https://www.thegamer.com TheGamer brings you all the news for your favourite live-service games, from season events to new expansions. Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:24:48 GMT en-US hourly 60 Like the previous game in the series, Diablo 4 requires a constant internet connection, even if you just want to play on your own. Due to this, Blizzard is reminding players that any mods, even ones that are purely cosmetic, are banned from the game altogether, as the studio has a zero-tolerance policy on third-party software.

]]> Sat, 29 Jul 2023 14:24:48 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-will-perma-ban-players-using-any-mods/ This year's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest took place in Las Vegas yesterday, in which director Naoki Yoshida (also known as Yoshi-P) took to the stage to announce the game's next big expansion. However, the trailer for Dawntrail wasn't the only big talking point after the show. Shortly after the trailer went live, Yoshi-P revealed that the expansion will bring with it two new DPS jobs, one melee and one ranged magical.

]]> Sat, 29 Jul 2023 13:00:22 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/yoshi-p-tmnt-shirt-reveal-final-fantasy-14-fan-fest-dawntrail/ This year's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest had an unexpected visitor today, as Xbox head Phil Spencer took to the stage during the announcement that Final Fantasy 14 is finally coming to Xbox consoles after having only been available on PlayStation consoles for a number of years.

]]> Fri, 28 Jul 2023 19:06:48 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-14-coming-xbox/ Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has finally addressed the prolonged absence of Travis Scott in Fortnite, claiming the rapper is "welcome" but isn't aware of deals with brands and celebrities when it comes to the Item Store.

]]> Thu, 27 Jul 2023 22:38:49 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/epic-ceo-addresses-travis-scott-fortnite-return/ It's safe to say that the launch of Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant has been a bit of a disaster. A pre-season patch that nerfed pretty much every class and completely butchered Sorcerers caused widespread outrage amongst the community, becoming so bad that Blizzard had to address the issues in a developer livestream that took place last week. Fixes have been promised and the anger had been quelled slightly, but Diablo 4 players have already found something else to direct their ire towards - the game's Battle Pass.

]]> Mon, 24 Jul 2023 23:00:22 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-first-battle-pass-not-enough-platinum-to-buy-anything/ After years of rumours, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 remake is finally on the way. This is at least according to a leaked promotion from Monster Energy, giving us our first look at what could be the official logo for the unannounced game.

]]> Mon, 24 Jul 2023 18:30:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/call-of-duty-warfare-3-remake-leak-confirmed-monster-energy/ Multiple sources from Seoul, South Korea, report that a huge Genshin Impact event has been evacuated following a bomb threat. This reportedly stems from an anonymous Twitter user, who shared an image of what they claimed to be a bomb. In a Sinophobic tweet, they reportedly said they wanted to kill Genshin Impact players, and implied they had already planted the bomb in the arena.

]]> Sat, 22 Jul 2023 14:29:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/genshin-impact-event-bomb-threat-shutdown-korea/ Diablo 4's latest patch has gone down like a lead balloon, nerfing pretty much all classes and making the endgame more of a chore in the process. However, not all of the patch was dedicated to nerfs, as Blizzard has introduced a number of new Uniques to Diablo 4 for players to find during the Season of the Malignant. There's one Unique for each class, along with a neutral one for everyone, but just like with the patch itself, Sorcerers have been dealt a bad hand.

]]> Sat, 22 Jul 2023 13:01:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-the-oculus-unique-sorcerers-making-players-nauseous/ Pokemon Sleep isn't a Pokemon game in the traditional sense. However, that hasn't stopped it from being one of the hardest in the series for some. As players are sharing online, Pokemon Sleep is expecting its users to get 8.5 hours of rest a night - something that's an impossibility for so many of us. I mean, who has the time?

]]> Sat, 22 Jul 2023 12:49:57 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-sleep-too-hard-to-get-8-hours-of-rest/ Diablo 4 hasn't had a great week, as the game's latest patch caused widespread fury amongst the game's community. In an effort the quell the anger, Blizzard held a Campfire Chat earlier today to address the issues and explain why certain decisions were made regarding unpopular nerfs and changes.

]]> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 20:48:48 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-changes-patch-nerf-backlash/ Almost 4,000 Roblox users have had their personal information leaked after unauthorized parties gained access to profile data. This information includes full names, phone numbers, IP addresses, and even T-shirt sizes.

]]> Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:07:53 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/4000-roblox-users-doxxed-in-data-leak/ Diablo 4's latest patch has caused a bit of an uproar amongst the diehard faithfuls out there, and that's putting it pretty mildly. Not only have they promised to delete the game in protest of recent nerfs to Sorcerers and other classes, but they've also been review bombing Diablo 4's Metacritic page on mass, with hundreds of negative reviews tanking the game's already iffy user rating to a dismal 2.5. It's a very unpopular patch is what I'm trying to say.

