For mobile gaming news this week, Apple Arcade has revealed a wealth of updates to their mobile titles with three new title announcements, and mobile darling Genshin Impact is finally heading to Xbox.

Mobile gaming has had yet another busy week in August, with Gamescom ONL 2024 launching a wealth of news on the gaming landscape for fans to dive into. Probably the most surprising is Genshin Impact has received a release date of November 2024 for Xbox. However, no release has been announced yet for the mobile Nintendo Switch despite HoYoverse announcing it for Switch way back in January 2020.

Aside from that, Apple Arcade has upped its offerings with three new titles launching in September 2024, which were announced this week, and a boatload of updates for its existing titles.

This Week in Mobile Gaming For August 24

Apple Arcade has Announced Three New Titles For Mobile!

• Monster Train+ by Good Shepherd Entertainment – Good Shepherd Entertainment is bringing their lightning-in-a-bottle title to Apple Arcade from Steam, making it a true mobile gaming experience. Players must defend the burning pyre from the celestial forces of heaven as monsters would. This title functions as a roguelite deck-building game and introduces a new strategic layer with three vertical playing fields to defend. The ‘plus’ version for Apple Arcade also includes The Last Divinity DLC, adding a new clan and challenges to the fray.
• NFL Retro Bowl ’25 by New Star Games – Retro Bowl is coming back to mobile gaming, and it’s exclusive to Apple Arcade in NFL Retro Bowl ’25. The newly revamped title brings full NFL licensing to the title, allowing NFL fans to utilize their favourite athletes in the game, just like Madden 25‘s Franchise Mode, Retro Bowl allows NFL fans to create their own dynasty by choosing their favourite official NFL teams and taking them the distance.
• The last new game announced for Apple Arcade is Puzzle Sculpt by Schell Games, an Apple Vision Pro and Apple Arcade exclusive that brings coziness to an already cozy space of a living room. Players can look around and solve puzzles while completely relaxed in this new title. There are many puzzles to solve and challenges to overcome with an ever-increasing difficulty that ramps with the player’s skill.

Other Mobile Gaming Updates Coming to Apple Arcade

• Vampire Survivors+ Introduces a new stage called Room 1665, doubling as a Challenge stage made of 16 rooms that will challenge players to fight the floors as a crucible. This update also adds two new character skins — ‘Unbinded Imelda’ and ‘Retired Poe’ — with new Darkanas modifiers. 
• TMNT Splintered Fate now lets players pair four controllers to enjoy four-player couch co-op on the same device. With new cross-platform support, four-player online co-op can now happen on any platform.
• Temple Run: Legends introduces customization with new unlockable Outfits and a new Outfit System. Outfits also grant wearers buffs during specific runs, proving that the sneakers matter when foot racing.
• SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit adds the conclusion of the latest Tales of the Deep called Inner Machinations of the Thoughtless Mind.
• Simon’s Cat – Story Time lets players try out the new Summer Search Party event to earn daily rewards for finding beach balls in the gardens. 
• Fruit Ninja Classic+ blasts off a Jetpack Joyride 2-themed in-game event, where players can earn the Jetpack Blade and Moon Tombs Dojo from joyride, but in Fruit Ninja Classic+.
• A Slight Chance of Sawblades+ celebrates International Dog Day (August 26) with an all-new canine character and dog-themed background. 
• Disney Coloring World+ lets players join the Muppets in a new colouring pack.

Mobile Gaming news hasn’t wrapped just yet. Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition also brings the new free and paid expansion to mobile devices this week, capping off A Rift in Time (and Jaffar’s time as the big bad). With that, though, mobile gaming news ends this week. Fans looking for all of the additions and where to check them out can visit the official Apple Arcade website.

Fan Expo Canada 2024 had a great variety of cosplayers, activations, shopping, panels and guests throughout the convention weekend.

This year was star-studded and packed with so many great guests! Fan Expo Canada 2024 kicked off with many attendees flocking to the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. CGMagazine was able to capture the most important part of the show: the fans! The fans brought a great assortment of cosplay clothing, offering both sophisticated looks and zany ones. Many of them ranged from some of the hottest anime series, TV/film, comics, video games and more.

Fan Expo Canada 2024 comes back back swinging harder than ever post-pandemic, even bringing back the Xbox exhibit! There are many new and returning celebrities and special guests too, such as Barbie and Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings star Simu Liu, Emily Swallow, Giancarlo Esposito and Temuera Morrison from The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett, and so much more. On top of that many installations and fun prizes are to be won throughout the con. This collection captures the general minutiae of the whole convention across the whole weekend.

Fan Expo Canada 2024 Thursday Kick-Off

Fan Expo Canada 2024 Friday Rush

Fan Expo Canada 2024 Saturday Bonanza

Studio Imugi has given fans a brief glimpse at their new upcoming title, Bonaparte, which answers the question ‘What if the French Revolution had Steampunk Gundam?’

Studio Imugi has finally unveiled their debut strategy simulator, Bonaparte, an homage to the former Revolutionary’s skill in identifying weaknesses in opposing battle plans, placing the player firmly in control. My knowledge of the French Revolution comes from two sources: college history courses and the 2006 film Marie Antoinette. This means I know practically nothing.

