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One gameplay conceit that made Assassin’s Creed stand out when it first arrived on the scene was the ‘meta’ fiction used to set up the gameplay and narrative; modern protagonist Desmond Miles was simply reliving the memories of his ancestors through a complex simulation, used to explain away generic elements like a health bar, game menus and even loading screens. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag takes this dual narrative one step further, transporting the player to a modern game studio called Abstergo Entertainment (there are almost too many jokes that we can make about evil game companies)....

This article MIGHT contain mild spoilers for House of the Dragon. The Game of Thrones prequel is heating up with three major lead additions to the House of the Dragon ensemble. With the casting of Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy, significant pedigree has been added to the series, particularly for either Doctor Who or British Royal Family enthusiasts with regard to Smith. And it also feels a lot more tangible for fans looking on from the outside....

The Outer Worlds first debuted in 2019, and eventually got a port for the Nintendo Switch, though its graphic performance left a lot to be desired. Despite the issues on the Switch, The Outer Worlds was still well-received by many fans and critics, even leading to a supposed sequel in the works. The game has also released DLC, with the first one, titled Peril on Gorgon, receiving average reviews. So far there’s only one other DLC planned for The Outer Worlds, but that might not be a bad thing considering Peril on Gorgon added anywhere from 5 to 8 hours of extra gameplay....

Since its initial announcement, Activision and Infinity Ward have mostly focused on showcasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s campaign. Not much has been said about a potential co-op mode or the franchise’s iconic multiplayer, beyond the fact that Zombies is not returning. And while it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Activision yet, it seems as though battle royale isn’t returning either. This is because the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare retail listings say that the game only supports 2-20 players in any given multiplayer match....

By now it’s no secret that Friday the 13th The Game is having some launch week issues, with thousands of players reporting struggles connecting with the game’s servers. We know from updates and tweets that Gun Media is working around the clock to fix these issues, but reasons for the connection issues have been purely speculative. Now the developers want to explain. In a lengthy Facebook post, Gun Media offers both an explanation for why the servers have been struggling and what the developer plans to do to fix those issues....

Grand Theft Auto 4 was a big success for Rockstar Games, and Rockstar capitalized on that success by supplementing the experience with some rather substantial expansions. The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony expansions for Grand Theft Auto 4 were met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike, adding new gameplay features and giving GTA enthusiasts some new stories to invest in. Considering how popular the Grand Theft Auto 4 single player DLC was, many fans have been wanting to see something similar for Grand Theft Auto 5....

Cyberpunk 2077’s launch turned out to be a massive headache for CD Projekt Red. Over the past few months, fans have reported countless bugs and complained about false marketing, prompting lengthy apologies from studio leads. Since then, CD Projekt became the victim of a group of hackers, who stole and sold the source code for several of its projects. Today, however, I want to tell you about an issue that hasn’t hit the mainstream news: Cyberpunk 2077’s Russian cast....

After seven books, eight films, a theme park, and the creation of a veritable merchandising empire, you can hardly blame the Harry Potter production team for wanting to go out on a high note with the final installment of the beloved film franchise. But one final mountain loomed ominously before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II could wrap: the dreaded epilogue. This “19 years later” segment closes the final Harry Potter book with Harry and company at King’s Cross, sending their own children to Hogwarts....

In a game brimming with pop culture references and memorials to real world people, it was only a matter of time before World of Warcraft paid respects to one of Marvel’s most beloved creators. A new NPC named Stanley was recently spotted roaming the streets and corridors of Stormwind Keep, and he bears a striking resemblance to Stan Lee, the comic book legend who passed away last November at age 95....

Speaking to fans on Twitter, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer criticizes the practice of console exclusive DLC, and discusses how to grow the console gaming market. Consoles used to compete for consumer dollars by securing exclusive games, and while that still happens, what we’ve seen more of in recent years is the rise of console exclusive DLC. Console exclusive DLC deals are an attempt to convince gamers to purchase a multiplatform game on one console over the other, with both Sony and Microsoft guilty of the practice....

Xbox Live Gold gets players access to online multiplayer, but one of its other main perks is access to free games every month. Typically Xbox gives away two free games through the Games with Gold program - two for Xbox One and two for Xbox 360. The Xbox free Games with Gold for March 2021 don’t break away from that pattern, with Microsoft confirming the free games on offer for next month....

It’s no secret that Microsoft has put a lot of its focus on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. In fact, Xbox Game Pass is really the key to Microsoft’s strategy moving in to the next-generation of gaming, with the company investing a lot to ensure that Xbox Game Pass’ value continues to grow. But while more and more games are added to Xbox Game Pass each month, other titles leave the service as well....

The Xbox community is a loyal bunch, so much so that the Xbox brand alone is a big part of what causes Xbox 360 owners to move on to the Xbox One. Over the holidays last year, the number of Xbox One owners increased, as young and old gamers alike set up their new systems for a relaxing time spent playing games, but the actions of a few ruined the enjoyment of many more via DDoS attacks....

Microsoft and Bethesda’s roundtable presentation didn’t come with any big new game announcements, but it did have one big reveal. Phil Spencer confirmed that the plan all along was for Bethesda to eventually produce exclusive titles for Xbox. Along with Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg and Bethesda studios director Todd Howard, Spencer discussed the future plans for Bethesda. Collaboration with existing Microsoft studios was definitely a big topic, along with ensuring that Bethesda and its former studios remain distinct even as they become part of the big Microsoft tent....

As Microsoft prepares for the release of the Xbox Series X, updates for the Xbox One have taken slowed down, especially following February’s major user interface update. To prepare for this, Microsoft have started to roll out the Xbox One’s May 2020 update to users, an update that seeks to flesh out the user interface introduced in February by making changes to the My Games & Apps section, Mixer, and more....

As the livestreaming platform Mixer comes closer to its closing date, Xbox One released an update over the weekend that completely removes the app from the console. A few weeks ago, the livestream community was shaken up by the news that Mixer would be shutting down and partnering with Facebook Gaming. Mixer was formerly known as Beam before being acquired by Microsoft. After bleeding funds and chugging behind more successful streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch, Microsoft made the decision to hand the site off to Facebook Gaming....

While Xbox Game Pass will be losing four games later this month, including fighting game Tekken 7, Microsoft has softened the blow slightly by confirming that seven new titles will be added to the service this week and next week. The first one technically isn’t actually a game but an update to eFootball PES 2020, Konami’s own football game alternative to FIFA. Rather than release a whole new game, Konami instead released a 2021 Season Update, though Game Pass owners don’t need to own the original game in order to access the update....

Although E3 2019 is still a few months away, it’s clear Xbox has started making plans early. In fact, it appears that the gaming giant has been working on something since its primary competitor, Sony, confirmed it won’t be at the prestigious game reveal show a few months back. And according to the head of Xbox Phil Spencer, the company is pulling out all the stops. Speaking to gaming personality Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, the two discussed an internal conversation about the event and even briefly mentioned the lineup....

XCOM Chimera Squad has 11 playable Agents for you to fit into your squad, each of which have their own entirely unique abilities (and personalities) to make use of. So much of Chimera Squad comes down to figuring out a squad composition that works best for you, and in order to do that, you’re going to have to become familiar with each of the different Agents and what their strengths and weaknesses are....

DVD and Blu-Ray players on gaming consoles have come a long way. We’re two decades removed from the PS2’s piss-poor DVD player, with Sony eventually taking strides to make the PS3 and PS4’s movie experience way smoother. Today, their consoles are systems that you can (and many do) use for all of your media needs, from gaming to movies to music. The Xbox, on the other hand, has had a very strange journey....