Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is set to become the first fighting game to support cross-play across five major gaming platforms.
The game launches on Google Stadia as part of June’s collection of free games for Stadia Pro subscribers and will feature cross-play with the other platforms the game is already available on. That includes PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
— Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid (@Battle4TheGrid) May 28, 2020
With fighting games necessitating extremely strong netcode for workable online play, cross-play is something of a rarity in the genre, so Battle for the Grid’s move is an admirable one – especially for a game with a smaller playerbase than the traditional big hitters in the fighting game sphere, hopefully allowing fans to find a game more easily.
As well as Battle for the Grid, Stadia Pro subscribers can also pick up Little Nightmares, Get Packed, Panzer Dragoon and Superhot as part of the package of free games for the month of June.
Crystal Dynamics, the developer behind Marvel’s Avengers, and publisher Square Enix have revealed a new wheelchair-using superpowered NPC, which is one of the studio’s many efforts to increase its representation of disability.
In a blog dedicated to accessibility, staff from Crystal Dynamics explained how accessibility has increased in importance to the studio since efforts first began in 2013. Last year, the studio earned APXP (Accessible Player Experience Practitioner) certification, signalling that it has staff members that are able to understand the experiences of players who have different needs.
Cerise, the new superpowered charcater created for Marvel’s Avengers.
This has influenced several elements in Marvel’s Avengers, including an NPC called Cerise. She is part of the Inhumans, a group of superpowered people who are one of the core teams in Marvel’s comic canon. Her idle animations have been motion captured by Cherry Thompson, an accessibility specialist who has also been providing feedback on the game.
Cerise provides representation for disabled people, but the game’s design also helps cater to disabled players. “One of the examples I am most excited about is a high contrast user interface (UI),” said Meagan Marie, the senior community and social media manager for Marvel’s Avengers. “The high contrast UI feature makes it easier to navigate for low-vision users or people who find some interfaces distracting and difficult to use. The UI team really did a great job on that one.”
The game will also feature fully remappable controls, character-associated subtitles, campaign-relevant closed captions, and HARM Training Rooms, each of which is helpful for different types of players.
A new Legendary Sale at the Ubisoft Store is bringing some fantastic PC game discounts for those looking for a new adventure this weekend. Ubisoft’s Legendary Sale offers up to 75% off some of the publisher’s biggest games, including Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and The Division 2. Unfortunately, not much time is left to take advantage of the sale, which ends on Monday, June 1, so you’ll want to snag anything that catches your eye this weekend. Keep in mind these PC games will be available on Uplay, Ubisoft’s launcher, after purchase.
As usual, the Assassin’s Creed series has a prominent showing in the Legendary Sale, including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Ultimate Edition, which comes with bonus in-game items, the season pass with additional story content, and the Secrets of Greece bonus mission along with Assassin’s Creed III Remastered and Assassin’s Creed Liberation Remastered. The whole package is on sale for just under $40, which is a fantastic deal for the hundreds of hours of content you’re getting. Meanwhile, Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Gold Edition is down to just $25, getting you the deluxe add-on content and season pass on top of the base game, and Assassin’s Creed Unity is as cheap as $9.
The Division 2’s first big expansion, Warlords of New York, released earlier this year, and you can already get the bundle with the base game and expansion for $33, down from its usual $60. This is a great option if you’re looking to get into the game for the first time.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in Rainbow Six Siege, we recommend going with the Ultimate Edition, which is on sale for $49.49 (down from $90) right now as part of the Legendary Sale. The Ultimate Edition gets you the full game, instant access to all 32 operators released in Years 1-4, and the Year 5 Pass, which gets you a week of early access to the six new operators releasing in 2020 along with other membership benefits. We recently re-reviewed Rainbow Six Siege, which has come a long way since its release four years ago, and the game earned a rare 10/10 for its tactical depth, distinct operator playstyles, excellent shooting mechanics, and more.
“Rainbow Six Siege has always been a game about making tactical decisions and dealing with their consequences, but with every new year of operators and changes, the options have been refined and increased to make for firefights that are as engaging as they are unpredictable,” wrote Mat Paget. “Learning the various operators and how to breach or protect a room with them can be a slow crawl, but Siege makes it easy to understand what your mistakes are, thanks in part to seeing both sides of every match. It rewards patience, persistence, and teamwork, and over the past four years, Siege has not only become Ubisoft’s crown jewel of multiplayer action but also one of the best first-person shooters ever made.”
