Yearly Archives: 2018
Fallout 76 Release Date Announced
Fallout 76 will be released on November 14. This news came during Bethesda's E3 2018 showcase.
Prior to launch, Bethesda will hold a beta (aka Break-it Early Test Application). A launch date for the beta has yet to be announced, but preordering the game is required to participate.
Additionally, Bethesda pulled back the curtain on the Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition. This special edition includes a wearable T-51b helmet, glow-in-the-dark terrain map, 24 figurines, canvas West Tek duffel bag, and more.
Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition, via Bethesda E3 Showcase
Bethesda Introduces Skyrim on Alexa in Hilarious Spoof
We all know Skyrim's reputation as popping up on every piece of tech, from its beginnings on 360, PS3 and PC to its continued expansion into new territories like Nintendo Switch.
Bethesda's Todd Howard acknowledged this social-media in-joke with a spoof commercial starring Keegan-Michael Keys and a new edition of Skyrim, one played on Amazon Echo.
It's a clever and self-aware spoof taking the well-worn internet joke of Skyrim "being on everything" and making it into something truly wonderful. The absurdity of playing Skyrim through voice commands and the relaxing voice of Alexa guiding you to the snow-capped mountain peaks of Skyrim adds to the hilariousness.
Prey and Wolfenstein VR Experiences Revealed
Wolfenstein and Prey VR experiences are on their way. This news came during Bethesda's E3 2018 conference.
The Prey VR experience will be connected to the Typhon Hunter DLC, a new mode that lets one player go up against five other player-controlled mimics. There will also be a single-player, puzzle-based portion of it.
The Wolfenstein VR experience game announced called Wolfenstein Cyberpilot, where you play a hacker who can take over nazi robots and turn them against their creators. This is separate from Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the new co-op game set for release in 2019.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood Announced
Today at their E3 conference, Bethesda announced Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a co-op shooter sequel set in the 1980's. It will be available in 2019.
Players will play as B.J. Blazkowicz's twin daughters, although you can play it solo as well.
This appears to be a spinoff of sorts instead of a proper numbered sequel or DLC for Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, similar to the Death of the Outsider spinoff of Dishonored 2. We gave Wolfenstein 2 a 9.1 when we reviewed it late last year.
Prey DLC Mooncrash Announced
Bethesda and Arkane's 2017 atmospheric shooter Prey is getting its first batch of DLC.
Dubbed Mooncrash, the downloadable content, which launches today, will feature an infinitely replayable rogue-like mode. Players will fight to escape a TranStar moon base, with the enemy encounters, loot to acquire, and challenges to face, being different every time.
As detailed on Bethesda's official site, Mooncrash can be purchased as standalone DLC for $19.99. Prey: Digital Deluxe, which includes the base game and the DLC, is available as well.
Additionally, three free updates for Prey are available tonight. Story Mode will allow a casual way to play through the narrative, Survival mode will offer a new level of challenge, and New Game + will give players who already completed the game incentive to dive back in.
Play Quake Champions for Free for a Limited Time
Quake Champions is available to play for free during a special trial period ahead of release.
An early version of the game can be downloaded and played for the next week for no cost by visiting the Quake website.
Quake Champions is focusing on esports, and Bethesda said it has new competitions planned for QuakeCon and DreamHack Winter.
Quake Champions was revealed at Bethesda's E3 2016 press conference. It spend a year in closed beta, amassing a crew of familiar faces like Wolfenstein's BJ Blazkowicz along the way. Quake Champions left closed beta and entered Early Access on August 17, 2017.
Bethesda Announces Doom Eternal, Sequel to Doom
At the Bethesda E3 2018 press conference, executive producer Marty Stratton and creative director Hugo Martin announced Doom Eternal, a sequel to 2016's Doom reboot.
Doom Eternal will have "twice as many" "badass demons" compared to the rebooted game. The teaser trailer during the conference offered a taste of "Hell on Earth" in Doom Eternal.
Stratton and Martin revealed that more details about Doom Eternal will be revealed at QuakeCon in August.
The Doom reboot was originally announced in 2008 as Doom 4. The game then went radio silent for years, finally reemerging as the game we know at QuakeCon 2014. It eventually was released on May 16, 2016 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4, with a Switch version following on November 10, 2017.
The Elder Scrolls Online Wolfhunter and Murkmire DLCs Announced
At Bethesda's E3 conference, the studio announced two new expansions to The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfhunter and Murkmire.
Wolfhunter will arrive first and be a new dungeon DLC based around werewolves. Murkmire will be a story DLC that arrives later this year set in the Blackmarsh region, which Bethesda says will have a deeper dive into Argonian culture and lore.
ESO recently released its Summerset expansion, which we said makes the game feel fresh again.
Xbox Exec on Letting Studios Explore New Ideas
Microsoft is providing its studios the creative freedom to explore new franchises and ideas, and Microsoft Studios head Matt Booty spoke to IGN about the company's approach going forward.
"It really comes back to people and ideas. I can't get into specifics, but I'll say that every one of our studios has got some kind of incubation going on and has got some kind of ideas," Booty told IGN. "I think it has less to do with sort of a franchise and kind of this sort of set path, and more to do with 'is there a core of an idea that's out there?'"
Booty went on to note that he worked with Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boone, and discussed what he learned during that time and how it applies to Microsoft Studios' approach going forward.
E3 2018: Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer Message Reveals Release Date Details, Free DLC, No DRM
The debut trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 came at the end of Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference, and developer CD Projekt Red snuck in a full FAQ for their upcoming game, a possible alternate reality game, along with a bunch of download codes for The Witcher 3.
The hidden FAQ could be read by combining messages hidden in two frames near the end of the video.
A transcription of the text is as follows: