Xbox One Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Microsoft has announced a new wave of games coming to the Xbox Game Pass service over the next couple of weeks.As always, games both enter and leave Game Pass every month. These are the games that will be coming to Xbox Game Pass at the beginning of August:Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the open-world third-person shooter co-developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan, will be available on Xbox Game pass today.

Respawn Entertainment has revealed the details for Apex Legends season 14, as well as the long-term goals the studio has for the battle royale.During the season 14 press event, the developer talked about its future plans for the free-to-play first-person shooter in a Q&A. It touched on ranked updates and in-game gifting and most notably the long-awaited cross-progression.

Dying Light 2 will bring more enemies, missions and bounties for players when it arrives with the game’s second Chapter.In a video shared by developer Techland yesterday (August 1), game designer Karol Langier and senior brand manager Anna Kubica explored what the game’s next major update will bring.Kubica clarifies that each Chapter of Dying Light 2 will bring “Chapter Agents, new missions, new bounties, new ranked system, and rewards” while taking on board player feedback from the game’s first Chapter.For Chapter 2, titled A Huntress And A Hag, this will involve introducing players to Shen Xiu – Dying Light 2‘s next agent. Xiu will offer players tasks related to her proficiency in tracking and archery, and will be added alongside everything mentioned above.While Techland’s approach to Chapters may resemble the battle pass format used by other games, Langier explains that they aren’t the same.“Chapters are kind of a different thing.

Battlefield 2042’s 1.2 update, which comes with a slew of bug fixes, quality of life improvements, and some map reworks. EA has noted that the launch maps in Battlefield 2042 will undergo some changes following player feedback, with Kaleidoscope being the first major map to change with this update.The map now has more cover for new flag positions, and an improved flow across the whole of the map.“Cover has been added not only with the placement of new assets, but also in the raising of terrain to help break sightlines and let infantry move more purposefully around the map,” reads the blog post. “Most importantly, these new assets bring more tactical destruction which help to ensure that the map evolves throughout the duration of each round, and provide both attackers and defenders with new options when playing in key areas.”A Forward Operating Base has been added to the map’s park, and a second command post near the Tower as well.

Respawn Entertainment has provided an update on the reorganised Kings Canyon map in Apex Legends, as part of the battle royale’s season 14.Called Apex Legends: Hunted, season 14 is set to launch on August 9 and bring with it a new character, changes to the map, and an increased level cap.First up, senior level designer Michael Shannon recently penned a blog post about the changes coming to Kings Canyon next week. The biggest change is the increase in the maps size, as both Skull Town and Thunderdome are back in the game, with the sunken areas refilled with sand.The cage has also undergone a change, as the walls towards the top have been removed, which Shannon says should allow for “additional pressure on the dominant squad” whilst still letting the area be a power position.The hillside point of interest near containment has undergone a similar change, with many of the walls and buildings removed.There’s also been some changes to rotations, as Shannon wrote: “This major rotation in the centre of the map connected Destroyed Bridges, River Center and Hillside.

FIFA 23 will be the first game in the long-running annual sports series to let players choose the likeness of real managers in career mode.Developer EA has highlighted a number of changes coming to FIFA 23’s career mode when it launches this August, with hundreds of managers to choose from.“We’ve seen feedback from players wanting to play as some of their favourite managers, and we’re happy to say FIFA 23 enables you to play as one of the 350 plus authentic football managers, of which 30 plus have star heads, in Career Mode,” wrote EA in the post.“Upon selecting the manager of your choice, you can customize their outfit and decide on the club they’ll be in charge of. You have the option of continuing to build a legacy at an authentic manager’s current club, pick a different club to start at, or even create a new club for the manager to lead to glory.”Career mode will also include the new transfer analyst, who can give a transfer deal a rating between A and F to signify that it makes either the most, or least, financial sense.

Call Of Duty: Warzone have been removed by Activision Blizzard after an artist alleged that the skin was plagiarising their work.Since the accusation, Activision Blizzard has pulled images of the dog skin from its website (via Eurogamer).Artist Sail Lin, who uploaded an image of a similar looking human-dog hybrid to ArtStation in 2019, took to Twitter on July 29 to claim that the skin was plagiarised. “Even though I am also a COD player, I am very disappointed to see my work being plagiarised by a big company like Activision in this way,” they wrote.“I have reached out to Activision for an explanation and/or compensation, and hopefully the situation will be settled soon.”According to Sail Lin they’ve now been contacted by Activision, as they wrote: “Activision has contacted me, and I hope to have a result as soon as possible.

