Xbox Series X Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Starfield PC and Xbox Series X|S players are able to pre-load Bethesda‘s new sprawling sci-fi game from today (August 17), and they’ve recently been treated to a tonne of extra detail about what to expect.PC players who have purchased the game through Steam won’t have the chance to pre-load Starfield until August 30. That cuts it close when it comes to the game’s launch date of September 1, as it weighs in at a significant 125GB.Previously, the team has been reluctantly reticent regarding the role-playing game, stating that it is only director and executive producer Todd Howard who is allowed to publicise “unreleased” details.It appears that Bethesda has relaxed a little as lead quest designer Will Shen and studio design director Emil Pagliarulo shared a lot of information in a recent Starfield question and answer session.For example, a totally “pacifist” playthrough is not possible in Starfield.

Stardew Valley fans will soon be able to cook their way through the seasons with the official cookbook from developer Eric ‘ConcernedApe‘ Barone and author Ryan Novak.With over 50 recipes inspired by the game, like the famous Pink Cake that is the favourite of a few of the villagers, the cookbook focuses on seasonal ingredients to reflect Stardew Valley‘s sustainable principles (spotted by PC Gamer). While some of the dishes are self-explanatory like the Farmer’s Lunch or the Crab Cakes, there are surprises in store.The Strange Bun is featured, and seeing that this requires wheat flour, periwinkle and void mayonnaise to bake it in Stardew Valley, it’s a mystery what Barone and Novak will choose for its real world version.Long-time fans of the farming simulation game will also be thrilled to find out that the cookbook contains original illustrations as well as the photographs of all the nibbles and desserts.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is in fact launching one week earlier than expected as it was announced by Ubisoft that the game has gone gold on August 14.“On behalf of the entire team, we can’t wait for you to explore 9th Century Baghdad with Basim,” said the studio.

Starfield is now less than a month away from releasing, and in the run-up to launch, Bethesda has shared a timeline that covers 300 years of history in the sci-fi game’s universe.As visible on Bethesda’s website, the timeline begins with humanity first arriving on Mars in 2050, and runs up to 2328 – just two years before Starfield takes place in 2330.As for what the timeline includes, after landing on Mars it takes humans another 50 years to begin living in space. Settlers then make it to the Alpha Centauri star system by 2156 and establish one of the game’s major factions, the United Colonies (UC).However, 2188 sees the foundation of rival faction The Freestar Collective, which ultimately goes to war with the UC in 2196.

South Park co-op game, which will bring the characters of the titular town into the third dimension. Coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Nintendo Switch in 2024, South Park: Snow Day! will see up to four players wreak havoc during their time off school, while also trying to prevent the end of the world.

Remnant 2 is going to get cross play in the future as developer Gunfire Games irons out the technical wrinkles that come with working with numerous platforms.The news arrived in a reply to a recent AMA (Ask Me Anything) Q&A session on Reddit with David Adams, the game’s director and Gunfire Games’ president. Hello.

Call Of Duty is titled Modern Warfare 3 and it’ll be released later this year.The Modern Warfare 3 trailer, which arrived yesterday (August 7,) does not give a lot away about the game. Red waveforms of audio then split into black needles forming different images, like a dagger through a cat’s skull, Captain Price and Commander Philip Graves.

Gunfire Games‘ Remnant 2 has revealed a new character class that was designed specifically for dataminers to discover for the community.Per Forbes, Remnant 2 principal designer Ben Cureton said that there was no way that the developer could discourage datamining of its Soulslike shooter. Moreover, this genre of game does see a lot of players sift through code and try ridiculous things in the game’s world to determine if there are any hidden secrets.To unlock the Archon in #Remnant2, one must penetrate the code itself.We knew we couldn't stop datamining, so we leaned into it and created an entire Archetype that could be shared with the community once revealed by those with the ability to see between worlds.

Tekken 8 players were found to be illegally playing the game’s closed network test and as a result have been threatened with pre-release bans by Bandai Namco.Available for all platforms, the second closed network test for the forthcoming fighting game was held over the weekend (July 29-30). But because Tekken 8 was playable on PC, this allowed the players who had an awareness of how to circumvent the software to continue playing the game outside of its authorised hours.An important reminder from the TEKKEN Project and Bandai Namco Esports Team.

