Every founding member of virtual reality company Oculus has now left the firm. The final member to leave is Nate Mitchell, who announced his departure on Facebook and Reddit. Most recently, Mitchell was serving as Head of VR Product at Facebook. Mitchell said he's taking time off to travel, spend time with his family, and recharge his proverbial batteries. He said he plans to remain part of the Oculus community in some capacity, though he acknowledged he will have a "much smaller role to play" going forward.Social networking giant Facebook acquired Oculus in 2015 for $2 billion USD. Mitchell said he believes the team at Facebook will "continue to surprise and delight" fans with virtual reality platforms. "I can't wait to see what comes next," he said.The other Oculus founders are Palmer Luckey, Brendan Iribe, Michael Antonov, Jack McCauley, and Andrew Reisse. Luckey left Oculus in 2017 and he now heads up the defense company Anduril Industries which works with the US government on various and controversial projects related to immigration. Iribe, the former CEO of Oculus, left the company in October 2018. He used some of the fortune he made from the sale to Facebook to give $31 million to his alma mater, the University of Maryland.McCauley, meanwhile, left Oculus in November 2015; in July this year, McCauley told CNBC that he believes Oculus will never find success in VR. Another Oculus founder, Michael Antonov, left the company in May 2019 according to his LinkedIn page. Sadly, Reisse was killed in a traffic accident in 2013.Going back to Mitchell, he said in his goodbye post that VR was "mostly the stuff of science fiction" back in 2012 when Oculus raised money for the device on Kickstarter. "We weren't even sure we'd hit our original $250k target. But this community from around the world came together and helped make VR a reality. Fast forward just a few years later, and VR is changing people's lives every day. This is because of you," Mitchell said.A spokesperson for Facebook told GI.biz that the company is currently looking for a replacement for Mitchell; the company is considering internal and external candidates.After Facebook bought Oculus, Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media sued Oculus over accusations that it stole ideas for virtual reality devices. A court eventually sided with ZeniMax and awarded the company $500 million in damages. That figure was later reduced to $250 million.The latest Oculus product is Oculus Quest, a standalone virtual reality headset that doesn't require a computer. In addition to working on the hardware itself, Oculus funds the development of VR games through its Oculus Studios division. Oculus also operated a studio that made animated VR movies, but Facebook closed the company in May 2017. Info from Gamespot.com

There will be another Metro game, following on from this year's Metro Exodus.This news comes via an Instagram post from series author Dmitry Glukhovsky, who has confirmed that the series will continue. The post is direct and to the point: "The Metro gaming series will be continued. Working on the story".Metro 2033, the first game in the Metro series, was an adaptation of Glukhovsky's book of the same name. Glukhovsky's second Metro book, Metro 2034, doesn't have a direct analog in the games, while third book Metro 2035 is, in an interesting twist, inspired by events from Metro: Last Light, the second Metro game.Metro Exodus reviewed and sold well, so the series' continuation is not unexpected news. In his 8/10 review, Michael Higham said that the game "embraces the sense of vulnerability and post-apocalyptic terror alongside impactful weapons used in refined combat and stealth scenarios." Exodus still has DLC on the way as well, which will expand the game out with new playable characters.Metro Exodus was one of several high-profile Epic Games Store exclusives when it launched, and reported that sales in the first few weeks were approximately double what they had been on Steam for the previous Metro game, Last Light.Info from Gamespot.com

The summer may be a slower time for new releases, but there is definitely no shortage of sales. Steam and Humble Bundle's summer promotions are behind us, but we've still got some time on the calendar for more. The latest comes from Fanatical, which has a bunch of awesome Steam games (and a 10-game mystery bundle) discounted in its Summer Sale, with an offer for an extra 10% off with coupon code FANATICAL10.The big hitters in this sale include Monster Hunter World for $26.45, Mortal Kombat 11 for $48.59, and Resident Evil 2 for $30.77, in addition to Devil May Cry 5 for $30.77, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection for $5.38, and Civilization 6 for $13.49. Other notable deals include discounts on Yakuza 0 ($13.49), Yakuza Kiwami ($12.59), and Yakuza Kiwami 2 ($23.75), as well as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for only $31.67, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen for $8.09, and Dark Souls Remastered for $21.59.The Summer Mystery Bundle costs $7 USD and comes with 10 mystery games. This bundle is, unfortunately, excluded from the coupon code, but with the number of games you're getting, you're already saving some money. Fanatical says it's "jam-packed with a huge roster of AAA and indie Steam games" and adds that while each game in one bundle will be unique from each other, subsequent bundle purchases may result in duplicates. In the name of science, I purchased a bundle to see some of the possible gets.The 10 games I received are The Flame in the