Xbox Series X/S See “Record-Breaking” Demand On Preorder Launch Day

September 22 was a big day for Xbox, with preorders for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles opening up worldwide. Similar to the preorder situation with the PlayStation 5, it was something of a fiasco for the new Microsoft consoles. Despite that, Microsoft’s next-gen consoles got off to a hot start, it seems.

“We are humbled by the record-breaking demand for the Xbox Series X and S,” Microsoft said on Twitter. “Huge thanks to everyone for the excitement.”.

For those who didn’t get an Xbox on the first preorder day, Microsoft advised people to speak with their preferred retailer for updates on preorder availability. The company also mentioned that it will have additional stock of the new consoles available for launch on November 10.

For more on Series X/S preorders, you can check out GameSpot’s Xbox Series X and S pre-order guide.

You don’t necessarily need an Xbox to play Microsoft’s games, however, as Xbox Game Pass is now bundled with the xCloud streaming service, allowing you to stream titles to your phone.

Now Playing: Xbox Series X Vs. PS5 Console Comparison

Halo MCC Gets Huge Update That Adds ODST, Firefight, New Weapons For Halo 3, And More

While Halo Infinite might be delayed until 2021, the Halo engine keeps on chugging with a big new update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

First and foremost, Halo 3: ODST is out now on PC–you can grab it on Steam, the Microsoft Store, or Xbox Game Pass for PC. It’s the fifth game in the package to come to PC, following Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. The sixth game in the package, Halo 4, will be released at some point later in 2020.

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ODST was already available for MCC on Xbox One, but the big update introduces ODST Firefight on console. Some of the notable updates for ODST Firefight, which is available for PC and Xbox One, are new weapons in the form of the Halo 3 battle rifle and ODST’s assault rifle, as well as the Hornet and Anti-Air Wraith vehicles, among other things.

In addition to ODST on PC and Firefight for console, the MCC update brings a lot of other changes to the game across platforms. Halo 3 now has weapon skins and different visor colors you can use to customize your character in multiplayer. These can be turned off for those who want to enjoy the game as it originally released.

Another major change for Halo 3 in MCC are improvements to hit-registration. For a long time, players have remarked that hit-registration just didn’t feel right in Halo 3, but this new update makes changes that should improve the experience. For lots more on this, you can read this ridiculously in-depth and technical breakdown of what was going wrong and how Microsoft addressed it.

Another big change for Halo 3 is that, for the first time since the game originally launched for Xbox 360 in 2007, new weapons are now available for multiplayer. These include the silenced SMG, Automag, and Brute plasma rifle from ODST.

What’s more, the launch of ODST kicks off Halo: MCC Season 3, which is called Recon. There are more than 80 pieces of new content to unlock spread over 50 tiers. Below you can see a glimpse at the new Season 3 offering. What’s more, Season 3 adds more weekly challenges that players can take on to earn special gear and items.

The Season 3 update patch carries a maximum file size of 19.74 GB on Xbox One, 11.5 GB on Steam, and 14.09 GB on the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass for PC. You can see the full Season 3 patch notes below, as posted by Microsoft on its website.

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Halo: MCC Season 3 Patch Notes

Latest Version

  • The latest version of the game is 1.1829.0.0, to find the version number (Full KBA).
  • To update your game if you are not on the latest version (Full KBA).

Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta)

