Fast & Furious: Crossroads, the new Fast & Furious game announced during the 2019 Game Awards, could be facing a delay. The game was due to release in May 2020 to coincide with the release of the next movie in the series, F9, but that film has now been delayed into 2021 due to concerns over cinema attendance in the wake of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Codemasters is now assessing whether Crossroads will move its release date, too. In a statement, the company clarified that the launch of the game is now “uncertain,” although that does not necessarily mean that it will be delayed. “Provided the company releases the F&F Game in Q1 of FY21, the Board anticipates that the later release date of the F9 Film will not have a material impact on its financial expectations for FY21,” the statement says.
“A further announcement will be made in due course to confirm the release date of the F&F Game, following discussions with Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe and Universal Games and digital platforms,” it continues.
This is purposefully uncertain language, but it seems that the benefits of releasing the game early are being weighed against the benefits of delaying it.
Fights In Tight Spaces is the next game coming from the creators of Frozen Synapse 2 and Tokyo 42, and they’re bringing their focus on tactics and split-second decision making to the scenario of a bare-knuckle brawl. As a turn-based, card-focused brawler, your every move is pulled from a selection of action cards from your deck, and you’ll have to think several steps ahead before committing to your brutal counter-attack or grapple maneuver against an unsuspecting foe. In this exclusive gameplay video, lead game designer James Palmer breaks down a typical fight scene in Fights In Tight Spaces, and how one move can result in many different outcomes.
Just as the title suggests, you do engage in several battles in confined spaces. In keeping with the developer’s roots within tactical games, the action takes place on a grid, with you and your foes taking turns. This approach allows you to get a bead on your opponents and plan out your next move. Added to this is the incredibly stylized, yet still brutal art-style that focuses on minimalism. Evoking a similar vibe to films like John Wick and The Matrix, you’ll be able to employ many brutal martial arts moves like jumping kicks and slam takedowns, while even utilizing the environment to work in some extra damage. While you’ll start with low-level grunts, eventually, the enemies will start bringing in guns and other weapons. With the focus on tactics, you can overcome their plans by using the environment and their formation against them, allowing you to bob-and-weave your way through the battles–granted you keep a level head.
What’s interesting about the next game coming from Mode7 and Ground Shatter is that despite the sense of urgency in the scenario, you have the time to plan out your next move. Even with the odds against you within a claustrophobic space, there’s a path to victory when making the right moves, which are shown in brutal, cinematic detail when utilized in the right way. Set for release sometime in 2020, Fights in Tight Spaces is a very different approach to a brawler, yet it still looks to maintain a sharp sense of style and tension, which should make for an exciting time.
The Division 2 will go into weekly maintenance on Tuesday, March 17, starting at 4:30 AM ET / 1:30 AM PT for around 3 hours, on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. According to the patch notes, this update will fix issues that players have reported as part of the game’s Warlords of New York expansion, which rolled out in early March.
One of the most substantial bugs that has plagued the game since that launch involves players manually resetting seasonal manhunts, with some players reporting that they lost progress, or the game failed to properly calculate it. This update disables the ability for players to reset the manhunts until publisher Ubisoft can develop a final fix for later in March. It also fixes an issue where certain encounters were giving players too many keys.
The Division 2’s Warlords of New York expansion added new maps to the game’s New York City environment and a totally-overhauled gear and power system, as well as raising the level cap to 40. It costs $30.
Full patches notes below:
We are temporarily disabling the ability to reset seasonal manhunts to prevent lost progression towards a manhunt. This is a temporary solution while we are working on a more permanent fix meant to release later in March. Once the final fix is implemented, we will reactive the ability to reset manhunts.
Fixed a progression blocker where an NPCs became stuck at the last stage in Castle Clinton.
Fixed an issue that granted an incorrect number of Specialization Points pr. SHD level.
Fixed an issue where blue quality items dropped from regular NPCs in the DZ regardless of player max level.
Fixed an issue where players would gain multiple seasonal caches.
Fixed an issue with seasonal cache rewards becoming contaminated if players leveled in the season whilst in the DZ.
Fixed an issue that prevented players from gaining seasonal XP from DZ activities.
Fixed an issue where enemy NPCs would disappear at The Nest Control Point, halting progress at the “defend stage”.
Fixed an issue that prevented completion of The Nest Control Point on challenging difficulty.
Fixed an issue that would cause some NPCs to be stuck at spawn in various Control Points.
Fixed some puzzle reset issues on all Hunter encounters.
Fixed an issue causing Hunter encounters to give too many keys.
If you received too many keys, you won’t receive new keys until your completed encounters match your amount of keys.
Digital Extremes has delivered a massive update to console versions of the popular multiplayer shooter Warframe. Dubbed “Warframe Revised,” the update first hit PC at the beginning of March, and it totally overhauls major aspects of the game from the ground up.
