343 announces August update for Halo: Infinite
The first update, dubbed ‘Drop Pod’ by 343, is scheduled to arrive on August 9th, and it looks to bring meaningful changes to the game. From region selection preparation to new ranked playlists, it’s a great start to the monthly updates the company aims to deliver. Check out what’s coming next week: CHALLENGES ON THE PAUSE MENU Your active Challenges will be viewable while in a match on the pause menu. ADDITIONAL RANKED PLAYLISTS Ranked and Social Doubles along with a CSR reset are coming with this update. VISORS WILL NOW WORK ON ALL CORES Perhaps the most requested feature for Infinite is the ability to use visors on all cores, and 343 has finally listened to the fanbase. This feature is coming next week. You can check out the full August Drop Pod preview on Halo Waypoint. For more Halo, stick with Rectify!
Redfall gameplay reveal at Xbox & Bethesda conference
Redfall is Arkane’s latest project, coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S in early 2023, was officially given its spotlight at the show’s opening game earlier today. What is Redfall you ask? Bethesda has explained everything on Xbox Wire. “Redfall is a game where stealth can be used to get the drop on an enemy, reach a good vantage, or avoid a combat encounter altogether,” says Smith. “It’s not a pure stealth game, but a stealth-enabling shooter. We love that because having AI with simulated hearing and sight always leads to interesting dynamic gameplay moments. Creeping up on enemies, avoiding notice, using the right weapons and damage types, choosing when to employ your crazy powers, knowing when to break off combat and stake a vampire that’s been petrified by UV light, all of that is part of Redfall’s tactically expressive gameplay.” Check out the trailer below
Starfield gameplay trailer unveiled at Xbox & Bethesda showcase
After months of waiting for an official gameplay from Starfield, the team at Bethesda has finally revealed the much-anticipated footage for their newest IP. From Xbox’s press release on Xbox Wire, it reads: The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation — the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy — and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, you will create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest question: What is out there? Bethesda Game Studios “can’t wait for all of you to experience the game,” Howard says. “It’s been an incredible journey for us making it, but we know that’s only the beginning, for it’s when all of you play it that the journey begins.” Check out the gameplay below.
343 announces a new update coming to Halo: Infinite next week
Dubbed Drop Pods, a Quality-Of-Life (QoL) updates that are released within seasons containing bug fixes and improvements to the game is making its debut next week in Halo: Infinite, 343 has just announced on Twitter. Check out below what’s coming in the next update: Accessibility The in-game text chat window will now consistently show the latest messages received Various issues tied to the User Interface (UI) Narration option in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu have been resolved Menus (UXUI) Menu optimizations should result in faster load times of the Battle Pass, Challenge, and Shop pages. The improvement should be more noticeable on lower-spec hardware. The loading screen has been updated to feature Season 2’s “Lone Wolves” key art, which will replace the Zeta Halo ravine image Addressed an issue that prevented unlocked Event Pass rewards from appearing in the post-match reward screen Fixed a bug that showed rewards as locked in the Event Pass when they were unlocked Multiplayer & Sandbox The durability of light vehicles (Banshee, Mongoose, and Wasp) and medium vehicles (Warthog, Chopper, Ghost, Shade) has been slightly increased to foster better vehicle play The Scorpion tank’s controls have been adjusted and should feel more intuitive The volume of the Disruptor’s supercombine sound has been reduced when heard from a distance An issue that could result in repeating VFX and SFX (such as repeated grenade explosions, shield recharging, etc.) has been resolved An issue where players could mark or “ping” opponents through walls has been resolved Performance & stability improvements Xbox One stability has been improved to reduce instances of players not entering matchmaking games All changes to Target Frame Rate in the Settings tab are now reflected in-game for Xbox Series X|S users Ranked Matchmaking When this Drop Pod lands, so will two features targeted at improving the Ranked experience. The first