Author: Trafficblast

The console version of World of Tanks is getting a major update today that adds pro wrestling content and allows Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamers to play together. It also marks the launch of a new season pass called Season 1 SummerSlam that will last through September 21. It includes WWE-themed tanks, collectible crews, garages, and more.

Out now, the 5.0 update allows players to check out five tanks that have been inspired by World Wrestling Entertainment royalty. Alongside Becky Lynch and The Undertaker, WWE Hall of Famers Andre the Giant, Sgt. Slaughter, and Steve Austin have their own tanks. The “Stone Cold” tank is available for free, so everyone can raise some hell online.

A WWE garage will allow players to customize their vehicles with wrestler introductions, and there will be two sets of crew chests that include content based upon the currently available superstars. Additional content arrives in August that is based upon Roman Reigns, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels.

This marks the biggest update in several years that the console team has worked on, according to Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore executive producer TJ Wagner.

“Partnering with WWE has been a fantastic experience and is bringing unique new content to our players,” Wagner says. “[Players] can expect more updates like SummerSlam in the future! With update 5.0, we’re very excited to be able to address many player requests and desires for our game like cross-play that unites PlayStation and Xbox tankers, to make match making faster and better.”

Thanks to the addition of cross-play, this marks the first time that players on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can battle each other in World of Tanks. Full patch notes for the 5.0 update are available on the game’s official forum.

Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the next part in the reimagining of the PlayStation classic has entered full development.

Contrary to its name, Final Fantasy VII Remake is just the first part in a larger remake of the classic JRPG, with the story ending just after Cloud and company leave Midgar. Square Enix hasn’t announced when it plans to release the second part, but Hamaguchi’s comments in a recent Famitsu interview (shared by ryokutya2089 and translated by Twitter user aitaikimochi) make it clear that the team has moved past planning and into development.

Additionally, director Tetsuya Nomura said in the same interview that he hopes to have the second part ready as soon as possible, while also hinting that its announcement will also make the rest of the release roadmap clearer.

“I believe that by the time we announce the next title, we’ll be able to clarify more on our plans moving forward,” Nomura added.

Nomura also mentions that he is aiming to improve the quality of the next installment in the series, which might be challenging considering how good the first part is. In our 10/10 Final Fantasy VII Remake review, critic Tamoor Hussain explained what makes it as good as its inspiration, saying, “For returning fans, this isn’t the Final Fantasy VII your mind remembers, it’s the one your heart always knew it to be.”

A fresh update hit Fortnite on July 21 and dataminers have found a bunch of new content that should be coming to the battle royale soon. The biggest discovery includes a new spaceship crash site location that comes with a unique set of challenges.

The Ancient Astronaut, a character in the Fortnite universe, is going to crash land his ship on the outskirts of the map. The water level, which has already been decreasing throughout the season, will recede further to reveal the crash site. You can see an image of the ship below:

New challenges that involve the crash site and the Ancient Astronaut were also uncovered, although it’s unclear what they all mean. All the challenges point to launching the ship, except for the last one which tasks players with stopping a launch. Here are all the challenges:

• Found Ancient Ship
• Collect Missing Part
• Install Missing Part
• Begin Launch Sequence
• Stop Ship Launch

Data miners found a number of other tidbits including new skins, new secret Coral Buddies challenges, new limited-time modes like tank battles, and some information about the cars that are coming to Fortnite. The information about vehicles includes how much damage they do when they explode and other similar details.

A lot has been happening in Fortnite this season, including a new map change that dropped with this most recent update. Check out our breakdown of the changes, our Firefly Jar and Flare Gun guide, and how to dress up like Aquaman and get his famous Trident.

Developer Hopoo Games has announced that Risk of Rain 2 will leave Steam Early Access on August 11. This 1.0 release–which is dubbed the Launch Update and was previously delayed–will introduce a bunch of new content, including a new playable character, an added final boss and stage, dedicated serves, and more.

The Captain, Risk of Rain 2’s 10th playable character, will join the roster when the game launches this August. Voted by 60,000 community members, The Captain brings his high-ranking authority and lethal shotgun-rifle combo that stuns targets after charging to the roguelike battlefield. He can command the dropship to send in beacons and probes to provide either armor buffs or healing zones for him and his allies.

In addition to the new character, Risk of Rain 2 will also see a brand-new stage: The Moon. This location, where you’ll battle against ferocious lunar monsters, will also house the game’s true final boss.

