Apex Legends is closing out a huge 2019 with the announcement of the Global Series, a new esports program where players from all over the world will compete against each other for a $3 million prize pool. Registration will open in January, and qualifiers will happen online. The Global Series will be played across the PC version of the game.

Players who qualify during the online rounds will move onto one of 12 live events, and eventually the top players from over 60 countries will compete in the Apex Legends Global Series Majors. The first three of these will see 100 three-person squads competing against each other, and the fourth will be the grand finale, where just 60 players will compete.

The winners of the Majors will be dictated by the Match Point system used in the Apex Legends Preseason Invitational earlier this year. This system has players scoring points for both kills and match placement, competing to hit a certain threshold to pass through to the next round.

The first online tournament will begin on January 25, 2020, and registration will open up earlier that month. The first Major will be held at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Virginia, and will run from March 13 to 15, 2020.

Apex Legends recently launched its Holo-Day Bash event, coating the game world in festive cheer until January 7, 2020. It’s also one of our top ten games of 2019.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-global-series-is-an-international-tou/1100-6472311/

Borderlands 3 has joined the games line-up for the Google Stadia, bringing its brand of online co-op mania to Google’s streaming platform. But the version of Borderlands 3 that Stadia owners will get is not on par with the one currently playable on PS4, Xbox One, or PC.

In a post on the official Borderlands 3 site, Gearbox has announced that they are hoping to reach parity in early 2020, but for now Borderlands 3 on Stadia is a few updates behind. It is at the point the other versions were at as of October 24, which means that it is missing a few features. The big November update, for instance, which increased the bank size and added the Mayhem 4 difficulty level, is not integrated yet.

It also means that the game’s first major DLC, Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, won’t arrive in the Stadia version until 2020. It’s due on December 19 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One players.

Some players on Reddit are also finding that the game does not run at 60FPS, which was one of the promises of the system. However, later comments in the same thread are arguing that it actually does run at 60FPS in “balanced” mode.

The game is available at a discount on Stadia for a limited time. The standard edition is on sale for $39, while the Deluxe Edition costs $52. That deal ends on January 7 at 7:00am PDT.

Borderlands 3 is not the only game coming to Stadia today–Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 is also out now. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint will release for Stadia on December 18.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-3-is-now-on-stadia-but-theres-a-catch/1100-6472310/

The Walking Dead has seen quite a few video game adaptations over the past decade, and now it’s coming to VR. The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners is coming to pretty much every virtual reality headset available on the market today–however, not all at once.

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners hits Steam and the Oculus Store on January 23. On that day, it’ll only be compatible with the Valve Index, HTC Vive, HTC Cosmos, Oculus Rift and Rift S, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Of course, you’ll also be able to play it on the Oculus Quest with the recently released Link beta, but a proper port for the all-in-one headset is scheduled for Q3 2020 (July-September). PlayStation VR will see the game hit its storefront a little earlier in Q1 2020 (January-March).

There are three different editions for The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. The standard edition comes with the game and “The Sheriff” revolver pre-order bonus for $40 USD. The Tourist edition, on the other hand, comes with even more digital bonuses, including more weapons and the soundtrack. And lastly, the physical Tower edition comes with some physical goodies like a reversible backpack that doubles as a VR headset carrying case. You can see more on all of these additions below.

Pre-order The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners standard edition

The $40 standard edition of the game comes with the game itself and a single pre-order item: “The Sheriff” revolver. Pre-orders are currently only available on Steam, but we’ll update this story when more platforms become available.

PC (Steam):

Pre-order The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Tourist Edition

The $50 Tourist edition comes with the game and an assortment of digital pre-order bonuses. In addition to “The Sheriff” revolver, you also get “The National” knife, “The Judge” bat, in-game crafting recipes, and “Bustomization” New Orleans voodoo dolls. On top of that, you also get some additional bonuses, such as podcasts, the trailer song, and the full game soundtrack. PlayStation VR pre-orders also get a dynamic theme, though that version isn’t currently available for pre-order.

