The Epic Games Store is partnering with three more digital retailers for keyless game authentications, similar to its partnership with The Humble Store last year.
Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, and Genba Digital have announced integration with the Epic Games Store, letting your purchases appear on the client without any additional steps. Each of these retailers will now let you link your Epic Games account to their storefront. When you purchase a game, it will then automatically appear in the Epic Games client on your PC, without the need to add it manually using a generated key. Epic Games states it does not take a cut of game sales from third-party retailers.
This process helps both consumers and game developers. For consumers it streamlines the process of purchases, and gives additional choices when making a purchase decision. For game developers and publishers, it gives them the peace of mind that sales of its games are coming from legitimate retailers, with the removal of generated keys meaning fewer grey market sales issues.
Pokemon Go‘s May Community Day is just around the corner. The event takes place this Sunday, May 24, and just like last month, developer Niantic is tweaking the event to make it easier to participate in from home amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. To catch you up, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about May 2020’s Pokemon Go Community Day below.
May’s Featured Pokemon: Seedot
The featured Pokemon during this month’s Community Day is Seedot, a Grass type first introduced in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Throughout the event, Seedot will appear in the wild much more frequently than usual, making this a good chance to stock up on Seedot Candy. You may also encounter Shiny Seedot during the event with a little persistence and luck.
May’s Community Day Move: Bullet Seed
If you can evolve Nuzleaf–Seedot’s evolved form–into Shiftry during May’s Community Day, it’ll know the event-exclusive move Bullet Seed, which it normally cannot learn in Pokemon Go. You’ll have up to two hours after the event ends to evolve Nuzleaf and have it learn Bullet Seed.
Seedot
May Community Day Hours
Like last month, Niantic is extending May’s Community Day by a few extra hours. The event will run for six hours instead of the usual three, from 11 AM to 5 PM local time. That means you’ll have until 7 PM local time to learn May’s Community Day move.
Special Research
As with last month’s event, Niantic is holding an exclusive Special Research story quest during May’s Community Day. This month’s questline is called Seeing Double, and completing it will net you rewards like Incenses, Golden Razz Berries, and more items. However, you’ll need to have a virtual ticket to participate in the Special Research quest. Tickets costs $1 USD and can be purchased through Pokemon Go’s in-game shop.
Other Bonuses
On top of increased Seedot spawns, there will be a few extra bonuses during May’s Community Day. First, you’ll receive triple the usual amount of XP for catching Pokemon during the event. Any Incenses that you use will also last for three hours rather than the standard 30 minutes. Finally, if you’re Great Buddies with your Buddy Pokemon, it will give you helpful items like Poke Balls throughout the Community Day.
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Gamescom has moved to an all-digital event in the wake of coronavirus concerns, and as a result the show is getting a slight date shift. Previously scheduled to take place August 25-29, the new digital event will instead be held August 27-30. That also shifts the date for the Opening Night Live event held by Geoff Keighley, which will now be August 27.
According to the announcement, Gamescom will now serve as a “content hub” for news and publisher events. Unlike the standard Gamescom, the digital event won’t require a ticket since the events will be streaming. Opening Night Live will kick off the show, in addition to some other special events like Gamescom: Awesome Indies and Gamescom: Daily Show. The event will culminate in the August 30 presentation of Best of Show.
The annual Devcom conference will take place August 17-30, running partly concurrently with Gamescom.
“Although Gamescom will unfortunately not take place in Cologne this year, it will be impossible to miss it on the internet,” said managing director Oliver Frese in the announcement. “Our digital concept is showing the way forward in the event landscape and many of the innovations will become an integral part of Gamescom in the years to come.”
Geoff Keighley promoted the new Opening Night Live date on Twitter, and reiterated that it will serve as the end-point of the Summer Game Fest digital event.
The Chex Quest of 1996 was essentially an ambitious Doom mod, which meant that it used a now-dated combination of 2D sprites in 3D environments. This HD remake overhauls the game’s visuals, as well as adding in multiplayer modes with six playable characters. This is still an advergame, however: In order to unlock those characters, you can buy packages of Chex Mix or check Chex Mix’s Instagram account for the codes.
Despite its “advergame” status, many kids from the era fondly remember playing Chex Quest as one of their formative PC gaming experiences, which has led to its continued popularity over the years. Recently, boutique publisher Limited Run Games announced that it will be giving the game a physical release, as well as a $150 collector’s edition that comes with a replica Zorcher and several other goodies. Today is the last day to pre-order either package.
