Tag: xbox series x

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Global Launch Timings Revealed: Details

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is prepping to release this week, and before that, we’ve received global launch timings for the same. Ubisoft tweeted an infographic listing different timezones that point toward a staggered release — meaning the game unlocks at different times across the world. On console, the ninth-century Baghdad-set title goes live at midnight local time on October 5, which means the more impatient players can try changing their system’s location to New Zealand to try and get in early. So far, the release schedule is straightforward, with preloading already live across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. However, the PC unlock is a tad confusing, with some regions getting a headstart by as much as a day.

India isn’t mentioned in the infographic, but we can assume the PC version will launch sometime after October 5 at midnight. We’ve got Abu Dhabi’s unlock time for reference, which stands at 3 am GST, aligning with 4:30 am IST in India. Bear in mind that the PC port is only accessible via the Ubisoft Connect app and Epic Games Store, with Assassin’s Creed Mirage launching on the latter platform at 4 pm UTC on October 5, which translates to 9:30 pm in India.

PC players in Los Angeles, US, can start playing on October 4 at 10 pm PDT, while those on the East Coast of New York City begin their journey on October 5 at 1 am EDT. Montreal, Canada, follows the same timezone as the latter, whereas players in London can access it on October 5 at 12 am BST — in tandem with their console release. Meanwhile, Tokyo, Japan’s PC launch is set for October 4 at 10 pm JST and Sydney, Australia, is among the first regions to jump in on October 5 at 12 am AEDT. All other global launch timings for Assassin’s Creed Mirage on PC and console are listed below.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage global launch timings

Los Angeles
PC: October 4, 10pm PDT
Consoles: October 5, 12 am PDT

Montreal
PC: October 5, 1am EDT
Consoles: October 5, 12 am EDT

New York
PC: October 5, 1am EDT
Consoles: October 5, 12 am EDT

Mexico City
PC: October 4, 12am CST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am CST

São Paulo
PC: October 5, 2am BRT
Consoles: October 5, 12 am BRT

London
PC: October 5, 12am BST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am BST

Paris
PC: October 5, 1am CEST
Consoles: October 5, 12am CEST

Stockholm
PC: October 5, 1am CEST
Consoles: October 5, 12am CEST

Kyiv
PC: October 5, 2am EEST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am EEST

Abu Dhabi
PC: October 5, 3am GST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am GST

Johannesburg
PC: October 5, 1am SAST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am SAST

Shanghai
PC: October 4, 9pm CST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am CST

Tokyo
PC: October 4, 10pm JST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am JST

Seoul
PC: October 4, 10pm KST
Consoles: October 5, 12 am KST

Sydney
PC: October 5, 12am AEDT
Consoles: October 5, 12 am AEDT

Last month, Ubisoft revealed system requirements for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, showing that running the game at Ultra settings does not require the latest AMD 7000 or Nvidia’s 40 series cards. At the time, Intel was confirmed as the official partner for the game, which itself was optimised for its Arc series graphics cards, a brand of GPUs that isn’t popular in the PC gaming community. After dabbling in the open-world RPG field for a bit, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is taking a back-to-basics approach, with a tighter scope and a focus on crafty stealth assassinations, charting the rise of Basim Ibn Ishaq, from a mere thief to a feared killer.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is out October 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. An Apple iOS release is also planned for early 2024.

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Star Wars Jedi 3 Is in Development at Respawn Entertainment, Actor Cameron Monaghan Confirms

Actor Cameron Monaghan casually confirmed that a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is in development. During the Ocala Comic Con event, the voice and motion capture artist behind the protagonist Cal Kestis said, “We’re working on the third. We’re in the process of doing it right now.” The news comes as a surprise, considering the series director Stig Asmussen, who rebuilt and instilled faith in single-player Star Wars games, recently left EA/ Respawn Entertainment. However, he always expressed interest in furthering and concluding Cal’s arc through a trilogy, with discussions of a sequel dating back even before 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was out.

