After years of development and multiple delays, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II is almost here–the game launches on June 19 for PlayStation 4. Ahead of that, Naughty Dog has released 20 new screenshots from the game that show off its post-apocalyptic world.
The images, which were posted on the game’s website, showcase main character Ellie in a number of difficult and harrowing environments. The game is tense, dark, and dramatic, but these screenshots also show off some calming moments, like Ellie strumming a guitar or riding her horse through the quiet streets of Seattle
Reviews for The Last of Us Part II are now online, and GameSpot’s spoiler-free The Last of Us Part II review scored it an 8/10. Bear in mind when reading our review and others that Sony restricted reviewers from what they were allowed to talk about. Check back at launch for a further, more complete discussion around The Last of Us Part II in the time ahead.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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Microsoft has filed a new trademark application for “Xbox Series,” which has sparked renewed speculation that the company is planning to release at least one more next-generation Xbox this year.
This new trademark filing renews the speculation that Microsoft will release another next-generation Xbox alongside the Xbox Series X, which is Microsoft’s most powerful console. Like the iPhone has different models that exist under the same “iPhone” name, it would appear that Microsoft has filed this trademark to pave the way for the company to do something similar with Xbox.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer told GameSpot that it might release additional next-gen Xbox SKUs, and the Lockhart console is probably one of them. “Obviously, in the name ‘Series X,’ it gives us freedom to do other things with that name so that we can create descriptors when we need to,” Spencer said in December 2019, all but confirming multiple next-gen Xbox consoles are coming.
For what it’s worth, Sony just recently announced a disc-free PlayStation 5 that has the same power as the regular model, just without the physical media drive. This could be a key point of differentiation if the Lockhart rumors are true, as they suggest that console will have weaker specs and not have a disc drive. Since the console hasn’t been announced yet, however, this is all hearsay for now. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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As we near the midpoint of June, New Releases is here to bring you more of the hottest games launching each week. Two long-awaited sequels are coming soon: The Last of Us Part 2 and Desperados 3. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is getting some love with Burnout Paradise Remastered and Pokemon Sword & Shield‘s Isle of Armor DLC. This week is also home to a fresh new game not tied to any existing franchise: Disintegration.
Desperados III — June 16
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
The wild west tactics series hasn’t seen a new game since 2007’s Helldorado. Now there’s a new gang in town, and each of the five members has their own special weapons, like knockout gas and bear traps. THQ Nordic promises a hardcore game that requires strategy, stealth, and six shooters.
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Disintegration — June 16
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Disintegration
Disintegration fuses first-person shooting and real-time strategy, as you command troops on the ground from the cockpit of your grav cycle above the battlefield. You have your own weapons to fire as you direct your soldiers to take cover, focus on certain enemies, and use their own special abilities. Once you’ve gotten the hang of the hybrid gameplay, you can test yourself in online multiplayer too.
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Pokemon Sword & Shield – Isle of Armor — June 17
Available on: Switch
Pokemon Sword & Shield – Isle of Armor
The Isle of Armor is full of tons of new Galarian forms and Legendaries to catch, including Kubfu and its evolution Urshifu. It also includes new Gigantamax forms for the Galarian starts, plus old-school Pokemon Blastoise and Venusaur. You can only get Isle of Armor via the Expansion Pass on the Switch Eshop–just be sure to buy the right pass for your version of the game, as there’s one available for both Sword and Shield.
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The Last of Us Part II — June 19
Available on: PS4
The Last of Us Part II
There’s not much to say about The Last of Us Part 2, and not just because the game has been largely kept under wraps. We know that it focuses on a revenge-seeking Ellie, and you should expect a mix of nail-biting stealth, brutal combat, and deep weapon crafting and customization. Ellie also has new traversal options up her sleeve for exploring the game’s variety of environments.
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Burnout Paradise Remastered — June 19
Available on: Switch
Burnout Paradise Remastered
This week, Switch owners can race through Paradise City at a smooth 60 frames per second. This remaster includes the original game and all eight of its DLC packs, so that’s more than 130 cars to choose from. Of course, you can race with and against other drivers online too.
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There are still plenty of June video games to come. Next week, we’ll take a look at the free-to-play Switch game Ninjala and a fresh remaster: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. GameSpot’s Play for All event continues to run as well, as we raise money for COVID-19 relief and Black Lives Matter.
Netflix’s TV adaptation of The Witcher was generally well-received when it premiered on the streaming platform last December, with the main complaint being the series’ confusing split timeline. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has confirmed that the Season 2 timeline will stay linear now that the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri have all linked up, in an interview with The Wrap.
Of course that doesn’t mean the timelines are going to be limited to the single time period. “What we’ll see in Season 2 is that all of our characters are existing on the same timeline. What that allows us to do storywise though is to play with time in slightly different ways,” Hissrich told The Wrap. “We get to do flashbacks, we get to do flash-forwards, we get to actually integrate time in a completely different way that we weren’t able to do in Season 1. Because, if you can imagine, if we were in three different timelines (in Season 1) and then flashed forward or flashed back, we would have been in four or five or six timelines — even I know that’s too much.”
