Alan Wake is back and we are incredibly excited. Will this lead to the long-awaited sequel? We discuss… Plus: it’s time to give Psychonauts 2 its flowers after an incredible journey that began in the early days of the original Xbox, so we do just that on this episode. Also: Miranda’s “meh” reaction to Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer beta, and more!
Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out our Halo Infinite Flight performance preview, which does a deep-dive tech analysis on the still-in-development slice of Halo Infinite multiplayer:
Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan!
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
A group of current and former Ubisoft employees has responded to the company’s appointment of a new chief creative officer, urging him and the company to provide a “meaningful response” to Ubisoft’s culture of “systemic discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”
Manceau, who has been with Ubisoft since 1998, has previously held several leadership roles in Ubisoft marketing, working on franchises such as Far Cry, Rainbow Six, and Splinter Cell. In 2014 he worked as creative director on Steep and followed up in the same role on Riders Republic.
However, as the employee group points out, Manceau’s appointment does not appear to be in line with CEO Yves Guillemot’s promises to overhaul the company’s editorial team. As Guillemot wrote in a letter to employees upon Hascoet’s departure:
“I will take on the CCO role temporarily as we work to define and organize the leadership of the Editorial Department. During this time, I will also personally oversee a complete overhaul of the way in which this team works. My goal is to create an inclusive and open culture that embraces more diverse and multidisciplinary expertise.”
In its response, A Better Ubisoft points out that “There is no clear expression of the creative process, and there is a shocking lack of diversity in the VPs.” The group points out that while Bio Jade Adam Granger’s appointment as VP of editorial earlier this year was a step in the right direction, “not much progress has been made beyond that.”
“Currently, as it stands, the creative team at Ubisoft is composed of white people who are of uniform cultural backgrounds.”
The letter concludes that this leaves the employee group with a “lack of confidence” in the editorial team’s future, noting that Patrick Plourde remains VP of editorial “despite the multiple misconduct reports filed against him” and Hascoët’s “former right-hand person” is still involved in the recruitment of high-level positions at the company.
Ubisoft’s editorial team has historically held a large amount of creative power at the company. It’s responsible for advising on elements of all the company’s games including design, story, and more, and prior to 2020 was largely responsible for a “cohesive vision” across Ubisoft titles.
However, a 2020 restructuring made an attempt at diversifying power on the editorial team to better differentiate its games, though its powerful influence on the portfolio remained.
Manceau’s appointment to said team comes over a year after Ubisoft was at the center of numerous reports of a toxic work culture, harassment, abuse, and discrimination, which resulted in numerous company leaders being fired or otherwise parting ways following investigations.
However, earlier this year, 1,000 current and former Ubisoft employees signed an open letter in solidarity with employees at Activision-Blizzard undergoing their own cultural reckoning, demanding that the company take further action. The group at the time stated that over a year later, it “had seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises, and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders.”
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
There are plenty of deals for gamers on Amazon today. Score an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller for as low as $115, order an RTX 30 series equipped Skytech PC and have it delivered to your door within the month, save 50% off Razer’s Seiren Emote USB microphone, grab a copy of Demon’s Souls for the PS5 for 35% off, and more below.
Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller (Preowned)
If you get a preowned Xbox Elite Series 2 controller off Amazon Warehouse, you can get an extra 20% off the already discounted price. You’ll have to make sure the vendor is “Amazon” and not a 3rd party marketplace vendor. “Used: Very Good” and “Used: Like New” condition models are both available. This professional-grade controller features adjustable tension thumbsticks, shorter hair trigger locks, wraparound textured grips, interchangeable thumbsticks and paddle shapes, custom profiles saved on your controller itself, and included USB Type C cable with charging dock. It boasts up to 40 hours of battery life and is compatible with the Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, and PC.
Skytech RTX 30 Series Gaming PCs on Amazon
It’s still pretty much impossible to find an RTX 30 series video card for your own DIY build. Fortunately, that’s not the case with prebuilt PCs; there are plenty of Skytech RTX 30 series equipped gaming PCs on Amazon that ship within the month. Prices are starting to go down as well, even for models that include the newest RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti video cards.
40lb Rubber Encased Hex Dumbbell
If you’ve been stockpiling exercise equipment to work out at home, you might have realized that the cost of weights adds up. You could be paying upwards of $2-$4 per pound of weights if you’ve been buying stuff at regular retail price. Deals like these aren’t flashy, but they’re very welcome. This 40-pound dumbbell costs only $41.10, that’s just over $1 per pound. The weights themselves are rubber encased to protect your floor, and the handle is ergonomically shapped and the chrome finshed ergo handles are textured for a better grip.
