I’ve been looking forward to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 since it was announced, but I might wait a while longer before trying to play it. It launched yesterday and currently sits at “overwhelmingly negative” Steam reviews due to long loading times caused by server issues.
Epic Games is making some changes to its Fortnite Battle Pass model that will see its standard pass getting a price increase in just a few weeks.
The gaming mega company talked players through its plans in a post on its website today. While the update details various adjustments, such as new inclusions for Fortnite Crew subscribers, the thing that’s likely to affect most battle royale fans is the slight increase in cost for the Battle Pass. Fortnite has long offered its standard pass for 950 V-Bucks, but starting December 1, the price will increase by 50, bringing the total asking number to 1,000 V-Bucks.
IGN has reached out to Epic Games for comment.
It’s a small increase in price but still undeniably notable considering Epic hasn’t altered the cost of the Fortnite Battle Pass in the past. The studio does clarify that the real-world cost of its popular digital currency will remain unchanged (you can pick up 1,000 V-Bucks on the Epic Games Store for $8.99 right now), and you’ll still be able to earn chunks of V-Bucks by reaching certain Battle Pass levels, too. While any increase in price may be worrying for fans, Epic adds that the price of its 25 Battle Pass Reward Bundle is going down from 1,850 to 1,800. IGN has reached out to Epic for comment.
These tiny but fundamental changes arrive ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Fortnite OG: Chapter 1 – Season 1 on December 6. Part of the shift to allow players to enjoy the classic battle royale experience will see the $12.99 Fortnite Crew deal sweetened to include even more goodies. The bundle currently grants subscribers the standard Fortnite Battle Pass, 1,000 V-Bucks, monthly Crew Pack outfits, Crew Pack outfit styles, and Rocket League’s Premium Rocket Pass. Starting December 1, it will be expanded to include the Music Pass and LEGO Pass without asking subscribers for a penny more.
It’s an enticing offer that will no doubt keep players investing their time in Epic’s gaming ecosystem, especially considering that earning XP in any one of the related games will progress all of their battle passes simultaneously. A Crew subscription will also grant access to any additional passes that arrive in the future, including the new, yet-to-be-detailed Fortnite OG Pass.
The catch with the Fortnite Crew upgrade is that new subscribers who sign up after December 1 will no longer be able to unlock premium rewards from the passes after their subscription is no longer active. It means that if you sign up for Crew and then cancel shortly after, you’ll only be able to claim rewards for the remainder of your billing period. Players are currently able to cancel Crew and still reap the benefits of the remaining Battle Pass as long as it’s live, and this won’t be changing for those who are currently subscribed and remain subscribed after the changes take effect.
Epic is making major changes as it looks to the future with the permanent nostalgia-fueled Fortnite OG mode. The company is currently in the midst of Chapter 5: Season 5, which will conclude when Chapter 6: Season 1 kicks off next month. Details on its theme and exact contents remain under wraps, so while we wait for more information, be sure to check out the Fortnite-themed PlayStation 5 DualSense controller that released earlier this month.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Gang Beasts is one of the games I think of when I recall the golden days of video game expos, before Covid rolled up and nuked the business model. It casts you as one of several jellybaby pugilists, fighting for dominance over such locations as Ferris wheels and the tops of speeding vans. All of the characters are 1) seemingly drunk, and 2) subject to real-time physics. Your abilities consist of 1) punching, headbutting or kicking people, perhaps knocking them out for a few seconds, and 2) grabbing people and things and either hoisting them skyward like a wrestler, or hoisting yourself skyward like a toddler climbing onto Mummy’s head. The only way of defeating people is to hurl them off-map.
Plus, bonus cosmetics in new DLC.
The creature-catching RPG Cassette Beasts has landed a bumper pack of bonus content today, publisher Raw Fury and developer Bytten Studio announced, thanks to the arrival of the ‘Gauntlet Update’ and ‘Fashion Pack’ DLC.
We’ll start with the free stuff. The Gauntlet Update brings the game up to ver 1.7, and the biggest addition, unsurprisingly, is a new gauntlet-style game mode. Hopping aboard one of Mer-line’s interdimensional trains after you’ve completed the main story will give you the chance to partake in ‘Magikrab’s Gauntlet’ — an endless series of carriage-based combat encounters where you can rack up some tasty rewards.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Gamers, treat yourself this month to some incredible gaming experiences with your EA Play* membership!
When you’re done watching your favorite football team defeat their rivals on TV, you can keep the heart-pumping moments by booting up your console to launch a perfect bomb downfield for a game-changing touchdown in EA Sports College Football 25 and Madden NFL 25. With EA Play game trials, you can keep the game going and dominate the gridiron for up to 10 hours. Love the game? Save 10% on a full game download with your progress carried over, and add to your lineup with monthly Ultimate Team Packs.
In addition to these titles, EA Play offers trials of up to 10 hours for many other favorite games, including EA Sports NHL 25, EA Sports FC 25, EA Sports UFC 5 and EA Sports F1 24. And there’s even more gaming to experience when you’re done with trials! EA Play members can jump into an unrivaled collection of EA’s best-loved series and top titles, including Madden NFL 24, EA Sports FC 24 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
EA Play members can also score monthly rewards on select titles, including 10% off purchases of Electronic Arts digital content including game downloads, Season Passes, Madden Points and more. This month’s member benefits include:
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members receive EA Play with their Game Pass subscription. Members can experience the world of EA with unlimited access to a collection of top titles, trials of select new games, in-game member rewards and more.
