PS5 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Blizzard Entertainment has shared how it will overhaul Diablo 4 through game changes in Season Of Blood to ensure that fan feedback has been heard.While Diablo 4 was off to a strong start in June, patch 1.1.0 led to significant decreases in player damage output and capabilities in what was already a challenging game to play.The responses from fans were so disastrous that Diablo 4 developers held an emergency Campfire Chat – a livestreamed event where the team run through the latest changes to the game – in July in order to apologise.Though the sentiment towards Diablo 4 from its fans has been gradually getting warmer and warmer, Blizzard Entertainment wanted them to know that the feedback has been actually acted upon in the upcoming Season Of Blood. Season Of Blood, which kicks off on October 17, will involve a “five point strategy” that “[focuses] on addressing player feedback and making systemic improvements”, as said in the most recent Campfire Chat.The five points are “update elemental resistances”, “make uniques more exciting and impactful”, “class improvements to address commonly talked about issues”, “update damage buckets” and ensuring that all of these changes feel like bonuses to players.Community lead Adam Fletcher and designers Adam Jackson and Charles Dunn talked through these points, starting with the fact that resistances will now be additive up to a 70 per cent limit in Season Of Blood. Furthermore, uniques have been subject to a “giant pass” that has altered almost every unique in Diablo 4 with new statistics and larger ranges, for example.The full list of changes in patch 1.2.0 are available on Blizzard Entertainment’s website.In other gaming news, Rocket League players were dismayed to discover that

the new PS5 model will have more storage than the original model, it will still support additional solid state drives (SSDs) to increase its capacity.Revealed on October 10, the new model is a lot slimmer than before, reducing its volume by 30 per cent and its weight by 18 and 24 per cent. It will launch in November in the United States with a digital edition and an edition with a detachable disc drive.Crucially, the specifications of the new PS5 have stayed the same bar a 1TB SSD, an improvement on the original 825GB SSD.In practice, only 667GB of the SSD was useable by the original console for games and applications, meaning that the majority of players shelled out for an SSD to install at the back of their PS5.Titles like NBA 2K23, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Horizon Forbidden West can chew up the available storage on PS5s owing to their volume of content and realistic yet technically complex graphics.Fortunately though, IGN confirmed with a PlayStation spokesperson that “there are no changes with the new model” so that method of attaching an additional SSD to the console is the same.Sony’s intention with the redesign was to offer its customers “greater choice and flexibility” when it comes to the PS5 console.That being said, the detachable disc drive that allows physical games to be played on the digital edition will be sold separately, priced at £99.99 ($79.99)A horizontal stand will be included with the new PS5, but a vertical stand will be sold separately priced at £24.99 (£29.99).

Baldur’s Gate 3 actors Samantha Béart and Neil Newbon have pulled together Spotify playlists that reflect their respective characters.Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 follow.In the game, Béart played Karlach and Newbon played Astarion, two characters who have won over scores of fans for their personalities and arcs across the sprawling storyline.As a result of her heart being replaced with an infernal engine, Karlach is slowly dying. In spite of this, she remains compassionate, comical and fiercely defensive of those in need or those who have the odds stacked against them.Astarion, on the other hand, is initially manipulative and self-serving and it is difficult for players who are sticking to a good alignment to get him to like their character.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage has been said to be a tribute to a fan’s pet who passed away before the game was released.In the game, the player is able to pick up and fuss cats that are strolling the streets of Baghdad. Interacting with animals is a feature that has been present in a lot of the Assassin’s Creed games, but Valhalla and Mirage are the only ones that let the character pet the animal for as long as they want.

