Over the past month, Ubisoft has been embroiled in one of the largest scandals in industry history, with more than a dozen ex-employees alleging that the video game publisher is a haven of misogyny and sexual harassment. Now, Bloomberg News has published a lengthy report that reveals new details about the ingrained culture of toxicity at many of Ubisoft's studios, allegedly enabled by executives that prioritized family connections over complaints of misconduct.One of the most upsetting anecdotes comes early in the piece. In the company's Paris headquarters, during a presentation of an important game led by a woman--who was out of the room at the time--chief creative officer Serge Hascoët pulled up a YouTube video of a French song that describes sexually explicit acts with a woman with the same name as the presenter, pausing it when she came back into the room. (Hascoët has since been removed from his position.) A racist anecdote from the publisher's Bulgarian office describes multiple staff members calling the Black Star Wars actor John Boyega a "monkey."This culture of sexism seeped into the publisher's games. The report focuses on how it affected the Assassin's Creed series, stating that scripts were changed in development to focus more on male characters, particularly in Syndicate and Origins. According to the piece, Syndicate was supposed to feature the twins Jacob and Evie equally, through Jacob ultimately ended up with much more screen time. Origins' male hero Bayek was set to be injured or killed early in the game, and players would assume control of his wife Aya, but that changed over the course of development. The latest game in the series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, originally only allowed players to control Kassandra, a woman. However, when members of the publisher's male-dominated editorial team said that a female protagonist wouldn't sell, players were ultimately given the choice of Kassandra or her brother Alexios.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fortnite's 13.30 patch is now available, introducing a number of changes to the battle royale. Players have already started sharing patch notes and creating their own documentation of the various mid-season map changes.A fan-made infographic from Reddit user Chazyourboiii goes over the map changes, including an update to the gas stations in Salty Springs and Pleasant Park. There are also Coral buddies who will build you a pyramid in exchange for 300 stone.The fan-compiled patch notes detail a number of changes, mostly in the form of bug fixes. It does show a handful of changes to the battle royale mode, though, like new group challenges and reenabling Whirlpools. The Whirlpools point is also supported by Epic's known issues Trello board. It also suggests that some limited-time modes like Payback, Catch, and One Shot are on the way. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

New Releases is here to highlight some of the top new games launching each week, and this episode features some indies you shouldn't let slip under your radar, like the 8-bit Panzer Paladin, the bloody Carrion, and the snow-covered Roki. Nintendo Switch also proves its power with Crysis Remastered, and Dying Light gets its new Hellraid DLC.Panzer Paladin -- July 21Available on: PC, SwitchThis platformer puts you in control of Flame. The little pilot can take on the game's 17 stages himself or hop into his mech suit to really bring the heat. While in the suit, you can steal weapons from enemies and turn them against your foes, or snap the weapons in half to unleash powerful magic. There are more than 100 of them to wield.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

AMC has announced that Margot Bingham (Boardwalk Empire, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) will be joining the cast of The Walking Dead for its upcoming 11th season. Although the character Bingham will be playing hasn't yet been officially named, eagle-eared fans noticed her in Season 10 as the voice of a mysterious stranger. That character speaking to Josh McDermitt’s Eugene Porter, tracks with the comics as making it likely she will be portraying Stephanie--an enigmatic West Virginia survivor of the zombie outbreak. Her voice can be heard on the Episodes "Bonds" and "Morning Star."The role has all but been confirmed by Skybound Entertainment, the company co-founded by The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman. If this prediction proves true, Stephanie's role will likely serve as the series introduction to the Commonwealth, a massive community that features prominently in later issues of the comic. This is further potentially corroborated by a Deadline interview with Walking Dead Showrunner Angela Kang, who "indicated that the series will go from being set in its usual rural backdrop to more urban environments."My new fam 🥰🙏🏽 #TWD #TWDFamily https://t.co/Jv8TaHLWay — Margot Bingham (@MargotBingham) July 20, 2020AMC's The Walking Dead will be a part of the Comic-Con@Home virtual line-up this Friday at 1 P.M. PT. It's possible that during that panel, AMC will announce a new air date for the show's Season 10 finale. The final episode of the season was previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo is celebrating Splatoon 2's third anniversary by announcing another Splatfest for the game. The event takes place next month, and like May's bonus one-off Splatfest, it's a repeat of a previous theme, this one asking the age-old question: which came first, the chicken or the egg?The event kicks off at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET on August 21 and runs for 48 hours, concluding at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET on August 23. This particular Splatfest was previously held in March 2018 and saw Team Chicken emerge victorious, so egg devotees have a chance to rewrite history.We're getting into the anniversary spirit & taking another crack at a classic #Splatfest question! It’s your second chance to answer the conundrum of which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?Get ready to pick your side when this 48-hour Splatfest begins 8/21 at 3pm PT! pic.twitter.com/1H8yhS1MLO — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 21, 2020To participate in the Splatfest, you'll first need to go to the terminal in Inkopolis Square and choose a side. After you've joined a team, jump into Turf War matches during the event and try to rack up wins for your side. The winning team will be determined by popularity and win percentage. Everyone who participates will take home a handful of Super Sea Snails, which are good for adding new ability slots to a piece of gear or re-rolling one that has already been maxed out.