However, one thing is certain—France did not have ‘steampunk Gundams’ as their main force. This is where Bonaparte introduces a paradigm shift to the French Revolution formula. Studio Imugi has also released a trailer to coincide with their announcement, which you can view below.

Bonaparte places the player firmly in the commander’s seat, allowing them to not only make battlefield decisions but also wield a politician’s greatest weapon: diplomacy. The trailer showcases an in-battle scene where Céline Bonaparte discusses her allegiance—whether to the subjects of France or the mighty monarchs—adding a notable Fire Emblem feel to the turn-based combat. These decisions will likely lead to battles playing out differently, considering “Rewrite History” is central to Bonaparte‘s identity.

What sets this strategy simulator apart is the reliance on advanced machines to decimate the enemies of France, we are talking Steampunk-humanoid-shaped vehicles that use weaponry (similar to Code Geass‘s nightmare frame, or Neon Genesis Evangelion units) to rule the battlefield. This title allows the player to enter the capable boots of either Céline or César Bonaparte and change the course of history by siding with notable historical figures (like Marie Antoinette) or taking up arms against them.

Bonaparte launches at a TBD date in 2025, and fans can check out their Steam page for more info.

Rotten Tomatoes is a trusted source that aggregates all review scores for film and TV and this week, they announced a change in the site’s viewable ratings.

First off, for the uninitiated, Rotten Tomatoes serves the internet as a source to head to when looking for not one but multiple reviews on a hit TV show or film that has been released. The site even goes as far back to show how older films have done in the past, with review aggregations of films like 1994’s The Crow letting fans compare it to the recently released film also called The Crow (with a new ensemble). The site focuses on giving critics a communal voice, certifying whether films are ‘fresh’ or ‘rotten,’ hence Rotten Tomatoes.

This week, the review site underwent a drastic change that has watered down its audience score system. The new system is referred to as ‘The Popcornmeter’. The new designations show films branded with “Verified Hot,” “Hot,” or “Stale,” depending on the feedback of the Verified Audience. The new Verified Hot rating will be reserved for films and TV that score 90% or higher initially, and it will stay hot until the score falls below 80%.

How does one become a verified audience member? Rotten Tomatoes says they will verify the audience in attendance by using Fandango ticket purchases. It’s worth mentioning that RT is owned by the US Fandango platform. With this move, it appears the site favours the Fandango ticketing service due to their connection, but RT is working on collaborating with other platforms to verify purchases as well.

Recently, ‘review bombing’ has gone mainstream. Angry fans have taken to Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, and other sites to unleash their fury when things don’t go their way. The steep difference in scores between RT’s Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s critical review and audience review could be one instance. Other instances show fans openly and brazenly targetting titles like Helldivers 2 on Steam and blasting the ‘1-star’ button due to behind-the-scenes operations (in this case, Sony requiring PC players to need a PS Network account to play the title). In this sole case, they walked back the decision and Helldivers 2 can be played on Steam without the need for a PSN account.

Either way, implementing the new rule stifles the audience score for better or worse. Fans can check out the rules rollout on the official Rotten Tomatoes website.

For the first time in World of Warcraft history, Blizzard has given both tickets to Beta and early access periods to War Within Epic Edition buyers, and the early access has just begun!

The early access period for the World of Warcraft: The War Within has begun, and players who have purchased either the physical collector’s edition or the Epic Edition digital bundle can dive right into the action four full days early. World of Warcraft launched a specialized cinematic trailer to prep Azeroth inhabitants for the upcoming expansion, which can be seen below.

World of Warcraft: The War Within Key Features

• Explorers will be able to head to the new continent of Khaz Algar, which lies off the western shores of Pandaria. Within the continent lies the surface-level city of Dornogal, which will serve as the new main city hub of the expansion. Expeditious adventurers can explore what dwells beneath the surface of the city in the lava-fuelled forge of The Ringing Deeps, the Hallowfall, and the Nerubian society monument, Azj-Kahet.

• Hero Talents will be introduced in The War Within. They are a new class feature that allows more levels of class specialization customization. Hero Talents are modelled after well-known archetypes from the Warcraft universe, including Dark Ranger, Farseer, and more.
• A new world content feature is being added to World of Warcraft, and it is called Delves. These are small adventures seamlessly integrated into the world (similar to delves in The Elder Scrolls Online), which scale to support 1-5 players and offer a new rewards track in the Great Vault.
• Introduced as dragon riding in Dragonflight, the function will be expanded into sky riding, allowing a larger number of mounts to be used. This system will allow more mount types to be used in mid-air, and the previous flight system will now be referred to as steady flight.

World of Warcraft: The War Within launches globally on August 26, but for those who have early access, It starts today. More info can be found on the official website.

Avowed & Obsidian Entertainment’s Art Director, Matt Hansen took to the Iron Lords podcast to reveal some “juicy” information about the upcoming title.

Obsidian Entertainment’s next title, Avowed, is coming out this February 2025. Ahead of the big release, Obsidian Entertainment’s Art Director Matt Hansen and Production Director Ryan Warden have jumped onto the IGN Iron Lords podcast to reveal some upcoming information about the title.

