A new limited-time Max Raid event is now underway in Pokemon Sword and Shield. To celebrate the Year of the Ox, the oxen Pokemon Tauros, Miltank, and Bouffalant are appearing more frequently in Max Raid dens in both games this weekend, and you’ll have a chance to encounter a Shiny Tauros in five-star Raids.
Like other “extra” Max Raid events, however, the Lunar New Year event will only be around for a couple of days. The event runs until 3:59 PM PT / 6:59 PM ET / 11:59 PM UTC on Sunday, January 24. Afterward, January’s regular Max Raid event will resume.
Before the featured Pokemon can appear in your game, you’ll first need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting online via the Y-Comm or by opening the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get the Wild Area News.
January’s regular Max Raid event runs through January 31 and features various Normal- and Dragon-type Pokemon, including Bewear, Cinccino, Haxorus, Goodra, and their pre-evolved forms. Gigantamax Snorlax and Gigantamax Duraludon are also appearing as part of the event, giving you another chance to catch them if you missed them in previous Max Raid events.
In other Pokemon news, The Pokemon Company recently released a statement outlining its plans to clamp down on players who use hacked Pokemon in Sword and Shield as well as Pokemon Home. This year also marks the Pokemon series’ 25th anniversary, and The Pokemon Company is celebrating with various events, promotions, merchandise, and more this year, including a collaboration with Katy Perry.
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The team behind the acclaimed games Limbo and Inside has shared some new insight on its next game, and it sounds like it will be quite different from its previous work.
Playdead’s current game is a third-person sci-fi adventure title that takes place in a “remote corner of the universe.” The game has no title yet. Some of the job ads include art for what might be the current game, though this is never explicitly stated. Check out the new artwork in the gallery below.
Gallery
This information comes from Playdead’s careers page on its website. The page also tells would-be applicants that the Copenhagen-based studio has a “very flat management structure” and is a relatively small team of about 50 people.
The studio has 12 open positions on its website, which may suggest that the company is ramping up development on the new and untitled game. The studio also mentioned that applicants can rest assured that Playdead does not enact arbitrary crunch.
“Our approach to development does not include crunching towards arbitrary deadlines–instead, we particularly look for people who enjoy managing their own schedule and thrive on working within a friendly, collaborative environment,” reads a line from one of the job ads.
Whatever this new game is, it will be published by Epic Games, meaning the PC edition will likely be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.
Playdead co-founder and former CEO Dino Patti left the studio in 2018 and it later came to light that he was apparently pushed out and was not on speaking terms with the other founder. Patti is said to have received a $7 million payment related to his exit from the company.
A brand new post on Xbox Wire has unveiled plans to increase the cost of Xbox Live Gold, the online gaming service Microsoft has been using on Xbox platforms for over 18 years.
According to Microsoft, this is taking place in order to evaluate the current “value and pricing” of the services provided. As a result, Live Gold is going to jump up in price. However, if you’re an existing Live Gold 6-month or 12-month member, the price isn’t changing and will renew at the value before the update.
For those who don’t fall into this bracket, Gold is still increasing. Going forward 1-month will now cost $10.99, 3-months is $29.99, and 6-months for $59.99 (or the local market equivalent). This means that the price of a 1-month membership has increased by $1, while the price of a 3-months is now $5 more.
Part of the blog post even pointed out a notable trick for Xbox users, where you can convert your existing Live Gold membership into Game Pass Ultimate. With this new update, the cost between the two services isn’t as dramatic either, with Game Pass Ultimate still costing $14.99 per month.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has taken to change Xbox Live Gold recently after it decided to stop selling 12-month memberships on its platform. There has since been plenty of speculation about Game Pass becoming the primary focus for Xbox subscriptions going forward.
The Asus ROG Delta S has the full package. It creates a nuanced, clear sound. Its triangular, RGB-laden cans have a unique look that makes a strong impression. It’s light on your head, so it’s easy to wear. Asus’ new premium headset even has a few extras, like rendering support that allows you to get the most out of MQA specialty music files. Despite a few small kludgy details, the Delta S nails all the major aspects of the PC-forward gaming headset.
The Asus ROG Delta S features some strong technical upgrades, but the design of the headset is largely a carryover from the original ROG Delta headset, which launched in 2019. With vaguely triangular “D-shaped” earcups, lined with RGB light bars and logos, its flashy, eye-grabbing look comes on very strong. Even with the lighting off, the Delta S design feels like a statement piece that’s meant to stand out.