Monaghan further added (via Saix_XIII), “That’s a big undertaking and there have been some conversations so far, but hopefully when all things are said and done, we’ll be able to go in and make something really cool for you guys again.” At the panel, he was joined by Star Wars Jedi: Survivor co-star Tina Ivlev, who played Cal’s teleporting romantic interest Merrin, nodding along and marking the first unofficially credible confirmation for the threequel. Before leaving, Asmussen claimed that he’d carved out the entire timeframe for Cal’s trilogy, adding that Star Wars Jedi 3 would likely be built on Unreal Engine 5. Now it seems as though the series will continue regardless of his presence, and might have to deal with some retooling to get some ‘proprietary’ development tools to work with the new engine.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review

Earlier this month, Respawn Entertainment dropped patch 7 for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, aimed at further optimisation on PC with native support for Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling technology. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X versions also received performance improvements that target 60fps. At launch, the game opened to rave reviews praising its story, alongside robust gameplay and level design that borrowed from FromSoftware’s Souls games. However, it was also heavily criticised for its poor performance, with choppy framerates even in areas with minimal activity on screen. It’s been five months since release — April 28 — and the game appears to have significantly improved in that duration.

During EA’s Q1 2024 earning call, held in August, it was confirmed that Respawn Entertainment is in the early stages of making dedicated versions of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One. Similar to other major AAA publishers, the studio entirely skipped a launch on the older generation of consoles for ease in optimisation and to render high-quality visuals with the new hardware, albeit in this case, the team still hit some hurdles. For now, there is no release window for the new versions, but when it does drop, it should serve as an interesting testing parameter to see how much graphical fidelity was sacrificed to gain 30fps on last-gen consoles — running on a hard drive.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. EA hasn’t commented on a follow-up yet.

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Tokyo Game Show 2023: Like a Dragon Gaiden, Persona 5 Tactica, More Coming to Xbox Game Pass on Day-One

Xbox announced a slew of new titles coming to its Game Pass subscription service this year. At its Tokyo Game Show segment, held Thursday, the publisher confirmed that Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will be available to members for free on day one i.e., November 9. In it, Kazama Kiryu, the famous Yakuza who faked his death to protect his family, slips into the black suit once again and works as a bodyguard codenamed ‘Joryu.’ His cover is soon threatened when a mysterious figure with ties to the past comes to haunt him, spawning a crazed frenzy across the streets of Japan, as we punch our way through hordes.

Then, prepare to journey into 1860s Japan with Like a Dragon: Ishin!, which is slated to arrive on Xbox Game Pass sometime this year. Don the clothes and weaponry of the venerable lone samurai Sakamoto Ryoma to clear your name off murder and in turn, restore honour to your family’s legacy. Deflect oncoming bullets with your katana, slice down the naysayers, and feed red hot pickles to your enemies in this historical adventure that was once considered impossible to port by developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. For the uninitiated, this Yakuza game was released earlier this year on PC and console, and now the Game Pass debut allows members to play it for free.

Microsoft’s attempts to buy SEGA might’ve gone nowhere, but the latter continues putting its titles up for easy access on Xbox Game Pass. The chibi-styled Persona 5 Tactica is also coming on day one — November 17 — on the service, pitting the Phantom Thieves into a bizarre Medieval Europe-inspired realm, whose citizens thrive under the watchful tyrannical oppression from the Legionnaires. In addition to its turn-based combat system that’s reliant on planning, the game also brings a new Quest system — a set of special stages that grant rewards in exchange for completing them. Persona 5 Tactica will be out on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Persona 3 remake arrives February 2, 2024, putting you in the shoes of a transfer student moonlighting as a hero to investigate the ‘Dark Hour.’

The original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes to Xbox Game Pass next week, on September 26, so you can conduct hardcore investigations and fight to save your clients in engaging courtroom battles. All 14 episodes spanning the first three games — Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice For All, and Trials and Tribulations — are included in this package. Another key highlight was Forza Motorsport — out October 10 — showing off its Japanese Hakone race track, surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom trees.