  • Max size of 14.09 GB

Steam

  • Max size of 11.5 GB

Xbox

  • Max size of 19.74 GB

New Features

  • ODST is now available on PC!
  • ODST Firefight has been added to Xbox, Steam, and Windows Store, included with the ODST DLC package.
  • ODST Firefight now supports custom game variant options for creating your own Firefight modes.
  • Season 3 has been added to the collection, featuring ODST Firefight Customization, New Halo 3 Weapon and Visor Skins, and new nameplates including:
    • 12 Halo 3 Weapon Skins.
    • 30 Halo 3 Visor Skins.
    • 10 ODST Character Skins.
    • 4 ODST Character Skins (Unlockable via Challenges).
    • 30 Nameplates.
  • A new frontend menu has been added to welcome ODST Firefight Customization to the collection.
  • Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer’s Customization has been broken down into per-part pieces.
  • Added Challenges to the Pause Menu for visibility during gameplay.
  • Added an option that allows users to disable the Challenge notification.
  • Added deck progress counter in Challenge Hub.
  • Progress notifications for featured (golden) challenges now appear gold.
  • More variety is present for Challenges which reward Season Points from week to week.
  • Added ODST’s Silenced SMG, Automag, and Brute Plasma Rifle to Halo 3 Multiplayer.
  • Added Recon weapon set to override all weapons on the map with their ODST counterparts.
  • Added new option for Halo 3 Grenade Regeneration which includes Firebomb grenades.
  • Added bottomless clip option for Halo 3 Infinite Ammo setting.
  • Simplified Chinese Text Language is now supported in ODST.

Flight Improvements Brought into MCC Retail

These improvements came from feedback reported by our community and were resolved during or after the flight period of ODST. Thank you for participating!

Halo 3

  • We have brought over the improvements made in our last flight patch to hit registration in multiplayer (related to the 60hz and 30hz engine refresh rate as referenced in our development July 2020 blog).
  • Fixed several issues that caused floating turrets, mongoose falling from the sky, and a series of issues that were identified during the initial flight with Elephants on Sandtrap.
  • Service ID’s shorter than 3 characters now display in gameplay.
  • Scoreboard player scrolling is now bound to Up and Down arrow keys.
  • Updated how the camera intersects with objects in Forge fixing an issue where players would be flung out of the map boundaries and killed when playing or moving objects.
  • Several improvements to Forge with camera movement, menu navigation, and placing or moving objects.
  • Halo 3 matchmaking game films no longer prevent players from restarting the film. 

ODST

  • Fixed an issue that caused missing or delayed subtitles during cutscenes.
  • Detached turrets no longer use lowered crosshairs when Crosshair Position is set to “Centered”.
  • Players can operate and exit hijacked Ghosts without others seeing them as standing on it.
  • Resolved several crash issues reported during the flight period.
  • All the character models have matching hands.
  • AA Wraith Spawns normally in “Lost Platoon.”
  • Suicide Grunts now have grenades in their hands.
  • Projectiles are visible when Wraiths are seen firing.
  • Players can use health packs in Firefight. Scope zoom sound effects only play once in Firefight.
  • When the time limit expires the game ends instead of a new game starting before the end of the current game in Firefight.
  • Front turrets on Phantoms are visible to players in Firefight
  • The preview images were corrected for several reward tiers (Romeo and Buck, Helmets on/off).

Resolved Issues

Below is a breakdown of the specific fixes that have come with today’s update:

General/UI

  • Exit Experience no longer plays sound effects for 0 Challenge XP.
  • Post-game and pause menu roster no longer display player names as “Player Found”.
  • The Refresh Pings button no longer disappears if user passes over Relays option after viewing Network pings.
  • Players will no longer get a duplicate notification of the same challenge when progress is made.
  • The player emblem is no longer missing the background image for all users that appear in the pause menu roster.
  • “Playlist stats” is no longer missing “Max local players” in the “Competitive” game mode selection menu.
  • The warning when enabling a zero-scoring skull has been updated to define that any “mission completion, scoring, time, Challenges, and par achievements will not be recorded when running campaign with a zero-scoring skull.

Halo 1

  • The customization menu “Schism” skin texture placement is no longer inconsistent with other Fuel Rod skin textures.
  • The preview model will no longer show the last visor color highlighted when highlighting “DEFAULT” instead of the default color.

Halo 2& Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer

  • Armor descriptions are no longer missing from Spartan Armor Customization.
  • In Halo 2 Anniversary Forge, hovering over a different highlightable field before selecting “Yes” on a prompt no longer causes the action to not be taken.
  • Crosshair no longer moves up when zooming if crosshair position is lowered.
  • The Edit Mode action “Grab Object” is no longer assigned to a random key every time the game is restarted.