Hansen explains that Avowed development is focusing on getting the title to run at a crisp 30fps and getting to 60fps would be a hard task even for the more robust Xbox Series X console. He even goes so far as to say that as a first-person single-player title, “you don’t necessarily need that 60 frames.” Below is the latest story game trailer revealed by Obsidian back at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024.

Hansen continues with an explanation of how smooth gameplay is paramount to the overall experience, which is why they’re targeting 30fps. He says “[The 30fps] allows us to get a lot juicier with VFX and lighting and all this other stuff. It’s a trade-off we opted to make relatively early, and we’re really happy with that. The game’s running pretty smooth for how visually dense it is, and that was always our goal.” The notion is that Obsidian would rather have Avowed run excellent at 30fps than choppy at 60fps. The recent single-player release of Black Myth Wukong has also been said to run smoothly at 30fps.

Other Xbox-published titles like Starfield and Hellblade 2 have launched at 30fps as well, to help avoid input or performance issues they could trip on. While Starfield has since seen an update that brings the performance near 60fps, Hellblade 2 still has yet to receive an update, but this means Avowed can also launch at 30fps and get an update later on to boost visual fidelity.

Avowed launches on February 18, 2025 for Xbox Series S/X and PC.

Behaviour Interactive and Supermassive Games’ team-up title, The Casting of Frank Stone continues an exciting reveal spree, and a new trailer has come out of The Fog revealing new exciting features not seen in a Supermassive game before.

Gamescom 2024 continues to steamroll ahead and at the Xbox Gamescom Broadcast 2024, The Casting of Frank Stone has walked straight out of The Fog and into a new trailer. The new trailer presents new features not seen before in a Supermassive Games title, and even implements some of the tried and true mechanics (albeit loosely) from Dead by Daylight. The trailer can be seen below as shown at the showcase.

The Casting of Frank Stone New Features

• Supermassive games open the Cutting Room Floor. Fans can sit in the director’s chair and revisit key story decisions. This also allows fans to seek missing collectibles or relive thrilling moments without starting a new game. The Cutting Room Floor opens by purchasing the Deluxe Edition or completing the narrative of The Casting of Frank Stone.  

• Twitch Integration will let streamers and audiences experience The Casting of Frank Stone together. With Twitch Integration, viewers can vote on each choice throughout the game (similar to the poorly received Silent Hill: Ascension project from 2023). Votes will be placed into the streamer’s hands and they will have a limited number of vetoes to override a decision, if they dislike the audience’s direction.
• Plunderer’s Instinct makes its way to The Casting of Frank Stone from being a Dead by Daylight perk and allows the player to see the aura of any Trinket Chest that may have been missed.
• Up to four-player couch co-op allows fans to share the experience in the same room. Fans can pass the controller back and forth as the character perspective changes throughout the game, and it cohesively immerses the audience into the storyline with a group of friends.

The Casting of Frank Stone will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on December 3. Fans can check out the official Supermassive Games website in the meantime for more information.

EA Sports has announced the newest cover athletes for the upcoming NHL 25, and it’s a family affair. The Hughes brothers (Quinn, Jack, and Luke) become the first set of brothers to grace the cover of the annual hockey title.

NHL 25 marks the second time in three years that the yearly hockey franchise has placed more than one player on their cover, with NHL 23 featuring Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse, and the NHL 24 cover featuring Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar.

Quinn Hughes, the oldest of the three brothers, was drafted 7th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the leagues best rookie in 2020 and is the most recent recipient of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the leagues best defenseman.

Jack Hughes was drafted 1st overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, just one year after Quinn. Jack has earned himself 3 consecutive All-Star Game selections and was nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (awarded to the player that shows the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct) for the 2022-2023 Season.

Luke Hughes, the youngest of the three brothers, was drafted 4th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, joining older brother Jack on the team. After a stellar rookie season in 2023-2024 that saw him set a new franchise record for points by a rookie defenseman, he was named as a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the leagues best rookie, and was subsequently voted to the All-Rookie Team unanimously.

More details were also shared about the annual hockey title, too. NHL 25 will be powered by a brand-new gameplay intelligence system called ICE-Q, and is designed to give the player the space and ability to be in control of every inch of ice there is. Player skating has been completely revolutionized by the Next-Gen Vision Control system, which allows you move easier on the ice, creating opportunities, walking the blue line, squaring up on an opponent, and a whole lot more.

The CPU Player system has also been improved by Empowered AI, allowing the CPU to execute intricate and authentic plays, make smart decisions off the puck, leading to more opportunities on the powerplay. 

In addition, a wealth of new gameplay modes and structures have been implemented, namely a revamped Franchise Mode, HUT Wildcard Mode, and a single-path XP progression system that is shared across HUT. Last but not least, the introduction of Sapien Technology to NHL 25 brings player likenesses to the next level, meaning your favourite players will look a whole lot more like your favourite players. 

NHL 25 is now available for pre-order with a Standard Edition and a Deluxe Edition available. Pre-ordering the Standard Edition will get you 500 NHL Points, a HUT NHL Player Pack, WOC Battle Pass XP Boost (x2), and an immediate reward in NHL 24 with a digital pre-order (Choice of Quinn, Jack or Luke Hughes at 99 OVR). 

Pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition will get you 7-days of Early Access, including a head start in the initial HUT campaign and WOC season, 4600 NHL Points, HUT NHL Player Pack, HUT “Hockey is Family” Objectives Choice Pack (x2, 82 OVR), HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (85 OVR, 1 of 8), HUT Wildcard Starter Choice Pack (84 OVR, 1 of 6), WOC Battle Pass XP Boost (x2), WOC Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, Exclusive WOC Player Set, Immediate Reward In NHL 24 (Choice of Quinn, Jack, or Luke Hughes at 99 OVR).

NHL 25 should be released later on this year, though a specific date has yet to be announced by EA.

Lionsgate decided to pull down the trailer for their new film, Megalopolis after fans figured out the trailer quoted falsified reviews for the Director’s previous films.

To say Megalopolis had a rocky production is putting it mildly. Director Francis Coppola (known for award-winning films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now) has been trying to get the film made for many years, even fronting $120 million to foot the production costs. But today, Lionsgate has decided to pull the new trailer off the internet due to reports suggesting the trailer used fake quotes coming from Coppola’s earlier films.

The trailer was released Wednesday morning, and it didn’t take long for people to figure out that the ‘bad reviews’ quoted in the trailer from films like The Godfather were fictional, it’s also worth mentioning a critic themselves noticed they didn’t write what was quoted in the trailer.

This is after the film has gotten questionable attention, specifically from The Guardian where Coppola himself suggested he was going to make “a really s*****, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it,” and the report further alleges the Director mismanaged time and wasted a lot of production hours. The report continues with allegations the Director acted inappropriately with female extras on set, claiming he was “trying to get them in the mood.”

The trailer could have been meant to show former bad reviews for Coppola masterpieces, to insert Megalopolis into the same camp as the films that were shown to have said bad reviews. Variety critic, Owen Gleiberman, was cited in the trailer as saying Bram Stoker’s Dracula is “a beautiful mess” where he himself suggested that wasn’t the case.

Gleiberman said “Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths. Then again, the trivial scandal of all this is that the whole Megalopolis trailer is built on a false narrative,” continuing with the notion he wishes he said Dracula was ‘a beautiful mess,’ as it “sounds kind”.

Lionsgate has also issued an apology via Variety, saying “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process.  We screwed up.  We are sorry.” after the trailer’s removal today.

Megalopolis hits theatres on September 27.

At gamescom 2024, Xbox has come to the event with many game announcements but they’ve also pulled the curtain back to reveal hardware additions to their lineup.

Xbox was given a big platform at gamescom 2024. This is considering Sony and Nintendo did not attend nor make any announcements at the event, and they’ve brought hardware updates to the showcase aside from their announced software on gamescom 2024 ONL. Big Xbox software announcements so far include Masters of Albion from Fable co-creator Peter Molyneux, the previously Xbox exclusive Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to PS5, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 showcased new gameplay.

But that’s not all they have in store for fans in the coming months, as new hardware updates are coming for the Xbox Series console lineup. Xbox has also revealed notable accessibility innovations with a new adaptive controller lineup to make gaming more accessible for all gamers.

gamescom 2024 Xbox Series Hardware Lineup

• The Xbox Series S now comes with 1TB of onboard memory in the original Robot White colourway. It will be made available in October 2024 for $349.99.
• The Xbox Series X will be fashioned into a 1TB Digital Edition (as leaked earlier in the year) and will be the first time the Xbox Series X comes in Robot White. It will be available October 2024 for $449.99.
• The last hardware upgrade is an Xbox Series X in a lucrative 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition and includes a matching Xbox Wireless controller with a Galaxy Black D-pad and Velocity Green back case. The new console will be available in October 2024 for $599.99.

gamescom 2024 Xbox Adaptive Controller Additions For Accessibility

• The Xbox Adaptive Joystick is an affordable entry-level wired joystick designed to meet the needs of players with limited mobility, and to make things easier it can be used as a companion for the Xbox Adaptive Controller and other Xbox controllers. The Xbox Adaptive Joystick will be launching in early 2025 for $29.99.

• Xbox Design Labs is allowing the use of 3D printable files for adaptive thumbstick toppers. The service is offered free of charge with Xbox Design Labs and it allows players to configure six different 3D printable thumbstick topper designs for the Xbox Adaptive Joystick, the Xbox Wireless Controller, or the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. Xbox Design Lab outputs the design files that players can 3D print or take to any 3D printing service. The 3D printable files for adaptive thumbstick toppers are available now with Xbox Design Lab.

• The Designed for Xbox Proteus Controller has been unleashed by Xbox partners at ByoWave and revealed at Gamescom 2024. The Proteus is a modular adaptive kit that gives those with disabilities a more accessible way to play (similar to the PS5 Access Controller). The unique modular video game controller kit features ‘snap and play’ parts that connect together easily and the device comes with everything gamers require to play their favorite Xbox games on console and PC right out of the box. The ByoWave Proteus Controller is now available in select markets worldwide.

