Following recent allegations against now-former Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail, Ubisoft has issued a public statement on the matter."We have started by launching investigations into the allegations with the support of specialized external consultants," the studio said. "Based on the outcomes, we are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action. As these investigations are ongoing, we can't comment further. We are also auditing our existing policies, processes, and systems to understand where these have broken down, and to ensure we can better prevent, detect, and punish inappropriate behavior."Though the studio didn't go into further detail, Ubisoft said it will be sharing "additional measures" that will be put in place company-wide in the coming days.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sometimes, Marvel Comics creates super villains with complicated, nuanced, tragic backstories that slowly build them into multifaceted characters with flaws and hopes and dreams all their own. Other times, they create villains like MODOK.The Mental (Mobile/Mechanized) Organism Designed Only for Killing, MODOK is--well, exactly that. Extremely on-the-nose name aside, MODOK is about to hit the big time, with both a major villainous role in the upcoming Avengers video game by Crystal Dynamics and his very own animated TV show on Hulu starring Paton Oswalt. So there's never been a better time to learn the ins and outs of Marvel's infamous, uh, giant floating head with baby arms, because as it turns out, there's more to this mental organism than just killing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The first "deep dive" gameplay livestream for Madden NFL 21 was held today. EA Sports showed off the next-generation football game and detailed some of its new features during a broadcast that was held on June 25.The event was broadcast on Twitch, and you can check out a replay below. You can also read the ridiculously in-depth "Gridiron Notes" here to get all the details on what's new in Madden 21. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

One of Microsoft's biggest exclusives of 2020, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, has reached a new milestone. The game's Twitter account announced that the Xbox One and PC game has reached "2 million spirits," which seems to be how many people have tried the game so far.This isn't a direct sales figure, however, as Will of the Wisps is available on Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One and PC like all of Microsoft's games are. Sales figures going forward for Microsoft's games may be harder to pin down specifically and compare to previous titles due to the rise of Xbox Game Pass.Of the 2 million people who have played Will of the Wisps, around 423,000 people beat the game, Moon Studios announced. That works out to a completion rate of around 21 percent. Only 45,000 people completed the game on the Hard difficulty. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Editor's note: Due to embargo restrictions around spoilers, parts of this review are intentionally vague. We've done our best to explain certain parts of the game and our critique without discussing any story spoilers; however, if you want to understand the full context of our analysis here, you can read the spoilery version of this review, which discusses the story in greater detail and further explains our thoughts. That review has the same score and just serves as a deeper, more detailed analysis for those who want to read more.At the beginning of The Last of Us Part II, you get a glimpse of Ellie's life in idyllic Jackson, Wyoming. If it weren't for the walls surrounding the town, you could almost forget that the world is crawling with infectious monsters that would kill everyone in sight; its main road, blanketed in snow, is a charming row of old buildings with decks for sidewalks, more Old West town than post-apocalypse settlement. Its residents grow food, care for horses, tend bars, and even have dances and movie nights. Four years after Joel saved (kidnapped?) Ellie from the Firefly hospital, this is the life he wanted for her.The Last of Us Part II grapples with Joel's decision not through Joel, but through Ellie. This life is clearly not enough for her; she's distant and brooding, obviously conflicted about something. She's changed a lot. And when everything falls apart and she sets out in search of vengeance, you see her pain in its rawest, most brutal form. It's a devastating, gruesome story of revenge in which the purpose of violence gets muddied by its intensity. But as a character study, The Last of Us Part II is beautiful and haunting, and I found myself completely overwhelmed by the emotional weight of it.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's QuakeCon event will take place as an online event. Bethesda has announced "QuakeCon At Home," which is described as a global online event celebrating the company's games and revealing new stuff. The in-person QuakeCon was canceled in March.QuakeCon at Home will take place August 7-9. Viewers can expect livestreams, tournaments, charity fundraising, and "a few fun secrets."This year we’re celebrating #QuakeCon @ Home! Join us for a global online event taking place August 7-9, including livestreams, tournaments, charity fundraising, and a few fun secrets. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks! pic.twitter.com/fGs5JF3k8c — QuakeCon (@QuakeCon) June 25, 2020QuakeCon, which has been running since the '90s, was scheduled to take place from August 6-9 in Texas this year. Like other gaming shows, it was canceled due to the global pandemic.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As part of a Madden NFL 21 livestream broadcast, EA Sports announced that the new professional football game will include one of the biggest changes in years to how the game controls.The ball-carrier controls are changing dramatically. There is now a greater variety of skill moves, which you can access from the right stick exclusively. As you can see in the controller map below, pushing the right stick up now performs a hurdle--in the past, this performed a truck move. Pushing down on the right now creates the new dead leg move. Moving the right stick to either side performs a juke, while a spin move is controlled by rotating the right stick.The "power" running moves are now on the face buttons. As you can see, truck is now performed with the Y button on Xbox One. You can see the full controller map below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There will be a closed beta for Madden NFL 21, developer EA Sports announced during a livestream for the game. This beta was scheduled to start on June 26, but EA had to delay it to sometime in the "coming weeks," the studio said during the presentation.EA also confirmed that while it is not able to conduct an open beta for Madden NFL 21, it hopes to invite as many players as possible into the closed test. You can register here for a chance to get selected.Additionally, EA said it will invite "heavy engagers" to the Madden NFL 21 beta test. So if you play a lot of Madden NFL 20 and its Ultimate Team mode, you might find an invitation in your inbox soon.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Warner Bros. has delayed The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan's mysterious new movie, Tenet, once again. The movie is now due out on August 12, following a delay from July 31.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is pushing the release date once again due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in America.Warner Bros. has released some of its other movies on streaming services, including Scoob!, but the film company won't do this for Tenet, even if it means multiple delays.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Editor's note: You may have seen our spoiler-free The Last of Us Part II review, originally published on June 12, 2020. Due to a strict embargo, we were limited in what aspects of the game we could touch on in that review. Now that the embargo has lifted and the game is now available, I've expanded on my thoughts here; this review has the same arguments and score as the first one and is simply more detailed in my analysis. Note that this review contains spoilers, including one major character death. We also have a full spoiler chat covering every story beat in the game if you're looking for even more in-depth analysis of the story.The Last of Us Part II begins with serious tonal whiplash. One moment, Ellie and her close friend Dina are becoming more than friends in a basement filled with weed plants and Naughty Dog porn puns; the next, Joel is being savagely beaten to death with a golf club. It's the first of many, many gruesome deaths. Some happen whether you want them to or not, in intimate cutscenes that are hard to watch, while others happen just because an NPC got in between you and your objective and killing them was the easiest thing to do. Either way, that brief glimpse of happiness at the beginning is left very much in the dust.But while the scale and severity of death and loss in this game is incredibly high, The Last of Us Part II is more a character study than a musing on the nature of violence. On that front, the story of Ellie, her playable foil Abby, and their quests for revenge and redemption is a gripping and harrowing one, and I found myself deeply emotionally entangled with each woman and her strengths and flaws. The bloodshed is very much a part of that story, but it's far from the most effective one, and it's where the game stumbles a bit.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As recent social unrest has dominoed into a series of moves to enact increased sensitivity from major brands, organizations, and cities nationwide, one of the latest ripples is a Change.org petition that wants to rename celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio to Flavortown. As of this writing, the petition has 75,174 signatories of a hopeful goal of 150,000.The pitch from Murfreesboro, Tennessee's Tyler Woodbridge, the self-proclaimed "Flavortown ambassador to Tennessee," reads: "Columbus is an amazing city, but one whose name is tarnished by the very name itself. Its namesake, Christopher Columbus, is in The Bad Place because of all his raping, slave trading, and genocide. That's not exactly a proud legacy."The 32-year-old Woodbridge, who spent over seven years of his life in Columbus, told CNN that the city’s recent removal of a Christopher Columbus statue wasn’t sufficient. "Even though it's my favorite city, I was always a bit ashamed of the name," he told CNN.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of our most anticipated games of 2020, but due to the latest delay, it's going to release near the end of the year. Cyberpunk 2077 will now release November 19, and if you're feeling sad about the recent delay, GOG has some free stuff to make you feel a little better.From now until July 4, you can claim the Cyberpunk 2077 Goodies Collection for free on GOG's homepage. The Goodies Collection includes both previously released Cyberpunk 2077 content as well as never-before-seen items. The bundle gets you printable posters, digital wallpapers, gang graffiti, and steelbook art. You'll also get detailed screenshots and weapon blueprints for the upcoming game.If you still need to pre-order Cyberpunk 2077, one of GOG's best deals is back as well. The Ultimate Red Collection bundles Cyberpunk 2077 with copies of every Witcher game for $87.77. You'll receive Cyberpunk 2077's general pre-order bonuses along with GOG's exclusive bonuses, and for a limited time, you'll also receive discount codes for merch at the CDPR merch store, Jinx, and Dark Horse / Things From Another World. Here's everything the bundle gets you:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Hideo Kojima's cancelled Silent Hills will probably never see the light of day, but the legacy of its teaser PT lives on. Recently, the French gaming site Gameblog.fr published a report that claimed that PT was developed by a small team in Kojima Productions without the knowledge of Konami, the game's publisher. However, Kojima Productions has now released a statement, saying that these claims are without merit."KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS normally does not comment on rumors or speculation, however we can confirm that the article recently posted on https://t.co/zDfUnEnnip is categorically false." - Jay Boor, Global Head of Marketing and Communications https://t.co/d3o5rV0K0O — KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) June 24, 2020Rumors surrounding the acrimonious 2015 split between Kojima and Konami have raged in the years since the cancellation of the highly-anticipated Silent Hills. According to reports from anonymous employees, the bulk of the conflict stemmed from issues that arose during the production of the critically-acclaimed Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Many observers have noted that MGSV is unfinished in many aspects towards the end of the game, which many chalk up to disagreements between Konami and Kojima. Kojima left Konami in 2015.PT was delisted from the PlayStation Store in 2015, and there have been several attempts to remake the game over the years. Recently, rumors surrounding yet another Silent Hill revival have swirled, but so far, the surprise addition of series antagonist Pyramid Head and Silent Hill 3 protagonist Cheryl Mason to Dead by Daylight is the only tangible movement we've seen on that front.Info from Gamespot.com

The Avengers War Table stream gave more details on the upcoming superhero game from Crystal Dynamics, and opened with a big story reveal that outlined the central villain. The presentation also shared loads of gameplay details, including customization options and an in-depth look at Thor. We also got to see just how the game will be structured in between missions and how you will be able to join up with others online to play cooperatively. This includes the ability to deliver devastating finishing moves together. MODOKAs detailed in the new trailer, the protagonist Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel) doesn't trust the promises of AIM, an organization founded by Dr. George Tarleton. Khan believes AIM is experimenting on humans and framed the Avengers. At one point, the trailer also mentions that AIM is looking to cure the "Inhuman infection," and comic fans may recognize that Kamala herself is an Inhuman.Later in the video, Tarleton appears to confront Kamala and attempts to recruit her to his side, but she refuses. By the end of the trailer, Tarleton has become the supervillain MODOK, complete with his enormous head and mechanized hovercraft.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A bunch of upcoming Xbox One games have been highlighted in a new series by Microsoft's ID@Xbox division. The Summer Spotlight Series specifically targets smaller projects by smaller teams, giving us a brand-new look at titles like Carrion, Dead Static Drive, SkateBird, and more.The series consists of six videos, with each one diving into and showing off new games and gameplay. The videos themselves are short and feature someone from the development team of each spotlighted game discussing what the game is about, how the game plays, and, in some instances, a vague release window. You can check out the first Summer Spotlight Series video below.Some of the videos also include footage newly released or highly anticipated titles, such as Cyber Shadow, ScourgeBringer, Super Meat Boy Forever. Below is a full list of all the games mentioned in the Summer Spotlight Series.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com