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Xbox Game Pass gives you a large library of games to download for a relatively small monthly fee, extending across both Xbox One and PC. Despite rumors that it could eventually make the jump to other consoles, Xbox's Phil Spencer says this isn't part of the plan.Speaking to GameStar, Spencer explained that it isn't in Microsoft's interest to offer Game Pass on other consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch or PS4, since they cannot also offer the full suite of Xbox features. This includes Xbox Live and Achievement support, which Spencer says creates a feature set that players can depend on where they find Xbox Game Pass."In places where we have brought Xbox, like mobile phones like we're doing now with Project xCloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, what we've done with PC with bringing our full Xbox experience there," Spencer explained. "We know when somebody is playing one of our Xbox games there is an expectation that they've got their Xbox Live community, they have their achievements, Game Pass is an option for me, my first-party library is completely there."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Valorant's 1.04 patch is out, and it takes aim at several of the game's usual suspects. As with several previous patches--most recently 1.02--this one gives Viper some significant buffs, including adjusting the amount of time that she can remain outside of her ult Viper's Pit from 5 to 15 seconds. While in the pit, enemies will now have their minimap obscured, and they will not provide minimap intel to their allies, either.In terms of other characters, Brimstone and Raze received minor nerfs, with the cost of both of their ultimate abilities changed from 6 points to 7 points. Given that they have two of the best ults in the game, this adjustment seems reasonable. However, Brimstone's Stim Beacon will no longer show its effect radius to enemies or buff them, meaning that it's significantly better in certain situations.As with almost all patches, 1.04 introduces several bug fixes to the game, most notably adjusting the Classic pistol's right-click spread-fire to its intended accuracy levels. It also includes a number of cosmetic changes to the game, such as making minimap vision cones color-coded depending on your team. Valorant's previous 1.03 patch rebalanced the Guardian rifle and changed the margins required for a team to surrender in unranked play.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer Hopoo Games has announced that Risk of Rain 2 will leave Steam Early Access on August 11. This 1.0 release--which is dubbed the Launch Update and was previously delayed--will introduce a bunch of new content, including a new playable character, an added final boss and stage, dedicated serves, and more.The Captain, Risk of Rain 2's 10th playable character, will join the roster when the game launches this August. Voted by 60,000 community members, The Captain brings his high-ranking authority and lethal shotgun-rifle combo that stuns targets after charging to the roguelike battlefield. He can command the dropship to send in beacons and probes to provide either armor buffs or healing zones for him and his allies.In addition to the new character, Risk of Rain 2 will also see a brand-new stage: The Moon. This location, where you'll battle against ferocious lunar monsters, will also house the game's true final boss.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After assuring fans that the controversial transphobic content in Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise would be addressed, game director Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro announced a new update for the game on Nintendo Switch has "fixed" the problem area.According to Swery, the game's first patch doesn't change the "important point of the story" but makes a concerted effort to rewrite the scenario in which the transphobic content occurs."The scenario where the problem occurred has been fixed," Swery said in a Twitter statement. "I didn't change the important point of the story of this work, and I was able to make changes only where I wanted to make corrections. Therefore, I am confident that fans who were worried that 'this fix may change the essence of the game' will be reassured."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Many of us have spent the last week or so plowing through Sucker Punch's recently-released samurai game Ghost of Tsushima. However, in the six-year period between the release of the studio's previous game Infamous: Second Son and Tsushima, it appears that Sucker Punch was working on another project titled Prophecy, and it looks a lot like a steampunk Assassin's Creed.As leaked footage reveals, Prophecy would have featured a mix of stealth and combat, as well as a number of alchemy-based weapons to confuse and defeat foes. Some of the swordplay in the demo resembles what would become that katana combat in Ghost of Tsushima, albeit with more of a focus on ambushes from the shadows. There are also some renders of assets and characters from the game in a Resetera thread.Prophecy isn't the only cancelled project to leak recently. Footage of a cancelled Prince of Persia sequel emerged back in May after lurking on YouTube for more than eight years.