Trafficblast – Page 9039

ArenaNet, the studio behind the Guild Wars franchise, will layoff employees following the cancellation of unannounced projects, though game services for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 will allegedly not be affected.

IGN reached out to ArenaNet for comment, and the company confirmed the layoffs, stating it’s a part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT, ArenaNet’s parent company. ArenaNet send IGN the following statement:

“We can confirm that due to the cancellation of unannounced projects, ArenaNet will make staff reductions. This is part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the west, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor is any upcoming game content canceled.”

Pokemon Go Will Finally Let Players Change Teams–At A Price

More than two years after the game launched, Pokemon Go will finally give players the option to change their teams. Niantic has announced a new item called the Team Medallion, which will go on sale in the in-game shop beginning February 26 and allow users to switch their allegiance to another team one time.

The Team Medallion will cost 1,000 PokeCoins, which makes it fairly pricey, as a bundle of 1,200 coins runs for $10 USD. There are a few caveats as to how it works as well. You can only purchase one Team Medallion every 365 days, so once you switch teams, you’ll be locked into your choice for the next year.

Shortly after players first begin Pokemon Go, they’re asked to join one of three teams: Mystic, Instinct, and Valor, which are represented by the Legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, respectively. Up until now, however, your choice has been permanent, so if you’ve been itching to switch sides, this will be your first opportunity to do so.

The Team Medallion isn’t the only new feature Niantic is introducing in Pokemon Go; the developer has also rolled out the recently announced Go Snapshot AR photo mode. This allows players to take photos of any Pokemon they have in storage and easily share them with friends and on social media.

This weekend is a busy one for Pokemon Go players. From February 22-25, Niantic is bringing back the Gen 3 Legendary Pokemon Latias for a special Raid Weekend. On top of that, a new Limited Research event is scheduled to take place this Saturday, February 23, and it’ll give players their first chance to catch the never-before-available Water Pokemon Clamperl.

New Overwatch Hero Possibly Teased By Blizzard

Overwatch appears to be teasing a new character, who would be Hero 30. A post on the game’s official blog contains an in-game piece of lore, and references a strike team sent after a previously unknown name. You can also see a teaser tweet below that includes a brief video.

The small piece of in-game fiction is a single letter, regarding a Talon strike team dispatched to Tortuga, led by a Captain Cuerva. The team was sent to recover a deserter named Jean-Baptiste Augustin, and several of them were lost in the attempt. Cuerva planned to go out with the rest of his men to recover or kill Baptiste.

“I know better than to underestimate Baptiste,” the letter reads. “I helped train him myself, and he was one of our best. I’ve never known a medic to be such a good shot, and his adaptability to new situations is a rare talent. All of us have seen our fair share of conflict, but Baptiste was built to survive. I swear he has the Devil’s own luck.”

Given the attention given to the name Baptiste, and that he’s specifically named as a medic, it would seem likely that he’s a new character coming to the game. Then again, this could be a fake-out, and the new character is actually Captain Cuerva, or even that we’re being set up for a brand-new map set in Tortuga.

Most recently, Overwatch added a new Paris map alongside a bundle of bug fixes. The new map features the sights and sounds of Paris with landmarks like the Cabaret Luna, the Pâtisserie Galand, and the Maison Marat. The update corrected some issues like Symmetra’s teleporter reaching “unintended” areas and Reinhardt’s Earthshatter pinning enemies in place.

Just before that, the game celebrated the Lunar New Year with a host of new skins. Meanwhile Hasbro just debuted several new Overwatch toys, in addition to the recent release of Lego sets.

What We Want to See Apex Legends Do to Stay on Top

It’s barely been two weeks since Apex Legends took the world by storm, and not only are many people playing the game — it amassed more than 25 million players in its first week alone— but even more are watching others play the game. With 41 million hours of Twitch viewership over the past week, Apex Legends has more than doubled the watch time of Fortnite, which has been reigning supreme for almost a year now.Clearly, Apex Legends has quickly dominated the Battle Royale genre, but the real question is: how can it keep ahead of the well-established competition?

