A long weekend is coming, and an extra-long free play weekend is here to match. On Xbox platforms you can play two games for the low cost of zero dollars this weekend, as well as a huge MMORPG for the next two weeks.
Hunt: Showdown is a PvP bounty hunting game that incorporates PvE elements, tasking you with hunting down hideous creatures. The free play weekend includes both the game and select DLC packs. Steel Rats is an indie platformer set in an alternative dieselpunk city. It’s also discounted through the weekend, down to $3 from the regular $10 price.
Elder Scrolls Online is Bethesda’s MMO take on the Elder Scrolls saga, and during this free period you can also try the Morrowind chapter. ESO is also included with Xbox Game Pass, and during the free play period some of its DLC expansions are on sale as well.
You can check out all the details on how to participate in the beta on the official Final Fantasy 14 website. PS5-exclusive benefits include “greatly increased frame rates, true 4K resolution, 3D Audio and haptic feedback.”
Those who own the physical edition of Final Fantasy 14 on PlayStation 4 can upgrade by heading to the PlayStation Store and downloading the “FINAL FANTASY XIV PS5 Upgrade Edition (Beta Version)”. Those who own the digital edition of the game can upgrade directly from their game library. If you’re a PS5 player new to Final Fantasy 14, all you have to do is download the “FINAL FANTASY XIV Free Trial” from the PlayStation Store if you wish to try it out.
The official service start date for the PlayStation 5 version of the game will be announced on the lodestone, and determined “based on the progress of the open beta test.” Square Enix also notes that all data from the beta will be transferred to the full version of the game. In other FF14 news, here’s Director Naoki Yoshida reflecting on the MMO reaching its first major ending with Endwalker.
Outriders, the latest shooter from studio People Can Fly, is out today for both consoles and PC. But if you were hoping to enjoy some cross-platform multiplayer action, you might have to wait for a while.
Outriders has had its cross-platform multiplayer between PC and console players turned off as People Can Fly investigates an issue with backend synchronization. The bug is causing parties consisting of players both PC and console to eventually kick players out one by one, which doesn’t make it a feasible solution for long sessions.
In a Reddit post, People Can Fly explained that you can still manually bypass matchmaking and invite players from different platforms, but that you’ll eventually run into the issue regardless. Thankfully, cross-play between Steam and Epic Games Store players is working correctly, and cross-play between just console players seems unaffected, too.
“We are treating this issue with the highest priority and we are working on patches that will synchronize all platform code, which will resolve these issues,” the post reads.
Call Of Duty continues its yearly cycle, and the changes that cycle institutes to Warzone have left the Modern Warfare and Cold War audiences in different worlds. Ever since Cold War took over the Season Pass, store, and events in Warzone, Modern Warfare players have felt left behind. Meanwhile, Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has gathered a classic Call Of Duty fan base looking for an entirely different arcade experience. In this video, we are going to look at the Modern Warfare versus Cold War players, how they are feeling about the state of Call Of Duty, and what each audience is looking for. Important topics we’re going to cover are why Modern Warfare fans feel robbed of Season 7 and missing weapons, what Cold War fans know about Call Of Duty that many new players don’t, and if Modern Warfare is a true Call Of Duty game.
We’ll also explore how the conflict between Call Of Duty audiences largely comes down to Activision’s yearly release cycle and how that might no longer make sense with titles from Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games being so different, yet all having to tie into Warzone. Finally, we’re going to go back to your response to the rumor that the next Call Of Duty game might go back to World War II.
We’re expecting more Call Of Duty announcements this spring, including what the rumored WW2 Vanguard game might be. Call Of Duty: Warzone is building up to Season 3, invading the map with zombies, and possibly building up to a nuke event. Make sure to keep coming back to GameSpot’s YouTube page for ongoing news, release dates, and events around Call Of Duty.
Today is April 1, and that means there’s somewhat more lying than usual taking place on the internet. The annual April Fools’ Day tradition brings plenty of fake news announcements from companies, usually poking some lighthearted fun at their own expense. And to help you navigate this dishonesty debauchery, we’ve rounded up all the best, worst, and most groan-worthy gags.
Some of these are just silly gags or strange concepts, while others are actually special playable games or events. Jokes are funnier when you explain them in exhaustive detail, so let’s dive right in.
BugSnax Removes Bugs
Young Horses says it is rebranding its gonzo-adventure game BugSnax in response to some feedback.
Our market research shows that bugs are considered ‘creepy’ and ‘extremely off-putting’ so we’re rebranding to un-bug our snacks! pic.twitter.com/7dR7aXhsR1
This trailer for an “animated series” based on Moving Out repurposes the greatest sitcom theme of all time.
PUBG Brings Back 1991 Arcade Game “POBG”
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was a trailblazer for the battle royale genre, and for a limited time it’s bringing back some (fake) retro nostalgia. PUBG is hosting a limited time Playeromnom’s Battlegrounds (POBG) mode within PUBG, a top-down arcade shooter that pits you against an army of chickens. The special mode is available on PC through April 12, and it will be available for console players April 8-19.
Cuddle Up With an ESO Demon
A body pillow with the striking image of Mehrunes Dagon from Elder Scrolls Online lets you drift off to pleasant, completely normal sleep.
Razer Introduces RGB Hair Dye
The company known for putting RGB lighting on pretty much everything gets in your hair.
Glow up with the new Razer Rapunzel Chroma Hair Dye. Razer Rapunzel is the world’s first RGB haircare product that delivers full-spectrum, and customizable per-hair lighting. Turn heads on the streets, and take lighting immersion to the next level. https://t.co/GNF9B9uxYKpic.twitter.com/ju6AhsSy05
It appears filming on The Witcher Season 2 has finished. Hair and makeup artist Jacqueline Rathorne said in an Instagram story, “We are wrapped on Witcher 2.”
