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After 15 years at XBOX, I announced today that I would be leaving. I made so many friends, learned so much and truly had a blast! I’m extremely excited about the next opportunity in my career and I will will be announcing that very soon, you all will be pumped! 😉 Thank you!!! pic.twitter.com/dcbhKCgn8f

— Dan McCulloch 🎮 (@McDanRandom) June 30, 2020

Descenders joined Xbox Game Pass in May 2019, and since then, according to Mike Rose (head of publisher No More Robots), the indie cycling game has seen greatly increased sales on Xbox. Although conventional wisdom would suggest that a game that was available at no additional cost on a popular subscription service might see lower direct sales, Rose says that, in fact, the opposite has been true.

Rose took to Twitter to explain why Xbox Game Pass has been so good for the game, saying that it has “elevated the game to heights we couldn’t have imagined.” Descenders, which is available in both the Xbox and PC catalogs of the subscription service, is currently the eighth most popular game on the service.

Rose said that a new deal has recently been struck to keep the game on Game Pass for “a looong time to come,” as since joining the service it is selling “around five times as many units each week” as it did previously.

This is not the first time Descenders’ Games Pass success has been discussed by Mike Rose. In August 2019, a few months after the game joined the service, Rose said that since joining Game Pass weekly sales were about three times higher than they’d been previously. This was also around the time that the game left Game Preview.

At the time, Rose said “you’d imagine the numbers will go down, which makes it less worth it to people,” but that does not seem to have happened for this game. He attributed these higher sales to the visibility Game Pass affords a game, calling it “essentially an advert.”

Descenders is also available on Switch, PS4, and mobile. For more on Xbox Game Pass, here’s why it could be a secret weapon for next-gen, and a few of the service’s hidden gems you might want to check out.

The first-ever PGA Tour 2K game launches in August, and among its new features is a beefed up broadcast package that includes Luke Elvy and Rich Beem calling the action.

Elvy has the most experience in the broadcast booth, as he has been featured over the years on Fox Sports and GameSpot sister company CBS Sports. Beem is a former player who has won three times on the PGA Tour, including a Major championship at the 2002 PGA Championship. He is also a commentator for Sky Sports.

A new trailer for PGA Tour 2K21 featuring Elvy and Beem as been released. They speak about bringing their unique expert insights to the game, and it seems the commentary in PGA Tour 2K21 won’t be very traditional. Elvy and Beem say some of their outtakes and bloopers from recording sessions will actually make it into the game, and this includes Beem describing an eagle as a “Super Chicken.”

A press release from 2K Sports also reveals that Elvy and Beem will not only celebrate good shots, but they will also roast players when they screw up. That’s something you don’t see on TV.

For comparison, 2018’s The Golf Club 2019 Featuring the PGA Tour from 2K Sports featured developer HB Studios’ own John McCarthy calling the action–and it was very hit or miss.

PGA Tour 2K21 launches on August 21 for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. For more, check out the full roster of PGA Tour pros in the game.

Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio and its Xbox sequel Jet Set Radio Future are beloved for their style and unique gameplay, but to this day there’s never been a third game in the series. The original game (initially called Jet Grind Radio in the US) released 20 years ago, and in a retrospective published by USGamer, the team behind the game has reflected on its legacy–and why there hasn’t been a follow-up.

Lead designer Kazuki Hosokawa, who still works at Sega, reflects on how the original Jet Set Radio was created by a young team, recalling how “non-photorealistic expressions began to garner more attention” at the time, which his team was able to leverage.

With this in mind, Hosokawa says that a new Jet Set Radio would need to come from a young, new team as well. He says that “more than 10 years ago,” the game’s producer told the team that they were “too old and experienced” to make a new game in the series, and he agrees. “I’ve gained enough experience that I can identify what works and how to present things… I can see the path to the end goal, whether I like it or not,” he says.

