All news

One Of The Best Gaming Headsets Receives A Stylish New Look

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best gaming headsets of 2024 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. It offers an ultra-comfortable design, superb audio, and quality noise-canceling tech rarely found in gaming headsets. It also offers versatile device compatibility and lots of customization. Nearly two years have passed since the Nova Pro’s launch, but this premium headset still feels advanced compared to much of the competition. Now, SteelSeries is expanding the Nova Pro roster by giving the premium gaming headset an alternative look. A white version of the Arctis Nova Pro joins the original black model. You can check it out for yourself below, but we think it looks quite stylish.

$350

The Arctis Nova Pro isn’t cheap. At $350, it’s one of the priciest gaming headsets, but you’re getting stellar audio and tons of gaming features for your investment. Plus, the Nova Pro remains the most comfortable headset GameSpot has tested, and the build quality is excellent. We’d say it’s the gaming equivalent of a top-notch pair of Bose or Sony headphones.

As for the cool features SteelSeries packed into this sleek headset, the Nova Pro has active noise cancellation that works quite well. It doesn’t block out noise to the same degree as high-end, non-gaming headphones, but it’s one of the few gaming headsets we’ve tested that provides good ANC. When you need to hear the world around you, you can’t switch to transparency mode. Onboard AI enhances the clarity of the retractable microphone, and high-fidelity acoustic drivers produce rich and clear audio that can be customized to your liking with SteelSeries’ Sonar app.

The Nova Pro also supports the audio features found on Xbox Series X|S and PS5: Windows Spatial Sound on Xbox and Tempest 3D Audio on PS5. PC players can take advantage of 360-degree spatial audio as well. A variety of EQ profiles are offered out of the box, including game-specific audio presets for popular games like Fortnite. You can create custom profiles that fit your personal preferences, too.

Most wireless gaming headsets connect via a 2.4GHz dongle, but the Nova Pro comes with a base station that SteelSeries calls the Multi-System Connect hub. The hub can be linked to two platforms at one time and automatically powers on and switches its input to the console (or PC) you’re playing. The base station has an OLED display that can be used to adjust audio settings.

The Nova Pro is available in Xbox, PlayStation, and PC-specific models. All three models work with a wide variety of devices, but the Xbox edition is the only one that works with all current platforms. The PC and PlayStation editions–which work on all of the same devices–do not support Xbox. One of the USB-C ports on the base station in the Xbox model utilizes Microsoft’s proprietary wireless protocol, whereas the PC and PS5 editions feature two regular USB-C ports. If you are playing on Xbox and PlayStation, opt for the Xbox version.

At this time, Best Buy has the PC edition in stock, while SteelSeries has all three. We’d expect more listings to go live soon at Best Buy, and likely Amazon.

In addition to low-latency wireless connections through the Multi-System Connect USB hub, the Nova Pro also syncs wirelessly via Bluetooth with other devices, including Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and mobile devices—basically anything you own that supports Bluetooth audio. Bluetooth audio can be used in combination with 2.4GHz wireless, so you can play online multiplayer games with friends and listen to other audio on your phone, for example. The included 3.5mm cable can be connected to compatible devices for wired listening.

Like all current SteelSeries headsets, the Nova Pro has a clever feature that improves ergonomics. A strip of adjustable elastic separates your head from the steel headband. This simple yet effective component allows you to customize the headband’s tension and helps mitigate discomfort that plagues many gaming headsets when playing for long stretches of time. Plush leatherette earcups and a steel-enforced build round out the premium look and feel of the Nova Pro.

You can get a better look at the new white Nova Pro in the pictures below:

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro – White Edition

Gallery

It’s also worth noting you can replace the elastic headband and speaker plates with different colors to change the look of the Nova Pro. The speaker plates also serve a functional purpose. The USB-C charging port is concealed by one, and the rechargeable battery is behind the other. The Nova Pro actually comes with two batteries, one of which is slotted in the base station and charges while your console or PC is on. Battery life, in our experience, is impressive at around 20 hours for Bluetooth and 35 hours when using 2.4GHz wireless. But if you run out of juice, you can quickly swap to the other battery, which will likely be fully charged.

If the original black Nova Pro goes better with your gaming setup or you simply don’t have a preference either way, you should know that Amazon is offering fairly substantial discounts on the black Nova Pro for all platforms. For a more in-depth look at this premium gaming headset, check out our SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro review.

