Halo Infinite Monster Energy Promotion Launches, Despite Game Delay

Monster Energy has launched a promotion to tie in with Halo Infinite, despite the game’s delay into a to-be-determined date in 2021. By collecting limited-edition Halo Infinite cans, you can get Double XP points to use sometime next year.

The special-edition Halo-themed cans will be available through December 31, 2020, which probably made more sense when the game was expected to be out by then. At any rate, you can stock up on Double XP points now, as well as use an exclusive Snapchat filter. Collecting all three Snapchat codes each month will get you an exclusive weapon. The announcement says you can redeem them at Monster-Halo.com, but the site isn’t live yet as of the time of writing.

Your receipts will also give you entry into a grand prize drawing. Ten entrants will win a trip for two to Paris, France plus $1000 cash to spend there. That would presumably be scheduled for sometime after France lifts travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another 200 winners will get an Xbox Series X.

343 Industries said the delay was necessary to give the team “adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision.” No new date has been announced. Microsoft paired the announcement with word that the Xbox Series X will launch in November, touting the “thousands of games to play, spanning four generations” that will be available to play.

Fans have appeared mostly understanding about the delay, though it appears to leave Xbox Series X without a single big launch game. We still don’t know what the price for the Series X will be–or the PS5 for that matter–but that isn’t as strange as you might think.

Now Playing: Halo Infinite Gameplay Demo | Xbox Games Showcase 2020

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Destiny 2: Where Is Xur This Weekend? Exotic Items / Location Guide (Aug. 14-18)

Destiny 2‘s summer event, the Solstice of Heroes, is underway, bringing Guardians a quest to unlock a set of armor that’s a celebration of everything they’ve accomplished in the last year. You’ll need to grind through a bunch of different activities to earn the armor–and some of the game’s hardest to upgrade it fully. That makes this a good opportunity to visit Xur and grab some new Exotics to help you get through. Here’s where you can find him and what he’s selling until August 18.

Head to Titan to find Xur this week, on The Rig. For his weapon, Xur is offering Graviton Lance. Hunters can pick up the Ophidia Spathe chest armor; for Titans, there’s the Mk. 44 Stand Asides leg armor; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Skull of Dire Ahamkara helmet.

Xur Location

Spawn in at the transmit zone on The Rig and head east, to your left around the building, so you can find a way through to the far side of the area. Once you get out from under the overhangs, turn left to look for the edge of the platform, and a low, dark building you can slip inside. You’ll find Xur there, hanging out in the shadows.

Head up to the northern edge of The Rig to find the building where Xur is hiding.
Head up to the northern edge of The Rig to find the building where Xur is hiding.

Xur Exotic Items

This week, Xur offers Graviton Lance, a pulse rifle that’s long been a solid Crucible option thanks to its high-powered burst and added deadly effects. If you’re not a fan of his other options, Xur also sells an Exotic engram that will decrypt into an Exotic you don’t already own. He also has the Five of Swords challenge card, which lets you enable modifiers for Nightfall Strikes.

  • Exotic Engram — 97 legendary shards
  • Graviton Lance — 29 legendary shards
  • Ophidia Spathe — 23 legendary shards
  • Mk. 44 Stand Asides — 23 legendary shards
  • Skull of Dire Ahamkara — 23 legendary shards
  • Five of Swords — free

Graviton Lance (Pulse Rifle)

In both PvE and the Crucible, Graviton Lance is a powerful pulse rifle that can clean up groups of enemies thanks to its Cosmology perk.
In both PvE and the Crucible, Graviton Lance is a powerful pulse rifle that can clean up groups of enemies thanks to its Cosmology perk.

Graviton Lance is one of those Exotic weapons that’s been around in Destiny 2 since the beginning, and it’s still a pretty reliable and popular gun in various circumstances. First, the second shot of its three-shot burst does serious extra damage, which gives you a really good reason to make sure you’re lining up your headshots. Second, enemies killed by Graviton Lance explode and send out Void projectiles that can kill others–a bonus that, coupled with its range, makes this a pretty great weapon in the Crucible or in PvE.

