the non-canon Dragon Ball GT series, is the game’s next fighter.

According to a post by Gematsu, Kid Goku will be playable via paid DLC. Of course, as with other post-launch characters, Kid Goku can be purchased via in-game currency, though the amount’s currently unknown. Similarly, the price for Kid Goku has yet to be revealed, but it’s safe to assume he’ll cost $4.99 USD, the same price as every other DLC character available.

The post outlines some of Kid Goku’s moves. His special, Super Kamehameha, transforms him into Super Saiyan 3 when “there are two or fewer overall team members remaining.” It’s unclear if this transformation is permanent or temporary though. He also comes equipped with a couple of Meteor specials like Super Spirit Bomb and a second hidden attack, as well as Power Pole and Reverse Kamehameha. Unfortunately, there isn’t a confirmed release date for Kid Goku yet.

In our Dragon Ball FighterZ review, we said the game’s “complex and distinct enough to be enjoyed by fighting game competitors, but there’s no question that it’s been designed to tap into the hearts of Dragon Ball’s most dedicated fans,” saying it has “bottled the essence of what makes the series’ characters, animation, and sense of humor so beloved and reconfigured it into something new.”

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/kid-goku-joining-dragon-ball-fighterz-roster/1100-6465649/

Devil May Cry 5 For $48, And More From This Massive Steam Game Spring Sale

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While large batches of PlayStation and Xbox games are discounted on a weekly basis, it’s not as common to see hundreds of Steam games marked down at once. Luckily, Fanatical‘s spring sale is here to fill that gap and save PC gamers money on some of the best games on Steam. The retailer, which sells Steam keys that are officially licensed from game publishers, has been posting new game deals throughout the month, with the latest batch of deals going live today. Please note you must have a Steam account to take advantage of them.

Even better: Fanatical is offering a coupon code that lets you take an additional 10% off the site price (with the exception of pre-orders, bundles, and Star deals). The promo code is FANATICAL10 and will help you save even more money on these discounted games.

One of the most notable deals is Devil May Cry 5, the latest game in the hack-and-slash demon hunting series. Released less than two weeks ago, the Capcom title is discounted by 20% as part of Fanatical’s sale, so you can grab a Steam key for it for just $48 (it’s still $60 at all major retailers). Unfortunately, this is the one game you can’t use the promo code on, but $12 off is still a hefty discount for a brand new, highly rated game.

In GameSpot’s Devil May Cry 5 review, the game received a 9/10. “Rarely does the game stumble, consistently leveraging its spectacle and mechanical depth to push aside any small frustrations,” wrote GameSpot’s Matt Espineli. “All the while, the story exudes a charismatic charm that keeps you constantly intrigued as you’re refining your skills.”

Tons of other great PC games are on sale over the next two weeks, including Civilization VI, which you can get for $16.20; Frostpunk, which is discounted at $15.20; the entire XCOM 2 collection, which is $31.50; and Yakuza 0, which is selling for $11.51.

Shop Fanatical’s spring sale »

See some of our picks on the best Steam deals below, and take note of the day and time each deal ends. The below prices include the coupon code discount.

*coupon code cannot be used

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/devil-may-cry-5-for-48-and-more-from-this-massive-/1100-6465651/

New Nintendo Direct-Style Showcase Airing This Week

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Nintendo is broadcasting another Direct-style presentation this week, this one focusing on indie games. The annual spring Nindies Showcase airs on Wednesday, March 20, and it’ll offer a glimpse at a number of indie titles on the way to Switch in the near future.

The presentation is scheduled to begin at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 4 PM GMT. As usual, you’ll be able to stream it on Nintendo’s website, Twitch, and YouTube channels. You’ll also be able to tune in right here on GameSpot when the time comes and watch the broadcast below.

Nintendo hasn’t shared any further details about this week’s Nindies Showcase, so we don’t yet know what games will be featured. However, the company has confirmed the presentation will run approximately 30 minutes–longer than most typical Nintendo Directs–which suggests it’ll be packed with news and reveals.

Nintendo of Europe aired its own indie-focused presentation back in January, which included the announcement of SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, the newest game in Image & Form’s acclaimed series. That presentation was also followed by the surprise release of several titles, including When Ski Lifts Go Wrong and Unruly Heroes.

