Borderlands 3 Update Will Readjust Legendary Drops, Increase Eridium Rewards

Gearbox has issued a Borderlands 3 patch that adjusts some drop rates based on community feedback and increases Eridium rewards, among other changes. The hotfix will go live today, April 22, by 12 PM PT.

According to the notes on the official site, these changes will help course-correct after Gearbox reduced world drops in an update on April 8. The new drop rates for Legendary weapons will mean you’ll no longer be awash with too many sniper rifles, which had been appearing at disproportionately high rates. Completing a Trial with the fastest time will also guarantee you all of its Legendary rewards, aside from any cosmetic variants.

After the patch is applied, you’ll be able to locate dedicated sources for more gear including Flama Diddle, Insider, Seeryul Killer, Oldridian, Torch and Old God shields, and all Class Mods.

Finally, the patch will adjust Eridium rewards, as Gearbox says it agrees with the community that those have been too low. The Vault Card chest reward will be increased to 500 Eridium, and Slaughter bosses will drop an extra 500 Eridium. The notes also mention a reminder that Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine will change locations when the patch goes live.

Borderlands 3 April 22 Update

  • Updated the Tobaggan Legendary Artifact to give the intended slide bonus
  • Updated the item card on the Siren’s Death’s Blessings class mod to accurately represent the bonus
  • Assigned dedicated sources for various Guns, Love, and Tentacles gear within that DLC
  • Rebalanced the drop weights for Legendary weapons
  • Increased the amount of loot that drops from all bosses
  • Increased the chance for Class Mods and Artifacts to drop from bosses in the base game and in add-on content
  • Increased the chance for Class Mods and Artifacts to drop in Proving Ground Trials chests
  • Increased the chance for players to receive Legendary rewards in the Proving Ground Trial chests
  • Increased the amount of Eridium rewarded from Vault Card Chests
  • Increased the amount of Eridium dropped from Circle of Slaughter Bosses

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HBO Max And HBO Hit 44.2 Million Subscribers In The US

WarnerMedia revealed during a AT&T investor call that the company’s streaming service, HBO Max–along with HBO–has grown domestically to 44.2 million subscribers over the first quarter of 2021.

Throughout the quarter, the service added 2.7 million subscribers domestically. Globally, HBO Max and HBO have reached 64 million subscribers. Keep in mind that HBO Max hasn’t even existed for a year yet, as it launched May 2020.

“HBO Max continued to deliver strong subscriber and revenue growth in advance of our international and AVOD launches planned for June,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO.

HBO Max’s changes in June involve a new ad-supported tier. The tier will be cheaper than the current $15 a month cost; however, at this time, it’s still unknown how much this new tier will cost and how many ads will play over the course of each piece of content.

Warner will most likely continue to see a bump in subscribers for the remainder of 2021, as many Warner Bros. movies that were headed to theaters will also debut on the HBO Max streaming service simultaneously.

In 2021, HBO Max has seen some landmark releases including Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Godzilla vs. Kong. Debuting on April 23 is Mortal Kombat, and later in the year, HBO Max will release Suicide Squad, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and plenty more highly-anticipated movies, which will surely see more people flock to the streaming service.

Now Playing: Mortal Kombat (2021) Cast Plays Real or Fake Game Character

Itch.io And More PC Apps Are Now On Epic Games Store

The Epic Games Store is further expanding its non-gaming offerings, as several PC apps have popped up. They’ve all been organized into a new section of the store, and let you do everything from digital painting to listening to your favorite music.

Joining Spotify, which launched last year, the new apps include the art apps KenShape and Krita, web browser Brave, music streaming app iHeartRadio (only in North America), and the indie games store Itch.io. Itch.io is DRM-free, letting users pay creators for games that may not be available on other stores, and in some cases, games are released for free. You can use a simple browser-based version of the store already, but it will be helpful to play browser games offline.

This looks like just the start for PC apps on Epic Games Store
This looks like just the start for PC apps on Epic Games Store

Additionally, today begins a partnership between Epic Games and Spotify, giving Fortnite Crew subscribers three months of Spotify Premium for free. This deal only applies to new Spotify subscribers, however, so those who already pay for a membership will not receive the deal.

Earlier this month, we learned that Epic Games has been spending much more on exclusive games than it has been receiving in third-party sales via the Epic Games Store, with the company making a big push to cut into Steam’s market share. It also gives out free games every week, and this week’s batch includes Alien: Isolation.