Flood, Farm Mania 2, The Little Acre, White Noise Online, Twilight City: Love as a Cure, Northern Tale 2, Book of Demons, Forest Legends: The Call of Love Collector's Edition, Smoke and Sacrifice, and Chronology. I didn't get anything I'm particularly interested in, so it's worth noting you might have a similar experience. Unfortunately, that's the risk with random-chance bundles.See the full offering of PC game deals at Fanatical, and check out some of our favourite deals below. Prices shown below reflect the full discount with promo code FANATICAL10 applied at checkout.See all PC game deals at FanaticalMonster Hunter World -- $26.45Mortal Kombat 11 -- $48.59Resident Evil 2 -- $30.77Resident Evil 7 -- $13.22Devil May Cry 5 -- $30.77Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- $31.67Dark Souls Remastered -- $21.59Borderlands: The Handsome Collection -- $5.38Civilization 6 -- $13.49Yakuza 0 -- $8.81Yakuza Kiwami -- $12.59Yakuza Kiwami 2 -- $23.75Wolfenstein Youngblood -- $25.64Frostpunk -- $13.38Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen -- $8.09Hitman Game of the Year Edition -- $11.70Deus Ex: Mankind Divided -- $4.04Info from Gamespot.com

Since its launch in Summer 2016, Pokemon Go has been gradually introducing more and more Pokemon to collect. Most recently, developer Niantic implemented monsters from the series' Gen 4 games, Diamond and Pearl, and the studio has begun dropping hints that Gen 5 Pokemon--those that originally debuted in Pokemon Black and White on the DS--are on the horizon as well.One of the most beloved and unique Pokemon in the series is Eevee. While a fairly common sight in Pokemon Go, what makes Eevee special is that it's capable of evolving into a variety of different forms. Normally, which Eevee evolution you get is up to luck, but there are a few tricks to ensure you get the evolution of your choice. If you're hoping for a particular one, read on for tips on how to get any Eevee evolution.How Many Eevee Evolutions Are There?Eevee is categorized as the Evolution Pokemon, and fittingly, it can evolve into eight possible forms--more than any other monster in the series. The most recent Eevee evolution, Sylveon, was introduced in Pokemon X and Y for 3DS, and while it is not yet attainable in Pokemon Go, it will inevitably be added to the game at some point in the future. In the meantime, here are all the possible forms Eevee can evolve into in Pokemon Go:Vaporeon -- Water-typeJolteon -- Electric-typeFlareon -- Fire-typeEspeon -- Psychic-typeUmbreon -- Dark-typeLeafeon -- Grass-typeGlaceon -- Ice-typeHow To Choose Eevee EvolutionsEevee requires 25 Eevee Candies to evolve, which is fairly cheap by the game's standards, so you shouldn't have much trouble amassing the required amount of Candy to evolve it. Normally, the form it turns into will be determined randomly, but you can influence its evolution by giving it a specific nickname, guaranteeing it will evolve into a certain form. However, this nicknaming trick can only be used once per evolution. Here's the full list of nicknames and the evolutions they'll produce:Vaporeon -- RainerJolteon -- SparkyFlareon -- PyroEspeon -- SakuraUmbreon -- TamaoLeafeon -- LinneaGlaceon -- ReaOnce you change Eevee's nickname to one of the aforementioned options, you'll see the silhouette of the corresponding Pokemon appear on the Evolve button, signaling that you've done everything right. As previously mentioned, however, you can only use this trick once for each form; if you've already obtained a Jolteon by nicknaming it Sparky, you won't be able to get another one using the same method, so think carefully before evolving an Eevee.Other Eevee Evolution TricksIn addition to the above nicknaming trick, there's another method to guarantee which form your Eevee will evolve into, specifically if you want Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, or Glaceon. However, this will require a little more work.Espeon / UmbreonSet Eevee as your Buddy Pokemon, then walk 10 kilometers with it. Once you've traveled the required distance together and earned two Candies, evolve Eevee (while it's still set as your Buddy Pokemon) during the day to get Espeon, or at night (between 8 PM - 8 AM local time) to get Umbreon.Leafeon / GlaceonTo guarantee Eevee evolves into Leafeon or Glaceon, you'll need to have either a Mossy Lure or a Glacial Lure--two new types of Lure Modules recently introduced in the game. You can purchase either of these through the in-game item shop for 200 coins.Once you've gotten your hands on a Mossy Lure, set it in a PokeStop, then spin its Photo Disc and evolve Eevee to receive Leafeon. Set a Glacial Lure instead and the Evolution Pokemon will turn into Glaceon. You can read more about the process in our guide on how to get Leafeon and Glaceon in Pokemon Go.Pokemon Go GuidesPokemon Go Rayquaza Guide - Counters, Shiny Rayquaza, And How To Catch TipsPokemon Go Team Rocket Guide - How To Catch & Purify Shadow PokemonPokemon Go: How To Get Meltan And MelmetalInfo from Gamespot.com

