Ex-Bioware producer Mark Darrah has released a video giving insight into the term "BioWare magic".

Darrah, who worked at BioWare for over 20 years including as an executive producer on the Dragon Age series, wants BioWare employees to stop using the term as it promotes "bad process".

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As the novel coronavirus epidemic continues to spread across the globe, WTR provides an updated look at measures that national IP offices have launched in response.

Sony says that it expects Microsoft to honor contracts it has with Activision and "continue to ensure" that Activision games are released on its platforms – but there's some room for interpretation about what exactly the PlayStation manufacturer means.

Sony expects that Activision games will still come to PlayStation consoles if Microsoft’s buyout is completed, keeping some of the biggest franchises in video games as cross-platform titles and not turning them into Xbox exclusives. You might be doubting them, but they cite existing contractual agreements between PlayStation and Activision as the reason for their belief. A Sony spokesman told the WSJ that “We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform.” Activision and Sony have had a long-standing content exclusivity agreement with PlayStation for the Call of Duty franchise, dating back to the 2015 release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Since that point, Activision has given timed exclusivity on DLC expansions (when paid map packs were still a thing), bundled in PlayStation exclusive game modes for Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, or simply offered specific XP boosts and other perks to PlayStation players. That should allay some of the fears that many have had over the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard buyout announced earlier this week, with Microsoft expected to shift previously cross-platform franchises to become Xbox, PC and Xbox Game Pass exclusives. Additionally, when asked directly about this by Bloomberg earlier this week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said “I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that.” All we have to do is look at Microsoft’s track record with their blockbusting gaming acquisition to find out what their most likely plan is. The company has never taken a hardline stance at acquired studios make their in-progress game releases into Xbox exclusives. Psychonauts 2 was a cross-platform release, albeit with an Xbox Series X|S exclusive upgrade for the new generation, while Wasteland 3 was released with Koch Media publishing. Similarly, despite having acquired Bethesda at the start of last year, Microsoft is honouring the exclusivity agreements that have made Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo into timed PlayStation 5 exclusives. Of course, where there hasn’t been an existing agreement, Microsoft and Bethesda have confirmed that Starfield, Redfall and The Elder Scrolls VI will be Xbox console exclusives. Further Reading: What does Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard mean for gamers? So, what can we expect to happen with Activision and Blizzard games? Call of Duty: Warzone is likely to be a permanent fixture across all platforms, the free-to-play game a money-spinner that nobody would sensibly want to shut down at this point. The main Call of Duty releases will likely stay as cross-platform games, while there’s still a contract to honour – historically this contract ran for five years from 2010-2014 when on Xbox, and would likely have been renewed in 2020 by Sony and Activision for PlayStation. This could see Call of Duty games remain on PlayStation until 2025, or until a set number of games have been released. Outside of Call of Duty, and if Activision ever produce any games based on their collection of IPs that include Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, you can bet they will be Xbox exclusives from the off. On the Blizzard side of things, Overwatch will be receiving a significant overhaul so that the game will remain in lockstep with Overwatch 2’s multiplayer content. That will likely continue to be the plan, though there’s a question mark over whether Overwatch 2 will be released on PlayStation, or if they’ll leave players with the old game. Diablo IV and all other future game releases will surely be Xbox console exclusives, though. Of course, that depends on whether either game is released before or after any Microsoft buyout can be completed. That’s a big if, as the last twelve months have seen much greater scrutiny on tech giant acquisitions by government regulators. Source: WSJ (paywalled)