• Lastly, Xbox showed the designed for Xbox Lite SE 2.4G Wireless Controller at Gamescom 2024. Another third-party controller by 8BitDo is a compact and lightweight controller designed for gamers with limited mobility, featuring low-resistance buttons and Hall Effect joysticks with greater sensitivity. The 8BitDo Lite SE 2.4G Wireless Controller is now available in select markets worldwide for $59.99.

That just about wraps the new hardware additions unveiled for Xbox at Gamescom 2024. Fans looking for more coverage on gamescom 2024 can see the rest of our coverage here. Fans looking for more info on everything Xbox can head to their official site.

Warframe‘s update today introduces a new quest called The Lotus Eaters, which will serve as the prelude for the game’s hotly-anticipated winter update, Warframe 1999.

Announced last month at the game’s own convention, TennoCon, The Lotus Eaters is a short, solo-only quest following the events of Whispers in the Walls, last December’s epic addition to the main questline. Its official description warns that “The Man In The Wall does not sit idly by, Tenno.”

Representatives of Warframe developer Digital Extremes are currently at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany—the next stop on their “world tour” which will also take them to the Tokyo Game Show in Japan next month.

“Launching [The Lotus Eaters] update alongside our Tenno across Europe on the opening day of Gamescom is just wild,” said Creative Director Rebecca Ford. “Players have been clamoring for another taste of The Lotus in the story and this bite-sized quest might just offer a tad more insight into her role here.”

At the behest of the Lotus (or “Space Mom,” as she’s known in the Warframe community), players will “investigate a strange but familiar sound that is intrinsically tied to the monumental year of 1999,” before seeking out Albrecht Entrati in Warframe 1999‘s alternate vision of our own history later this year.

In addition to the quest, The Lotus Eaters update brings another revamped Warfame, Sevagoth Prime. After crafting this Warframe or unlocking it through the market, players can use his unique skillset to Reap the souls of the dead, Sow death seeds, or drill a well of Gloom. If all else fails, transform into his Exalted Shadow form to tear your opposition apart in melee.

Rounding out today’s update are the newest Prime companion, Nautilus Prime; the Epitaph Prime, a wrist-mounted sidearm; and plenty of new TennoGen cosmetic items for the “FashionFrame” community. These include a wave of cosmetics inspired by the Jade Shadows update, as well as a deluxe Ares skin for Styanax.

The Lotus Eaters may not be the only update before the long-running free-to-play game time travels back to 1999. Digital Extremes will pull back the curtain on another expansion, tentatively called the “Unannounced Fall 2024 Update,” in their showcase at Tokyo Game Show. Among its contents will be a host of quality-of-life updates and the next Prime Warframe, Caliban.

Then in Winter 2024, Warframe 1999 will take players back to the heyday of boy bands and dial-up internet to explore the Protoframes, the progenitors of many iconic Warframes. The expansion has a star-studded cast including Final Fantasy XVI‘s Ben Starr as Arthur “Exalibur” Nightingale, Cyberpunk 2099‘s Alpha Takahashi as Aoi, and Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Amelia Tyler.

In a Wednesday blog post, BioWare revealed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a dedicated force behind its PC development with over 200,000 hours of playtesting done.

Today, BioWare let out a massive blog post that outlines their ongoing development for their upcoming fourth entry in their high fantasy RPG series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and specifically how they’re placing special care on development for PC. The blog post starts with “The Dragon Age franchise started out on PC, and we wanted to make sure PC is a great place to play our game. Many of us at BioWare are PC players ourselves, and when testing, PCs made up 40% of our platform testing effort, with over 200,000 hours of performance and compatibility testing.”

The amount of testing that has gone into the new title is staggering. Bioware explains that the importance of getting everything ‘just right’ is paramount to the overall gameplay experience. The UI has been tweaked over thousands of hours of gameplay to ensure that players of all persuasions — whether they play on Xbox, PlayStation, PC or all three — including keyboard and mouse fans, can enjoy a comfortable experience. All three controller inputs: Xbox, Dualsense and KBM will also be available for PC. Going one step further, fans will be able to customize their character’s keybind to make the gameplay as smooth as possible for Warrior, Rogue and Mage players.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard PC Features

• Full Steam Nativity, including full Steam Deck verification—Cloud saving allows you to pick the game up on the Deck and seamlessly play it on PC, and vice versa.
• Linking an EA account will be completely optional (for PC).
• Display Features for PC – Full Support for 21:9 Ultra Wide Resolutions, Ability to Uncap Frame Rate, HDR Support, Optional Upscaling (DLSS 3, FSR 2.2, XeSS), NVIDIA Reflex, DLSS 3 Frame Generation and Optional Dynamic Resolution Scaling are included.
• A huge level of graphic scaling to ensure the game runs great no matter what rig you’re playing on, a small vignette of how the graphics will increase (or reduce) in clarity can be seen on the right.

It’s worth mentioning the sheer amount of turbulent launches the PC has seen since 2023. One of the most widely complained about being The Last of Us Part I, reported to feature staggering performance issues when it launched on PC. CGMagazine’s review of the port said “The Last of Us on PC feels like an infected facsimile of a dearly departed friend.”

At least fans can rest assured Dragon Age: The Veilguard will run smoothly on PC and console when it launches in October this year.