Because of Fortnite’s continued success, however, this isn’t a huge revenue loss for Epic Games, and CEO Tim Sweeney views it as a big investment into its growing business. It could still be several years before the store is profitable, but it remains just one facet of the company’s operations, which also include developing the Unreal Engine for other studios to use.

Sony Signs New Multiplayer Game Deal With Ex-Halo, Destiny, CoD Devs At Firewalk Studios

Firewalk Studios, a AAA development team founded by former Halo and Destiny veterans, has announced a deal with Sony for its first game, a multiplayer title set in a new universe.

Firewalk Studios was founded in 2018 and its leadership includes Tony Hsu (Activision’s former Destiny boss), Ryan Ellis (former Bungie creative director), and Elena Siegman (formerly of Bungie, Irrational Games, and Harmonix). Firewalk’s developers have worked on franchises like Destiny, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Mass Effect, and Halo.

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Sony Interactive Entertainment will be the “exclusive publishing partner” for the first title from Firewalk. All we know is that the game is a multiplayer title that is an original IP.

Hsu said on the PlayStation Blog that Firewalk’s new game is already playable. He teased that the game is aiming to create watercooler-type moments.

“There’s a moment that happens almost every day in our multiplayer playtests–where someone jolts out of their seat, laughs, and says to no one in particular, ‘Did you just see that happen?’ These amazing and unpredictable moments in gaming are the sparks that occur when playing with others; future memories ready to be replayed and retold,” Hsu said.

Firewalk is a subsidiary of ProbablyMonsters, a company founded by former Bungie CEO Harold Ryan. ProbablyMonsters also owns Cauldron Studios, which is working on a narrative-driven AAA game, and another team making a next-gen co-op RPG. More details on ProbablyMonsters’ new studios and games will be announced in the coming months.

Sony’s partnership with Firewalk is just the latest from the gaming company, as it previously inked a deal with Jade Raymond’s new studio Haven for an original game. More recently, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said the PS5 may have more exclusives than PS4, and these deals with Firewalk and Haven appear to be part of that.

Biomutant World Trailer Shows Off Some Gorgeous Environments

The open-world post-apocalyptic game Biomutant arrives on May 25, and a new trailer showcases some of the places you’ll go. The new “world” trailer highlights some of the locations in the game, such as sweeping countryside environments and peaceful-looking villages, albeit underpinned by the dread and uneasiness of its post-apocalyptic vibes.

The game’s developer, Experiment 101, says everything in the trailer was captured in-game, including the gameplay and music. There is no combat or action in the trailer, though, but you can check out this Biomutant combat trailer to get up to speed with that.

You may also notice that the tone and vibe of the Biomutant trailer is relaxing and quiet, and this was intentional.

“And why is it so… quiet… and positive? Because there are too many fast-paced, dark and gritty trailers in this world anyway,” the studio said. “We are pretty upbeat people and Biomutant is a colorful game. So zip it and enjoy.”

Biomutant launches on May 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will also be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S through backwards compatibility.

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Fujifilm’s New Printer App For Nintendo Switch Coming Just In Time For New Pokemon Snap

Fujifilm is releasing a new app and accessories for its Instax Link photo printer aimed at Nintendo Switch users, just in time for the wildlife photography game New Pokemon Snap. The new app will launch on April 30, the same day as the game.

The new app will link up with your phone, letting you capture and frame screenshots from your Nintendo Switch system and print them out using the Link printer. You can select an image from your Switch gallery, scan the QR code with the Instax mini Link for Nintendo Switch app to import it, and then choose how to crop it. You can also decorate the border elements with themes and frames based on Super Mario, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and New Pokemon Snap. Then you can attach it to the Link printer to get physical copies of your photos.

Along with the app, Fujifilm is adding a new Link printer color called “Ash White (Red & Blue)” as well as a Pikachu silicon case to go with it. Those accessories will launch on April 30 as well. Those aren’t available for preorder anywhere yet, but we expect them to sell out quickly.

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New Pokemon Snap is a followup to the N64 classic released in 1999. Instead of battling Pokemon, you explore their natural habitats and try to snap great photos of them displaying their natural behaviors like playing or sleeping. For more details, check out our New Pokemon Snap preorder guide.

