When it comes to custom controllers, Pope Art is often the cause of depleted bank accounts around here, and this Halo Infinite-inspired Xbox wireless controller is no different. Its purple and gray design is clearly inspired by the strange-looking Covenant weapon that you never really seem to pick up. Though it was introduced as the Xbox Series X controller, it works on the Xbox One too. See at Trezn Even if you aren't a huge Halo fan, there's definitely a lot to like about this design, from the bright blue buttons to the asymmetric swipe down the middle. The pink needles on the left grip are the most direct reference to the needler inspiration, but it's also reminiscent of the sharp talons of the original Xbox logo, which is a nice touch.Gallery As with many custom controllers, this one isn't cheap, coming in at $150. It does include free shipping and a 90 day warranty against defects. The current drop of these controllers will be delivered in mid-September, and there are only limited numbers available, so if you're interested, definitely get a move on. In other Halo news, the recent Halo Infinite beta has now concluded, and one of our staff members liked it a lot, though it's hard to judge based solely on killing bots.Info from Gamespot.com

On this week's episode of Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot's professional wrestling podcast, Mat Elfring and Chris Hayner are trying out two of WWE's branded wines: Ultimate Warrior Zinfandel and Undertaker Cabernet Sauvignon.WWE Wines has two new alcoholic drinks for those who are of age, and they were sent to the Wrestle Buddies in order to try out. Because the duo are self-described wine aficionados--they're not by any means--they dive into the world of fermented grapes to give their honest opinion on the product.The bottles of wine can be bought in packs of two, four, or six. Each bottle costs $50, but you can save $25 if you order six. While it seems pricey, the Wrestle Buddies find out during the episode that's a typical price for a higher-end wine, and these WWE Wines seem to be higher-end. Check out the episode below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Nintendo Switch eShop has kicked off its latest sale, and this one is specifically centered around multiplayer games to play locally or online. The Multiplayer Mayhem Sale features a mix of first-party and third-party titles, and there are some really nice discounts available. Though it's a multiplayer-oriented sale, many of the games also have engaging solo content, so even if you don't play multiplayer much, there's likely a deal here for you.The Multiplayer Mayhem Sale features a few first-party hits, including Splatoon 2 for $48, Super Mario Party for $42, Fire Emblem Warriors for $42, and Mario Tennis Aces for $42. You can also get the zany physics puzzler Good Job for $14. Good Job stars a CEO's son who wreaks havoc around the office, and it can be played cooperatively with two players.Many of the best couch co-op Switch games have received nice discounts, too. Stardew Valley, the wonderful farming sim that's even more fun split-screen or online with friends, is down to $10, matching the lowest price we've seen on Switch. You can also grab Unravel Two, an adorable platformer starring two creatures made of yarn, for $10. Meanwhile, Haven, a science-fiction love story starring a couple who explore an empty planet, is on sale for $20. For a serious value, check out Overcooked: All You Can Eat, a compilation containing both frantic cooking games and their DLC, for $30.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The beginning of the end is nearly here for AMC's flagship series The Walking Dead--a new teaser for the show's final season has just dropped on YouTube. The 30-second clip, titled "Live for Them," ratchets the remaining survivors' stakes and needs to, well, survive, up to a fever pitch.If you've been keeping up with the show, and were also a fan of the comics, the show is now leading its motley crew of characters towards the Commonwealth. It's a town that seems perfect, and it's the most advanced and seemingly civil place the survivors have come across. During Comic-Con 2021, a longer trailer aired during The Walking Dead panel--which you should check out if you missed it for whatever reason.Even though the scene is set for the long-running show to end in Season 11, there's still a whole lot going on in the franchise. The Walking Dead, original recipe, returns to AMC on August 22--and will be streaming on AMC+ starting August 15--but is still far from over. The final season will be rolled out as a "trilogy," with the second and third parts landing sometime in 2022. Fear of the Walking Dead Season 7 is coming October 7, and World Beyond Season 2 coming just before it, on October 3.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

World of Warcraft players on the game's official subreddit are currently deep in a debate surrounding a tricky question that has reared its head multiple times as of late in the game's community: Is WoW pay-to-win, i.e. does spending money on the game via microtransactions result in faster or better character progression?The conversation was started by reddit user Citrinitas696, who began the topic with a provocative question: "How is WoW not p2w? Disprove this image." As of writing, the reddit thread has more than 1,300 comments.How is WoW not p2w? Disprove this image from wowAt the center of the debate is whether or not the game's WoW Token is, in essence, a method of pay-to-win. First introduced in 2015 during the game's Warlords of Draenor expansion, the WoW Token serves multiple purposes. For players who need in-game gold, they can purchase the WoW Token from Blizzard for $20. That token, which is good for 30 days of game time that normally must be bought with real-world money, can then be sold in-game via WoW's auction house for gold. The cycle looks like this:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A second indie game showcase put on by Twitch and Xbox is scheduled to go live on August 10 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, Microsoft has announced.This livestream will "once again feature tons of independent titles," Microsoft said. There will be announcements from developers and publishers including Chump Squad (Lab Rat, Kine) and Rebellion Developments (Sniper Elite 4, Zombie Army: Trilogy). We'll also hear about in-development projects such as The Artful Escape, Library of Ruina, OlliOlli World, and RPG Time.Furthermore, Microsoft teased some Xbox Game Pass "news and announcements" for the upcoming livestream but didn't go into any details of what these are.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

