If you've ever wanted a bit more Master Chief flavor with your Mahjong or Solitaire games, Microsoft has good news for you. Halo themes are now available for the Microsoft versions of the two games.The themes are free for all players and were designed by Halo developer 343 Industries. For Solitaire, which is on PC and mobile, the cards get an overhaul, with all of the face cards now showing Halo characters instead of the normal Jack, Queen, and King. The gems in Mahjong, which is only on mobile, are changed to look like Halo's multiplayer medals.🔊 #Halo has landed in Microsoft Solitaire (PC & mobile) and Mahjong by Microsoft (mobile).Check out the new @Halo Themes that were designed by 343 Industries for casual gamers throughout the universe.Play now!♣: https://t.co/KEYE7fhh24🀄: https://t.co/F6hF7D6mSy pic.twitter.com/NSqhSP5EZB — Microsoft Casual Games (@MSCasualGames) September 20, 2021It might seem weird on face for Microsoft to target its casual games like this, but Solitaire and Mahjong are enormously popular. Solitaire in particular is comically massive: During Microsoft Solitaire's 20th anniversary celebration last year, the company announced that over 35 million people still play it each month. Many of those people probably don't play many other Microsoft games yet, despite already being connected to the Xbox ecosystem. As a result, it's a big pool of people to market Microsoft's exclusives to--and these themes are a straightforward way to raise awareness.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In every Final Fantasy XIV expansion, jobs get tweaked to and fro--often receiving new abilities or a complete change in rotations. In FFXIV's Letter From the Producer, director and producer Naoki Yoshida and other staff members introduced the upcoming changes to jobs in Endwalker. We detailed the Reaper and Sage gameplay in a separate article, and the info below covers adjustments to existing jobs.Out of all of the jobs, Summoner received the largest amount of changes. It's basically a new job--losing its damage over time abilities, which have been an integral part of the job's gameplay--for new summoning abilities. In any case, have no fear of your favorite job becoming obsolete: Every FFXIV job is viable and can take you to the endgame. That will certainly remain true for Endwalker.TanksGeneralUsing mitigation abilities at the right times will increase the effects of said ability.Combos will not be broken by ranged attacks.You may notice changed numbers for physical attacks, but magical attacks and physical attacks are of equivalent potencies. (See 1:56:08 if you want the full detailed explanation behind this.) Applies to other classes as well.PaladinRequiescat will be equally effective no matter how much MP you have remaining.Confiteor will launch a new three-attack combo.Gap closer Intervene gets an additional 5 yalm for a total of 20 yalm.WarriorDamage up effects can now be triggered and extended by AoE combos. This will make smoother transitions from single target rotations into AoE rotations.Onslaught and Upheaval will no longer drain the Beast Gauge. Onslaught will also get a new total charge of three.Inner Release now can trigger a new action. Inner Release's recast time is also adjusted to 60 seconds now--making its execution more available.Dark KnightSalted Earth will now affect the area immediately around you and make a new action available. You no longer have to "place" Salted Earth.Your Living Shadow is going to get a new action as well, when you receive one of the new job abilities.Delirium's recast time will be adjusted to 60 seconds, affected up to three times.Plunge will get an extension of 5 yalms, for a total of 20 yalms.Will receive a new action that is a single target defense buff.GunbreakerSavage Claw and Wicked Talon will swap for Gnashing Fang on the hotbar, making combo execution easier and saving hotbar space.Continuation will be able to be used following Burst Strike.A trait will raise the number of cartridges raised to three.Paladin's gap closer also will get an extension of 5 yalms.Melee DPSGeneralFeint's effect will be changed to reduce physical damage dealt, and will also reduce magical damage dealt.Combos will not be broken by ranged attacks.DragoonAoE rotation expanded.Weapon skill combo rotation execution will make a new action available.Blood of the Dragon will become a trait, so there's no need to execute or maintain it.Spine Shatter will get changed to two charges.Lance Charge recast changed to 60 seconds, Litany recast to 20 seconds.MonkChakras will now be unlocked at a lower level.Perfect Balance activates the chakra system and can be stacked up to two. Each stack is charged up every 40 seconds.When you light up the three chakra slots, Perfect Balance lets you execute Masterful Blitz. The Blitz changes depending on what weapon skills you used while Perfect Balance was active.True Strike and Twin Snakes will no longer have directional conditions.Shoulder Tackle will get removed, but a rush movement will get added. You can target a party member to rush over to.SamuraiEffects granted by Jinpu and Shifu can also be applied by AoE combos.New actions in the vein of Taijutsu and Tsubame-gaeshi will be available.NinjaActions linked to Raiton, Doton, and Huton will be added.An action making it easier to apply Huton will be added.Shadow Fang--a damage-over-time--will be removed.New actions will be linked to Bunshin as well.Ranged Physical DPSBardEach of the three songs can trigger a new action that applies a party buff.Apex Arrow can trigger a new action.Wanderer's Minuet and Battle Voice recast times will be adjusted to match 120 seconds.MachinistA new action called Chain Saw will