The Last Of Us Part 2 might become a part of PlayStation Plus‘ Premium collection of titles that are playable for the cost of a monthly subscription.PlayStation Plus Premium has all of the features of Essential and Extra like a new free PS5 and PS4 game each month, access to online modes in the player’s games, cloud storage, store discounts and more.However, it also allows subscribers to download and play PS1, PS2 and PSP games and stream PS3 games. Lastly, it offers players the opportunity to test games out with limited time trials and carry their saves over should they purchase the entire game later.A change to the PS5’s PlayStation Plus display shows The Last Of Us Part 2 in the promotional imagery for the subscription tier, as well as Hogwarts Legacy and Horizon Forbidden West. Check it out below:Yall grabbing it on plus

Daedalic Entertainment‘s apology for the state of The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum on its launch was allegedly the product of an AI prompt.In May, the stealth adventure game launched with an array of technical issues that irritated reviewers and made it a subject of ridicule on social media.As a result, Daedalic Entertainment chose to cancel another Lord of the Rings game that was in development and close the German studio that worked on The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum. A few words from the " The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ " team pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) May 26, 2023It also offered an apology for the “underwhelming” quality of the game, adding that The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum “did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community”.Yet, in a report from German gaming outlet GameTwo, anonymous ex Daedalic Entertainment staff stated that the apology was apparently AI generated.Specifically, it was claimed that ChatGPT was used by publisher Nacon to produce an apology to give to players.Consequently, Daedalic Entertainment supposedly did not know anything about an apology before it was sent out on social media.While neither Daedalic Entertainment or Nacon have acknowledged what has been said in GameTwo‘s report, fans instantly identified an error in the apology when it was released.In it, the game is referred to “The Lord Of The Ring: Gollum” rather than “The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum“.GameTwo also spoke to technical director and senior developer Paul Schulze who alleged that the game’s budget was too modest at about £13million (€15million).“There were people working on the game that have been developers for 10, 15, 20 years, and they’re good, but they

Hexworks has revealed plans for a digital and physical soundtrack release of its upcoming action game Lords Of The Fallen – check out an exclusive sample below.While Lords Of The Fallen launches this Friday (October 13), fans will be able to listen to its soundtrack slightly early.That’s because Laced Records, part of Keywords Studios, has announced it will launch the soundtrack on music platforms and deluxe vinyl.The score will be released digitally on October 11, and can be pre-saved here. Meanwhile, pre-orders for a three-disc vinyl set are planned to open after Lords Of The Fallen‘s launch.You can check out a sample of the game’s music below.Music for Lords Of The Fallen was created by composers Cris Velasco (God Of War, Bloodborne) and Knut Avenstroup Haugen (Conan Exiles, 2014’s Lords Of The Fallen).“Once I saw the concept art and an early gameplay video, the aesthetics were pretty obvious: this game was going to be scary,” shared Velasco.

Croteam and publisher Devolver Digital have revealed that The Talos Principle 2 is available as a free demo for players to try out ahead of its release.The Steam demo contains a selection of puzzles from the start of the game and then jumps to the halfway point to show off how its mechanics and world has changed over the course of the story. Check out the trailer for the demo below:As a “specially tailored” slice of the game, players’ progress in it will not transfer to the full game should they purchase and play it.At the moment, there is a 10 per cent discount on the game for pre-orders and another discount on top of this one if the customer already owns the original The Talos Principle.Writers Jonas Kyratzes and Tom Jubert have returned to pen the story of the sequel along with Verena Kyratzes.

Square Enix shared the official pronunciation of Cait Sith, a character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but Scottish fans are upset as it is actually incorrect.Cait Sith is inspired by the cat-sìth (plural cait-shìth) in Scottish folkore, sharing his appearance with the fairy creature in his black and white coat. In Scottish Gaelic, cat-sìth is pronounced “ket-shee” and this is reflected in the Japanese katakana for the character’s name – ケット・シー or “Ketto Shī”.We saw many of you were asking so we hope this helps! #FF7R pic.twitter.com/ZC4WAu9IpE— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) October 3, 2023However, Square Enix announced on social media that Cait Sith’s name is in fact pronounced in an Anglicised way, “Kate Sihth”.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 shoes that mix both Peter Parker’s suit and the Symbiote infection in their design, priced at $219.99.“A thrilling and fashionable footwear choice for fans of the iconic Marvel superhero. These sneakers feature eye-catching designs that pay homage to the web-slinging hero, often incorporating Spidey’s signature red and blue colour scheme and iconic spider symbol,” read the description of the shoes that are now currently sold out.It does not mention the creeping Symbiote strings on the soles of the shoes stretching up into the rest of the design, which is evidently one of the unique selling points.Gear up for Marvel’s #SpiderMan2PS5 in style with the new Peter Parker Advanced Suit and Venom collection by @adidas! Shop the Ultra 4D sneakers, sweatshirts, Adizero 12.0 football cleat, and more on October 20.