Gunar
Read More
All news

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Is Coming To iPhone And iPad In June

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Mirage will come to iPhone and iPad devices on June 6. In order to play it, the phone model must be an iPhone 15 Pro powered by the A17 Pro chip. iPads with the M1 chip or later can also play it.

These versions of Assassin’s Creed Mirage were developed by Ubisoft Sofia and aim to offer the same experience as the console version. They also support touch controls. Cross-progression and cross-save are available as well through Ubisoft Connect and players can transfer their progress across all platforms, including console and PC.

<div class="js-video-player-new av-video-player av-desktop-player av-video-on-demand is-vid-loading is-vid-noseek is-vid-show-controls " tabindex="0" data-id="456624854" data-promo-id="0" data-user-has-ads="1" data-video="{"id":6462514,"title":"Assassin%E2%80%99s%20Creed%20Mirage%20-%20Everything%20To%20Know","lengthSeconds":445,"startTime":0,"autoplay":true,"share":{"linkUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/assassins-creed-mirage-everything-to-know/2300-6462514/","embedUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/embed/6462514/","embedHtml":{"640":"nnnnnnnnnn","480":"nnnnnnnnnn"}},"device":"other","isDevice":false,"isLiveStream":false,"videoType":"video-on-demand","countdownTime":0,"guid":"gs-2300-6462514","ageGateCookieName":"videoAgeGateBirthday","watchedCookieName":"watchedVideoIds","watchedCookieDays":1,"postPlayMax":100,"adCall":{"host":"http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?","params":{"iu":"/5441/vaw-gamespot/desktop/gamespot.com","impl":"s","gdfp_req":1,"env":"vp","output":"xml_vmap1","unviewed_position_start":1,"url":"[referrer_url]","correlator":"[timestamp]","description_url":"[description_url]","cmsid":2566084,"vid":6462514,"pp":"vpaid_js"},"custParams":{"ptype":"news_article","cid":"gs-1100-6523086","game":"assassins-creed-mirage","genre":"action,adventure","con":"playstation-5,xbox-series-x,pc,playstation-4,xbox-one,ios-iphoneipad","publisher":"ubisoft","embed":"autoplay","franchise":"assassins-creed","category":"games","franchiseRoot":"assassins-creed","partner":"desktop/gamespot.com","vid":6462514},"soundBasedSize":{"normal":"640×480","muted":"640×483","none":"640×480"},"daiSsbUrl":"https://dai.google.com/ondemand/hls/content/2572465/vid/6462514/master.m3u8","daiMidRollHost":2500176},"uvpHi5Ima":"https://s0.2mdn.net/instream/html5/ima3.js","cuePoints":null,"uvpc":"","partner":"gamespot","adPartner":"desktop/gamespot.com","desktopAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","mobileAdPartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile","mapp":"gamespot","cms":"pi","seekablePlaybacks":["html5","uvpjs"],"tracking":[{"name":"SiteCatalyst","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"charSet","value":"UTF-8"},{"name":"currencyCode","value":"USD"},{"name":"siteType","value":"responsive web"},{"name":"trackingServer","value":"saa.gamespot.com"},{"name":"visitorNamespace","value":"cbsinteractive"},{"name":"heartbeatTrackingServer","value":"newimagitasinc.hb.omtrdc.net"},{"name":"heartbeatVisitorMarketingCloudOrgId","value":"3C66570E5FE1A4AB0A495FFC@AdobeOrg"},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"siteCode","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"brand","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"account","value":"cbsigamespotsite"},{"name":"edition","value":"us"}]},{"name":"ComScore_ss","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"c2","value":"31824268"},{"name":"publishersSecret","value":"2cb08ca4d095dd734a374dff8422c2e5"},{"name":"c3","value":""},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"c4","value":"gamespot"}]},{"name":"NielsenTracking","category":"tracking","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"host","value":"https://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?"},{"name":"scCI","value":"us-200330"},{"name":"scC6","value":"vc,c01"}]},{"name":"MuxQOSPluginJS","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"propertyKey","value":"b7d6e48b7461a61cb6e863a62"}]}],"trackingAccount":"cbsigamespotsite","trackingSiteCode":"gs","trackingPrimaryId":"cbsigamespotsite","videoAssetSource":"GameSpot","uvpjsHostname":"//www.gamespot.com","siteType":"responsive web","startMuted":false,"screenMediumThumb":"https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1823/18237460/4199630-etk_acmirage_site.jpg","videoStreams":{"adaptive_stream":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nhgzHNeg.m3u8"},"userId":0,"premium":false,"datePublished":1696258800,"videoAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","videoAdMobilePartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile"}” data-non-iframe-embed=”1″ data-jw-context-name=”gamespot” data-jw-media-id=”nhgzHNeg” data-jw-player-url=”https://cdn.jwplayer.com/libraries/VXc5h4Tf.js” data-jw-video-token data-has-youtube data-youtube-icon-path=”https://www.gamespot.com/a/bundles/phoenixsite/images/core/loose/icn-youtube-30×30.png” readability=”7.9130434782609″>