With the second season introducing Geralt’s fellow Witchers, including his mentor and father figure Vesemir, it’s likely that these flashbacks may include a look into Geralt’s childhood and Witcher training.
Hissrich has expressed excitement about meeting the other Witchers, as some of the many new characters that will be introduced in Season 2. “Probably my favorite additions for Season 2 are the new Witchers,” she said. “In Season 1, we got to know Geralt and he’s our prime example of a Witcher. And then there is one other Witcher, Remus, who we meet in Episode 103, who quickly dies. So it was, for us really, about getting Geralt back to his roots and sort of learning where he came from and what his story is and what his sense of family is.”
The showrunner also talked about the future of Geralt and Ciri’s bond, which was one of the main themes of the first season despite the two only meeting for the first time in the very last episode. “Coming out of Season 1, you have a pretty good sense of who Ciri is, you have a pretty good sense of who Geralt is. And now we get to throw that all in a blender and see what happens when two people who are completely different have to be forced together in circumstances,” Hissrich said. “And I think it’s really fun. It’s not always pretty. They will argue. They will fight.”
The interview also discussed the effects the coronavirus pandemic had had on the production, with Hissrich mentioning that the team was in the middle of shooting a big sequence when production was halted. The production also experienced a scare when cast member Kristofer Hivju tested positive to COVID-19 on his return to Norway, though he appeared to be asymptomatic and no other positive tests resulted from the cast or crew.
While the UK has officially allowed film and TV production to resume, The Witcher team hasn’t confirmed when it will continue filming. “Right now, it’s a lot of production meetings, a lot of talking about how to keep people safe,” Hissrich explained. “A lot of it is just about flexibility, not just in the planning phases but when we get back on sets. It’s about personal comfort and personal safety.”
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Star Citizen has made more from crowdfunding than any other game ever, and that number continues to rise. The game hit $200 million in crowdfunding during November 2018–and now, less than two years later, it has hit $300 million. The game, from Chris Roberts (Wing Commander) and Cloud Imperium Games, was originally pitched as a follow-up to Freelancer, and has grown in scope over time.
At the time of writing, the current live stats on the game’s funding goals page show that the game has raised $300,644,967 from 2,713,206 fans, meaning that the average pledge is about $110. At the rate it’s going up, it’s likely to have increased by the time you read this. The game’s stretch goals, listed on the page, top out at $65 million.
The game has received funding beyond this, with investors also giving the developers quite a bit of money. Jumping into Star Citizen requires a pledge of at least $45 for a Starter Pack.
Back in 2017, Star Citizen brought in $35 million, which seemed enormous at the time. The game, which is still being worked on, recently hosted a free-to-play period throughout May 2020, so everyone could see what several hundred million dollars can buy you. A beta is meant to be
Cloud Imperium Games was recently taken to court by Crytek, over breach of contract and copyright infringement claims relating to single-player spin-off Squadron 42. A settlement was eventually reached.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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With more and more people staying home during COVID-19 lockdowns, spending on video games is jumping to heights not seen in more than a decade. The NPD Group has released its report for US video game industry sales in May, and they were huge.
Total spending on video games in the US during May 2020–covering hardware, games, and accessories–reached $977 million. That is up 52 percent compared to May 2019. According to the NPD, May 2020’s $977 million was the highest for a May month since May 2008 ($1.2 billion).
Year-to-date, total spending on video games in 2020 reached $5.5 billion, which is up 18 percent. This represented the highest year-to-date spending since 2011 ($5.7 billion).
Software sales specifically reached $438 million for May 2020, which is up 67 percent year-over-year, and it’s the highest since May 2010 ($487 million).
You can see the full Top 20 sales chart below. The report includes physical and digital sales, except for Nintendo’s digital sales and titles sold on the Eshop.
None of May 2020’s new releases made it into the top 10. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition was the highest-ranking new release, coming in at No. 14. But since this is a Switch exclusive, its actual sales total was likely higher.
Moving to hardware, total spending rose 56 percent to $235 million. May 2020’s numbers were the best for a May month since May 2010 ($239 million). The Nintendo Switch was the highest-selling home console of May 2020 in terms of both dollar and unit sales.
The Nintendo Switch’s unit sales in May 2020 were the highest for a single platform during a May month since May 2009, when the Nintendo DS led the way.
Spending on accessories and game cards for May 2020 reached $304 million, which was up 32 percent. Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 2 controller was the best-selling accessory of May 2020 and for the year to date.
The video game industry–in the US and globally–is expected to see a jolt in sales later this year when the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch this holiday season.
