Seven months after it was made available to Xbox Series X players, Call of Duty: Warzone now officially supports 120 FPS on PS5.
This bit of news was discovered within June 16’s Call of Duty: Warzone patch notes, and it reminds players that an HDMI 2.1 cord is required for your PS5 to fully take advantage of 120 FPS.
To ensure your PS5 is achieving 120 FPS on Call of Duty: Warzone, all players need to do is to go to the PS5 system settings, hit Screen and Video, select Video Output, set Enable 120Hz Output to Automatic, go back to settings and go to Saved Data and Game/App Settings, and then change Game Presets to Performance Mode.
As reported by Eurogamer, Infinity Ward added 120 FPS support for Call of Duty: Warzone on only Xbox Series X in November 2020, but it wasn’t even mentioned in that week’s patch notes. There were no comments made by either Activision or Infinity Ward on that decision, but it appears PS5 players are finally able to enjoy this higher frame rate.
Video games with violent content may have dominated E3’s headlines this year, but a new study from GamesIndustry.Biz revealed that the number of non-violent titles on offer saw a huge increase in 2021. According to the study, which looked at 349 video games showcased across 15 events and applied a set list of rules to determine what a non-violent game was, 115 games met the required criteria or around 33% of games in total.
Last week’s Wholesome Direct unsurprisingly accounted for more than half of these games, while other shows like Devolver Digital, Future Games Show, and Nintendo added to the list. For the sake of comparison, E3 2019 had just 41 non-violent games on offer, 17 of which came from major publishers through the likes of ID@Xbox or Square Enix Collective.
Xbox had 13% of its games classified as non-violent in the study, down from 24% in 2019, but it’s also worth noting that it had fewer games to show off this year and no ID@Xbox montage to help pad its numbers out. Ubisoft was down from 31% of its games being non-violent in 2019 to just 10% in 2021, with Riders Republic, Rocksmith+, Just Dance 2022, and the new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Discovery Tour presenting softer options.
As for Square Enix, Koch Media, Capcom, and Gearbox Entertainment? All three companies had solo presentations, without a single non-violent game to be found among them.
For even more wholesome content, don’t forget to check out GameSpot’s Play For All coverage that will highlight upcoming games, trailer, and a few panels with friends.
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16-year Ubisoft Massive developer David Polfeldt, who most recently served as the managing director at the company, is stepping down from the company on July 1 to take a sabbatical. He will return to Ubisoft in a “strategic role” later on.
A staff memo obtained by Axios from Ubisoft Studios boss Virginie Haas said Polfeldt told management he planned to leave back in Fall 2020. He said at the time that he was “ready for a new challenge,” and now he’s leaving Ubisoft for a six-month sabbatical.
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Ubisoft has already found a replacement for Polfeldt who will begin in October. However, Haas said this person could not be named yet for legal reasons with their existing employer, which means Ubisoft is hiring an outside person for the job.
“We have already appointed David’s successor and look forward to sharing more details at a later date,” a spokesperson said.
Ubisoft has had several allegations of misconduct over the last year, but Polfeldt was not connected to them. GameSpot has contacted Polfeldt in an attempt to get more information regarding his temporary exit from the company.
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Love Fortnite and have artistic talent? If you answered “yes” to both questions, then there’s a chance you could have one of your designs turned into a real Fortnite in-game outfit this December. Fortnite: Concept Royale is the new competition offering glory and even some cash to community members with the best designs.
In order to enter for a chance to win, you need to post your design on either Twitter or Instagram with the #ConceptRoyaleContest hashtag, and Epic Games will choose its two favorite concepts for the full game. You have until July 11 at 11:59 ET to submit and are limited to only one entry, but entrants only need to be 13 in order to participate–the $2,500 cash price is pretty impressive for a kid.
Get the creative juices flowing, Concept Royale is on!
Submit your most festive, frosty, and fun Outfit concept to Twitter or Instagram using #ConceptRoyaleContest for a chance to have your art immortalized in-game. Enter by July 12.
Naturally, your artwork must be original, and it cannot infringe on copyrighted material. It should be winter-themed, appropriate for the game, and in addition to drawings, you can also submit 3D models, cosplays, sculptures, or other visual art. You can include logos that Epic Games created itself for Fortnite, so if you wanted to make a twist on one of the original Fortnite characters for your outfit, that should be fair game.
Fortnite began Season 7 a few weeks ago, and it’s focused on aliens and UFOs invading the battle royale game. As usual, things are getting progressively weirder, and you can check out the Fortnite Season 7 Week 2 challenges for a rundown of what you have to do for XP this week.