Halo 3

  • Crosshair no longer moves up when zooming if crosshair position is lowered.
  • The prompt no longer indicates [Q] (instead of assigned key) to enter edit mode at the beginning of the forge session.
  • Boot Player prompt no longer contains references to the Xbox One console on PC.
  • Objects placed when nearing the total object limit are now saved.
  • Objects no longer despawn when too many are placed on maps with high object density.
  • Changing to Player Mode while moving an object set to phased physics no longer causes the object to continue moving indefinitely.
  • Forge object rotation is more responsive with a mouse when using an unlimited framerate.
  • Objects set to fixed or phased physics no longer maintain momentum when released and changed to normal physics.
  • Players and held objects are no longer rapidly accelerated when cameras and objects are misaligned.
  • The callout to Summary now reflects actual key binding.
  • The picture-in-picture display in the Sniper Rifle’s Scope will now appropriately reflect the player’s view when the crosshair is centered in Halo 3.
  • The progress bar in Halo 3 Theater is now filled during playback. All weapons, vehicles, and grenades now appear in the appropriate kills category in the Post Game Carnage Report.
  • Halo 3 armor components now display description strings in the Customization menu.

ODST

  • Look Inversion set to Inverted no longer overrides Flight Inversion while in Banshee while using Controller.
  • Updated the Epilogue thumbnail & loading screen image to remove a spoiler.
  • Excessive flashing no longer occurs in security camera shots in cutscenes in 4K resolution.
  • Tools of Destruction no longer displays the Halo 3 Magnum instead of ODST Magnum.
  • Suppressed SMG tool of destruction is no longer displayed as standard SMG.
  • There is no longer a large visible gap in the center of the Health Bar in 4K resolution.
  • Com Data UI no longer consistently blinks while viewing any Com Data.
  • Weapon icons in gameplay have been updated to higher-quality versions.
  • Fixed an issue where the VISR’s intel menu did not display objectives as individual bullet points.
  • There is no longer a misplaced period for weapon pickup text in Italian.
  • Betrayed ODSTs no longer appear as Spartans in the Post Game Carnage Report.

Halo 4

  • Friendly Fire has been disabled in various Halo 4 Big Team Battle game variants, most notably in Team Heavies.

Halo: Reach

  • Engineer is no longer listed as Huragok in the Post Game Carnage Report for ODST and Halo: Reach campaigns.
  • Firefight Matchmaking now gracefully prompts a User without the DLC Entitlement or Campaign Content.
  • Crosshairs no longer move up when zooming if crosshair position is lowered.
  • The picture-in-picture display on Covenant vehicle dashboards will now appropriately reflect the player’s view when the crosshair is centered.

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Xbox Could Buy Even More Game Studios In The Future, Microsoft CEO Says

With its $7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax, Microsoft now has a whopping 23 first-party game development studios, but the company might not stop there.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told GameSpot sister site CNET that Microsoft will consider snapping up more game developers in the future if it makes sense.

“We’ll always look for places where there is that commonality of purpose, mission, and culture,” Nadella said. “We will always look to grow inorganically where it makes sense.”

Nadella is not committing to anything here, and it’s not unusual for giant companies to be constantly on the lookout for acquisition opportunities. With the acquisition of ZeniMax ($7.5 billion) and Mojang ($2.5 billion), as well as Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion, inXile, and Obsidian, Microsoft has spent more than $10 billion on game studios in the past six years.

In terms of a future buyout, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in 2019 that the company is looking to acquire a Japanese studio. “I think it would be nice if we found an Asian studio, in particular a Japanese studio, to add [to our studios],” he said at the time.

Going back to the CNET story, Spencer told the site that Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax is all about securing more content, which is paramount to the company’s success.

“Content is just the incredible ingredient to our platform that we continue to invest in,” Spencer said. “This doubles the size of our creative organization.”