Resident Evil Village update that is releasing alongside the Winters’ Expansion adds welcome accessibility options to the survival horror game.One of the biggest accessibility features being added is the ability to customise the game’s subtitles. The player will be able to change the colour, size and background of Village’s subtitles in the game’s options.

EA has shared a first look at FIFA 23 in action, and detailed all of the new features that are coming to the series. While the game will also be releasing on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the current generation versions of FIFA 23 (including PC and Stadia versions) will have some improvements that won’t appear in the versions for the older hardware.This includes HyperMotion2 technology, which uses advanced 11v11 match capturing and machine learning to create “over 6,000 authentic true-to-football animations, transferred directly from the real world pitch to the game.”The match capturing has resulted in over 9million frames of data for the machine learning algorithm, which is the most motion capture data for a FIFA game yet. As a result, an increased amount of animations will make FIFA 23 look more lifelike than previous titles.The advanced match capturing technology is stated to be the backbone of many of the game’s different aspects.

Strange Scaffold has launched the Bean Bone update for Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, an Among Us crossover which will allow players to “buy the mangled remains of your former crewmates”.The Bean Bone update launched on Monday (July 25), which adds a sizeable slice of free content – including a new “Bean Bone” organ, which is a crew member from Innersloth‘s Among Us that has been chopped in half.“Among us organ traders, the Bean Bone is known as the most delicious organ in the galaxy,” shares the Bean Bone’s in-game description, while Strange Scaffold founder Xalavier Nelson Jr. added that the update will let plays “buy the mangled remains of your former crewmates.”The Among Us crossover also brings a “multitude” of new quests, more character portraits to choose from, and the ability to help Interstellar Influencers “go viral (and make their subsequent apologies) on the galactic stage.”“Their entire role is to make your life while working with them a living hell,” added Nelson in a follow-up post, who also said that the update includes “the most evil quest I’ve ever designed.”BEHOLDTHE STORY OF THE MOST EVIL QUEST I’VE EVER DESIGNED, COURTESY OF THE NEW AMONG US-THEMED UPDATE FOR MY VIDEO GAME, WHICH IS ALSO CURRENTLY ON SALEBUY IT AND JUSTIFY MY MADNESShttps://t.co/aEh6ac49qh pic.twitter.com/pGkl2tP4lA— Xalavier Nelson Jr.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta next week as part of the franchise’s Call Of Duty League.Viewers of the Call Of Duty League Championship Weekend in early August will be in with a chance of winning free beta codes. Those that tune into the Sunday event (August 7) on the competition’s YouTube channel will be eligible to receive a free code as a drop.There’s still not confirmed window for the beta, but it’s likely to be in September, before the full Modern Warfare 2 release in October.

Resident Evil: Village’s upcoming Winters’ Expansion has received a trailer, featuring a playable Lady Dimitrescu.Announced last month, the Winters’ Expansion is adding a ton of new features and content to Resident Evil: Village. The biggest addition to the expansion is the Shadows of Rose story content, which continues the story of Rose Winters 16 years after the events of the base game.

Ubisoft has shared that the development of Splinter Cell VR, Ghost Recon: Frontline and two other unannounced titles have been cancelled.This was revealed during Ubisoft’s recent earnings call, where chief financial officer Frederick Duguet revealed Ubisoft would be undergoing “sizeable cost optimisation” in the upcoming fiscal year. With this in mind, Ghost Recon: Frontline, Splinter Cell VR and the two unannounced games have been cancelled so Ubisoft can put more resources into the company’s “biggest development opportunities” (via PC Gamer).Splinter Cell VR was announced in late 2020 for release on Oculus devices.

EA has announced that FIFA 23 will not feature Russia’s national team or any Russian clubs, due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.In a statement provided to Eurogamer, the FIFA 23 developer has shared that “In line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports will not include the Russian national team or Russian clubs in FIFA 23.”“EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine,” added EA.The message is a repeat of a statement issued by EA in March 2022. Weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, EA Sports joined the games industry’s condemnation of the military action by removing all Russian players and clubs from FIFA 22.However, EA did not go as far as UEFA in removing Russian sponsors from advertising.