We also got a look at Mineko’s Night Market, an adorable social simulation game that has you unravel the secrets behind the mythical Sun Cat Nikko, who’s been sighted several times at the base of Mount Fugu. Solve puzzles, craft peculiar items to survive, and have your cat compete in races. It’s out October 26 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Then there’s Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes releasing on April 23, 2024 — a classic JRPG experience where you lead over 100 playable characters across the war-torn lands of Allraan.

Here’s the list of games from Tokyo Game Show confirmed to land on Xbox Game Pass, for quick reference:

  • Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes — April 23, 2024 (Day One)

An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription starts in India at Rs. 549 per month, whereas PC Game Pass/ Core (console) standard membership costs Rs. 349 monthly.

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage PC System Requirements Announced Ahead of Launch

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is prepping for its October 5 launch and ahead of that, Ubisoft has dropped system requirements for the same. Unlike the norm with AAA PC games these days, this ninth-century Baghdad-set title appears to be rather forgiving on hardware, essentially going back an entire graphics generation. Running the game on Ultra settings does not require AMD’s latest 7000 or Nvidia’s 40 series cards. That said, the accompanying ‘PC Features’ trailer shows Intel as its official partner, assuring that it’s been optimised for the Arc GPUs and the respective 13th-Gen processors. This feels like a weird choice since it’s not a really popular graphics card in the PC gaming community.

Naturally, the collaboration brings support for Intel’s AI-powered XeSS upscaling method, which grants higher framerates without sacrificing too much on the visual fidelity department. No other upscaling techs were mentioned in the trailer, but the official blog post details that players will be able to leverage Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR to maximise their experience. Assassin’s Creed Mirage also boasts uncapped frames at 4K resolution — a bold claim when you consider how poorly optimised recent PC ports have been. Other notable features include support for wide screen and multi-monitor displays, an in-game benchmark for gauging performance, and hybrid input that lets you simultaneously use a keyboard, mouse, controller, ‘or other inputs.’

Assassin’s Creed Mirage PC system requirements

The PC system requirements list comes courtesy of Ubisoft, with the common conditions being Windows 10 64-bit and at least 40GB of free storage space on an SSD. While Assassin’s Creed Mirage isn’t necessarily dropping on Steam, it’s worth referring to the platform’s monthly hardware survey to get a good indication of the low-end PC gamer’s setup. And seeing Nvidia’s GTX 1650 on there, we can safely assume that most players meet the requirement.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage ‘Minimum’ PC requirements

  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-4790K (Intel Core i5-8400 with ReBAR) or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
  • Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 570 (4GB) or Intel Arc A380 (6GB)
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Resolution: 1,920×1,080 pixels at 30fps (Low settings)

Assassin’s Creed Mirage ‘Recommended’ PC requirements

  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
  • Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (6GB) or Intel Arc A750 (8GB)
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Resolution: 1,920×1,080 pixels at 60fps (High settings)

Assassin’s Creed Mirage ‘Enthusiast’ PC requirements

  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
  • Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8GB) or Intel Arc A770 (8GB)
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Resolution: 1440p at 60fps (High settings)

Assassin’s Creed Mirage ‘Ultra’ PC requirements

  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5-11600K or AMD Ryzen 7 5600X
  • Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (16GB)
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Resolution: 4K at 60fps (Ultra settings)

After spending years dabbling in the open-world RPG setting, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is going back to its roots, tighter in scope and focused on crafty stealth assassinations. You assume the role of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a side character from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, who climbs the ranks of the Hidden Ones’ order, growing from a mere pickpocket to a feared assassin. Accordingly, the game is cheaper, costing $49.99/ Rs. 2,499 on PC and Rs. 3,499 on console. Pre-orders grant access to a bonus quest called ‘The Forty Thieves,’ which I’m guessing is a reference to the classic Arabian folktale ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.’ One could also play it on Ubisoft’s gaming subscription service Ubisoft+ on day one.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is out October 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. An Apple iOS release is also planned for early 2024.