Microsoft is bolstering its first-party games lineup in part to help increase the appeal of the Xbox Game Pass service, which is already off to a hot start with 15 million subscribers.

For more on Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax, check out GameSpot’s recent stories linked below.

Now Playing: Xbox Buys Bethesda: What It Means For Game Pass, Starfield, PS5 + More | Generation Next

Zack Snyder’s Justice League: 17 Things To Know About The Director’s Cut

Zack Snyder’s DC movie Justice League went into production in April 2016, just a few weeks after his previous film, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, hit theaters. Justice League hit theaters 19 months later, in November 2017, featuring DC superheroes Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Superman (Henry Cavill), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). It was clear that it wasn’t the movie that Snyder had started making. By that point, Snyder himself wasn’t even involved–a family tragedy led him to leave the project after principal photography was completed. Avengers director Joss Whedon was tagged in for reshoots and post-production.

The resulting movie had a mishmash of tones, strange editing decisions, mixed performances, and, of course, Henry Cavill’s digitally removed mustache. And with extensive reshoots leading to a reported $300 million dollar price tag, it failed to make enough of an impact financially. Giving DC its first box office flop. And that’s when the fan campaign for the release of Snyder’s original version began.

Two and a half years later, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was officially announced. To say this was a surprise is an understatement, but it’s happening. At DC FanDome, Snyder and the cast revealed more information about this new version of the film, plus the first trailer. Here’s everything we know so far about Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Xbox Preorders, Call Of Duty Season 6, And Resident Evil & Monster Hunter At TGS | Save State

In your Save State for September 22, Chastity tells you about how the Xbox Series X & S preorders were a mess, much like PS5 or RTX 3080. Despite Microsoft telling people exactly when the preorders would go live, the demand was too much for retailer websites to handle.

We got a Season 6 cinematic trailer for Call of Duty Modern Warfare & Warzone, which revealed two new operators, Farah and Nikolai. They are also two of Modern Warfare’s main characters in the campaign.

Finally, we’ll be learning more about Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, and Resident Evil Village at Tokyo Games Show. TGS will air online from September 24-27. Monster Hunter Rise and Stories 2 will be shown on a live stream on Saturday, and Resident Evil Village will be on stream on Sunday.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars Had A Huge Opening In The UK

Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the recently released Switch compilation of 3D Mario platformers, has been a big sales success in the UK. 3D All-Stars has had one of the year’s best launches in the country, and ranks fairly high in Nintendo’s all-time list, too.

According to Gamesindustry.biz, 3D All-Stars was the best-selling physical game in the UK last week, tracking ahead of Marvel’s Avengers (which saw a sales decrease of 46% compared to the previous week). It was the third biggest opening for any game this year in the country, behind only The Last of Us: Part II and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Nintendo’s bundle featuring HD ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy for Switch is the third biggest game launch of the year in the UK, after Sony’s The Last of Us: Part II and another Nintendo staple, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

It’s also the fifth fastest-selling Switch game in the country, the second best Mario platformer of all time (behind Super Mario Odyssey), and Nintendo’s 15th best launch in the UK of all time. Essentially, it’s done very well, although the exact sales numbers have not been released.

This milestone only covers the physical release, too. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is the current top-selling game on the Nintendo Switch Eshop in the US, UK, Australia, and Japan, too. While sales data for other regions isn’t available yet, it’s likely done well–the game was Amazon’s second-best selling game of 2020 well before launch.

3D All-Stars received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review. “Despite their age, the games are still rife with inventive ideas and surprises, which more than makes up for the collection’s presentational shortcomings,” wrote reviewer Kevin Knezevic. The game is a limited-time release, and will only be available until March 31, 2021.

Now Playing: Super Mario 3D All-Stars Review

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NHL 21: New Hut Rush Gameplay Shown Off

One of the new features in NHL 21 is Hut Rush, which is a faster-paced version of the standard Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT). EA Sports has now published a new gameplay video for it and shared some additional details about what to expect.