Ophidia Spathe (Hunter)

Ophidia Spathe gives you an extra throwing knife. That's it. That's the Exotic.

It’s simple, really: If you like chucking knives at people, Ophidia Spathe is for you. Thanks to recent buffs in Hunter throwing knives, this Exotic is a lot more viable, since you can score a one-hit kill with the new weighted knife. It’s also a useful piece of a Blade Barrage build, allowing you to keep the Playing With Fire perk going for longer, which speeds the cooldown of your dodge and your melee ability. Its stats are pretty great as well, so if you don’t have Ophidia Spathe already, you might want to snag this one.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 8
  • Resilience: 9
  • Recovery: 17
  • Discipline: 11
  • Intellect: 2
  • Strength: 18
  • Total: 65

Mk. 44 Stand Asides (Titan)

Like running through gunfire to smack somebody with your shoulder and instantly vaporize them? Mk. 44 Stand Asides will make you even more annoyingly tough to kill.

Titans who rely on shoulder charge get a big boost from the Mk. 44 Stand Asides. You get an overshield whenever you’re sprinting at full health, so you’re even tougher to kill when you’re barreling down on some poor unsuspecting Guardian in the Crucible. You also get melee energy back after you hit something with your shoulder charge ability, allowing you to crush more puny Hunters and Warlocks more often.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 9
  • Resilience: 3
  • Recovery: 21
  • Discipline: 12
  • Intellect: 6
  • Strength: 13
  • Total: 64

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Warlock)

It got nerfed a while back, but the Skull of Dire Ahamkara is still a pretty great Exotic for Nova Bomb-loving Warlocks.

Bungie might have nerfed it a while back, but the Skull of Dire Ahamkara helmet is still a very useful Exotic for Warlocks who like Nova Bombs. First, it makes you tougher to kill while executing the Super, which is great in the Crucible when you’re trying to blast several opponents at once. Second, earning kills with Nova Bomb gives you Super energy back–which means more Nova Bombs more often. You won’t get a full Super charge after one use like you used to, but Skull of Dire Ahamkara still can help you drop bombs.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 14
  • Resilience: 3
  • Recovery: 15
  • Discipline: 13
  • Intellect: 6
  • Strength: 9
  • Total: 60

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EA Play Is The New Name For EA’s Cross-Platform Subscription Service

Since starting with EA Access on Xbox One, the subscription service has adopted new names according to the platform you’re playing on. With the service now heading to Steam, EA is consolidating everything under one new brand: EA Play.

EA and Origin Access will now simply be EA Play, irrespective of whether you’re subscribed on Xbox One, PS4, Steam, or through Origin directly. Similarly, Origins Access Premier will now be known as EA Play Pro–both EA Play and EA Play Pro will be available on both Origin and Steam.

Despite the name change, the fundamentals of each service are the same. EA Play will give you access to a vault of games that is updated periodically, often with EA’s own titles months after their initial release. You’ll also have access to new games ahead of launch, with time-limited trial periods that allow you to retain any progress should you purchase the game at a discounted price. EA Play will still be $5 a month, or $30 a year.

EA Play Pro will adopt the benefits of Origin Access Premier, which allows subscribers to play new titles without any time limits from launch. It’s easy to think of EA Play Pro as EA’s own take on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, for around the same price. EA Play Pro will be $15 a month, or $100 a year.

EA Play is a brand the publisher started establishing with its events around E3. This year’s stream was called EA Play Live and showcased some of the titles EA is launching throughout the rest of the year. EA says that it will stick with this naming for future events. The name change will be effective from August 18.

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Apex Legends Season 6 Is Bringing Changes To The World’s End Map

Season 6 of Apex Legends is on its way, and with it come some new changes to the map. According to Apex’s Design Director Jason McCord, these changes are meant to “inject some ‘newness'” into the map and will create more viable play options in the lava fields, create better options for navigating rough chokepoints, and introduce a whole new map mechanic.

