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August is just around the corner, and Pokemon Go developer Niantic has a few events lined up for the mobile game next month. On top of the Ultra Unlock events, August 2020 will bring a new Research Breakthrough encounter, Pokemon Spotlight Hours, and more. Here’s what’s happening in the game next month.

August Research Breakthrough: Scraggy

A new batch of Field Research tasks will go live once August begins, as will a new Research Breakthrough reward. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in August, you’ll encounter the Dark/Fighting Pokemon Scraggy. To achieve a Research Breakthrough, you’ll need to collect seven stamps. You’ll get one of these for the first Field Research task you complete each day.

August Community Day

Pokemon Go’s August Community Day is set for Saturday, August 8. This month’s featured Pokemon is Magikarp, and it’ll be appearing in the wild much more often than usual throughout the event. You’ll also have a chance to catch a Shiny Magikarp, and if you can evolve the fish Pokemon into Gyarados up to two hours after the Community Day ends, it’ll learn the event-exclusive move Aqua Tail.

Ultra Unlock Events

As a reward for completing the global challenges during Pokemon Go Fest 2020, Niantic is hosting a handful of Ultra Unlock events over the next few weeks. The first, Dragon Week, runs from July 31 to August 7 and features Dragon-type Pokemon. Immediately after that will be Enigma Week, which runs from August 7-14 and focuses on otherworldly Pokemon like the Mythical Deoxys. Finally, Unova Week will take place from August 14-21 and feature Gen 5 Pokemon.

Pokemon Spotlight Hours

Every Tuesday evening in August, Niantic will spotlight one specific Pokemon and bonus for one hour. These spotlight events will all run from 6-7 PM local time. You can see the full schedule below:

Date	Spotlight Pokemon	Special Bonus
August 4	Horsea	2x catch Candy
August 11	Sableye	2x transfer Candy
August 18	Venipede	2x evolution XP
August 25	Geodude	2x catch Stardust

Pokemon Go Fest Makeup Event

Because some players experienced technical issues during Pokemon Go Fest 2020, Niantic is holding a makeup event in August for those who purchased a Go Fest ticket. The event will take place on August 16 and run from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. Just as during Pokemon Go Fest, there will be rotating habitats every hour during the makeup event, and they’ll feature some Pokemon that appeared during Go Fest. The habitat rotation schedule is as follows:

• 11 AM: Fire habitat
• 12 PM: Water habitat
• 1 PM: Friendship habitat

Additionally, Niantic will offer a free special box from Pokemon Go’s in-game shop during the event that features two Incense and two Remote Raid Passes. Any Incense that are used during the event will also last for an hour rather than the usual 30 minutes, and you may receive Rare Candies from gifts opened during the event.

Microsoft has announced that Battletoads will be available on Xbox Game Pass or to purchase on Xbox One and PC on August 20, 2020.

The release date was revealed on Xbox Wire alongside a brand new trailer, and it shows more of the game that brings back Zitz, Rash, and Pimple for the first time in 26 years.

This newest Battletoads adventure is developed by Dlala Studios, and is supported by series creator Rare.

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For those unfamiliar with Battletoads, it follows Zitz, Rash, and Pimple as they fight of “the Dark Queen and her abominable allies, in action that takes place across a variety of beat ’em up, platforming, and racing stages.”

The original Battletoads was known for its difficulty, but Dlala is giving players more options in how they want to play. These options include couch co-op and multiple difficulty settings that will “suit everyone from Tadpole to Battletoad.”

Battletoads features a hand-animated art style and “pays homage to the stylish, self-aware cartoon of the late ’90s.”

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In our hands-on of the new Battletoads, we said that while it’s still tough, it is no longer sadistic, and “It felt like playing as Dante, or pre-fatherhood Kratos, and I mean that in a good way.”

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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.

It’s been a staggering 26 years since the last Battletoads game, but if you’ve been itching for its amphibian beat-em-up action you only have a handful of weeks left to wait. Microsoft has announced that Battletoads is launching on August 20.

The action-platformer, developed by Dlala Studios and Sea of Thieves creators Rare, reimagines the classic gameplay formula for a new high-definition age. It retains the same sense of 90s Saturday morning cartoon style, but with sharper hand-drawn art and smoother animations. You can check out some new gameplay in the latest trailer below.

Battletoads sees the return of protagonists Zitz, Rash, and Pimple and their unending feud with The Dark Queen. Gameplay will shift between the expected side-scrolling beat-em-up action and puzzle-focused platforming, including new vehicular sections that play out in 3D too.

Dlala says that fans of the grueling challenge the old game offered will be at home here, but that numerous difficulty options will also let players of all skill levels have fun. Battletoads will also support local co-op, allowing up to three players to drop in and out of the action at will.