Amazon Prime Student Members Get 3 Months of Free Audible Premium Plus
If you’re an Amazon Prime Student member, you get a lot of pretty amazing perks like 6 months of free Amazon Prime membership followed by 50% off your Prime membership for up to 4 years, Amazon Music Unlimited for $0.99/mo, and more. Now, there’s yet another perk exclusive to Amazon Prime Student members; get 3 free months of Audible Premium Plus (normally $14.95/mo). If you’re a current student or faculty, you’re eligible for an Amazon Prime Student membership.
Razer Seiren Emote USB Microphone
The Razer Seiren is an excellent supercardoid USB microphone that’s able to express 100+ emoticons on the microphone through an 8-bit LED display, with the option to create custom designs via a software editor. It also features built-in background noise reduction, shock mount, and a gooseneck stand with flexible height and angle adjustments.
Preorder the Middle Earth 6-Film Ultimate Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
This impressive Middle Earth Collector’s Edition includes both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies over a whopping 31 discs. That’s because there are separate 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs for both the Theatrical Editions and the Extended Editions. You also get digital HD copies for free, and they are compatible with MoviesAnywhere so you can merge it into your digital library. As far as extras go, you get a Special Features Blu-ray disc, a 64-page booklet, and 7 travel poster art cards. All the discs are stored in collectible foil sleeves.
Ubisoft has sprung some proper bargains on us today. Most of those concern PC folks, though I have found a few choice savings on Nintendo Switch as well. Fellow retroholics such as myself should pay attention to the Sega classics going for 50% off on Xbox. Shrewd Sony shoppers should also take note that the upgrade path for Horizon Forbidden West has been altered in their favour…
Epic Games has been showcasing the upcoming Unreal Engine 5 with a series of impressive tech demos, and now the protagonist from those demos is coming to Fortnite. Also, she’s apparently named Windwalker Echo.
Windwalker Echo is the formerly unnamed character that has starred in Epic’s various Unreal Engine 5 tech demos. This includes the Lumen in the Land of Nanite tech video that showed off the lighting and geometry tool as well as the Valley of the Ancient tech demo.
Both Lumen in the Land of Nanite and Valley of the Ancient are playable tech demos even though there’s no plan to create a game starring Windwalker Echo. But she will at least be playable in Fortnite starting tonight.
Unreal Engine also partnered with animation team Mold3D Studio on a new animation sample called “Slay” that shows Windwalker Echo in action. Check it out below.
Fortnite is set to end its current Chapter 2 Season 7 event with a big finale called Operation: Sky Fire. A one-time-only event set for September 12 at 1 pm PT/4 pm ET that will finish the fight against the alien invasion.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
In this video, Persia talks about the reveal of Call Of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer mode and other details that were showcased in a livestream.
There was also the announcement of the Alan Wake remaster that is releasing this year and will include the core 2010 game, plus The Signal and The Writer DLC, along with a new commentary track from creative director Sam Lake. She also goes over rumors that EA is considering Unreal Engine for Mass Effect 5 instead of its own proprietary Frostbite engine.
Lastly, Persia talks about changes coming to the radar in Halo Infinite after feedback from the technical preview. Notes on these changes and more coming to the next Halo Infinite flight were also shared in an in-depth blog post from the developers. If you want a chance to play Halo Infinite ahead of the game’s release on December 8, you can still sign up for the Halo Insider program on HaloWaypoint.com
Call of Duty: Vanguard introduces what Sledgehammer Games is calling “tactical destruction” to the multiplayer mix, and like its name suggests, this will allow players to destroy certain parts of the map. This has been a mainstay in EA’s Battlefield series for years.
In Vanguard, destructible environments span all 20 maps. With walls, doors, and other objects capable of being destroyed, the way a map looks–and plays–at the start of a match could very well change by the end. “The state that the map starts at is going to look different than the state that it ends at,” Sledgehammer said in the video.
Destructible environments will also seemingly add a new layer of strategy to Call of Duty’s formula, especially in the Domination and Hardpoint modes. Players can no longer reliably hide behind objects. Additionally, Vanguard’s new caliber system–which allows players to make weapons more weapon–will impact how quickly and efficiently cover is destroyed.
Vanguard also has a suite of new perks, one of which allows you to see through walls. This may be a highly effective technique to use in combination with destroying the wall.
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Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta – What to Expect
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“Tactical destruction was a driving force for Sledgehammer’s innovations to this game’s engine, so expect to blast through specific weak walls, break down doors and windows, or destroy tiles, scenery, structures, and other objects to flush out those pesky campers,” Activision said in a blog post.
Fans can try out Vanguard’s multiplayer and destruction elements as soon as this weekend, which is when the first of multiple public betas for Vanguard begins. Check out GameSpot’s video above to learn more about what to expect from the upcoming beta.
