PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Season 10 has finally arrived. The latest update for PUBG is rather colossal, revamping a few mechanics and integrating an all-new map into the mix.
Perhaps the most significant improvement in PUBG Season 10 is the new urban and AI infested map, Haven. Haven’s map is small in scale and can only cater to 32 players, but the action will be extreme. Haven is under the control of a merc group called Pillar, and players will have to sneak their way inside to avoid tactical trucks and helicopters controlled by Pillar.
AI guards are also scattered across the map and will often be protecting high tier loot. Haven combines small-scale urban and stealthy gameplay with an exciting blend of surviving both real human enemies and the AI.
When it comes to new maps, players who are interested could want to give it a try sooner or later. PUBG Season 9 also introduced a new map, but this Paramo map will be removed from the game for now. The same could possibly happen for Haven but the urban setting and AI enemies make the map truly interesting and unique.
The new season also provides a revamp to the way fans add gear to their characters. Preset costumes can be developed and saved as favorite outfits. In addition, the new season comes with another Survival Pass which contains a lot of gear.
The game is beginning to transform from an aesthetic perspective, thanks to the game’s new creative director. The update also comes with a new parachute item, improvements to the team deathmatch, ranked mode enhancements, changes to emotes, and a lot more.
It’s no secret that gaming and online casino platforms are much closer now than ever before. In the past, you would never dream of pointing out the similarities. Today, it’s impossible to ignore them because they are so glaring.
Of course, it’s ideal for fans of both genres as it allows players to enhance the user experience. After all, there’s nothing better for a gamer than seamlessly switching between titles and the latest releases. Still, it’s essential to understand what the technologies are and how they’re utilized to get the best from the gameplay.
With that in mind, continue reading to learn more about the three main technologies that gaming and online platforms share.
Intuitive Algorithms
Wherever you look, you’ll see an industry that’s dominated by algorithms, and the reason is down to the added value it offers users. Take online casinos as examples. In a regular wagering establishment, the infrastructure can degrade. For instance, a roulette wheel decelerates over time. An online roulette wheel is consistent because every spin is in line with a random number generator, which ensures the gameplay hits a certain standard and never falls from it. This means the result cannot be predicted, ensuring fair play for all involved.
On the other hand, consoles look to offer uncertainty. Throughout a story mode or online multiplayer game, the characters and environments are programmed to react in different ways, such as using new dialogue. As a result, the experience is never monotonous as the use of artificial intelligence means the game is unpredictable and exciting.
Payment Options
Deposits and withdrawals are available with online casinos and traditional consoles. As a result, the payment options have to be wide-ranging enough to suit most people’s needs. Both platforms invest in the newest and latest payment releases for this very reason, something that’s highlighted by the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has been a popular payment option for online casino users for a long time, especially as it is now accepted by several wallet providers. However, the console giants are getting on board, too, with the newest version of the Atari coming equipped with Atari Tokens. In-play payments, or microtransactions, are as vital to console developers as they are for remote betting companies since the video game sector makes tens of billions of dollars in revenues from them.
Mobile Play
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that online casinos are the leaders of the mobile world. With products and services that are ideal for smartphones and the advancement of mobile data options such as 4G and 5G, they have taken over the market. But video gaming businesses have been watching closely and are not starting to show an interest.
The PS5 might not differ from Sony’s previous strategy, yet the Xbox Series X and S are mobile compatible thanks to the new cloud. Also, the Game Pass solution makes titles much more readily available. Like an online casino, next-gen Xbox owners won’t have to bother physically buying or owning a game. Instead, they can log-on and choose whichever release they want to play.
It’s easy to see why these sectors use similar technologies – the plan works. They are two of the biggest industries worldwide, and the figures suggest they are only going to grow.
During the streaming platform’s first live Town Hall, Twitch says it is sorry for the way it has managed problems regarding DMCA takedowns and pledges to look for legal solutions that will alleviate some of their most concerning problems. Twitch had a hard time properly communicating with its users about the ongoing DMCA problems, but today was another step in the correct direction for the platform.
The DMCA problems on Twitch emerged back in October of this year when multiple streamers on the site were warned that their content had been deleted without any prior warning because of audio that breaches the guidelines of the platform.
This was then pursued by various waves of DMCA strikes that ended in the banning of some of Twitch’s most popular streamers. Twitch offered little assistance, stating streamers should delete all of their old clips and videos, stop streaming music and mute in-game audio that could end in DMCA strikes. As users strived to stay relevant in an ocean of DMCA anarchy, some tried to adhere to the oppressive new rules and others criticized them.
Today, Twitch finally owned to its mistakes during the fires-ever Town Hall which comprised of three parts of updates regarding some of the platform’s considerable concerns as well as a 30-minute Q&A with selected questions from its viewers.
During the Q&A, this question was thrown: “Who gave the ‘okay’ to tweet to the majority of the userbase that muting the in-game audio was the best way to protect from DMCA, and how could something so tone-deaf make its way down the pipeline?”
Sara Clemens, Twitch’s COO, answered the question by apologizing on behalf of the team revealing that Twitch had “missed the mark” and that the questioner was correct in saying that it was a “tone-deaf” decision that should not have occurred.
In addition to the apology, Jeremy Forrester, the Head of Creator Products for Twitch, mentioned that the platform is currently discussing with various major recording companies for a possible site-wide licensing.
This would allow the streaming platform to pay a license fee to a recording company to guarantee that the content consisting of that company’s audio would be flagged for DMCA takedown. However, Forrester revealed that this would be a very costly solution and Twitch is different from any other platform for which a license does not exist.
Twitch is working out with these recording companies in hopes to reach a deal that works for both companies. Forrester was also honest in revealing that if this does not come to completion, it might take a long time to process if it does at all.
PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller and its haptic feedback feature will receive additional support with FIFA in its future updates and games, according to EA Sports Gameplay Producer Kantcho Doskov. The DualSense controller appears as though it’s instantly become a favorite device of next-gen technology among video game developers across the board.
The controller of the PlayStation 5’s adaptive triggers lets players experience a greater sense of tension, helping to better send the feel of firing a bow, for instance. In the meantime, haptic feedback is a more powerful application of what was previously attainable with HD rumble features.
So far, the DualSense’s haptics has been best integrated into the PlayStation 5’s pre-installed game, Astro’s Playroom. Make no mistake, though, FIFA21 utilizes the feature in innovative new ways, too. Vibrations on the left side of the DualSense increase in intensity after players perform a mighty left-footed shot.
Trigger support builds up as the player’s stamina goes down, implying the effects of exhaustion. It appears the developers at EA plans to integrate further DualSense support in FIFA’s gameplay as time goes on.
In an interview featured in the Official PlayStation Magazine Issue No.183, gameplay producer Kantcho Doskov revealed that the developers are interested in further discovering the probabilities with the DualSense’s haptic feedback feature. Doskov mentioned that “Going forward, we’ll definitely want to continue to add features and make more use of the DualSense haptics because it’s kind of game-changing.”
However, Doskov’s statement doesn’t point out whether the additional support on the DualSense will become available for FIFA 21. He might mean the developer is only exploring new options for upcoming FIFA releases. As of now, that much remains unknown. What does seem evident is that the development team is progressively becoming more interested in testing the DualSense in unique ways.
FIFA 21 initially hit retailer shelves last October, however, EA just launched native versions of the game on the Xbox Series X|S and the PlayStation 5 earlier this month. Luckily, players who already own a copy on the last-gen consoles can upgrade to the current-gen editions for free, so long as they own the same family of platforms across both generations.
However, not every bit of information is good news on EA’s sports front. Not all pro athletes were satisfied with their appearance being utilized in FIFA games, for example, and EA is facing another action-class lawsuit regarding its loot box practices.
Developed and published by Idea Factory, Neptunia Virtual Stars is confirmed to release on PC via Steam alongside the PlayStation 4 next year. Now’s your chance to enter Virtualand, where both virtual stars and goddesses fight side by side against the infamous group known as Anti.
As expected of a Neptunia game, elements relating to the digital or technological world are incorporated into the game’s story. In the case of Neptunia Virtual Stars, the villainous Anti wants to rid the world of a commodity called “content.” In their mission to do so, the group kidnaps VTubers and transforms them into V Cubes.
In light of this crisis, the Digital Goddess of planet Emote sent out a distress call to the other realms hoping that someone would answer their cries for help. Fortunately, Neptunia along with the other goddesses have decided to heed the Digital Goddess’ call. Planet Emote is on its way to extinction, and it’s up to them to save it.
That being said, the main cast of goddesses will also be joined by new characters, namely Mi and Yu, who are up and rising VTubers who are members of the group MEWTRAL. One notable thing about Neptunia Virtual Stars is the fact that a few real-world VTubers will be present in the game.