One of the most noteworthy new features in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's big new Season 5 update is a new mode called Double Agent. Similar to Among Us and Trouble in Terrorist Town, Double Agent is a game of cat-and-mouse, of sorts, as Double Agent characters try to sabotage a mission and stay cloaked.This is a new mode for Call of Duty in general. There are 10 players in a match, and players are assigned to one of three roles. You can see a rundown of the roles and their missions below, as written by Activision:Double Agents, who must either eliminate everyone else or successfully set off explosive charges around the map.The Investigator, who can use clues to target suspected Double Agents as Wanted criminals.Operatives, who must work together to identify and eliminate the Double Agents before it’s too late.Players begin with a pistol and can add more firepower in the "Preparing Stage" of the match by finding weapons on the map. Double Agents can a variety of tools to stay hidden, including gas mines, counter spy plans, combat bows, and attack helicopters.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In Destiny 2, few moments are more infuriating than seeing a Titan charging you in the Crucible and hitting the melee button, expecting your character to whip out a deadly throwing knife--and instead watching as your Guardian commits to a much less effectual stab attack, putting you in perfect position to get erased by a shotgun blast. Thankfully, starting next season, it's possible no Destiny 2 player will ever experience such disappointment again.Staring in Season 15, Bungie is instituting a change that will allow players to separate their "charged" melee abilities--those that exist on a cooldown, like the Hunter's throwing knife--and their standard, uncharged melee attack (essentially just punching an enemy for a middling amount of damage) onto different inputs. It's one of a long list of changes coming to player abilities Bungie detailed in its This Week At Bungie blog post, most of which will see buffs and nerfs applied to grenades, melee attacks, and Super abilities next season.While the melee change is a nice tweak, it's the many adjustments to the speed and damage of abilities that's going to have a major effect on Destiny 2 in Season 15. Bungie is adding penalties to sliding around the battlefield, for instance, which is a major tactic in PvP matches in particular. A lot of players use the short-range slide ability to close gaps, get to cover, and wallop unsuspecting opponents, and you'll often see players who do nothing but slide throughout a match. Bungie's looking to lessen sliding's advantage, and in Season 15, you'll incur a penalty to weapon stability and an increase in shotgun pellet spread when you slide, making it more of a tactical tradeoff to hit the dirt.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Ahead of the Back 4 Blood beta, we got to go hands-on with the upcoming cooperative zombie killing shooter from developer Turtle Rock. In our time with the game, we only got hands-on with the PvE campaign. But afterwards, I sat down with Turtle Rock executive producer Lianne Papp to talk about all aspects of Back 4 Blood, including its PvP Swarm mode, which Papp describes as "snackable" (a term I will be stealing and using to describe many games from now on).Swarm mode is a best-of-three-rounds competition, in which two teams of four go up against one another. One side plays as the human Cleaners who need to survive as long as possible, while the other is composed of the zombie-like Ridden that must kill all the Cleaners as quickly as possible.Between each round, teams switch sides and the winner is whichever team manages to get the best score. According to Papp, there's no concrete time limit to the rounds. Theoretically, they could go on for a very long time. But the mode remains a snackable escape because rounds are designed to prevent the overall matches from going on too long.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty's Season 5 arrives on August 12, and today's roadmap intel reveals Warzone's update might finally shake up the perk meta. The new season is expected to bring new points of interest to Verdansk, a Red Door in-game event, and all-new Warzone-exclusive perks.Currently, Warzone only utilizes Modern Warfare's perk selection, despite this year's Cold War integration. Warzone's current slate of perks are dominated by a select few: E.O.D., Ghost, Overkill, and Amped. However, Season 5 is set to introduce Combat Scout and Tempered, which could make a player's perk decisions a little bit harder.With Combat Scout, players will receive a burst of in-field intel, as damaging an enemy briefly highlights that opponent in bright orange and automatically pings them. Activision's wording suggests that this orange highlight will only be visible to the player who activated the ping, as the description suggests the perk is stronger if the player can "communicate effectively to their squadmates." Regardless, it would be really useful to see the highlighted positioning of the player you've just peppered up but couldn't kill.