The Instax Printer is part of Fujifilm’s Instax line of instant cameras and printers. It’s very possible that the parts like the mini film packs could be harder to find if the Snap functionality blows up in popularity, so you may want to stock up now.

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PS5 Will Have More Exclusives Than Previous Consoles, Jim Ryan Says

Former PlayStation exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding later made their way to PC, and Sony’s own MLB The Show franchise even debuted on Xbox this week. However, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan says the PS5 will actually have more exclusives than any of Sony’s previous systems.

In a statement to the Japanese publication Nikkei that was translated by VGC, Ryan seemed to downplay concerns that Sony was branching out to other platforms too much.

“We have been quietly but steadily investing in high-qualify games for PlayStation, and we will make sure that the PS5 generation will have more dedicated software than ever before,” he said.

Some of Sony’s PS5 games have also released on PS4 so far, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Two that won’t are Returnal, which is out in just about a week, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Both make heavy use of the PS5’s NVMe SSD for quickly loading areas, potentially making it more difficult for the games to release on older systems. They also make use of the DualSense controller, both for enhancing immersion and for gameplay mechanics, such as the shotgun weapon in Rift Apart.

But there are still first-party PS5 games that will also release on PS4, including Horizon Forbidden West. It remains to be seen when Sony will make a clean break from the older system, but given its massive success, that could take a while. Still, it’s similar to what Microsoft is doing with the Xbox Series X|S, releasing all first-party games on the Xbox One as well for at least the first year, complete with Smart Delivery support.

Now Playing: Returnal – Official “Hostiles” Gameplay Trailer

Nintendo Won’t Support Other Streaming Services On Switch, Analyst Says

In case you’ve ever wondered whether Nintendo will ever dramatically expand the number of games playable on the Switch by adding support for a game streaming service like Google Stadia or even Xbox Cloud, the answer is sadly no. After an industry analyst laid out some reasons it would make sense for all parties involved, another insider said that Nintendo wasn’t at all open to the idea.

The conversation started on Twitter after users watching Microsoft’s Game Stack event noticed a Nintendo Switch on the shelf behind the presenter. Industry advisor Mat Piscatella suggested that a “Xbox Cloud app on Switch seems a slam dunk where everyone wins,” and continued to lay out the reasons such a decision would make sense.

Analyst David Gibson of Astris Advisory Japan weighed in on the conversation, saying that Nintendo had told him directly that it would not be including any other streaming services on the Switch.

Daniel Ahmad, another industry analyst, suggested that Switch users could likely hope to see an expansion of the Switch’s existing Cloud Streaming service, which Nintendo has developed in collaboration with Ubitus. That service has made games like Resident Evil, Assassins Creed, Hitman 3, and Control playable on Switch and Switch Lite in an enhanced “Cloud Version,” though the service is only available in some countries.

Of course without an official announcement from Nintendo anything is possible at this stage, but it’s more likely the gaming giant will continue to work on its own in-house cloud streaming efforts.

Mario Kart Tour Reaches 200 Million Downloads And $200 Million Revenue

Mario Kart Tour, the first game in the wildly popular Nintendo franchise to be released on mobile, has just hit a milestone of $200 million lifetime revenue. The racing game is Nintendo’s second most successful game in terms of revenue, and the fourth highest-earning mobile racing game over the last year, SensorTower reports.

The racing game had a big launch back in September 2019, reaching 100 million downloads and $17.8 million revenue in its first 11 days on the store. It reached $100 million revenue in less than six months, with monetization in the free-to-start game led by the Gold Pass subscription which costs $4.99 per month.

Since its successful launch, both downloads and revenue have slowed down, but SensorTower’s data shows its still been earning steadily through 2020 and 2021. Mario Kart Tour has now settled into a fairly consistent pattern earning $7.7 million per month on average.

When charting a year of revenue from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, Mario Kart Tour sits in second place among Nintendo’s small suite of mobile games, a little ahead of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and quite far behind Fire Emblem Heroes, the game that accounts for 60% of Nintendo’s mobile revenue. Among other racing titles on mobile, Mario Kart Tour sits in fourth place, with KartRider Rush+ the clear winner in that space.

While Nintendo’s mobile games have proven to be steady earners, they reportedly have not shown the level of success the company expected from them. Reports released last year suggested Nintendo would be winding down focus on mobile development, with the platform taking a much smaller role in Nintendo’s future.

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