In the extremely lengthy patch notes, Digital Extremes details how it has changed or reworked many of the game’s major systems. This includes the Rising Tide quest, which was added late last year, and allowed players to build their very own Railjack ship. The team behind the game felt that only a tiny portion of their most hardcore players were finishing it, so they’ve reduced the costs on the quests by large percentages. The update also scrunched the game’s size considerably, from 48 GB to 29 GB on PS4.
This is all part of Digital Extremes’ plan to improve Warframe over the course of the year, especially by making it more accessible to new players. Since it first came out in 2013, Warframe has become one of the most successful online shooters out there. In our 2019 review, our critic Alessandro Fillari noted the game’s many improvements.
“While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.”
Microsoft dropped a ton of new Xbox Series X details onto Xbox Wire, teaching us more about what the next-generation console can do. We already knew about Quick Resume, which allows you to suspend three Series X games simultaneously and seamlessly jump between them, but a new video showed the feature in action.
Along with the video came a list of specs, detailing the console’s architecture and storage solutions. One surprising detail was the announcement of proprietary cards for stage expansion. Microsoft partnered with Seagate to develop 1TB external drives that resemble memory cards. While you can keep games on your own storage devices, they can only be played from the Series X’s internal storage or one of these proprietary cards.
Speaking of games, Microsoft’s Smart Delivery feature allows you to play an Xbox game you own on the best hardware available. For example, if you own Gears 5 on Xbox One, you already own it on Series X. That version of the game has improvements like better graphics and lighting.
All this and more is detailed in the video above. The Xbox Series X launches this holiday season.
E3 2020 is officially canceled due to coronavirus concerns. In lieu of a traditional convention, many publishers are exploring other ways to deliver their news and provide a look at the games on the way.
Microsoft, which owns the Microsoft Theater next to the convention center where E3 is held each year, will host an “Xbox digital event.” Details about the event and what we can expect to see will be announced in the coming weeks.
Nintendo has responded with support for the ESA’s decision to cancel the show. While Nintendo has occupied floor space at E3 in years past, it has forgone the traditional press conference for a Nintendo Direct. Another livestream will likely air this year.
Other publishers have reacted to the cancelation, including Ubisoft and THQ Nordic. Stay tuned to GameSpot as more companies reveal their plans.
The outbreak of COVID-19, which has been declared a global pandemic, is impacting and interrupting a number of businesses and industries. This includes gaming, as development teams move to a work-from-home structure and global tournaments decide to postpone or cancel. 2020 is a massive year for gaming because both Microsoft and Sony are launching next-generation consoles this holiday.
Since these consoles are assembled in China, which is where COVID-19 originated and has seen thousands of cases, many are wondering if these new consoles will be able to launch on schedule. For its part, Microsoft has again stated that the Xbox Series X remains on track.
Microsoft’s recent huge info dump for the Xbox Series X–which included new details on the console’s specs, form factor, controller, and more–also included confirmation that Microsoft is moving forward with its plan to launch the system this holiday.
The blog post mentioned two times that the Xbox Series X is still on schedule to release this holiday. GameSpot followed up with Microsoft to ask if the company anticipated significant supply chain issues for the system, but the company declined to comment.
Similarly, GameSpot approached Sony in February to ask if COVID-19 would have any significant impact on the PS5 and Sony’s plans surrounding launch timing. The company did not respond to GameSpot’s request for comment.
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, Microsoft had concerns about manufacturing in China. The company said the price of the Xbox Series X would depend on how President Trump’s tariffs with China shake out. Those issues have smoothed out, but were quickly replaced by new concerns around COVID-19.
While Microsoft is prepared to say the Xbox Series X remains on schedule for release this holiday, there are a number of lingering questions. Will the console’s exact release date and price be impacted? Will there be supply issues? Will Microsoft continue to go ahead with the rumoured lower-spec next-gen Xbox? Microsoft has time and space to make more announcements in due course, so answers to these questions may become available in time.
Recently, the research group DFC Intelligence put out a statement that predicted one or both of the next-gen systems, either the PS5 or the Xbox Series X, will be delayed to 2021. Should the systems launch on time, supply could be limited and pricing could be higher due to manufacturing issues and the global economy being what it is, the research group said.
Going back to Xbox, Microsoft made a long list of big announcements for the Xbox Series X. For everything you need to know, check out GameSpot’s Xbox Series X news roundup.
One of 2020’s most anticipated games is nearly here: Doom Eternal releases this Friday, March 20, on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch release planned later this year. The first-person shooter is the sequel to Doom 2016 and the fifth entry in the Doom franchise. As usual, you’ll take the role of the Doom Slayer, who must battle through hordes of demons that have overrun Earth while wielding a new arsenal of weapons to rip-and-tear his way through.
If you’re excited to dive back into the world of Doom this Friday, you should consider snagging your copy early so you can take advantage of its pretty sweet pre-order bonuses. Plus, you can get the game itself on sale.
Best deals on Doom Eternal
$49.94 ($60)
The best pre-order deal on Doom Eternal is at Walmart, which is selling the game for $49.94 ahead of its release (the same offer was available at Amazon, but it’s currently sold out). You’ll also receive its pre-order bonuses. You can check out everything your purchase includes below:
Base game for PS4, Xbox One, or PC
Free Doom 64 digital download
Doot Revenant Skin
Throwback Shotgun Weapon Skin
Master-level bonus campaign, Cultist Base
Another great option is at Best Buy, where My Best Buy members will get $10 reward credit with any purchase of Doom Eternal. You can sign up for My Best Buy for free if you don’t have it already. If you shop at Best Buy frequently, this may actually be the better offer, as you’ll also get an exclusive Doom Eternal steelbook on top of the pre-order bonuses listed above. The same offer applies to the Deluxe Edition as well (which isn’t outright discounted anywhere).
Doom Slayers Collection
$20 ($30)
If you want to go back and experience where the Doom series began, the Doom Slayers Collection is an excellent way to snag the first four games. Currently on sale for $20 (normally $30), the Doom Slayers Collection includes Doom, Doom II, Doom 3, and Doom (2016) along with a few bonus items: a $10 mail-in rebate on Doom Eternal, a Doom controller skin, and a poster.
The Art of Doom Eternal
$32.38 ($40)
Developer id Software partnered with Dark Horse Books to publish a full-color hardcover art book for Doom Eternal, which releases March 24, a few days after the game. The Art of Doom Eternal is currently on sale for $32.38, down from $40. The 192-page book features concept art and commentary from the creators of Doom Eternal, including character, weapon, and environmental designs for the game.
Now, more than ever, people who subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services are wondering what’s coming to each of these in the upcoming weeks. Luckily, Hulu has revealed what it has in store for subscribers for April. Check out what’s coming and going from the service for the next month below, along with a few recommendations.
On April 1, the majority of the the month’s content lands, and there are plenty of reality TV shows to binge through. You can catch up on 90 Day Fiance, a series about people making hasty and poor decisions based on personal delusion. 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After: Season 4 all drops on that day, and you know very well I’ll be watching that, as I love trashy reality TV shows. Additionally, there are TV shows like Seasons 27-29 of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; Love It or List It; Season 36 of Chopped; and more arriving. It’s more background noise that you can handle while you work from home.
Funimation has plenty of new content arriving to Hulu–which already has plenty of great anime on its service. Too Cautious Hero is added on April 6. A godness named Rista summons a hero to help battle in her video game-like world, which is exceptionally hard to beat. However, this new here–named Seiya–is very cautious about the world. One could say he is a Too Cautious Hero.
If you’re looking for something a bit more engrossing, you’ll probably want to see what FX has to offer on Hulu for April. Mrs. America premieres on April 15, and What We Do In The Shadows: Season 2 premieres on April 16. Additionally, there are already many new FX series airing weekly on Hulu–like Devs–you’ll want to check out.
Below, you’ll find everything coming and going to Hulu for the month of April. Everything leaving the service exits on April 30, so you have plenty of time to watch movies like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation or 1991’s Robin Hood before they’re gone for good.
New on Hulu in April 2020:
Available April 1
Kabukicho Sherlock: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED) (Funimation)
60 Days In: Narcoland: Complete Season 1 (A&E)
90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?: Complete Season 4 (TLC)
Alone: Complete Season 6 (History)
Breaking Amish: Complete Seasons 2 & 3 (TLC)
Bring It!: Complete Season 5 (Lifetime)
Chopped: Complete Season 36 (Food Network)
Cutthroat Kitchen: Complete Season 12 (Food Network)
Developer EA DICE has doubled the number of experience points offered in Star Wars Battlefront II on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One until March 27. According to a tweet by the company’s global community lead, DICE will then start giving Battlefront II players triple the experience points for the weekend of March 28-29.
We’re turning on x2 Experience in Star Wars Battlefront II up until March 27, and then it’ll be a x3 Experience weekend. May the Force be with you. pic.twitter.com/ntjR7G9yg3
This news comes as a bunch of companies issue responses and countermeasures to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Many reports suggest self-quarantining for 14 days to minimize possible infections.
Despite its cancellation this year, E3 will return in 2021 as “a reimagined event that brings fans, media and the industry together in a showcase that celebrates the global video game industry,” according to the ESA.
Battlefront II recently received a free major expansion in the form of the Age of Rebellion, an update that adds new playable characters, additional co-op locations, extra maps and weapons, and more. EA DICE also dropped a small patch that addresses a few bugs and implements some community-requested features.