Xbox head Phil Spencer has plenty to think about, from the next generation of Xbox consoles to helping build new development teams. He and the people working in Microsoft's Gaming division are also managing an ecosystem that's trying to serve the needs of as many players as possible. Cloud-based gaming touches all of those areas, which is why he's been championing Project xCloud, Microsoft's game streaming technology that will let you access the power of an Xbox console through your phone via an internet connection.GameSpot recently spoke with Spencer about a number of topics, including how he sees xCloud fitting into Xbox's repertoire. He also laid out how he thinks xCloud will work in an industry that's traditionally orbited around consoles in the home."It's one of the directions the industry is headed," Spencer said. "To me, it's about what you as a gamer want to do, and I'm not trying to tell you that owning a box that plays video games is a bad thing or that somehow that's not needed."I think that the cloud inevitability as part of gaming is absolutely true," he continued. "But we have more compute devices around us than we've ever had, whether it's your phone, a Surface Hub, or an Xbox. The world where compute devices are gone and it's all coming from the cloud just isn't the world that we live in today."Physical devices are still very much part of the equation when it comes to cloud gaming, but Xbox itself isn't making a new device specifically for it. "Last year we talked about xCloud and then we said we were working on new game consoles, but that's all I said." Spencer clarified, "We didn't say that [a streaming console was in the works]. I think maybe some people thought that that was the disc-less one that we just shipped. We are not working on a streaming-only console right now. We are looking at the phone in your pocket as the destination for you to stream, and the console that we have allows you to play the games locally.""If you bought a big gaming PC and you like playing games there, I want to respect that and meet you where you are and bring the content and services that you want to that device. If you want to buy an Xbox, if you want to play Minecraft on a PlayStation, I want to make sure that comes to you there."One of the chief concerns that has always surrounded cloud gaming is lag. Specifically, how fast your controller inputs will translate to action on a screen. It was an issue in some cases for Google Stadia demos, especially for fast-paced shooters such as Doom. Spencer recognizes this and makes no bones about those concerns, saying "I don't think anybody should tell you that there's no lag.""Going back to our transparency, there's a truth that I think is always important for us to talk about with our customers. In xCloud, we are building a convenience capability to allow you to take your Xbox experience with you. Meaning, that's why we focus on the phone, and the experience is not the same as running the games on an Xbox One X. I'm not going to say that it's an 8k 120 hertz thing. That's not what we're doing. We're going to bring convenience and choice to you on your phone.""You can jump in a party, we can voice chat. Everything works the same as it does when I'm sitting with my console from a community and content perspective but you're running it from a cloud, which is going to feel different."We talk about Project xCloud and we use words like "trials" not because we don't believe in our tech--our tech is as good as anybody's tech out there, and the team is doing really amazing work--but this is about the reality of time and choice for customers.Given that he's been traveling with an early version of xCloud on his own phone playing games on it out in public, it would seem that xCloud is in a feature-complete state. Public trials start in October this year (a month before Google Stadia), but we asked if it'll launch as a fully-formed service. "We will start in 2019, this year, in certain markets and then we will just continue to roll it out. We're doing our internal trials with xCloud now, which means people on the team can now install the application on their phone and stream games.""One of the benefits we have working at Microsoft is the Azure data centers globally, which allow us to put hardware as close to people as we possibly can. And we can leverage the fact that Microsoft has spent a lot of money establishing data centers to help us accelerate this build. So we're going to start in 2019 and have people playing Xbox games on their phones, and we'll get a ton of feedback."Project xCloud's launch this year only marks the beginning for the Xbox game streaming service; Microsoft will continue to iterate on it while its in players' hands, and Spencer emphasizes that technological shifts take time. "I think this is years away from being a mainstream way people play. And I mean years, like years and years."Phil Spencer on stage during Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference. -- Photo credit: Jason Lewis"Let's take Netflix, which is 20 years old. I think we forget that sometimes because tech moves so fast. It's 20 years old at this point, so it took two decades for us to get to the point where shows like Game of Thrones and House of Cards are some of the biggest shows in the planet and mainly watched via streaming. I think game streaming will get there faster than 20 years, but it's not going to be two years. This is a technological change. While it seems like it happens overnight, it doesn't.""It takes time for these services to evolve. We are building for the long-term, but that's why choice is so critical. I'm not trying to say go sell your consoles today and switch over to streaming because the experience just isn't the same as playing on your console, but I do think in terms of reaching everybody, the democratization of play and content, it's important that we don't lock all of these experiences behind purchasing a certain device.""And way over time, we'll have a global service that can reach everybody and the infrastructure to reach any customer with a consistent and high quality internet service, but