Another The Division 2 Beta Now Live On PC

Ahead of its upcoming open beta next month, Ubisoft is holding another private technical test for The Division 2. The test is now live for select players, but unlike the previous private beta, this one is only available on PC, and it will run from February 21-22.

According to Ubisoft, the purpose of this technical test is to “assess a certain amount of fixes [it has] implemented based on your feedback following the Private Beta.” Only players who have received an invitation via email will be eligible to participate in this test.

If you’re one of the players who’ve been selected, you’ll be able to try out all of the content that was available in Ubisoft’s previous Division 2 beta, with the exception of Conflict, Endgame, and Photo Mode. Participants also won’t be able to invite friends to join during this test. You can read more details on The Division 2 website.

Even if you don’t make it into this week’s test, everyone will soon have a chance to sample the upcoming shooter. Ubisoft is hosting an open beta for The Division 2 next week, from March 1-4. That test will be available to all players on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The Division 2 launches on March 15. Ubisoft has already said it has a surprise planned for the title’s endgame, as well as free DLC in the pipeline. You can read more about the game in our roundup of everything we know about The Division 2 and our favorite new features.

Complete Guide to Devil May Cry 5’s Preorder Bonuses

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

It’s been a long time coming, but Devil May Cry 5 is set to release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8. A follow-up to 2008’s Devil May Cry 4, this sequel picks up several years later, when a giant “demon tree” appears in Red Grave City and begins killing citizens. Enter a cast of demon hunters, including Nero and Dante, to fight back the invasion.

If you’re ready to lock in your Devil May Cry 5 preorder, you’ll want to know what preorder bonuses are available, as well as what comes in each edition, where you can get it, and how much it costs. We have you covered below.

Everything We Know About Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House Sequel

Netflix is moving full speed ahead on a second season of The Haunting of Hill House. And why not? The first season was our favorite new show of 2018.

However, expect a very different sort of show in Season 2. From the revised title to the new horror novel inspiring the plot, here’s everything we know about Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House follow-up.

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Anthem Review

I’ve played far too many games like Anthem, an online RPG that only makes good on its promise of meaningful multiplayer gameplay and progression after you’ve labored through its long-winded and repetitive story quests. These pitfalls don’t have to be synonymous with shared-world shooters, MMOs, or online ARPGs, but here we are again. Anthem’s endgame is surprising fun since its already excellent combat is reinvigorated by interesting loot and challenging gameplay later on. Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough of this kind of content to make it worth the wait, and what’s here is inconsistent in terms of polish, clarity, and balance. Anthem, as it stands now, is an adventure best saved for a later date.

Retiring Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime Shares Heartfelt Message With Fans

After more than 15 years with the company, Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime is retiring this April. Shortly after the news broke, the company shared a heartfelt farewell message from Fils-Aime himself on Twitter.

“I wanted to reach out directly to you, the Nintendo community, because there’s one thing I really want to say: thank you,” Fils-Aime said in the video below. “Thank you for your never-ending support, and for your passionate love of Nintendo. And personally, for giving me a Mushroom Kingdom full of incredible memories that I will never forget, ever.

“From the first time I saw the nickname ‘Regginator,’ I realized that Nintendo fans share a unique sense of community, a bond that goes beyond just a love of video games. For these past 15 years, I’ve been honored to be included as part of your family.”

Fils-Aime also shared a few words about his successor, NOA senior VP of sales and marketing Doug Bowser, who’ll be formally taking over his role on April 15. “Doug is a passionate and powerful leader, and a guy who in his youth probably spent too much time in front of a Donkey Kong arcade machine. Inside Nintendo, people already know him as a driving force, and you’ll come to see that too.”

Fils-Aime joined the company partway through the GameCube era and has been its face in North American territories ever since, delivering press conferences and appearing in Nintendo Direct broadcasts. He’ll perhaps best be remembered, however, for the countless memes he’s inspired, from the time he danced to promote Yo-Kai Watch to his unintentionally iconic catchphrase.

Following the news of Fils-Aime’s retirement, many other industry figures, such as Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, expressed their thanks and shared memories and anecdotes of the NOA president.