Over the years, Bungie has filled its Destiny games with limited-time events to celebrate various holidays. One of the longest-running is the Dawning, Destiny 2‘s version of a holiday celebration, in which you give in-game gifts to NPCs and earn winter-themed items, weapons, and armor. The Dawning is nearly upon us, with Bungie releasing a new trailer and some details about the upcoming event.

As Bungie detailed on its website, the Dawning kicks off on December 17 with the Tuesday weekly reset, and runs until January 14, a total of four weeks. Like last year, to celebrate the holiday in Destiny 2, you’ll visit Eva Lavente and collect a Holiday Oven item, which you’ll use to bake various Destiny-themed cookies to give to characters. Making those cookies requires gathering various ingredients from around the solar system, usually by killing enemies, and discovering the recipes to make each one.

Like every year, the Dawning has a few specific timed rewards to earn as you play through it. Bungie’s site teases a Dawning-specific ship and sparrow you’ll unlock by baking a bunch of cookies, and there’s Dawning-themed armor to earn along the way as well. The big prize of the season, however, is the Dawning weapon, a submachine gun called Cold Front. And you can expect the Eververse store to feature a whole bunch of holiday items to buy with premium currency.

The Dawning is a free event, so you don’t need to have purchased a season pass for the Season of Dawn in order to take part in it and earn its rewards. You can see what else is on tap for the season on Bungie’s Destiny 2 content calendar.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2s-dawning-holiday-event-starts-next-week/1100-6472167/

NetherRealm has issued a new Mortal Kombat 11 update that appears to include a significant new feature–though it is nowhere in the official patch notes. The version 1.13 update history when viewed on PS4 has a note that it “Add cross-play.”

That would suggest that the update allows PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch players to battle it out without platform restrictions, but the official patch notes for PS4 aand Xbox One strangely make no mention of the feature. Those notes, which you can read in full below, focus on some minor gameplay adjustments and Towers of Time fixes, among other tweaks.

The reason for the disparity isn’t clear. The feature could be incoming sometime in the future. GameSpot has contacted NetherRealm for clarification.

Mortal Kombat 11 most recently added Sindel as a DLC character, and the Nintendo Switch version is on sale now.

MK11 December 12 Patch Notes

General Gameplay Adjustments

• Fixed an issue causing several Krushing Blows to do slightly increased damage
• Added an Newsletter Subscription option which rewards players with a Raiden Announcer Voice for signing up
• Fixed an issue that was causing Nightwolf, Sindel, & Terminator Augments to not work as intended

Kombat League / Online

• Reduced the Kombat League Point Cap that a player can lose in a match to 50

Towers of Time

• Fixed an issue with certain attacks killing the opponent at the same time a modifier activates during an Endurance Match causing a long delay before the next opponent appears
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause the camera to get out of bounds when a Fatal Blow or Krushing Blow occurs while the Ice Totem is active

Character Specific Adjustments

• Baraka – Blood Lunge’s Krushing Blow works correctly again in all situations

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-kombat-11-may-be-getting-cross-play/1100-6472163/

The Final Fantasy VII Remake is due out next spring, and Square Enix will show off another fresh look at tonight’s Game Awards. In a tease issued on Twitter, the official account promised a new trailer that will focus on the main story character, Cloud Strife.

As the tweet acknowledges, Cloud is well-known among fans of the classic RPG, since he’s the character that most of the story revolves around. But it’s been more than 20 years since the original release of FF7 on the very first PlayStation, so Square Enix appears to be looking to capture a new generation with this remake as well.

We recently learned that the FF7 remake is a timed exclusive on PS4, though other platforms haven’t been officially announced. It will pay homage to the classic with an option that makes it more closely resemble the turn-based original, though the active combat that we’ve seen in previous trailers has its own ways of adapting those mechanics for modern times.

The Game Awards will begin at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET. This year the award show is also introducing a “Game Festival” promotion through Steam that will let you try limited-time demos of some featured games.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-remake-teases-new-game-awards-trai/1100-6472159/

We’re a few hours away from The Game Awards, which streams live tonight at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET. In conjunction with the fifth annual event, the Nintendo Eshop is holding a sale on a bevy of Switch games.