that's going to take time. We talk about Project xCloud and we use words like "trials" not because we don't believe in our tech--our tech is as good as anybody's tech out there, and the team is doing really amazing work--but this is about the reality of time and choice for customers."Down the road, the evolution of xCloud could lead to some creative uses; we've seen hints of it in Crackdown 3's multiplayer and how it handles physics. But Spencer and the team are thinking outside of games themselves as they have plans to make it an integral part of the industry's biggest convention, saying "At E3 [in the future], our plan is to allow people coming to the show to actually play games, play Xbox games on phones at the show."Part of cloud gaming's success, and xCloud in particular, rests in how developers account for the new technology. It's also an aspect that Xbox is already getting ahead of, and Spencer detailed how the team is doing it. "We've already started putting xCloud servers near locations where our largest third party developers are. So now we're starting to get developers at third parties on it so they can see their game on a phone, which is critical because there are things like font sizes that if you wanted to take advantage and understand how the game runs on the phone, you want to make it available. You want them to see it and experience it themselves.""We've also already put into the Xbox SDK, because if you're streaming, a developer might want to do something different if the game was running locally. All the developers that are building Xbox games today have access to that capability of determining whether the game is being streamed or running locally, which I think is a great addition.""You'll have certain developers that will take advantage of it early. We already have some of the early adopters asking for [it], because there are certain things that the cloud makes more possible than happened in the home. A good example of that is our blades right now that have all the Xboxes in the data centers have multiple Xboxes on one blade...basically like a bunch of Xboxes in your house that are hardwired together. So the latency between all of those consoles is negligible. It's almost a zero because they're literally hard-wired together. If we were to play games online, there is latency from where you live and I live, right? Our two Xboxes just take time to sync."More Exclusive Phil Spencer CoverageOur conversations with Phil Spencer covered much more in addition to this deep dive into Project xCloud and cloud gaming's place in the industry. For more inside looks at Spencer and his thoughts on the past, present, and future of Xbox, check out all our coverage in the stories linked below.Phil Spencer Is Exactly Who You Think He IsPhil Spencer Doesn't Believe In Your Console WarXbox Boss Phil Spencer Reflects On Microsoft's E3 2019The Inside Story Of The Troubled Xbox One RevealMicrosoft's Vision For Xbox Scarlett Is More Than Just Prettier GraphicsInfo from Gamespot.com

Sony's absence from the press conference lineup at E3 2019 created some pressure for Microsoft to succeed. That's according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who recently spoke with GameSpot about why Sony's absence created positives and negatives for Microsoft's E3 showing--and why he was a bit worried about actor Keanu Reeves appearing on stage during the press conference."Normally what would happen is, on Sunday, we'd do our show and then Sony would go on Monday and then Nintendo on Monday or Tuesday," Spencer said. "With Sony not in the middle, our show kind of sat on its own, which I think was kind of a positive and a challenge in some ways because there was nothing for it to reflect against." E3 2019 was the last show before Microsoft really starts marketing its next platform, codenamed Scarlett, he explained, so it was especially important to let fans know that there's still plenty to expect on Xbox One--years' worth of releases--before the generation closes out.This is largely why the Scarlett reveal was at the end of Microsoft's press conference, instead of being a focus at the beginning of the show, like previous console reveals at E3. Though the next-generation Xbox is on the way, it's still a way out and so the majority of the games announced at Microsoft's E3 2019 conference were focused on its current platform. Microsoft also just didn't have answers to many questions about Scarlett. The hardware's appearance, official name, cost, and day one game line-up are all still up in the air.When it came to the objective of ensuring the focus was still on Xbox One, Spencer said he feels like Microsoft largely succeeded--especially since the company mostly announced games or expansions that had a foreseeable release date, so viewers could make concrete plans for them. "The Lego stuff is a good example," Spencer said. "On Lego Forza, you just saw it's coming to your console that week. Some of the things were literally launching right as we [announced] it, like the State of Decay stuff.""Of the 14 first-party games that we showed, I think 12 or 13 of them are shipping before the next E3," Spencer continued. "When you're thinking about all this, we had a huge show. It was higher social engagement than last year, higher ratings for us than last year. The fact that we got to open with four first-party games in a row--[something] we've never done before--those were cool to see, even for our own teams, as a worthwhile milestone for us. We could actually open a show with four first-party games and they were all received