In The News
I’ve never felt sad that I hate Taco Bell, but I do now. Steak Quesarito fans now have the chance to win a free Xbox One X. Each box will have a code, and if you’re (really) lucky, that $5 could get you Xbox’s newest $500 console.
“There will be a lot of winners, it seems, as Microsoft says in a news release that a potential winner will be selected every 10 minutes for the duration of the promo, which runs August 31 through October 4. In addition to the console, winners will receive a copy of Forza Motorsport 7 and a three-month Xbox Game Pass subscription,” Eddie Makuch at GameSpot reports.
For real this time. Nintendo announced on Facebook that retailers will start pushing out SNES Classic Edition pre-orders this month.
The numbers are in, and according to GitHyp, “Over this past weekend, LawBreakers saw its playerbase decrease by almost half. At its peak on Steam, LawBreakers brought in 4.5k players in a single hour on Friday and those numbers dropped on Saturday to 3.7k and 3.1k on Sunday. A 40% drop in peak players when compared to the closed beta on June 28.” The game launches Aug. 8.
Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot sat down with GamesIndustry.biz’s James Batchelor to talk about Vivendi’s takeover threats and Beyond Good and Evil 2.
“‘Staying alive means agility, creativity and the possibility to work in an environment with people that are happy to be there,’” Guillemot says. “‘That’s why we have more of a chance, because it’s not one guy saying ‘I want to stay as the boss’, it’s the company itself saying ‘this is our work, so we’ll do whatever we can to make sure it stays that way’ … We are under attack, we are trying to fight against it. We think we are ready to fight against those problems.’”
Nintendo Switch’s battery indicator glitch should now be fixed thanks to a firmware update. Nintendo has full instructions on how to solve the issue here.
IOS RPG fans gather ’round. Pocket Gamer’s Jon Mundy has the 25 best RPGs on iPhone and iPad to keep you busy.
Persona 5’s Joker figures are on pre-order sale for $69.99. They’ll be out in March of 2018. “This news comes shortly after the announcement of the Person 5 anime, which will premiere in Japan by 2018,” Game Informer’s Craig Taylor reports.
ESL and Disney are “partnering to air ongoing original programming on D|XP, a new daily summer programming block on Disney XD that’s designed to bring a new esports content pipeline and approach to the US market,” AListDaily’s Manouk Akopyan writes. “The deal marks the first time ESL is coming to cable TV and it targets students sitting at home while on summer break.”
PlayStation 4’s update 4.73 is out. It doesn’t do a whole lot, GameSpot’s Oscar Dayus explains, because it just “improves the quality of the system performance.”
PUBG (Credit: Whiskey_Delta_6)
Aaaand we’re back to the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds kerfuffle, cosmetic crates edition. Brendan Greene addressed the communities outrage in his Early Access Month 4 Update yesterday:
“The idea of testing, prior to full implementation, is at the heart of adding every new game feature in our game, and this includes the crate and key system which we believe will serve as the foundation of a healthy economy after launch,” Greene says. “I do understand your concerns about the system, but I feel testing for a sturdy economy on the Steam Marketplace is necessary at this stage and ultimately beneficial for the game. And once again, this is a purely optional system, and you are not forced into participating if you do not feel like it.” He later apologizes for unclear messaging.
ChinaJoy was not all sunshine and smiles in Shanghai over the weekend. South Korea’s booth was reportedly told to remove “Korea” from its name. “China Joy organizers put a host of demands on the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a South Korean government backed group that set up the pavilion. Included in those demands was that the booth drop the word ‘Korea,’” Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft writes. Previously called the Korea Pavilion, its name was changed to KOCCA Pavilion. On top of that, the booth was reportedly moved “from its original spot to a corner in the convention center.”
Unsung Story’s name is getting a bit too literal. The tactical role-playing game — announced in 2013 and originally supposed to ship in 2015 — just lost Playdek, its developer and publisher. Development is “starting from scratch,” Polygon’s Michael McWhertor reports. “Unsung Story’s new developer, Little Orbit, said it plans to deliver the version of the game that Kickstarter backers wanted from the beginning: a single-player game.”
This is probably not a coloring book for your toddler. The Witcher “is getting an ‘adult coloring book,’” according to PC Gamer’s Shaun Prescott. It does involve Geralt in a bathtub.