Visit the EA Play page for more details, and to stay up to date on the latest from EA Play, follow EA Play on, Instagram, or X. Please see EA.com/EA-Play/Terms for terms and conditions.
*Conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See https://tos.ea.com/legalapp/eaplay/US/en/PC/ for details.
The post Watching A Lot of Football This Month? Keep the Game Going With EA Play appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Hasbro has announced that, following the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, yet another Dungeons & Dragons game is in production.
CEO Chris Cocks told Bloomberg that a fifth D&D game is in development but didn’t share what it’s about, its genre, or the studio making it. It does appear to be in active production, however, as Cocks noted in the same interview that its G.I. Joe game is currently in pre-production.
While D&D has long spawned video game adaptations, the mainstream success captured by Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 has seemingly set Hasbro and direct owner Wizards of the Coast into overdrive.
Alongside this mysterious game mentioned by Cocks, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance developer Invoke Studios is also working on a triple-A game based on the beloved role-playing game universe, plus there’s a D&D survival RPG life simulator from the Disney Dreamlight Valley developer.
Virtual reality fans can also look forward to a D&D game too, as Resolution Games, the developer behind tabletop RPG simulator Demeo, is working on a game set in Faerûn too. This isn’t confirmed to be a recreation of the core D&D experience in a virtual setting but almost certainly is. And there’s a co-op D&D game codenamed Project Baxter in the works at Payday developer Starbreeze.
Baldur’s Gate 3 arrived in July 2023 and became the surprise hit of the year, with players obsessing over its seemingly infinite number of playstyles and story outcomes. It was incredibly successful commercially, pulling in $90 million for Hasbro, and is, remarkably, more popular this year than last.
In our 10/10 review, IGN said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
One of my proudest pictures of a 2018 trip to Croatia wasn’t of me and my pal. No, it wasn’t of the beautiful scenery or the glistening sea either. It was of many cats lying in the sun together outside a little church. I hadn’t seen that volume of cats in my life, nor that volume together in one spot, all hanging out. Now, you too can live this magic: there’s a demo of this upcoming sidescroller called Neko Odyssey on Steam, and it consists of you taking photos of cats for internet clout. It’s nice!
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Shadow Of Chornobyl is out today. As you may have read, it’s on the buggy side. Buggier than a bucketful of locusts. Buggier than Kafka’s Metamorphosis. In our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Shadow Of Chornobyl review, wasteland wanderer James called it “easily the most borked FPS I’ve played in years”, detailing such issues as HUD elements disappearing, stuttery performance, flashing textures and character mouths not working properly.
Valve is reportedly working on a sequel to its original Steam Controller, according to an insider report.
Per YouTuber Brad Lynch, a Steam Controller 2 codenamed “Ibex” is in the works, and en route to mass production.
Codename for Steam Controller 2 is “Ibex”
Separate product from Deckard’s “Roy” controller(s)
Both are being tooled for a mass production goal in their factories right now. That’s why I know they’re in later stages of productization
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 19, 2024
We don’t have too many details on controller specifics, but Lynch did say in replies on X/Twitter that it will look like a standard gamepad. The biggest change is reportedly the shape and size of the trackpads “to get into that gamepad-y form.” It will also allegedly have symmetrical sticks.
Additionally, Lynch said Valve seems to be working on a new VR controller also for mass production, codenamed “Roy.” Roy is apparently referenced in Valve’s SteamVR code, and would supposedly be a wand-shaped companion to the rumored wireless “Deckard” headset that’s also reportedly in the works.
Roy would reportedly double as a Steam Controller gamepad when not being used with VR, including a D-pad, shoulder buttons, and a set of ABXY buttons for more traditional gameplay in addition to its motion and VR functionality.
Valve Roy controller(s) have at least: DPAD, Bumpers, Grip Buttons, Triggers, ABXY, system button, and some sort of strap
I am confident in this info based on datamining AND sources who wished not to be named
There is also an unreleased OpenXR extension for these controllers pic.twitter.com/36WBtLvYZ5
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 14, 2024
While it’s unclear when either of these products will be in our hands, Lynch alluded in one post that it’s unlikely Deckard specifically is a holiday 2024 release. The headset has allegedly been in the works for some time and was first reported on in 2021. Though Valve already released one VR headset in 2019, the Index, it requires multiple base station sensors and connection to a PC. Deckard allegedly would be standalone, more akin to a Meta Quest headset, making it a more accessible (and theoretically more affordable) option.
As for the Steam Controller 2, while we’re still short on details, fans are hopeful its control scheme and customizability will be reminiscent of the Steam Deck handheld, which got a fancier OLED model just last year. IGN has reached out to Valve for comment.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher.
The Black Friday sales are well and truly upon us. The European eShop got treated to a wave of tasty discounts earlier this week and now it’s North America’s turn. The ‘Cyber Deals‘ eShop sale is now live, with a boatload of titles getting a price cut until 2nd December at 11:59pm PT.
This sale is rammed with so many quality discounts that it can be hard to find the cream of the crop. To help you nab a gem, we’ve rounded up every game in the Nintendo’s North American Cyber Deals eShop sale that we awarded 9/10 or higher — and be warned, it’s a long list.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