They accompany you on your journey and cheer you from the sidelines during battle. In addition, they offer special prizes if you get to meet their requirements. The niche Neptunia franchise is known for being dynamic — constantly changing things up when it comes to the formula of each games.
As such, Neptunia Virtual Stars isn’t any different. This time around, this 2021 installment by Idea Factory will have fast-paced hack and slash mechanics, so you need to think quick and act quick. You will also be given the option to shuffle through different perspectives, allowing you to see what the other goddesses and VTubers are seeing.
In other news, fans of the franchise will be thrilled to know that another Neptunia game is scheduled to be released next year asides from Neptunia Virtual Stars.
The second title set for a 2021 release is Neptunia ReVerse, which marks the very first PlayStation 5 game in this franchise and serves as an upgraded edition of the PlayStation Vita version.
Not only will there be an upgraded UI, among other visual changes, Neptunia ReVerse will also feature a new fishing minigame. This upcoming title will also allow you to have four party members instead of three.
While patiently waiting for the official release of these two games though, we recommend that you check out Hyperdimension Neptunia — it’s an anime that’s available to watch on Steam. Other than that, interested Nintendo Switch users can also try out the Megadimension Neptunia VII port.
While not everyone enjoys these kinds of games, it also can’t be denied that the Neptunia series has a decent number of fans. As a matter of fact, the franchise is popular enough for Idea Factory to consistently release an entry every year. In any case, Neptunia fans will definitely have a lot to look forward to next year.
Blizzard is planning to reveal its next big update about Diablo 4 next year. A Diablo 4 announcement is set for the BlizzCon 2021, according to the developers, which will look different compared to the previous as it will be held virtually thanks to the global pandemic.
Diablo 4’s initial announcement came with a gameplay trailer during 2019’s BlizzCon event. In the year since there has been next to nothing in terms of graphic content for the extremely famous ARPG franchise.
In an article posted on the official website of Blizzard, Luis Barriga, the game director for Diablo 4, detailed a few updates for particular aspects of the game. As the final quarterly update of the year draws near, the post explains the most recent developments on major elements of the game including Uniques, Legendary Affixes, Item Qualities, Weapon Types, Primary Stats, and Skill Trees.
These updates look to significantly shift the game’s meta going forward. The full scope of changes can be read on Blizzard’s website, but one of the most eye-catching updates is about Diablo’s skill trees. The skill trees will be more costly to respect, forcing players to invest heavily in their characters. The development team has also announced that all stats will be essential this time around, marking a withdrawal from their handling in Diablo 3.
Barriga also mentioned that aside from the blog post, the next update will be taking place during next year’s virtual BlizzCon. He claims that while there have been a lot of rumors, it can be guaranteed that what is coming is “something chunky indeed.”
The game director teases at a new trailer, noting a new edition of the campfire scene showcased last year. Luckily, this year players won’t have to pay anything to watch, as BlizzCon Online will be absolutely free to watch.
Diablo 4’s daring new approach to its gameplay appears to revamp the series for the upcoming generation. While some details about the game have already been announced, players are still unaware of many aspects such as the new classes, which many players hope is what will be unveiled at the virtual BlizzCon. While there are likely to be returning and new classes, there are a few classes that likely won’t be added at launch.
While the title still has no official launch date, that may alter at some point between now and February next year. Things are looking good for the series, especially following the shocking Diablo immortal announcement.
However, Blizzard has lately stated that beta testers for the controversial mobile title are “hugely enthusiastic.” However, fans should take this with a grain of salt as these comments are coming from the development team themselves.
After Fortnite Season 4 successfully came to a close, Epic Games wasted no time in releasing Season 5 along with teasers and hints for upcoming crossover characters. While Season 4 was themed completely around the Marvel universe, it appears that Epic Games has decided on focusing on bounty hunters for Season 5.
From what we’ve seen so far, the theme for this newest season will mix together a bunch of outside characters and then incorporate them into Fortnite itself. As a matter of fact, iconic characters from popular franchises have already been confirmed for Season 5, including The Mandalorian and The Walking Dead’s Daryl and Michonne.
Now, it appears that Fortnite Season 5 will be incorporating more than just characters, but it will be taking inspiration from other titles as well. To be more specific, a new Fortnite game mode plays very similarly to the popular social deduction game Among Us.
The new limited-time game mode called “The Spy Within,” which went live along with the recent update, has players trying to identify who the double-crossing spies are. Just like in a game of Among Us, the Fortnite agents have to successfully do a variety of tasks and earn coins along the way before the spies stealthily eliminate all of them.