If you can’t get enough Chex Quest, there’s an official Chex Quest 2 that was released online back in 1997, and a Chex Quest 3 that was put together by original developer Charles Jacobi in 2008. Chex Quest 3 includes the first two games as standalone “episodes.”
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This episode of New Releases opens and closes with some hot remasters: The Wonderful 101 and Saints Row: The Third. There’s also a re-release of The Persistence if you’re looking for a horror experience. Meanwhile, hero shooter fans can jump into Amazon Games’ Crucible, and Jaws enthusiasts can take control of their own deadly shark in Maneater.
The Wonderful 101: Remastered — May 19
Available on: PS4, PC, Switch
Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Platinum Games’ cult classic is back, with an improved framerate, graphics, and controls. For those who missed out on the game the first time, here’s the gist: 100 superheroes can fuse together into giant fists, guns, and more to leap through levels, solve puzzles, and beat bosses. Physical copies of the remaster are unfortunately delayed due to coronavirus, but the May 19 launch date is locked in for the digital release.
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Crucible — May 20
Available on: PC
Crucible
Amazon Games is getting into the hero shooter genre with Crucible, but the matches aren’t just about taking out your opponents. Crucible also incorporates PvE elements, with third-party creeps to battle on the map. Take them out, capture the command point they were guarding, and you’ll rank up your squad and unlock perks. Each character’s abilities are quite versatile too, letting you incorporate multiple playstyles in each match.
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The Persistence: Complete Edition — May 21
Available on: PS4, PC
The Persistence: Complete Edition
The complete edition takes The Persistence and simply removes its mandatory VR requirement. So if you don’t own a PSVR or PC headset, you’ll be able to experience the horror roguelike now. It’s set on an abandoned space station overrun by mutants, and you’ll have to contend with them as you try to repair the ship and make your way back home.
Maneater — May 22
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Maneater
Before the events of Maneater, a fisherman disfigured a baby shark and killed her mama. You take control of the orphan shark and get revenge, earning new abilities as you feed and grow. You’ll use these abilities to feast on swimming civilians and battle other predators in a variety of watery environments, from the oceans to the inland rivers. The PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions are launching this week, but the Switch version will release at a later date in 2020.
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Saints Row: The Third Remastered — May 22
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Saint’s Row: The Third Remastered
Switch got its own Saints Row 3 port last year, and now a remastered version is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s set in a better-looking Steelport, thanks to updated visuals, better textures, and a new lighting engine. As you’d expect, it includes the original game plus every bit of previously released DLC–that’s three full expansions and 30 add-on packs.
Hot off the heels of 2018’s award-winning BlacKkKlansman, director Spike Lee has something new in the works. His next movie, Da 5 Bloods, is coming to Netflix on June 12, and the first trailer has been revealed.
Starring Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, and Norm Lewis, the film follows four Vietnam War veterans who return to where they fought to honor their squad leader who died in battle (Chadwick Boseman). Additionally, there’s some hidden gold they found and buried during the war, and the surviving men want to dig it up. Check out the trailer below.
Music plays a part in the trailer as “Time Has Come Today” by Chambers Brothers plays for the duration. For the upcoming film, director Lee focused on not just the songs, but their connection to the war.
“We wanted to include the music from one of the greatest albums of all time, in my opinion: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On,” Lee told Variety. “Marvin Gaye’s brother, Frankie, did three tours in Vietnam. He was a radio operator. And he would write Marvin all the time, so Marvin was getting a firsthand account from his brother about the horrors of the war. Those letters were really the impetus of one of the greatest albums of all time, so I wanted to include Marvin’s songs.”
Da 5 Bloods hits Netflix on June 12.
And speaking of things you should be watching, consider listening to GameSpot’s weekly TV series and movies-focused podcast, You Should Be Watching. With new episodes premiering every Wednesday, you can watch a video version of the podcast over on GameSpot Universe or listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.
While stay at home orders remain in effect for most people around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is spending a bit more time in front of the TV, watching streaming services like Netflix. This week, there are a few new things coming to Netflix you may want to check out.
On Tuesday, Patton Oswalt has a new comedy special arriving called I Love Everything. The official synopsis reads, “Enjoy yourself as the Emmy and Grammy winning comedian reflects on hilarious existential anecdotes after recently embracing his 50s, including attending his daughter’s second-grade art show that cost him the chance to board a full-scale Millennium Falcon or how buying a house is like hiring a suicide squad of superhuman subcontractors.”
This is Oswalt’s third comedy special with Netflix, following up Annihilation and Talking for Clapping. I Love Everything arrives on May 19.