New items, such as the Molten Perforator and Super Massive Leech, will be added to Risk of Rain 2 this August, alongside extra skill variants, additional lore entries, dedicated servers with options for difficulty settings and password protections, story cutscenes, and much more. Risk of Rain 2 will cost $25 on Steam when it fully launches. Right now, however, it currently retails for $20 on the digital distributor; everywhere else–such as the Microsoft Store, Nintendo eShop, and PlayStation Store–has Risk of Rain 2 priced at $30.

Despite a brief delay to Risk of Rain 2’s full 1.0 release, Hopoo Games rolled out an update that introduced a new Artifact system to all console platforms. In addition to the new system, the update also bundled a new stage, more equipment and items, additional bosses, and more.

Nintendo is celebrating Splatoon 2‘s third anniversary by announcing another Splatfest for the game. The event takes place next month, and like May’s bonus one-off Splatfest, it’s a repeat of a previous theme, this one asking the age-old question: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The event kicks off at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET on August 21 and runs for 48 hours, concluding at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET on August 23. This particular Splatfest was previously held in March 2018 and saw Team Chicken emerge victorious, so egg devotees have a chance to rewrite history.

To participate in the Splatfest, you’ll first need to go to the terminal in Inkopolis Square and choose a side. After you’ve joined a team, jump into Turf War matches during the event and try to rack up wins for your side. The winning team will be determined by popularity and win percentage. Everyone who participates will take home a handful of Super Sea Snails, which are good for adding new ability slots to a piece of gear or re-rolling one that has already been maxed out.

This isn’t the only Splatfest Splatoon 2 players have to look forward to. In a follow-up tweet, Nintendo confirmed that two more bonus Splatfests will be held before the end of March 2021. The company didn’t share any further details beyond that, but those will presumably also be repeats of previous events.

Splatoon 2 originally launched on Switch in July 2017 and has since become one of the system’s best-selling titles, moving over 10 million copies as of May 2020. The paid Octo Expansion DLC released in 2018 and added 80 new single-player missions.

Ghost of Tsushima is a game about a lot of things–honor, sacrifice, the political climate of feudal Japan, and one man’s butt. That man is Jin Sakai, whose is voiced by and modeled on actor Daisuke Tsuji.

Tsuji has been playing the game on his Twitch channel, and a perfect moment has been captured during it–the first time the actor encountered his own naked butt in-game. When Jin visits an in-game onsen, the camera briefly shows off the character’s bare butt–and Tsuji gets pretty excited.

The video, clipped by Twitch user ABSP2006, shows the moment in all its glory. Appropriately, the clip has been named “THICC”.

154 people witnessed this beautiful moment live, and the chat immediately sprung into action when he reached the bathhouse, demanding that someone clip it.

Ghost of Tsushima earned a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review. “The game hits a lot of fantastic cinematic highs, and those ultimately lift it above the trappings of its familiar open-world quest design and all the innate weaknesses that come with it,” wrote reviewer Edmond Tran. “But those imperfections and dull edges are definitely still there.”

A new study has shown in numbers what we’ve already discovered anecdotally–gaming has surged in popularity in the last few years, and even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The report by The NPD Group shows not only that more people in the United States are gaming since 2018, they’re also playing more often, and across more different platforms.

As of 2020, three out of every four Americans play video games, according to the survey, an increase of 32 million people since 2018. They’re also spending more time playing–the category of gamers playing less than five hours a week decreased 8% since 2018 to a total of 39%, while gamers playing 5-15 hours increased 2% to 32% total, and those playing over 15 hours per week increased 6% to make up 20% of players in the US.

While gamers are also, on average, playing on more devices, the study doesn’t lean towards anyone in the console wars–rather smart phones, tablets and PCs were the platform of choice. The number of gamers using more than one device increased from 59% in 2018 to 65% in 2020.

With the latest survey taking place in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the report also collected data on how the pandemic has changed the way we play. Unsurprisingly, 35% of gamers reported that they were playing games more often due to the lockdown. Six percent of gamers said that they started using a new device–whether that meant buying a console or taking up gaming on a phone or computer they already owned–due to the COVID-19 lockdown. After the lockdown created a complete shortage of Nintendo Switches, this statistic doesn’t seem too surprising.

“Video games are one of the primary ways friends and family are staying connected through a difficult time,” said Mat Piscatella, an NPD group analyst, referring to a phenomenon we’ve noticed from the earliest days of the pandemic. With its release perfectly (yet hopefully unintentionally) timed for the global lockdown, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become a venue for events like birthday parties and weddings. Younger gamers are using Roblox to hang out with friends, while Fortnite is organising virtual events from concerts to movie screenings and even a discussion of racial issues in America.