“If I put it negatively, because of my experience, I can only create games in ‘the smart way,'” Hosokawa continues. “This means that I wouldn’t be able to convey that passion in this title that could have only been born through all the struggles I faced. That’s why I’m looking forward to a new generation of creators.”

Hosokawa still clearly has a lot of love for the game, and believes that the team tapped into something unique: “the imbalance between the pop taste and fun vibe you get, but yet you can kind of sense a darkness in the world,” he says.

Jet Set Radio received a HD release for Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2012, but the series has not seen any new releases since then.

GameSpot’s Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming–is ongoing. 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.

Nintendo fans are always eagerly anticipating the next Nintendo Direct, but the YouTube account of the Japanese company delivered something offbeat today: a minute-long video challenging fans to “guess the game.” The games are introduced with blurry footage that slowly resolves to reveal a first-party Nintendo game.

Needless to say, some fans have expressed their confusion over this video, with many of the YouTube comments speculating that new content might be revealed soon for one or more of these games. The games listed were (spoiler warning) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

As most Nintendo fans know, a sequel to Breath of the Wild was first teased in June 2019 at that year’s E3. Since that reveal trailer, we haven’t heard anything about it, which would seem to suggest a 2021 release at the earliest. We also haven’t heard anything about a hypothetical Mario Kart 9 or a sequel to Three Houses, though the latter did get new DLC this February. The latest Nintendo Direct introduced the newest fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Arms character Min Min.

Crysis Remastered was officially revealed with a teaser a few weeks ago, but this week we’ll finally get to see exactly what the nearly 13-year-old game will look like with some improved graphical features.

The gameplay debut for Crysis Remastered is set for July 1 and will go live at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT / 6 PM CEST. Although no details about what will be shown have been shared, Crytek did reveal in its initial announcement that the remaster will introduce a “hardware and API-agnostic ray tracing solution,” which will allow the graphical enhancement to run on current-generation consoles.

Crysis Remastered is expected to just include the first game, which was originally developed by Crytek in 2007. It was set on an island that featured wide combat areas, letting you experiment with how you used a variety of suit powers to dispatch enemies. Both Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 converted this formula into a more traditional linear shooter, while also streamlining some of your suit powers, making some fans yearn for the return of the original.

Crysis was also notoriously taxing on computers when it launched, and even proves problematic on backwards compatible console ports today thanks to its high CPU demands. The conversion of the game to a more modern engine will hopefully rectify that, while also reviving the game with a visual overhaul that matches its initial splendor.

It was so striking in 2007 that GameSpot awarded it a 9.5/10, with our Crysis review reading, “If you put it all together, Crysis is just remarkable. This is a game that pushes the envelope in terms of both technology and gameplay and does so with aplomb. Crysis raises the expectations for every shooter to follow when it comes to graphics, interactivity, environments, immersiveness, AI, and gameplay. Quite simply, Crysis represents the first-person shooter at its finest, most evolved form.”

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.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken the world by storm since its March release on the Nintendo Switch, with everyone from celebrities and NFL teams playing and interacting with fans through Nintendo’s latest game. New Horizons certainly is popular, and with its free summer update coming July 3, there’s no better time to jump in. Thankfully, Ebay has it for a great price; you can currently snag Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $51.49. It also comes with free shipping and can arrive as early as July 6 depending on your location.

GameSpot’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons review scored it a 9/10, praising the new Nook Miles system, character customization, and expressive villages. However, reviews editor Kallie Plagge was disappointed by the slow progression, which can be frustrating at times.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

$51.49 ($60)

“New Horizons has a slower pace even than other Animal Crossing games, and at times, that can feel unnecessarily restrictive,” she wrote. “But there’s still plenty to do, and each of those activities feeds into the next brilliantly for a rewarding and relentlessly cheerful experience. New Horizons certainly came at the right time, and its strengths are particularly comforting right now. I’m as excited to see what random events await me each morning as I am glad to have it during hard times, and that’s sure to keep me coming back for the foreseeable future.”