Team Reptile announced that its indie action-adventure platformer Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is coming to PlayStation and Xbox consoles in September.Following the PC and Switch launch – scheduled for August 18 – Bomb Rush Cyberfunk will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on September 1. It is not known at the moment whether or not the current generation console versions of the game will include any special features like 3D audio, adaptive triggers or haptic feedback.The game shares a lot of similarities with Sega‘s Jet Set Radio, such as the cel-shaded art style, a futuristic setting, and highly customisable characters who perform death-defying tricks as they skate, skateboard and cycle through the city.“Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a big street culture symphony of these feelings,” said game director Dion Koster of the memories of after-school adventures that plenty of players will have in common with each other.Five boroughs of New Amsterdam are available for the taking by the Bomb Rush crew, of which the player is a part of.

Battlefield 2042‘s update 5.2.0 rolls out squad orders and management, changes to the Hourglass map and All-Out Warfare attachments for vaulted weapons this week.The most notable amelioration in the patch notes is the work done to Hourglass. Developer DICE explained that it “reduced the overall size of Hourglass to keep combat focused, while having more opportunity to defend yourself through added cover along the primary routes”.Additionally, there will be new “remnants of combat” in the map, transforming the Al Wadha Arches, Bridges, Downtown, Security Checkpoints and Village areas with “increased military presence and new fortified positions”.Squad orders will be a feature, letting Battlefield 2042 players coordinate themselves more effectively and win additional experience points for completing objectives assigned to them by the squad leader.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage will take about 20 to 30 hours to complete, according to Ubisoft Bordeaux, meaning it is a sliver of the size of the previous entry, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.Mirage lead producer Fabian Salomon spoke to YouTuber Julien Chièze on the conclusions of the internal playtesting that is currently happening at the developer. “It’s part of our process, we really want to get as close as possible to the players,” explained the producer (via PCGamesN).“The latest playtimes we’ve received average at around 20–23 hours,” said Salomon.

Activision Blizzard has confirmed that the next Call Of Duty game, widely believed to be Modern Warfare 3, will be revealed through a “limited-time event” in Warzone.Yesterday (July 27), Activision Blizzard shared a blog post outlining the contents of Warzone Season 5, which launches for the battle royale on August 2.Within the post, it was confirmed that Modern Warfare 2 antagonist Graves, presumed dead after one of the game’s closing missions, is still alive. As the leader of mercenary group Shadow Company, Graves will arrive in Warzone as a playable operator — while his mercenary group will seemingly be involved in the next Call Of Duty.“Drop into Call of Duty: Warzone to experience the worldwide reveal for Call of Duty 2023 in a limited-time event,” reads the blog.

Starbreeze disclosed the details for the forthcoming Payday 3 playtests on PC and Xbox Series X, offering some players the opportunity to get to grips with the game.Applications to enter the closed beta — that begins on August 2 and ends on August 7 — will be randomly approved, according to the studio. It will feature the new heist “No Rest for the Wicked” with the characters Chains, Dallas, Hoxton and Wolf.

Fortnite revealed its latest crossover with Futurama, adding Bender, Fry and Leela skins in the battle royale as well as other references to the show.Bender’s Shiny Metal Raygun is a new mythic weapon that can be bought from the character stood on the edge of Mega City’s western pier. It offers infinite ammo as it fires plasma, however, the gun is vulnerable to overheating.There is also the Mammoth Pistol which is still accurate at long ranges and deals a hefty amount of damage at the expense of fire rate, making it an alternative to a sniper or marksman rifle.Bender, Fry and Leela’s skins are available in the in-game Item Shop for 1,500 V-Bucks or as a trio for 2,800 V-Bucks.