]]> Thu, 20 Jul 2023 20:08:38 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-rolling-back-changes-latest-patch/ It's going from bad to worse for Blizzard, as the latest patch for Diablo 4 continues to irk hardcore fans. Earlier this week, Blizzard released the first patch for Diablo 4 right before the start of the game's Season of the Malignant, one which heavily nerfed every single class the game currently has to offer and has made Sorcerers pretty much unviable for the end game, despite it already being the weakest class.

]]> Wed, 19 Jul 2023 23:20:59 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-review-bombed-again-season-1-patch/ For a while now, Blizzard fans on PC have had to begrudgingly put up with Battle.net, the developer's very own launcher that it uses to boot up pretty much every game released by Activision Blizzard. It's a pain in the neck for any PC player to have to constantly download launchers for different games, but Battle.net is a particularly annoying example of a developer forcing its fans to put up with a subpar launcher when Steam is already installed on 90 percent of computers at this point.

]]> Wed, 19 Jul 2023 22:25:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-blizzard-games-coming-to-steam/ With the imminent start of Diablo 4's Season of the Malignant, Blizzard has released a pre-season update to make sure everything's in ship shape before the game boots up into high gear. Unfortunately for Blizzard, the reception to the game's first major patch is pretty negative, and that's being kind. Instead of getting everyone excited, the patch has managed to irritate pretty much every Diablo 4 player out there, especially Sorcerers who appear to have been hit the hardest despite being arguably the weakest class in the game.

]]> Tue, 18 Jul 2023 23:25:57 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4s-latest-patch-nerf-sorcerers/ Destiny 2 fans disappointed by the lack of direct communication with Bungie's community managers aren't going to have their concerns addressed anytime soon, as a developer confirms that there's no plan for CMs to return to the subreddit. This comes after multiple instances of harassment towards devs speaking with the playerbase, apparently making it unsafe for them to even use a generic, shared account rather than their personal profiles.

]]> Tue, 18 Jul 2023 16:06:46 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/destiny-subreddit-bungie-dev-responce-abuse-not-returning/ If you're going into a Diablo game expecting to have unique and constantly new content thrown at you throughout your entire experience, you're going to be pretty disappointed. Diablo is a series all about the grind, running dungeons over and over until you acquire the best gear your patience allows. Most players go in expecting a bit of repetitivity, which makes complaints surrounding dungeon bosses all the more surprising.

]]> Tue, 18 Jul 2023 00:02:31 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-fans-fed-up-repetitive-dungeon-bosses/ Assassin's Creed's upcoming mobile game Codename Jade is getting a closed beta, and you can sign up now. The beta period will start on August 3, available on both iOS and Android.

]]> Mon, 17 Jul 2023 16:00:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/assassins-creed-codename-jade-closed-beta-starts-date/ Diablo 4 players are an intense bunch, which should probably be expected considering its a series all about devils and grinding for rare loot. When it comes to the grind, there's absolutely no messing about, which has proven the case ahead of the game's highly anticipated first season launch next week, as some players have already created maps with optimal grinding routes to ensure they earn Renown as quickly as physcially possible.

]]> Sun, 16 Jul 2023 14:00:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-players-figured-out-optimal-grind-routes-season-1/ Diablo 4 has you dishing out some pretty ridiculous damage in the late game, as you take on more and more challenges to become as powerful as you can possibly be. I consider it a win if I deal over a million damage to one of my enemies, but that's nothing compared to a bunch of Diablo 4 streamers that are managing to dish out billions of damage with relative ease.

]]> Wed, 12 Jul 2023 02:06:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-druid-2-billion-damage-one-hit/ Palia was recently shown off during the latest Nintendo Direct, an adorable and cozy life sim that is also an MMO, allowing you to explore and live in a world amongst fellow players. It's an idea we haven't really seen before despite the two genres sharing an alarming amount of similarities, and developer Singularity 6 is hoping it can take the game's strong Alpha performance and build upon it in Palia's closed beta which begins on August 2.

]]> Tue, 11 Jul 2023 21:25:54 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/palia-life-sim-mmo-closed-beta-august-2/ Diablo 4 isn't heading to Xbox Game Pass anytime soon, says Blizzard. This comes after a Brazillian advert circulated online, saying that the latest Diablo title was "available now" on Game Pass. This led many to assume that some kind of promotion would be announced soon, possibly even before the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition goes ahead.

]]> Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:24:54 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-game-pass-rumour-not-happening/ Diablo 4's community has just had a pretty chaotic 24 hours, as Blizzard made a bit of a whoopsie with the game's latest patch. Earlier today, players noticed that the drop rate of the game's Uber Unique gear from Helltide Chests had been significantly increased, gear that was previously so rare that player's have been having constant arguments as to whether even bother farming for it. Instead of dropping once every blue moon, the Harlequin Crest (which fans affectionately refer to as the Shako) was dropping with alarming consistency.

