Month: June 2021

Xbox Game Pass Titles Announced For June

Microsoft has revealed the latest batch of games that’ll be available in June for Xbox Game Pass, which will start the month off with a mix of detective work, despair, and medieval melee combat.

The handcrafted world of puzzles and secrets in The Wild at Heart is available right now on cloud devices that support Game Pass, while Ubisoft’s long-running multiplayer combat bloodsport For Honor will be available from June 3 on Xbox consoles and the cloud.

On June 8, Game Pass for PC will add Backbone, a post-noir detective mystery set in a dystopian world. Plus you can play as a raccoon gumshoe named Howard Lotor in this game, which is pretty neat.

June is off to a solid start on Xbox Game Pass
June is off to a solid start on Xbox Game Pass

Finally, Darkest Dungeon will be made available on June 10 for console, PC, and the cloud. A challenging gothic roguelike with turn-based RPG elements, Darkest Dungeon not only challenges you to survive dangerous catacombs with a team of flawed heroes, but you’ll also have to deal with the lingering mental strain placed on these adventurers as they venture further into the darkness.

To make room for these new games, several other titles will be leaving Xbox Game Pass. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Night Call, West of Dead, Wizard of Legend, and Observation will all rotate out of the service on June 15. A number of perks can also be claimed if you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription, which you can see in the breakdown below:

Xbox Game Pass New Additions

June 1

  • The Wild at Heart – Cloud

June 3

  • For Honor – Cloud and console

June 8

  • Backbone – PC

June 10

  • Darkest Dungeon – Cloud, console, and PC

Leaving Xbox Game Pass June 15

  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (Console)
  • Night Call (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • West of Dead (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Wizard of Legend (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Observation (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks

  • Dirt 5: Power Your Memes Pack – Available Now
  • Super Animal Royale: Founder’s Edition Pack – Available Now
  • Apex Legends: Knockout City Weapon Charm – June 3

Recent additions to Game Pass include off-road racing game SnowRunner, puzzle game Peggle 2 for the cloud, and Knockout City for console and PC. If you’re looking to see what else is worth playing on Microsoft’s subscription service, check out the best games available with Xbox Game Pass and our guides to the best Xbox One games of all time and the best Xbox Series X games available currently.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

Watch Dogs: Legion 4.5 Update Includes Legion Of The Dead Zombies Mode

The 4.5 update for Watch Dogs: Legion introduces a new kind of enemy for testing on PC before rolling out to the wider community. Title update 4.5 adds “Legion of the Dead,” a PvE rogue-lite mode where your plucky band of London citizens attempt to survive against throngs of hostile undead.

The Legion of the Dead mode is only available on PC in Alpha phase right now, but there players can try their survival skills solo or in co-op. You’ll have to plan and strategize how to reach an extraction point while gathering supplies. But this being Watch Dogs Legion, you’ll have the entire citizenry’s equipment and specializations to help you survive.

Aside from the new mode, all platforms will get a few other additions. A second Tactical Op will let you strategize with your friends on how to infiltrate a secret project related to Optik devices. You’ll also get a new 60 FPS Performance Mode option on the new-gen consoles, cross-gen play, a free download of breakout star Helen on June 15, and another free rewards track.

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Watch Dogs: Legion’s first tactical op dropped in March with the 3.25 update. More recently, an update in May added new characters and refreshed the season pass. The hook of Watch Dogs: Legion is that you can play as just about anyone you see wandering around the world, which gives way to tons of options when it comes to dealing with its scenarios.

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Fortnite: Where To Place Warning Signs At Crop Circle

Aliens are on their way to Fortnite–that much we know for sure now. But before they really show up in a big way for next season, another Foreshadowing Quest this week asks you to place warning signs at crop circle. This is the fourth of five Foreshadowing Quests that players can complete ahead of next week’s new season, and note that at time of publishing this challenge isn’t yet live, but it’s expected to go live very soon. If you find yourself looking for this mysterious patterns where corn used to be, don’t fret. Here’s where you can place warning signs at the crop circle in Fortnite.

Fortnite Crop Circle Location

According to dataminers, there’s just going to be the one hexagonal crop circle on the island–this season, anyway. Fortnite Season 7 is right around the corner. That means you’ll just want to head to its location inside Colossal Crops and look for the warning sign interaction prompts scattered around the named location. This is a mission for Farmer Steel, who is very upset with the “pranksters” or “aliens” he believes to be behind the disappearance of some of his crops.

Colossal Crops is named on the map, so it should be easy to drop into. Once you’re there, you’ll be hard-pressed to miss the massive grain-based art project some higher beings seem to have left behind for reasons unknown. Just in case you missed it–or just want to see what it looks like in-game, here it is.

They're coming: aliens are en route to Fortnite.
They’re coming: aliens are en route to Fortnite.