The Delta S is primarily furnished in black plastic hardware, with a plastic and steel frame. The top band is coated in black leatherette stamped with the full “Republic of Gamers” name on top, and padded with memory foam. The forks connect to rotating bases on the top band, allowing the cans to lay flat on your chest (or a table). Weighing in at 294 grams, it sits light on your head and the padding keeps you from feeling any weight on the top of your head. Likewise, the top band clamps softly so you rarely feel the padding of the cups pressing against you. Despite this, the earcups create a good seal to provide solid passive noise protection, minimizing but not wholly shutting out ambient noise.
On the cans, the Delta S keeps onboard controls to a minimum. On the left can, you have a switch to turn RGB lighting on, off, or switch to a “soundwave” lighting mode, which theoretically glows brighter when you speak into your microphone. There’s also a switch that can raise and lower volume levels, or press in to mute your mic. At the bottom of the triangle, there’s an audio port for plugging in the detachable boom mic.
In the cans, the Delta S features 50mm Neodymium drivers, and an updated version of the Delta’s quad-DAC. The ESS 9281 converter uses four separate chips to independently process four different ranges of tones – low, mid, high, and “ultra-high.” In theory, this allows the Hi-Res certified headset to produce clearer, more distinct sound throughout its range.
The Delta S is also the first gaming headset – among a small set of audio gear – that features rendering support for MQA-encoded high-fidelity audio files. “Master Quality Authenticated” or MQA files is an audio file format that can stream “studio quality” music. Pairing the headset with MQA files like Tidal’s “Master”-grade streaming tracks, which you can access with the service’s $19.99 HiFi-tier subscription, delivers a different grade of sound. Softer, clearer, and more balanced, the MQA-enabled versions of songs sound noticeably different than their streaming-standard counterparts.
The question is, how much are you willing to reconfigure your listening routine to get better quality music? If you rely primarily on streaming services for music, you’ll need to use the Delta S with a PC or Android phone and, potentially, switch to Tidal and/or a handful of more niche music streaming services to get MQA tracks. Considering the lengths audiophiles go to secure the best possible audio – spending thousands of dollars on specialty gear, downloading lossless files, and so on – this is a pretty easy way to get a taste of the difference between the good and hobby-grade audio gear. For many users, though, it’s still a big ask and, thus, a relatively niche upgrade for curious PC players.
The detachable unidirectional boom mic looks and feels conventional, but it’ll fool you. It has some great, upgraded features that ensure you’ll send strong, clear voice quality, including a larger driver (6mm versus 4mm in the Delta) and active noise-cancelling to keep ambient noise out of chat. The physical construction of the mic, however, leaves something to be desired. Its short, flexible stem is coated in a thick plastic that’s easy to bend, but difficult to bend precisely to the perfect pickup spot. The microphone also popped out of the audio jack just enough to stop working after I adjusted it, leading to unnecessary complications.
Next to the boom, you’ll find the base for the Delta S’ built-in USB-C cable. The cable is only 58 inches (4’10”) by default, which is fine for using with a laptop or a handheld Nintendo Switch Lite, but won’t reach from a console to a properly distanced couch. It comes with a USB-C-to-A converter cable, which extends the cable another 38 inches to a much more reasonable 8 feet. It feels like more of an inconvenience than it really is. PS5 owners should expect to plug the headset into the console’s front USB-A port, rather than use USB-C, but that’s the only real consequence.
Asus ROG Delta S – Software
On Windows, you can customize audio and RGB settings through Asus ROG’s configuration software, Armoury Crate. Crate allows you to adjust EQ settings, toggle virtual 7.1 surround sound, and software-based audio enhancements like bass boost and voice clarity. You can also set a noise gate for your microphone and adjust its enhancements, including noise-cancellation. On the lighting side, you can choose from seven different lighting patterns, and customize their colors.
As with many config apps, Crate can create multiple app-specific profiles with fine-tuned audio and lighting for different games and apps. Though you can only access the app on Windows, the changes you make on the default profile carry over to consoles. Still, there’s a big divide between what PC players can do with Delta S and everyone else between the config app and the MQA support.
Asus ROG Delta S – Gaming and Music
Though the Delta S definitely puts its best foot forward on PC, it’s an extremely capable headset that generates clear, detailed sound on all kinds of games. Testing primarily on PC and PS5, the Delta S produces all the little details in sound effects, like the differences between the firing sounds of different rifles in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, or the crackling of a campfire in Dead by Daylight. Reproducing the complete texture of sound effects is one of the clearest differences between a good headset and a great one, and the Delta S clearly asserts itself as the latter.
It also creates proper separation between sounds. In Immortals: Fenyx Rising, a game where gameplay voiceover interjects frequently during gameplay, the voices of Zeus and Prometheus are clear, but so are the sounds of your adventuring. Where a lesser sound system might muddle the mix, the Delta S allows you to focus on one or the other, or take in both clearly.