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Call of Duty: Warzone developer Raven Software is planning what sounds like a substantial update to the battle royale game that will increase the time it takes to take down opponents. In a blog post, Raven said it will release “sweeping balance changes” across the spectrum of weapons to allow for people to not die so quickly.
With the updates applied, Raven said it believes the average time-to-kill in Warzone should increase by about 60 to 100 milliseconds. That doesn’t sound like much, but every fraction of a second makes a difference in a twitch-based shooter like Warzone.
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Explaining the forthcoming changes, Raven said it wants to give players the opportunity to make action movie-style escapes against seemingly impossible odds, and currently that is less likely to happen given the existing time-to-kill averages.
“At a high level, Warzone is a game about engagements. The more time we allot to mechanical and strategic expression within engagements, the higher the ‘skill ceiling’ and the longer our personal journey of mastery,” Raven said. “We believe the frequency of those engagements and how we navigate them heavily contributes to the overall level of fun. We want to enable more escapes from impossible situations, moments of finesse, epic outplays, and opportunities to flex exquisite marksmanship.”
It added: “Due to some Weapons being far more lethal than others in their class, we feel a reduction in the efficacy of those outliers is necessary. We expect these changes will bring the average Time to Kill up by approximately 60 to 100 milliseconds. These changes will not only increase the overall capacity for skill expression, but should also introduce some Weapons into viability that have not yet had a chance to shine.”
You can see a snapshot of the forthcoming changes below, while a more detailed breakdown of the balance updates can be found on Raven’s website.
Warzone’s big Season 4 update is out now, ushering in a new event, new weapons, a new vehicle, and more for the battle royale game. Check out the full Warzone Season 4 patch notes to learn more.
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Like most games in 2020, Madden NFL had to deal with the unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the team to shift to work from home right in the middle of development. EA also had to deal with a console transition — always a tricky period for a sports game as developers try to balance old and new tech.
Fast-forward to 21, and EA is now more fully settled in to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, allowing the team to begin weaving some more ambitious changes into Madden 22. Key among them is homefield advantage, a feature that has been neglected in past years. While Madden has typically been able to capture the look and feel of a stadium like Seattle’s Lumen Field, where ear-shattering crowd noise makes it impossible for a quarterback to even hear themselves think, none of that has translated into actual gameplay.
That will finally change in Madden 22. Now, away teams forced to play in notoriously difficult stadiums like Lumen Field will see their playart wave dangerously, with some of their receiver buttons hidden. EA is calling such features “M-Factors” — special advantages enjoyed by all 32 teams that will activate depending on the momentum of the game. Yes, even the Chargers, notorious for having more away fans than home fans in their stands, will gain an offensive boost if they are doing particularly well at home.
If this sounds familiar, it may be because NCAA Football 14 had a similar feature back in 2013. Going to a stadium like Alabama would even produce the same wriggling playart. Gameplay producer Clint Oldenburg acknowledged the similarities during EA’s briefing earlier this week, “It has its origins in what we did in NCAA Football, for sure, but it’s modernized. One of the key pieces of feedback we received in NCAA Football was that it was a little ambiguous and it wasn’t clear when you unlocked certain things, so that’s what we really attacked with Gameday Momentum.”
Gameday Momentum refers to a meter that swings to one side or another depending on the flow of the game, with perks being unlocked for the home team when they are playing well. The Seahawks, for example, have three levels of homefield advantage: The 12’s, which distorts playart; Unstoppable, which prevents home team players from being knocked out of their X-Factor or Superstar ability, and Nerves, which will result in receiver icons being hidden. Homefield advantage also varies from team to team, with stamina being an issue in Denver, and kicking meters going awry in Chicago (cue visions of the infamous Double Doink).
It’s a long overdue addition to Madden NFL, and should help make playing at home feel more meaningful. Its main risk is that it might start to feel gimmicky, and that the advantages conferred by homefield advantage might result in more games getting out of hand quickly (just like in real-life, but I digress). On the other hand, M-Factors are built on the proven X-Factor system. Similar balance concerns arose when X-Factors were introduced in Madden 20, but Madden has largely managed to keep them under control.
In fact, strip away the bugs, wonky sideline detection, and weird animations, and Madden is actually a pretty enjoyable football game. Its main issue has always been polish — a problem certainly exacerbated by the pandemic. By and large, I don’t mind the recent direction of the gameplay, and I think homefield advantage is a smart addition that’s frankly been a long time coming.
Outside of homefield advantage, here are some of the other improvements that I learned about during EA’s unveiling of Madden 22.