be added.Automaton Queen will get a new action too.Reassemble will get two charges.DancerWeapon skill effects like Flourishing Cascade will now be shared across single-target and AoE skills.New actions will be available upon the execution of Technical Finish, Improvisation, and Devilment. Core of Dancer's gameplay is applying buffs to party members, and the dev team kept the development of Dancer in that general direction for Endwalker.Magical Ranged DPSBlack MageEnochian will become a trait that is automatically applied while under the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice.Under certain conditions, swapping between Astral Fire and Umbral Ice will make new actions available. In the Job Action trailer, you saw Black Mage execute a new spell that looked like ice and fire were being simultaneously casted.When casting Fire IV and Thunder, the resulting proc will be extended.Red MageA new action will be available upon execution of Scorch.Verflare, Verholy, and Scorch will be changed to AoEs, available as part of AoE rotations.A defensive party-wide enhancement will be added.Black Mana and White Mana depletion amount will be reduced.Displacement and Engagement will have the same potency.SummonerSignificant rework to the job to make the job feel more like a "summoner."All actions applying damage over time will be removed.Can summon Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan--not just Egis.When summoning each of the primals, the summoner will gain an elemental aether and will switch into different modes.Updated flow: You will call forth demi-Bahamut, obtain an elemental property, and be able to summon Ifrit, Garuda, or Titan, and fight using the elemental properties of those different summons. Once you've depleted those three, you will be able to call forth the phoenix. There is no specific order that you need to call the Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan in.Physick and Resurrection were almost removed, but both will still be available.HealersGeneralAll healers will get new actions that apply single-target buffs.Offensive spells cast time will be reduced.Limit break area of effect will be expanded to 50m.White MageA functionally and visually distinct restorative field actions will be added.Higher tier for Holy Spell will get added.Fluid Aura will get removed.Divine Benison will become a charged action.AstrologianDiurnal Sect and Nocturnal Sect will be removed, and basic healing actions will be adjusted to have the same effects as they would have while under Diurnal Sect.A new action called, Neutral Sect, will get added. Under this Sect, there will be barrier effects that you can use.The effect of Divination will be changed, and the seals used for new enhancements can be applied to yourself.Redraw will no longer be a Charge action.Will get a new AoE spell that has both a healing and offensive component, inspired by White Mage's Holy.ScholarAdjusted so that Scholar leans more towards a barrier healer.Will receive a unique job action that can enhance the party's movement speed during combat. Same action will also give a damage reduction buff. The speed enhancement will not overlap with sprint.Will receive an action that gives an enhancement to a single party member.Endwalker releases on November 19 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and Playstation 5. This expansion will conclude FFXIV's 10-year story arc surrounding Hydaelyn and Zodiark, but will not mark the end for FFXIV as a whole. You can check out a short interview we did with Yoshida for more information.Info from Gamespot.com

Activision Blizzard is being investigated by federal regulators over the company's handling of employees' allegations of sexual misconduct and workplace discrimination. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has subpoenaed Activision Blizzard and multiple senior executives including CEO Bobby Kotick.The SEC has requested a wide range of documents from Activision Blizzard, including board meeting minutes since 2019, personnel files of six former employees, and separation agreements the company had reached with staffers in 2021, according to records obtained by WSJ. It also requested Kotick's communications with other senior executives in regards to complaints about sexual harassment or discrimination by Activision Blizzard employees and contractors.An Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed to GameSpot that the SEC is investigating the company.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A Warhammer Online private server, Return of Reckoning, has seen dedicated fans bring the MMO back from the grave in an unofficial capacity, and the team behind the project is going beyond simply giving fans a place to play the game.Released in 2008, the EA-published Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was billed as a true World of Warcraft-killer. That, obviously, didn't come to pass. The game failed to find a sizable enough audience and the servers were taken offline back in 2013. But, as spotted by Eurogamer, that hasn't stopped dedicated fans from breathing new life into the long-dead MMO, even going so far to patch in unfinished content that was never officially released.When Warhammer Online first released, it included two finished capital cities, Altdorf and The Inevitable City. But two additional capital cities, the dwarf city of Karaz-A-Karak and the Greenskin home of Karak Eight Peaks, were featured in the game's beta before being removed prior to the full game's launch.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