very well and did very well. That's, I think, what we aspire to."Because of the importance of making a good impression with Xbox One's upcoming game line-up, Spencer was actually apprehensive of agreeing to CD Projekt Red's request to have Keanu Reeves present onstage during the Cyberpunk 2077 portion of Microsoft's press conference. "[People] obviously loved having Keanu Reeves come out on stage [though]," Spencer said, "Which actually surprised me a little bit. The hit rate on celebrities on gaming stages at E3 is not incredibly high, including for us. Some of [my apprehension was] just my having lived through [seeing] celebrities on stage at E3 and seeing it become a little cringe-worthy. It was cool to see this one work."Not all of the feedback for Microsoft's showing at E3 was positive though. Fans seemed miffed at the lack of gameplay for the two biggest upcoming Xbox first-party titles, Gears 5 and Halo Infinite. And there's still a general level of confusion around cloud gaming and streaming on consoles with xCloud. "Gears and Halo, two of the bigger first-party games there, both felt more like trailers than somebody standing on a stage with a controller playing the game," Spencer admitted. "From a clarity standpoint, the whole idea of console streaming in xCloud--I think streaming in general--is just an area that people aren't really versed in thinking about [yet]. I think we're going to have to do, frankly, two, three, or four more [shows] before people really understand what we're doing with it."More Exclusive Phil Spencer CoverageWe've broken out several stories of note from our conversation with Phil Spencer and outlined the full list of news articles below, including our big profile on the outspoken and positive leader of Xbox.Phil Spencer Is Exactly Who You Think He IsThe Inside Story Of The Troubled Xbox One RevealPhil Spencer Says Cloud Gaming Is Inevitable, But Won't Replace ConsolesMicrosoft's Vision For Xbox Scarlett Is More Than Just Prettier GraphicsPhil Spencer Doesn't Believe In Your Console War Info from Gamespot.com

Descenders, a downhill mountain biking game that left early access on Steam and Xbox One back in May, has done well for itself on Xbox One - and according to Mike Rose, founder of publisher No More Robots, it's the game's visibility on Game Pass that has led to high sales.Descenders was part of the May 2019 lineup for Xbox Game Pass, alongside games like Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Tacoma, and The Surge. Its addition to Game Pass happened at the same time the game left Early Access, adding multiplayer in its 1.0 update.Conventional wisdom would suggest that a game released on Game Pass - which is available to anyone with a subscription at no additional charge - might struggle to sell, as players are less likely to pay for something they are aware they could be getting as part of an affordable monthly subscription. But to Rose's surprise, this has not been the case for Descenders.Talking to gameindustry.biz, Rose revealed that, despite some initial skepticism at the idea of putting Descenders on Game Pass, it's actually led to higher sales because Game Pass has made the game far more visible to potential customers.During their launch month, No More Robots saw Xbox sales of Descenders "quadruple" compared to their Early Access sales, despite not running any discounts. Apparently they've now "settled to about three times as much as before." Rose says that Game Pass is "essentially an advert", and ensures that the game is made visible across the Xbox dashboard.Still, although Game Pass has worked out very well for the team in this instance, Rose remains somewhat skeptical about the future prospects of the service: "You'd imagine the numbers will go down, which makes it less worth it to people, but then at that point everyone's on it, so you have to be on it."To date, Descenders has been played by over 600,000 people.Info from Gamespot.com

Microsoft revealed the new Xbox Scarlett during its E3 2019 Xbox press conference earlier this year. Seemingly a codename, Xbox Scarlett releases in Holiday 2020 alongside Halo Infinite. The Xbox One has been around since 2013, which, scarily, is six years ago. Console cycles typically last between five and seven years, meaning we should be due a new Xbox pretty soon. However, there's the complicating factor that this generation included mid-cycle upgrades, the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X.There's still a lot to find out Xbox Scarlett, but Microsoft boasted about the specs being far beyond that of the Xbox One X. Regardless, we know Microsoft is working on the next Xbox console, and there've been a fair few details revealed about what to expect. Without further ado, let's dig into everything we know about the next Xbox.Table of Contents [hide]What is the new Xbox?When is the new Xbox's release date? Do we know the new Xbox console specs and price?What is the new Xbox?While Microsoft discussed its new Xbox during E3 last year, it reiterated at E3 2019 that it's definitely working on the new console. In fact, it could even be multiple consoles on the way. Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in June 2018 that Microsoft is "deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming."Of course, the pluralizing of 'console' could mean Spencer was referring in part to the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which was announced just recently. However, the latter half of his quote--about setting the benchmark for console gaming--surely refers to a new generation, where it sounds as if Microsoft wants to come out swinging with the most powerful console available, just as it did with the Xbox One X.Early reports from Thurrott suggest the new Xbox consoles are being developed under the umbrella codename Scarlett. Two consoles are in the works, say the reports: one is a high-power machine codenamed Anaconda that will be approximately the same price as the PS5, while the other is a budget-orientated machine known as Lockhart. The latter is potentially a streaming-centric device that does not boast much processing power itself; rather, it will ostensibly utilize Microsoft's nascent xCloud technology to play games via the cloud. Microsoft has so far only detailed one new device, but it could be that a second console is revealed at a later date.In an interview following E3 2019, Phil Spencer told us that the Xbox Scarlett will focus on high frame rates and fast loading times. He also spoke on the future of cloud gaming, and reaffirmed that Microsoft isn't working on a stream-only console right now.When is the new Xbox's release date?Microsoft hasn't spoken about its specific timeline for the new Xbox consoles' release date(s). However, the consoles are not expected to launch until Fall 2020. For comparison's sake, we don't precisely know when the PS5 will launch either, but in May 2018 the then-head of PlayStation, John Kodera, said that the PS5 was "three years" away. However, plans change, and it's also possible Kodera was merely trying to keep a lid on the rumors that were flying around at the time which were saying the PS5 would be released as soon as 2019.Do we know the new Xbox console specs and price?Unlike Sony, Microsoft has so far kept quiet about the internal specifications of its new consoles. However, all the reports point to both Anaconda and Lockhart ditching hard drives in favor of the quicker solid state storage option--a move the PS5 is also making. Of course, if those reports are proven accurate and Lockhart is essentially a streaming box, it's likely the console will eschew a disc drive and state-of-the-art specs, relying instead on Microsoft's xCloud streaming service for its playing power. Jeux Video has reported the following specs for the two Scarlett consoles: Xbox LockhartXbox AnacondaCPUCustom eight coreCustom eight coreGPUCustom NAVI 4+ teraflopsCustom NAVI 12+ teraflopsRAM12 GB, GDDR616 GB, GDDR6Storage1 TB SSD, 1 + GB / s1 TB SSD, 1 + GB / sThe site also reports the Anaconda price will be around $500, which is the same price the Xbox One X launched with in 2017. Unverified rumors from Reddit place Lockhart, meanwhile, at around $250, which would put it at the same price point as the newly-launched Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which also forgoes a disc drive. These are yet to be substantiated by any reputable source, however.Info from Gamespot.com

This bundle can be yours! Photo by Angela Lang.Now is your chance to take home a Fire Emblem: Three Houses grand prize bundle that includes the Fire Emblem: Three Houses Seasons of Warfare Edition, a Nintendo Switch console and Rayvol Travel Carrying Case. Four lucky runner ups will also get the Fire Emblem: Three Houses game.How can you be one of the lucky winners? Please fill out the form below after reading the official rules of the giveaway and accepting our terms and conditions.You also have the option of doing additional actions, like checking our review or following us across social media, to get extra entries to increase your chances of winning. If you have trouble seeing the form please check this link.Remember to enter before 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 25 and head to our comment section to let us know why you would like to win this bundle. Good luck!Nintendo is not sponsoring or endorsing this promotion. Info from Gamespot.com

The new, live-action version of Disney's Aladdin has been a major success for the studio, making over $1 billion at the global box office and currently sitting as the fifth highest grossing film internationally for the year. Now, it sounds like a sequel is in the planning stages.Speaking to SYFY WIRE, producer Dan Lin says that the studio would "love to" make a sequel, saying that "we feel like these characters have more adventures in store."Of course, the original animated version of Disney's Aladdin already has a sequel: The Return of Jafar, a straight-to-video affair set a year after the original. However, a live-action sequel would probably deviate heavily from the 69-minute, poorly-received original."Like with Aladdin, it will not be a straight remake of any movie that’s been made before," Lin says, "so we’re looking at ‘where’s the best way to go with these characters.’"The live-action Aladdin stayed very close to the original animated film in some respects, and drifted from it in others: Iago the parrot doesn't talk in the new version, for instance. Return of Jafar is less well-known than the original 1992 blockbuster, and would require an overhaul to work as a sequel to the new Aladdin.Lin also said that he believes director Guy Richie and star Will Smith would be likely to return: "even before the box office success, they said it was the best filmmaking experience of their lives."Info from Gamespot.com