]]> Fri, 07 Jul 2023 23:09:35 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-uber-unique-drop-bug-players-accuse-blizzard-hotfixing-fun/ Diablo fans have been treated with a slew of new content across the series today, as Blizzard has been providing updates on titles such as Diablo 4 and Diablo: Immortal. Alongside the news that Diablo 4's Season of the Malignent will begin later this monht on July 20, a new Blood Knight class was also revealed for Diablo: Immortal, the first time any Diablo title has received a new class for over nine years.

]]> Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:55:52 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-new-class-blood-knight/ Naraka: Bladepoint is finally coming to PlayStation 5 on July 13 while also shifting to free-to-play across all platforms. Instead of forking out £18 to give it a try, you can download it and jump in without paying a penny, but there's still DLC up for grabs if you find yourself wanting more.

]]> Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:19:48 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/naraka-bladepoint-playstation-5-free-to-play/ For a lot of Diablo 4 players, the sight of a Treasure Goblin is a moment to celebrate, as pummelling them into smithereens is a sure fire way to grab yourself some pretty great gear. To make things even better, they're usually completely harmless, meaning you can pummell away without the fear of the poor goblin retaliating and killing your character. Note the word "usually" though, as a new bug introduced in the latest Diablo 4 patch has turned them into killing machines capable of one-shotting even the most powerful character.

]]> Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:00:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-treasure-goblins-bug-killing-players/ ESO players marched across Vvardenfell's mushroom-laden isle this year in celebration of Pride, telling gamers everywhere that they belong while celebrating who they are. This was organised by Twitch streamer Locke who, along with moonxdaughter, ficusfox, Zharwyn, elsyarts, gwentthebard, theelvishwolf, and Sindradottir, raised over $6,000 for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project.

]]> Fri, 30 Jun 2023 09:40:46 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-pride-month-parade-importance-interviews/ Pokemon Go developer Niantic has announced that it will be moving away from in-house development and shutting down its studio in Los Angeles, resulting in 230 people being laid off. It also announced that it will be sunsetting NBA All-World and stopping production on Marvel: World of Heroes. Niantic has claimed in a blog post that the reason behind the cancellations is so it can focus on games that "most strongly embody our core values of location and local social communities."

]]> Thu, 29 Jun 2023 22:25:30 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-go-niantic-layoffs-marvel-nba-games-cancelled/ Street Fighter 6 players have discovered a new exploit that makes you completely invulnerable to throws and most attacks. As put by AnimeIsntRealMyGuy on Reddit, "If you get thrown, you tech the throw. If they meaty, you block the meaty. If they shimmy, you don't do anything and don't get whiffed punished". Basically, you can automate all defences, meaning that you don't need to react in real time to what attacks are coming your way. You'll simply be invulnerable.

]]> Wed, 28 Jun 2023 10:57:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/street-fighter-6-ranked-exploit-invulernable-throws/ Diablo fans will be well aware that one of the biggest parts of the game is all about the grind. Each game has a host of rare drops for players to find, with only the most dedicated players willing to spend enough time to grab the rarest loot on offer. Diablo 4 is no exception, although there are a handful of items that the vast majority of players will never acquire, no matter how long they try to find them, and it's causing a stir amongst the Diablo faithful.

]]> Wed, 28 Jun 2023 03:10:20 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-unique-gear-rare-fans-arguing/ GTA Online finally got its next-gen update back in March 2022, implementing new features like the career builder intro, faster cars, time trials, the GTA+ subscription, and ray-tracing, but over a year later, PC still has yet to receive an update to the Expanded & Enhanced edition.

]]> Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:04:56 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/grand-theft-auto-online-enhanced-and-expanded-version-pc-players-furious/ When it was revealed that the latest Crash Bandicoot developer, Toys for Bob, was getting moved into the Call of Duty mines, many fans saw that as a sign the series was going on hiatus once again. But even when the studio showed its face with a brand new Crash game, it did little to reassure fans, as it became apparent that Crash Team Rumble is a live service. Some saw it as the final nail in the coffin, with Activision only seeing the series as a chance to make some microtransaction money.

]]> Tue, 20 Jun 2023 16:48:33 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/crash-bandicoot-sequel-team-rumble-activision-future-of-series/ Since Overwatch launched in 2016, I don't think a season has passed without complaints from fans. We like to look back on the past with rose-tinted shades and hate whatever is put in front of us at any given moment. That being said, it definitely seems that the unanimous backlash this past week is warranted, because the fifth season of Overwatch 2 has been a disaster.

]]> Sat, 17 Jun 2023 14:01:56 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-on-fire-buggy-broken-starts-before-match/ Street Fighter 6 lets you make your characters as part of its World Tour campaign, but you can bring these fighters outside of the world of PvE to battle other players. Since they're completely customisable down to the gear, that means you can get inventive with your appearance and style, but some have found a way to exploit that. You can enlarge accessories to a silly degree, meaning you can cover yourself in gigantic gloves and make it impossible for enemies to see you.

