Month: January 2021

2021 is a big year for Halo and Xbox, as Microsoft will finally release Halo Infinite after years of development and a late delay last year. We still don’t know much about the game’s story, apart from the fact that it is a direct sequel to Halo 5 and takes place on Zeta Halo. Plenty of questions remain unanswered, one of which is whether the Arbiter will make an appearance.

The Arbiter, an alien who befriends Master Chief and appears in Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 5, is voiced by actor Keith David. He recently had some time on his hands and asked people to submit questions to him on Twitter. One person asked if David had a role in Halo Infinite, and the actor gave an intriguing response.

Asked if he could say if he’s going to be in Halo Infinite, David said, “I’d have to kill you.”

Now, this is far from a confirmation that David will return to play Arbiter once more in Halo Infinite. It wouldn’t be a big stretch to imagine the Arbiter returning in Halo Infinite, however, given the events of Halo 5 and his appearance in that game.

Halo Infinite was originally slated for release as a launch title for the Xbox Series X|S back in November, but due to complications related to COVID-19, among other factors, Microsoft elected to push the game to 2021. A specific release date has not been announced, however.

It has been a long time coming, as Halo 5 was released back in 2015. For Halo Infinite, the developers at 343 Industries created a new game engine, Slipspace, that will help power things that were previously not possible.

Whenever it’s released, Halo Infinite will be available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Game Pass subscribers will get the game for no extra charge. Additionally, the multiplayer portion of Halo Infinite will be free-to-play, with microtransactions.

The Sims is all about character customization and hilarious death traps, but mostly the character customization. Now EA has partnered with the cosmetics company MAC to create a line of Sims-themed eyeshadows, so you can look like your Sim that looks like you that looks like your Sim.

Input Mag reports that the product is called the Sims Eye Shadow x9 Palette Starring The Sims. The pan includes nine shades including smoky brown and shimmer shadows, all in a Sims-themed box. You can purchase the palette for $32 USD through the Mac Cosmetics site.

“Many gamers stream live and understand the power of the slightest gesture of makeup,” Romero Jennings, MAC director of make-up artistry said. “They understand the impact it can make on themselves and their followers. Makeup and video games are the perfect escape to bring your perfect virtual world to the real life. Both definitely enhance our day-to-day lives.”

EA has made a point of making The Sims 4 more inclusive and body-positive. Its EA Play presentation this year focused heavily on how the game has helped foster a community for players to express themselves, and a recent update focused on adding a greater diversity of skin tones and fine-tuning sliders.

A new Max Raid event has begun in Pokemon Sword and Shield. All month long, certain Normal- and Dragon-type Pokemon will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid dens across the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and Crown Tundra, including Gigantamax versions of Snorlax and Duraludon.

From now through January 31, you’ll be more likely to encounter the following Pokemon–and their pre-evolved forms–in Max Raid Battles in both Sword and Shield:

• Bewear
• Cinccino
• Snorlax
• Haxorus
• Goodra
• Duraludon

As previously mentioned, Gigantamax Snorlax and Gigantamax Duraludon will also be appearing more frequently this month. Gigantamax Pokemon are typically incredibly rare outside of events like this, making this a good chance to add them to your collection if you’ve previously missed them. You can also teach compatible Pokemon how to Gigantamax at the Master Dojo in the Isle of Armor if you have a Sword or Shield Expansion Pass.

Before the event Pokemon can begin appearing in your game, you’ll need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting the Y-Comm online or by opening Mystery Gift and selecting Get the Wild Area News. You can read more about the event on the official Pokemon website.

In other Pokemon news, another free Pokemon is up for grabs for a limited time. The Pokemon Company is giving away a free Pikachu until January 15. This particular Pikachu comes with the moves Thunderbolt, Swift, Wish, and Celebrate. You can claim the free Pokemon by opening the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get via Internet.

2021 has officially begun, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is celebrating the start of the new year with another batch of limited-time items. Seven more New Year’s-themed food items and decorations have been added to the Nook Shopping catalog, but they’ll only be available for a few more days.

Until January 15, you can purchase the following items from the Seasonal tab in the Nook Shopping service:

• 2021 celebratory arch – 2,021 Bells
• Olivier salad – 1,000 Bells
• Zodiac ox figurine – 1,600 Bells
• Kagamimoci – 1,800 Bells
• Kadomatsu – 2,580 Bells
• New Year’s shimekazari – 2,000 Bells
• Yut Nori – 1,300 Bells

This is the second batch of New Year’s items to be added to the game. Last month, the Nook Shopping catalog featured four New Year’s food items in the lead up to New Year’s Eve, but those are no longer available to purchase.