Of course, InnerSloth’s Among Us isn’t the founder of social deduction games. There are numerous titles out there that utilize this genre, such as Gnosiaand the Werewolf/Mafia party game by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986. However, Among Us is probably one of the most popular hidden identity games right now, which should count for something.
In addition, there are notable similarities that pinpoint to Among Us in particular. First and foremost, players have the option to summon a meeting in The Spy Within if or when they notice that another player is acting suspicious. During a meeting, players get to discuss with one another about who they think is the spy and once a conclusion has been made, they vote the player out.
Not only that, The Spy Within consists of a maximum of ten agents with two traitorous spies among them. Similarly, Among Us’ maximum lobby also caps at ten players.
A major difference between the two titles, however, is the fact that The Spy Within utilizes voice proximity chat in-game. This is definitely a much-appreciated feature, as many Among Us players have complained about how tiring it is to keep typing on a keyboard in order to communicate in a public lobby.
Fortnite’s new game mode also offers players a couple of exclusive prizes, such as a new glider, a holiday-themed weapon skin, as well as a skateboard that has spy-inspired designs on it.
That being said, the game mode is expected to be dynamic because it’s supposed to shuffle every few days to showcase a brand-new game variant by the different members of the community, including Snownymous, KKSlider, Blanky, DolphinDom, Wert, Bunni_, MackJack, and Ritual.
In any case, it’s hard to tell if The Spy Within will entice dedicated Among Us fans to sign up and join Fortnite for this game mode — that is if this was Epic Games’ plan all along. That said, the new game mode looks interesting enough to try out, so we hope that fans will enjoy it and what it has to offer.
Gamers who are looking to secure a PlayStation 5 hassle-free can do so by competing and winning the upcoming Fortnite Generations Cup, a tournament exclusively available for console players. While trying to get a PlayStation 5 from retail websites may not prove to be successful, the top players from across the globe will be able to earn one upfront by bringing their A-game to the upcoming tournament.
The PlayStation 5 released last November 12 as Sony’s fifth and latest console. Alongside the Xbox Series X|S, which released a few days earlier, consumers have had a hard time getting their hands on the new systems because of retail site crashes, limited stocks and production, and a seemingly never-ending battle with scalpers and bots.
As with any new console, the $400-$500 price of the PlayStation 5 is also surely a factor that keeps many sticking to the older hardware. While Fortnite’s updated visuals look breathtaking on the PlayStation 5, it is an experience enjoyed by relatively few so far.
Now, developer Epic Games is giving PlayStation owners a chance to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 by proving they are the most worthy Fortnite player in their region. Fortnite’s development team revealed the Generations Cup, which is exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners.
The solo tournament is set to start on December 18, and the top-placing player for every region will earn a free PlayStation 5, while all top players will get a free Kama Back Bling and Kuno Outfit. The tournament will be available in eight regions including the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Europe, Brazil, and North America East.
While there will only be eight free PlayStation 5 consoles awarded during the entire tournament, thousands of players will get the Indigo Kuno cosmetic set. This exclusive back bling and skin will be given to 6000 top placing teams around the world.
Identical to the Tart Tycoon skin given to those who participated in the #FreeFortnite tournament, players won’t be able to get this skin outside of the tournament making it even more enticing to compete for. However, Epic Games is infamous for backing out of its exclusive skin pledges, so winners will have to wait and check if these freebies remain locked behind skill and not V-Bucks.
Limited edition skins are great but a free PlayStation 5 is certainly much better. While other Fortnite tournaments have rewarded top players with large amounts of money, the best Fortnite players on the PlayStation can get a PlayStation 5 for free by proving they are the best in the world.
To show its appreciation towards its growing community, Star Wars: Squadrons will be offering its players with new cosmetic outfits that they can unlock. These two new unlockable skins will be available through January 10, so don’t miss out on this great offer.
If you’re unfamiliar, Star Wars: Squadrons gives players a chance to fight action-packed battles in space, as the Galactic Empire and the New Republic face off against each other. That being said, it’s a game that has a first-person point of view, but that doesn’t stop it from giving players the ability to customize their character or avatar.
Star Wars: Squadrons offers a torrent of rewards and ranks that players can unlock. Even though the game’s scope is comparably smaller than other titles, it has won people over with its intense dogfighting and high-quality graphics.