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Microsoft Considered Buying Nintendo at One Point, Court Documents Reveal; Unannounced Bethesda Games Leaked

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer considered buying Nintendo at one point, a leaked 2020 email revealed. Multiple documents from Microsoft’s trial with the US FTC were leaked Tuesday, with one showing a casual discussion about buying the Mario maker, where Spencer called it a “career moment” and implied that a collaboration would be a ‘good move’ for either company. It’s worth highlighting that this conversation happened in August 2020, before Microsoft acquired Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion (about Rs. 62,431 crore). The leaks also disclosed Bethesda’s release schedule, alongside details for Microsoft’s planned mid-generation console refresh.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with the LT of Nintendo about tighter collaboration and feel like if any US company would have a chance with Nintendo, we are probably in the best position,” Spencer responded to Microsoft executives Chris Capossela and Takeshi Numoto in the email (via The Verge). He then went on to list some hurdles in the acquisition, starting with Nintendo happily sitting on a ‘big pile of cash,’ which makes any hostile buyout moves futile. He claimed that it’s taking a long time for Nintendo to realise that their games would flourish better if they weren’t just exclusive to their own platform. In the same email, Spencer also touched upon acquiring Valve Corporation — whose president Gabe Newell previously worked at Microsoft — noting that Microsoft’s board of directors would be fully supportive if some positive actions arise.

In addition to ZeniMax, it would seem that Microsoft was actively engaged in buyout discussions with Warner Bros. Interactive, which published Hogwarts Legacy, earlier this year. However, that interaction raised issues about IP ownership — as in, Microsoft wouldn’t hold the rights to DC Comics characters and such, in turn hurting “long-term flexibility.” Meanwhile, with ZeniMax, the issue was more money-based, in the sense of what its founders were expecting from the acquisition.

The leaked documents also revealed a list of unannounced Bethesda games, which include remasters for Fallout 3 and the Cyrodiil-set open-world RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The chart of planned titles was put together in July 2020, and as such, there are several changes in the launch timelines. The Oblivion remaster was originally slated to release in 2022, but the only update we’ve heard so far stemmed from a rumour claiming that Virtuous Games was working on it. That studio is currently co-developing the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake with Konami. The Fallout 3 remaster was planned for next year, and the list obviously mentions a Starfield DLC for 2022. Of course, the game got delayed and so the timelines drastically differ now.

According to the chart, the long-gestating Elder Scrolls VI was initially eyeing a 2024 launch. But it just recently entered the early development phase and isn’t expected to release until 2026 on PC and Xbox. Other major releases on the horizon include the Indiana Jones game from MachineGames, a Ghostwire: Tokyo sequel, and Dishonored 3, marking Arkane’s return to the stealth franchise following Deathloop and the poorly-received Redfall.

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Xbox Leak: Microsoft Is Planning Xbox Series X and Series S Refreshes in 2024, New Controller With Gyro

Microsoft is planning a mid-gen refresh for its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, eyeing a release in 2024. A series of leaked court documents from the Microsoft vs. US FTC trial revealed a roadmap and concept images for its upcoming set of gaming systems, which also includes a new controller with gyro and haptic feedback. Codenamed ‘Brooklin,’ the all-digital Xbox Series X boasts the same horsepower as the existing version, albeit lacking a disc drive. The console is cylindrically shaped and comes with a generous 2TB storage — up from 1TB — which I’m guessing is an SSD. It’ll bear the same price tag of $499/ Rs. 54,990 and is slated to drop in late October, next year.

The leaked slides also promise faster Wi-Fi 6E for low latency and reduced power consumption by 15 percent. Last month, Xbox boss Phil Spencer claimed in an interview that the company had no plans for a mid-gen refresh and that it was largely focused on increasing the storage on the Xbox Series S, which currently stands at 512GB. Now we know that ‘Ellewood,’ a refresh for the less-expensive Xbox Series S is planned for August 2024, priced at $299/ Rs. 34,990 and a 1TB internal storage. The form factor and other hardware capabilities, however, remain the same with 10GB of RAM, which has recently been causing issues for developers. Larian Studios previously stated that the technical limitations of the Xbox Series S are preventing them from adding split-screen co-op in Baldur’s Gate 3, indirectly leading to a delayed release on the Xbox ecosystem.