The story was posted on Wednesday and has since expired, but IGN captured an image with the details. Rathorne posted the update on March 30, but followed up to say that filming would officially wrap up on April 1. Just because filming may be finished, that doesn’t mean Season 2 will premiere soon. There could be additional work still required such as visual effects or other elements to be added.
Whatever the case, it has been a long road for The Witcher Season 2, as filming began all the way back in February 2020. The production had to shut down due to the pandemic before finally ramping back up. The scheduling change meant that actor Thue Rasmussen had to leave the cast, with a different actor coming onboard to play Eskel.
Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich alluded to Season 2 wrapping up in a tweet where she said she’s grown many new grey hairs. So joked that she has so many now that she would be Geralt’s stand-in.
So. Many. New. Grey. Hairs. Over/under on whether I can be Geralt’s stand-in by the end of this season?
In March, Netflix announced seven more cast members for The Witcher Season 2, including Graham McTavish, who is known for his roles in the Uncharted and Call of Duty franchises, as well as the hobbit Dwalin in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
The other new cast members for Season 2 include Adjoa Andoh as Nenneke, Cassie Clare as Phillippa Eilhart, Liz Carr as Fenn, Kevin Doyle as Ba’lian, Simon Callow as Codringher, and Chris Fulton as Rience.
No release date has been announced for The Witcher Season 2, but it’s presumably coming later than expected due to production issues caused by the pandemic.
Due to the huge popularity of The Witcher on Netflix, the network has announced a prequel series called Blood Origin. To learn more, check out GameSpot’s roundup of everything we know about Blood Origin.
HBO Max has ordered a 10-episode reboot of the 1980’s ABC sitcom Head of the Class, according to Deadline. The revival will be helmed by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence and American Vandal writers Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen. This full order also comes after this version of Head of the Class was given a pilot order and five additional scripts back in May 2020.
For those who need a refresher, Head of the Class followed a group of gifted students and their teacher, who wanted her group of overachieving students to also prioritize experiencing life. Isabella Gomez (Modern Family) will star as Alicia Adams, the teacher who will serve the same function in the series. Not all the new roles or actors have yet been announced, but so far Jorge Diaz (The Long Road Home), Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Watchmen), Gavin Lewis (Little Fires Everywhere), Brandon Severs (Diary of a Future President), and Christa Miller (Cougar Town) are among those in the cast. Production is expected to begin sometime this summer in Los Angeles.
Lawrence, who also created Cougar Town, is having more of his own past brought back thanks to the revival of his short-lived but widely loved 2002 animated series, Clone High. While Lawrence doesn’t seem to yet be involved, series writer Erica Rivinoja will serve as showrunner and will co-write the pilot with fellow co-creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have since become filmmakers perhaps best known for The Lego Movie as well as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (which is expected to have a proper sequel in 2022). Lawrence is also keeping busy currently as co-creator, writer, and executive producer of Apple+’s breakout hit Ted Lasso.
New DLC is coming to the wacky shark game Maneater, and no, this is not an April Fools prank (we think). Maneater: Truth Quest is a story-driven expansion that puts you back into the cartilage of a bull shark in a story involving mysteries and conspiracies. 30 Rock actor Chris Parnell is back, too, reprising his role as the investigative journalist Trip Westhaven.
The DLC is focused on the Naval Wildlife Organization and how they might not be all they seem to be. For those just catching up, Maneater is the name of the game and the title of a reality TV show hosted by Westhaven. The Truth Quest DLC touches on the next chapter of the story where Westhaven looks into what he believes to be a government cover-up. He believes the existence of the super-charged man-eating shark is proof that the government is secretly creating uber-animals.
“Trip Westhaven, driven to the brink of madness, fires up his ViewTube channel ‘Truth Quest,’ to take his followers, the ‘Questers’ into deep waters in an effort to uncover the dark secrets behind this whale of a tale,” reads a line from the description.
Truth Quest features two new episodes of the in-universe show, along with a new region to explore. The DLC raises the level cap to 40, adds new evolutions to grow your shark to become even deadlier, while the maximum shark size has also been increased.
Players will also encounter new “Uber” predators and “evolved” creatures to fight. The military continues to track you in this expansion, and now they will hunt you by air through helicopters and using new weapons, making it more difficult to escape and survive. The Truth Quest expansion also adds new objectives, including a time trial that challenges you to swim through all the required rings in a certain amount of time, and another that asks you to tail-whip objects to destroy an objective.
Truth Quest is coming sometime this summer and it will cost $14.99 / €14.99 / £12.99 when it arrives. It’ll be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, as well as PS4 and Xbox One. Maneater is also coming to Nintendo Switch in late May, but this DLC hasn’t been announced for that version of the game.
“With the sharply written, hilariously delivered narration and story beats to freshen up the experience as you go along, Maneater becomes a goofy, fish-flopping romp, with a good balance of limbs to sever, boats to wreck, and challenging creatures to render into bite-sized chunks,” reviewer Phil Hornshaw said. “Maneater isn’t a perfect shark simulator, but it is a fun and funny one whose positive adaptations outpace its drawbacks.”
Maneater was developed by Tripwire Interactive, the Georgia-based studio known for its work on the Killing Floor series, among others.
Jonathan Ferguson, a weapons expert and Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries, breaks down the insane weaponry of Splatoon 2, including the iconic Splattershot, the brutal Splat Roller, and the rapid-fire Hero Shot–a weapon that has a striking resemblance to the FN P90.
