Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War's Season 1 will launch later this week. Players will get new maps, a new Zombies mode, new weapons, and much more when the season kicks off on December 16.Treyarch held a 30-minute broadcast detailing some of the new content earlier today. The studio took a look at Rebirth Island, Warzone's newest, smaller map. The island, which is a much denser, more compact map than Verdansk, is a remake from the original Black Ops game that explores where all of the gas comes from lore-wise. The map also features a new gulag system, where players have to break out from being strapped to a chair before fighting.Warzone will also be getting new operators, weapons, and additional content with a new battle pass. All Black Ops Cold War weapons, including blueprints, variants, and attachments, will be accessible in Warzone right away.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

An update for NBA 2K21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is now live and it makes some visual changes, particularly regarding players and teams. The patch notes are outlined below.Several teams have had their City uniforms updated, including the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers. Players on those teams, like the Celtics' Kemba Walker and Clippers' Paul George, have had their likenesses updated as well to bring them more in line with their real-life counterparts. Other players have improved signature facial animations, though it's unclear which players this applies to. There are also updates for the Toronto Raptors' logo and City courts for teams like the Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers.Along with updates to the City for various teams is a holiday makeover. The City in NBA 2K21 will be decked out in Christmas accouterments starting December 15.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

CD Projekt Red became one of the biggest names in video game development thanks to the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt back in 2015, but it looks Cyberpunk 2077's release is having a negate impact on its parent company. Though the open-world game beat Steam's concurrent player record for a single-player game, its messy launch has caused CD Projekt's stock to slip more than 33% since its early December high in Polish markets.The downturn has caused some in the industry to question CD Projekt's strategy. Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at Niko Partners who often tweets about industry happenings, said that this reflects an "overreliance on one large game release every few years...Any sort of uncertainty/issues will lead to this. Ultimately the decline isn't because the game isn't selling well, but because of future prospects / current known issues."https://t.co/NYnVs2T6Zq pic.twitter.com/NFHO0sl3JN — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 14, 2020As I noted before, the over reliance on one large game release every few years is never a good thing. Any sort of uncertainty/ issues will lead to this. Ultimately the decline isn't because the game isn't selling well, but because of future prospects / current known issues. — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 14, 2020CDPR's stock is taking a hit IN THIS MOMENT. But let's pull the camera back...5 days1 month6 months1 yearThey'll be fine. Stop stanning billion dollar corporations. They'll recover from this. They already made their money back from CP2077 dev. They'll get away with this. pic.twitter.com/wSlufQLvts — Mike Futter (@Futterish) December 14, 2020Others have downplayed the stock price, calling it merely a bump in the road for one of the world's biggest video game developers. For example, reporter and consultant Mike Futter noted that CD Projekt's stock price is still ahead of where it was a year ago.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go's annual holiday event is returning next week, developer Niantic has announced. The event kicks off at 8 AM local time on December 22 and will feature a ton of festive activities and bonuses, including increased appearances of Ice Pokemon, exclusive Research tasks to complete, and more.Throughout the holiday event, Ice-type Pokemon such as Spheal, Snover, Snorunt, and others will appear in the wild and hatch from 5 km eggs more frequently than normal. The Fresh Snow Pokemon Vanillite and its evolved forms will also make their debut in the game during the event, while Alolan Sandshrew, Dewgong, Jynx, Walrein, and more will appear as Raid bosses.In addition to all the Ice Pokemon, a couple of festive costumed Pokemon will be available during the Holiday 2020 event as well. You'll be able to catch Pikachu, Delibird, and Cubchoo wearing holiday-themed outfits. You'll also have a chance to encounter Shiny Jynx in Raids.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A lot of watchers of The Game Awards were surprised to see actor Vin Diesel make an appearance at the proceedings to promote the unexpected sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved. However, it turns out that Vin Diesel isn't just doing his best Turok impression in Ark 2; he's helping developer Studio Wildcard make it, too.In a press release, Studio Wildcard says that Vin Diesel will both portray the hero Santiago in Ark 2 as well as serving on the production team as Wildcard's President of Creative Convergence. Since it's not really clear what this fancy title means, the press release later clarifies that Diesel will perform an executive producer role. Ark 2 is said to be exclusive to the Xbox Series X / Series S, but it's unclear whether it's a timed exclusive or not. There's also no word on a release date.This isn't the first time that the actor has been personally involved in the creation of a game. Diesel founded the developer Tigon Studios back in 2002, which produced several games that he starred in, most notably Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay and its remake/sequel, Assault On Dark Athena. Diesel is also a well-known fan of Dungeons and Dragons.Info from Gamespot.com