The Game Awards Eshop sale is live now and runs till Wednesday, December 18. It includes an assortment of Nintendo Switch games, from huge open-worlds like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to popular indies such as Celeste and Crypt of the NecroDancer. Not every game on sale is nominated at this year’s awards ceremony, but the sale features up to 50% off on a bunch of excellent Switch titles.

Of the games on the list, five are nominated for an award or two. This includes Gris (Best Art Direction, Games For Impact, and Fresh Indie Game), Katana Zero (Best Independent Game), Mortal Kombat 11 (Best Fighting Game), Sayonara Wild Hearts (Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, and Best Mobile Game), and Wargroove (Best Strategy Game). You check out the list below, along with their original and discounted price.

Nintendo Switch Eshop Deals for The Game Awards 2019

• Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda — $17.49 ($25)
• Celeste — $10 ($20)
• Crypt of the NecroDancer: Nintendo Switch Edition — $4 ($20)
• Doom — $30 ($60)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — $30 ($60)
• Gris — $8.49 ($17)
• Katana Zero — $9.74 ($15)
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30 ($60)
• Octopath Traveler — $36 ($60)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts — $10.39 ($13)
• Super Mario Odyssey — $42 ($60)
• Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes — $15 ($30)
• Wargroove — $14 ($20)
• What Remains of Edith Finch — $12 ($20)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition — $42 ($60)
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — $30 ($60)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/huge-nintendo-switch-eshop-sale-live-now-for-game-/1100-6472157/

The Game Awards airs tonight at 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET, and Microsoft is celebrating by offering discounts on more than 100 Xbox One games. The wide-ranging sale includes a bunch of 2019 games that are nominated for awards such as Resident Evil 2, Gears 5, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. You can also save up to 75% on past hits like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and the Batman: Arkham Collection.

Some of the games are discounted close to their Black Friday prices. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare drops from $60 to $39, and Gears 5 is 50% off at $30. You can also find discounts on the wonderful adventure game A Plague Tale: Innocence–down from $50 to $25—and the most recent Destiny 2 expansion, Shadowkeep, which is slashed from $35 to $21.

You can save more than 50% on some of 2019’s best games, too. The Division 2 is a steal at $15, and stylish action game Devil May Cry 5 is only $19.79.

Microsoft’s Game Awards sale also looks in the rearview mirror, offering steep discounts on past nominees and award winners. The standard edition Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is just $18, and the $100 Gold Edition is marked all the way down to $25. The Batman: Arkham Collection offers arguably the best value in the sale, compiling Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight in one package for just $15.

Microsoft’s full Game Awards sale can be viewed at the Xbox Store. The discounts are only good today, so you’ll have to act fast. We’ve highlighted some of best deals in the sale below.

Best Game Awards deals at Xbox Store

• Gears 5 — $30 ($60)
• Resident Evil 2 — $19.79 ($60)
• A Plague Tale: Innocence — $25 ($50)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $39 ($60)
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30 ($60)
• Rainbow Six Siege Deluxe Edition — $12 ($40)
• Borderlands 3 — $40.19 ($60)
• Destiny 2: Shadowkeep — $21 ($35)
• FIFA 20 — $39 ($60)
• The Division 2 — $15 ($60)
• Devil May Cry 5 (with Red Orbs) — $19.79 ($60)
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — $18 ($60)
• Batman: Arkham Collection — $15 ($60)
• Doom — $6 ($20)
• Far Cry New Dawn — $16 ($40)
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $30 ($60)
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice — $15 ($30)
• Metro Exodus — $30 ($60)
• NBA 2K20 — $30 ($60)
• Need for Speed Heat — $39 ($60)
• Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition — $8 ($20)
• Rage 2 — $19.79 ($60)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — $30 ($60)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-awards-2019-brings-huge-xbox-one-game-discoun/1100-6472158/