Top 20 Best-Selling Games Of May 2020 (US Only):
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Grand Theft Auto V
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
NBA 2K20
Mortal Kombat 11
Red Dead Redemption II
Minecraft*
Final Fantasy VII: Remake
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Madden NFL 20
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
Need for Speed Heat
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*
Minecraft Dungeons*
Saints Row: The Third Remastered
MLB The Show 20
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
FIFA 20
*Digital sales on Nintendo Eshop not included
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the standalone Call of Duty: Warzone have received a new patch on all platforms, and it’s bringing a few minor changes and improvements to the game. This isn’t like the enormous Season 4 pass, so expect a much smaller download–and because it’s a server-side patch, it’ll download and install right away when you load the game up.
According to a tweet from developer Infinity Ward, the patch that went live on June 13 fixes a few small issues. Players will no longer spawn outside the map in Scrapyard, and in-match events were not occurring at the right frequency in Warzone, which has also been fixed.
A patch is rolling out now to fix a few bugs in #ModernWarfare and #Warzone: · Fix to help prevent spawning out of the map on Scrapyard · Fix for some players who were unable to use content unlocked via Battle Pass · Fix for the frequency of In-Match events occurring in Warzone
Some players who had purchased the Battle Pass were finding themselves unable to use the content they were unlocking. This has also now been addressed, so players will find themselves able to unlock things as expected. That’s it for this update, so if you’re holding out for Shoot House to return, you’ll have to keep hoping.
Warzone and Modern Warfare recently kicked off Season 4, which introduced a new Operator, Captain Price. It also looks like the Battle Royale game will be adding a set of 200-player modes in the future.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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It’s no secret that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a pretty storage-intensive title. However, Activision has recently confirmed that you can delete portions of the game that you’re not using in order to save space.
A few days ago, the official Activision support Twitter account posted about players being able to remove unused Modern Warfare content if they choose to. It looks like downloading the game includes a number of separate installs that can be safely removed without affecting your gameplay experience so long as you only remove content that you’re not wanting to use.
Need to free up hard drive space on your console? You can delete Modern Warfare content you may no longer wish to use. Check out this article for more info: https://t.co/xAGs9oGuPd
Data Pack 1 (required to access Campaign, Multiplayer, and Special Ops)
Campaign Pack 1 (Xbox One only) (required to play Campaign)
Campaign Pack 2 (Xbox One only) (required to play Campaign)
Multiplayer Pack (Xbox One only) (required to play Multiplayer)
Multiplayer Pack 2 (required to play Multiplayer)
Special Ops Pack (required to play Special Ops)
Special Ops Pack 2 (required to play Special Ops)
Survival Pack (PlayStation 4 only) (required to play Special Ops Survival)
To access the ability to uninstall any of the above packs, players have to navigate to the Game Installs menu on their installation. Regardless of which console you own Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on, this is accessed via the Options menu, then the General tab. Players can then pick and choose the data that they want to keep i.e. a player who isn’t big on Multiplayer may choose to uninstall the Multiplayer content in order to save space.
In other recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare news, a small patch has just gone live which fixes a bug where players were spawning outside the map in Scrapyard, and tweaks the frequency of some Warzone in-match events.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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A sequel to Serial Cleaner has been announced during the PC Gaming Show, and it’s called Serial Cleaners. Despite what the name might suggest, it’ll be a single-player only adventure–but this time you’ll be playing as four different cleaners.
This is a stealth-action game that, like its predecessor, will see you cleaning up crime scenes. It’s set in the 90s, and will feature four distinct playable characters that you can switch between as you go. As in the first game, you’re a mob cleaner, sent to crime scenes to dispose of evidence without getting caught.
The trailer below only has a tiny bit of gameplay in it, but it shows off the game’s sense of style and a quick look at its isometric perspective and updated graphics.
The game has been announced for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, with a 2021 launch planned. However, in the YouTube description for the trailer above, developer Draw Distance says that the game is “coming to PC, consoles and possibly next-gens on 2021,” so PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions could be happening too.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
It appears the rumors are true: Call of Duty: Warzone is introducing a 200-player mode. Some free-to-play Warzone players recently discovered an image that shows references to three modes that have not been officially announced for the battle royale game.
The three modes include BR 200, Plunder 200, and BR Juggernaut. The Juggernaut mode was teased in the Season 4 roadmap, but the 200-player modes have never been confirmed. However, Infinity Ward said in an interview that a 200-player mode was coming, eventually.
Currently, Warzone is capped at a maximum of 150 players per match. The titling of the rumored 200-player modes suggests they will include a 200-player variant of the regular Warzone mode and a 200-player version of the Plunder mode where you try to collect the most cash.
Warzone has constantly evolved since release, so new modes like these rumored ones would be no surprise. The latest new mode is Warzone Rumble, which pits two teams of 50 players each in a team deathmatch across a portion of the Versansk map. It’s a frenetic, large-scale twist on team deathmatch, and it’s a great way to train your sniping skills with players spread out and very long sightlines available to players.
Warzone and Modern Warfare recently kicked off Season 4, which introduced a new Operator, Captain Price, and a brand-new Battle Pass containing lots of extras that you can earn through gameplay or buy outright. For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything in the Season 4 Battle Pass.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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