HUT Rush has a “Style Scoring” system which, as its name suggests, rewards players for scoring goals with style moves. There is a multiplier system so you can chain moves together to score the highest possible amount of points.

“A 2-on-1 cross crease pass for an easy one-timer won’t earn you as many points as a saucer pass to a streaking forward who tucks in the puck one handed. With Hut Rush, the prettier the play, the bigger the bonus,” EA said.

The video above showcases the new scoring system in Hut Rush. As you can see, the player successfully chains together a chip deke (which is new for NHL 21) and a toe drag before finishing the play with a snapshot to score. They got 935 points for this.

HUT Rush will have seasons that span different modes like 3v3, 5v5, goal-limit games, timed games, and first goal wins, among others. Players will rise (or fall) through the rankings, and they’ll earn rewards along the way. EA also confirmed that you can play Hut Rush with mascots, while the mode also supports outdoor arenas.

You can learn more about Hut Rush on the landing page on EA’s website.

NHL 21 is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on October 16, which is later than usual due to complications related to COVID-19. There won’t be a dedicated version of the game for PS5 and Xbox Series X, but the game will play on those consoles through backwards compatibility. For more, check out this extended gameplay video that showcases the improvements in the game this year.

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Madden 21 Patch Notes Include Some Major Changes (September 22)

Right on schedule, the fourth title update for Madden NFL 21 is now available, and it’s a big one. The September 22 patch introduces a series of new player abilities, makes fixes and tuning changes for several issues, and addresses bugs with Franchise, Madden Ultimate Team, and The Yard.

One of the most notable fixes in this patch is for the bug that could cause the kick meter to “hitch” during field goal tries. Many complained about the kick meter bugging out, causing frustration and missed extra points in some scenarios. In GameSpot’s Madden NFL 21 review, we said there was “fairly extreme lag” that could cause kicks to go array.

In terms of the new abilities, these include Run Committed and Pass Committed, which help defenders break up plays. Another new ability is called Deflator, and this causes increased fatigue-related penalties when using an aggressive tackle on a ball-carrier.

The Madden series is known for its various bugs, and these often get smoothed out over time. This newest patch addresses a few silly-sounding bugs, like one where the runner would run continuously after scoring, and another where the quarterback would pitch the ball with the wrong hand. The patch also fixes an issue that could cause the football to pass through a defender’s body, which sounds terribly painful.

You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by EA on the Madden website.

Madden NFL 21 Title Update 4

Gameplay Updates:

New Abilities

  • (NEW) Run Committed – Defenders with this ability will dominantly win run blocks when they correctly use the Guess Play adjustment to predict a run. Incorrect guesses will result in a loss.
  • (NEW) Pass Committed – Defenders with this ability will win pass blocks when they correctly use the Guess Play adjustment to predict a pass. Incorrect guesses will result in a loss.
  • (NEW) Deflator – Defenders with this ability will cause increased fatigue penalties when tackling a Ball Carrier with a non-conservative tackle.
  • Enforcer – Addressed an issue causing CPU-controlled defenders with the Enforcer ability to use hit-stick tackles too frequently, and as a result also cause more fumbles than intended

Ball Carrier

  • Updated QB-Slide functionality so that a double-tap of the dive button will now always be slide while a single press will always be dive, which will align with the non-QB ball carrier ‘give-up’ functionality
  • Modified the new ‘Jurdle’ animation to reduce over-steering
  • Fixed an issue that would sometimes allow the QB to enter a tackle animation while attempting to slide, which could lead to fumbles
  • Fixed an issue where Ball Carriers would stumble and fall well after having a collision with their legs
  • Fixed an issue where ball carriers were stumbling and falling too frequently when running through the line and colliding with their blockers
  • Fixed an issue rarely causing the ball carrier to continuously run after scoring a TD
  • Fixed quarterbacks pitching the ball with the wrong hand on option plays