Also hitting Netflix this week is Season 6 of CW’s The Flash. Arriving on Wednesday, the newest season of the show deals a lot with the mirrorverse and mirror clones. During Season 6, Crisis on Infinite Earths happens, so there is a big shift in the show about halfway through.
Below, you’ll find what’s coming to Netflix this week, and for more news on streaming, check out what’s coming to Disney+ in June. In other Netflix news, the original series Umbrella Academy got a release date for Season 2, June 12, along with a fun reveal video to go along with it.
And speaking of things you should be watching, consider listening to GameSpot’s weekly TV series and movies-focused podcast, You Should Be Watching. With new episodes premiering every Wednesday, you can watch a video version of the podcast over on GameSpot Universe or listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.
New to Netflix this week:
Sunday, May 17
Soul Surfer
Monday, May 18
The Big Flower Fight
Tuesday, May 19
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything
Sweet Magnolias (2020)
Trumbo
Wednesday, May 20
Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall
The Flash: Season 6
Rebelión de los Godinez
Thursday, May 22
Control Z
History 101
Just Go With It
THE LOVEBIRDS
Selling Sunset: Season 2
Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series: Season 2
Friday, May 23
Dynasty: Season 3
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Following a rebranding to Mojang Studios, the Microsoft-owned developer is celebrating over 200 million sales of Minecraft, with over 126 million players logging in monthly.
The milestone was celebrated during a difficult period for Mojang Studios due to the ongoing challenges present by COVID-19. Helen Chiang, Studio Head at Mojang Studios, explains in a Minecraft update that as soon as the pandemic started affecting its players, the studio switched to thinking about how to better support its players.
One of those initiatives was to make Minecraft: Education Edition free until the end of June, helping educators use Minecraft to engage learners remotely. Since March 24, Mojang Studios has seen a big uptake in its educational Minecraft offering, with over 50 million downloads of education content from the Minecraft Marketplace.
Minecraft has also been updated with ray-tracing support on PC, thanks to a collaboration with Nvidia. Minecraft RTX brings accurate lighting to user-created worlds, making Minecraft look better than ever if you have the hardware to support it. Minecraft Dungeons, a Diablo-like spin-off, is also scheduled to launch later this month, as Mojang Studios continues growing the types of experiences Minecraft can deliver.
Each week, Best Buy has a new batch of deals spanning across gaming, entertainment, and tech. This week’s deals include a bunch of stellar discounts on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch games as well as Blu-rays. There’s also an excellent daily deal on Microsoft’s Surface Pro X, slashing the price of the popular 2-in-1 from $1300 to $900.
One of the most revered action-RPGs of this generation, Nier Automata, is discounted to $25 on PS4. This is the Game of the Yorha Edition, so it includes every piece of DLC released for the Platinum Games hit. PS4 owners can also save on 2019’s Dragon Quest Builders 2, which is 50% off at $20. Dragon Quest Builders 2 melds Minecraft-style building with grand open-world action. Yakuza Remastered Collection–which compiles Yakuza 3, 4, and 5–is $40, the best price we’ve seen so far.
If you’re looking for something new to play on Switch, several games are getting nice discounts. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020–a fun game for the whole family–is down to $40, which ties the lowest price we’ve seen. Collection of Mana bundles the first three Mana games and can be snagged for $25. Meanwhile, strategy fans can grab Civilization VI for $20.
The wonderful Sega Genesis Mini is on sale for $50. Though we’ve seen it for slightly less before, it rarely dips to $50. If you haven’t picked up the nostalgia-fueled plug-and-play console featuring 42 retro games, $50 is a really great price.
Rainbow Six Siege has been going strong for years, but the relatively recent addition of a battle pass model has been divisive in the community. Ubisoft is happy with the addition, though, stating that it’s performing well in a recent earnings report.
“The battle pass is doing very well,” said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. “It’s a good new addition to the franchise and a new way to play the game so it has good momentum and it’s doing well for the franchise.”
The battle pass was criticized as a step too far in GameSpot’s recently reissued Rainbow Six Siege review. Specifically, reviewer Mat Paget said the addition of a battle pass on top of the annual operatore pass was “egregious” since it can cause you to “play or pay more than you initially wanted or intended to.”
The review was still very positive on the whole, though, earning a 10/10 from GameSpot. This was an improvement from the original 2015 review, which awarded it an 8/10, showing just how far the game has come in the last five years.
Ubisoft has been teasing its next new operators for Siege, Ace and Melusi. The two will get a full reveal soon, but we already know that Ace is a search-and-rescue expert and a Defender class, and Melusi is an stealthy anti-poaching operative and Attacker class.
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