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Click To Unmute

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Sign up or Sign in now!

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s

Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Assassin’s Creed Mirage – Everything To Know

The game is also free to download and playable for 90 minutes. After that point, the full version costs $50. Universal Purchase is supported so there’s no need to buy the same game twice on both iPhone and iPad.

Ubisoft still has some ideas on how to expand on the game’s main protagonist, Basim, and his story even further. However, there are still no plans for additional DLC for Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is now available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox in addition to iOS. In GameSpot’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage review, we said, “Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s focus on social stealth and detective work makes for a compelling dive into ninth-century Baghdad.”

Gunar
Read More
All news

Star Wars 4v4 Hero Shooter Is Coming To Switch And Mobile In June

Over three years since its first gameplay trailer and nearly six since the deal between Disney and Zynga was announced, Star Wars Hunters–the 4v4 multiplayer hero shooter featuring new characters to the Star Wars lore–will finally launch on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices on June 4.

A new blog post on StarWars.com revealed the now-impending launch date for Star Wars Hunters, along with a trailer showing off some of the hunters players will choose from. Seen in the trailer are J-3DI, the droid that thinks it’s a Jedi master; Slingshot, a droidka piloted by an Ugnaught; and Utooni, which is two Jawas wearing a trenchcoat.

<div class="js-video-player-new av-video-player av-desktop-player av-video-on-demand is-vid-loading is-vid-noseek is-vid-show-controls " tabindex="0" data-id="304681149" data-promo-id="0" data-user-has-ads="1" data-video="{"id":6464003,"title":"Star%20Wars%3A%20Hunters%20-Official%20Launch%20Date%20Reveal%20Cinematic%20Trailer","lengthSeconds":71,"startTime":0,"autoplay":true,"share":{"linkUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/star-wars-hunters-official-launch-date-reveal-cinematic-trailer/2300-6464003/","embedUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/embed/6464003/","embedHtml":{"640":"nnnnnnnnnn","480":"nnnnnnnnnn"}},"device":"other","isDevice":false,"isLiveStream":false,"videoType":"video-on-demand","countdownTime":0,"guid":"gs-2300-6464003","ageGateCookieName":"videoAgeGateBirthday","watchedCookieName":"watchedVideoIds","watchedCookieDays":1,"postPlayMax":100,"adCall":{"host":"http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?","params":{"iu":"/5441/vaw-gamespot/desktop/gamespot.com","impl":"s","gdfp_req":1,"env":"vp","output":"xml_vmap1","unviewed_position_start":1,"url":"[referrer_url]","correlator":"[timestamp]","description_url":"[description_url]","cmsid":2566084,"vid":6464003,"pp":"vpaid_js"},"custParams":{"ptype":"news_article","cid":"gs-1100-6523085","game":"star-wars-hunters","genre":"action,shooter,tactical,third-person","con":"nintendo-switch,mobile,ios-iphoneipad,android","publisher":"zynga","embed":"autoplay","franchise":"star-wars","category":"games","franchiseRoot":"star-wars","partner":"desktop/gamespot.com","vid":6464003},"soundBasedSize":{"normal":"640×480","muted":"640×483","none":"640×480"},"daiSsbUrl":"https://dai.google.com/ondemand/hls/content/2572465/vid/6464003/master.m3u8","daiMidRollHost":2500176},"uvpHi5Ima":"https://s0.2mdn.net/instream/html5/ima3.js","cuePoints":null,"uvpc":"","partner":"gamespot","adPartner":"desktop/gamespot.com","desktopAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","mobileAdPartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile","mapp":"gamespot","cms":"pi","seekablePlaybacks":["html5","uvpjs"],"tracking":[{"name":"SiteCatalyst","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"charSet","value":"UTF-8"},{"name":"currencyCode","value":"USD"},{"name":"siteType","value":"responsive