You can see more of our picks from Ubisoft’s Legendary Sale below, and check out the full sale at the Ubisoft Store.
Ubisoft Legendary Sale’s Best Game Deals
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Back in March, John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan, A Quiet Place) started a YouTube series called Some Good News, which sees the actor read news stories sent to him that would put a smile on your face. However, he ended up selling the show to GameSpot parent company ViacomCBS, and he will not be hosting it. But he has good reason.
Krasinski went on the Soulpancake show Hey There, Human to explain to the site’s co-founder Rainn Wilson–who also starred with Krasinski on The Office–as to why he made the decision to sell Some Good News. “It was one of those things where I was only planning on doing eight of them during quarantine because I have these other things that I’m going to be having to do very soon like Jack Ryan and all this other stuff,” Krasinski explained to Wilson in a video chat on Instagram. “But more than that, it was something that writing, directing, and producing and all those things with a couple of my friends was so much I knew it wouldn’t be sustainable with my prior commitments.”
Because Krasinski has plenty of prior engagements, like Jack Ryan, A Quiet Place Part II, and probably other things coming down the road, he had to make a tough decision. “I knew the two options were always gonna be that I leave it off with eight in my office, which I would love to keep doing this show from my office forever. It just wasn’t sustainable, so I’d need a partner coming on. In the first episode, I was thinking, ‘Why isn’t there a news show dedicated entirely to good news?’ and now we have one of the biggest news programs in America, CBS News, saying that they want to make it part of their permanent news cycle, which is insane.
“The fact that we were able to accomplish that–in eight weeks, it went from not existing to now being on one of these huge news networks–is honestly one of the most amazing honors I’ve ever been able to pull off. And again, it was all due to the community and to the people.”
While he will be busy with other work after Some Good News moves to CBS, Krasinski will be a part of the show in some way. He continued saying he may host an episode here or there, and “I’m going to be a part of it whenever I can.”
Kranski will be directing in A Quiet Place Part II, which stars real-life wife Emily Blunt. The movie was originally coming to theaters on March 20, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release date has been moved to September 4, 2020. He’s also working on the Amazon Prime Video original series Jack Ryan, which will be heading into its third season, which more than likely won’t be arriving until 2021 as production has not started for Season 3 because of the pandemic.
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The question of when exactly PS5 and Xbox Series X will launch continues to persist, although both Sony and Microsoft have announced a target of late 2020. Sony has reiterated that PS5’s release date is set for Holiday 2020, noting that the coronavirus is not expected to impact the launch supply in any significant way.
Speaking with GameSpot sister site CNET, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan confirmed that there has been no interruption to Sony’s plan to launch PS5 worldwide later this year. “We remain absolutely on track,” he said. “We’re going to launch this holiday, we will have a global launch. And we’re greatly looking forward to it. And we very much want the gaming world to look forward to it, too.”
The launch of any major new game system is typically accompanied by sellouts, as demand often far outpaces the available supply. That’s certainly been the case with Sony’s past consoles, as anyone who attempted to get a PS4 on launch day can attest. And it’s expected to again occur whenever PS5 hits, but the console selling out won’t be due to any major impact of the coronavirus.
“Right now, we’re not seeing anything saying to us there’s going to be problems with quantities or we won’t be able to launch the way we want,” Ryan told CNET, matching up with what the company had indicated earlier this year.
In an interview with the BBC, Ryan also noted that the ongoing pandemic has not impacted a decision regarding PS5’s price.
Manufacturing of PS5 is expected to start soon in order for the console to make its launch date. That could potentially lead to a leak regarding the look of the system, which remains a complete mystery (although we have gotten a look at the PS5’s controller, DualSense). As such, Sony may intend to publicly reveal the look of the system in the near future.
We do now know for sure that the company intends to host a PS5 games-focused event on June 4. At this point, however, that is only confirmed to showcase games and gameplay, not the hardware itself or any of the major topics like release date, price, or launch lineup. You can keep track of how and when you can buy the console in our PS5 pre-order guide.
Starting June 1, GameSpot will be hosting Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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Hideo Kojima and his studio, Kojima Productions, are currently in the early stages of planning their next big project after plans for a recent one got cancelled.
Kojima, who was interview by Japanese publication Livedoor (translated by Video Games Chronicle), expressed his frustration at having a major project cancelled. He also explained that the studio’s next game is in its planning stages, and as such he can’t reveal any details about it just yet.
