Apex Legends Tournament Pulled From ESPN Following Mass Shootings

Following the multiple mass shootings that occurred over the August 3 weekend, well-established sports channel ESPN has pulled an upcoming Apex Legends tournament from its time slot. According to an email sent out by ABC, the EXP Invitational Apex Legends at X Games tournament will no longer broadcast on the television network.

Esports journalist Rod Breslau broke the news on Twitter, saying the tournament “that was scheduled for this weekend” has been pulled. The EXP Invinitational Apex Legends at X Games was originally scheduled to air on Sunday, August 11 from 3-4 PM PT / 4-5 PM ET, but will now be replaced by E:60 – Forever Broncos. ABC wrote that the decision was made “out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings.” Breslau reported that the tournament will air at a later date and confirmed that it can be viewed on ESPN’s esports YouTube channel.

ESPN2 will air the tournament “on three nights in October,” according to Bloomberg’s unidentified source familiar with the matter. Though no longer airing across its television networks–including ABC and ESPNews–Bloomberg reports that the tournament will still stream this weekend on ESPN’s digital channels and the ESPN app.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said “the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace” are why mass shootings are becoming normalized. Take-Two Interactive’s CEO responded, calling the President’s comments “disrespectful and irresponsible.” The Entertainment Software Association (the organization behind E3) refuted the President’s statement, saying “numerous scientific studies have established that there is no causal connection between video games and violence.”

Discord To Offer Limited Game Streaming Functionality

The voice chat app Discord is adding a new feature soon, which will allow streaming in a limited capacity. The Go Live feature will let you share your gameplay with up to 10 friends over the voice channel. The new feature is set to launch on August 15.

Go Live will let you broadcast on PC with low latency for a more social experience. Nitro subscribers will get some extra features too. Nitro Classic users will be able to stream up to 1080p and 60 FPS, and Nitro users can stream in 4K at 60 FPS. Nitro is a subscription service for PC games, offering a curated library for $10 per month.

Though the limited viewership means Discord’s feature isn’t exactly a match for streaming services like YouTube, Twitch, and Mixer that allow you to cultivate large audiences, the limitation appears aimed at making smaller social experiences among groups of friends.

Last year, Discord also announced plans to undercut Epic’s revenue sharing model by offering devs 90% of revenue on sales through its store. Epic has already been providing competition with Steam by offering an 88/12 split as opposed to Steam’s 70/30, so Discord’s would provide further competition in the market. Discord hasn’t made further announcements regarding these plans since then, however.

Where Is Xur? Destiny 2 Exotic Vendor Location Guide (8/9 – 8/13)

Last week saw a banner visit by Destiny 2‘s Xur. The weekend vendor who supplies players with Exotic weapons and armor hasn’t offered anything new in a long time, but the armor it offers comes with random perks–and last week, Xur offered an awesome Exotic helmet for Titans. The rolls aren’t as good this week, but there are a few things on-hand that might help you knock out the requirements to earn your Majestic Solstice armor.

Check out the video above to see where you can find Xur and what he’s selling. He’s got a particularly useful version of Shards of Galanor that packs a couple of useful perks that make it worth picking up. You’ll find a few other useful items for gathering orbs during the Solstice of Heroes, as well.

Bungie laid out this week exactly when it’ll be adding cross save to the game. That capability will allow players to transfer characters between PC, Xbox One, and PS4, to play on any of them. We also know when to expect the game to move from Battle.net to Steam on PC–which makes this a great chance to get new stuff from Xur ahead of the moves.

This Xbox One, Madden 20, and 4K TV Bundle Features A $130 Discount

The Xbox One S may not be able to deliver 4K gaming, but it is able to take advantage of 4K displays with its 4K Blu-Ray player. If this interests you, then Best Buy’s latest bundle deal might be a good option.

Right now, Best Buy is offering a discounted Xbox One S and 4K TV bundle. That’s a Toshiba 43-inch 4K TV with HDR, an Xbox One S bundle, and a complimentary copy of Madden NFL 20 for $130 off. The final total is $500 USD at check-out, down from $630. As for the Xbox One S bundles, you have a few to choose from. You can see a list below. Unfortunately, these are a part of the deal as long as supplies last, and at the time of writing this story, the Battle Royale Special Edition was sold out.

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See it at Best Buy

However, if 4K gaming is what you’re looking for, then Best Buy has a deal for the Xbox One X as well. If you add a Battlefield 5 Xbox One X bundle or an NBA 2K19 Xbox One X bundle to your cart, then an extra controller and copy of Halo 5: Guardians will be added automatically, completely free of charge.

In addition to these bundled deals, Best Buy is currently discounting select Xbox One controllers by $10 to $16, depending on the pad. You can check out the Xbox One controller deal here, but you will need to add them to your cart before the exact discount is revealed.

Annapurna Interactive’s Parent Company Seeking Bankruptcy​

Though Annapurna Interactive has a bevy of award-winning games under its belt, including Donut County, Florence, Gorogoa, and What Remains of Edith Finch, the publisher’s parent company seems to be in a financial bind, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Annapurna Pictures, the film production company best known for popular hits like 2013’s Her (starring Joaquin Phoenix) and 2014’s Foxcatcher (starring Steve Carell), has retained a law firm to explore bankruptcy protection.

