As the impending launch of the OnePlus 5T nears, the company has once again found itself the subject of controversy. It’s been discovered that a testing app has been left on many OnePlus devices, creating a backdoor that bypasses the need to unlock the bootloader to get root-level access. The …
Read More »Confusion surrounds EA’s refund policy regarding Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars Battlefront II has had a turbulent journey to release, from loot box concerns to EA achieving the most downvoted comment in Reddit’s history. The company has since apologised, making sure to dampen the grind but the controversy continues today, as the publisher is under scrutiny for its refund …
Read More »IO Interactive CEO sheds light on going independent and the studio’s future
Earlier this year, Square Enix and IO Interactive parted ways, with the latter going its own way and transitioning into an independent studio. This has obviously taken some adjusting, which IO CEO, Hakan Abrak has shed some light on this week, while also revealing which IP IO lost during the …
Read More »StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty is free starting from today
Blizzard is looking to give StarCraft 2's multiplayer a resurgence this year. At Blizzcon earlier this month, the publisher announced that StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty would be turning into a free to play game. This comes into effect starting today, meaning you can play through the entire Wings of …
Read More »CS:GO’s revamped ‘Trust Factor’ matchmaking system is now live
If you are an avid CS:GO player and have some grievances with the matchmaking system, then you may be in luck as it looks like an overhaul has arrived. Yesterday, Valve pushed out a new matchmaking system known as ‘Trust Factor', replacing Prime Matchmaking, which takes into account more stats …
Read More »EA cuts Star Wars Battlefront II hero costs following backlash
Yesterday, EA was having a bit of a PR nightmare. It started off with early Battlefront II players having an axe to grind over the game's microtransaction and progression systems, and ended with EA having the most downvoted comment in Reddit history. The backlash was incredibly strong and it has …
Read More »Cybersecurity firm tricks Apple’s Face ID with a 3D printed mask
Face ID is pegged to be the future of smartphone security, with Apple leading the charge saying it may one day drop the tried-and-tested Touch ID in favour of it. This is far from a perfected piece of technology, however, as a cybersecurity firm has apparently tricked the protection protocol …
Read More »Ubisoft accidentally reveals Dokkaebi, Rainbow Six Siege’s upcoming South Korean Attacker
Rainbow Six: Siege's Year 2 Season 4 is inbound, with Operation White Noise being officially revealed last week alongside a teaser for its upcoming map, Mok Myeok. It seems that Ubisoft has since revealed a little more than it intended, as details of its upcoming attacking operator come to life …
Read More »Sledgehammer addresses Call of Duty: WWII PC and connectivity issues
Despite doubling Infinite Warfare's sales, Call of Duty: WWII has had some problems since it launched two weeks ago. In a bid to dampen worries of its online connectivity issues, developer Sledgehammer Games has addressed player complaints in its latest blog post. One of the latest additions in Call of …
Read More »Crytek’s free to play shooter ‘Warface’ is getting a Battle Royale mode
It looks like Crytek is looking to give Warface a bit of a resurgence this year with a new Battle Royale mode to compete with the likes of PUBG, Fortnite and H1Z1. Warface initially launched as a free to play shooter in late 2013 on the PC and Xbox 360. …
Read More »Activision Blizzard exec seems positive about a potential Overwatch film
When Overwatch was first revealed in late 2014, we were greeted with an excellent cinematic trailer introducing us to the game's initial character roster. Over time, Blizzard has expanded on this with various character-focused animated shorts. At this point, all of the Overwatch animated short films have a combined run …
Read More »EA’s response to Battlefront II unlock complaints becomes most downvoted comment on Reddit
Over the last several months, EA has been met with plenty of criticism over Star Wars Battlefront II and its microtransactions. The publisher has tried to quell these concerns in recent weeks but with the final game now available to play as a ten-hour trial, many have been left unimpressed …
Read More »Bossa Studios has bailed as Decksplash is no more
Last week, Surgeon Simulator developers Bossa Studios left the fate of its then-in-development Decksplash in the hands of players. Unfortunately, it failed to grab the attention required to create “a thriving community of people,” meaning that the title is no more. “Like any proud parent, we love Decksplash, but unlike …
Read More »Skate’s spiritual successor, Session, gets a free demo ahead of crowdfunding
It’s safe to say that the Skate games were unique, pushing a physics-based engine instead of the wildly popular arcade-like Tony Hawk’s games. EA might not be listening to fan demand for the series to make a return, but creā-ture Studios is, with a spiritual successor in the form of …
Read More »Destiny 2 will get Xbox One X and PS4 Pro enhancements next month
Destiny 2 has been out on consoles since September, but with the new expansion coming out in less than a month's time, Bungie has taken the time to include some general improvements to the base game. In December's Destiny 2 update, Xbox One X and PS4 Pro owners will be …
Read More »EA is acquiring Respawn Entertainment for more than $400 million