DICE has released update 3.2 for Battlefield 2042, a smaller patch focussing on bug fixes and game stability. In particular they’re addressing hit registration on Sundance, getting stuck on destroyed scenery and rubber-banding. They have also raised the limit on XP you can earn per minute in Battlefield Portal, while promising that more servers and modes will allow you to earn XP in the popular throwback mode. Looking to the future, Update 3.3 is expected to release in mid-late February and will bring a refreshed Scoreboard – this will be iterated upon once it’s public. While there’s no timeline on their addition, matchmaking preferences for All Out Warfare and cross-platform VOIP are still on DICE’s radar and they specifically mention it in their communications. All told, DICE are taking small steps forward for their modern era multiplayer shooter, when the game arguably needs more significant changes and a faster update pace to address the bugs and problems it has. Here’s the Update 3.2 patch notes: Update 3.2 Fixes, Changes, and Improvements General Fixed an issue where leaving a party during matchmaking could make the game unresponsive Fixed an issue where connecting to EA servers after signing up with a new account would not work on the first attempt Updated behavior of the quit button during gameplay so it now returns you to the correct screen Fixed an issue where the loading music would stop playing during level load Soldier Fixed a rare occurrence where after landing with the Wingsuit, hits wouldn’t always register on some parts of Sundance’s hitbox Fixed occurrences of rubberbanding when running behind friendly players Fixed a rare issue that could cause you to be stuck in both an alive, and downed loop Fixed a variety of issues with attaching to ladders that could cause you to get stuck in a state where you could fly away or lose control of your Specialist Fixed an issue where soldier movement speed was impaired by nearby explosions that spawned craters Fixed an issue where camera shake and audio for landing would unintentionally trigger when dropping from very small heights Fixed an issue where weapons from a Loadout Crate would sometimes inherit ammo from the previously selected weapon Fixed an issue where being spotted when firing a weapon would spot you for too long Stability Added multiple fixes to improve overall game stability Fixed a rendering related crash that could occur for AMD Radeon VII users while Sundance was visible on screen Weapons Sniper and SOFLAM scope glints now show from a further distance Vehicles Fixed an issue where passenger weapons would no longer be in sync whenever the driver’s turret would rotate, causing bullets to not register when firing at enemies M1A5, T28 – improved the effective range and reduced spread on Canister Weapon Pod Reduced Bullet Spread from 1.6 -> 1.1 Increased Damage Fall Off Distance from 35 -> 40 Battlefield Hazard Zone Fixed a black rectangle being present on screen during Hazard Zone end of round when hitting quit at the level progress screen Battlefield Portal The Server Info tab now persists after hitting Refresh in the Portal Server Browser Fixed an issue where text would overlap when joining a Team Deathmatch game during the end of round sequence Rules Editor – the “IsInventorySlotActive” value now correctly handles melee weapons Certain admin commands can no longer be spammed Further reading: Battlefield 2042 guide – 10 tips to get you started Battlefield 2042 is out now for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game touts 128-player battles on the more powerful systems, with PS4 and Xbox One limited to the series’ long-standing 64-player limit. That’s in addition to the new Hazard Zone mode that blends together a variety of inspirations for a new squad-based experience, and Battlefield Portal, which revives classic maps and gameplay from past games. In our Battlefield 2042 review we scored it a fair 6 out of 10, knocking points off for clunky design features, yet praising parts of the core tactical gameplay and the genius Battlefield Portal: “There’s a good game to be found within the Battlefield 2042 and fun to be had as the spectacle of Battlefield’s signature gameplay is taken to new, more expansive heights, but it’s marred by a handful of unsuccessful gameplay design changes, hurriedly implemented features and bugs at launch.” Source: Battlefield, Twitter

If it doesn’t say Wham-O, it isn’t a Frisbee Making a sequel to Data East’s 1994 arcade game, Windjammers, is...

The post Review: Windjammers 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Sky Mavis pointed out that the goal of builders program is to further strengthen the community’s ability to create gaming experiences and tools, while managing risk to their community members, and their gaming network at-large.

The post Axie Infinity Launches Builders Program appeared first on BitPinas.

The world of Web3 is heating up and some of the major internet players are getting involved in the action.

The post Opera Internet Browser is BETA testing a Crypto Browser to integrate Web3 applications appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Just bought Beat Saber but not sure which DLC tracks to start with? Here's our ranking of the top 5 best Beat Saber DLC music packs.

Wants contracts to be abided by.

Sony has this morning issued a statement in response to Microsoft's $69 billion dollar deal to purchase Activision. In a quote shared with The Wall Street Journal via a Sony spokesperson, the firm said: "We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform."

It's a very short and corporate response that gives little away, but it does suggest Sony expects Activision games to hit PlayStation 5 and PS4 beyond the closure of the deal at some point next year. Whether that actually happens, though, will be in the hands of Microsoft as the Call of Duty maker begins reporting to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Any titles released before that closure should still be free to release on PS5, PS4 — at the moment, that just seems to include the rumoured Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward.

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The teams competing in the DPC Winter Tour regional leagues are treating the fans with a breathtaking race at the end of the season.

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Riot Games has released the next patch notes 3.0 for the League of Legends: Wild Rift. The 3.0 update has brought some major launches of new skins along with accessories. Besides this champions such as Dr. Mundo, Ezreal, and many more have got some updates. Read our complete article to know the detailed changes in the new […]

The post Wild Rift Patch Notes 3.0 – New Skins, Champion changes, and much more appeared first on TalkEsport.