On September 9th, Activision held a Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War multiplayer preview event showing off the all-new Combined Arms mode. We were invited to a hands-on preview and were able to try it out! In this match, we play on the map “Armada”- a large daytime map with a fleet of ships.
The new mode plays much like 2019’s Modern Warfare’s Ground War mode. Although the player count is smaller (12v12) the objective is the same- capture and hold down 5 points across the map. The first team to 400 points wins. The Armada map is one of the larger maps utilized for the Combined Arms game mode. It features zip lines, gunboats, and jet skis to get from ship to ship to reach the capture points.
Activision also revealed weapon loadouts, perks, maps, and more. After his hands-on time with the game, we asked Michael Higham his thoughts on the gameplay, and whether or not it’ll live up to Warzone. Be sure to check out our video to hear his thoughts. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 13th.
In this video, Persia talks about this morning’s reveal of Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer. GameSpot also had some hands-on time with the multiplayer, so Persia goes into detail about new game modes like Combined Arms and VIP Escort and a new map called Armada. Beta access will be releasing on various weekends based on your platform starting in October.
Persia also talks about the release date and price of the Xbox Series X finally being confirmed by Microsoft. At $499, the Xbox Series X can be yours as soon as November 10, and pre-orders open on September 22. Both the Series X and S are going to be a part of the Xbox All Access program, which lets you pay off the consoles over time and will also include other services like Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Live Gold, and more.
Lastly, Persia talks about another release date being announced. Ubisoft confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion will be releasing on October 29 on current-gen consoles and PC and on November 10 on the Xbox Series X and S when the consoles launch. There is going to be another Ubisoft Forward tomorrow at 12pm Pacific, and we’ll be covering all of it on GameSpot.com.
This is your Save State for Wednesday September 9th.
Xbox Game Pass for PC–a subscription offering that gets you tons of games– is about to get more expensive. Microsoft has announced that the introductory price, which is $5 per month, will soon be retired.
This has been the price since Xbox Game Pass for PC launched in beta, which it remains at today. In a blog post, Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass for PC will “become generally available” on September 17, which is the day that the introductory price expires. From the wording here, it sounds like Xbox Game Pass for PC may leave beta on this date, too.
We’re retiring the introductory price on the 17th, but if you’re already a member, you’ll pay the same rate through the next billing cycle. look out for a notification on the 17th to get more details
People who have already subscribed at that price will pay the same rate through their next billing cycle, after which they will see the price increase to $10 per month.
This price increase only applies to Xbox Game Pass for PC. On Xbox, people can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass by itself for $10/month, or they can get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $15/month–this includes Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold.
Ubisoft has a big show coming up with a second Ubisoft Forward this week, but one game that won’t be part of the event is the long-in-development swashbuckling pirate game Skull & Bones.
In a blog post, creative director Elisabeth Pellen confirmed that Skull & Bones has begun production again “in full swing with a new vision.” Pellen said developer Ubisoft Singapore is “fully committed” to launching the game and supporting it for many years after launch.
Although Skull & Bones won’t be at Ubisoft Forward this week, the developer confirmed it is “working on plans to present Skull & Bones sometime in the future. It will be worth the wait.”
Pellen went on to say that Ubisoft’s vision for Skull & Bones has expanded over time, and this has caused delays.
“Many of you have been wondering why we’ve had to postpone our launch. The answer is that we simply needed more time,” Pellen said. “We dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges.”
These challenges led to “necessary delays,” Pellen said.
“Critical questions needed to be addressed over the past several months such as: how do we modernize the classic pirate fantasy? How do we ensure a more immersive and visceral experience? How do we create cool and memorable moments in-game? For most of these questions to be answered, it was clear that we needed more development time,” she said.
Pellen also confirmed that Ubisoft needed to hire “fresh eyes” to work on Skull & Bones, including herself. “I was one of those people when I joined as Skull & Bones’ creative director a little over two years ago. I have been part of the game’s core team that leads many of the talented developers at Ubisoft Singapore. Since then, many new talents have joined our global crew,” Pellen said.
Like other Ubisoft games, multiple teams are working on Skull & Bones alongside Ubisoft Singapore; the support studios include Ubisoft’s teams in Berlin, Chengdu, Kiev, Paris, and the Philippines.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done and we hope you will be too when you see more of Skull & Bones at our comeback next year,” Pellen said. “Until then, on behalf of everyone in the Skull & Bones team around the world, keep safe and we will see you again soon!”
In July, it was reported that Ubisoft was rebooting Skull & Bones, and the wording of today’s blog post–in particular the “new vision” comment–seems to suggest that it might be happening.
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Fargo is coming back for Season 4 on September 27, premiering 11 new episodes over three years after the end of Season 3. Showrunner Noah Hawley has commented on the possibility of more episodes at a recent FX press event, and it sounds like he’s open to the possibility.