A coaching tree is being introduced: Outside of homefield advantage, another feature that Madden 22 is seemingly lifting from NCAA Football 14 is the ability to hire offensive and defensive coordinators and improve them through a skill tree. It’s a long-requested feature that should add a solid layer of depth to franchise mode. As for its inspiration, Executive Producer Seann Graddy says Madden isn’t looking toward NCAA Football. “[H]onestly, their influences are more rooted in games like God of War,” Graddy says, “My son and I have been playing a lot of it.”
Scouting will be updated… later: Scouting has been another sore point for franchise mode, and fans will be happy to know that it’s finally being overhauled in Madden 22. It’s just not happening right away. Graddy says the team considered pushing the update to Madden 23, but ultimately decided to make it part of a live update. “We’ve been treating the whole game and certainly not just franchise like a live service,” Graddy says. “So we said, well, let’s continue to work on it and get it out, you know, close to the NFL season in that September timeframe. So the fans can have it this year.” When it does arrive, it will feature elements like a dynamic draft board that changes throughout the year
Franchise will include more than 35 new scenarios: A key criticism of Madden’s franchise mode in recent years has been its scenario engine — a one-dimensional attempt to add a bit of storytelling to each game, usually in the form of accounting for the other team’s star player. In response, EA hired a community member to build up the engine, and they have responded with some 35 new scenarios. “This year we hired somebody out of the community who is super passionate about this, taught him the tool, and allowed him to create, I think, some really compelling scenarios,” Graddy says. “I think you’re going to enjoy the refresh.”
Halftime adjustments will add a bit of realism to the flow of the game: Franchise mode has long featured the ability to choose certain plays to emphasize before the game, thus incurring corresponding stat bonuses. Now it’s possible to do something similar during halftime. It’s a minor change, but it does add just a bit more realism to the flow of the game.
The Super Bowl presentation will finally be different: After years of pointed video showing how the big Super Bowl trophy presentation hasn’t changed a bit, Madden 22 will be changing things up this year. The improvements will be joined by updates to the broadcast package, including flyovers and a great big American flag.
Superfans will be in the stadium: Back in the days of Madden 12, crowd close-up shots were a major part of the game’s presentation, only fading away when the PS4 and Xbox One rolled around. Crowd close-ups (ironically) returned in Madden 21, and now Madden 22 is enhancing them with so-called “Superfans” — cosplaying fans who serve as a sort of team mascot. Plenty such fans exist in real-life, but characters like Fireman Ed won’t be leading the J-E-T-S chant in Madden 22, alas. EA says the cost of tracking them down and adding their likenesses would be just too high.
Face of the Franchise is back: Yep, Face of the Franchise is back. It’s not a new feature, per se, but it will be a new story. This year’s version will be called “United We Rise.” Face of the Franchise is an intriguing story mode, but over the last two years it has been criticized for its brevity and lack of depth, not to mention its stilted dialogue. Graddy says that this year’s version has to be better, “There was enough feedback from some of our reviewers and our fans that they were looking for more out of the story and more of the progression. And so I think what we’re going to share in the coming weeks leans into some of that feedback. I think it’s going to be a stronger Face of the Franchise.”
Next-Gen Stats rolls into Year 2: Last year, the next-gen version of Madden 21 introduced Next-Gen Stats — an ambitious attempt to use real-world data gathered from on-field sensors to give star players bespoke animations and other improvements. As expected, Madden 22 will include a multitude of enhancements to Next-Gen Stats, with data governing passing aggressiveness, how ballcarriers break tackles, and team strategy. This is on top of improvements being made to sideline detection, tackling mechanics, and other gameplay features.
The PS4 and Xbox One versions are also getting updates: While EA’s focus has plainly shifted to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, previous-gen consoles will continue to be supported for another year. Graddy confirms that all of the modes should be very similar across all platforms. “So Face of the Franchise is going to be very similar between Gen 4 and Gen. Ultimate Team will be very similar. The Yard and Superstar KO, which we didn’t talk a lot, those that are going to be a fairly similar,” Graddy said. “With franchise, staff management will be there, game planning will be there, but some of the other dynamic gameday elements around atmosphere, and obviously the Next-Gen stats gameplay, which is only available on Gen 5, won’t be there. But I think our Gen 4 audiences are going to be happy with a lot of the content that they’re getting.”
All in all, Madden 22 is an intriguing update on paper, with lots of interesting improvements to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S version in particular. Much will depend on EA’s execution, which has been lacking of late. A little bit of extra polish would do wonders for the series as it forges ahead on next-gen consoles. We’ll see whether EA takes that lesson to heart when Madden 22 launches later this year.