According to THR’s report, Annapurna Pictures could “no longer sustain the [bleeding of money]” from lackluster box office performers like 2016’s black comedy thriller The Bad Batch (starring Keanu Reeves), 2017’s crime drama Detroit (starring John Boyega), 2019’s animated adventure Missing Link (starring Hugh Jackman), and more. An Annapurna spokesperson told THR that the company “is in negotiations to restructure [its] deals with the banks [but] are dedicated to Annapurna’s future.”

The company, founded in 2011 by the daughter of Oracle Corporation’s co-founder Larry Ellison, has several arms under its umbrella, including prolific indie publisher Annapurna Interactive. Company founder Megan Ellison, following THR’s report, sent a note to her staff, saying, “Restructuring deals with financial institutions is not uncommon, [but] the truth is that we [Annapurna Pictures] are well on our continued path toward success.” She said that giving a “sense of security” is paramount to her and the company as a whole. “I believe in what we make and have no intention of stopping any time soon,” Megan wrote. “We have a lot of exciting things on the horizon and I have no doubt all of our hard work will continue to show Annapurna’s unique and powerful place in this industry.”

As Gamasutra notes, It’s unclear how the company’s “restructuring” will affect Annapurna Interactive. There’s also no clarification on how well the publisher’s games have been doing as of late.

Annapurna Interactive recently announced its haunting adventure title Twelve Minutes on Xbox’s stage during E3 2019. The studio’s latest publishing credits, Outer Wilds, launched on PC and Xbox One in May 2019. In our Outer Wilds review, we said, “By letting you chart your own course and piece together its mystery at your own pace, Outer Wilds makes each of its expeditions feel incredibly personal and absolutely unmissable.”

World of Warships: Legends Celebrates Full Release With Ambitious New Campaign

Wargaming has announced that World of Warships: Legends will go into full release worldwide on August 12th, adding new content in the form of German battleships and destroyers, and a campaign centring around the legendary battleship Tirpitz.

The free-to-play World of Warships: Legends arrived on PS4 and Xbox One in early access form back in April 2019, with fans enjoying regular additions to the game in the subsequent months in addition to bug fixes and UI tweaks.

The Hunt for Tirpitz campaign will be available for five weeks, running from August 12th to September 15th, allowing players to progress through 100 levels by completing challenges and weekly missions. Players will also receive new campaign currency along the way, giving them a chance to play some of the upcoming German Battleships such as the Gneisenau or Bayern.

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More Single Player Games Are Heading to Xbox, Promises Phil Spencer

Xbox chief Phil Spencer has promised on Twitter that “strong” single player games are a key focus for the platform, and will be for the foreseeable future.

After a Twitter user asked whether more single player games will land on Xbox in years to come, Spencer replied, “Yes, I can confirm.  With the additions to XGS

we have a lot of teams that have built strong SP focused games and we want that to continue.”

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The Boys Is One of Amazon Prime’s Most-Watched Shows After Just 2 Weeks

Amazon’s satirical superhero series The Boys has fast become one of platform’s most binge-watched series of the year, not to mention one of Prime Video’s most-watched series ever.

Amazon Prime Video shared their delight over this achievement in an announcement as Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, highlighted the success that the show has found in such a short space of time.

“We are thrilled that The Boys has surpassed our predictions for viewing in its first two weeks, and has become one of our most watched Amazon Original series by our Prime Video customers,” she said. “This creates great momentum and excitement for us as we get ready for season two.”

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UK Daily Deals: PureVPN 1-Year Subscription for £2.44 per Month

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest deals and follow our very own IGN UK Deals Amazon storefront for IGN’s curated lists of best games, tech and accessories.

IGN Exclusive VPN Deal: Stream and Watch US Netflix or Amazon Prime Video Content from the UK

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This IGN exclusive VPN deal makes PureVPN one of the cheapest VPNs on the market that has compatibility with streaming US Netflix and US Amazon Prime Video content from the UK. Amazon Prime Video comes free with a Prime membership and Netflix is a subscription we’re sure most of you already have – all you have to do is select ‘Stream Mode’, then connect to a United States server to get access to a much bigger range of movies and TV shows that the US have over the UK. Also remember that you are able to stream Amazon Prime Video and Netflix from Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, and you can also install PureVPN on them too. When you think about all the extra content you’re getting by just paying an extra £2.44 per month on top of your current monthly payments towards Amazon Prime or Netflix, it’s definitely worth it. That’s not to mention all the other benefits you’re getting from a VPN, such as remaining anonymous online – PureVPN allows its users to utilize a single account on up to 5 devices simultaneously from the same country. With PureVPN, all your devices are completely protected.

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Reacquaint Yourself With the Weapons Manufacturers of Borderlands 3

Our IGN First game for August 2019 is the much anticipated Borderlands 3. We’ve got tons of info and first-looks coming at you all this month, including the first 14 minutes of Borderlands 3 and a tour of Borderlands 3’s new hub, Sanctuary 3.

Today we’re focusing on the gun manufacturers. Of course, classic Borderlands weapons makers are returning, but we also have a look at the hacked-together firearm creations of the Children of the Vault (COV). There are also new, easy-to-switch alt-fire modes, adding a whole new layer to combat.

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