Battletoads will launch on Xbox One and PC, across both the Windows Store and Steam. It will also be part of Xbox Games Pass on Xbox One and PC, with a pre-load already live.

The Last of Us HBO series producer Craig Mazin has promised that the TV show adaptation will not “undo” the popular Naughty Dog PlayStation game.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Chernobyl Special, Mazin, the creator of the remarkable miniseries about the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster, opened up about the current project that he is working on with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, as he explained the careful process behind adapting The Last of Us for television, assuring fans that they plan to “expand” the source material rather than “undo” it.

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“I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licenced to someone else, those people don’t really understand it, or are going to change it,” Mazin explained. “In this case, I’m doing it with the guy who did it, and so the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.”

As a self-proclaimed fan of The Last of Us franchise, Mazin described the project as a “dream come true,” though he also acknowledged the strong emotions that are attached to the iconic game and the challenges that can create for a small-screen adaptation.

“We’re creating anew and we’re also reimagining what is already there to present a different format,” he added. “It’s kind of a dream come true for me. I’m a little bit scared because a lot of emotions connected to this game are rather intense. I think I’m probably going to go hide in a bunker for a while because you can’t make everyone happy!”

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Shortly after The Last of Us HBO series was announced, Mazin promised that the character of Ellie would still be gay on the TV show and explained why the story, overall, worked better as an ongoing series rather than a standalone movie, as this project is replacing the film adaptation that Sony previously announced back in 2014.

Instead, Sony Pictures Television has now teamed with PlayStation Productions to co-produce the upcoming series, which recently scored its first episode director.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Bethesda has revealed its schedule for QuakeCon at Home, this year’s replacement to the traditional QuakeCon event. Originally scheduled to take place this year from August 6-9, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the annual live event being cancelled and replaced with a digital alternative that will be held from August 7-9. As expected, QuakeCon at Home will feature panels, tournaments, and presentations on games such as DOOM Eternal, Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls Online and Dishonored.

Some of the highlights for the weekend include the conclusion of the 2019-2020 Quake Pro League season on August 9 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET and a DOOM Eternal panel with creative director Hugo Martin and executive producer Marty Stratton.

Here’s the full schedule for the event, which can be viewed from Twitch when it kicks off next week.

Friday, August 7

• Welcome to QuakeCon at home — 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online Voice-Over Chat — 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET
• Fallout 76 – A Colossal Problem Boss Event — 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET
• DOOM Eternal – Ultra Nightmare — 12:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM ET
• Representation in Video Games — 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
• Prey Tell with Janina Gavankar and Susan Kath — 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET
• DOOM Eternal with Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton — 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET
• Alienware Hour | Final Achievements in DOOM Eternal — 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET
• 3 Amigos and their (DOOM) Demons — 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET

Saturday, August 8

• Fallout 76 – C.A.M.P. Competition & Showcase — 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET
• Fallout 76 – Australia Community Session — 9:30 PM PT / 12:30 AM ET
• Fallout – Cooking Show — 11 PM PT / 2 AM ET
• Fallout Cosplay – Interview with 5NOVCreations — 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online Charity Stream for UNICEF — 1AM PT / 4 AM ET
• Prey: Mooncrash – You Decide — 2:10 AM PT / 5:10 AM ET
• A tour of DOOM Eternal’s greatest hidden secrets — 3:30 AM PT / 6:30 AM ET
• Arkane 20: Dishonored with Elly the Geek + Arkane — 5AM PT / 8 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online – Conquering Icereach — 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET
• Skyrim Challenges — 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET
• Fallout 76 – Creative C.A.M.P. Building — 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET
• DOOM Eternal BATTLEMODE | Friday Night Fights | Invitational Finals — 9:30 AM PT / 12:30 PM ET
• CHAD: A Fallout 76 Story Podcast — 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET
• The Best Elder Scrolls Online Roleplay on Twitch! — 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
• A Dishonored Tabletop Adventure — 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online Gearless & Fearless Dungeon Run — 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET
• DOOM Eternal with 3 Chubby Bastards — 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET
• Robert Whittaker & Pete Hines play The Elder Scrolls Online — 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET

Sunday, August 9

• Bethesda Cosplay – Competition & Showcase — 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online – Australia Community Session — 9:30 PM PT / 12:30 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls – Cooking Show — 11 PM PT2 AM ET
• DOOM Eternal – Nightmare Blindfold Challenge — 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online – My World with Aeyvi — 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET
• Fallout 76 Sightseeing — 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET
• Fallout 4 – ItsJABO’s Speedrun — 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET
• Fallout 76 – Global Community Team Free Play — 5 / AM PT8 AM ET
• Speedrunning DOOM Eternal On Ultra Nightmare — 6:30 AM PT / 9:30 AM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online – PvP Masterclass with RubenSky — 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET
• DOOM II | FFA Finals | Take The Crown — 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET
• A Dishonored Tabletop Adventure (Continued!) — 12 PM PT / 1 PM ET
• Quake World Championship – Grand Finals — 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
• The Elder Scrolls Online – Live Art Creation & Chat — 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET
• Mooncrash with Lawrence Sonntag and Ricardo Bare — 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET
• The Evil Within with Poiised and Teecup181 — 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET
• The Evil Within 2 with John Johanas & Jonny Roses — 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET

The Epic Games Store recently began testing achievement functionality by adding an early form of the highly requested feature to Ark: Survival Evolved. Now, the storefront has introduced another important feature in the form of mod support for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.

Much like the Epic Games Store’s achievements, this is an early implementation of a feature that will eventually make its way to more games as Epic irons out the kinks. An update has rolled out to support the newly added feature, and there are already numerous mods available to download.

“We are extremely excited to announce that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is the first game to participate in the Beta launch of Epic Games Store Mods,” developer Piranha Games said in a statement. “With this release, discovering and installing MW5 Mods made by the amazing modding community will be easier than ever, integrated directly into the existing Epic Games Launcher.”

The studio has highlighted some of the standout mods available now, including:

• MechCommander Mercenaries by the MCM Team is a recently-announced and highly ambitious real-time strategy conversion of MW5. A complete genre change like this really speaks to the capabilities and flexibility of making mods for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries in the Unreal Engine!
• MW5 Mercs Reloaded by NavidA1, the most prolific creator in the MW5 Modding community, is not just a near ground-up expansion of ‘Mechs and the MechLab, but an ongoing rework of many core systems and a collection of great quality-of-life improvements.
• MercTech by MagnumForceGB is a comprehensive overhaul of many core mechanics related to ‘Mechs and the MechLab, introducing an array of new weapons, equipment, and features inspired by traditional BattleTech systems and rules.
• The TableTopRulez Lancemate and Enemy AI Mods by Oraeon1224 are two significant expansions on the AI systems in MW5, bringing greater complexity and visible levels of intelligence to the in-mission AI.
• The MW5 Mod Compatibility Pack by Sketch is an amazing effort to increase compatibility between disparate Mods, enabling creators to focus their work and coordinate with other creators to unlock even greater potential in their Mods.

To check out the mods currently available, head to the MechWarrior 5 page on the Epic Games Store and you’ll see a drop-down menu for “Mods” at the top of the screen, allowing you to either browse existing mods or jump straight into the game’s modding toolkit. The mod editor is now included as part of the game and will appear in your library.

Epic announced back in June that the Epic Games Store had hit a peak of 61 million monthly users. This followed a promotion where several major games were given to users for free, including Grand Theft Auto V, Civilization VI, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. The store also continues to give away free games every week, too.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the battle royale game Warzone are currently offering double XP and more, and the bonuses are set to run all weekend long.

In addition to double XP for standard level progression, the games are offering double weapon XP and double XP for Battle Pass tiers. This comes at a key time, as the Modern Warfare/Warzone Season 4 Battle Pass is about to end.

As such, now is your last chance to unlock the content in the Battle Pass (though its contents can also be purchased with real money at any time). The double XP period ends at 10 AM PT on August 4.

Modern Warfare/Warzone Season 5 is expected to begin in the first week of August, bringing with it a new Operator and a new Battle Pass. Additionally, a new faction called Shadow Company will come to the multiplayer games in the Season 5 update.

Presumably, Infinity Ward will have lots more to share on Season 5 next week, including the full contents and patch notes, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

While Modern Warfare and Warzone are still going strong, Activision is releasing a new Call of Duty game this year, and it’s rumored to be Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War from developer Treyarch.

The Halo series has long allowed players to create and customize maps through the Forge, and one fan has created something very cool in Halo 5. Fan Alexander Henry has recreated a portion of the map from Halo Infinite, as seen in the recent gameplay reveal (below), and it looks great.

Henry posted a video reel of his map to Twitter, saying that it’s a 4v4 Slayer map created within 48 hours of the initial reveal. “I just want a shot at joining 343’s Forge team,” he said.

You can check out the video below. With Halo Infinite’s visuals drawing criticism, it has to be said–it looks pretty nice in the Halo 5 engine.

The official Halo account has not taken notice of Henry’s effort yet, but judging from the responses many members of the Halo community are impressed by his work.

Halo Infinite will be out on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC later this year. The game will not feature paid loot boxes, which is good news.