“We’ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents,” Spencer acknowledged the leaks in a tweet. “It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.” As mentioned before, the leak also included plans for ‘Sebile,’ the new Xbox controller which despite bearing a similar look and layout to the existing wireless variants, features some changes to enhance immersion while gaming. There’s precision haptic feedback similar to PS5’s DualSense controller. Buttons will generally be quieter and the support for gyro should let us control in-game movement by simply tilting the gamepad in certain directions. I’m assuming any studios under Xbox will be asked to consider the latter feature for any future titles.

The leaked documents have also revealed that Xbox is planning its next-gen console for 2028, which goes in line with Spencer’s comments during the Activision Blizzard acquisition trial from June. As reported by The Verge, the company is describing it as a hybrid gaming platform that relies on the cloud “to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences.” Xbox seems to be eyeing AMD’s Zen 6 CPUs for the console’s processing power and Navi 5 graphics. The roadmap indicates that hardware design will start next year, while the first dev kits will be sent out in 2027. Bear in mind that these plans could always change.

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Starfield’s ‘Boundary Reached’ Message and Potential Exploration Limits Have Raised Concerns Among Fans

Starfield is just days away from launch and ahead of that the Bethesda RPG has seen several leaks. Copies of the game are currently in the hands of select reviewers and even some players who obtained it illegally, before sharing a plethora of screenshots and gameplay videos online. One such clip that’s now causing concern for fans about Starfield’s scope was first leaked on a Chinese forum, over the weekend, which suggested that a player could run non-stop in one direction for 40 minutes, before being met with a ‘Boundary Reached’ message. The videos have since been removed, though players are now questioning the legitimacy of developer Bethesda’s claims.

Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Pete Hines, who’s apparently played Starfield for a minimum of 130 hours, responded to a fan’s tweet asking if players would be able to explore entire planets. He responded with, “Yup, if you want. Walk on, brave explorer.” As the aforementioned leak came pouring in, the comment was met with numerous fans accusing the studio of lying about the game’s depth in exploration. While many have been defending the game by saying that the Boundary Reached message is from the tutorial segment of the game, some game journalists who’ve been reviewing it have also begun vaguely pushing back against complainers. “This is actually not entirely accurate,” Windows Central’s Jez Corden said on X (formerly, Twitter). “Just wait for the reviews. The half-truths being spread are being done in bad faith sometimes.”

It certainly doesn’t help that during June’s Starfield Direct presentation, game director Todd Howard claimed that players could select any spot on an unknown planet and land there, causing many to believe that exploration would be seamless — akin to No Man’s Sky, where planetary beings, vegetation, and conditions are procedurally generated. However, in Starfield’s case, this could mean that planets are seamlessly explorable in chunks. Even if we consider that the leaked clip/ image wasn’t from the tutorial segment and look at the ‘Boundary Reached’ menu that pops up on the screen, we’re presented with three options. You can fast-travel back to your ship, press cancel and walk around until an invisible wall halts you, or you can ‘Open Planet Map’ to explore another region on the map.

This indicates that exploration on the planet isn’t necessarily over and that you could certainly land at any given point of the map and explore, before eventually hitting that roadblock — where I’m assuming the game is unable to continue loading the area in real-time. A lot of this discourse will surely be cleared once the reviews are out on August 31, which will undoubtedly touch upon the exploration mechanic since that’s been one of Bethesda’s key selling points. Expectations for Starfield are extremely high, with the developer continuously touting its massive size, in addition to new information about a Jail system and the debate about it being locked to 30fps on consoles.

Starfield is out September 6 on PC and Xbox Series S/X. Those who pre-ordered the Premium Edition are granted a five-day early access, starting September 1.