Quantic Dream has never been a first-party studio, despite its deep association with the PlayStation brand ever since the release of Heavy Rain in 2010. With recent PC ports for the aforementioned title, plus Beyond: Two Souls and the upcoming release of Detroit: Become Human, the French developer is looking to break away from Sony's platform to develop and publish games for other systems.Earlier this year, NetEase Games, the gaming division of Chinese internet giant NetEase, acquired a minority stake in Quantic Dream--hot on the heels of investing $100 million into Bungie to create non-Destiny games. While David Cage and Guillaume de Foundaumiere maintain control of the studio, the money invested by NetEase will go to "support the studio's vision of becoming a global, multi-franchise entertainment company, and to develop advanced technologies and games for the future."The fruits of this labour have already been seen with the PC ports for Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls arriving on the Epic Games Store, with Detroit: Become Human releasing later this year. Now, in a recent interview with DualShockers, studio head David Cage has detailed the company's intentions to break away from PlayStation exclusivity to "work on different platforms and reach players all around the world"."After having worked exclusively with PlayStation for 12 years, we thought it was the right time for us to put our money where our mouth is," Cage revealed. "We also felt that the landscape would change in the coming years, with the emergence of new platforms, 5G and Cloud Play."Not content to simply release its own games on other platforms, Cage also shared Quantic Dreams' aspirations to become a "boutique publisher" over the next few years, working as an independent publisher by "backing few titles and championing originality and high quality, while providing tech and industrial support." This came to fruition through the studio's investment from NetEase, with Cage explaining that the Chinese giant "understood the ambition we had for the studio. We felt there were some very interesting strategic synergies between our companies."As for the transition into becoming a publisher, Cage goes on to say that Quantic Dream "felt there was room for a new publisher that would have an 'ethical' approach, offering fair deals and not taking ownership of IP." So far the studio is "really pleased with the result" of its work on the PC ports for Epic Games Store. As the company's first foray into publishing, Cage revealed that he's "very pleased with Heavy Rain's current figures, which align with our expectations."With new platforms like Xbox Scarlett, PlayStation 5, and Google Stadia on the horizon, Cage has made it clear that Quantic Dream is not "exclusive to any platform anymore. So yes, unless there are some specific exclusivity deals on a title-by-title basis, all our games will be released on all platforms at launch."Info from Gamespot.com

Not much is known about Halo Infinite. At Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference earlier this year, the company revealed that Master Chief's latest adventure would be an Xbox Scarlett launch title--in addition to releasing on Xbox One and PC--sometime during holiday 2020. Now, corporate vice president of Xbox Games Studios, Matt Booty, has revealed some more details on the upcoming title during a recent interview with Game Informer."The first thing that is really cool and where that game is headed, is how they're [343 Industries] thinking about expanding the world," Booty explained. "I won't go so far to say 'sandbox' because we bring up sandbox and people seem to overload that term with a lot of other things. But what the team is doing to build a bigger universe and a bigger set of gameplay scenarios, and sort of more things to explore is awesome."Halo Infinite runs on 343 Industries' brand-new Slipspace game engine, which studio director Chris Lee said is aimed at supporting Halo titles for 10 years to come. "The things they're working on are really cool. As they bring the Slipspace Engine up to date with where we're at in terms of graphics these days, there's just some cool stuff," Booty went on the say. "Design-wise, it's been really cool to see them get back to some of the shape-language and design-language of some of the earlier Halos. It could be said that, Halo, when you get into Halo 5, maybe it was getting a little 'busy' design-wise. [For Halo Infinite] it feels more modern and more clean, but also there are stronger echoes back to the roots of Halo. I would say visually impressive and more expansive."Getting back to the roots of Halo has been a common thread amongst the drip-feed of information regarding Halo Infinite. Earlier this year, Brian Jarrard, community director at 343, shared a blog post revealing the long-awaited return of split-screen support to the series in Infinite. The studio also announced that it would support LAN multiplayer, and confirmed that characters in Infinite will have black undersuits--a small detail, but one that harkens back to Halo's beginnings. During the interview, Booty also revealed that Microsoft sees The Outer Worlds as an exclusive franchise. For more on Halo Infinite, check out the stories below.E3 2019: Halo Infinite Will Release On Xbox One, In Addition To Scarlett (And PC)Xbox Scarlett Console Has Halo Infinite As A Launch Title, And Here's Why That's A Big DealE3 2019: Halo Infinite Trailer Contains A Secret--And It's Xbox Game Pass CodesMore Halo Infinite Details Emerge At E3, But Microsoft Won't Say Much More For A Long TimeNew Halo Infinite Xbox Scarlett At E3 2019 Showed No Gameplay, But It Was Still ExcitingXbox Scarlett Releasing In 2020 With Halo Infinite As A Launch TitleInfo from Gamespot.com

Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, is being sued in a class-action lawsuit after a security breach allowed hackers to access the personal information of users with Epic Games accounts.The class-action lawsuit was filed by Franklin D. Azar & Associates in US District Court in North Carolina. The suit cites Epic's "failure to maintain adequate security measures and notify users of the security breach in a timely manner." It goes on to mention that there are more than 100 class members involved in the lawsuit.Epic acknowledged the breach back in January, surmising that a bug in Fortnite may have exposed the personal information of millions of user accounts. The company fixed the issue, but the suit alleges that the company failed to notify affected users to the possibility of their personal information being compromised. The filing says that the plaintiff and anyone else affected by the breaches "have an ongoing interest in ensuring that their [personally identifiable information] is protected from past and future cybersecurity threats."Check Point security researchers discovered the breach in November 2018 before Epic acknowledged it in January 2019. "We were made aware of the vulnerabilities and they were soon addressed," said an Epic Games spokesperson at the time. "We thank Check Point for bringing this to our attention. As always, we encourage players to protect their accounts by not reusing passwords and using strong passwords, and not sharing account information with others."However, Check Point's report details an exploit that couldn't have been avoided by constant password changes. "By discovering a vulnerability found in some of Epic Games' sub-domains, an XSS attack was permissible with the user merely needing to click on a link sent to them by the attacker. Once clicked, with no need even for them to enter any login credentials, their Fortnite username and password could immediately be captured by the attacker.""Even if you [had] a security product looking for anti-phishing, it wouldn't catch [the hack] because it's coming from a legitimate domain," Check Point's head of products vulnerability research Oded Vanunu said. Vanunu went on to encourage players to enable two-factor authentication for their Epic accounts. "Token hijacking is something that is happening on all major platforms," Vanunu continued. "We are starting to see malicious attackers looking for tokens more." Info from Gamespot.com

A new FCC filing has revealed an upcoming wireless SNES controller for Nintendo Switch.Resetera user Link83 discovered the new filing (which is required for the controller's release in the US) after setting up an alert for any Nintendo FCC ID filings. Much of the documentation is confidential, but the accompanying image matches the SNES controller's iconic shape, while the appearance of the "HAC" model number notates its potential as a Switch peripheral, since all other Switch hardware and accessories use the same model number.Nintendo released a similar NES controller for the Switch 12 months ago when NES games started appearing for subscribers to Nintendo Online. This new controller might signal the arrival of SNES games to the Switch's virtual library, with an accompanying controller letting you relive the days of playing Super Mario World, A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid with a familiar peripheral in-hand.Nintendo hasn't officially announced the controller in any capacity yet, but we'll keep you updated on when they do. In the meantime, you can keep up to date on all Nintendo Switch news right here:Nintendo Switch Lite: A New Model That Can't Connect To TVsNew Green Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons Available For Pre-Order NowThat Adorable Disney Switch Is Available To Pre-Order--And Ships To The US And UK Nintendo Switch Lite FAQ: Price, Hardware Differences, Release Date, Battery Life, Specs, And ColorsNintendo Switch Lite: What We KnowThe Switch Lite Is Officially Open For Pre-Order (US) Info from Gamespot.com

The new trailer for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is here. The upcoming Netflix show is a prequel to Jim Henson's cult 1982 fantasy movie, and like the film, it features puppets and incredible set design to create its magical world.While May's first trailer was visually stunning but didn't reveal much about the story, this new one is more plot-focused. It shows main characters Deet, Rian, and Brea realising they must fight back against the evil Skeksis, who have been ruling the land based on lies. Like the movie, the series looks like it will fully embrace dark fantasy and should appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers. Check it out below.Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will run for 10 episodes and arrives in Netflix on August 30. The main characters are played by Taron Egerton (the Kingsman movies), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones), and the rest of cast list is equally impressive. It includes Mark Hamill, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, and Alicia Vikander.The show is directed by Louis Leterrier, who previously helmed the first two Transporter films and Marvel's The Incredible Hulk. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he spoke about the challenges involved with using puppetry rather than the CGI you'd expect for a show like this in 2019. "I was not fighting against anyone, I was fighting against common sense and practicality," he said. "It's so so complicated to build a puppet, hire puppeteers, all that stuff. We chose the long, hardest road and we're very thankful [we did]. It looks absolutely stunning."Info from Gamespot.com