Turtle Rock Studios, the team made up of former Left 4 Dead developers who delivered Back 4 Blood in 2021, might be working on a sequel.Spotted by Games Radar, the California studio is seeking a senior combat designer for its upcoming game, focusing on a candidate who has experience “developing first person shooting and melee gameplay.”The applicant should also have a passion for “specifically FPS, Co-op, and Multiplayer games”. Obviously, this isn’t a lot to go on to determine whether or not this is a Back 4 Blood sequel.That being said, Turtle Rock Studio confirmed to fans that there will be no more Back 4 Blood content as it shifts its attention to the “next big thing”.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 appears to be the next entry in the series according to new branding for an energy drink that was circulated on social media site X.The images, that were shared by Call Of Duty specialist site Charlie Intel, show new Monster Energy boxes that featured Captain John Price and a logo for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Fable game, has announced that she is leaving the Leamington Spa-based developer Playground Games.“In August, I’m stepping away from my role as Narrative Lead on Fable. I’ve had several wonderful years scribbling away in my fairytale cottage, but the time feels right for new challenges,” said Megill in a tweet posted on July 14.“Working on Fable was a dream come true for me, and it’s wrenching to leave it behind.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone patch has brought a crossover with The Boys, adding four playable characters and superpowers from the Amazon TV show.The crossover kicked off today yesterday (July 12), with The Boys‘ own Starlight joining Call Of Duty with an operator bundle. Homelander will then arrive on Sunday (July 16), while Black Noir will be added on July 20.Priced at 2,400 CoD points (£16.79) each, every bundle will also come with three Tracer Weapon Blueprints and their own finishing move, along with weapon cosmetics and a loading screen.Besides cosmetics, Warzone players will also have a chance to find the ‘Temp V’ field upgrade, which will grant users one of four random superpowers: Charge Jump, Electric Shockwave, Laser Vision, and Teleport.While Charge Jump “propels players across the map” without any fall damage, Electric Shockwave “sends a powerful electrical explosion that injures Operators and AI Combatants, as well as destroys vehicles and equipment”.Meanwhile, Laser Vision lets players hover in the air and fire laser beams from their eyes, and finally, Teleport lets players warp into the sky.You can check out all four powers in action below:This is the latest in a string of crossovers for The Boys.

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, an upcoming Assassin’s Creed title set in Japan, will be launching next year according to one Ubisoft employee’s post.In a LinkedIn post spotted by Access The Animus, a member of Ubisoft’s business development and brand partnership team shared that they are looking for sponsorship partners for Assassin’s Creed Codename Red.While no release date or official title for Assassin’s Creed Codename Red has been confirmed, the post suggested that it will be launching in 2024.“We are seeking sponsoring partner for this title Assassin’s Creed Codename Red for next year [sic],” it reads.

Microsoft has prevailed in the court case against its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, where it had to defend the impact it would have on competition in the video game industry.Video Games Chronicle spotted that today (July 11), the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction was not necessary. The FTC had asked for the injunction in order to let its in-house court discern the full effects that the acquisition would have on the consumer.“Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history.

Researchers found that this has occurred as a secondary impact of digital game distribution becoming the preferred route for releasing games. As a result, the “classic” games in this study are games released prior to 2010 which was denoted to be the year when digital game distribution “started to take off”.

The Boys has been confirmed as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1, through a TikTok comment exchange on the Amazon Prime show’s official account.Yesterday (June 10), Call of Duty‘s The Boys collaboration was announced, adding Homelander, Black Noir and Starlight as Operators in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.When a fan asked the official The Boys TikTok account if Homelander was also on his way to the newest Mortal Kombat title in the comments of the Call of Duty TikTok video, the account replied with “MK confirmed.”It is assumed that Homelander is planned to be part of a post-launch character pack, as The Boys‘ official TikTok account stated that the villain will be “available at some point” (via Eurogamer).(FYI) The Boys TikTok account confirms Homelander coming to Mortal Kombat 1 pic.twitter.com/ZedtKglP7P— Idle Sloth

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege player alleged of directing a SWAT unit to Ubisoft Montreal in 2020, has been sentenced in a Paris court.The Montreal Gazette reported that the 22-year-old has been sentenced to three years of community service, and that the ruling also comprises charges related to a DDoS attack on a French government office and on Mojang (the developer of Minecraft).In November 2020, the City of Montreal Police Service responded to Ouahioune’s phone call claiming that there was an ongoing hostage situation at the offices located in Montreal’s Mile-End neighbourhood.A correspondent for TVA Nouvelles alleged that the caller threatened to blow up the building if they were not paid a ransom of more than £1.5million ($2million). In response, employees barricaded themselves in rooms and fled to the roof while the tactical unit swept the building for the instigator.Ouahioune’s motivation for the incident was that he had been aggrieved by 80 bans from Rainbow Six Siege.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.GamesRadar reported on the use of artificial intelligence tool ElevenLabs for these mods last week, and the response continues to rumble on. Twitter user Robbie92, who drew attention to those actors whose voices have been subject to this software, said that the actors have been “abused by the modding communities” through “AI voice cloning to create and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornographic content.”With the rise of AI voice cloning, voice actors are being abused by the modding communities.