web"},{"name":"trackingServer","value":"saa.gamespot.com"},{"name":"visitorNamespace","value":"cbsinteractive"},{"name":"heartbeatTrackingServer","value":"newimagitasinc.hb.omtrdc.net"},{"name":"heartbeatVisitorMarketingCloudOrgId","value":"3C66570E5FE1A4AB0A495FFC@AdobeOrg"},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"siteCode","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"brand","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"account","value":"cbsigamespotsite"},{"name":"edition","value":"us"}]},{"name":"ComScore_ss","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"c2","value":"31824268"},{"name":"publishersSecret","value":"2cb08ca4d095dd734a374dff8422c2e5"},{"name":"c3","value":""},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"c4","value":"gamespot"}]},{"name":"NielsenTracking","category":"tracking","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"host","value":"https://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?"},{"name":"scCI","value":"us-200330"},{"name":"scC6","value":"vc,c01"}]},{"name":"MuxQOSPluginJS","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"propertyKey","value":"b7d6e48b7461a61cb6e863a62"}]}],"trackingAccount":"cbsigamespotsite","trackingSiteCode":"gs","trackingPrimaryId":"cbsigamespotsite","videoAssetSource":"Publisher Asset","uvpjsHostname":"//www.gamespot.com","siteType":"responsive web","startMuted":false,"screenMediumThumb":"https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1574/15746725/4295933-22.jpg","videoStreams":{"adaptive_stream":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PoEHBaUj.m3u8"},"userId":0,"premium":false,"datePublished":1714498560,"videoAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","videoAdMobilePartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile"}” data-non-iframe-embed=”1″ data-jw-context-name=”gamespot” data-jw-media-id=”PoEHBaUj” data-jw-player-url=”https://cdn.jwplayer.com/libraries/VXc5h4Tf.js” data-jw-video-token data-has-youtube data-youtube-icon-path=”https://www.gamespot.com/a/bundles/phoenixsite/images/core/loose/icn-youtube-30×30.png” readability=”7.96632996633″>

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Click To Unmute

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Sign up or Sign in now!

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s

Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Star Wars: Hunters -Official Launch Date Reveal Cinematic Trailer

Hunters will offer players multiple ways to play both with friends and against AI bots, which include standard “deathmatch” rules in Squad Brawl mode and point-control matches in Dynamic Control. Another mode, Trophy Chase, is a race for teams to control a small golden droid–the aptly named TR0-F33–for a certain amount of time.

Star Wars Hunters debuted during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, where the first gameplay trailer aired. The game did soft launch in Asian countries later that year, though Zynga announced a delay of the worldwide launch soon after.

Star Wars Hunters will launch June 4 for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Interested players can pre-register now for special rewards which will unlock on day one.

Gunar
Read More
All news

Escape From Tarkov Boss Didn’t Expect Players To Get Mad About Paid PvE Content

BattleState Games, the developer behind Escape from Tarkov, didn’t expect the backlash of only granting access to its PvE mode for those who purchased the $250 collector’s edition. It has since issued an apology and made several changes.

“First of all, I would like to say that I am very sorry that fans and the game community in general are experiencing these feelings, said chief operational officer Nik Buyanov in a Reddit post. “Unfortunately, I somehow did not foresee the fact of such a reaction and now I have drawn conclusions for my future decisions.”

BattleState Games will now make the mode free for those who purchased the Edge of Darkness edition, but will do so in waves. That’s because there is not enough server capacity to accommodate every single player at the moment. Furthermore, there will be mod support for the PvE mode after the game releases out of early access.

New Edge of Darkness perks for the game will be balanced, and prioritized matchmaking will be removed in order to keep everyone around the same level.

The $250 collector’s edition, called the Unheard Edition, will not be removed, but will be modified. The items and perks included in this edition will be balanced further and more rewards will be added.