Curiously, the hexagonal pattern of the crop formation seems reminiscent of the Season 6 map, which features six mini-Spires forming a hexagonal perimeter around the central, grander Spire which currently houses The Foundation, albeit rather unwillingly. In real-life alien mythology, some who believe crop circles are signs of extraterrestrials say these formations are used as navigation, like helicopter landing pads perhaps. Without a doubt, UFOs are soon to land on the Fortnite island–though I suppose by then they’ll very much be identified. What these aliens’ motivations are remains unknown, but it’s clear Fortnite Season 7 is about to produce another massive makeover for the game’s map.

Today’s update means all five Foreshadowing Quests are now live in the game, so get in there and finish them off before the new season begins on June 8. You can also check out the incoming Week 12 challenges.

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E3 2021 Awards Show Coming June 15

E3 2021 will have an awards show to wrap up the summer event, organizers have announced. The awards show will take place on the final day of E3–June 15–and editors from a variety of publications, including GameSpot, will judge games from the show to determine winners.

GameSpot will be joined by those from IGN, PC Gamer, and GamesRadar+ in the judging process for the Official E3 2021 Awards Show, as it’s known. The winners will be announced during the broadcast on Tuesday, June 15.

Stanley Pierre-Louis, the president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, said the show will recognize the “most anticipated games” coming out of E3.

The top category for the Official E3 2021 Awards Show will be the “Most Anticipated” game of E3 2021. The awards showcase will also honor the “Most Anticipated” titles from publishers and developers that are taking part in the event.

E3 2021 kicks off June 12 and runs through June 15. It’s a free show with programming available for everyone to watch on a variety of platforms. Greg Miller, Jacki Jing and Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez are hosting the show, which will feature game announcements, developer interviews, panels, and press conferences from publishers.

The full programming schedule is expected to be announced in early June, so it should be here any day now.

In other news, Microsoft just announced that its joint briefing with Bethesda will take place on Sunday, June 13, which is right in the middle of E3.

GameSpot is also bringing back its Play For All charity and news event in June, and you can read more about Play For All here. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest is another big show in June, beginning with a Kick Off Live event on June 10. Ubisoft’s showcase, Ubisoft Forward, takes place June 12.

For more on E3 2021, and the June schedule in general, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything we know so far, including the schedule for all the press conferences.

Facebook Watch’s New Animated Horror Show Woman In The Book Gets Trailer

A new animated horror series is coming to Facebook Watch on June 4. Woman in the Book from Crypt TV is a multilingual (Spanish and English) show that will play out over 10 episodes on the streaming service, and we’ve got the first look at the trailer for you below.

Woman in the Book stars Diane Guerrero (DC’s Doom Patrol) in a tale that “follows the lives of three estranged siblings who reunite at an aging Mexican hacienda to wrestle for their inheritance, but inadvertently unleash a book-bound horror upon them that has plagued their family for generations,” according to a description from Crypt TV.

Now Playing: CryptTV’s Women In The Book Exclusive Trailer

Joining Guerrero in the cast are Alfonso Herrera (Queen of the South), Bryan Greenberg (The Tick), and Jose Ruiz-Gonzales.

The series is directed by Jeanette Moreno King, with Jeanette Jeanenne stepping in as co-director on the 10 episodes. Eva Gonzalez Szigriszt and Pamela Garcia Rooney serve as the writers. To accomplish Woman in the Book’s animation, Crypt TV looked to Starburns Industries, which is most notable for its work on Rick & Morty and the 2015 film Anomalisa.

Woman in the Book arrives June 4 on Facebook Watch, with new episodes arriving weekly on Friday. In addition to the trailer above, you can check out a poster for the series below.

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Official E3 2021 Awards Show Announced

E3 organiser ESA has announced that there will be an official E3 2021 Awards Show, held on the final day of E3 this year.

Set to be held on June 15, the E3 2021 Awards will be presented to games that have been showcased across the four-day live E3 event. The winners will be selected by editors from IGN, GameSpot, PC Gamer, and GamesRadar+. The awards are focused on the “Most Anticipated” games at E3, including an overall winner from all games shown across the entire show, as well as the most anticipated games from each of the participating developers and publishers.

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“For this year’s event, we are collaborating with editors at some of the world’s leading video game media outlets to create the Official E3 2021 Awards Show, recognizing the show’s most anticipated games,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO of the ESA. “The broadcast is going to be packed with exciting announcements and reveals, and celebrating innovative publishers and developers is an ideal way to close E3 2021.”

E3’s live broadcast will be presented by Greg Miller, Jacki Jing and Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez, and will feature games from the likes of Square Enix, Gearbox, and more. As you can always expect from E3, major publishers and platform holders will also hold their own events, including Microsoft and Ubisoft. To keep track, check out our E3 2021 schedule.

Taking place from June 12-15, E3 2021 is partnered with IGN’s own Summer of Gaming, and you’ll be able to check out the world’s first all-digital E3 right here with us.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.

New Halo Infinite Art Debuts Ahead Of June Xbox And Bethesda Event

Microsoft’s Xbox and Bethesda Showcase kicks off on June 13, and amongst the established franchises being shown off, a new look at Halo Infinite is expected to be one of the main events of the show. If that’s too long for you to wait to see what exactly developer 343 Industries has been up to since the game’s last exhibition online, the good news is that you can now stare at a tough gang of Spartan super-soldiers on your PC.