The first notable change is the addition of the Launch Site, a new drop point that’s now occupying a previously empty lava field. The Launch Site is another of Hammond Industries’ concoctions, and features four different control rooms said to have a ton of loot, and a new passage so you can rotate through this part of the map like never before. This new area will also serve to provide a variety of traversal options, as it’s near both the Dome and the Sorting Factory.

Apex vets will remember the Drill Site. Well, it’s being replaced by Countdown, another large Hammond facility whose purpose remains unknown. At its center is a pit that boasts some pretty stellar loot, but beware: if you aren’t in control of this area before delving below, you may be in for a bad time. Countdown is built to be a pretty formidable fortress that even includes three user-operated blast walls that can be used to fortify the approach from Skyhook, Lava Train, and Train Yard. These walls are a new mechanic for the map that allow for new ways to attack and defend and can be found at Launch Site, Countdown, and Staging.

Another big change to go with these walls is that the train has not only been stopped, it’s been dismantled. Now, players will be able to find pieces of it spread around the train tracks on World’s End. This will provide more cover in previously empty tunnels, and should give players more options for navigating tricky chokepoints. Two new geysers have also been added, so getting around has never been easier. You can check out all these new changes for free on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

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The Legend of Korra: 11 Best Episodes To Watch

When Avatar: The Last Airbender returned to Netflix, it made a huge splash with people who grew up with the show rewatching and reminiscing about just how fantastic it was, and welcomed an entirely new audience of people just now discovering the show’s brilliance. While Aang and the gang’s adventures sadly came to an end, Avatar’s sequel, The Legend of Korra Seasons 1-4 are now available on Netflix and CBS All Access.

US Army Returns To Twitch–And Hundreds Of Comments About War Crimes

The US Army esports team has returned to Twitch after voluntarily leaving the platform last month. The stream is still ongoing, but it opened with a long period of time in which a lone streamer sat on camera while viewers in chat spammed messages like “WARCRIMES.”

The chat flooded with messages about white phosphorus, the defunding of the USPS, US war crimes, and more as Chris “Goryn” Jones sat on camera awkwardly. He did answer some of the more straightforward questions, like who his favorite Twitch streamer is, between long, uncomfortable pauses. He eventually started playing World of Warcraft for around 1,500 viewers.

“Everybody has the ability to their own opinions,” Jones said while browsing through chat messages. The stream started under the “just chatting” section on Twitch before he hopped onto the MMO.

The US Army’s presence on Twitch became the subject of controversy in July after it joined the platform as part of an outreach and recruitment initiative. The US Army and the US Navy have banned viewers who ask or talk about war crimes, which is potentially a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. Twitch stepped in and stopped the US Army from promoting the fake giveaways that would give viewers’ information to military recruiters.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted down a measure that would have prevented the Army and other branches of the military from recruiting on platforms like Twitch on July 30. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed the amendment but 103 Democrats, who currently have the majority in the House of Representatives, joined Republicans in voting it down.

Call Of Duty Mobile Season 9 Starts This Saturday

Publisher Activision has announced that Call of Duty Mobile‘s Season 9 starts on Saturday, August 15. Titled Conquest, the new season introduces a fresh battle pass, an added game mode, and more.

The headlining feature of Season 9: Conquest is the extra Battle Royale areas. The in-game Battle Royale map has been updated to include four new locations for players to loot weapons and battle enemies in. This includes Campground, Dormitory, Outpost, and Radar Base, all of which house the new Armor Plate item that repairs damaged armor so that you can stay in the fight a little bit longer. In addition to the updated Battle Royale map, Multiplayer has been refreshed with the brand-new close-quarters map Shipment 1944.

Activision shared a roadmap of Season 9’s content, which outlines what’s now live and what’s to come.

A lot is coming to Call of Duty Mobile this month.
A lot is coming to Call of Duty Mobile this month.
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Elsewhere in Season 9, players can further customize weapons with the addition of Gunsmith, a feature seen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Just as expected, Gunsmith lets players personalize their favorites guns with over 50 new attachments, 20 new reticles, and 60 weapon levels. Battle Royale also supports Gunsmith.