Starbreeze Studios has claimed that matchmaking issues with Payday 3 have been fixed, following the heist shooter’s rocky launch last month.Following its release on September 21, Payday 3 struggled with significant server issues that prevented players from matchmaking and starting heists. Due to the game’s always-online nature, this meant Payday 3 has been frequently unplayable, and last week Starbreeze claimed a third-party matchmaking partner was responsible for the errors.Today (October 2), a post on Starbreeze’s website announced that “initial matchmaking issues” have since been fixed, and the studio “will now intensify the commercial activities around Payday 3“.Tobias Sjögren, the CEO of Starbreeze Entertainment, also thanked players for their “patience” with Payday‘s launch.“Our community is the engine that drives both our games and our company forward,” he shared.

Cyberpunk 2077‘s Phantom Liberty expansion includes tracks from Idris Elba in its soundtrack, and the actor and DJ has dropped a new EP featuring three of the songs.The Phantom Files EP “[explores] a darker and more heavily produced sound, where glitches and industrial sounds speak to the game’s dystopian feel”, read the press release. The tracks are ‘ChokeHold’, ‘Walk Of Shame’ and the lead single ‘Rolla Coaster’.It is available through Apple Music, Amazon Music, Anghami, Deezer, Spotify and YouTube Music.

Payday 3‘s launch issues have been so severe that Starbreeze is considering removing its controversial always-online requirement.Payday 3, which launched for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on September 21, became a trending topic on social media sites like X for sporadic server connections, crashes, persistent matchmaking issues and incorrect versions of the game being playable on PS5.Given that it had been a decade since Payday 2, these problems irked players who had been awaiting the third game with a lot of anticipation. Starbreeze’s CEO said that the team would “work tirelessly” to ensure that Payday 3 would meet their expectations once more following these unfortunate incidents.In an official statement, the developer explained that “matchmaking software encountered an unforeseen error” and that this overloaded the third-party matchmaking partner that handled the game.It reiterated that this issue did not manifest in either the technical beta or early access periods for Payday 3 and that the team is dedicated to resolving it in the immediate.“In the short-term, this means Starbreeze’ focus is to ensure the player experience.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel Survivor, has confirmed the existence of a third game in the series.In a panel at this year’s Ocala Comic Con in Florida, Monaghan said that things are moving and shaking on the third Star Wars Jedi game. However, it doesn’t appear that production has started based on his statement.“We’re in the process of doing that right now.

Baldur’s Gate 3 fans have banded together to raise funds for the American Heart Association after being inspired by Karlach’s story.Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 follow. When meeting the tiefling, Karlach shares that her heart has been replaced with an infernal engine.

The Callisto Protocol and the CEO of Striking Distance Studios, has left the developer to “pursue new opportunities”.Bloomberg reported that chief operating officer Stacey Hirata and chief financial officer Johnny Hsu will also be leaving Striking Distance Studios. A spokesperson for parent company Krafton maintained that these were voluntary decisions from the three individuals.In a statement, Schofield described his departure as “bittersweet” but added that “the studio is in excellent hands” with chief development officer Steve Papoutsis now stepping up to take over his role.Earlier this year, Krafton revealed that The Callisto Protocol had missed out on its expected sales statistics. The publisher forecasted that the game would sell five million copies, yet in January, it was coursing towards a total of two million copies.Then, Striking Distance Studios laid off almost a fifth of its developers in August as a result of “strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities”.The Callisto Protocol‘s expansion, Final Transmission, arrived in June, but it was not met with particularly positive reviews from players. Final Transmission appeared to exacerbate technical issues with the base game and on the story itself, one said “they are essentially selling the ending cutscene for £12”.Last September, Schofield was placed under pressure for posting a tweet that seemingly glorified crunch culture.“I only talk about the game during an event.