In a not so surprising move, today EA announced that it would be acquiring Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall and an upcoming Star Wars game. Since its inception, Respawn has partnered with EA as its publisher but now with this $450 million deal, Respawn will officially be part of …
Read More »PlayerUnknown shares four more shots of Battleground’s desert map
Bluehole and PUBG Corp. have a lot on their plate at the moment, as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is gearing up for its Xbox One release, but that hasn’t slowed progress on other features that were promised earlier in the year. PUBG’s desert map looks to be coming along nicely, as creator …
Read More »Nintendo Switch adds Hulu to its library in the US
There has been plenty of notable absences on the Switch since it launched back in March, such as Nintendo’s Virtual Console to mainstay media applications. While Netflix has yet to make its way to the console, the Switch has finally got its first video-streaming application outside of Japan, as Hulu …
Read More »Star Wars Battlefront 2 trial does nothing to quell pay-to-win concerns
Star Wars Battlefront 2 became embroiled with a controversy around its not-so-subtle pay-to-win microtransactions during its Beta phase, prompting EA and DICE to change things up ahead of release. A 10-hour trial for the title is now available on EA Access and Origin Access for Xbox One and PC respectively, …
Read More »Discord wants to make it easier for users to join and spectate games with new feature
While Discord may have started out as a chat app, it is becoming clear that it aims to be much more. Today, the folks behind Discord announced a new tool for developers, allowing them to integrate Discord with their games. With this tool, users will be able to set up …
Read More »Bluehole is returning to MMOs with Ascent: Infinite Realm
At this point, Bluehole has made quite a name for itself in the gaming space, particularly with the success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Since launching on Steam Early Access in March, PUBG has gone on to sell 20 million copies worldwide. Behind the scenes though, Bluehole has been working away on …
Read More »EA CEO talks about moving away from annual releases and the rise of ‘live service’
Over the years, we have come to expect annual sports game releases. We see titles like Madden and FIFA pushed out on a yearly basis and sell millions of copies each time. However, things might not always stay that way, as EA's CEO, Andrew Wilson envisions a time where these …
Read More »Activision reveals that Call of Duty: WWII has doubled Infinite Warfare sales
Just two days ago, we learned that Call of Duty: WWII has become the series’ best launch in the last three years, beating its predecessor by over 50 percent. Now that Activision’s annual sales press release is in, it is confirmed that the title has now sold double that of …
Read More »EA is listening to fans regarding Star Wars: Battlefront 2 loot crate concerns
DICE’s upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was criticised during its beta phase for locking core progression behind loot crates, causing EA to revise its system before release. Producer Paul Keslin has since opened up more about the revisions ahead of its 17th November launch, going into more detail of what’s …
Read More »Rainbow Six Siege celebrates 25 million players with trailer for new map
Ubisoft has been steadily improving Rainbow Six: Siege since it launched to underwhelming response back in 2015, hitting 20 million players back in August. Siege has gained another 5 million players throughout the course of Operation Blood Orchid, releasing a trailer for its Season 4 map in celebration. The rapid …
Read More »PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale both surpass 20 million players
Over the last couple of months, competition in the Battle Royale space has been heating up. PUBG is continuing to do incredibly well at a very fast pace, but it seems that Epic Games has also managed to carve out a piece of the market with its own game, Fortnite. …
Read More »Blizzard boss says Overwatch’s loot boxes aren’t controversial
Loot boxes have gained quite the stigma lately, arousing controversy due to many perceiving its randomised nature and ties to microtransactions as a form of gambling. We’ve seen many games cited as a part of the problem, such as Destiny 2, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and the upcoming Star Wars …
Read More »Ubisoft’s microtransaction revenue has surpassed digital game sales
We are currently at a point in gaming where most major publishers are keen to push micro-transaction sales and gain consistent revenue from games past the initial sale price. A lot of gamers might not be fond of this strategy, but unfortunately for them, it seems to be working. This …
Read More »Take-Two confirms plans to include microtransactions in all games going forward
It looks like the success of titles like NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto V has resulted in some core business changes over at Take-Two Interactive. During the publisher's most recent earnings call, its CEO confirmed plans to bring micro-transactions to all games going forward. This may not arrive in …
Read More »IO Interactive is ‘making great progress’ on new Hitman game
Now that IO Interactive has parted ways with Square Enix and gone independent, the studio has wasted no time getting back to work on its most famous IP, Hitman. Not only has the studio been working on additional content for last year's Hitman game, but a sequel is now also …
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