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Cliff Bleszinski was the creator and lead designer on the first three Gears of War games before leaving developer Epic Games in 2012 after 20 years at the company. After some time away, he set up a brand-new studio called Boss Key and went on to release LawBreakers and the battle royale game Radical Heights. The studio unfortunately shut down shortly thereafter, and Bleszinski said he would probably never make another game for a number of reasons.

That hasn’t stopped him from playing games, though. The Gears of War creator recently tweeted out a picture of the Gears 5 start screen, thanking Rod Fergusson, the studio head of developer The Colation, for the early game code. Bleszinski may not have been involved in the series since 2011’s Gears of War 3, but he’s still keeping up with the continued adventures of Marcus Fenix and co.

However, the most interesting tidbit arrived in a follow-up tweet. “Not gonna lie, seeing a woman on the cover of a Gears game makes me happy,” Bleszinski said. “I was told for decades ‘games with female leads don’t sell.'”

Women have featured on the cover of Gears before, but never front and centre, and never when Bleszinski was helming the series. If there’s one example of the changing times, it might just be Gears of War gradually moving away from featuring four muscle-bound men to putting the spotlight on a female lead. “Instead of focusing on JD and his relationship with Marcus as in Gears 4, the sequel recenters on Kait, who lost her mother to the Swarm at the end of the last game,” GameSpot’s Gears 5 review explains. “Gears 4’s ending suggested that Kait has a connection to the Locust horde that Marcus helped to genocide 25 years ago, and a good portion of Gears 5 is about exploring that connection and uncovering secrets long buried by the COG government.”

For more Gears 5 coverage you can check out our review roundup to see what the critics are saying, find out how to play the game for only $1, and check out a musical easter egg.

Nintendo’s latest Direct presentation was filled to the brim with exciting news for Nintendo Switch owners. The leaked Switch version of Overwatch was confirmed right out of the gate before Nintendo shared more information on Pokemon Sword/Shield and Luigi’s Mansion 3. There was also a surprise announcement for Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise, the arrival of SNES games on Nintendo Switch Online, and plenty of other reveals you can catch up on in our roundup.

One of the games making its way to Switch is the free-to-play monster slayer Dauntless. We recently saw footage of Phoenix Labs’ game running on Nintendo’s hardware at PAX West, and last night’s Direct confirmed that the Switch version will feature cross-play support between PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as frequent content updates to maintain parity across all platforms. No specific release date was given, but Dauntless is due out on Switch later this year.

GameSpot reviewed Dauntless back when it initially released in May. Ginny Woo said, “Overall, Dauntless is clearly an experience that has been optimized to deliver the most stress-free multiplayer session possible. From the seamless cross-play to the way that anyone can hop into a game and confidently take up arms against formidable foes, it’s refreshingly accessible and looks great to boot. While it can feel a little empty, and there are bugs that mar the experience here and there, its fresh look and lively spark are more than enticing enough to warrant a spin.”

If you’re clamouring for something new to play on your Switch today, we’ve got you covered with the full list of games released during Nintendo’s Direct.

Fortnite is currently in the midst of a surprise crossover event with upcoming looter shooter Borderlands 3, but that hasn’t stopped Epic’s popular battle royale from teasing yet another pop culture crossover. It Chapter 2 is just one day away from hitting cinema screens, and antagonist Pennywise might soon be appearing in Fortnite to strike fear into players in a similar fashion to the sight of an approaching B.R.U.T.E. mech.

Multiple Reddit users have reported seeing mysterious red balloons all over the game’s map, from Salty Springs to Pleasant Park. These balloons are attached to storm drains in case the hint wasn’t already obvious enough, and they emit a creepy laugh if you interact with them. All of these elements are, of course, synonymous with It and Pennywise. With the movie set to release on September 6, a Fortnite crossover event is likely to coincide with its theatrical debut. What this might entail remains to be seen, however, as Fortnite’s collaborations tend to vary in breadth.

The current Borderlands crossover event is fairly comprehensive, featuring a new Rift Zone based on the planet of Pandora, as well as themed challenges, Borderlands flavored rewards, and The Psycho Bundle. In the past we’ve also seen Thanos from the final Avengers movies appear in the game with his own limited-time mode, a Fortnite x Stranger Things crossover event, and John Wick featured as a skin. Whether Pennywise will be a skin or part of something much bigger is up for debate. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait 27 years to find out.

If you’re interested in It Chapter 2, GameSpot has you covered in our review for the upcoming horror flick. With an incredible ensemble cast and a handful of genuinely terrifying and subtle scares, Meg Downey says it’s fun as hell to watch these characters come together to face down a terrifying clown monster.

The PS4 exclusive Days Gone is getting an update soon that will add a few new bells and whistles including a New Game Plus mode. It also packs two more difficulty modes, which can be played fresh or in New Game Plus regardless of your original difficulty setting. The update is coming on September 13.

According to the announcement, a New Game Plus file will retain all of your weapons, bike upgrades, NERO boosters, skills, recipes, encampment trust, credits, collectibles, and trophy progress. To start a NG+ file, you need to have finished the “I’m Never Giving Up” storyline. You can also use perks from challenges in NG+.

The update will include new Hard II and Survival II difficulty modes. These add another layer of challenge to the regular difficulty and post-launch Survival modes, and you can play them with your NG+ file for a leg up. If you’re brand new to Days Gone and just want to take on a tough challenge from the start, though, you can play them that way too. You can also earn new trophies in the NG+ and new difficulty modes. The announcement teases a special weapon from a shadowy agent as well.

Finally, Bend Studio announced that the Days Gone soundtrack will be available on vinyl through Mondo. It features 25 tracks, and pre-orders will begin on September 11 through the Mondo merchandise website.

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No matter how much we would love to see him, it looks like everyone’s favourite bounty hunter Boba Fett won’t appear in Disney+’s Star Wars spin-off series, The Mandalorian.

When asked on Good Morning America (via Slashfilm) about if we would see Boba Fett in the Disney+ show, the writer and executive producer Jon Favreau shot down the hopes of fans.

“Boba Fett is not, they’re all new original characters.” said Favreau, adding “There’s a thirty year stretch of story time that hasn’t been explored at all except in the extended universe.”

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