After recent confirmation that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle would be Xbox console exclusive, Xbox Head Phil Spencer explains why it’s now coming to PS5 after Xbox.

On Tuesday, Xbox confirmed that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle would no longer be an Xbox console exclusive, and it would be coming out on the PlayStation 5 platform. This is after the Xbox Head, Phil Spencer himself, said on an Xbox podcast episode back on February 15 that the title would be an Xbox exclusive. On that same podcast, Spencer revealed other Xbox-developed titles would come to the PlayStation platform, leaving Indy as an Xbox exclusive. Today, on a stream at Gamescom 2024, Phil Spencer backtracked Xbox exclusivity when asked to comment on the PS5 release announcement.

Phil Spencer said, “Going to the PlayStation announcement, obviously, last spring we launched four games – two of them on the Switch, four of them on PlayStation – and we said we were going to learn,” continuing with, “I think at the showcase I might have said that from our learning, we’re going to do more” regarding the PS5 Indiana Jones announcement. That announcement can be seen below, courtesy of Bethesda.

#IndianaJones and the Great Circle swings onto PS5 in Spring 2025! pic.twitter.com/6TcQdeFeo5

— Bethesda (@bethesda) August 20, 2024

Phil Spencer explains that the gaming industry’s pressure, including the obscene amount of layoffs that have happened since the beginning of 2024, has forced gaming companies to run more like “a business.” Spencer then says, “I think for us as fans and players of games, we just have to anticipate there’s going to be more change in how some of the more traditional ways that games were built and distributed – that’s going to change for all of us” concluding with “But the end result needs to be better games that more people can play. If we’re not focused on that, we’re focused on the wrong things.”

Phil Spencer said:

They learned from the first 4 games.
They run a business and player numbers on Xbox are higher than ever.
The industry is under pressure and it will be change for all of us. pic.twitter.com/qc2tGZQzSS

— Knoebel (@Knoebelbroet) August 21, 2024

Overall, Xbox appears to be rethinking its strategy when it comes to console-exclusive releases, even when it comes to titles they’ve previously announced as Xbox console-exclusive, in favour of an approach to make games more accessible by launching them on as many platforms as possible which echoes the “every screen is an Xbox” statement made by Sarah Bond also ironically on February 15, the same day Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was announced as Xbox exclusive.

Yesterday at Gamescom Opening Night Live, Peter Molyneux announced a new game, and today he confirmed that Masters of Albion will be set in the same world as Fable.

Gamescom ONL 2024 was filled with surprises and new announcements, probably none more surprising than the co-creator of the Fable franchise, Peter Molyneux, taking the stage to announce Masters of Albion. This new “open world god game” is being made by a small team of creators (including Mark Healy, Russell Shaw, and Iain Wright), with Molyneux himself scorning his past decision to move to mobile development, saying, “After messing around on mobile — what the hell was I doing? — I thought to myself, ‘I need to come home to PC and console,” after developing Godus with 22cans.

Molyneux’s return to PC and console development has been expanded on today in a new interview with IGN, suggesting the new title doesn’t just share a name with the world the Fable universe is set in. It is indeed the same world. Molyneux first explains the basic gameplay loop of Masters of Albion, saying, “We’ve got this very simple mechanic where by day everything’s peaceful, you can explore, you can plan, you can build, you can create,” with “And then by night, everything will attack everything you own” similar to Team17’s Gorn.

However, Molyneux then drops the bombshell that Masters of Albion and Fable are both set in Albion, clarifying with “But it’s not actually Fable 5 or anything like that,” with “But if you’ve played Fable, then definitely Masters of Albion will be familiar to you. One of the things that we have got, and we absolutely wanted a nail, was the humour. I think in the Fable games, it’s not so much about telling jokes, it’s more about giving you, the player, the ability to do ridiculous and funny things.” He refers to Albion as an old name for England and Wales, suggesting that no companies can copyright the name of a country.

It’s worth mentioning that Peter Molyneux has made promises regarding game development that have not come to fruition, like the social experimental game Curiosity, which was intended to let the winner be a god in his previous god title, as recorded by Eurogamer. The winner of Curiosity, Bryan Henderson, didn’t attain any winnings because Godus was not profitable, and being the god of the universe never happened as Molyneux suggested it would.

While Molyneux says Masters of Albion will be a hybrid between the Fable we knew and god games like Black&White, fans should temper their expectations until more is shown regarding this ambitious title.

The Impalers have been causing the game to crash following yesterday's update.

Epic Games recently revealed Fortnite's current player count, and we have to say that it's quite impressive.

With the release of Fortnite Season 4, Epic Games added a couple of secret quests you can complete for quick XP.

The Splitgate 2 Alpha test begins today.

BlueSuburbia takes you to a place that is filled with a lonely kind of menace – an oppressive fear that crushes you as it tells you that no one will come save...

The post ‘BlueSuburbia’ Stirs Up a Deep, Solitary Fear appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Blackout explores for items and tools through a house filled with corpses and unsettling creatures, but maybe things aren’t quite what they seem to be. Marilyn is a witch who finds herself...