BattleState Games came under fire for putting the PvE game mode behind a paywall last week, and the studio attempted to justify that it was a “feature and a game mode,” not DLC. As such, it didn’t count as DLC and wouldn’t be available for Edge of Darkness edition purchasers who were entitled to all subsequent DLC expansions.

Gunar
Read More
All news

New Star Wars And Marvel Disney Plus Blu-Rays Have Arrived, But You May Want To Order Soon

The second wave of Star Wars and Marvel physical editions of hit Disney+ series launched today, April 30. On the Star Wars side, you can pick up Season 1 of the stellar show Andor as well as the complete Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Meanwhile, Marvel fans and collectors can add The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Moon Knight to their shelves. All four shows are available on 4K Blu-ray and standard 1080p Blu-ray. You’ll get a steelbook case and three art cards with each one, regardless whether you choose 4K Blu-ray or standard Blu-ray. Amazon and Walmart are offering nice discounts for the brand-new releases, too.

If you prefer to shop at Amazon, you should know that you’ll have a bit of a wait before your order arrives. Though Moon Knight is available to ship immediately, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and Andor won’t arrive until May 8 at the earliest, according to Amazon’s current estimates (which can change at any time). Meanwhile, Obi-Wan has a one- to two-month wait.

Over at Walmart, on the other hand, all four releases are available to ship immediately. You may even be eligible for free one-day or delivery. You can also order online and pick up at your local store. Here’s a quick look at Walmart’s listings for each.

Walmart Disney+ listings, eligible for one-day delivery

And if you still want to pick up last year’s releases, we’ve compiled a list below of all eight of the Disney+ Marvel and Star Wars physical editions on 4K and standard Blu-ray. And, of course, you could also sign up for a Disney+ subscription to watch all of these shows and more.

More Marvel and Star Wars Disney+ Blu-rays

$45 (was $55)

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier team up at the very end of Avengers: Endgame, and this collection follows their ensuing adventures through the first season of their spin-off show. It’s available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray, both of which come with a steelbook case and art cards. Along with the film, the physical release includes the Cap’s Shield featurette, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and Assembled: The Making of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

$45 (was $55)

The first season of Moon Knight follows in the footsteps of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, with 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray steelbook collections up for grabs. Along with the complete first season, you get a featurette about the Egyptian mythology that inspired Moon Knight, a documentary about the making of Moon Knight, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and three art cards.

$45 (was $55)

Set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi follows the eponymous Jedi as he embarks on a new adventure. Both the 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray steelbook collections include the complete run. The discs include a variety of featurettes, such as director’s commentary from Deborah Chow and a look at the lore behind the Inquisitors and Darth Vader. Along with the steelbook case, you get a trio of collectible art cards.

$45 (was $55)

The final series getting a physical release is Andor. The 4K UHD and Blu-ray steelbook collections include the complete first season, three art cards, and five unique featurettes–including stories of ISB agent Dedra and a discussion about the origin of the Andor series.

Can’t wait for these upcoming releases? Check out the existing collection of Disney Plus shows that made the jump to Blu-ray.

Disney Plus Blu-ray

Gunar
Read More
All news

PSA: Make Sure To Pick The Same Faction As Your Friends In Gray Zone Warfare

Gray Zone Warfare is a new tactical shooter in early access on Steam, where you can squad up with your friends… if you choose the same faction that is. Players are reporting that if you choose a different faction from your friends when playing Gray Zone Warfare, you will be unable to party up together and there is currently no way to change factions.

Shared on the game’s subreddit, players have found that once you choose one of three factions in Gray Zone Warfare, your account is locked into that faction. You are also only able to play with people in the same faction as you, so if your friends choose a different faction, you will be unable to play together. There currently is no way to reset your account or make a new character, with the only potential workaround being to make a new Steam account and family-sharing the game to it.