Defensive Coverage

  • Fixed issue allowing the ‘Bunch Verticals Flanker Motion-Snap’ quick-throw exploit vs Cover 3 and Cover 4:
    • DEV NOTE: A longstanding legacy issue, allowing users to call Bunch Verticals, motion the flanker to the outside, snap while in motion and quick throw to that receiver who would be open against Cover 3 and Cover 4. We have added logic for the Curl Flat and Quarters Flat defenders to cover that throw.
  • Addressed a Motion issue causing defensive backs in man coverage that were covering a receiver in motion to swap assignments with another defensive back on the other side of the formation, leaving the motion receiver open
  • Fixed an issue allowing route-swapping out of any passing formation by audible & resetting their play call twice
  • Addressed an issue with Cornerback Matchups by Route causing linebackers and cornerbacks to switch alignments in pre-play vs. certain offensive formations
  • Fixed an issue causing man-coverage defenders to get into a bad position vs motion-wheel routes
  • Fixed multiple defensive alignment issues caused by motioning the Slot Receiver to the inside in Gun Empty Bunch and motioning a HB out wide in Gun Trips, resulting in inverted assignment and alignments
  • Fixed issues with Defensive Backs reacting too slowly to WR auto-motion and user-controlled receiver motion, leaving the receiver wide open at the snap
  • Addressed an issue where defenders mirroring a receiver in motion would sometimes stumble on their teammate when the ball was snapped
  • Fixed an issue rarely causing pass-rushing outside linebackers to flip their gap assignment to the opposite side of the formation when the ball was snapped
  • Fixed an issue causing a defender in man coverage vs. a screen-blocking receiver would run past the blocking receiver on some RPO Alert plays

Tackling

  • Tuning for a variety of tackling animation issues that sometimes prevented tackles from triggering vs. ball carriers in Juke moves, and some cases where the ball carrier was not using any special move
  • Fixed an issue causing an offensive lineman on the ground to warp back up to be part of a multi-player sack interaction between the pass rusher and quarterback
  • Fixed an issue causing a CPU-controlled defender to celebrate while the ball is still live after a fumble

Catching

  • Improved multiple issues where the ball was going through players’ torsos on swat and catch attempts
  • Addressed an issue allowing user-controlled receivers using Aggressive Catch to make catches that they should not have specifically on jumping and diving catch animations. The player ratings will have a heavier impact on the outcome of these specific catch animations
  • Fixed an issue preventing a teammate from catching a pitch on kickoff returns
  • Tuning to ball physics to reduce the frequency of footballs consistently/repeatedly bouncing off of moving players and keeping the play live

General Fixes

  • Fixed an issue with users being able to grief their opponent online by getting endless False Start penalties
    • DEV NOTE: We have addressed this issue and now 3 consecutive False Starts, Delay of Game, or any combination of those penalties will result in the user committing the penalties getting booted.
  • Fixed a blocking issue causing the fullback and offset tight end to collide with each other following the snap on certain formations
  • Fixed an issue causing offensive players to rarely move out of their formation positions in pre-play, such as a QB moving to a guard position or a guard moving to a WR position after an audible:
    • DEV NOTE: We were able to finally narrow down the steps to identify the cause of this rare bug, based on detailed feedback we gathered from our community. Thank you! While we are confident this specific situation is fixed, there could be other situations that could cause some similar behaviors so we will continue to monitor and address issues here as they come up.
  • Fixed an issue causing the CPU-controlled offense to call passing plays sometimes when winning late in the game instead of running plays
  • Fixed an issue causing CPU-controlled quarterbacks to roll out of the pocket but then suddenly stop to try to throw resulting in unnecessary sacks

Madden Ultimate Team Updates:

  • Improved the accuracy of difficulty descriptions for Challenges
  • Various quality of life improvements among different MUT UI screens
  • Addressed an exploit where users could complete one play challenges and get bonus XP
  • Updated logic to address player feedback that the play clock would wind down to the point where pre-snap adjustments were difficult to execute
  • Addressed an issue allowing users to intentionally leave certain positions in the depth chart empty to get receivers to auto-sub in at the tight end positions, and then use this to exploit the ‘audibles by personnel’ feature in gameplay; with this change, you will now get defensive players subbed into any offensive position that is left empty on the depth chart, which will prevent any audibles from those sets as the defender doesn’t fit any offensive personnel packages
  • Addressed a gameplay issue specific to Ultimate Team where specific QB’s would cause bad snaps over his head occasionally on Jet Sweep types of plays