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The first closed beta test for XDefiant, Ubisoft's new free-to-play shooter set in the Tom Clancy universe, is currently live on PC. Invites went out to select PC players in the US and Canada earlier this week, and players will need to use the Ubisoft Connect client to participate.Though the official XDefiant Twitter account has shown brief clips of gameplay from the closed beta, the test itself is under a non-disclosure agreement, meaning players who do get the chance to play early will not be able to share screenshots, videos, or streams of the game in-action. Ubisoft released a preview video of two arena maps playable in the test, Emporium and Air & Space, last week.We don't back down from a fight 😉Here's a sneak preview of #XDefiant Closed Test gameplay you'll be able to experience tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/vN507NazdE — Tom Clancy's XDefiant (@PlayXDefiant) August 4, 2021It seems players are currently experiencing error messages that may impact load times for those looking to get into a match. Ubisoft says it will provide more updates soon. Though this first test is only for PC players, later tests will be available for players on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and the game is slated to support cross-play at launch. The full game will also release on streaming platforms like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A new zombies-themed event is starting on August 6 in Season 6 of Call of Duty Mobile. Announced on the Call of Duty blog, the Aether Hunt event will have players battle against the undead hordes to acquire aether and unlock special rewards, including the zombie Richtofen operator skin.Using characters from the mainline Call of Duty's Zombies' mode, this event focuses on acquiring purple and yellow aether crystals in order to unlock special rewards. Yellow ore can be obtained by completing daily tasks in both multiplayer and battle royale. Purple ore, which is more valuable, can be obtained by completing main tasks in the Undead Siege mode, given out by Dr. Richtofen. Players can earn operator skins, weapon blueprints, vehicle skins, and more.The Undead Siege mode offers the quickest way to earn rewards, with players completing tasks during matches. In this mode, players will need to survive five days and five nights, collecting resources during the day and battling against relentless waves of zombies during the night. You will need to defend your mobile base, using turrets built from the collected resources as well as your own firearms. The new mode also has its own 25 tiers of rewards to work through, offering rewards like zombie Tank Dempsey.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As it had said it would, Niantic has rolled back some of the bonuses it implemented in Pokemon Go to make the game easier to play amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio had previously stated these bonuses were always intended to be temporary, so it was inevitable that they would one day be reverted. However, the decision to do so now, when the world is being roiled by another surge in COVID cases, is a grave mistake that's drawn widespread backlash from the community.In the time since Niantic initially announced its plans to roll back the bonuses, the pandemic has only worsened. Cases are once again on the rise in many parts of the world as new variants of the virus emerge, and many communities are scrambling to reimplement mask mandates and other restrictions to curb the virus's spread. Removing these bonuses from Pokemon Go now and asking users to go outside, when the pandemic is still very much an ongoing threat, is a tone-deaf decision that harms both the game and players.It's not as if Pokemon Go has struggled since implementing these bonuses; on the contrary, the game has soared over the past year. According to Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go had its best-ever start to a year in 2021, with revenue reportedly up by 34% compared to 2020. Niantic is also coming off of Pokemon Go Fest 2021, one of the game's best events yet. Not only was the event enjoyable, smartly building off all of the lessons that Niantic learned as it adapted the game amid the pandemic, but it was also a huge success. While Niantic hasn't shared revenue numbers, the studio revealed that players collectively caught more than 1.5 billion Pokemon and walked more than 125 kilometers during the two-day celebration, dwarfing last year's metrics.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Some Overwatch League sponsors are reconsidering their partnerships with the esports league in the wake of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit. As reported by the Washington Post, both Coca-Cola and State Farm are reassessing their sponsorships of the Overwatch League moving forward in light of the allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision Blizzard.Activision Blizzard runs two esports leagues, the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty league. The Overwatch League currently has seven sponsors listed on its website: Xfinity, IBM, Coca-Cola, State Farm, Cheez-It, Pringles, and TeamSpeak. A spokesperson for State Farm told the Washington Post that the company is "reevaluating our limited marketing relationship with the Overwatch League," and that it has requested no advertisements be run during this weekend's matches.A spokesperson for Coca-Cola told the Washington Post, "We are working with our partners at Blizzard as we take a step back for a moment to revisit future plans and programs." They confirmed that Coca-Cola is aware of the allegations against Activision Blizzard but declined to comment if Coca-Cola would continue sponsoring the league.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After more than a year in Steam Early Access, developer Studio Aurum has announced that its Pokemon-like creature collector Monster Crown launches on PC and consoles on October 12.The developer shared a four-minute video announcing the release date on YouTube. The video features the developer's journey of creating Monster Crown, from their Pokemon inspirations to their monster-taming obsession. It culminates with the news that Monster Crown will be available digitally and physically on October 12 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. (It's possible the game may be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility.)Monster Crown is a creature-collector much like the Dragon Quest Monsters or Pokemon franchises (or even Temtem). It takes places on Crown Island, a remote place with a history of tyranny threatened by a young woman vying for total control. To stop her, you must form pacts with over 200 monsters to train and battle against the island's enemies, which include other monsters and trainers.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com