The Delta S features 7.1 virtual sound, which creates strong positional audio. In both Dead by Daylight and Call of Duty, I was able to pinpoint the direction and, often, distance of gameplay-relevant noises, which both enhances your immersion and becomes a useful tool. When playing as a survivor in Dead by Daylight, it’s much easier to avoid a killer when you don’t need a visual prompt to reveal their location.
HBO wants to have more Game of Thrones, and to that end, the company is taking meetings with a number of writers who are pitching their ideas for spin-offs. This is according to report from EW, which says HBO has taken meetings with “several top writers” who are pitching the network their ideas for where the fantasy universe could go next.
One of the ideas is a prequel series focused on the war, Robert’s Rebellion, that took place some time before the events of Game of Thrones, according to the report. Writer Bruno Heller, who created the period drama Rome for HBO, is said to have pitched this idea.
There is no word yet on any of the other high-profile writers who have pitched to HBO. However, EW reported that all of the new show ideas are prequels that are set in Westeros and Essos. The site dashed hopes to see more familiar characters and actors, as it’s claimed that none of the new show ideas are spin-offs of the timeline that ended with Game of Thrones Season 8.
HBO is taking its time with the Game of Thrones spin-offs to make sure things go well. The network shot a pilot of the Naomi Watts Game of Thrones spin-off but canceled it, though the company didn’t provide much context as to why. HBO apparently feels more confident about its House of Dragon spin-off, which has been ordered to series.
Another show, Tales of Dunk and Egg, is said to be in the works as well. However, HBO has not officially given the green light to this project yet.
As EW and others have pointed out, it appears HBO is trying to expand on the Game of Thrones universe in a big way, not unlike how Disney announced 10 Star Wars TV shows for Disney+.
A veteran PlayStation executive is stepping down soon. Tsuyoshi Kodera, who helped pioneer PlayStation’s online services, is leaving his position with PlayStation at the end of this fiscal year, which will be on March 31.
VGC reports that Kodera will move to a different role within Sony starting on April 1. The company has not announced Kodera’s replacement, or what his new role will be.
Kodera has been with Sony for decades and first joined SIE in 2010. He helped to launch the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Plus and Now services, along with the PlayStation Video and Music operations. He was made deputy president of PlayStation in 2016, and then briefly served as CEO and president between the tenures of Andrew House and Jim Ryan.
PlayStation Plus has offered a rotating selection of monthly games. It recently evolved with the PS5, as the benefits now include the PlayStation Plus Collection, a library of highly-rated PS4 games available to PS5 owners.
Ryan has been president since early 2019, and he saw the company through the launch of the PS5. Most recently he addressed PlayStation VR, saying that the future of VR may still be years away. That doesn’t suggest a heavy pipeline of support for PSVR, which is supported across both PS4 and PS5 with an install base of 5 million users.
According to one of the game’s writers, the Mass Effect 2 character Jack was originally written as pansexual, but her romance options were apparently changed late in development to only allow for a heterosexual romance, seemingly because of critical response to the first game’s sex scenes, and a Fox News panel on Mass Effect.
In an interview with The Gamer, Jack’s lead writer, Brian Kindegran, said that the character was “essentially pansexual for most of the development of that romance.” There are references in Mass Effect 2’s dialogue to Jack’s interest in men and women, which is why many fans have since wondered why Jack was only romanceable by a male Commander Shepard.
Explaining the reasoning behind the change, Kindegran pointed to criticism from media outlets in the US: “Mass Effect had been pretty heavily and really unfairly criticized in the US by Fox News,” Kindegran told The Gamer, referring to a 2007 panel about the use of sex scenes in the first game.”
“The development team of Mass Effect 2 was a pretty progressive, open-minded team, but I think there was a concern at pretty high levels that if Mass Effect, which only had one gay relationship, Liara – which on paper was technically not a gay relationship because she was from a mono-gendered species – I think there was a concern that if that had drawn fire, that Mass Effect 2 had to be a little bit careful.”
Kindegran didn’t agree with the change, but told The Gamer that it was done in an attempt to “minimize the amount of critique that would be directed towards the community by outlets like Fox News again.”
“It wasn’t like some anti-gay person high up on the Mass Effect 2 team saying, ‘we’re not going to have that’.” Instead, it had to do with the firestorm of controversy that Mass Effect had received back in 2007,” Kindegran added. Changes to Jack’s romance options apparently came late in the game’s development due to the controversy, when the development team were told to “focus the relationships on a more traditional kind of vector.”