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Baldur’s Gate III Is Coming to Xbox This Year After All, but No Split-Screen Co-Op on Xbox Series S

Baldur’s Gate III will be coming to Xbox consoles this year after all. In a tweet, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke confirmed that he and Xbox head Phil Spencer had found a solution to bring the critically acclaimed CRPG to Microsoft’s current-gen consoles. There’s one catch though: the game won’t support split-screen co-op on the less-expensive Xbox Series S — a feature the developer has been struggling to enable for months now, thanks to the technical limitations of the console. In fact, to maintain parity of features between Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Xbox Series S and X, Microsoft even sent engineers from their side to help out Larian.

“Super happy to confirm that after meeting [Spencer] yesterday, we’ve found a solution that allows us to bring Baldur’s Gate 3 to Xbox players this year still, something we’ve been working towards for quite some time,” Vincke’s tweet reads. The aforementioned change does not affect the regular online co-op, in which you can invite friends to help out with your campaign. However, rolling multiple characters on the same system (lower-end) is what’s causing the issue for Larian — especially, when all party members run off in four directions, start hurling spells, and stress the console. That’s a lot of on-screen activity on a single screen and in Vincke’s words from a recent interview, “That requires memory.”

That lack of memory has to do with Microsoft making the Xbox Series S more affordable, which naturally comes with the caveat of reduced performance. Larian confirmed, earlier this month, that the lack of an Xbox release date for Baldur’s Gate 3 wasn’t due to some exclusivity deal with PlayStation, but rather because they were struggling to maintain parity between both consoles on the Green Team. Microsoft’s policy enforces gameplay feature parity between Xbox Series S and X, so players with the lower-end console aren’t left out. As for whether Microsoft is making an exception for Baldur’s Gate 3 or lifting the rule entirely for upcoming games in the generation, remains to be seen.

Speaking to IGN, Spencer claimed that he didn’t see a world where his team was going to drop the Xbox Series S any time soon, but added that Microsoft would learn from the situation. “I don’t think you’ve heard from us or Larian, that this was about parity. I think that’s more that the community is talking about it,” he said, adding that parity between systems was more of a developer decision. “It’s a game I want to see on the platform, and we have resources that helped in terms of making sure it’s going to… I think they’ve said it’s going to ship by the end of the year.” In the tweet, Vincke also confirmed that the Xbox version will have cross-progression between Steam and Xbox Series S/X, so you can jump between platforms and continue from where you left off.

Larian Studios also dropped their promised first patch for Baldur’s Gate 3, which addresses over 1,000 bugs and balancing issues, in addition to fixing the kissing contact for shorter races. Earlier, the animation made it look like your short character, who couldn’t reach their romantic interest, was simply leaning in and kissing their chest. Now, if you’re not tall enough, your partner will kneel down to make contact. You can check out the entire list of changes on the official website. Meanwhile, the studio will continue working on a second patch, which will include ‘significant performance improvements’ (for Act 3 content, I’m assuming).

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on PC. The PS5 version releases on September 6, while the Xbox Series S/X version is slated for release sometime this year.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Gameplay Reveal Trailer Showcases Sandbox-Like Campaign, ‘No Russian’ Mission

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III just got a gameplay reveal trailer — a slightly misleading title, given most of the footage is loaded with cinematics. Indeed, it is focused on the campaign, which sees Captain Price and his Task Force 141 take on the Russian ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov, as he extends his grasp across the world. Publisher Activision has introduced a new non-linear campaign structure called ‘Open Combat Missions,’ memorable multiplayer maps, and a Zombies mode set in an open world. Pre-orders for the game are now live across all major platforms.