<div class="js-video-player-new av-video-player av-desktop-player av-video-on-demand is-vid-loading is-vid-noseek is-vid-show-controls " tabindex="0" data-id="2078907567" data-promo-id="0" data-user-has-ads="1" data-video="{"id":6463642,"title":"Gray%20Zone%20Warfare%20%7C%2023%20Minutes%20Of%20Tactical%20Gameplay%20Official%20Reveal%20Trailer","lengthSeconds":1429,"startTime":0,"autoplay":true,"share":{"linkUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/gray-zone-warfare-23-minutes-of-tactical-gameplay-official-reveal-trailer/2300-6463642/","embedUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/embed/6463642/","embedHtml":{"640":"nnnnnnnnnn","480":"nnnnnnnnnn"}},"device":"other","isDevice":false,"isLiveStream":false,"videoType":"video-on-demand","countdownTime":0,"guid":"gs-2300-6463642","ageGateCookieName":"videoAgeGateBirthday","watchedCookieName":"watchedVideoIds","watchedCookieDays":1,"postPlayMax":100,"adCall":{"host":"http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?","params":{"iu":"/5441/vaw-gamespot/desktop/gamespot.com","impl":"s","gdfp_req":1,"env":"vp","output":"xml_vmap1","unviewed_position_start":1,"url":"[referrer_url]","correlator":"[timestamp]","description_url":"[description_url]","cmsid":2566084,"vid":6463642,"pp":"vpaid_js"},"custParams":{"ptype":"news_article","cid":"gs-1100-6523083","game":"gray-zone-warfare","genre":"adventure","con":"pc","publisher":"madfinger-games-a-s","embed":"autoplay","category":"games","partner":"desktop/gamespot.com","vid":6463642},"soundBasedSize":{"normal":"640×480","muted":"640×483","none":"640×480"},"daiSsbUrl":"https://dai.google.com/ondemand/hls/content/2572465/vid/6463642/master.m3u8","daiMidRollHost":2500176},"uvpHi5Ima":"https://s0.2mdn.net/instream/html5/ima3.js","cuePoints":null,"uvpc":"","partner":"gamespot","adPartner":"desktop/gamespot.com","desktopAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","mobileAdPartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile","mapp":"gamespot","cms":"pi","seekablePlaybacks":["html5","uvpjs"],"tracking":[{"name":"SiteCatalyst","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"charSet","value":"UTF-8"},{"name":"currencyCode","value":"USD"},{"name":"siteType","value":"responsive web"},{"name":"trackingServer","value":"saa.gamespot.com"},{"name":"visitorNamespace","value":"cbsinteractive"},{"name":"heartbeatTrackingServer","value":"newimagitasinc.hb.omtrdc.net"},{"name":"heartbeatVisitorMarketingCloudOrgId","value":"3C66570E5FE1A4AB0A495FFC@AdobeOrg"},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"siteCode","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"brand","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"account","value":"cbsigamespotsite"},{"name":"edition","value":"us"}]},{"name":"ComScore_ss","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"c2","value":"31824268"},{"name":"publishersSecret","value":"2cb08ca4d095dd734a374dff8422c2e5"},{"name":"c3","value":""},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"c4","value":"gamespot"}]},{"name":"NielsenTracking","category":"tracking","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"host","value":"https://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?"},{"name":"scCI","value":"us-200330"},{"name":"scC6","value":"vc,c01"}]},{"name":"MuxQOSPluginJS","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"propertyKey","value":"b7d6e48b7461a61cb6e863a62"}]}],"trackingAccount":"cbsigamespotsite","trackingSiteCode":"gs","trackingPrimaryId":"cbsigamespotsite","videoAssetSource":"Publisher Asset","uvpjsHostname":"//www.gamespot.com","siteType":"responsive web","startMuted":false,"screenMediumThumb":"https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1574/15746725/4272497-22.jpg","videoStreams":{"adaptive_stream":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/usQamquZ.m3u8"},"userId":0,"premium":false,"datePublished":1710346140,"videoAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","videoAdMobilePartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile"}” data-non-iframe-embed=”1″ data-jw-context-name=”gamespot” data-jw-media-id=”usQamquZ” data-jw-player-url=”https://cdn.jwplayer.com/libraries/VXc5h4Tf.js” data-jw-video-token data-has-youtube data-youtube-icon-path=”https://www.gamespot.com/a/bundles/phoenixsite/images/core/loose/icn-youtube-30×30.png” readability=”7.9130434782609″>

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Click To Unmute

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Sign up or Sign in now!

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s

Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Gray Zone Warfare | 23 Minutes Of Tactical Gameplay Official Reveal Trailer

Gray Zone Warfare is an MMO tactical shooter featuring both PvPvE and PvE extraction-like gameplay. Its main features include being ultra-realistic, with highly customizable guns and a unique health system that tries to simulate a more realistic version of taking damage in combat. One of the main appeals of Gray Zone Warfare is squadding up with friends to explore with, which is why being unable to switch factions is causing such an uproar.