Cyberpunk 2077, the developer has suggested that players “start fresh” with a new playthrough.Update 2.0 rolls out for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S tomorrow (September 21), five days ahead of the Phantom Liberty expansion. The changes it contains are vehicle combat, car chases, an improved police system, a redesigned perks and skill tree system, a cyberware overhaul, UI and UX improvements and a scattering of new weapons and other items.“While you’ll be able to continue the game with your current character on an existing save, we recommend starting a new game after [update 2.0],” advised CD Projekt Red in a post to X.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, has explained how Insomniac Games has put its own spin on Marvel villains like Lizard and Kraven.Speaking to NME, Chew shared that the element of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 she is proudest of is the sequel’s villains. “Working on Venom, or bringing Kraven or Lizard to life and putting our spin on [them], has been super rewarding and fun,” shared Chew.“For Lizard in particular, we definitely want to pay respects to what was done before in the comics, where you have Lizard in his lab coat and pants, and he’s kind of human-size and struggling with his humanity,” they continued.

Starbreeze has taken out the anti-piracy software Denuvo from Payday 3, as stated in a short announcement to Steam.“Hello heisters, we want to inform you that Denuvo is no longer in Payday 3,” said the developer. “We look forward to seeing you in New York City! Happy heisting!”Payday 3 is set to be released for PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 on September 21, so Starbreeze only just managed to make the change before the fans descend onto the game.In addition, it offered no reason for the omission, though it is likely to be music to the ears of some of Payday 3′s potential players.

Separate Ways, an expansion to Resident Evil 4, was unveiled in Sony‘s State Of Play livestream last night (September 14) and it tells the story from Ada Wong’s side.Launching September 21 and priced at $9.99, the downloadable content (or DLC) was a part of the original Resident Evil 4 when it came to the PlayStation 2. Check out the trailer for the DLC as well as the new virtual reality mode below:While Leon attempts to rescue Ashley, Ada infiltrates the village for her own mission and instigates a number of the events that the player witnesses as the US agent, such as the sound of the church bell that saves him from the horde.“Under orders from Albert Wesker, Ada is assigned to obtain the cult’s darkest secret: a mysterious material known as ‘the Amber,'” explained Capcom.For those familiar with Separate Ways, the grappling gun reappears in the DLC for Ada to wield as a movement mechanic and for fighting – allowing the well-trodden levels of Resident Evil 4 to be seen in new lights.“For this exhilarating mission, Ada is armed with a Grappling Gun that can be used to swing across chasms, make rapid ascents, and plunge into the depths below.

Cyberpunk 2077 will roll out before the launch of Phantom Liberty, introducing a new police system, vehicle combat, and revamped cyberware.CD Projekt Red dropped the latest trailer for the update yesterday (September 14), featuring formidable battles between V and the Night City Police Department and explosive car chases. Check it out below:The police were one of the more lacklustre elements of Cyberpunk 2077 even with the enormous changes that the game has seen since its original launch in 2020.

Insomniac Games showed off how New York City has evolved in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in Sony’s State Of Play livestream last night (September 15), as well as a whole lot of new Spider Suits.Senior creative director Bryan Intihar Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 narrated a new trailer which was a deep dive into the open world of the game and spotlighted iconic locations like Midtown High and Brooklyn Visions Academy. Check it out below:Intihar shared that with the inclusion of Queens and Brooklyn across the East River, the map of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is double that of the original game.

