The relationship between Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. was believed to be somewhat fractious, given the two games’ competition–not to mention PUBG Corp.’s attempted suing of Epic less than two years ago.

However, PUBG Corp.’s studio director, Brian Corrigan, has now claimed that couldn’t be further from the truth. He told PCGamesN: “People have this idea that there’s some animosity or something with Epic, but they’re one of our best partners, we talk to them all the time!”

The relationship between the two companies is complicated. PUBG Corp. filed a lawsuit against Epic back in 2017, shortly after proclaiming its “growing concerns regarding the similarities between the battle royale mode in Epic Games’ newly revealed Fortnite and PUBG.” The legal case was later dropped.

PUBG Corp.’s parent company, Bluehole, has an ongoing licensing agreement with Epic for the latter’s Unreal Engine development tool, which PUBG uses. In addition, both companies are part-owned by the same corporation, Tencent.

While Epic openly cited PUBG as a key inspiration behind its Battle Royale mode, the latter has since borrowed ideas from Fortnite, which has gone on to be incredibly successful. Fortnite popularized the Seasons and Battle Pass format of updates, for example, and PUBG has just begun its fourth season.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-years-after-lawsuit-pubg-corp-says-its-okay-wi/1100-6468683/

Fortnite isn’t the only battle royale game on the cusp of a new season. PUBG Corp. has rolled out PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds‘ Season 4 update on PC, introducing some big changes to the shooter, including a revamp of its original map, a new Survivor Pass with an assortment of new missions to complete and rewards to unlock, and more.

The biggest changes come to the aforementioned map, Erangel, which has received a major visual overhaul. PUBG Corp. says it has “improved the graphical quality of Erangel’s various areas and terrains across the board,” ranging from improved textures to updated terrain. According to the developer:

“We’ve updated existing terrain, signage, and buildings and have added a small number of buildings to some areas as well. To better illustrate Erangel’s history, terrain elements have been added or revised. Trenches, blast marks, camo nets, and abandoned tanks have been added across different areas of the map.”

Additionally, PUBG’s Season 4 Survivor Pass, dubbed Aftermath, is now available. The pass can be purchased on Steam for $10 USD and grants holders access to a variety of seasonal, premium, and weekly missions to complete, which will level the pass up and unlock an assortment of new cosmetics and other rewards, such as emotes, clothing items, and weapon skins.

The Season 4 Survivor Pass also introduces a new cooperative mission system. Much like Fortnite’s Party Assist feature, this allows players to team up with friends and contribute to a mission’s progress. New weekly missions will go live every Wednesday throughout the season. The Season 4 Survivor Pass will be active until October 15.

In addition to those changes, the Season 4 update also makes balance adjustments to many weapons and vehicles. You can find the full patch notes for the update on the PUBG website. PUBG Corp. says Season 4 will also be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game this summer, although no exact date has been announced just yet.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pubg-update-season-4-is-live-on-pc-with-map-overha/1100-6468678/

Nintendo has increased the number of levels you can share online in Super Mario Maker 2. Since the game launched last month, players have only been able to upload a maximum of 32 courses to the online Course World hub, but that limit has now been doubled, and it appears it’ll go up again with a future update.

According to an in-game notification, Nintendo plans to increase the course-upload limit one more time in the future. The company hasn’t announced when the limit will be bumped up again or what the new limit will be, but in the meantime, players can now upload a maximum of 64 courses. As before, however, you’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to upload your levels and play those created by other players.

In addition to the course-limit increase, Nintendo has shared the Course ID for a new level created by the Mario Maker 2 development team. This course revolves around the Superball Flower, an obscure power-up from Super Mario Land that can be unlocked as a course part in Mario Maker 2 when you clear the game’s Story mode. You can see the Course ID as well as a clip of the level in the tweet below.

We know of at least one more update still on the way for Super Mario Maker 2. During E3 2019, Nintendo confirmed it is working on an update that will allow players to play online Versus and Co-Op matches with friends. Presently, the game only allows players to play those modes online with strangers. Nintendo hasn’t announced when this update is expected to go live.

Super Mario Maker 2 is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch. The game received a lot of praise from critics, including GameSpot. In our Super Mario Maker 2 review, GameSpot’s Peter Brown wrote, “Whether exploring the full potential of a single element or throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, I’ve got the itch to join the creator’s club. Mario Maker 2 makes the learning process intuitive and enjoyable. Most importantly, it’s enabled designers amateur and professional alike to share their creativity with the world.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-removes-a-hurdle-for-super-mario-maker-2s/1100-6468673/