PC (Steam):

Pre-order The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Tower Edition

The $150 Tower edition is the only physical package for The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. In addition to the digital Steam code, it comes with a collection of physical items.

• Reversible backpack tailored to be a VR headset carrying case
• Magnetic camping lantern
• Collector’s Challenge coin
• Concept art
• Buttons and pins
• Postcards
• 16 GB thumb drive that looks like a severed thumb

Of course, it also comes with the Tourist edition’s pre-order items and bonuses, including the various weapons, game soundtrack, and more. The Tourist edition is currently only available through Saints And Sinners’ website, though we will keep our eyes out and update this article if it shows up anywhere else.

PC (Steam):

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-walking-dead-saints-and-sinners-pre-order-guid/1100-6472306/

Sign-ups for the closed beta for Phantasy Star Online 2 are now live. The beta will only be hosted on Xbox One and, to participate, you need to be in the US or Canada.

To register for the closed beta, you need to own the Xbox Insider Hub app–so download it from the Xbox One Store if you haven’t already. Once the app is installed, open it, accept the terms of use if this is your first time using the Insider Hub, and then select “Insider Content” from the main dashboard. You’ll then see several category types. Under “Games,” select Phantasy Star Online 2. From there, you can join the sign-up list. The closed beta isn’t live yet, but you’ll receive a message through Xbox Live when it is. So be sure to remain online.

2012’s Phantasy Star Online 2 is the long-awaited sequel to 2000’s Phantasy Star Online, both published by Sega. Though the original game was quickly released to international audiences after its launch in Japan, its sequel did not–eventually, some fans began to believe it never would. So it was with great surprise that Microsoft, during its E3 2019 press conference, announced that the game was coming to North American audiences in early 2020.

A free-to-play action RPG, Phantasy Star Online 2 takes place in a fantasy setting of space exploration where you embark on missions to different planets to collect resources, save colonists, and battle powerful threats. In Phantasy Star Online 2, you start a new game by picking your in-game character’s gender, race, body and facial features, and class (of which there are nine). You can then tackle missions alone or with friends in online co-op (in either four-person assignments or 12-player multiparty areas). As you level up, you’ll be able to use more powerful weapons, firearms, and magical spells.

Phantasy Star Online 2 will release in North America on Xbox One and PC. In Japan, the game is already playable on PlayStation Vita, PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch–with no announced plans for an Xbox One port.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sign-ups-for-phantasy-star-online-2-beta-are-live-/1100-6472305/

Untitled Goose Game is undeniably one of 2019’s most unforgettable Switch games, and now the Goose is ready to wreak havoc on other platforms. As of today, the game is now available on PlayStation 4, and to celebrate, there’s a new dynamic theme available for PS4 owners. The Untitled Goose Game PS4 theme is free to download right now, if you’re ready to let the now-iconic Goose take over your home screen.

The Untitled Goose Game PS4 theme features the Goose sitting on top of a pile of stolen items, and you’ll hear the sound of birds chirping. The Goose can be seen when you scroll up to look at various settings; however, when you least expect it, the Goose will dart across your screen like the hooligan he is.

If you never picked up the game on Nintendo Switch, you can currently snag it with a launch discount of $15 on PS4 (down from $20). This deal is only available through January 2.

Xbox One owners also have access to Untitled Goose Game starting today. The same $15 launch discount is available on Xbox One, although please note Untitled Goose Game was added to Xbox Game Pass today as well. (There’s also a fantastic discount on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate right now if you need to extend your membership.)

The puzzle game earned a solid 8/10 in GameSpot’s Untitled Goose Game review. “The important thing is that Untitled Goose Game is a hoot,” wrote critic James O’Connor. “It’s a comedy game that focuses on making the act of playing it funny, rather than simply being a game that features jokes. Wishing that it was longer speaks to how much fun I had with it. There’s nothing else quite like Untitled Goose Game; it’s charming and cute despite being mean, and both very silly and very clever. It’s also probably the best non-racing game ever to feature a dedicated ‘honk’ button.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/untitled-goose-game-free-ps4-dynamic-theme-availab/1100-6472301/