This Collectible, Labo-Inspired Switch System Is Awesome
Nintendo has unveiled a pretty awesome Switch system inspired by Labo.
But the collectible console — spotted by Tiny Cartridge — isn't for sale. Instead, it's the grand prize for Nintendo Labo Creators Contests in North America and Europe that begin next month. That means there are only a handful of the systems available.
Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Characters In Games
June is Pride Month and to celebrate, we decided to reflect on some of our favorite instances of LGBTQ+ representation in video games.
Whether it was a game that spoke to us through its embrace of queer romance options, a clever feature, or a particular character in a favorite game, here's when gaming has meant the most to us when it comes to meaningful and visible LGBTQ+ representation. Be sure to let us know who your favorite characters are during our Pride live stream benefitting The Trevor Project, today from 1-4PM PT.
Ellie – The Last of Us
Sony Is ‘Confident’ It’ll Find an Acceptable Cross-Play Solution
PlayStation 4 owners who were left unimpressed with Sony's first response to the ongoing cross-play controversy may be a little more encouraged by its most recent update on the matter.
Speaking with Eurogamer at the Gamelab conference today, Sony executive Shawn Layden denied allegations that it wasn't listening to the growing anger from its players:
"We're hearing it. We're looking at a lot of the possibilities," said Layden. "You can imagine that the circumstances around that affect a lot more than just one game. I'm confident we'll get to a solution which will be understood and accepted by our gaming community, while at the same time supporting our business."
Fallout 76: Our Biggest Hopes and Fears
With the recent reveal of Fallout 76, a lot of us were surprised at the game’s online, multiplayer focus. And while the idea of venturing into a vast post-apocalyptic wastelands with friends sounds enjoyable to some of us, others were left questioning if this is something fans of the core Fallout franchise should be excited about. Here are some of our biggest hopes and fears for Fallout 76.
The building mechanics in Fallout 4 were….fine. But 76 is daring to up the ante with an all new C.A.M.P. or the “Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform” which allows you to build settlements anywhere you please. And with an improved Sims-like building interface, 76 is promising a much more robust approach to settlement building that seems very promising.
Elon Musk’s AI Aiming to Compete in Dota 2 International
OpenAI is returning to the Dota 2 tournament this year to compete in 5v5 matches after taking down a top Dota 2 player at The International 2017.
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, will be sending its new and improved bot, OpenAI Five, to this year's International in August. The company is aiming to make the August deadline, and the AI will be operating with certain restrictions in place, like no warding, no summons/ illusions, as well as only being able to use five of the 115 heroes in the game.
Last year, OpenAI's Dota 2 bot beat the game's most famous player, Danil "Dendi" Ishutin, live on the main stage. The 1v1 bot had been learning from playing against itself in lifetimes worth of matches.
Fortnite: Season 5 Gets Updated Start Date
Fortnite: Season 5 will launch a couple of days later than originally expected — July 12 instead of July 10.
Epic Games revealed the updated Fortnite: Season 5 start time on Reddit. "We want to give you a heads-up on the exact ending time. You may have seen the timer update in-game, which means we are giving you two more days to complete Season 4! Season 5 will begin on July 12th at 4 AM EDT (08:00 GMT)," the developer wrote.
The popular theory for the upcoming season of Fortnite is that a rocket launch is imminent. While some expect there to be more destruction on the map — similar to the meteor and Dusty Divot — others believe the rocket will lead to a new map on the moon.
PUBG Corp Drops Lawsuit Against Fortnite
PUBG Corp, the studio behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and a subsidiary of Korean publisher Bluehole, is dropping its lawsuit against Epic Games.
Bloomberg reports that the company sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic Games' lawyers on Monday, and the case has been closed.
PUBG Corp. and its legal representatives have reportedly confirmed the course of action, but neither disclosed the reason behind it, or indicated if a settlement had been reached.
The South Korean studio filed the lawsuit in January with the Seoul Central District Court, alleging that Epic Games Korea was guilty of copyright infringement over the similarities between PUBG and Fortnite.
Overwatch’s Endorsements are Making Players ‘Fake Nice’
Overwatch opened its new Endorsements system to all players yesterday, and it's given rise to an interesting - and divisive - side-effect.
Players across the community have reported a rise in players being 'fake nice' in chat, with some saying it's made the historically toxic Overwatch community a nicer place to be, while others say it cheapens genuine good behaviour.
Endorsements are a new feature for the game, giving players three options to reward both comrades and opponents they enjoyed fighting with. Giving out Endorsements comes with a bump of XP, and receiving them contributes to an overall Endorsement Level. Players with higher Endorsement Levels will find better teammates in the new Looking For Group tool.
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Pokemon Go Hits Highest Player Count Since 2016
Pokemon Go has hit its highest number of players since its record peak in 2016.
The news comes from a study on the worldwide digital games market by Superdata, which also revealed that the game is the 4th highest-grossing mobile game as of May 2018.
Superdata also reports that Pokemon Go made $104 million in May 2018, its revenue rising at a rate of 174% since last year.
The surge in players coincides with the changing of the seasons, with Superdata attributing the bump in users to the game's "walkabout gameplay" which is perfect for summer.
If you're confused as to why so many people are still playing, check out our article detailing everything you've missed if you haven't played Pokemon Go since launch - quite a lot's been added in the last two years.