Vachon Pugh, a game producer on the Hearts of Iron series, faces deportation in Sweden after one of her previous employers failed to pay fees associated with hiring an international worker. Paradox Interactive, the developer and publisher behind Hearts of Iron, is trying to prevent the deportation."I was very surprised and panicked. I contacted my manager and I was completely freaking out," Pugh said of a letter she received from the Swedish Migration Agency in an interview. "I knew it was a risk that it could happen, because when we applied for renewal they asked for additional information, but I thought we had taken care of it and done everything we needed to do."Pugh moved to Sweden from Florida in 2018 and has been employed by two different companies while in abroad before joining Paradox. Her second employer failed to pay out all workplace and pension insurances during her trial period there. Swedish migrations laws had been changed in 2015 so those payments needed to be made during her trial working period meaning the "conditions for [her] previous work permit were not met," according to a letter sent to her by the Swedish Migration Agency.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Nintendo Switch has been difficult to find for months now. But even if you already have one, you might be aware that accessories, namely first-party controllers, have also been in short supply. Joy-Cons and the great Nintendo Switch Pro Controller go in and out of stock almost as much as the console itself. If you've been looking for a Pro Controller to use while your Switch is docked, you can snag one for a discounted price at Amazon and Walmart right now.Nintendo Switch Pro Controller -- $59 (was $70) See at Amazon See at Walmart Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Steam has long featured reviews penned by players as a core part of its user experience. Now, reviews that are rated as particularly "helpful" will display on your Steam front page, as a way of recommending new or popular games. This feature has been dubbed "Community Recommendations."You can check your Store tab on Steam to see the new changes, or head on over to the dedicated Community Recommendations page to see what people are saying. Currently, the page is a good mix of high-profile games that you've likely heard of, such as Grim Dawn or Watch Dogs, and indie fare that might otherwise go unheralded, like the JRPG Aria Chronicle. As RPS noted, however, the blurb offered as preview text isn't always useful, as some reviewers have a tendency to start their reviews with tangents or long introductory text.According to the blog post that announced the launch of Community Recommendations, some other new features will be coming to Steam from Steam Labs in the next few months. Perhaps the most interesting is the concept of "micro trailers," which would offer video previews of games in just a few small seconds.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Join our giveaway for a chance to take home the standard edition of Final Fantasy VII Remake! One grand prize winner will receive the game and a PS4 Pro console. Five additional first prize winners will also take home the standard edition of FF VII Remake.To sign up you need to read the official rules tab, accept the terms and conditions, and fill out the form below. If you have trouble viewing the form on your mobile device, please use this link. Otherwise, make sure your ad blocker is disabled and refresh the page. You can increase your chances of winning by completing any of the additional actions available to get extra entries like subscribing to our YouTube channel or following us on Twitter. And please remember to check your email and junk mail the week of August 3, because we will be reaching out to the potential winners via email.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It's a new week, and that means Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the battle royale game Warzone are being updated with new stuff to keep things fresh and interesting. Activision announced all the new updates in a blog post, and we're rounding them up here by game.Modern Warfare PlaylistsModern Warfare is getting a playlist update this week that will add a new playlist called Party Mode. This includes the One in the Chamber, Gun Game Reloaded, and All or Nothing game modes. Additionally, a 2v2 Gunfight playlist is coming this week.What's more, Activision will add a new 24/7 playlist featuring 8v8 multiplayer on the new Cheshire Park map and Shoot House 24/7.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As part of ESPN's drip-feed reveal of Madden NFL 21's player ratings, the sports network announced that Patrick Mahomes is the game's first 99-rated player. But that's not all. ESPN also released the list of the top 10 highest-rated quarterbacks in the game, and Mahomes is on top of that list as well.Madden NFL 21 cover star Lamar Jackson lands at No. 3 overall with a 94 rating. You can check out the full list of the highest-rated QBs in Madden NFL 21 below.Top 10 Highest-Rated QBs in Madden NFL 21Patrick Mahomes -- 99 OVRRussell Wilson -- 97 OVRLamar Jackson -- 94 OVRDrew Brees -- 93 OVRTom Brady -- 90 OVRAaron Rodgers -- 89 OVRMatt Ryan -- 87 OVRDeshaun Watson -- 86 OVRDak Prescott -- 84 OVRCarson Wentz -- 84 OVRWhile Mahomes might be the highest-rated QB overall, Lamar Jackson is No. 1 when it comes to speed (96). Jackson is known for his rushing and speed--for his rookie season in 2019, Jackson racked up 1,206 rushing yards to break Michael Vick's record for the most by a QB in a single season in NFL history.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

One of the surprises from Ubisoft Forward was the launch of an open beta on PC for Ubisoft's new battle royale game, Hyper Scape. However, fans in Oceania quickly noticed that the game offered a less-than-ideal experience--and that's because there apparently weren't many servers in the region.In a bit of good news, Ubisoft has confirmed it's added a new data center in Australia to help players in the Oceania region have a smoother experience playing the game. The tweet also confirms that players don't need to do anything to access the Oceania servers--local players will be automatically added to them for matches. We’ve heard the feedback from our Oceania players loud and clear- we have added a new data center in Australia. Server is up now, and games are already running. No need to do anything extra on your side, besides go for the Crown! — Hyper Scape (@HyperScapeGame) July 13, 2020Ubisoft has also confirmed that Hyper Scape has introduced new items, including the Javi Rebel skin and the matching Harpy and Pod skins. You can see these in the video below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Crysis Remastered is coming to Switch on July 23, and considering that the original 2007 game famously required a very powerful PC to run, many players are curious about how it will translate to Nintendo's hybrid console. Now, a new (very short) gameplay clip gives us some indication of how it will handle.The three-second clip below, recorded directly from a Switch, shows off the Remastered edition's improved environment destruction and vegetation bending. There's a few other details to glean from it too--like the impressive draw distance--but three seconds isn't much to work with. Still, it confirms that the Switch iteration of the game seeks to improve on the 2007 powerhouse, when often Switch ports are more basic.Check out this sneak-peek of Crysis Remastered’s improved destructible environment and vegetation bending features, captured on Nintendo Switch!Pre-order NOW https://t.co/pogQxlUQy4, learn https://t.co/qzaKzn6YAJ pic.twitter.com/M7phHWvlnE — Crysis (@Crysis) July 13, 2020While the Switch version is launching this month, the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 versions have been delayed, and we'll have to wait to see what further tweaks or improvements they introduce. In a follow-up tweet, the official Crysis account has promised that more news on the other versions will be coming soon.This is the first time the Crysis series has appeared on a Nintendo console. The Switch port is being handled by Saber Interactive, the studio behind the console's version of The Witcher 3. Hopefully Crysis Remastered on Switch will be another strong port. Info from Gamespot.com

In June, Microsoft made the surprise announcement that it was closing its streaming service Mixer, with high-profile streamers Ninja and Shroud leaving the platform to go elsewhere. Now, Spencer has spoken more about the decision to close Mixer, saying he has no regrets."It's obviously a disappointment when you try to grow something to the scale it needs to get to and you don't get there," Spencer told GI.biz. "I don't have regrets. You make decisions with the best information you have at the time, you apply your best effort, and we're in a creative industry. We are in a hits-driven industry."Spencer said he's proud of Microsoft for being a company that is not afraid of trying new things, even when they don't work out. "That is just the art of making video games, and frankly game platforms," he said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Microsoft has bold plans for its future in gaming. In addition to releasing the Xbox Series X this year, Microsoft is launching its game-streaming service, xCloud, to help reach a much bigger audience than the console market alone. In a new interview with GI.biz, Spencer spoke about this strategy and why it's essential to the company's plans to grow its gaming business in the future. Spencer pointed out that Xbox Live is already in a good place with nearly 100 million monthly players across all platforms--including Xbox, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. People who play Minecraft on Nintendo Switch must create an Xbox Live account to play the game on Nintendo's console. PS4 Minecraft players don't need an Xbox Live account, but they must have one to use cross-play. Microsoft is one of the biggest publishers on PS4 thanks to Minecraft. Looking further out, Spencer said xCloud is critical to helping Microsoft reach a wider audience. Simply put, the console market has a ceiling--only so many people can or want to buy a console. With xCloud, Microsoft is bringing Xbox to the billions of mobile devices around the world.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Civilization VI will expand further on July 23 with the Ethiopia Pack, which is available as part of the New Frontier Pass or can be purchased separately for $5. This pack will introduce Ethiopia as a civilization, along with new buildings and a new district. It will also introduce a new mode, as long as you own the Rise and Fall or Gathering Storm expansions.The new mode is called Secret Societies, and it--as you might expect--adds some secret societies to the game world. Discovering one of these societies will unlock a unique, extra-powerful Governor, whose bonuses do not need to be assigned to a specific city.Once a society is uncovered, the player who found it becomes a member of that society for the rest of the game, and if you form an alliance with a player who is also a member your Alliance Points will accumulate faster, and you'll have better diplomacy options. Conversely, players in other societies are going to be your enemies.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Death Stranding is coming to PC on July 14, and at the time of writing a Steam/Epic Games Store release is just 12 hours away. The PC version is being published by 505 Games, and they've released a launch trailer to go over the improvements coming in the PC version, and to introduce some elements of the game to new players.The trailer mixes together cutscenes and cinematic gameplay footage to capture the game's tone and some of its performances, and it shows off the game at 4K, presented in Ultrawide. It also shows off the game's new Very Hard difficulty setting and Half-Life collaborative items. It's also seems to be more-or-less spoiler free.You can get the PC version of Death Stranding for free with certain Nvidia cards, which is a great deal if you want to upgrade your PC for RTX. If you're not sure if your PC can handle the game, check out the minimum and recommended specs. The PC version will be able to achieve frame rates above 100fps.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Deadly Premonition 2 is out now for Switch, but some players of the long-anticipated game have found themselves disappointed over one particular aspect of the game--its treatment of a transgender character. Criticisms leveled against the game have pointed out that the game's characters, including the hero Francis, frequently misgender the character, or use their deadname (the name assigned at birth). Because other dialog within the game positions Francis as an ally, and the game does not always explicitly frame these transphobic actions as wrong, many of the director's fans have been disappointed--especially after trans issues were explored with sensitivity in his previous game, The Missing. Now, Swery has taken to Twitter to apologize and to promise that he will edit "that scene," although which scene he specifically means is unclear. "I realized by pointed out from friends, I might have hurt transgender people in my scenario," he writes. "It wasn't intentional. I am really sorry for that."Good morning everyone.I need to tell you about my apologies about DP2.So I wrote message by myself with Google-sensei.Please forgive my poor english skills.SWERY pic.twitter.com/x5fR114HnF — Hidetaka SWERY Skywalker (@Swery65) July 13, 2020He promises that additional checks will be performed, and asks players not to hate his characters, as any offence caused is his own fault.Deadly Premonition 2 will also hopefully receive a patch to address its appalling frame rate, which is one of the reasons why GameSpot's 5/10 review was less-than-glowing. "Ultimately, Deadly Premonition 2 lacks the emotional resonance found in the first game," reviewer Kurt Indovina wrote. "It's a different brew of coffee from your favorite roaster, but one that's more bitter than you probably hoped for."Info from Gamespot.com

During its Ubisoft Forward presentation on July 12, Ubisoft detailed the major changes and additions it is bringing to Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Though the game struggled out of the gate with Division-like progression and a lack of AI companions, the new options should help make the game feel more like classic Ghost Recon.This biggest change coming to Ghost Recon Breakpoint is the addition of AI Squadmates, which will arrive on July 15 as part of the game's next major update. The full team--composed of Fury, Fixit, and Vasily--can be activated and dismissed at will once you reach the main island. They can be fully customized, will adapt and listen to your commands (i.e. if you go stealth, they'll equip silencers; if you tell them to hold, they'll stay put), and you can synchronize your shots to clear enemy camps out with precision.The update also packages several tweaks to the Gunsmith, allowing for deeper and more varied customization across the game's multiple weapons. Ubisoft also announced that these features can be tested out during Ghost Recon Breakpoint's free play weekend, which will take place between July 16-20. Around the same time, from July 19-29, a new Resistance live event will be free for all players.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The next Star Trek series on CBS All Access will be a bit of a departure from the other shows on the streaming service. Instead of a live-action drama, it will be an animated comedy, and it's called Star Trek: Lower Decks.The latest addition to the Star Trek Universe on CBS All Access--joining Discovery and Picard--arrives on Thursday, August 6. You can check out the first trailer below.This time around, a Star Trek series is focusing on characters you normally wouldn't see on the bridge, helming the ship--according to the official description. "Star Trek: Lower Decks focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com