The artwork that was first used to tease the joint showcase has been posted online, thanks to Twitter user Klobrille. While it’s probably not hiding any secrets, it’s still a lovely look at the game and could easily work as a desktop wallpaper on your PC in case you need something to tide you over until Halo Infinite drops a new trailer.

343 Industries hasn’t been quiet on the development front though, and over the course of several months it has spoken more about Halo Infinite in detailed blog posts about new Brute enemies, adaptive battle music, and growing the game’s esports viewership. We still have some questions regarding extinct birds and the taste of fossilized avian flesh.

Beyond that, there’s still the question of whether or not Halo Infinite will have its own battle royale mode, or if it even needs one. There may even be a beta period coming up for the game according to comments from 343 Industries, and we’ve got a detailed guide on just how easy it is to sign up for the upcoming trial.

Borderlands Movie: We’ve Gotten Our First Glimpse of Cate Blanchett as Lilith

Jamie Lee Curtis has offered up the first glimpse of Cate Blanchett’s take on Lilith in the Borderlands movie.

On Twitter, Jamie Lee Curtis (who’ll play Dr. Tannis in the movie) posted a “a secret [behind-the-scenes] shot I took of Lilith, our legendary heroine, psycho blasting, vault hunting vixen with a bad attitude”, which shows off Blanchett’s Lilith in silhouette.

While the silhouette doesn’t give too much away, Blanchett’s take on the character definitely looks familiar to those who know the Siren outlaw from the games, with similarly placed holsters, seemingly mismatched boots, and a familiar sweep of (presumably bright red) hair.

Lilith will be the movie’s main character, with the movie’s plot centring around her quest to return to the planet of Pandora and recover the missing daughter of “the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas.” Along the way, she’ll cross paths with Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Tannis, Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Janina Gavankar as Commander Knox, Jack Black as Claptrap, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, and Florian Munteanu as Tina Tina’s protector, Krieg.

The movie, loosely based on the games, is being directed by Eli Roth and scripted by Craig Maizin, and is due to be released in 2022.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Nintendo Wins Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit Against ROM Hosting Website

Nintendo has won a lawsuit against a ROM-hosting website called RomUniverse.

As reported by TorrentFreak, the site’s owner will have to pay $2.1 million in damages to Nintendo after the court ruled in the video game company’s favour. You can read a court order from the suit here. The lawsuit was filed back in September of 2019, with Nintendo seeking damages for copyright infringement and federal trademark infringement.

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This is because the RomUniverse website hosted pirated versions of Nintendo games that users could download. It also offered premium subscriptions that allowed RomUniverse subscribers to surpass a download limit.

The website’s owner filed a declaration saying that he “denies and disputes that he uploaded any files to said website and at no time did he verify the content of said ROM file” but had previously testified that “he and or/his “admin” uploaded ROMs of Nintendo’s copyrighted works,” so the declaration was struck by the court.

The website was taken offline last year, but the lawsuit continued, and ultimately Nintendo has now won the case. Nintendo initially sought over $15 million in damages, but the court reduced the damages to $2,115,000 in total.

It’s the latest in a string of similar lawsuits – back in 2018, Nintendo was awarded over $12 million in damages following a case against two other ROM hosting sites.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Nvidia Reveals Release Dates And Pricing For GeForce RTX 3080 Ti And 3070 Ti

Nvidia has announced its newest gaming graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and 3070 Ti, as part of its keynote presentation at the Computex 2021 virtual event. The 3080 Ti is set to launch on June 3 at a price of $1199, while the 3070 Ti will be available on June 10 for $599–if you’re lucky.

Nvidia is calling the 3080 Ti its “new flagship gaming GPU,” with specs that almost rival the top-of-the-line 3090, Cnet reports. It boasts more cores than the base 3080, including 80 RT cores, 10,240 CUDA cores, and 320 Tensor cores. Its memory has also been upgraded to 12GB GDDR6X, a step up from the 3080, while not quite reaching the 3090’s 24GB.

You can watch the full reveal, along with a preview of DOOM Eternal running at 4K with ray tracing and DLSS enabled, around 32 minutes into the video above.

The 3070 Ti’s specs are a lot closer to the 3070, though it’s been given a major memory upgrade from GDDR6 to GDDR6X. While Nvidia didn’t compare the cards to any in its current generation lineup, it said that the RTX 3080 Ti is 1.5 times faster than the RTX 2080 Ti, while the RTX 3070 Ti is 1.5 times faster than the RTX 2070 Super.

Unfortunately, like all the other cards in Nvidia’s 30 series, it’s likely that these new cards will also be plagued by supply issues, making it difficult for gamers to get ahold of their chosen cards. The company has said in a recent earnings call that it expects supply constraints to continue for at least another few months. Interest in graphics cards for crypto mining is still high as well, with miners snapping up new cards and driving up the price of any still available, despite Nvidia’s efforts to limit mining performance on gaming cards.