No Man’s Sky‘s latest update Endurance went live today (July 20) and Hello Games have shared a trailer showing players what to expect.Described by developers as the “biggest update of the year”, Endurance is set to completely rework the way freighters and fleets operate within the game.Hello Games’ Sean Murray explained: “Endurance brings a complete overhaul of freighters and fleets, allowing players to live and work aboard their home in the stars, together with their own crew.”No Man's Sky Endurance

Dead By Daylight has launched its first exclusive anime crossover with a 10-outfit collection inspired by Attack on Titan.Today (July 19), Behaviour Interactive officially released its previously announced Attack On Titan collaboration in the form of downloadable content (DLC) collection.The collection features eight Very Rare Outfits for Survivors and two Ultra Rare Outfits for Killers inspired by the massively popular anime and manga series.Players will be able to dress Survivors to look like the main cast, including Dwight Fairfield in Eren’s uniform, Yui Kimura in Mikasa’s, Felix Richter in Armin’s and Jake Park in Levi’s. Annie’s outfit is also available for Meg Thomas, Zarina Kassir will have Hange’s, Kate Denson will have  Historia’s and Kenny’s will be available for Ace Visconti.For the Killers, The Armored Titan Outfit will be available for The Oni, while The War Hammer Titan Outfit can be equipped for The Spirit.“The anime’s visuals and narrative had a significant, lasting effect on many of us.

Player First Games’ crossover fighting game MultiVersus will enter open beta on July 26.The open beta will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Additionally, the beta will have full cross-platform functionality including cross-progression, meaning your progress will save even if you play on two different platforms.

Xbox livestream on Twitch may have accidentally revealed that She-Hulk is the next hero joining the team on Marvel’s Avengers.The stream saw Marvel’s Avengers’ lead designer Brian Waggoner playing alongside streamer Techniq, with the pair discussing the recent inclusion of Jane Foster AKA The Mighty Thor in the game.From there, Techniq started talking about his foray into the world of acting before revealing that “my acting coach is actually the voice of She-Hulk. I won’t say her name because I don’t think that’s public knowledge yet but I think it was announced,” he says with Waggoner replying “Nope.

Xbox Games with Gold service will no longer be offering Xbox 360 games starting in October.Games with Gold is a service available to subscribers of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It’s essentially a few freely downloadable games that Microsoft chooses every month.

EasySpeezy recently undertook the challenge of speedrunning Cuphead while simultaneously climbing a mountain.By duct-taping a gaming laptop to a backpack, EasySpeezy was able to play Cuphead with a wired controller by closely following behind an accomplice wearing the backpack.The team’s strategy included Easy’s brother calling out obstacles in the speedrunner’s path so he wouldn’t have to look away from Cuphead while climbing. If a particularly challenging climbing section was ahead then Easy would pause the game to focus on climbing and continue after the section had been passed.The mountain in question is Mount Mansfield, the largest mountain in the state of Vermont.

Yakuza franchise is currently on Xbox Game Pass as three titles have made a return to the service.All of the games from the main series – not including spin-offs like Judgment – are currently on Game Pass, from the remake of the original Yakuza in 2005 to 2019’s Like A Dragon.The three titles that have been reintroduced to Game Pass are 0, Kiwami and Kiwami 2 (via Wario64).All of the franchisetitles on Game Pass are listed below:Whilst some of these are technically prequels or remakes of classictitles, it now means that as of publication every entry in the main franchise is on Game Pass, and this goes for all versions including PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.Back in Februaryfranchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi explained how his new team at Nagoshi Studio wants to approach making video games.“Well, when the team and I decided to start a new studio, we knew we’d be leaving the content we had previously been working on behind,” Nagoshi said.“But I also have a strong mental attitude and a lot of ideas I would like to try, which could even surpass my previous work, so I was confident that leaving the old series behind will afford the chance to try new things.”There’s still no confirmation as to what Nagoshi Studio’s first game will be, but Nagoshi himself said it will include “a high level of human drama.”In other news, it’s been confirmed that a remake of 2012 cult-classic Lollipop Chainsaw is on the way next year.

Cyberpunk 2077, has denied allegations of mismanagement following whistleblower claims.Last week (June 25), the YouTube channel Upper Echelon Gamers published a video which featured claims from a whistleblower, alleging that Quantic Labs were the reason for Cyberpunk 2077‘s bugs.According to the whistleblower, Quantic Lab promised the developer CD Projekt Red a veteran team of testers for the game but instead gave the work to junior employees with less than a year of experience.It was also claimed, among other things, that the studio told staff to report a set number of bugs per day. This resulted in CD Projekt being bombarded with reports of minor performance glitches that distracted from work on more serious bugs.In a new statement to PCGamesN, Quantic Labs’ CEO Stefan Seicarescu said that the claims made by the whistleblower are incorrect.“The video published on social media starts with incorrect statements about Quantic Lab’s history.