At first, players didn’t think that the space combat title would be getting any kind of post-launch content. Thankfully, this speculation appeared to be untrue. The new skins — the Hoth Pilot and the Imperial Executioner — are two of the most recent downloadable content in Star Wars: Squadrons. The gloves, helmets, and flight suits for both the New Republic and Galactic Empire pilots are also included in the bargain.
As a thank you to the EA #StarWars community, we're adding two cosmetic outfits to #StarWarsSquadrons for players to earn!
The requirements in order to unlock these two cosmetic outfits are simple. All you have to do is log in to the game any time before January 10, 2021. However, there’s a catch: you will need to own either Star Wars Battlefront 1 or 2, or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order if you want access to this content.
While this requirement may be a disappointment for some, it also makes sense that this unexpected post-launch content is meant for dedicated fans of Electronic Arts’ Star Wars entries. After all, the free cosmetics are being offered by the company as a gift of appreciation for the supporters, to begin with.
No matter how minuscule it may seem, post-launch updates are always a wonderful surprise for any game, especially for Star Wars: Squadrons since fans didn’t expect it to release any at all. At the same time, this could be one of EA’s ways to coax players who have dropped the game into returning. Besides, there’s nothing to lose — the cosmetics are easy to claim and they look great!
However, the downside is that this kind of post-launch content is basically the bare minimum. In addition to that, it’s unfortunate that the free skins are not available for everyone, as players would first need to have at least one of the other Star Wars titles from EA. We highly doubt that players would be willing to purchase a completely different game just to get their hands on cosmetics that don’t even really add to the gameplay.
To make things even more frustrating, Electronic Arts has already stopped supporting Battlefront 2, so this is understandably upsetting to thousands upon thousands of fans who want to experience more post-launch updates too.
In any case, we have yet to see what other updates the company has planned for Star Wars: Squadrons. Hopefully, the next one will be more accessible to everyone else.
It has been confirmed that the text-based social deduction space adventure, Gnosia, is set to release on the Nintendo Switch early next year. The announcement was made during the latest Nintendo Indie World Showcase presentation.
Developed by Petit Depotto and published by Playism, Gnosia is a single-player space adventure specifically set inside a drifting spaceship. The game essentially plays like a more sinister game of Among Us, as the crewmates have to figure out who the impostor is, or in this case the “Gnosia.”
The Gnosia is a mysterious threat or entity that possesses its victims and corrupts them until every crew member has been eliminated. It’s quite reminiscent of the 80s classic horror/sci-fi film The Thing.
No one really knows who the Gnosia is inside the ship, so you have to look for clues and create a plan for survival. Those crewmates who are the most suspicious will be put into “cold sleep” in an attempt to resolve the situation. However, did the person you choose to put into cold sleep really Gnosia, or just an innocent crewmate? It’s impossible to tell.
As days pass and you slowly progress further into the game, you get to learn more and more about the Gnosia as well as the other characters who are on board the ship with you. Since it’s a text-based game, it plays like a visual novel more than anything.
As you might have inferred by now, the main goal of the game is to figure out who the Gnosia life form is within the group before any more crew members are lost. It’s an interesting game with a sinister narrative, seamlessly blending together RPG elements, mystery, and social deduction.
The RPG gameplay elements can be seen in the way Gnosia has different stats available for your character that you can increase. For instance, increasing the Charisma will result in more crewmates listening to you, while increasing Performance will allow your character to have a believable poker face when lying.
You also have to keep tabs on a character’s social ranking. This also plays an important role as the game progresses, and can even set off unique events.
Gnosia was initially released on the PS Vita last year, but it was only exclusively launched in Japan. Numerous players enjoyed the title, so much so that Gnosia garnered positive reviews and a good reputation in Japan.
Due to its notable success, Nintendo quickly decided to release a Nintendo Switch port, allowing even more people to experience the game outside of its native country. Gnosia was initially inspired by a classic social deduction game entitled Mafia or Werewolf, but many also compare this one to InnerSloth’s Among Us, another title of the same genre that has recently risen in popularity.
We understand this comparison though, as both situate players in a spaceship where they have to identify who the “impostor” is. Other than that, it was also compared to Disco Elysium for having a gameplay mechanic where you have to lie. Speaking of, it was recently announced during The Game Awards 2020 that Disco Elysium would finally be getting a console port.
In any case, Gnosia won’t be available until early 2021, but a listing for the game is already available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for those who want to add it to their wishlist.
