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A closed beta test for NHL 21 is coming up very soon, and now EA Sports has detailed what’s in it and what to expect. The beta test will start on August 28, the studio has confirmed.

Those accepted into the beta test will be able to try out two modes: Online Versus and World of Chel. Because it is a closed test, users are forbidden from streaming their gameplay, so don’t expect to see footage.

Registrations for the NHL 21 closed beta test are closed, so if you did not already sign up for a chance to get in, you’re out of luck. Those who did should check their emails to see if they have been accepted.

NHL 21 has now been officially announced, and it features Alexander Ovechkin on the cover. Among the new features for this year are a series of skill moves that have been made famous in the NHL, including the lacrosse/Michigan move and Kucherov’s “no move move.” EA has said it will use the NHL 21 beta test to gather feedback regarding these moves.

For lots more on NHL 21, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of everything new this year.

The ongoing Halo 3: ODST beta test on PC and Xbox One for The Master Chief Collection will run for longer than expected. Developer 343 Industries has confirmed that the beta test, or “flight,” will now run through Monday, August 31.

The beta remains closed, so you will need an invitation to get in. Just recently, 343 sent over 100,000 more invitations on PC alone, so be sure to check your email. To get into the beta you need to be a member of the free Halo Insider program–you can sign up here.

Those who are selected for the beta test on PC can try out six campaign missions and seven Firefight maps, plus some of the new changes and improvements coming to the Master Chief Collection, including new weapon skins and guns for Halo 3.

The situation is slightly different on Xbox One–the ODST campaign has been available on the Xbox One version of the Master Chief Collection since 2015, but Firefight, the wave-based multiplayer mode, is making its long-awaited debut. Both the campaign and Firefight are heading to PC for the very first time.

ODST was originally released back in 2009 for the Xbox 360. Critic Tom McShea awarded it a score of 9/10 in GameSpot’s Halo 3: ODST review, saying, “The delicate construction of the story adds a new wrinkle to the typical Halo plot, and the action-packed campaign levels are full of intense battles and surprising encounters. Firefight mode is a standout addition, crafting highly addictive cooperative battles for players to experience.”

Several Lab Zero Games employees have announced their departure from the studio. The mass exodus is in response to Lab Zero Games director Mike “MikeZ” Zaimont going back on his word to step down from his position following harassment allegations.

“The reason Lab Zero never issued a statement about MikeZ is because he hasn’t let us,” former Lab Zero Games creative director and lead animator Mariel “Kinuko” Cartwright wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “I’m here today because we had asked him to leave over these behaviors. He apologized for his behavior and said he would, but has now turned around and said he won’t, all the while continuing to intimidate and bully employees. Mike is the 100% shareholder of the company, and as such, it is his right to stay if he wants to.”

In another statement posted to Twitter, former Lab Zero Games art producer Brian “EU03” Jun clarified that Zaimont went back on his word to step down when his “unrealistically high and potentially illegal” terms weren’t met.

“Mike used intimidating and potentially retaliatory tactics to bully the team while refusing responsibility for his actions,” former Lab Zero Games senior animator Jonathan Kim wrote in their statement, also posted to Twitter. “He then gave all employees until August 31 to leave if they’re unsatisfied and so now we’re here.”

Quite a few other Lab Zero Games employees released similar statements or simply tweeted out that they were leaving the studio without supplying their exact reasons, including former senior animator Jebus “Simpai” Matoi and former senior artist Jessica Allen. Necrosoft Games director Brandon Sheffield also released a statement on Twitter about Lab Zero Games, speaking out about why he cut ties with the studio earlier this year.

Lab Zero Games developed Skullgirls and Indivisible, two video games often celebrated for their fun character designs, enjoyable combat, and diverse representation. It’s disappointing to see one man’s horrific actions and inexcusable handling of the aftermath lead to the dissolution of such a creative team.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be announced through the battle royale game Warzone on August 26, and now we know exactly when the reveal will happen.

The Call of Duty Twitter account posted a teaser today that confirms the timing of the announcement–10:30 AM PT. That works out 1:30 PM in New York and 6:30 PM in London. In Japan, it’ll be at 2:30 AM, and in Sydney the reveal will take place at 3:30 AM.

The teaser, which you can see below, shows the opening to a Warzone match before cutting out. The enduring rumor is that Warzone’s map, Verdansk, will be overhauled to give it a Cold War style and tone to reflect the new Call of Duty game.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for lots more on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, as we’ll be reporting about the Warzone reveal and whatever else happens this week.

Black Ops Cold War is developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, with Beenox handling the PC edition which will be exclusive to Battle . net.

Black Ops Cold War teaser art has also been revealed. The art features a character wearing a Soviet insignia on the left and an American on the right, presumably to show how the two major powers were essentially equals during the height of the conflict. It’s unclear if these characters are part of the story.

Even with Black Ops Cold War set for a reveal soon, Activision continues to update and support Warzone and Modern Warfare with the Season 5 Reloaded update that adds a new weapon, mode, and more.

Hitman III developer IO Interactive recently announced that the PlayStation versions of the game will get a PSVR mode, letting you play through each location in first-person virtual reality. While there’s been some question of how the game would translate to VR, since so much of the game’s stealth involves costume changes and situational awareness, IO Interactive has released a single, short GIF that really sells the concept.

You can see the GIF in the tweet below. It shows 47 tapping a man on the shoulder with a crowbar before whacking him in the face with it as he turns around. It’s a perfect encapsulation of Hitman’s extremely dark sense of humor, albeit a bit more slapstick than usual–as is befitting of VR.