Sega has now stepped back from its previously planned blockchain initiatives for fear of “devaluing” its strongest gaming properties, saying the technology is yet to show its maximum potential.In a new interview, the company’s co-chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi said that the move to blockchain might have been viewed as an interesting investment, but Sega’s motivation is to be ahead of the masses.“For the majority of people in the video game industry, what blockchain advocates say may sound a bit extreme, but that’s how the first penguin has always been,” he told Bloomberg, making a metaphor about risk-takers. “We should never underestimate them.”Nevertheless, Sega will be “[withholding] its biggest franchises from third-party blockchain gaming projects to avoid devaluing its content.” As a result, that doesn’t affect the present plans for Three Kingdoms and Virtua Fighter characters to be turned into non-fungible tokens or the newest Sangokushi Taisen blockchain game from developer Double Jump Tokyo.Sega is also “shelving plans to develop its own games in that [blockchain] genre, at least for now.” Utsumi continued to criticise play-to-earn games too, calling them “boring” and pointless for pulling the “fun” out of gaming.The company is not the only business to be dabbling in blockchain, NFTs and web3.

Capcom has neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, saying that the publisher is in the midst of “discussions regarding the future expansion of the series”.GamesRadar first reported the find from a Q&A session after a general shareholder meeting that was held today (July 6).In it, a shareholder queried if Capcom is considering “providing high-end visual remakes of only the main numbered entries in the Resident Evil series”.Capcom replied that it’s “carrying out discussions regarding the future expansion of the series so it can be enjoyed by a wide audience”.The wording seems to suggest that Capcom might be mulling it over. Remakes of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 have proved successful for the company, commercially and critically, with Resident Evil 4 becoming one of the fastest-selling entries in the entire history of the series when it released in March.If Capcom isn’t properly considering a remake of the 2000 title, it would likely upset fans who took on the task of a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake for themselves.Late last year, the company contacted the team and asked that the project be cancelled owing to the use of Capcom-owned characters and the Resident Evil trademark.At the time, Capcom emphasised that this wasn’t in relation to an official remake.

Microsoft has alleged that Sony is planning to launch a slim model of the PlayStation 5 before the end of the year, according to a court filing in the continuing case between the technology corporation and the Federal Trade Commission.IGN noted that the document’s argument is that the Nintendo Switch is a competitor to the Xbox Series consoles and the PlayStation 5, based on the upcoming handheld PS5.“PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point,” claimed Microsoft. “Sony is also anticipated to release a handheld version of PlayStation 5 later this year for under $300.”Late last year, when Famitsu pressed Sony’s vice president Hideaki Nishino on the possibility of a console upgrade, he did not outright deny it.

EA Sports boasted that there will be an innovative level of immersion in its upcoming EA Sports FC, as well as offering fans a first look at the game and its features that aim to “blur the line” between virtual and real football.During La Liga’s Nueva Era showcase (via The Loadout), fans found out about the latest iteration of the HyperMotion V technology that forms the foundation of the players’ animations.EA Sports FC vice president David Jackson explained that the technology uses more than 590 million frames of real-world football game capture that then leads to the most advanced in-game animation that the studio has created in its history of sport simulations.In other words, that is 80 times the data that was involved in the development of FIFA 23.

Persona 3 Reload, the 3D remake of Persona 3 from 2006, has gotten a new trailer and set of screenshots out of this year’s Anime Expo convention, showing off Atlus‘ efforts to totally transform the original title.The trailer features the English voice cast for Persona 3 Reload for the first time, showing off Alejandro Saab as Akihiko Sanada, Suzie Yeung as Fuuka Yamagishi and Allegra Clark as Mitsuru Kirijo.Rounding out the rest of the cast is Aleks Le as the playable protagonist Makoto Yuki, Heather Gonzalez as Yukari Takeba, Zeno Robinson as Junpei Iori, Dawn M. Bennett as Aigis, Justine Lee as Ken Amada and Justice Slocum as Shinjiro Aragaki.Fans were treated to new screenshots of the game’s turn based battles and dialogues as well as renders of the characters Akihiko, Fuuka and Mitsuru.