The post ‘Blackout’ Follows a Teenage Witch Through a Creepy (Maybe?) House appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Idol Showdown sees you throwing animals, running folks over with trucks, and hopping into a shopping cart to wreck your opponents in its wild one-on-one fights. This game is a fan-made title...

The post ‘Idol Showdown’ – A Ridiculous VTuber Fighting Game appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Debbie’s Diner Derby sees you trying to get food to the right customers. Trouble is, you’re on roller skates that make it a little bit hard to stop or steer. The game...

The post ‘Debbie’s Diner Derby’ Makes Food Deliveries on Roller Skates appeared first on Indie Games Plus.

Video game actors are calling for better transparency around "disgusting" motion capture work that is not properly disclosed at the point of booking.

In an interview with the BBC, professional casting director Jessica Jefferies - who previously worked as a motion capture performer - recalled times she'd be called for a shoot with absolutely no information about what the work entailed, only to find out that it included "gratuitous" sex scenes.

"We'd get an email or a call from a studio saying we need you on these days for a shoot," she explained. "That was all the information we'd get.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered mod, H2M, has been cancelled following a cease and desist demand from Activision.

Although the mod - which upgraded Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode - was announced over a year ago, the cease and desist arrived yesterday, a day before the mod was scheduled to be released later today.

"Today, our team members received a Cease & Desist order on behalf of Activision Publishing in relation to the H2M-Mod project," the team explained on Twitter/X.

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Last August, Pixel became the official phone of Arsenal and Liverpool Football Club, with Google   now marking the sponsorship with some new wallpapers.

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Google is updating Help me write in Gmail with a “Polish” draft feature on Android, iOS, and the web.

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Ahead of the launch on Thursday, Google has published the Android 14 factory images for the first three phones in the Pixel 9 series.

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Over the past few weeks, some Google TV owners have noted a homescreen “loading error” which has lately been appearing for many more users, but there is one potentially simple fix.

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Ahead of the upcoming season, YouTube TV is getting a handful of NFL Sunday Ticket updates, like custom multiview, to improve the subscriber experience.

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We are now ready to gather up all of today’s best deals starting with a particularly notable offers on the super-sized Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Now seeing as much as $360 in savings for some of the lowest prices we have ever tracked, Best Buy is even throwing in a FREE $25 gift card with purchase right now. Those looking for a more modest Galaxy tablet experience can score $110 off the 10.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and we are now seeing $50 price drops on Google Nest Cam Battery for use indoors or out. Head below for a closer look at all of those, some charging gear, and more.

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After introducing on iOS last year, Chrome for Android and desktop will soon replace the “Chrome Sync” system with a more standard Google Account sign in approach.

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With this year’s hardware devices, Google has an entirely new uniform packaging. In detailing the design, Google gives us a Pixel Watch 3 unboxing today. 

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After starting to roll out account linking for the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass last year, GeForce Now is adding support for automatic sign-in for Xbox games.

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Google’s Pixel Watch series has pretty good hardware, but one issue that’s plagued the series is repairability. That won’t be changing with Pixel Watch 3, unfortunately, as repairs continue to not be an option.

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Google has confirmed that Fitbit as a brand will no longer be making new smartwatches, with the Pixel Watch series taking over that form factor going forward.

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After teasers and snippets, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 has officially launched as a follow-up to one of last year’s best Bluetooth accessories.

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Qualcomm has announced a new SoC in its lineup, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. The new chip brings on-device AI, better CPU performance, and promising camera capabilities.

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If something about Google Messages for Android looks different, it’s the tweaked design for the send button. 

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Google rolled out significant upgrades for Gmail’s Help me write feature earlier this year, giving users the ability to dictate text prompts to easily draft an email. The company also previewed a new “Polish” feature that could fix drafts to create a structured email at the touch of a button. This feature is now rolling out to users along with new Help me write and Refine my draft shortcuts for Gmail on Android and iOS.

Google announced the rollout in a recent Workspace Updates blog, revealing that the new Polish option will be available as part of Help me write’s Refine my draft feature on Gmail for mobile and web. With this feature, you’ll be able to enter rough notes into a draft and Gemini will “turn the content into a completely formal draft, ready for you to review in one click.”

The monthly “Google System Release Notes” primarily detail what’s new in Play services, Play Store, and Play system update across Android phones/tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, Auto, and PC. Some features apply to end users, while others are aimed at developers.

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The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is expected to launch later this year, and we’ve seen some notable leaks already. Now, it looks like the launch is creeping ever closer thanks to a database filing.

As announced last week, Zoom Enhance in Google Photos is now available on the Pixel 8 Pro.

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Launched on July 24, 2024, the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is still less than a month old. We usually don’t start seeing sales on devices so soon, but right now, you can catch a $100 discount on the Motorola Razr Plus 2024. This brings the cost down to $900.

Get the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 for $900

This offer is available from Amazon, as well as the official Motorola page. The discount applies to all color variants of the Motorola Razr Plus 2024: Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Peach Fuzz, and Hot Pink.

The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is a fantastic foldable phone, competing directly with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. At $900, though, it might be the best bet in terms of high-end flip phones. Performance is nothing short of amazing, featuring a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor and 12GB of RAM.