Madden 22 releases August 20 on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, Google Stadia, and PC. It will available via early pre-order access on August 17.
Madden NFL 22 is coming in August and it’ll have not one but two cover stars, just as EA’s goat-themed teasers suggested. Defending Super Bowl champion Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and QB Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs–the two superstars who faced off in the Super Bowl earlier this year–will grace the cover of the new game.
Madden NFL 22 launches on August 20 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Origin, Google Stadia, and mobile.
EA is calling this year’s game the “most authentic virtual football experience to date,” and one of its newest features is themed around momentum and home field advantage. The aim here to capture the feeling of the highs and lows of swings in action that happens in real football. There is a performance-based momentum meter in the game now that shifts back and forth depending on what happens on the field, and the game experience will change based on that.
Madden NFL 22 also has a new home field advantage feature, which is meant to replicate how it is statistically and historically more difficult to win on the road. Each of the 32 teams will have their own unique home field advantage. For the Seattle Seahawks, when the team is performing well, the play art will become scrambled for the opposing team, which will make it more difficult to execute plays.
This is meant to highlight how Seattle is known for having a very loud crowd. In Chicago, meanwhile, the kick meter for the opposing team will be more difficult in a bid to represent how windy and cold and it can be in Chicago at certain times of the year. In Denver, players will lose stamina more quickly due to the higher elevation at Mile High Stadium.
Another area of focus for Madden NFL 22 was on improving the skill and smarts of the AI. Producer Clint Oldenburg revealed that 80% of Madden 21 games were played against the computer as opposed to other humans, which is why EA is investing so much in making the AI opponents more challenging and realistic to play against.
In terms of on-the-field improvements, Madden NFL 22 marks the second year of EA Sports using the NFL’s own on-field player statistics. NFL players wear dongles in real games that measure all manner of performance attributes, and the NFL shares this with EA. According to executive producer Seann Graddy, Madden is the only sports game on the world to offer this level of sophistication and depth when it comes to representing a player’s real-world attributes.
Thanks to this information, you can expect better, more realistic-looking animations across the board, while EA Sports has made improvements to tackling and the variety of tackles you’ll see that are dependent on a particular situation and setup between ball-carrier and defender. Additionally, toe drag catches are sidelines are now more accurate, while the feeling of turning up the field after a catch is now more authentic to what it would be like in real life, EA says.
Another improvement for Madden NFL 22 is the game day atmosphere. EA says it has remastered the real-world crowd audio, while there are new player celebrations and sideline reactions that are meant to better represent what you might see on a TV broadcast.
Importantly, EA said that Madden NFL 22’s new dynamic gameday, gameday atmosphere, gameday momentum, and next-gen stats will only be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. But beyond that, EA says it’s looking to have parity across all versions of Madden NFL 22.
Franchise mode is also getting a lot of attention this year, which is something that fans might be happy to know after Madden NFL 21 dropped the ball, so to speak. EA delivered multiple post-launch updates to Madden NFL 21’s Franchise mode to improve the experience, but it wasn’t enough for some, and EA is addressing that feedback in Madden NFL 22.
For Madden NFL 22, one of the biggest new community-requested features is a Franchise Staff option. This allows you to build, grow, and customize four different staff positions, including head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and a player personnel coach. Each has its own distinct skill tree, so you’ll be able to shape and scope your coaches to your liking.
Franchise mode also gets a new weekly strategies feature that allows players to set different strategies they want to employ on a given week, while Franchise mode now has cinematics to give it a more personalized feel that aims to help you better connect to your fantasy team. The Franchise hub, too, has been revamped–it’s one of the first and most noticeable things you’ll see when you boot up Franchise for the first time. It’s not unlike the drastic changes that EA Sports made with NHL 21’s Franchise mode in this department.
Not all of the planned improvements for Franchise mode will be available at launch, however, as one of the highly requested features–Scouting–will come in September through a live service update. That piece is important to call out, too. In the presentation GameSpot attended, the developers stressed that Madden NFL 22–like many of EA’s games these days–is a live service game that will grow and evolve over time based on feedback and EA’s own plans for the future.
Elsewhere, Madden NFL 22 brings back the fan-favorite The Yard mode this year. It is a stripped-down, more arcade-style football experience that people really enjoyed last year. EA is beefing it up in Madden NFL 22 with new narrative elements, though the full picture hasn’t become clear yet. What we know now is that The Yard will have new locations this year and you’ll be able to square off against “the biggest stars of the NFL” as you unlock new items and celebrations for your achievements. The Yard also leans into EA’s overall drive toward live service with new live events and a ranked mode aimed at competitive players. Connected to this, the Superstar KO eliminator mode is back in Madden NFL 22.