“It’s still in the early planning stages so I can’t say much, but on the down-low I’m actively working on it,” Kojima said. “Recently a major project of mine got cancelled so I’m pretty pissed, but that’s the games industry for you.”
Kojima also revealed that Death Stranding, Kojima Productions’ first title, has recouped its development costs and secured enough for the studio to comfortably pursue their next big game. Death Stranding is still coming to PC this year, but was recently slightly delayed due to logistical issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kojima has expressed the desire to work on smaller games in tandem with the studio’s larger projects, with the creator even hinting at a return to horror after the messy cancellation of Silent Hills prior to his departure from Konami. He did, however, refute rumors suggesting that he had revived the project, saying “that’s completely false.”
Death Stranding told the story of Sam Bridges and his journey to reconnecting a fractured America in the wake of a cataclysmic event. It was thought-provoking adventure, which earned a 9/10 in our Death Stranding review, with critic Kallie Plagge writing, “It’s positive without ignoring pain; in fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It’s a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it’s also one we really need right now.”
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June is nearly here, and it’s another exciting month for games. Despite the cancellation of E3 2020, the month is sure to be packed with big news and game reveals from various channels within the industry–GameSpot even has its own special festivities booked for the occasion called Play For All. But alongside the numerous announcements that are bound to start coming this month, including a confirmed PS5 reveal event, is a slate of new releases, which includes a handful of engrossing experiences, some revisits to the past, and one of the year’s most hotly anticipated PS4 games.
To give you a look at what’s ahead for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch, we’ve rounded up all the biggest games of June 2020 below. For a wider look at the titles still to come this year, be sure to check out our list of game release dates in 2020. Otherwise, be sure to check this article often for the latest during this month, as we’ll be sure to update it with more new release dates that get announced.
Disintegration (PS4, Xbox One, PC) — June 16
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Disintegration – Official Story Trailer
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Disintegration is an upcoming first-person shooter that incorporates elements of real-time strategy games. directed by the co-creator of Halo, Marcus Lehto, the game is shaping up to have similarly intriguing sci-fi elements, where you play as a group of humans-turned-robotic outlaws striving to reclaim control over society from a militant superpower bent on converting humanity into robots.
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The Last Of Us Part II (PS4) — June 19
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The Last Of Us Part 2 – Official Story Trailer
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Set five years after the events of its universally loved predecessor, Naughty Dog’s The Last Of Us Part II follows an older Ellie and Joel, who have finally found a life of peace among a thriving community of survivors. That is until a violent event forces Ellie to embark on a new journey in search for vengeance, justice, and closure. On June 19, you can experience this beautiful, but dangerous, world for yourself. And thanks to the newest iteration of the Naughty Dog engine, the characters and world are more realistic and meticulously detailed than ever before.
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Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated (PS4, Xbox One, PC) — June 23
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12 Minutes Of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Gameplay
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Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is a remaster of the 2003 licensed platformer of the same name. Much like Activision’s work on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon remakes, Battle for Bikini Bottom will have completely redone visuals, textures, and character models. Also, it will feature a new multiplayer mode and new content cut from the original.
R.L. Stine’s popular children’s horror book series Goosebumps is coming to consoles in video game form. Cosmic Forces is partnering with Sony Pictures and Scholastic to create Goosebumps: Dead of Night, which will be released this Summer for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
As you can see in the official announcement trailer above, Goosebumps: Dead of Night is a first-person survival horror game, and its premise involves known Goosebumps villain Slappy the Dummy stealing classic pages from the book series, resulting in a horde of monsters setting out to look for you. Expect puzzle solving and the occasional jump-scare, and actor Jack Black, who is no stranger to video games (Brutal Legend), voices RL Stine.
Cosmic Forces calls Dead of Night a “reimagining” of their mobile VR game, Goosebumps: Night of Scares. This console version adds improved graphics, additional gameplay chapters, new monsters, and expanded Stine House, improved AI, and more. Check out IGN’s reviews of Goosebumps’ “scary-good” 2015 film adaptation, along with the “slapdash” 2018 sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.
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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Turns out a lot of you are VERY passionate about The Snyder Cut. Joe, Dale and Matt read out a bunch of your feedback and carry on the debate. Normal service then resumes with Matt sharing his thoughts on the new People Can Fly game, Outriders, and Joe and Dale explain their disappointment with Maneater.
We’re also back with the Endless Search, MORE of your near death stories and mad food combos.
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