]]> Sat, 17 Jun 2023 14:00:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/street-fighter-6-world-tour-avatar-exploit-giant-accessories/ Redfall was an odd game before it had even launched. While undoubtedly keeping the Arkane artstyle, the choice to make a live service right off the back of (mostly) single-player hits like Deathloop and the Dishonoured series felt like a huge departure for the studio. But it was perhaps because this departure was so brave that many set their expectations high, only to have them crushed on launch day.

]]> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 16:32:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/redfall-failure-xboxs-fault-arkane-blame/ Earlier this week, leakers revealed 19 of the 24 characters allegedly making up Mortal Kombat 1's roster. Surprisingly, there are a few obscure 3D-era fighters, such as Havik, Reiko, Nitara, Li Mei, and Ashrah, but Ed Boon has confirmed that NetherRealm is pulling from the 3D era, lending credence to these leaker's claims.

]]> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:52:21 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/ed-boon-mortal-kombat-1-roster-3d-era-fighters/ In Payday and Payday 2, heists can go one of two ways - you sneak in, get what you came for, and sneak back out, or you charge in and fight off hordes of cops as you scramble to escape with the loot. It's usually better to play it stealthily, but Payday 3 is offering a third option - hostages.

]]> Thu, 15 Jun 2023 11:56:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/payday-3-hostages-stealth-loud/ One of gaming's most infamous secret levels is the hidden cow level in Diablo 2, which Blizzard added to the game after fans of the first game searched high and low for one to no avail. Ever since, Blizzard has made the occasional nod to the joke by adding secret levels to titles such as Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft, which has people wondering if the recently released Diablo 4 also has one tucked away somewhere as well.

]]> Wed, 14 Jun 2023 02:28:21 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-players-searching-cow-level/ Over the course of its life, GTA Online has been steadily improved by developer Rockstar, as the studio has slowly been adding new content, quality of life improvements, and much, much more. For example, two rather popular changes introduced in the recent San Andreas Mercenaries update which dropped earlier today include an alternative sprinting method that won't destroy your thumbs, and some outfits worn by GTA protagonists from the older games.

]]> Tue, 13 Jun 2023 21:41:38 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/gta-online-update-removes-180-cars-fans-furious/ Grand Theft Auto Online rolled out the Mercenaries update today, bringing with it new quality-of-life options, an alternative sprint control, and updates to the Creator. But what Rockstar kept quiet was that it added a few more easter eggs from past GTA games, as you can now pick up Niko's outfit from GTA 4 and Claude's outfit from GTA 3.

]]> Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:39:47 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/grand-theft-auto-online-niko-claude-outfits-gta-3-gta-4/ Ubisoft just dropped a wild crossover on us, as it's revealed that Master Chief is coming to Brawlhalla. This news comes from the Ubisoft Forward showcase, giving fans a taste of what they can expect from the publisher in 2023 and beyond

]]> Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:49:32 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/master-chief-brawlhalla-halo-update/ Overwatch 2's story missions will kick off this August, with a new trailer teasing the Invasion missions. These will centre around an Omnic uprising and offer new ways to play select heroes.

]]> Sun, 11 Jun 2023 17:47:53 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/downgraded-overwatch-story-mode-missions-release-date/ Fallout 76 is celebrating 15 million players with a brand new expedition - and it's kinda giving us New Vegas vibes. At least in its aesthetic anyway, as the next expansion will take us to Atlantic City, complete with a bunch of casinos and 1940s America cosplay.

]]> Sun, 11 Jun 2023 17:30:54 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fallout-76-road-to-atlantic-city-expansion/ Updated June 11, 2023 at 20:54 BST: TimTheTatman's skin is now being removed from Call of Duty. An Activision representative told Axios reporter Stephen Totilo, "At Tim's request, we have removed the [...] operator bundle from the Modern Warfare II and the Warzone store." Original story follows.

]]> Sun, 11 Jun 2023 12:35:47 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/timthetatman-call-of-duty-warzone-modern-warfare-2-nickmercs-homophobic-lgbtq/ Overwatch's first-ever pride event has just launched in Poland and Romania, following backlash from queer players in these countries. The Pride features should appear once the game has been reset, letting Polish and Romanian players access the LGBTQ-themed profile pictures and profile banners, and of course, the Pride parade makeover of the map Midtown.

]]> Sat, 10 Jun 2023 11:39:41 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-pride-poland-romania-added/ Fans of Diablo 4 will be very aware that the game's Hardcore Mode is no joke. Not only does it ratchet up the difficulty to ridiculous levels, but it also means that you're character is permanently deleted if you die even once. For many, reaching level 100 in this mode is the ultimate challenge, something that Diablo streamer cArn recently accomplished, even if he did lose his character shortly afterwards due to a random disconnect.

]]> Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:25:43 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-hardest-boss-beaten-hardcore-mode/ Activision has pulled the Nickmercs Operator Bundle from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone in-game stores, following homophobic comments made by the streamer earlier this week.

]]> Fri, 09 Jun 2023 09:52:40 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/call-of-duty-removes-nickmercs-operator-bundle-after-homophobic-comments-warzone-modern-warfare/ Crash Team Rumble is set to release later this month, which brings a bunch of classic Crash Bandicoot characters together for a throwdown. Crash, Coco, and Tawna are all there, including a couple of villains such as Neo Cortex and Dingodile. Well, the villainous side of Crash Team Rumble just got a little big bigger, as it was announced during Summer Game Fest that classic bad guys Ripper Roo and N.Gin will be added to the game at some point in Season 1.

]]> Thu, 08 Jun 2023 19:58:54 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/ripperoo-ngin-crash-team-rumble-summer-games-fest-2023/ Earlier this week, a Diablo 4 streamer called Souaïb "carn" Hanaf won the Diablo 4 race and became the first player to reach level 100 on Hardcore Mode. Given how massive the launch of Diablo 4 has been so far, with players already having racked up over 10,000 years of playtime between them, this is a rather impressive accomplishment, albeit at the expense of Hanaf's mind, body, and soul. However, he hasn't been able to celebrate reaching the milestone for very long, as he's now lost the character through no fault of his own.

]]> Thu, 08 Jun 2023 01:58:56 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-player-loses-level-100-hardcore-character-disconnect/ Diablo 4 has been out for a day and has already proven itself to be a huge hit. It's not only the fastest-selling Blizzard game of all time, but it has been played for 93 million hours, which is roughly 10,616 years.

]]> Wed, 07 Jun 2023 12:08:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-playtime-93-million-hours/ Warning, spoilers for The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom.

]]> Wed, 07 Jun 2023 08:46:47 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/elder-scrolls-online-necrom-has-its-own-oblivion-twist/ Star Wars: The Old Republic has been going for a number of years now, as developer BioWare has been steadily supporting the MMO since it launched way back in 2008. However, it seems like the days of BioWare working on the title may be over, as it's being reported that publisher EA is nearing an agreement to shift development to a third-party studio so BioWare can focus properly on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games.

]]> Tue, 06 Jun 2023 21:40:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/star-wars-the-old-republic-changing-developers-bioware-focus-on-dragon-age-mass-effect/ It seems no amount of preparation was quite enough for Diablo 4’s launch day to go off without at least a slight hitch. While Deluxe Edition pre-orders were able to play during Diablo 4’s early access period, the flood of players on launch day was just too much for Blizzard’s authentication servers.

]]> Tue, 06 Jun 2023 13:54:55 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-launch-day-server-problems-class-war/ Diablo 4 is finally here, and while launch day hasn't gone off entirely without issues, there are still plenty of Nephalem stomping their way through Sanctuary happily murdering the forces of evil. Unfortunately, there's one demon that players can never slay, and that's capitalism.

]]> Tue, 06 Jun 2023 13:31:21 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-horse-armor-cosmetics-expensive/ So far, Diablo 4 is handling its early access launch pretty well. There have been no reports of servers slammed hard enough to start disconnecting players (as happened during Diablo 4's earlier beta tests), and while certain classes and builds seem to need some tweaking, players are reporting fun times slaying the forces of hell once again.

]]> Mon, 05 Jun 2023 13:50:47 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-getting-two-expansions/ Street Fighter 6 launched a few days ago with a robust character creator that lets you bring to life an avatar who can compete with strangers in one-on-one duels and explore a fleshed-out world where Ryu struggles to text back. That world comes with clothing and other apparel stores that, combined, have let fans bring to life all sorts of characters, from Kratos the god slayer to Heisenberg the meth cook.

]]> Mon, 05 Jun 2023 08:40:11 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/street-fighter-6-character-creator-kratos-omni-man-walter-white/ Overwatch 2 players in Central and Eastern Europe are shocked to find that they can't access the Pride event, even if their country doesn't have any laws against LGBTQ+ material. While Blizzard hasn't confirmed which countries won't be able to participate in the event, players in Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Lithuania say that it's not appearing on their accounts.

]]> Fri, 02 Jun 2023 17:50:43 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-pride-event-update-banned-european-countries-poland-hungary-romania/ One of Overwatch 2's maps, Midtown, has received a redesign for Pride Month, decking the street out like a big city Pride parade. But the various rainbows and festivities are far from its best feature. As spotted by players trying out the new take on the map, the update has removed all the cop cars that usually line the street, proving once and for all that they don't have a place at Pride.

]]> Fri, 02 Jun 2023 12:15:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-deletes-cops-for-pride-event-midtown/ A former Blizzard employee said he was fired for making jokes about corporate greed for World of Warcraft. However, the jokes were written in-universe and were only appropriate for the character that spoke them.

]]> Thu, 01 Jun 2023 13:51:32 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/world-of-warcraft-wow-writer-blizzard-fired-capitalist-jokes/ Earlier this month, Fortnite vaulted Trios in what was seen as a pretty baffling move from Epic Games, even among those unfamiliar with the game itself. To make matters worse, Epic offered up very little in way of an explanation as to why Trios was taken away, leaving fans pretty peeved considering a lot of people were made to play in Squads and forced to find an extra player if they wanted to keep their gang together.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 20:40:52 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-unvaulting-trios-ranked/ Blizzard has been doing some truly bizarre promotions in preparation for the launch of Diablo 4. First, it was a partnership with KFC where anyone who ordered a Double Down "sandwich" would get access to an exclusive beta test. Before that, it was a partnership with Thumbtack that would send people to your house to clean and do chores while you spent all weekend slaying the minions of hell.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 18:46:33 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-second-kfc-crossover/ Last December, The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red announced plans to end official support for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game in 2023. While the Polish publisher agreed to continue hosting tournaments and release three new expansions in April, July, and September, the plan was to transition Gwent "into the hands of the community" by 2024.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 18:44:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/cd-projekt-red-gwent-the-witcher-layoffs/ Following Diablo 4’s server slam weekend, Blizzard says that it’s ready for the game’s launch.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 13:36:28 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/diablo-4-servers-prepared-for-launch-traffic/ Overwatch 2 is celebrating Pride Month with a themed event that brings with it a whole host of cosmetics, but senior game producer Brandy Stiles has stated that the event will be blocked in certain countries.

]]> Wed, 31 May 2023 12:13:59 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-pride-event-blocked-specific-countries/ Overwatch 2's yearly Pride event is set to begin next month, and Blizzard has already begun getting players nice and ready by outlining exactly what they can expect from next month's update. Alongside in-game gifts such as Player Icons and Name Cards, Blizzard has given Pharah x Mercy shippers the greatest gift of all - the confirmation that Pharah is a lesbian.

]]> Tue, 30 May 2023 23:14:13 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-pride-pharah-lesbian/ Silent Hill: Ascension just received its first real trailer since the "interactive experience" was announced during Konami's Silent Hill showcase last October.

]]> Tue, 30 May 2023 13:18:47 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-ascension-trailer/ Last Thursday, Future Games Show hosted a Q&A session with Diablo 4 game director Joseph Piepiora and art director John Mueller. The questions themselves were banal and the answers uninteresting, but what was more interesting were the accounts where the questions supposedly came from.

]]> Mon, 29 May 2023 15:51:26 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/blizzard-accused-making-fake-accounts-diablo-4-qa/ FIFA 23's latest squad update has removed Brentford striker Ivan Toney from the game after he was hit with an eight month ban by England's Football Association for betting against his own team. According to Sky News, Toney bet against his own team 13 times between August 2017 and March 2018 – 11 times against former team, Newcastle United, and twice against the team he was loaned to, Wigan.

]]> Sun, 28 May 2023 10:16:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fifa-23-selling-loot-boxes-removed-ivan-toney-over-gambling/ Epic really hasn't been having much luck when it comes to adding new items to Fortnite during its current chapter. After waving goodbye to the Shockwave Hammer, the studio attempted to introduce the Kinetic Blade. Now that has been vaulted too, possibly for good, and players aren't happy about it for a number of reasons.

]]> Fri, 26 May 2023 12:50:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-fans-unhappy-kinetic-blade-vaulted/ Well over a year after Microsoft announced plans to buy Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion, the saga rages on. An unexpected twist appeared in its tale last month as the UK's CMA blocked the deal while the European Commission approved it. The latter has now explained why its views don't align with the CMA's, citing why it has no reason to believe Xbox owning the Call of Duty studio will give it a leg up on PlayStation.

]]> Fri, 26 May 2023 12:11:17 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/xbox-owning-call-of-duty-not-unfair-playstation-eu/ Most weapons in Fortnite have been nerfed and buffed multiple times over the years, but not the grenade. Five years on, Fortnite's grenades have dealt the same amount of damage to players and buildings as they always have. That's until now as Epic has rolled out its first nerf in half a decade.

]]> Thu, 25 May 2023 09:09:38 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-nerfs-grenades-after-five-years/ Bungie has given us our first teaser for The Final Shape, Destiny 2's final expansion following Lightfall. According to the teaser, we'll learn more during the Destiny showcase later in August. Oh, and also, Cayde's back.

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 21:42:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/cayde-returns-in-destiny-2-the-final-shape/ Fortnite's Star Wars season is over as we say hello to Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099, but while many are busy swinging through Mega City and summoning Spider-Ham for a cartoon mallet, others are wondering what happened with the Droid tease.

]]> Wed, 24 May 2023 09:53:18 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-star-wars-droid-tease-fans-confused-reddit/ Activision Blizzard has been fined €5000 for failing to disclose the presence of loot boxes to the PEGI rating agency in Diablo Immortal. Hunt: Showdown publisher Plaion was fined the same amount for the same reason.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 19:08:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/activision-blizzard-fined-diablo-immortal-loot-boxes-pegi/ An Apex Legends player in an all-women tournament was accused of transphobia leading to the disqualification of a team with trans players. That disqualification was later rescinded and the team remains in contention for a $100,000 grand prize. The team accused of transphobia, however, was later disqualified after the incident was investigated.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 18:13:14 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/apex-legends-all-women-team-transphobia/ Activision has seemingly shut down long-running mod projects used to improve online play in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. X Labs, which describes itself as a modding "laboratory", says it has been issued a cease and desist, forcing it to shut down its mods, including fan-run Modern Warfare 2 servers.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 12:12:53 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/x-labs-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-shut-down-mods-servers/ It's perhaps the nightmare of many parents. Waking up to see a notification that thousands have somehow been deducted from the bank account. Thoughts might turn to scammers, even to some errant purchase made late at night, only to realise that it was someone in your own household who managed to spend so much in so little time. But this is what happened to one mum from Denbighshire, Wales, in the United Kingdom as her daughter racked up spending on the popular games site Roblox.

]]> Tue, 23 May 2023 10:59:10 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/ten-year-old-spends-2500-on-roblox/ If you're an avid player of Final Fantasy 14 and you and your party are up for a challenge, you can't really go wrong with The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) raid. It's the game's latest Ultimate Raid and is essentially a six phase boss fight that has to be tackled with a full party, meaning it's probably the most difficult task that Final Fantasy 14 players can set out to accomplish at the moment. There are a lot of players out there that don't even bother with them, that's how rough they can be.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 13:00:16 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-14-the-omega-protocol-ultimate-raid-clear-no-healers/ Overwatch 2's PvE story missions have been canned, despite being featured so prominently in the game's reveal back in 2019. Now, it turns out that they were in development even longer than many of us had thought, with Overwatch director Aaron Keller revealing that the team had been working on PvE since 2016.

]]> Sat, 20 May 2023 11:54:15 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-pve-and-mmo-cancelled-development-since-2016/ The Lord of the Rings is getting a new MMO, but as many fans know, it already had one. In fact, it's had one since 2007, and it's still going. Amazon, however, sounds a lot less impressed by this feat, and believes that players of this 16-year-old MMO will ditch it in favour of something new.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 15:42:12 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/amazon-boss-wants-fans-to-move-on-from-the-lord-of-the-rings-online/ We're less than two weeks away from the most colorful time of the year. Pride is right around the corner, and that means it's time for League of Legends to start the celebration of all things queer with a few unlockable rewards like emotes like Pride-themed emotes and icons. There's also going to be a new backdrop image featuring everyone's favorite LGTBQ+ League of Legends champs.

]]> Fri, 19 May 2023 15:25:22 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/league-of-legends-lol-dont-assume-characters-are-straight/ Fortnite's Across the Spider-Verse collaboration includes a skin for Miguel O'Hara, better known as Spider-Man 2099, and thirsty fans are noticing just how caked-up he is.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 16:18:28 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/spider-man-2099-miguel-o-hara-fortnite-caked-up-booty-skin-big-butt/ Ever since Niantic changed Pokemon Go's Remote Raid Passes to be more expensive and limited to five per day, Pokemon Go fans have been in an uproar. Angry posts, petitions, and even a player strike have so far failed to sway Niantic's course. And it doesn't look like Niantic will ever change its mind.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 15:58:45 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-go-niantic-remote-raid-pass-changes-were-painful-to-make/ Despite the controversy surrounding its reigning in of remote raid passes, the Pokemon Go machine rolls on. Today, Niantic confirmed the addition of an all-new feature called shadow raids. Naturally linked to Team Go Rocket, the mobile game's villains will be able to overthrow gyms starting next week. However, you will need to visit these under-siege gyms in person to access them as your remote raid passes won't be compatible.

]]> Thu, 18 May 2023 14:15:19 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-go-remote-raid-passes-cant-be-used-shadow-raids/ Nicolas Cage will be in Dead by Daylight, according to a new teaser from developer Behavior Interactive. We have absolutely no idea why Nic Cage is coming to Dead By Daylight, but we do know he'll be a survivor, and we'll get more information later this summer.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 16:49:57 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/nicholas-cage-to-dead-by-daylight/ Redfall continues to lose players after its disastrous launch roughly two weeks ago. With just over 6,000 concurrent players on Steam 24 hours after launching on May 2, that number has dwindled to just under 200 players.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 13:56:32 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/redfall-falls-under-200-concurrent-players-steam/ Across The Spider-Verse hits cinemas next month and in preparation for the sequel's release, Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099 skins have been added to Fortnite. Both naturally come with a few cosmetics too, including an emote that technically means Spider-Ham has also made their Fortnite debut via today's v24.40 update.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 13:48:24 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-miles-morales-crossover-spider-ham-cameo/ Fortnite's v24.40 update went live today and brought some exciting changes along with it. It has also done something that has angered a lot of you though as Trios has been unexpectedly vaulted. There is officially no way to play Fortnite in a team of three starting today as Trios appears to have made way for ranked in both the core battle royale and Zero Build modes.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 10:54:37 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-fans-unhappy-trios-vaulted/ Miles Morales is finally swinging into Fortnite when today's update goes live, and he's bringing something a lot of us have been waiting a long time for. His web shooters. Peter Parker's Spider-Man introduced the mythic item to the game in 2021, and now that Fortnite is getting an all-new Spidey skin, the ability to swing around the map is coming back.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 10:20:29 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-spider-man-web-shooters-unvaulted-return/ Battle royales have been a money spinner in the video game world for quite a few years now, but the formula doesn't work for everything. Namco gave Pac-Man the BR treatment in 2021, launching Pac-Man 99. However, two years later, Nintendo has confirmed the BR take on the iconic video game will be shut down and delisted later this year.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 09:39:56 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pac-man-99-delisted/ Fortnite's v24.40 update goes live today and with it comes the game's new ranked mode. You might have assumed a game with a competitive scene as active as Fortnite's would already have some sort of ranking system, but no. Not until today, and if you log on after today's update has been applied, you'll be able to dive into the new system.

]]> Wed, 17 May 2023 08:56:39 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/fortnite-ranked-mode/ For the longest time, Overwatch fans have been putting up with Blizzard's shenanigans regarding monetization and a fairly unecessary sequel because of the promise that a fully fleshed out PvE mode was around the corner. It was going to include fully reworked characters, separate progression, and talent trees, but Blizzard has now announced that it "can't deliver" on these promises. This mode has now been cancelled in favor of smaller, seasonal Story Missions, and Overwatch 2 players are as furious as you're probably expecting.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 20:52:23 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-fans-furious-over-pve-changes/ Back when Overwatch 2 first launched last October, Blizzard had to apologize to fans upset that the promised single-player campaign mode didn't arrive along with it. Instead, Overwatch 2 launched as a multiplayer-only title similar to Overwatch 1, with fans being told they "may have to wait a bit" for the single-player campaign to arrive.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 19:24:09 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/overwatch-2-story-mode-season-6-content-cut/ Yesterday, we got the surprising announcement that Amazon's attempt to get an MMO based on The Lord of the Rings off the ground is back on the cards. This follows the last LOTR MMO it was working on getting cancelled several years into development, following some messy behind-the-scenes legal drama. While this is good news for anyone looking for another fantasy MMO to get stuck into, LOTR fans aren't convinced that the game will do the world of Middle-earth justice.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 14:19:26 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-mmo-amazon-fan-reaction-mmo/ While Niantic has missed the mark on numerous occasions when it comes to making sure Pokemon Go remains popular, its gradual rollout of Pokemon and features has remained impressive. It's why, almost seven years after launch, it's still so popular. An example of that restraint manifested again today as Niantic confirmed Master Balls are finally coming to the game.

]]> Tue, 16 May 2023 13:32:43 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-go-master-balls/ Death in World of Warcraft Classic is about to become a somewhat more harrowing experience, Blizzard having just revealed plans to introduce official "hardcore" servers at some point later this summer. Inspired by the popular fan made game mode, the feature aims to inject new life into World of Warcraft Classic, something which has recently been dwindling in popularity.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 22:24:26 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/world-of-warcraft-classic-hardcore-servers-permadeath/ Just over two years since it was cancelled, Amazon is reviving its attempt to launch a Lord of the Rings MMO. This comes as Amazon Games and franchise rights holders Middle-earth Enterprises manage to come to a deal, with behind-the-scenes drama causing the last Lord of the Rings MMO to be scrapped in 2021.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 16:34:12 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-mmo-amazon/ Five years ago, Hawken died. The free-to-play multiplayer mech shooter from Adhesive Games first arrived on Steam in 2012 before making the leap to consoles in 2016, but by 2018, the PC servers had gone dark. Publisher 505 Games kept the servers alive on Xbox One and PS4, but they're mostly empty these days. A sad end to a truly fun game.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 16:04:10 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/hawken-returns-steam-after-five-years/ The Witcher spinoff, currently known only as Project Sirius is struck another blow as multiple developers are laid off. This comes just days after it was revealed that the game's development had been rebooted, following CD Projekt Red's decision earlier in the year to start from scratch.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 14:29:41 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/witcher-spin-off-devs-laid-off-days-after-project-sirius-reboot/ EA has confirmed there's a new Battlefield game in development, but it seems like there's a subset of Battlefield "fans" that aren't too happy about it. They've taken to harassing DICE over the announcement, which has led the Battlefield developer to issue a statement asking them to stop.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2023 13:52:10 GMT https://www.thegamer.com/battlefield-2042-asks-fans-stop-harassing-devs-dice-ea/