Warzone Pacific, as it was referred to in the video (but not necessarily its real name), takes players to the Pacific in a total revamp of the Warzone experience. This is not a small change to the map like Verdansk ’84 was, but it is instead a completely new map with all-new points of interest, locations, and places to explore. As you can see in the video, Verdansk’s dark and gloomy art style is replaced with brighter, more colorful, and lush environments. You can see some footage of the new map below, but note that it’s representative of the game in its pre-alpha state.
Warzone Pacific has cross-play between consoles and platforms, as well as cross-generation play so you can sync up with anyone, regardless of their platform.
Hodge also confirmed that Warzone Pacific uses the same engine as Vanguard for “seamless weapon integration and play balance.” That’s a big deal because this was not the case for Black Ops Cold War‘s integration into Warzone, which was marked with some issues.
What’s more, Hodge reiterated that a new anti-cheat system is coming to Warzone Pacific, and the studio is now putting it through its final paces of testing. Hodge said it should be ready to go for when Warzone Pacific launches later this year.
And after launch, you can expect Warzone Pacific to add new modes, playlists, limited-time modes, and seasonal events over time.
Sledgehammer Games has officially unveiled Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s multiplayer mode, discussing and showing off new features like tactical destruction and how the game will have more maps at launch (20) than ever before in franchise history. Here’s everything we know so far about Vanguard’s multiplayer mode. This post will be updated as we learn more.
Maps
There will be 20 multiplayer maps for Vanguard at launch, which is the most ever for a Call of Duty game at launch. Presumably, more maps will come to Vanguard after launch as DLC.
16 of the maps are for Vanguard’s standard multiplayer, while 4 are for the Champion Hill mode. The maps are set across the various WWII fronts, including the Eastern Front, North Africa, and the Pacific.
The Hotel Royal, Red Star, and Gavutu maps will be playable in the upcoming beta at the start, with a fourth–Eagle’s Nest–coming in the second test. Additionally, new versions of the World at War maps Castle and Dome will be playable when the game launches. The remakes support Vanguard’s new destructible environments, while they have new visual flairs to update them for 2021.
Patrol Mode
A new multiplayer mode for Vanguard is Patrol, which is a spin on Hardpoint, except the Hardpoint moves across the map. You can get a glimpse at the Patrol mode in the deep dive trailer below. Classic Call of Duty modes like Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Search & Destroy will also be in the game, along with the new Champion Hill mode.
Tactical Destruction
Borrowing a system from Rainbow Six and other popular games, Vanguard will usher in destructible environments in select scenarios. As revealed in the announcement trailer, players will be able to destroy certain elements of the environment to help flush out enemies hiding behind cover. Destructible environments apply to every map, and the caliber of your weapon will affect how quickly and effectively environments can be destroyed.
New Art Style
Sledgehammer Games is going for a “neo epic” art style, which is a marked change from what you might be used to. “Its tone is also a departure from the traditional WWII fare: while remaining reverent to the background and time period, Sledgehammer Games is treating multiplayer as an expression of celebration toward heroism–even through antiheroes, but not villains–on a truly global scale,” the publisher said.
Blindfire
New for Call of Duty is the ability to blindfire, meaning they can shoot over a piece of cover. This will be a less precise way to aim and fire a weapon, but it can be useful in some situations. Mounting is back as well.
“When you find cover behind sturdy objects, you now have two options for firing back aside from normal hip or aim-down-sights fire: the first is mounting, which returns from previous games, though Operators can additionally ‘slide’ their mounted weapon along the vertical or horizontal surface to move around,” Activision said. “The other is blindfire–at the sacrifice of some accuracy, this maneuver allows for better cover in situations where you’re about to experience suppressing fire.”
No Factions
In a big shift for Call of Duty, Vanguard will not have Factions in multiplayer. Instead, team-based modes will be made up of teams of fictional characters that you can create and customize to your liking. Sledgehammer’s previous game, Call of Duty: WWII, featured two Factions always going head-to-head–Axis and Allies.
Operators
The cast of Operators in Vanguard have been designed to “represent a global cast of countries, cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life,” Activision said.
“Through Sledgehammer’s diverse writing team and an expert World War II historian, these fictional characters are inspired by real people who fought in WWII, and they all have a story to tell,” the publisher explained.
Each Operator will have “extended background” details available, like information on their upbringing and why they joined the war. The “quip” system from previous games is updated to help further accentuate a particular character’s individuality.
Additionally, there is a new leveling system for Operators called Operator XP.
“Separate from regular, weapon, battle pass, and Clan XP, players can unlock new cosmetics, Skins, Calling Cards, Finishing Moves, and more just by playing matches with a specific Operator,” Activision said. “Outside of their biography (which includes their nickname, citizenship, and ethnicity) and challenges, each Operator also has a Favorite Weapon.”