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer Psyonix has announced that its soccer car game, Rocket League, will be free-to-play this summer on all platforms. The exact date when the game will transition to its new free-to-play model was not confirmed, but as part of this shift the game is also leaving Steam--although existing owners will be able to continue playing it there without issue.Rocket League going free-to-play coincides with a number of changes, including adjustments to the Challenge and Tournament systems. Cross-platform progression for item inventory, Rocket Pass progress, and Competitive Rank will also be introduced with this update. You just have to link your information to a free Epic Games Account; Rocket League will also launch on the Epic Games Store and features cross-platform play with all platforms when it goes free-to-play this summer. It's worth noting that Psyonix was acquired by Epic Games in May 2019, hence why it will launch on the EGS this summer.Unfortunately, this means that after the free-to-play update goes live this summer, new players will no longer be able to download Rocket League from Steam. Still, anyone who already owns it on any platform will get access to all future updates and features at no additional cost. And those who play Rocket League online prior to the free-to-play update will be awarded Legacy status, which comes with a bunch of goodies including all DLC, extra cosmetics, and more. You can check the full list of what comes with Legacy status below:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The US Navy has started banning Twitch viewers for asking about war crimes in chat, according to Kotaku. This comes shortly after the US Army Twitch channel also started banning any users that ask about war crimes.Like the US Army esports channel, the US Navy Twitch channel is a recruitment tool aimed at gamers. The official channel description reads, "Other people will tell you not to stay up all night staring at a screen. We’ll pay you to do it."Phrases like "war crimes" and alternate spellings are banned from chat, but viewers who find an alternative way to ask about war crimes or other issues prevalent in the military, like PTSD, will get banned from the channel. The name "Eddie Gallagher" was briefly on the banned word list, as viewers would refer to the Navy SEAL who was turned in by his own platoon for allegedly murdering a prisoner of war and posing with the body.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In partnership with the Summer Game Fest, Xbox's summer demo event is now live on Xbox One. From now until July 27, you can check out over 70 available demos of unreleased Xbox One games from the comfort of your home.These downloadable Xbox One demos aren't the "normal" demos players have come to understand. Instead of being a polished, vertical slice of an upcoming or soon-to-be-released game, the demos are more akin to "showroom floor" demos, those that appear at trade show conventions and events. In other words, these demos are not necessarily indicative of the game's final, full release.Still, the laundry list of demos available spans a variety of genres, from action-roguelike to casual skateboarding sims and everything in between. There are even highly anticipated games featured in the demo list, including Genesis Noir, Haven by Furi developer The Game Bakers, Cris Tales, and many more.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With Elden Ring news expected in the coming months, it's never been a better time to jump into From Software's beloved Dark Souls series. Thankfully, you can get all of the games and DLC expansions at great prices, thanks to a new Humble sale that discounts the entire franchise. If you're looking to get all three games and everything they offer, all you have to pay is $51.22. See Dark Souls sale at Humble Dark Souls Remastered is currently down to $20. The remaster gave the original game a new coat of paint. It can now run at 4K and 60 FPS, with some changes to how the online multiplayer works--there are now dedicated servers, and up to six players can be in a single world at a time, as opposed to the original's four. Many laud the original as one of the best games ever made. GameSpot's Dark Souls review scored it a 9.5/10, criticizing the original version's frame rate performance, something that's now fixed with the remaster.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Given that going to a theme park might not be at the top of your to-do list during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the parks are coming to you--in a way. Disney has announced a line of products from and inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the Star Wars-themed land at both California's Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.The new line of products includes toys, clothes, and even books that are attempting to bring some of the Galaxy's Edge experience home, even if they can't compete with the unrivaled joy of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the land's signature ride. Among the items you can pre-order now are a radio-controlled BB-unit droid that looks a lot like the ones you can build at Droid Depot in Galaxy's Edge, as well as a Lego version of a transport ship you ride in Rise of the Resistance.There's even a couple of new Black Series action figures available, including one modeled after DJ-R3X, the droid that provides music inside Oga's Cantina. For those that aren't caught up in the Star Wars lore in Disney's parks, the droid, also known as Rex, first appeared as a pilot in the Star Tours attraction between 1987 and 2010. In the parks, the character is voiced by Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com