Maxis has announced the High School Years expansion pack for The Sims 4, which will allow teenage Sims characters to “experience all the ups and downs of high school”.Announced yesterday (June 30), the High School Years expansion pack will flesh out the school lives of characters in The Sims 4.As detailed in the expansion pack’s page, this means that Sims will be able to attend classes and after-school teams, socialise with friends in the cafeteria, and decorate their lockers. The expansion pack will also explore teenagers’ lives outside the walls of school, as students will be able to spend time with their friends after school, go on dates, or get up to some mischief.“High school is a time of self-discovery! Find the confidence to ask your crush out or the guts to skip class,” says EA.

Overwatch 2’s community manager Andy Belford has taken to the official forums to defend the game’s “support a streamer” promotion after backlash from the community.To promote the launch of the second Overwatch 2 beta, Blizzard has partnered with 150 streamers to give away an exclusive Brigitte skin. Players will need to donate three subscriptions to any of the Twitch channels on the list, while they’re actively streaming Overwatch.

Striking Distance Studios founder and CEO Glen Schofield has talked about how Dead Space spiritual successor The Callisto Protocol will be even more intense than that title.Schofield talked about The Callisto Protocol in a new interview with Eurogamer yesterday (June 28), addressing how this year’s horror title will go a step behind his previous game in Dead Space.“It’s got some pretty horrific moments, it really does. We have a gore engine – we built Gore technology.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection seems to be getting microtransactions within the future that allows players to purchase “Spartan Points”.The news comes from a recent Halo Community Update and was reported on by Windows Central. The post clarifies that Spartan Points are the rebranding of Season Points, which can be earned by completing challenges and levelling up and spent on various items and cosmetics.The potential inclusion of microtransactions is for “players who are new to the MCC, or who may not have dedicated much time specifically to unlocking items during the seasonal updates”, or “completionists looking to catch the last outstanding items they need”.

FromSoftware (Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Dark Souls) has announced that it is hiring staff for several new projects, one of which is in the “final stages” of development.The announcement comes via FromSoftware’s Twitter account in a post that reads (via Twitter’s translation): “We have started recruiting staff for a wide range of occupations for multiple new projects. We look forward to working with you on making games with FromSoftware.” The post also links to a Japanese careers page.複数の新プロジェクトに向けて、幅広い職種のスタッフ募集を開始いたしました。フロム・ソフトウェアで一緒にゲームを作ってくださる皆さんを、お待ちしています。よろしければぜひ、特設サイトをご確認ください。https://t.co/p9FvoxnB9T pic.twitter.com/rvDKkipjQA— FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr) June 24, 2022While there is currently no confirmation as to what FromSoftware is working on, a recent interview from 4gamer with FromSoftware president and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki sheds some insight into what we can expect.When asked if an unannounced title created alongside Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was still on the way, Miyazaki responded by stating: “Yes.

Square Enix has announced that Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor is coming to Marvel’s Avengers next week.Sharing the news yesterday on Twitter (June 22), the publisher revealed that the Mighty Thor will be headed to the game as part of the previously announced free 2.5 update on June 28.“Jane’s Mighty Thor is an unstoppable force of nature that new players and seasoned vets alike will want to experience,” said Marvel’s Avengers art director, Jeff Adams. “We hope that you enjoy the assortment of awesome outfits created for her.”Gaze upon the glory of the Mighty Thor!Art Director Jeff Adams is here to discuss the design philosophy in some of the Mighty Thor's iconic comic-inspired Outfits.⛈️ https://t.co/cAOSAbTgJC pic.twitter.com/HPAzD4iq7r— Marvel's Avengers (@PlayAvengers) June 22, 2022As the new developer blog further explains, Jane Foster will also receive four outfits after her release.

EA Dice has confirmed it isn’t working on any game that isn’t Battlefield-related, as it has “no time” for anything else.Speaking to GamesIndustryBiz, Dice’s recently appointed general manager Rebecka Coutaz said the team aren’t even thinking about their other IPs, like Mirror’s Edge.“We are only focusing on Battlefield 2042. There is no time for anything else and this is what we want to do.

Hunt: Showdown developer Crytek is aware of a bug with the LeMat revolver and has warned players against exploiting it, threatening consequences for those who do so.Hunt: Showdown is a multiplayer first-person shooter, with both a cooperative mode and a battle royale mode. An easily repeatable exploit involving the LeMat Mark 2 Revolver has been discovered which gives those using it an unfair advantage.As reported by PC Gamer, the bug involves the weapon mode switching mechanic of the LeMat.