Over the next week, we will be posting features for what we've nominated to be the best games of 2020. Then, on December 17, we will crown one of the nominees as GameSpot's Best Game of 2020, so join us as we celebrate these 10 games on the road to the big announcement. Be sure to check out our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2020 hub.Half-Life: Alyx is familiar. In comparison to previous installments in the franchise, it even looks a bit samey. You get guns, you fight terrifying headcrab-controlled zombies, mow down the militant Combine, solve puzzles, and try to liberate a world from a multi-dimensional alien takeover. On paper, it’s hard to pinpoint a hugely notable difference between Half-Life: Alyx and Half-Life 2, a 16-year-old game. Yet, Half-Life: Alyx is unlike anything I’ve ever played before. Yes, it’s a VR game, and the immersion that comes from that defines the experience. However, beyond the virtual reality is a video game so meticulously crafted and so spellbinding in its execution that the familiarity and simplicity becomes a stroke of brilliance.In the opening moments of the game you have time to interact and play with the world. Before you get your hands on any guns, one of the first things you can arm yourself with is a marker. Using my actual real-life hands and the Vive’s controllers, I picked up the marker and began drawing on a window with it. I could clean it off with an eraser or smudge it off with my fingers. This moment, seemingly inconsequential in the moment, actually served as the bedrock for what would come by rewiring my brain and opening my mind to possibilities that the game would execute on in the hours following.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