The fully single-player mode is also returning in the form of a new campaign called United We Rise. It will have a new cast of characters and a new story, though EA is intentionally holding back specifics because it wants players to experience it with fresh eyes. That said, the developers say they responded to feedback from last year’s story mode and believe that United We Rise will offer a solid leap over what it came with in Madden NFL 21.
It will let you be a quarterback, wide receiver, or running back–or a linebacker for the first time. As with past versions of the mode, it will tell a story about become an NFL star. Also new this year is that it has unified progression with The Yard, so you can bring your character to The Yard.
Finally, Madden NFL 22 of course brings back the popular card-based online mode Ultimate Team. EA is bringing new content to Ultimate Team this year for players to collect. EA didn’t go into too much detail on what’s new in Ultimate Team mode this year, however.
GameSpot will have more on Madden NFL 22 in the days and weeks ahead, including our full interview with executive producer Seann Graddy who spoke to us about why he’s not afraid of 2K’s new NFL games. Check back soon for the full interview.
The NFL recently announced a deal with 2K Sports for new arcade-style NFL games, but EA Sports executive producer Seann Graddy isn’t afraid of the competition. In fact, he believes it’s a good thing that the NFL is cutting deals with other game developers.
EA’s own Madden series remains the exclusive developer of simulation-based NFL games, so when players want that type of experience, Madden is there for them.
“As far as the other products that [the NFL is] working with, I honestly think it’s a good thing for the industry and the market because you’re seeing more players engaging with with the NFL and getting excited about the league, getting excited about players,” he told GameSpot. “And when they want to get the simulation experience, they come to Madden. So I think it’s a good thing.”
Graddy went on to say that Madden has succeeded in recent years in expanded the market of “football fandom” across its various modes. Its newest one, The Yard, offers a more stripped down take on the game, and EA is further investing in this mode in Madden NFL 22.
“I almost see Madden as a football amusement park where you can come in and play a lot of different ways. Over time, if you’re playing Madden one way when you’re 15, 17, 18, may not be the same way you play it when you’re 28, 30, 35. I think that relationship is healthy [with the NFL],” he said.
2K worked out a deal with the NFL for arcade-style NFL games. That’s an important distinction because EA remains the exclusive developer of simulation-style NFL games.
2K’s own NFL game was recently delayed, but it heralds the return of what was once a very popular NFL 2K series. Under its new agreement with the NFL, 2K will make arcade-style NFL games. That’s an important distinction because EA Sports remains the exclusive developer of simulation-style NFL games with its Madden NFL series.
The new NFL game from 2K will have the names, numbers, images, and likenesses of more than 2,000 current NFL players, which is a big deal.
J.J. Abrams is set to produce a new four-part documentary series about UFOs. The series is simply titled UFO and will be made for Showtime.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, UFO will be executive produced by Abrams and directed by Mark Monroe and Paul Crowder. Monroe previously co-wrote the Oscar-winning doping scandal exposé Icarus, while Crowder worked as an editor on acclaimed documentaries such as Dogtown and Z-Boys and Sound City.
The synopsis for UFO states that the show will explore “what clandestine influence the American government, lucrative private companies, and the military may have in shielding the truth behind extraterrestrial phenomena to further their own agendas” as well as examining “the history of the phenomenon through cultural and political touchpoints, including shocking testimony from eyewitnesses across the country.” The show doesn’t have a premiere date yet.
The announcement of the new series couldn’t be more timely. Members of the House Intelligence Committee are soon to receive classified briefings on on UFOs sightings (now termed UAP, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon), with an unclassified version of the report presented to Congress at the end of June.
As well as making UFO, Abrams is involved in a variety of projects for DC. He’s producing a new Superman movie, which will be written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and feature a Black superman. In addition, he’s developing a new Constantine show for HBO Max, as well as one focusing on the superpowered sorceress Zatanna, to be written by Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell.
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Update: Metroid Dread amiibo preorders have just gone live at Amazon for £25.99. These won’t last long, so get your preorder in as soon as possible. We’ve also just seen the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda preorders go live, another incredibly popular item.
There are some awesome deals in the roll-up to Prime Day, but it’s not all Amazon dominated at the moment. Currys have got some spectacular discounts, including £10 in PlayStation Credit and a PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller for just £55. All you need to do is use code GAMINGFND3 checkout. You can also get a Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros for £25 with code FNDDGAME at Currys.