And of course, Season 9 comes with a new battle pass with free and premium tiers that features new characters, weapon skins, weapon charms, a new scorestreak, a new weapon, and more. Victor Reznov from the Black Ops series and World at War can be unlocked via the premium tier while the new Kilo Bolt-Action Rifle can be obtained by reaching tier 21 on the free battle pass.

Coming later this month is a new game mode and marquee event. The 10v10 Featured Playlist increases the player count and includes Domination and Team Deathmatch on Crossfire, Meltdown, Shipment, and Takeoff. Meanwhile, the Finest Hour marquee event lets players assemble an army to conquer cities on a virtual map. Those who succeed in their takeovers will earn characters and weapons for each city seized.

Season 9: Conquest also packages various user interface updates, weapon balances, and gameplay optimizations. Activision has yet to outline these changes.

In other Call of Duty news, recent teasers for this year’s entry seemingly confirm the Cold War setting. While an official announcement has yet to be unveiled, Call of Duty 2020 details continue to trickle out.

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LEGO Super Mario Starter Set and Expansions Are Now Shipping

Don’t look now, but loads of new LEGO Super Mario sets are now available to purchase. It’s almost upsetting how many of these sets they released all at once, or at least upsetting for our bank accounts. First there’s the Starter Set, which you need to have in order to use the heap of expansions that are also available. Then there’s a handful of Power-Up Packs to give Mario new looks and special abilities, and even blind bag character packs. Friends, it’s a lot.

If you’re interested in building LEGO Mario levels, the first thing you need to pick up is the Starter Set. That’s the only one that comes with the main man himself. And without Mario, you won’t have much fun with the expansions. You can also check out the LEGO Super Mario app that accompanies these sets.

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Some of the sets are selling out at various retailers (looking at you, Amazon), so you might want to grab any you want sooner rather than later. If you don’t find what you want in stock at the links above, you can try the LEGO Store or Target, as they’re also available at those retailers. And if you’d like to see what we thought of it, check out our LEGO Super Mario hands-on look. Now go out there and start building.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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DC Universe Originals Will Be Moved to HBO Max

To further back up the evidence of some shows being broadcast on both services, DC Universe’s original content will be moved to HBO Max, according to DC Publisher Jim Lee.

Lee spoke to The Hollywood Reporter following the reports that DC had laid off roughly a third of its editorial staff, including its editor-in-chief Bob Harris. This had many questioning the extent of the company’s layoffs and how it would effect the non-comic side of things like DC Universe.

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“The original content that is on DCU is migrating to HBO Max,” Lee said. “Truthfully, that’s the best platform for that content. The amount of content you get, not just DC, but generally from WarnerMedia, is huge and it’s the best value proposition, if I’m allowed to use that marketing term. We feel that is the place for that.”

Doom Patrol, which originated on DC Universe, had its second season simulcast on HBO Max, while the first two seasons of DCU’s animated series Harley Quinn recently made their way to the service. It’s unclear when other programs, like Titans, will make the jump as well.

In regards to what’s going to happen to DCU, it will continue to exist. Lee said it’s in the process of a transformation and that news of what that transformation looks like will come later.

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On the comics side of things, Lee said DC is still “absolutely” publishing comics, “one hundred percent.”

“It is still the cornerstone of everything that we do,” Lee said. “The need for storytelling, updating the mythology, is vital to what we do. The organization leans on us to share and establish the meaningful elements of the content that they need to use and incorporate for all their adaptations.”

“When we think about reaching global audiences, and we see comics as helping drive that awareness and that international brand, it’s very much part of our future.”

While the company is committed to continue publishing comics, its overall slate of comic offerings will be reduced. He said the company will focus on increasing the margins of the books being sold and taking a look at the bottom 20% of the line that “wasn’t breaking even or was losing money” and determining how best to proceed with those comics.

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DC fans can expect to hear more about the company’s future offerings across comics, TV, movies, and video games at the upcoming DC FanDome event on Aug. 22. WB Games Montreal’s possible Batman game is expected to make an appearance there alongside Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game. Here’s the full DC FanDome schedule including panels, how to watch, and more.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes