What We Do In The Shadows Season 2’s New Twist Could Be Hilarious And Deadly

After the revelation at the end of Season 1 that Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) is a descendent of famed vampire hunter Van Helsing, What We Do in the Shadows is ready to take that character arc to the next level. In the third episode of Season 2, “Brain Scramblies,” Guillermo made some new friends that could pose quite a bit of danger to his vampire masters.

“He’s looking for virgins, and he’s run out of other groups that he thinks will have a lot of them so he goes to a meeting of the Staten Island Mosquito Collectors,” executive producer Paul Simms explained to GameSpot and other outlets during a visit to the set of the show. “And once they ask him some questions, they reveal that there are actually a bunch of vampire hunters, and that’s their cover.”

This group of vampire hunters is led by a man named Derek, played by The Office alum Craig Robinson. Speaking to GameSpot, Robinson described the character as a “militant mosquito hunter,” adding, “He’s all about shutting down the vampire nation.”

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Derek is a no-nonsense vampire hunter that doesn’t find them quite as hilarious as viewers do, which makes for some pretty good comedy–especially given he and his team’s inexperience with them. “I think the more serious you take it, the funnier it is,” Robinson explained. “I know how ridiculous we look, but we are about going to kill some vampires and we had the tools, you know? We had stakes, we had crossbows, all kinds of garlic, crosses, everything. Every cliche we had heard [of], we made sure we [had it] covered.”

Then, along comes Guillermo. “He decides that it’s better to join them and work from the inside out, you know? So he infiltrates the club, but also keeps them at bay,” Guillén said, while on set. “It’s a tricky balance for Guillermo just because he’s still protecting vampires that he loves, but he’s also making new friends and they’re actually showing him like respect and love, which is kind of hard to ignore.”

That means viewers will see Guillermo sharing many of his scenes with the Mosquito Collectors, which was one of the biggest highlights of the experience for Robinson. “I can’t say enough about how good he is. The second we started and all throughout it was my mouth was agape,” the actor said of Guillén. “He’s incredible. And he’s a throwback, in such a great way, to a Peter Sellers-type of comedy. He understands acting and comedy and it’s just so natural. So it was fun just playing with him. He opens up that playground of trust and silliness.”

It’s not all jokes, though. While Robinson wouldn’t reveal exactly how long he’d be sticking around, he’ll at least last until the next episode, “The Curse.” It’s there that Guillén teased, “Episode 4, so far, is one of my favorites because it’s like a mini-action movie.”

What We Do in the Shadows airs Thursdays on FX.

Deals: 15% Off Apple AirPods, 30% Off Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones

If you want to upgrade your current headphones, you’re in luck. Starting today, you can save up to 15% off AirPods headphones. That brings the price back down to Black Friday levels. The AirPods Pro is also on sale, and that one is at the lowest price ever. If you can handle something a bit bigger, the latest Bose noise cancelling headphones are also on sale, and I’m certain you will not be disappointed with the upgrade in comfort and audio quality.

15% Off Latest Apple AirPods 2 (With or Without Wireless Charging Case)

Add to cart to see this price

Starting today, Verizon Wireless has discounted the 2nd generation Apple AirPods down to Black Friday prices. You can get it with a charging case (which charges via Lightning cable) for only $135.99, or with a wireless charging case (which charges via inductive Qi charging or Lightning cable) for $169.99. The AirPods 2 is a truly wireless headphone with Siri support and 50% longer talk time than the original AirPods.

10% Off Apple AirPods Pro, Now $224.99

Add to cart to see this price

This is the lowest price ever, even lower than on Black Friday, and it ends very soon. These are truly wireless AirPods with built-in active noise cancellation and despite that that they actually have longer play time on a single charge than the vanilla AirPods. Other features include three sets of silicone tips for customized fit, a sweat and water resistant outer shell, and a wireless charging case that can provide an additional 24 hours of battery life.

Free Sling TV from 5pm to Midnight (Includes CNN, MSNBC, Food Network, HGTV, Cartoon Network)

Sling’s Happy Hour promotion is offering free Sling Blue from 5pm to midnight (normally $30/month). Keep up with live news from CNN, MSNBC, HLN, and Fox News. You’ll also get access to HGTV, Food Network, A&E, Bravo, TNT, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, The Discovery Channel, Nick Jr, and more.

Out Today: 55% Off XCOM: Chimera Squad Expansion for PC, Now $8.99

This XCOM 2 expansion normally sells for $19.99 but you can save 54% off by pre-purchasing it through Green Man Gaming. It installs from the Steam client. XCOM Chimera Squad is a big DLC with a new storyline that takes place years after the end of the year. You also get new races with unique abilities at your disposal and new gameplay mechanics like interleaved turns, revamped tactical combat system, coordinated breach mode, and more.

WorkPro Quantum 9000 Series Ergonomic Mesh High-Back Chair With Headrest for $307

Use code “OFFICEDEPOT30”

This is an excellent office chair with a mesh seat and high backrest, headrest, adjustable lumbar cushioning, height-adjustable armrests, and more. It’s currently $440 everywhere, except that Lenovo is offering a $130 off coupon for a limited time.

30% Off Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 (Refurbished with Full Warranty), Now $279.95

This is the newest Bose noise-cancelling headphones, a direct successor to the super popular Bose QuietComfort 35. It boasts superior noise cancellation, better microphone, a sleeker design, and more comfortable ergonomics. Bose refurbished headphones have the same warranty as buying new. That makes a great deal considering it retails for $400 and the previous low we’ve seen was $350.

Octopath Traveler for Switch (Preowned) for $34.99

Save 25% off this Switch gem. We gave Octopath Traveler an “Amazing” 9.3/10 and it fully deserves the score. It’s a very traditional JRPG featuring gorgeous 16-bit graphics with a splash of tilt-shift, a deep and rewarding battle system, and your choice of eight characters each with different storylines to pursue.

Cheap Must-Have Titles for the Nintendo Switch

My favorite games for the Switch so far have been indie games. Although the first party Nintendo games have immense polish and charm, personally I find indie games more fun to play. Here are the ones I’ve played, really enjoyed, and are currently on sale.

Alienware Aurora R8 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 2TB HDD for $1548

Use code “LCS10OFF”

This gaming PC boasts a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor and the newest RTX 2080 SUPER video card. It’s about 10% more powerful than the non-SUPER model and considerably more powerful than the GTX 1080 Ti.  For those of you who would rather have a PC preinstalled with all the RAM and storage you’ll ever need, this model has 16GB RAM and dual drive storage.

Alienware Aurora R9 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 1TB HDD for $1557

Use code “LCS10OFF”

The new 2019 Alienware Aurora desktop boasts a facelift, improved thermals, new RGB LED lighting system, toolless chassis for easy swapping of parts, and performance components.

Alienware Aurora R8 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC for $1404

Use code “LCS10OFF”

If you want upgrade the RAM and hard drive yourself, you can save alot of money compared to adding pre-configured upgrades. Like the new R9 chassis, the R8 features easy toolless entry. Swapping components doesn’t void the warranty.

Alienware Aurora R9 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC for $1431

Use code “LCS10OFF”

Upgrade to the newer chassis for $27 more.

New Alienware Aurora R9 AMD Ryzen 7 3700X AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming Desktop PC for $1044

Use code “LCS10OFF”

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the Intel vs AMD CPU war, AMD has been giving Intel a run for its money with its flagship processors. The new AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor is comparable to the Intel Core i7-9700, both in terms of gaming and workstation performance. It’s paired with an RX 5700 XT video card, which is on par with the RTX 2070. If you want to upgrade the RAM or hard drive, I’d suggest doing it on your own. You’ll save money, and the Aurora R9 allows for toolless access without voiding your warranty.

Oculus Rift VR Headset (Factory Refurb) at the Oculus Store for $299 (Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx)

Includes 6 Month Oculus Warranty

The Oculus Store has refurbished Oculus Rift VR headsets and they are clearing them out at a great price, $100 less than the Oculus Quest and Rift S. This is the only way to get an Oculus Rift with warranty. I bought my Oculus Rift headset over 3 years ago and still use it to this day. I’ve never had the urge to upgrade to the newer VR headsets, especially at their ridiculous price points. The original Oculus Rift controller is, in my opinion, still the best controller for Beat Saber because it is the lightest and least bulky compared to the rest (even the Rift S controller). It also has exceptional tracking, even with only two sensors. Also, the higher resolution on the newer VR headsets requires an even more demanding computer. My GTX 1070 equipped PC can run the Rift perfectly well, but may not suffice for a VR headset with nearly double the pixel count. Half-Life: Alyx is also compatible with the Oculus Rift.

$100 Off Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription

Take advantage of your free time at home and learn another language! Save 33% off lifetime access to all of Rosetta Stone’s language learning courses. Unlike Babbel, the other big language learning course, Rosetta Stone includes Asian languages like Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee so you can test the waters before you decide to commit.

Save 73% Off 1-Year IPVanish VPN Plan

IPVanish is offering  73% off its 1 year VPN plan, dropping the price to $39. That’s only $3.25 a month for a service that provides some great benefits. VPN is the first and easiest step to making your internet activity a bit more anonymous. VPN is also a great way to “trick” a host site into thinking you’re in another part of the world. That’s great for watching region-locked content from streaming services like Netflix. IPVanish boasts a very user-friendly interface, doesn’t hog resources, and has a zero-log policy. We also gave it a great review.

Online Learning Course Bundles from Stack Social

Want to be more productive at home? Stack Social has plenty of practical courses that can kick start your career. For under $40 per bundle you get dozens of hours of online instruction in programming, game creation, video production, ethical hacking, and more… all from the safety of your home.

1 Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 (Includes Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass)

May work for both NEW and EXPIRED accounts

This price is reserved for new and expired accounts. Game Pass Ultimate is basically Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass combined into one membership. You even get access to Game Pass for PC. Normally you’d be paying $14.99 for one month, but Amazon is offering an additional month for free. Game Pass gives you access to tons of high profile games like Kingdom Hearts 3, NBA 2K20, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Gears 5, Forza Horizon 3, The Outer Worlds, Grand Theft Auto 5, State of Decay, and more.

ComiXology Free Trial Extended to 60 Days

This sponsored deal is brought to you by ComiXology

The ComiXology trial period is normally 30 days.  ComiXology is Amazon’s digital comic platform and is the largest digital retailer of American comics. The site hosts 20,000 digital comics, graphic novels, and manga from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and more. Here’s your chance to access all of it, totally free, for 30 60 days. If you’re an avid comic reader, you might want to consider continuing on afterwards, since it’s only $5.99/month. You can even sign in with your Amazon account.

3 Months of Amazon Music Unlimited for Free

This deal only works for new Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers, but you don’t have to be a Prime member. Normally you’d be paying $9.99/month for this service (or $7.99/mo for Prime members). Amazon Music Unlimited works alot like the paid ad-free versions of Spotify or Pandora. Get access to millions of songs and playlists that you can stream anywhere.

New Licensed Castlevania Apparel at the IGN Store

Do you enjoy Netflix’s original Castlevania animated series? If so, the IGN Store has added a host of officially licensed Castlevania apparel. Sign up for our newsletter and get a 20% off coupon code. Alternatively, save 10% off using coupon code “igndeals10“.

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends 25% of his pay on stuff he posts.

Moving Out Review

Helping friends move house is widely regarded as one of the worst ways you can spend a Saturday, but somehow developer SMG Studio has taken that most dreaded of friendly favours and transformed it into fantastically frantic fun. Moving Out is a couch co-op game about cooperatively moving couches, successfully expanding Overcooked’s brand of coordinated chaos from the kitchen into every other room in the house. Often tense and frequently hysterical, Moving Out is a must-play for fans of same-screen multiplayer games.

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Casting up to four players as employees of the Smooth Moves company, Moving Out features 30 main levels across its small-town setting. Each location has gold, silver, and bronze-tiered time limits to target as you scramble to gather up all of the boxes, appliances, and stubbornly shaped pieces of furniture scattered about each level and ferry them to the back of the removalist truck. It’s a fairly straightforward task to bungle your way to a bronze like a bull in a china shop, but grabbing a gold requires a strategic approach to room order, considered job delegation, and precise pathfinding to ensure maximum efficiency.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Precious%20seconds%20tick%20away%20on%20the%20clock%20and%20the%20language%20between%20you%20and%20your%20frazzled%20team%20of%20moving%20mates%20grows%20increasingly%20more%20colourful.”]The controls are simple, with buttons for grabbing, throwing, and jumping, but the challenge is presented by the unique properties of the objects themselves. Television sets are typically tethered to walls by their power cords, which stretch and snap as you carry the TV out and lurch you into a spin; large L-shaped lounges slow you and your moving partner down to a sluggish waltz as you inch your way through narrow doorways; and upright pianos flip over on their side if you try to take a corner too quickly, all while precious seconds tick away on the clock and the language between you and your frazzled team of moving mates grows increasingly more colourful.

Moving the Goalposts

Just when you think you’ve wrangled your inept assembly line into order, Moving Out drops new elements into the mix to add game-changing wrinkles. A farmyard level means your cargo isn’t just bulky, but mobile, leaving you to chase chickens and push pigs that seemingly want to be anywhere but the back of your truck. Elsewhere, a large factory requires you to navigate a series of conveyor belts through interconnected rooms, while a set of door switches in another facility forces you to open and close different paths and strategise your way to your objectives on the fly.

It’s absolutely manic, but successfully executing a plan is utterly exhilarating. Corners can be cut if you’re willing to take risks by throwing and catching fragile items from one player to another, or heaving a refrigerator out of a second-storey window instead of dragging it down the stairs. Even the order in which you load the truck is an art unto itself. Use up all the flatbed floorspace with smaller items first, and you won’t know whether to laugh or cry as the double bed you hurl onto the top of the pile to finish the job tumbles right back out of the truck, further delaying your exit. Moving Out seems shambolic at its start, but demands real thought, coordination, and planning by its end.

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In addition to the reward of getting gold-medal times, I also enjoyed returning to each level for the bonus objectives. Each one has three optional tasks – some of which are clear, such as completing a job without breaking any windows – while others are more cryptic, not unlike those found in Untitled Goose Game. Those require you to experiment with the various objects and contraptions found within each setting, for example the objective may be to ‘Give the bird a bath’ and to achieve it you need to find a decorative pink flamingo somewhere in the level and hurl it into the bathtub. Successfully completing these 90 objectives unlocks 10 extra mini-games in the arcade menu, which is a series of timed gauntlet runs that provide some of the most fiercely challenging cargo-shunting stretches in Moving Out.

Bust a Move

Yet even during its most patience-testing moments, it’s impossible to stay mad at Moving Out because its ‘80s-influenced style is so endearing. Its characters and settings are vibrant, its soundtrack is relentlessly upbeat, and it features levels that pay clever homage to the likes of Frogger, Pac-Man, and Bowser’s castle from Super Mario Bros. There’s a certain goofball charm that pervades Moving Out, from the shifty-eyed cat clocks that seem to adorn the walls of every house to the way the characters occasionally fart from the exertion of lifting particularly heavy loads.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=There%E2%80%99s%20a%20certain%20goofball%20charm%20that%20pervades%20Moving%20Out.”]Moving Out is undoubtedly at its best with buddies. It’s technically playable in single-player, with the number of items in each level reduced and the heavier objects made lighter in order to better suit solo play. However, packing the contents of a house into a truck with your own two hands is about as much fun as it sounds, and it’s only now after finishing the game’s story as a quartet (which took about eight hours) am I playing on my lonesome purely to try and grab any remaining golds for the sake of completion. Additionally, while my preference would be to play Moving Out with friends locally anyway, it’s worth pointing out that there’s no online functionality — so those hoping for the option of playing with friends remotely (which is kind of important right now) are likely to be disappointed.

Fallout 76: Bethesda Investigating Bug Where NPCs Permanently Steal Your Stuff

Bethesda is investigating a bug reported by players where Fallout 76’s new NPCs are looting items from their corpses and keeping them.

The strange glitch has been noted by several users on the Fallout 76 Reddit, with posters claiming that they’ve lost hordes of ammo and expensive weapons. Upon death, players are waking up to find the guns they were using and the ammo attached missing from their inventory. Later, they’ve noticed that the same gun they were using in combat is now in the hands of a nearby NPC, suggesting that it had been looted from the player’s corpse upon death. Those NPCs can’t be looted back.

This is a major problem, as it means expensive and rare weapons that players have worked hard to purchase or unlock are being lost, with no clear means to recover them. One particular post mentions that a player lost an explosive machine gun that they spent “15k caps” on. A few posters have singled out the event missions Radiation Rumble and Riding Shotgun as being a particular source for the bug, so you may want to avoid them for the time being. This video from Dani Garcia gives us our best glimpse at the glitch in action (thanks, PC Gamer!)

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A Bethesda Community Manager has responded to the strange phenomenon, writing that they will “investigate this immediately” under one of the offending Reddit posts. NPCs arrived in Fallout 76 as part of the Wastelanders update, a free overhaul anticipated by the fans who stuck with Fallout 76 after its troublesome launch. Wastelanders adds new questlines and infrastructure, as well as an improved reputation system.

If you’re thinking of jumping back into the apocalyptic fray, check out our article on whether you should return to Fallout 76 for Wastelanders.

And if you’ve already made the leap, you may want to check out our walkthrough which will guide you through the new quests in Wastelanders. Just watch out for those event missions if you’re fixing to keep your hard-earned loot!

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Crash Bandicoot Mobile Game Gets Surprise Soft Launch

A Crash Bandicoot mobile game has unexpectedly soft launched on Android in select regions.

An endless runner, Crash Bandicoot Mobile comes from Candy Crush creators King and was teased earlier this week via a set of leaked Facebook ads. Soft launches allow developers to release the game in certain areas, allowing them to fix bugs and test server capacity before a full rollout.

As of right now, there hasn’t been any official word from King or the Crash Bandicoot Twitter account about the game, which means we don’t have a full set of regions the game can be downloaded in, but you can see if the game’s available in your area on the Google Play Store right now.

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The listing describes the gameplay, which will see Crash complete “awesome battle runs” to defeat Dr. Cortex’s minions, a series of “mutagen henchmen” who are trying to “enslave all dimensions.” It’s set on Wumpa Island and will feature a number of fan-favourite characters like Coco Bandicoot, Uka Uka and Dingodile.

There’s also a persistent metagame beyond the endless runner gameplay where Crash can perform “collection runs” to scavenge for ingredients. These items allow the player to upgrade and expand Coco’s base by unlocking buildings to “create an arsenal of weapons: serums, bombs and even rayguns!”

In other Crash Bandicoot news, Activision noted in their Q4 2019 investor call that they plan to release “several remastered and reimagined experiences” in 2020, suggesting Crash could make another appearance following the popularity of Activision’s remaster of the original trilogy. We reviewed another Crash spin-off, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled back in 2019, which we called a “kart racer worth playing.”

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter. 

New Pokemon Show, Pokemon Journeys, Debuts In June – Watch The Trailer

Premiering June 12 on Netflix, Pokemon Journeys takes Ash and Pikachu as “they embark on adventures across multiple regions in the Pokémon world, meeting new characters and discovering more Pokémon along the way.” Pokemon Journeys will be the 23rd series in the beloved franchise.

You can check out the trailer below.

It looks like they’re incorporating features and Pokemon from the Pokemon Sword/Shield games into this new series as you can see from the Dynamax Snorlax and Scorbunny. The first 12 episodes will hit on June 12, then additional episodes will be released quarterly. It’s also to note that Pokemon Journeys will feature a new theme song written and performed by the band Walk off the Earth. Until Pokemon Journeys gets here though, why don’t you check out what’s coming to Netflix in May?

And speaking of things you should be watching, consider listening to GameSpot’s weekly TV series and movies-focused podcast, You Should Be Watching. With new episodes premiering every Wednesday, you can watch a video version of the podcast over on GameSpot Universe or listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.

Why XCOM: Chimera Squad Makes A Big Departure From The Series Formula

XCOM: Chimera Squad is nearly here, just weeks after it was revealed. This experimental, budget-priced XCOM game makes some big changes to the series’ standard formula, including a preset team and straying from the usual permadeath element. It’s clear that Firaxis wants to expand the definition of an XCOM game, so GameSpot picked the brain of lead designer Mark Nauta on how it all came together.

What was the genesis for the idea of Chimera Squad? How long has it been in development?

As game developers, we’re always interested in ways that we can change or iterate on the way a game is structured and plays. After we released XCOM 2 and the War of the Chosen expansion, we felt there were still opportunities that had yet to be explored in the XCOM system. XCOM: Chimera Squad gives us a chance to revisit some core ideas of XCOM without having to rebalance all of XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen. This means we can try out ideas like Interleaved Turns and Breach mode, and use agents as characters instead of traditional XCOM soldiers and their classes. I started design work on Chimera Squad after War of the Chosen.

Why was this made a budget-priced release? Did that stem from wanting to go a more experimental route?

The price reflects two things–as a standalone title, we’re neither a sequel nor an expansion. For our fans, the price point and short time to release mean that veteran XCOM fans get a game in their hands sooner and new fans to the series have something they’re going to want to check out; perhaps then discovering the joys of XCOM as a series.

This is a very different kind of XCOM game; are you trying to expand the idea of what XCOM means or draw in new fans?

Yes! We think that XCOM can lend itself to a variety of game styles. As I said before, as developers we always want to try something new and see what our players think of it. The changes for Chimera Squad should appeal to veteran XCOM fans because it shakes up the tactical formula you’ve come to rely on since XCOM 2. If you’re new to the XCOM universe, here’s a chance to see a small slice of that–not the whole-world stakes of XCOM: Enemy Unknown or XCOM 2, but a story set within that larger universe. If that appeals to you, wouldn’t you want to go back and see how we got to City 31?

Where did the idea of breaching come from? Is it related to the encounters here being more contained?

It’s an evolution of the Ambush mechanics from previous games, but it’s a huge part of the Encounter system in Chimera Squad. Breach Mode is where you first set your tactics for that Encounter – unit order, ability choice and entry point are all things to consider and executing a successful Breach can really set Chimera Squad up for success. We found that breaking up Missions into smaller encounters–separated by a Breach–offered an interesting change of pace.

What influenced some of the bigger changes to the usual XCOM formula–particularly the change to permadeath and turn order?

In previous XCOM games, Permadeath made both narrative and gameplay sense as you were engaged in a war of attrition–soldiers are recruited from many different nations and losses were to be expected. It was also a major part of the consequences of that game, in that losing a veteran soldier could leave you without skills and abilities you had come to rely on for successful missions.

In XCOM: Chimera Squad, you’re now working with a specific set of characters in agents and we felt permadeath ran counter to the experience of playing with these characters. And, practically speaking, there were a lot of players who didn’t want to lose their XCOM soldiers and would reload if missions went bad. So for the sake of Chimera Squad, we came up with a compromise–you lose a mission if one of your agents bleeds out on the battlefield. Any character can stabilize someone who’s down, and there are consequences for having an agent get seriously wounded. But losing an agent means you have to restart the mission.

That said, there are still consequences for failure. It is possible to lose the game at the strategic level. We also understand that the permadeath presents a fun challenge that franchise veterans and fans have enjoyed and we’ve added a hardcore mode to retain that same tension.

For Interleaved Turns, it’s something we’ve talked about on the team internally. Having interleaved turns changes both the types of decisions you must make and what kind of tactical options you have at the table. By switching to interleaved turns, players will make on-the-fly decisions based on who is coming up next in the timeline. Right now it feels like you’re making more of a response to events as they unfold. You can have a plan for your four characters, but if an enemy action happens between characters two and three, you’re suddenly thinking: “Well, shoot. I didn’t expect that to happen. Do I need to change something up?” Suppose you’ve got a character like Blueblood moving in for a flanking shot, and an enemy throws a grenade at him. You look at the timeline and Blueblood won’t be able to act again until after the grenade goes off. Do you have Torque on your squad? Can she tongue-pull him to safety? Do you still have your Team Up action left this mission? Or do you risk having Blueblood eat the grenade and use the rest of the squad to set Blueblood up for an optimal attack?

Was Chimera Squad always envisioned as a standalone game? Could we see DLC or expansions?

Yes, the specific vision we had for XCOM: Chimera Squad meant it made more sense as a standalone title as opposed to a direct sequel. We don’t have any plans for DLC or to add expansions for XCOM: Chimera Squad.

Battlefield 5 Roadmap Includes “One More” Big Update

Battlefield 5 is preparing to wrap up the Into the Jungle event near the end of April, and preparing for the next set of updates. Senior producer Ryan McArthur outlined the upcoming roadmap in a post on the EA Blog.

For starters, McArthur says “one more standalone update” is planned for this summer, which could signify that this is the last major update planned for Battlefield 5. It will add “new content, weapons, and game tweaks,” but the blog notably doesn’t mention if it will include new maps. Sometime after the summer update, Battlefield currency and Company Coin will be offered as weekly rewards to unlock gear.

DICE is also planning community events like weekly community games on Fridays and Throwback Thursdays featuring previous Battlefield games. It’s also continuing work on the community games updates, and is still working to root out cheaters. It recommends using the community tools walkthrough to report cheaters.

The studio has kept the community engagement going with regular updates between the major content drops, like tank customization and free Company Coin. Into the Jungle ends on April 29.

Now Playing: Battlefield V – “Into the Jungle” Update Overview Trailer

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