In what began as a trilogy of soft reboots, the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 trailer evokes memories of the Hunter Killer mission from the original 2011 title, where our team is submerged underwater, prepared to sneak their way into the enemy territory. While much of the action is presented stealthily, Activision stresses that there will be a level of freedom in how you decide to tackle a mission. In addition to the signature linear structure COD games are notorious for, this new iteration introduces ‘Open Combat Missions,’ which makes use of open-ended spaces to let the player decide if they want to take a stealthy approach with lights out and night-vision goggles or go in guns blazing. There’s more freedom for experimentation here — akin to a sandbox — as the game lets you replay missions with a new approach or loadout.

“Now we’re really leaning into our ability to have the engine adapt to the play style of the player. If you’re going to be totally quiet or go in guns blazing, the campaign will totally adapt and support however you want to play it,” David Swenson, creative director, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 told The Washington Post. The game even carries over some choice-based dialogue options from previous entries, but branches it out even further, so it reacts to player decisions. While revisiting a mission, if you happen to stumble upon a new sub-location, it might trigger new speech as well. The new feature is complemented by the multiplayer segment, which brings back 16 modernised maps from 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, alongside more large-scale areas such as a ‘colossal War map.’

The beloved Zombies mode also returns with an extended scope that throws you into an open world environment teeming with the undead of escalating difficulty. Taking the massive map into consideration, Modern Warfare 3 will — for the first time ever — let you team up with other squads in an all-out PvE battle. That means multiple online squads will unite in their mission to thwart the zombie invasion. Other new features include the ability to cancel sliding so you can erratically avoid enemy fire while still maintaining momentum, and content carry-over that makes it so weapons and cosmetics unlocked in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will be available in MW3, as well.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 releases November 10 across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Pre-orders grant early access to the open beta and the ability to play the campaign up to a week early.

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Starfield Preload Dates for Xbox and PC Confirmed, Q&A Session Reveals Jail System

Starfield has finally gone gold ahead of its release next month, indicating that main development on the game has ended and that it’s ready to hit store shelves soon. As such, developer Bethesda has confirmed preload details for its expansive space-set RPG, with Xbox Series S/X receiving early treatment on August 17. Meanwhile, PC players on Steam can begin pre-installing the game in anticipation, starting August 30. Additionally, the game will be available to play for free to those who’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, though access for them will begin on launch day i.e., September 6.

Leading up to the release, lead game designer Emil Pagliarulo and lead quest designer Will Shen also held a Q&A session on Starfield’s Discord server (via ResetEra), revealing some interesting details such as the inclusion of a jail system. Just like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, performing sketchy acts such as smuggling contraband can get you in trouble with law enforcement of the galaxy. Upon being caught, you’ll be presented with two main options to deal with the situation: you can either pay the required fine when apprehended or get thrown into jail. And of course, there is the third alternative, which is to blast your way through them and go on the run. Those looking for smooth sailing, however, can invest in spaceship parts and modules that help conceal those illegal items, as you get past security.

The items themselves have a set price in Starfield’s universe but can be sold for a profit if you have the right skills unlocked. That money can then be spent on property located in major cities or you can complete specific quests that grant homes as a reward. An interview from last year revealed that Bethesda is heavily leaning on character customisation in this game — to the extent that picking up the ‘Kid Stuff’ trait makes it so your in-game parents resemble your appearance. The developers weren’t entirely clear in what capacity parents would be involved in Starfield, but noted that the feature is quite similar to Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. Another feature derived from Fallout is the Persuasion system, which can be used to avoid confrontations by smooth talking your way through, albeit Bethesda confirmed that a full pacifist playthrough isn’t ‘totally feasible.’

Just like previous Bethesda RPGs, Starfield presents companions who would tag along for the ride — in this case, over 20, all of whom are named and have unique backstories. The Q&A also confirmed that while real-world religions are present within the game’s universe, the focus is mostly on the three fictional ones. We’ve got the Sanctum Universum, which preaches that God is somewhere out there in the wider universe; a group of atheists who called themselves The Enlightened; and The Great Serpent, who is worshipped by mysterious citizens.

Starfield is out September 6 on PC and Xbox Series S/X. Preloading on Xbox begins on August 17, while PC (Steam) players can start on August 30.

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