As an example, Polina’s favorite weapon is the 3-Line Rifle to suit her affinity for sniper rifles. Polina gets additional XP when she uses the rifle.
There will be six Operators in the Vanguard multiplayer beta, and they also include Daniel Take Yatsu, Roland Zelmet, Lucas Riggs, Wade Jackson, and Arthur Kingsley. However, Operator leveling is not available until Vanguard releases in November.
Combat Pacing
There is also a new “combat pacing” system in Vanguard that will allow players to choose the “intensity” level they want. This includes:
Tactical: These are the lobbies that franchise veterans know well. This is the experience that you’re used to with classic Call of Duty combat timing. Tactical Comat Pacing is always 6v6.
Assault: This option provides balanced Combat Pacing that gives you enough room to breathe and a lot of targets to kill. Assault is a middle ground between Tactical and Blitz. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 20 and 28 players.
Blitz: High-action lobbies see the intensity cranked up to frenetic levels. Prepare for plenty of combat when choosing to join a Blitz. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 28 and 48 players.
Gunsmith Updates And Gun Balance
Call of Duty’s gun customization mode, Gunsmith, will now allow players “unrestricted” access to attachments, so you can select up to 10 on any individual weapon. This allows for “thousands” of possibilities beyond what was possible before, Activision said. Players are also able to adjust the damage and rate of fire with these attachments, and they can also alter the caliber of weapons. In the announcement video, Sledgehammer said it’s committed to ensuring the game is balanced, so you can expect tuning updates over time.
“When choosing a loadout for Multiplayer, players will be gearing up at the Gunsmith within Create-a-Class. An evolution of a system first introduced in Modern Warfare (2019), the Gunsmith will now feature up to 10 attachment slots on certain weapons, allowing for thousands of additional possibilities to help with nearly every combat scenario and playstyle,” Activision said.
“For example, Shotguns can now be outfitted with a ‘Buck Slug,’ which is a shell filled with short-range buckshot and a slug round for longer range,” the publisher added. “This combination is just one way that ammo can change for weaponry–expect other attachments that adjust a weapon’s caliber up or down to affect bullet penetration, fire rate, and more.”
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Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta – What to Expect
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A new Clan system in Vanguard has its own dedicated progression, tailored to a particular clan, or group of players. Clans work across platforms and console generations. Progression, emblems, and battle pass items that are unlocked are given to each player in the Clan.
“The Clan system will feature elements from the Modern Warfare(2019) Regiments system, which will be carried forward and renamed ‘Groups,'” Activision said. “Clans will feature bespoke progression, emblems, and even Battle Pass–related rewards unlocked for your entire group, giving you and your squadmates something to aim for outside of victories during play sessions.”
Perks Are Now Proficiencies
Perks are still in Vanguard, but they are called Proficiencies in the new game.
“For example, the Lightweight Perk allows for increased speed, including with Tactical Sprinting, while the Weapon Perk Gung-Ho, which is active when using a weapon with it ‘attached,’ allows for an Operator to fire this weapon while sprinting,” Activision said.
PC Features
For PC players, they can look forward to an uncapped frame rate and customization options like keybinds, the ability to reduce motion sickness, and text readility. The game also supports ultrawide and multimonitor setups. Additionally, Sledgehammer said it has done work to improve input latency, so players can now expect this to be in the mere milliseconds.
GameSpot was able to playtest the Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta and check out what’s changed and what’s been added. This includes more weapons, maps, game modes, and customization. Join Richie as he breaks down his experience with the hands-on gameplay session. Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Beta will be open to PlayStation players Sep 10th-13th, and will open to all other platforms September 18th-20th.
Call of Duty: Vanguard will soon be launching their public Beta. (Sep 10th for PlayStation and Sep 18 for all platforms) GameSpot was able to play the beta before launch and Richie Bracamonte is here to break it all down. Several updates were made including more game modes, perks, killstreaks and more. Developer Sledgehammer Games also addressed issues plaguing the Alpha including lighting and wounded player effects where the screen would darken on the brink of death.
Aside from these fixes, the beta build included four new maps of all sizes. A large, snowy city map (Red Star), A lush beach map (Gavutu), a hotel map (Hotel Royal) and an indoor mountain-top map (Eagles Nest). All of which have been confirmed for the public beta. 20 total maps have been confirmed for the full release, four of which are 2v2 gunfight exclusives. Other features have been added to the beta such as the returning field upgrades and create-a-class system. Despite using weapons from the second World War, there are many ways to upgrade your loadout with a gunsmith that follows closely in line to the style of 2019’s Modern Warfare.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5th and has two more public betas scheduled later this month. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more coverage of Vanguard as well as the upcoming Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite.