This week in gaming: Borderlands 3 heads to the Epic Games Store, Assassin’s Creed goes Viking, Microsoft combines Game Pass and Gold, and more!
In the spirit of keeping our readers up to date with what’s happening in the video game industry, the Doublejump Digest is a brief collection of the major news stories from the past week. Keep an eye out for the Digest every Sunday night, and head on into the archive for news from weeks gone by!
FROM DOUBLEJUMP:
- Ty reviewed Devil May Cry 5 and called it a “must-have” action title for series veterans and first-timers alike!
- In our latest Multiplayer feature, we sat down to discuss our favourite video game levels of all time.
MAJOR NEWS:
Gearbox confirms Borderlands 3’s September release, Epic Games Store exclusivity:
Borderlands 3 developer Gearbox Software has released a new trailer confirming the game’s leaked September 13 worldwide release date on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In an accompanying press release, publisher 2K Games’ President David Ismailer also confirmed that the game will be a six-month Epic Games Store-exclusive on PC, which Randy Pitchford seemingly hinted at with a series of tweets commenting on the Fortnite publisher’s “leadership with cross platform support”.
Report: Next Assassin’s Creed to feature Norse setting:
Kotaku has claimed that it has independently confirmed that the next Assassin’s Creed game – “code named Kingdom” – will focus on Vikings. This followed a video by JorRaptor that showed a poster within Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 that features a Viking character holding an Apple of Eden, which is a pivotal piece of technology within the Assassin’s Creed universe. JorRaptor also points to the overlap between Ubisoft staffers posting Norse-themed concept art and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Ashraf Ismail moving onto a new Ubisoft project.
Report: Microsoft will combine Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass:
Thurrott and The Verge have claimed to have confirmed the rumour that Microsoft is set to announce a new subscription service named Xbox Game Pass Ultimate that will combine the benefits of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass. Twitter user WalkingCat first reported the speculation yesterday with The Verge adding that its source pointed to Microsoft announcing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate alongside its discless Xbox One S later this month. The service will reportedly cost US$14.99 per month, which would costly roughly US$5 less than subscribing to existing Xbox services separately. Microsoft has not commented on this latest speculation as of this writing.
Epic Games adds respawn points to Fortnite Battle Royale, denies Chinese spying claims:
In its latest Battle Royale Dev update, Epic Games has revealed that it will add Apex Legends-like respawn points named “Reboot Vans” to Fortnite Battle Royale next week. The developer has made one notable change in that the Reboot Van can be reused “after a period of time”, which should make late-game tactics more varied.
In related news, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has taken to Twitter to deny recent allegations that his company has been spying on its consumers on behalf of the Chinese government through its PC storefront. He noted that that he is personally responsible for all of the company’s “big decisions” and that these decisions are made “in the USA”.
NOTABLE GAME RELEASES:
- Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition (PS4 and Xbox One)
- Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (Switch)
VIDEOS AND TRAILERS:
Mortal Kombat 11 – Official Kollector Reveal Trailer:
Multiples are still in fashion in this game’s timeline.
World War Z – Gameplay Overview Trailer:
Just in time for the mov… oh wait.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Alcatraz Map Briefing:
What’s better than one map? Two maps!
RAGE 2 – He’s On Fire Official Trailer:
You know what, why not?
Team Sonic Racing – Team Up Trailer:
Ahhh, remember Mario Kart: Double Dash?
INTERESTING READS FROM OTHER OUTLETS:
- Kotaku’s Jason Schreier explored what made BioWare’s Anthem such a disappointing game.
OTHER NEWS:
- Next week’s Destiny 2 update will include some buffs to Arc subclasses: Official
- Fallout 76 players are not happy about Repair Kits: Eurogamer
- Sony has added Persona 5 to the PlayStation Hits value collection: DualShockers
- Ubisoft won’t make any more physical Starlink toys: Eurogamer
- Future Publishing has recognised a union formed by its employees: GamesIndustry.biz
- The UK government wants to find out if gaming companies are being dodgy by using auto-renewal practices: Eurogamer
- The Federal Trade Commission is planning to hold a loot box workshop to educate US families: DualShockers
- Prince Harry has a very old school attitude towards Fortnite: DualShockers
- Deep Silver has deaactivated a large number of stolen Metro: Exodus keys: Gamasutra
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