As reported by Deadline, Hawley was asked about another season, and replied “I’m certainly not ruling it out.” It sounds like he would need some time to figure it out, though. “It’s not just one idea you need, it’s a hundred ideas and characters…so that tends to percolate,” he said.
Hawley says that he’s currently trying to write a new novel, so that is taking priority for him. He’s pretty busy, he says, and also wants to make sure that he spends time at home with his kids. “I want to make sure the choices I make for the next few years, is not me saying ‘yes’ to things, but trying to tell stories I haven’t told before, and continue to explore with FX how we can try to reinvent that medium,” he says.
Season 4 star Chris Rock spoke at that same press day, explaining how COVID-19 has informed his performance in the show.
Hawley had plans to make his own Star Trek movie, but it’s been put on the backburner, possibly because its pandemic-focused plotline would hit differently after the events of 2020.
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While the pandemic has impacted the project, Suda did say that the team has “managed to get back on our feet with development” and that their main focus now is “prioritizing quality.”
It wasn’t all bad news, however, as he revealed that Darick Robertson, a comic book illustrator who co-created The Boys, will be joining the team working on No More Heroes 3 to “provide illustrations for the game.”
Suda shared a commissioned piece by Darick Robertson on Twitter, called “Demzamtiger & His Master,” and you can check it out below.
No More Heroes 3, a Nintendo Switch exclusive, was unveiled during Nintendo’s E3 2019 Direct, and the initial trailer showed Travis Touchdown and his beam katana back in action once more.
No More Heroes III, one of the big Switch exclusives on the horizon, has been delayed into next year. Director Goichi Suda (Suda51) has announced on Twitter that, while he knows many people are anticipating the game, the challenges of 2020 have caused a delay.
In his statement, Suda51 points towards COVID-19 as the cause of the delay, and apologizes to fans. “To everyone who has been waiting for further news and release date confirmation ever since the reveal of the trailer for No More Heroes 3 at TGA at the end of 2019, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies,” he says.
The game is now aiming for a 2021 release, and Suda51 assures fans that Grasshopper Manufacture will continue to work hard on the game.
The director also announced that Darick Robertson, a comic artist who co-created The Boys, is now involved in the game’s production. Robertson is creating illustrations for No More Heroes III, some of which will be shared ahead of the game’s release.
The official trailer for Dune (2020) is pretty dense in terms of Dune lore. Strap in and prepare yourself to be a little overwhelmed by the scope and scale of it all as we take you through shot-by-shot. If you are completely new to the Duniverse, you may want to go check out our primer on every character you’ll need to know.
Dune is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival), and stars Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Glossu ‘Beast’ Rabban, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar.
One dedicated Halo fan has spent five years constructing something pretty amazing out of Lego. As shared by Lego site The Brothers Brick, Steve Witt has spent five years building a 25,000 brick reconstruction of the Halo UNSC frigate, an extremely detailed tribute that he has named Katara (an Avatar: The Last Airbender reference).
The ship is almost 7 feet long, and weighs in at 112 lbs. It’s 32 inches wide, with over 150 working lights. It’s a pretty enormous undertaking.
The Lego Halo frigate and its creator, Steve Witt
The ship is hugely detailed, with lettering and numbering designed to match the ship from the game, as well as many little features that aren’t apparent in the image above–click through to The Brothers Brick to check them all out.
The Halo series has never come to Lego, although you can check out the Mega Construx range for something similar. If you’re after some official video game Lego, the Super Mario set is out now, including a Lego NES that’s already pretty difficult to find.
The next game in the Halo series will be Halo Infinite, which is coming to Xbox One, Series S, Series X, and PC in 2021.
PUBG Mobile is a giant success, with research firm SensorTower reporting that the game has now surpassed $3.5 billion in revenue from microtransactions since its release.
The game is growing fast, as the lifetime revenue for the game was estimated to be $3 billion back in July. The game needed just 72 days to add $500 million more, which works out to about $7 million per day.
In 2020 alone, PUBG Mobile has reached $1.8 billion in microtransaction spending. The new numbers for the game cover both the main PUBG Mobile and the Chinese version, which is called Game For Peace.
The biggest market for PUBG Mobile is China, where players have collectively spent $1.9 billion on the game over its lifetime–and that’s on iOS alone. The US is the second biggest market for PUBG Mobile, with Japan following in third.
Regarding platforms, the iOS edition of PUBG Mobile has accounted for 80 percent of microtransaction sales, according to SensorTower. And in terms of its reach, PUBG Mobile has reached 770 million downloads around the world and on all platforms. The game has added 198 million new downloads so far in 2020, SensorTower said.
You can check out the full blog post at SensorTower to learn more about PUBG Mobile’s latest download and sales figures.
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