According to a report from Deadline, famed composer Howard Shore--who won three Academy Awards for the music to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films--is in discussions to compose the music for Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show.Filming on Season 1 has wrapped, but post-production work will continue through June 2022, the site reported, adding that pre-production on Season 2 (which films in the UK as opposed to New Zealand) will kick off starting January 1, 2022.Deadline's report had no additional information about Shore's involvement in Amazon's Lord of the Rings show. Importantly, the report says only that Shore is "in talks" to compose the music; nothing is official or confirmed at this stage.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After an extended hiatus, Destiny 2's pinnacle PvP activity Trials of Osiris returned last week and featured multiple changes that were designed to reinvigorate the multiplayer mode. According to Bungie, those changes were well-received and resulted in 750,000 players taking part. Of that number, 120,000 Guardians were first-time-ever players and another 470,000 hadn't played recently.237,000 players went flawless, with 105,000 players earning that achievement for the first time ever in their Destiny 2 careers. Bungie added that over 2.8 million hours of Trials had been played during that weekend, eclipsing the highest prior single week total by 600,000 hours.Even more changes are on the way, as Bungie detailed how it plans to tweak the matchmaking of Trials, something which Phil Hornshaw touched on in his article that detailed how players were using a loophole to gain an edge in the mode.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Destiny 2's Season of the Lost is already in its fourth week, but compared to previous seasonal events, it'll be running for much longer than usual. Lasting for six months and leading directly in The Witch Queen expansion, the main attraction so far has been Astral Alignment and Shattered Realm activities that flesh the current narrative out, a revamped Trials of Osiris multiplayer mode, and the latest Exotic weapon quest.Beyond that, Bungie has shared a few more details on what fans can expect for the rest of 2021. Destiny 2's annual Halloween-themed event Festival of the Lost will return in October and run through November, while Grandmaster Nightfall strikes, and increased difficulty options in Astral Alignment and Shattered Realm, will be activated.Destiny 2: Season of the Lost calendarFor the December to February period, the main event for those months will be the Bungie 30th Anniversary event that adds a new dungeon, sees the return of the fabled Gjallarhorn Exotic rocket launcher, a new six-player event, and more. Other seasonal events, such Destiny 2's The Dawning and Moments of Triumph, will roll out during this time frame as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Aboriginal artist Maggie-Jean Douglas has created a stunning limited-edition design for a custom Xbox Series X console as part of a Minecraft Education challenge from the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC). Douglas, a 21-year-old Gubbi Gubbi woman from Australia's sunshine coast region who grew up on Goreng Goreng land in Bundaberg, came up with the design--and it's incredible. The controller design is has a similar theme and style. We’re honoured to work with Gubbi Gubbi artist Maggie-Jean Douglas to create this limited edition NAIDOC artwork wrapped Xbox Series X and Controller as prizing for this year’s @IndigitalEdu Minecraft Education Challenge. https://t.co/HtgrRSy3Bu pic.twitter.com/qzq5CLLJ4U — Xbox ANZ (@XboxANZ) September 17, 2021In July, Douglas was chosen as the 2021 National NAIDOC Week winner for its poster competition. You can find out more and hear directly from Douglas in the video below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Electronic Arts recently delayed one of its biggest games this year, Battlefield 2042, but this is not a signal that the game is in trouble, according to principal software engineer Jim Hejl. Posting on Twitter, Hejl said there is no reason to worry about Battlefield 2042's delay--the game just needs "a little longer on spin cycle," Hejl said. The game is now slated for release on November 19 instead of October 22. "Hey, I really appreciate all the support from the community regarding the new 2042 dates. It feels good that you trust us," Hejl said. "And you should. It's a solid game. This isn't my first rodeo. It's not a project in trouble. It just needs a little longer on spin cycle."Hey, I really appreciate all the support from the community regarding the new 2042 dates. It feels good that you trust us.And you should. It’s a solid game. This isn’t my first rodeo. It’s not a project in trouble. It just needs a little longer on spin cycle.Have faith fam pic.twitter.com/CkPwoles8q — Jim Hejl (@jimhejl) September 17, 2021Right now, Hejl is spending time working on adjusting Battlefield 2042's terrain tessellation systems "for max performance without sacrificing anything visually."