The external display has been expanded, covering pretty much the whole front of the phone when folded shut. The main display measures 6.9 inches and features an LTPO AMOLED panel with a 165Hz refresh rate.

We especially like Motorola’s clean software, which is pretty much ad- and bloat-free. The leather and suede exterior finishes look and feel great, too. Not to mention, the hinge has been slimmed down for a much more refined look. The battery is a bit small at 4,000mAh, but such is the nature of flip phones, and the 45W charging ensures you can get it juiced up quickly.

It’s a great overall phone, and I happen to prefer its look and design over Sammy’s alternative. Go buy your Motorola Razr Plus 2024 while the price is low! We’re not sure how long this offer will last, and many would argue it’s the very best flip phone available right now.

The next Waymo vehicle you’ll see on city streets will leverage more custom robotaxi hardware than what came before (Jaguar I-Pace and Chrysler Pacifica). Waymo today detailed its 6th-generation hardware and sensor suite. 

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Google introduced the Pixel 9 series just last week, and if you’re anything like us, you rushed to get your pre-order in. The first of those orders are just about to start arriving, giving Pixel’s biggest fans their first hands-on look at this new hardware. And while there’s clearly a lot to like about the phones, we’re curious just how far that same enthusiasm will extend to Google’s latest packaging.

For years now, Google’s placed an emphasis on trying to be environmentally friendly when it comes to hardware. That’s involved a lot of recycled plastics, not just in devices themselves, but also for their accessories, like cases. That trend has continued when it comes to packaging, and if you’ve opened any Google products anytime recently, you know to expect a whole lot of cardboard, with minimal plastic.

With the Pixel 9, Google’s taking that approach to its next logical step, and the company shares that all its latest Pixel, Nest, and even Fitbit packaging involves no plastic, whatsoever.

If you’ve caught an early unboxing, though, you might already have some concerns. Rather than the sort of premium-feeling box we had on the Pixel 8, with a top that lifts straight off for a nice presentation, the Pixel 9’s colorful outside packaging slides off like a sleeve. Inside, there’s a much more utilitarian box, which strongly gives off “recycled” vibes.

Google probably hopes that shoppers see that, and understand that it’s communicating the company’s commitment to environmental concerns. But new Pixel 9 owners might also find themselves wondering if there might have been a way to hit those same zero-plastic targets, while also feeling a bit more like there’s something worth $800 (or more) within.

The company goes on to highlight some of the advancements in materials that have empowered it to deliver this packaging design, including new, extra-strong and durable paper for the exterior box, and a reformulated molded fiber pulp formula for the inserts that hold the actual gear.

What do you think about Google’s efforts here? Do you appreciate how it’s trying to be green? Or does this environmentalism feel a bit performative? Let us know in the comments.

If you’ve been wanting a tracker for Android’s Find My Device network, Pebblebee is offering one of the first discounts we’ve seen with a few dollars off of the Pebblebee Clip.

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With the Pixel 9 series, Google introduced a new collection of ringtones and alarm sounds called “Sound Matters” that’s now rolling out to previous devices.

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We take solid internet connections for granted in major cities, but if you step out of metropolitan areas, your options will quickly drop. This is what makes Starlink so special. You can get internet nearly anywhere in the USA, as well as many other countries. The equipment can get pricey, though. Lucky for you, we’ve found a great deal on the Starlink Standard Kit. It usually costs $500, but you can catch a $200 discount right now, bringing the cost down to just $300.

Get the Starlink Standard Kit for just $300

This offer is available directly from Best Buy, but Starlink’s official website also offers the same deal. The web page also mentions this deal will end on October 5, 2024.

The Starlink Standard Kit is recommended for residential users. The flat antenna is made to be stationary, and can be installed by yourself. The app can help you orient it in the right direction, and will walk you through all the steps to get you connected as soon as possible. It’s IP67-rated, so it should be able to handle the elements just fine.

Also included is a router with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities. While this router is meant to be used indoors, it still has an IP56 rating. You can connect up to 256 devices simultaneously, which is quite impressive. Wi-Fi coverage can be expanded with up to three Starlink Gen 2 and Gen 3 Mesh nodes, too.

Of course, you’ll also have to pay for service. The standard residential plan costs $120 a month. While this may seem a bit expensive to many of us, remember it’s a specialized service for those without many options. To many, Starlink is a lifesaver. It will work in pretty much any remote area, even places with zero cellular coverage.

Ready to get connected? Go get your Starlink Standard Kit. Deals on these Starlink antennas are pretty rare!

Google TV has always been a destination for finding content, and now there’s a ton more with the addition of free channels available directly on the homescreen. Here’s everything that’s available.

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Today’s deals are now at the ready starting off with the return of the lowest we have tracked on the new OnePlus Watch 2R – and you can add extra bands to your order at 50% off, including the official leather model. From there, we move over to some headphones deals with the first proper cash discount on new unit Sonos Ace sets and Sony’s wonderful XM5 wireless ANC headphones. And then it’s all about ASUS’ new aluminum Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ PC with 3K 120Hz OLED and Snapdragon X Elite at the best price yet, a solid deal on Amazon’s new Echo Spot speaker with the animated display, and a host of accessories. Hit the jump for a closer look.

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