Ascendant Studios, the Californian company founded by former Electronic Arts developers, has lost almost half of its employees in a wave of layoffs.Polygon‘s report attributed this to the poor commercial performance of its debut title, Immortals Of Aveum, though no sales statistics were supplied in the official statement. CEO Bret Robbins said he was “heartbroken” to be imparting the news and that it was a “painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly”.“I am so proud of what out independent development team has accomplished with Immortals Of Aveum,” he continued in a post to X.

Activision and Sledgehammer Games have revealed a number of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer maps that are the modernisations of the originals from 2009.All available at launch, these are Afghan, Derail, Estate, Favela, Karachi, Highrise, Invasion, Quarry, Rundown, Rust, Scrapyard, Skidrow, Sub Base, Terminal, Underpass and Wasteland. Revitalising the classics was something of a passion project for the art team, who apparently “lit up” when they were told of the move to bring these legacy maps back.“We [asked], ‘What was good about the movement of older games? What was good about the gunplay of older games?’” explained design director Zach Hodson in the intel drop.

Dirt developer Codemasters has revealed EA Sports WRC, a “truly next-generation rally game” and a “quintessential title for sim-racing enthusiasts” for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.The trailer, mixing footage from the forthcoming game and real rally races, is a short yet sweet glimpse of what fans of the motorsport will look forward to with EA Sports WRC. Check it out below:“This is the rally game we’ve always wanted to make,” said senior creative director Ross Gowing in a statement, adding that this new venture “[combines the] studio’s deep knowledge and expertise with the power of the official WRC license representing the pinnacle of rally motorsport”.In 2021, Codemasters shared that it was working on the “most ambitious and biggest game that [it] has made in over a decade“, and we can now assume that this was EA Sports WRC.The new game will recreate 18 official FIA World Rally Championship locations, constituting 600km of tracks.

Remedy Entertainment has revealed new footage of the anticipated Alan Wake 2, and it featured a fan-favourite character from its 2019 title Control.The latest deep dive into the supernatural survival showed off combat, puzzles, and profiling of suspicious characters with one of its playable protagonists, Saga Anderson. Check it out below:What has fans in a spin is the reappearance of Ahti who is singing ‘The Finnish Tango’ at the start of the footage.

Blizzard Entertainment announced that Diablo 4 will benefit from annual expansions alongside its quarterly seasons to retain player excitement for the game.In an interview with Dexerto, general manager Rod Fergusson replied to the question of how long will the seasonal additions will go on for with: “How long is a piece of string?”“It’s years and years. That’s the thing we’re focused on,” he clarified.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will get cross-play between PC and PS5, and eventually Xbox Series X|S, according to an interview with a Larian Studios employee.Michael Douse, director of publishing for the developer, shared the news with Eurogamer. “It was always in the planning, but we knew it wouldn’t be for launch,” he said.

Mortal Kombat fighters are in a Mortal Kombat 11 trailer that reveals his long-time love for the abundantly bloody series.This is one of two promotional trailers that Bautista appears in for the forthcoming game. The other features the actor recruiting students, baristas, musicians and more to answer the call of “Mortal Kombat” in anticipation of the reboot.“Obviously, my voice is gone now from screaming ‘Mortal Kombat‘ all day,” said Bautista in the second trailer while playing the game, with shots from the sets of the first trailer.

War Thunder player leaked the flight manual of the Eurofighter Typhoon DA7 on the game’s official forums because they would like the aircraft to be a playable plane.“This is a 730-page manual for the DA7 that contains EVERYTHING on all the systems, weaponry, flight data, etc,” explained the player in the deleted post (via PC Gamer). “I hope this data will help the devs to add this magnificent jet faster and make it as accurate as possible! Can’t wait to fly it in the game.”A moderator then responded to the player and said “Do not post the DA7 manuals”, adding that there is a specific policy that no classified documents should be shared on the War Thunder forums.This policy is in fact described in a sticky thread at the top of the forum’s landing page, meaning that the player would have ignored the evident warning not to do what they did.As a clarification, this person stumbled upon the manual themselves, added it to the game out of perceived helpfulness, and did not leak it from their place of work.