Franchise Updates:

  • Face of the Franchise Updates:
    • General stability improvements
    • Added a new cutscene for users named NFL MVP in The Comeback storyline
    • Fixed issue with audio not playing correctly in the final Face of the Franchise cutscene at the user’s high school field
    • Fixed several issues in storylines with branching logic, rewards, ability unlocks, typos, and goal tracking
    • Fixed performance issues in the 1st High School game
  • Franchise Updates:
    • Fixed an issue with users input not working when navigating positions in the Formation Subs screen
    • Fixed an issue with Slow Sim for PS4 users
    • General stability improvements
    • Fixed issue with Veteran players receiving votes for Rookie of the Year awards
    • Added league names to Franchise cloud save tiles
    • The following abilities have been added Franchise:
      • Run Committed
      • Pass Committed
      • Deflator

The Yard Updates:

  • Added visual indicator for whether you are viewing H2H or versus CPU events
  • Added your own score to Frienderboard display
  • Fixed issues around player control and loot round drafts
  • Fixed an issue where abilities would not display correctly if accessed in quick succession
  • Fixed an issue where maxed out prototypes would display blank rewards
  • Stability and online connectivity improvements
  • Fixed an issue where CPU-controlled quarterbacks were always getting sacked when the play matchup was Trips Verts Hook vs Safe Zone Blitz
  • Fixed the Slot Streak being open every time when running Deep Dish vs 1 Deep Zone Blitz
  • Fixed an issue causing the ball to warp between the passer’s hands while throwing out of a sack
  • Addressed an issue causing the offensive receiver icons to sometimes appear after the defense had made an interception in the backfield, which could result in the defender unintentionally passing the ball back to offensive players when attempting skill moves
  • Fixed an issue preventing players from attempting to recover a loose ball after a fumbled pitch or lateral

Presentation Updates:

  • Updated helmet and chinstrap placement lots of high profile players who have changed helmets like Derek Carr, Devin Bush, Denzel Ward and Alex Smith to name a few
  • Fixed an issue with Titans AFL jersey
  • Updated multiple generic heads with newer high quality ones

User Experience (UX) Updates:

  • Updates have been made to address general performance that impacted reliability of the kick meter, where it would sometimes hitch during field goal situations.

Now Playing: Madden NFL 21 Video Review

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Ubisoft Apologizes For Assassin’s Creed Retrospective Ad That Includes No Women

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is releasing later this year, and the Assassin’s Creed UK Twitter account posted a video looking back at the history of the series’ most iconic weapon, the Hidden Blade, to celebrate. However, fans were quick to note something off about the video–it only featured men.

While the Assassin’s Creed series has predominantly featured male protagonists, there have been several major women across the franchise, several of them playable. Most notable was the absence of Aveline de GrandprĂ©, star of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, the first playable woman in the Assassin’s Creed series.

The tweet has since been followed up on and a new video has been posted, featuring Aveline and several other women from the series. You can watch it below.

Ubisoft has come under scrutiny after numerous allegations of assault and abuse were made against various employees. The company has been made to publicly reckon with its history of abuse following numerous reports of the company’s “frat house” culture.

“This summer, we learned that certain employees did not uphold our company’s values and that our systems failed to protect the victims of their behavior,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said ahead of September’s Ubisoft Forward presentation. “We have taken significant steps to remove or sanction all those who violated our values and code of conduct, and we are working now to improve our systems and processes.”

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the next game in the series, releases on November 10, 2020 (November 12 for the PS5 version). It will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Now Playing: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Gameplay Overview | Ubisoft Forward 2020

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