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fast & Furious star Sung Kang, who plays Han in the action movie series, has spoken about one of his next projects, the Star Wars TV show Kenobi. Speaking to ScreenRant, Kang said he's been a fan of Star Wars since he was a kid, dressing up like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in cheap department store costumes for Halloween. Now he has to keep pinching himself because he's actually in a Star Wars production.Not only did Kang speak about his Star Wars fandom, but he teased that his character--who remains a mystery--will wield a lightsaber in Kenobi. This opens up some interesting possibilities in regards to who he might be playing--a Jedi? We'll have to wait to find out."I used to dress in the cheap Kmart plastic Halloween costumes--[of] Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader--almost every single day from eight to thirteen years old. My friends and I would play pretend, we would make our own lightsabers out of, you know, toilet paper centers and stuff like that and paper towel cardboard," he said (via Collider). "To be able to be on set and see Darth Vader and see the Star Wars universe in front of me...just as a fan, to be able to be a part of that history is pretty amazing. I kept pinching myself to go, 'How did I end up here?' And my character has a lightsaber, [and] it's not a toy, it's actually the real thing."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Deathloop has many elements that are similar to previous Arkane Studios games, specifically its gameplay centered around supernatural abilities. In Deathloop, the items that convey these powers are called Slabs--equippable powers that are held by the most dangerous citizens of Blackreef. These Visionaries all have a different slab on them, with each one giving you an entirely new way to get around the island or engage with enemies. They also all feature numerous upgrades that can extend their abilities in creative ways, which begs the question: which ones should you get?In short: all of them, really. Unlike Dishonored, Deathloop claws back the scope somewhat and limits slabs to just five variations. Considering you can only equip two of them at a time anyway, this isn't too big of a deal, especially when you take into account how many upgrades each one has to enhance its effectiveness. Deathloop makes it clear where you can find each one, but if you need a comprehensive explanation of each one's effect and potential upgrades, then look no further.It's worth noting that while all these slabs are specific to certain Visionaries, the invading Julianna will always carry one random slab with her when she invades your game. If you manage to take her down, you can pick up a new ability or upgrade without needing to hunt a specific character, which should incentivize you to at least try to defeat invaders most times they appear.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sea of Thieves' fourth season starts on September 23, and developer Rare has posted a new teaser trailer for what fans can expect from it. While season 3's A Pirate’s Life was notable for its Pirates of the Caribbean crossover that brought Captain Jack Sparrow along for the ride, season 4 is teasing a trip to underwater locations.Going under the waves has been a traditionally dangerous place to explore in Sea of Thieves, although the few times that players have been directed to those areas have resulted in some worthwhile treasure being discovered. Rare hasn't spent too much time in the deep, although it looks like season 4 will change this.Sea of Thieves Season Four starts on September 23rd. pic.twitter.com/oZ6wIEiJUV — Sea of Thieves (@SeaOfThieves) September 16, 2021 Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

An interactive battle royale movie game is in development for console, PC, and mobile, letting you make decisions to determine the fate of a character.The playable film is called Bloodshore, and it launches in November for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and iOS, as well as PC, PS4, and Xbox One.The movie comes from Wales Interactive, which is known for its FMV games. The playable movie "follows a deadly televised battle royale between high-profile streamers, entertainers, and death row inmates, and features eight hours of FMV footage, the most Wales Interactive has ever produced," reads a line from its description.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The developer of the popular shooter Splitgate has said the game will get a Forge-style map editor mode before Halo Infinite does after 343 delayed the feature earlier this year.Responding to a tweet from KFC's gaming account to "trigger an entire gaming fanbase with one sentence," the Splitgate account replied with a message about Forge. "Splitgate will have Forge mode before Halo Infinite. Sorry in advance Halo fans, we love you but we had to," the tweet said (via IGN).Splitgate will have forge mode before Halo Infinite. (Sorry in advance Halo fans, we love you but we had to) — Splitgate - Season 0 (@Splitgate) September 15, 2021Splitgate's Forge mode probably won't be called Forge, developer 1047 Games said in another tweet, but it will be a similar type of map editor. "Imagine placing portal pads anywhere you wanted on Olympus," the tweet said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

For those who have been eyeing the new Samsung phones--the Galaxy Z Flip3 and Z Fold3--we have an exclusive offer that's worth checking out. If you purchase a new Galaxy Z Fold3 or Z Flip3 before the end of the month, you'll receive a free pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 ($150 value). See Z Fold3 at Samsung See Z Flip3 at Samsung This offer is only available if you use the links provided above. The Galaxy Buds 2 will discount to free at checkout. The earbuds have built-in active noise canceling technology as well as an ambient mode to let you customize your experience. They run for up to 7.5 hours on a full charge, and the included charging case extends the battery life up to around 29 hours.Samsung Galaxy Buds 2You can take advantage of this deal regardless of carrier. Both phones are available through Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. You can also get an unlocked version of either phone with this deal.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com