The day-to-day events in Animal Crossing are worth experiencing on their own, but New Horizons’ summer update will introduce swimming and diving around the edges of your island. This will help you discover new ocean life, such as star fish and garden eels, that can be donated to Blathers’ museum. Of course, the wise night owl will have some facts to divulge on these new creatures, but if you’re like me, you’ll be mashing that B button to get the heck out of there and search for more.

Animal Crossing regular Pascal will also be making an appearance with the summer update, and if you give him some scallops, he’ll gift you some new DIY recipes in return. These new DIY recipes include a ton of mermaid-themed items.

Twitch has suspended President Donald Trump’s official Twitch channel citing a violation of Twitch’s community guidelines against hateful conduct. A suspension is not the same as a ban, but it’s unclear when President Trump’s Twitch channel will be reinstated.

In a statement provided to IGN, a Twitch spokesperson said, “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”

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Twitch defines Hateful Conduct on its platform as any “content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or serious medical condition or veteran status, and is prohibited. Any hateful conduct is considered a zero-tolerance violation.”

Trump’s Twitch channel rebroadcasted multiple rallies that Twitch cited as violations of this rule. One was a recent rebroadcast from his 2016 campaign rally where he said:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.”

Twitch cited a second comment made during a Twitch stream from Trump’s Tulsa Rally:

“Hey, it’s 1:00 o’clock in the morning and a very tough, I’ve used the word on occasion, hombre, a very tough hombre is breaking into the window of a young woman whose husband is away as a traveling salesman or whatever he may do. And you call 911 and they say, “I’m sorry, this number’s no longer working.” By the way, you have many cases like that, many, many, many. Whether it’s a young woman, an old woman, a young man or an old man and you’re sleeping.”

Twitch told the President’s team when the channel was started last year that, “Like anyone else, politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We do not make exceptions for political or newsworthy content, and will take action on content reported to us that violates our rules.”

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Several other politicians have Twitch channels, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump’s suspension from Twitch comes on the same day Reddit banned subreddits deemed as propagating hateful content, including the r/The_Donald subreddit which is not officially associated with the President.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Blogroll photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Call of Duty: Warzone will soon be getting a new limited-time 200 Player Battle Royale mode that will allow 50 Quads of Operators to fight for victory.

This new mode will arrive alongside a brand new Season Four Reloaded update on June 29 at 11pm PT and on June 30 at 2am ET/7am BST that will also add a new weapon, map, operator, and much more.

Warzone currently supports up to 150 players, and this new limited time Quads mode will allow for 50 more players.

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The update will have a download size of 22-36 GB for owners of the full version of Modern Warfare, with console owners needing a secondary 3.5 GB download. Free-to-Play Warzone players can expect a download of 22-30 GB. According to Activision, once these updates are finished, there will be “a reduction to the overall footprint on their machines.”

There will also be new Supply Run Contracts in Warzone. Once activated, your team will be directed to a nearby Buy Station. If it is reached in time, a discount on Buy Station purchases will be applied.

Juggernaut Royale mode will also become available. In this mode, there will be airdropped care packages that will allow players to become the Juggernaut with a mini-gun and high armor. Once a Juggernaut is defeated, a new care package will drop, giving someone else a chance to become the fearsome soldier.

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A Spotter Scope will also be put around Verdansk. While sniper scopes can be spotted by other players by the glint of sunshine when they are used, this new scope has none of that. If found, players can can the environment and find enemies without as much fear as using a regular scope.

Speaking of Snipers, the Rytec AMR will also make its way to Modern Warfare’s multiplayer modes and is a “.50 caliber-chambered beast.” It is “one of the deadliest semi-automatic anti-material rifles an Operator can get their hands on.”

On the multiplayer front, the Cheshire Park map will become available and allow players to travel to urban London, England to visit a “picturesque garden and conservatory.”

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Lastly, Team Defender returns to multiplayer after being introduced almost 10 years ago and brings back the variant of Capture the Flag where there is only one flag between both teams.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.