The Nindies Showcase follows a few weeks after Nintendo’s big February Direct, which gave us our first glimpse at Super Mario Maker 2, a Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake, and more. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company also recently revealed Pokemon Sword and Shield, the series’ upcoming “core” installments for Switch, during their own Pokemon-focused Direct at the end of February.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-nintendo-direct-style-showcase-airing-this-wee/1100-6465639/

Google’s GDC Gaming News: Date, Time, How To Watch, And What We Know

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Google is expected to reveal some kind of gaming news at the Game Developers Conference on March 19. Exactly what that will be remains to be seen, although some kind of cloud gaming service and/or hardware has been the suspicion since the company first teased an announcement for GDC 2019.

This being Google, it could be major news–cloud gaming is a big part of gaming’s future, and a massive company getting involved has the potential to shake things up for the industry. With all of that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the essential information regarding both Google’s event and some things to know about cloud gaming. We’ll update this once the news from Google, whatever it turns out to be, is announced.

Google GDC Livestream And Time

Provided you’re eager to find out what Google is up to as soon as possible, you’ll be able to watch a Google keynote livestream of the event. It takes place on March 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 5 PM GMT (4 AM AET on March 20).

As for what to expect, Google recently shared a teaser video showing off various environments. It also said the event would “unveil Google’s vision for the future of gaming.”

Why Is Cloud Gaming A Big Deal?

Cloud gaming isn’t new by any means; PlayStation Now, for instance, has been around for a while. But we’re finally reaching the point at which it stands to become a more significant component of how games are distributed. That doesn’t necessarily mean cloud gaming will replace consoles and dedicated hardware, as it could be a matter of complementing those things. To get you up to speed, we’ve put together an explainer on why cloud gaming is the future.

Jade Raymond Is (Probably) Involved

Just ahead of GDC, Jade Raymond announced that she has joined Google as a vice president. We don’t yet know exactly what Raymond–who is best known for her work as a producer on Assassin’s Creed–will be doing, but it seems fair to assume that she’ll be helping to spearhead whatever this “future of gaming” is that Google has in mind.

Who’s The Competition?

As noted above, PlayStation Now already exists, and Microsoft just recently showcased its xCloud streaming technology, with Forza Horizon 4 being played on a phone. Microsoft also announced plans to begin public testing this year. To help you keep track of all this, we’ve assembled a list of the top companies in the cloud gaming space.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/googles-gdc-gaming-news-date-time-how-to-watch-and/1100-6465658/

Apex Legends Battle Pass Has Free Rewards For Everyone

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Apex Legends‘ Wild Frontier Battle Pass arrives on March 19, marking the start of the game’s first season. Just as in Fortnite, the Battle Pass costs 950 Apex Coins–roughly $10–and allows you to unlock a wide range of skins, cosmetics, and other rewards as you level it up throughout the season. Even if you don’t want to shell out money for it, however, you’ll be able to unlock some items for free.

As EA confirmed on the Apex Legends website, all players will be able to earn a handful of free rewards during Season 1. These include one Wild Frontier Legend skin, five Apex Packs, and 18 Wild Frontier stat trackers. If you do decide to spring for a Battle Pass partway through the season, you’ll also retroactively unlock any items you would have earned, so you won’t need to worry about missing out on the rewards.

Of course, those who do purchase the Battle Pass will have access to even more goodies. Respawn is offering 100 tiers of rewards to unlock throughout the season, ranging from character and weapon skins to XP boosts, banner frames, and other cosmetic items. You’ll also earn up to 1,000 Apex Coins through the Battle Pass, which would allow you to get Season 2’s pass for free.

If you want to get a head start on the rewards, EA is also selling a Battle Pass bundle for 2,800 Apex Coins, which will automatically unlock the first 25 tiers. You can also get some free Apex Coins by signing up for EA/Origin Access, effectively giving you a discount on the Battle Pass. You can read more about how the Apex Legends Battle Pass works here.

Alongside the Season 1 Battle Pass, Respawn is releasing Apex Legends’ newest playable character, Octane, on March 19. However, he’s not included as part of the Battle Pass, but rather needs to be purchased separately from Legends’ in-game store. Like Mirage and Caustic, he can be unlocked for 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-battle-pass-has-free-rewards-for-ever/1100-6465653/