Although the holidays are over, there are still a few events to look forward to in Animal Crossing this month. The first Fishing Tourney of the year takes place this Saturday, January 9, for players with Northern Hemisphere islands. You also still have a few more days to build snowboys, catch snowflakes, and learn festive DIY recipes.

Nintendo is rolling out another content update for New Horizons later this month. While the company has yet to share any details about the new patch, it appears the Festivale event will be added as part of the update. Nintendo will also be introducing a line of Mario-themed furniture to the game this March to celebrate the Super Mario series’ 35th anniversary.

Borderlands developer Gearbox’s 2016 shooter Battleborn is shutting down soon, with servers scheduled to go offline on January 25. Battleborn is an online-only game, so the title will be completely unplayable after the servers go dark. One developer who worked on the game, Aaron Linde, has now written an impassioned statement about what the game meant to them and more.

“Battleborn’s servers are going dark in just a few weeks. When they do, it’ll be like the game never existed at all. All the work and love and blood that went into that game will disappear with it and I’m really heartbroken about it,” Linde said on Twitter.

Linde went on to say, “I’m grateful for every person that ever told me that the game meant something to them. For every line I had repeated back to me. I hope something of it lives on in your memories like it will in mine (and in the pile of VO that I keep backed up in three different places).”

The developer, who was the lead writer on Battleborn, said they were happy to build a “weird, wild, bizarre universe” with the game.

“Building such a weird, wild, bizarre universe with and all of my wonderful colleagues at Gearbox was just about the best experience I could’ve asked for creating a new IP. I miss and love you all,” Linde said.

Linde is now a lead narrative designer at Halo studio 343 Industries. The developer ended their message about Battleborn by making a promise to make another “weird” game someday.

“I’m swearing a blood oath to myself now that, one day, god damn it, I’ll make something as weird, and personal, and idiosyncratic as Battleborn again,” Linde said.

Anyone who has an allotment of virtual currency for Battleborn can continue to spend it until the servers go offline. Players can continue to earn this currency through gameplay, but it can no longer be purchased with real money.

Before Battleborn’s release, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford said the developer invested more in the game than any other project before. “We’ve invested more than Borderlands 1 and 2 added together into Battleborn,” he said at the time. “And we don’t even know if people will be interested or not.”

Gearbox’s latest game was 2019’s Borderlands 3, and it was a huge success, becoming publisher 2K’s fastest-selling game ever. Gearbox also publishes other developer’s games, most recently putting out the PS5/PC game Godfall from Counterplay Games.

Developer Jagex’s long-running MMO RuneScape has hit a milestone that contemporaries such as World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV have yet to achieve. Having launched on January 4 all the way back in 2001, RuneScape is officially 20 years old today and continues to still draw a sizeable crowd to its servers.

With the game having been played for 7306 days across 300 million player accounts, RuneScape saw impressive growth in 2020 with a record 1.2 million users subscribing and millions of other players trying the game out in its free-to-play form.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, players will be able to participate in the Grand Party, a birthday event that has its own series of associated questlines and includes the return of iconic RuneScape characters such as the Wise Old Man and the Sandwich Lady. Players can also unlock a fancy new cape and armor.

“20 years is a massive milestone for Jagex and the games, and I thank our players for being on this incredible journey with us,” Jagex boss Phil Mansell said.

“RuneScape has come a long way since 2001 when it was launched by a small team of visionary game developers. As we continue to make the RuneScape universe more accessible to more players all over the world, we’ll celebrate throughout 2021 with one of the most content-rich years for the games ever.”

2021 will also see the launch of RuneScape for iPhone and Android devices. Announced back in 2017, this version of RuneScape will include crossplay functionality with the PC version of the MMO.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild appears to use a modified version of the Mii character creator for its NPCs, and clever modders have even found a way to insert their own Mii files into Hyrule.

Eurogamer reports that dataminer HEYimHeroic discovered the files, which are referred to as “UMii”s in the Breath of the Wild code. The UMiis use facial components from the classic Mii designs, albeit with a greater level of detail and some stylistic touches to make them match the Breath of the Wild art style. UMiis do lack some features from their Wii/3DS counterparts, like moles and certain hair designs.

The discovery quickly led to the realization that modders can inject their own custom Mii designs into Breath of the Wild. That goes for many human and Hylian characters, but not the more distinct and less humanoid races like Gorons.

Main characters are bespoke designs that can’t be replaced via UMii editing. Still, it’s a neat way to inject some fresh faces into the Nintendo Switch classic, if you want your customized NPC to have a brush with the legendary hero.