In other Mass Effect news, check out this concept art for the next Mass Effect game, which featured in the book ‘Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. You’ll be able to return to the original Mass Effect Trilogy in the upcoming Legendary Edition, which you can preorder now, ahead of its rumoured March 12 release date.
Xbox Live Gold is about to get more expensive for some people. Microsoft confirmed on Friday that the cost of a one-month subscription is going up by $1 USD, while 3-month subscriptions will now cost $5 USD more.
The new pricing structure for Xbox Live Gold will be as follows:
1 month – $11
3 months — $30
6 months — $60
This is only a little bit less than a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which is priced as follows:
1 month – $15
3 months – $45
Sony’s PlayStation Plus service is now priced much lower than Xbox Live Gold if you’re not renewing a membership:
1 month – $10
3 months – $25
12 months – $60
Explaining the price hike, Microsoft provided the following statement:
“Periodically, we assess the value and pricing of our services to reflect changes in regional marketplaces and to continue to invest in the Xbox community; we’ll be making price adjustments for Xbox Live Gold in select markets. In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn’t changed for over 10 years.”
Existing subscribers on a 6-month or 12-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold will not see a price increase to their plan, and they can resubscribe at the same price.
Xbox users who want to upgrade from Xbox Live Gold to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which includes Gold and Game Pass), the remaining Gold time will covert to Ultimate.
“For example, if you have 11 months of Xbox Live Gold now, and you upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, those 11 months convert to 11 months of Ultimate at no additional cost,” Microsoft said.
Players will be notified of the price increases through an email and via an Xbox message that should arrive in your inboxes over the next month. The price increases won’t go into effect until at least 45 days after you receive the notification.
Xbox’s Games With Gold typically features four free games each month, but Microsoft is kicking it up a notch for February. Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members who have an active subscription can get the excellent Gears 5 along with Resident Evil, Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, and Lost Planet 2. As always, the games remain free as long as you have an active subscription, and all of them are playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Set after the events of Gears 4 and featuring Kait Diaz in the lead role, Gears 5 is a horror-inspired entry in the series that digs deeper into the mysterious origins of the Locusts as well as the role humanity played in the conflict. Its excellent campaign is complemented by a beefy competitive multiplayer mode and several cooperative offerings, including Horde mode.
Resident Evil is a great choice for February, seeing as it’s only a few months before we get Resident Evil Village, and the version included with Games With Gold is the remaster from a few years back. It’s a tense and smaller-scale game than some of its successors, but it emphasizes classic horror over action for a less mindless experience. It also introduces us to some of the series’ best characters like Jill and Chris.
Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition may not be a household name, but the pixel art action game is an acclaimed and mysterious adventure that has elements of Metroidvania games. If you like Celeste, the chances are pretty high that you’re going to like Dandara, as well, and there’s even more focus on the narrative in this version.
Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb was released way back on the original Xbox, taking place in China during the ’30s in a classic action-adventure that also includes a trip to Istanbul. You’ll have access to Indiana’s classic equipment, including his whip, and there’s also a hand-to-hand combat system so you can lay down the smack.
Lost Planet 2 is the last freebie of the month. Capcom’s sequel takes you out of the frozen hellscape of the original and into something a little warmer. However, it retains the first game’s excellent blend of exploration and third-person combat, and it’s generally considered to be superior to the third game, which released three years later.
Free Games With Gold for February 2021
Resident Evil: February 1-28
Gears 5: February 1-28
Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition: February 16-March 15
Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb: February 1-15
Lost Planet 2: February 16-28
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343 Industries continues to expand on Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and now the latest substantial update has been announced and detailed.
Season 5 begins on January 27, and it sounds like yet another massive update for the compilation package of classic Halo games. The season will introduce a whopping 80 pieces of armor for Halo 3 and Reach that players can unlock through a battle pass-style system. There will also be more weapon skins and additional seasonal challenges to get more rewards.
Season 5 of MCC arrives for free in just one week! Featuring: 🛡️ 80 pieces of armor to unlock across Halo 3 and Reach 👥 Brand new weapon skins 🤼 A fresh set of Seasonal Challenges with 4 unique rewards 🎮 On Xbox One, Series X|S, and PC 🔥 And more! All live on January 27th. pic.twitter.com/873FKJ23fe
Season 5 goes live on January 27 across all platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The seasonal refreshes usually also include a new menu screen, but this hasn’t been divulged yet.
The new armors for Halo 3–along with the new weapon skins–have been controversial in some circles, as players have said these new additions are taking away from the OG flavor of the game. In response to this, MCC now lets you toggle off weapon skins and armor.