2020 is the year of consoles battling for supremacy, and China is another arena for the big three--Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo--to duke it out. The country, however, is a complicated place for gaming corporations to distribute their products officially due to its strict and opaque media regulations. Consoles were banned in the country until 2013, though they were available through unofficial channels even before then.But with the aid of native multimedia giant Tencent, Nintendo Switch gained a sales edge in China. Market tracker Niko Partners estimated that over 1.3 million Switch units sold this year through both formal and informal channels (via Bloomberg), a number bigger than the combined sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the same timeframe. In lifetime sales, Niko Partners reported that the Switch has sold almost 4 million units in China since the end of 2019, more than either of Xbox One's and PS4's lifetime sales in the country. The PS4 and Xbox One both launched in China in 2014.Bloomberg cited the popularity of certain Switch IP's and incorporation of widely-used apps in China as reasons for the console's current popularity. Tencent integrated Wechat functionality into the Switch, making payment systems and social functions familiar and easier-to-use. Two Switch titles also became immensely popular this year: Ring Fit Adventure and Animal Crossing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In 2020, when leaving the house and being with friends and loved ones has been harder than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, socially distanced game nights have become part of many people's social routine. The newly released Jackbox Party Pack 7, and the six earlier games in the series, are excellent games to play with friends--and doing so through Twitch just got a little easier.Twitch has announced the Jackbox Audience Kit, an extension for streams that makes it possible to join Jackbox games without needing to open a separate browser. This extension lets audiences join the game through the Twitch app, making it easier to join in on games.As long as the Twitch streamer has installed and enabled the extension, joining a game is a simple process of following the on-screen instructions.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Almost half a year after actor Ray Fisher spoke out against Warner Bros. and members of the Justice League production, WarnerMedia announced that its investigation into Fisher's allegations has completed."WarnerMedia’s investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken," the company said in an official statement Friday night.WarnerMedia provided no information about what those actions are or will be, which reflects in the statement Fisher made on Twitter following the announcement.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There are many, many weapons in Cyberpunk 2077. The most special of these are called Iconic weapons: unique, custom weapons that are a step above the ones you'll find on any old corpse. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but none is as distinctive and full of personality as Skippy, the talking smart pistol.Ostensibly based on Microsoft's Clippy, the pop-up paperclip that used to help us with Word documents, Skippy is an AI-operated smart pistol. A shot from a smart gun will automatically seek targets mid-air, which is as useful as it sounds. Normally, you need cyberware in your hands that will enable you to use smart weapons; however, a major advantage to Skippy is that it doesn't require cyberware to use.To find Skippy, head to a back alley in the Glen, southeast of Corpo Plaza. See the map in the image below to pinpoint the area.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After numerous delays and production upsets related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mortal Kombat movie has a release date. Director Simon McQuoid's film will be available to watch on April 16, 2021.The news comes via producer Todd Garner, who released a new poster featuring the release date. He also promised that a first-look trailer would arrive "in the new year."Trailer in the new year. Sorry it took so long to get this out. pic.twitter.com/Jku86FYKo2 — Todd Garner (@Todd_Garner) December 14, 2020For a while, it seemed like Mortal Kombat would still be a cinema-only release, and while it will come to cinemas, it's also going to be on HBO Max from day one--as with all 2021 Warner Bros. releases.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 hasn't had the smoothest launch, and for some PC players the problem has been exacerbated by the game's issues with certain components. Right now, players AMD CPUs are having issues with performance--but there's a way to improve things.A Reddit thread has discovered a fault with the game, whereby it only recognizes physical cores on AMD chips, not logical cores. While Intel CPUs face no issue, AMD users can see enormous performance drops.Thankfully, all you'll need to do to rectify the issue is change a single line through a Hex Editor. PC Gamer has a great guide on how to do this, recommending freeware HxD as the editor to use.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Note: This guide contains spoilers for one of the story quests in Cyberpunk 2077. Read on at your own risk!The stakes get raised pretty significantly in Cyberpunk 2077 as you work through Act 2. After protagonist V acquires the biochip and finds Johnny Silverhand in their head, you set out on a journey to find out all you can about the chip and how you can get rid of it before it kills you. Your investigation goes down several avenues, including working with Goro Takemura, a former Arasaka bodyguard.You'll spend a lot of time with Takemura as you investigate Arasaka and try to get in touch with the corporate brass, without getting yourself killed in the process. But eventually, things take a turn and you're separated from Takemura at a key moment during the story mission Play It Safe. When the pair of you are attacked during a meeting in an apartment building, V falls through a collapsed floor, separating you from Takemura. At this point, you have a choice, although it's not immediately clear: run for your life, or return to Takemura and save him from being overwhelmed by enemies.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fans of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy on SNES, rejoice--Donkey Kong Country 3 is joining the Nintendo Switch Online collection this month. The third game in the trilogy--which is not quite as beloved as the first two, but is still well-regarded--arrives on December 18, alongside four other games.Donkey Kong Country 3 features Dixie and Kiddy Kong, on a quest to rescue Donkey and Diddy. The game introduced overworld vehicles and some new moves, and it still looks great in 2020.There are three more SNES games and a NES game coming on December 18, too. The other SNES games are a bit more obscure, and you can check them out in the trailer below.The Ignition Factor is a game about fighting fires, Super Valis IV is a scrolling action game, and Tuff E Nuff is a fighting game. While these games are unlikely to stir up as much nostalgia as Donkey Kong, there's still bound to be some love for them among players. Nightshade on the NES is an interesting choice, too--it's an adventure game, developed by Australian Beam Software. The 1992 game was criticized for poor controls at the time, but it's an interesting curio, and definitely a title that few players have had a chance to experience. The NES/SNES library on Nintendo Switch Online now features over 90 games. Info from Gamespot.com

There are many ways in Cyberpunk 2077 to deck out your V and improve their capabilities. Along with a massive arsenal of guns, including a talking gun that fancies the songs of Rhianna, there is also an extensive array of cybernetic upgrades for you to acquire. Given the scope of the game's Cyberware system, we wanted to single out some of the best upgrades in the game that you should invest in.Along with breaking down some of the most powerful upgrades, we also explain where to find them in the game. We also highlight some notable upgrades that you might be better avoiding in order to save time and your hard-earned eddies.Night City's Best CyberwareReinforced Tendons (Double Jump): Biomechanical connective tissue supporting leg muscles.These leg upgrades will allow V to perform a double jump, a video game staple across many different action games and platformers. If your character is particularly agile, this upgrade is a must if you want to reach some of the harder reach areas around Night City, or just want to put some extra finesse into different combat encounters.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com