This seems to be taken from the Sapienza level from the first season of Hitman, at the inside front gate to the De Santis estate.

The Twitter account has shared a few other GIFs from the game’s new VR mode since it was announced, showing 47 relaxing and firing blind around corners.

A new location from the third game, the Thornbridge Manor, was recently shown off. IO Interactive has also detailed how Elusive Targets, Escalation missions, and Contract modes will be overhauled in the future.

Hitman III releases for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on January 21, 2021. The VR mode will launch exclusively for PSVR users.

A recently approved PS5 DualSense patent suggests that Sony’s next-gen controller may one day be able to identify specific users simply by how they are holding it.

As reported by SegmentNext (via VGC), this patent describes a system that would use DualSense’s sensors, including its gyroscope and accelerometer, to gather telemetry data to track the controller’s position, orientation, and properties “such as the maximum velocity, minimum velocity or mean velocity of the controller for a given time, such as 60 seconds for example.”

If a match is found by the controller, it would prompt the user to accept or reject the detected profile. This patent looks to solve the issue of having to manually log into multiple accounts and provide a more seamless experience.

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This patent isn’t strictly limited to the DualSense, however, as it also indicates this technology could work with other devices like the DualShock controller, Move Motion controllers, PSVR Headset, and more.

It’s important to note that patents are filed by companies all the time, and this specific filing does not guarantee this will make it to PS5 owners around the world.

Other recent patents filed by Sony include one that gives a glimpse of what the PS5 UI could look like, an AI tool that could help players if they are stuck in a game, a cloud system to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 games, and more.

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

The Unfinished Swan, a classic PS3/PS4/Vita puzzle game about splashing paint around a barren environment, might be getting a follow-up. At least, that’s what fans are speculating after a cryptic tweet from publisher Annapurna Interactive.

The Unfinished Swan was developed by Giant Sparrow, which went on to create What Remains of Edith Finch. The two games are explicitly connected, although explaining how would be a spoiler. Edith Finch was published by Annapurna Interactive, and the company has now tweeted out a picture of a paint splash from The Unfinished Swan.

You can see it below. Despite the image just consisting of a black paint splash, The Unfinished Swan’s style was distinctive enough that we have no doubt it’s a reference to that game.

The game was published by Sony, and was thus exclusive to PS3, PS4, and PS Vita. It could be that Annapurna has the rights to port the game to new systems; it could be that they have the rights to a sequel. While some have noted that the tweet was published from an iPhone, which could be a sign of a mobile port, it’s worth noting that many of the account’s tweets are made from the iPhone Twitter client.

Of course, Annapurna tweeting a screenshot from a beloved game, made by a developer they’ve worked with, might not actually be a sign of anything–it could just be that someone on their social media team loves the game. But a quick scroll through the account’s Twitter media tab shows that such a post would be unusual.

The Unfinished Swan received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review of the PS4 version. “The Unfinished Swan presented in Chapter One could’ve sustained a few hours by itself. Instead, it takes up only half an hour, followed by another few hours that settle for being simply great and delightful,” wrote reviewer Justin Clark.

Netflix has released a trailer for Dragon’s Dogma, the anime adaptation of Capcom’s RPG of the same name. The show is coming to the streaming service on September 17.

As with the game, it looks like the protagonist will be the “Arisen”, although here, he’s called Ethan. The Arisen has had his heart stolen by a dragon, his family has been murdered, and he’s out for vengeance. As with the game, Ethan has a “pawn” travelling with and protecting him–her name is Hannah, who fans of the game might recognize as a companion character. The trailer also hints at a dark side emerging within Ethan as he’s consumed by his mission.

You can watch the trailer below. The anime seems to use a 3D animation style for its characters. The series is being handled by animation studio Sublimation, the studio behind zombie anime movie Walking Meat.

Netflix has previously released a poster and some images for the series, too. It was announced in early 2019.

Dragon’s Dogma was released in 2012. A sort-of follow up, Deep Down, was announced ahead of the PS4’s launch, and while it never eventuated, producer Yoshinori Ono has said that the project isn’t dead yet.

Grand Theft Auto V is a game with many paranormal and alien secrets, and more continue to come to its Online mode over time. A group of dataminers have found evidence of a new alien spacecraft in the game, and activated a mission that has been added to the game’s files but is not properly accessible yet.

Kotaku has reported on the Fort Zancudo UFO Business Battle, which was uncovered by The Game File Gurus. The mission, which quietly slipped into the game’s code alongside the Summer Special update, involves breaking into the hanger the UFO is being stored in and stealing spaceship parts.

You can watch the mission–which likely isn’t in its final form–in the video from The Game File Gurus below.

This all started when the datamining team found a new, huge UFO model in the game’s files, and eventually discovering that it was tied to a Business Battle mission. In this one, you need to take the spaceship parts to Omega, an alien obsessive who is part of GTA’s larger narrative.

It’s unclear if there’s a way to actually activate this mission normally right now–or if, perhaps, Rockstar North wanted dataminers to find it. It’s possible that you actually can make this mission start without needing to fiddle with the game’s code, but no one has figured out how yet.

Rockstar recently renewed a domain for GTA 6, but don’t expect the game any time soon–GTA V is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X, along with GTA Online, and we imagine they’ll remain big for a while yet. This release will feature next-gen exclusive content for GTA Online.