is that new accounts will need to complete 25 matches in social playlists before they can queue in Ranked Arena. As mentioned in this blog 3, this serves to improve things in a few different ways. First, it will give our various systems a chance to detect cheaters and griefers before they jump into Ranked on a new account. This detection period and the time commitment of having to play 25 games will also add friction for those repeatedly making new accounts with bad intent. Third, it helps ensure that any truly new players are familiar with the basics before they enter an environment where their (and their teammates’) Ranks are on the line. Please note: If you’ve already played 25 matchmade games of Halo Infinite, you will be able to jump straight into Ranked. The second feature is meant to help reduce the frequency of under/over-performers in Ranked matches. With this update, Ranked matchmaking will require Fireteam members to be within a certain range of each other’s Competitive Skill Rank (CSR). Previously, if an Onyx player teamed up with a Silver player, the Onyx player would likely over-perform and the Silver player would likely under-perform. This could cause frustration or disappointment not only among teammates but with the other team as well. By implementing this feature, we can start to ensure competitive matches more consistently. The CSR range is applied based off the highest-ranked player in the Fireteam, and works like this: For 899 CSR (Gold 6) or lower, there are no restrictions At 900 CSR (Platinum 1), a limit of 900 points is introduced. Between 900 CSR (Platinum 1) and 1500 CSR (Onyx), the Fireteam CSR limit will slowly tighten as you climb the ranks. It will start at the 900 limit mentioned above and tighten to its final destination of 600. This essentially means that on the way to Onyx, every 2 CSR gained will tighten the Fireteam limit by an increment of 1 CSR. For example, if a player progresses from 900 CSR (Platinum 1) to 1200 CSR (Diamond 1), their Fireteam CSR limit would tighten from 900 to a stricter 750. At this new 1200 CSR, the lowest rank they could party up with would then be 1200 (their CSR) – 750 (the Fireteam CSR limit) = 450, or Silver 4. At 1500 CSR and above, the limit is 600 points. For example, if a player was Onyx 1700, the lowest CSR they could party up with would be 1100, or Platinum 5. Unranked players can only Fireteam with other not-yet-qualified players, and with qualified players up to CSR 899 (Gold 6) For now, we are intentionally starting on the looser side, but we’ll adjust these ranges over time based on data and player feedback.
343 is opening flighting for Halo Infinite’s campaign co-op in July, the company has announced
One of the bigger missed opportunities for Halo Infinite, at launch, was, without a doubt, campaign co-op. Millions of fans, including myself, associate Halo with couch co-op and online co-op to go through the campaign with your buddies and family. It adds another layer of fun to the game, and sadly, the feature didn’t make it to the game’s launch. 7 months later, 343 is flighting the feature to Halo Insiders (you can join the Insider program here) with a release date planned for later in the year. It was originally intended to be released at the start of Season 2 on May 8th, however the company pushed back saying -“The reality is that it’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience in the massive, wide-open world of Halo Infinite” Are you excited to finally go through campaign with your buddies? With #HaloInfinite campaign network co-op arriving later this year, we're planning to flight it to Halo Insiders in July. Register and make sure your Halo Insider profile is up to date for a chance to participate! ✈: https://t.co/3a5Xr1hUIc pic.twitter.com/fKIn44umRU — Halo (@Halo) June 7, 2022
Microsoft planning MCC-like compilation for Gears of War saga this year
Fans have been begging Microsoft to launch the whole Gears of War games to current-gen at 4K/60FPS with remastered visuals, sounds, and tighter gameplay, and until now, those fans haven’t been too happy with Microsoft sidestepping the Gears franchise According to a well-known leaker Shpeshal_Nick from XboxEra, he claims Microsoft is indeed planning on releasing the whole saga this year for Xbox and presumably PC as well. Nick says it should be announced during Microsoft’s June 12th game conference, and it definitely comes from a time when the Xbox platform, is once again, lacking exclusive games to launch during the year with Starfield and Redfall being delayed to first-half of 2023. Check out the full podcast from XboxEra below!
Fall Guys goes Free-To-Play, and is launching on Xbox and Nintendo Switch on June 21st
The knockout battle-royale, previously console exclusive to the PlayStation platform, is now heading towards Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. On PC, it’s moving from Steam to Epic Games Store, the company announced earlier today. Fall Guys was scheduled to release on these platforms in 2020, however, the developers had delayed the game indefinitely until they announced a new release date today. Here’s the press release from Epic Games: Hello, bean fans. We’re so excited to share that soon you’ll be able to play Fall Guys for free on all platforms—including the introduction of Nintendo Switch™, Xbox™ and the Epic Games Store™! Since Fall Guys first hurtled into the world in August 2020, we’ve come together for six Seasons of stumbles, united in a ridiculous quest for the Crown. Through jungle-dome japes by way of Medieval mayhem. From Custom Lobbies hype to that very first Squad win with your pals, we couldn’t have done any of this without the support, dedication and compassion of our incredible community. Whether you’re on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, the Epic Games Store or a mix of all of the above, you’ll be able to play Fall Guys for free —with cross-play, cross-platform parties and cross-progression fully supported with the use of your Epic Games Account.
Ubisoft announces a new Battle Arena game, codenamed “Project Q”
After circulating rumors, Ubisoft’s new IP has officially been announced by the company. They describe it as “a team battle arena letting players truly own the experience! (…) this is not a Battle Royale. The game will feature a variety of PvP modes with one single goal in mind: FUN!” So, we heard you heard… 🤷 Introducing codename “Project Q”, a team battle arena letting players truly own the experience! The game is in early development and we will keep testing, so for now all you can do is register for upcoming tests: https://t.co/TMRKwiUzbJ pic.twitter.com/hZ40OkPdum — Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) April 23, 2022 According to the website Exputer, Project Q features a low-player count, fast-paced battle-royale mode on a small map, and more traditional game-modes. The website also got a small peak of the gameplay, which you can check out below!
343 Industries unveils roadmap for Season 2 bringing Forge mode open beta, and more.
If you have been waiting for the roadmap, wait no longer. It’s finally been unveiled after 343 teased it back in January. Lone Wolves is running from May 3rd to November 7th extending to, once again, another 6-month long season. Joseph Staten took to HaloWaypoint and explains why the content is taking longer than expected: We know we need to deliver more content and more features more quickly. Staying true to priority zero means that sometimes we need to slow down in order to stay healthy and move faster later. But we’re also aggressively looking at ways to accelerate. …with a “priority zero” of team health and getting ourselves into a sustainable development rhythm so that we can deliver great experiences to all of you while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Check out the roadmap below of what to expect in the upcoming Halo Infinite season!
CD Projekt Red announces The Witcher 3 has sold over 40 million copies, and Cyberpunk 2077 sold over 18 million copies
The Witcher 3, regarded as one of the best RPG’s of all time, is continuing to sell like hotcakes since its initial release in 2015. From 2021 to 2022, The Witcher 3 sold 10 million copies, bringing the franchise to over 65 million copies sold. With the Netflix show premiering in 2019 and its second season in December 2021, it definitely helped with the sales of the game. In a press release, the company has also shared their most recent title Cyberpunk 2077 sales numbers have topped over 18 million copies sold thus far. In the past year, the team has released 8 updates to the game and is planning on releasing their first expansion in 2023. Here’s what they had to say: We believe in the long-term potential of our newest release; thus, one of our priorities for 2021 was to improve Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay. We are now satisfied with the game and encouraged by the gamers’ reception of its next-gen console edition, which launched this February. Altogether, we’ve now sold over 18 million copies of Cyberpunk 2077 – remarks Piotr Nielubowicz, Vice President and CFO of CD PROJEKT. You can check out the fiscal year presentation by CD Projekt RED by clicking here.