Gray Zone Warfare is currently sitting at Mixed on Steam with over 3,500 reviews. The majority of the negative reviews cite performance issues, with the game unable to maintain a stable frame rate on some PCs.

Gunar
Read More
All news

Funko Fusion Crams Over 20 Universal Franchises Into One Adventure

Funko Pops have become one of the top collectibles in the world while featuring characters from top movies, TV shows, and video games. 10:10 Games, in partnership with Funko, is bringing them to life with the power of over 20 franchises from the NBCUniversal portfolio in Funko Fusion, which launches September 13.

Funko Fusion is a co-op action-adventure game where players will control Funko Pop versions of characters from included franchises, while fighting enemies in scenes taken from the movies and TV shows as well. It will offer both single-player and online co-op multiplayer at launch, so players can choose to fight alone or with friends.

How is the Nope monster more terrifying in Lego form?

The debut trailer for Funko Fusion highlights some of the characters and IP that will combine into one big adventure. Starbuck, He-Man, and Shaun Of The Dead are a few examples of those seen in the trailer, along with scenes from Back To The Future, The Thing, and Jurassic Park.

Properties confirmed for the game so far include the following:

  • Jurassic World
  • JAWS
  • Back to the Future
  • The Thing
  • Shaun of the Dead
  • Chucky
  • Battlestar Galactica
  • The Umbrella Academy
  • Masters of the Universe

Funko Fusion is set to launch September 13 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Those who preorder the game will receive a free pack themed around The Walking Dead, with both Rick Grimes and Michonne included as playable characters.

Gunar
Read More
All news

Helldivers 2 Update Nerfs Some Of Its Best Weapons, But There’s A Silver Lining

Helldivers 2’s latest balance patch is here, and it’s knocked some of Super Earth’s favorite weapons down a peg.

Players are lamenting nerfs to popular weapons like the LAS-99 Quasar Cannon, which was only recently introduced and proved to be a bot-destroying powerhouse. Its recharge time has been increased. Meanwhile, the CB-9 Exploding Crossbow now creates smaller explosions and can hold fewer magazines, though it now deals more stagger to enemies.

<div class="js-video-player-new av-video-player av-desktop-player av-video-on-demand is-vid-loading is-vid-noseek is-vid-show-controls " tabindex="0" data-id="371492775" data-promo-id="0" data-user-has-ads="1" data-video="{"id":6463818,"title":"Helldivers%202%20-%20Warbond%3A%20Democratic%20Detonation%20Trailer","lengthSeconds":62,"startTime":0,"autoplay":true,"share":{"linkUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/helldivers-2-warbond-democratic-detonation-trailer/2300-6463818/","embedUrl":"https://www.gamespot.com/videos/embed/6463818/","embedHtml":{"640":"nnnnnnnnnn","480":"nnnnnnnnnn"}},"device":"other","isDevice":false,"isLiveStream":false,"videoType":"video-on-demand","countdownTime":0,"guid":"gs-2300-6463818","ageGateCookieName":"videoAgeGateBirthday","watchedCookieName":"watchedVideoIds","watchedCookieDays":1,"postPlayMax":100,"adCall":{"host":"http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?","params":{"iu":"/5441/vaw-gamespot/desktop/gamespot.com","impl":"s","gdfp_req":1,"env":"vp","output":"xml_vmap1","unviewed_position_start":1,"url":"[referrer_url]","correlator":"[timestamp]","description_url":"[description_url]","cmsid":2566084,"vid":6463818,"pp":"vpaid_js"},"custParams":{"ptype":"news_article","cid":"gs-1100-6523081","game":"helldivers-2","genre":"3d,action,shooter,third-person","con":"pc,playstation-5","publisher":"playstation-pc,sony-interactive-entertainment,playstation-studios","embed":"autoplay","category":"games","partner":"desktop/gamespot.com","vid":6463818},"soundBasedSize":{"normal":"640×480","muted":"640×483","none":"640×480"},"daiSsbUrl":"https://dai.google.com/ondemand/hls/content/2572465/vid/6463818/master.m3u8","daiMidRollHost":2500176},"uvpHi5Ima":"https://s0.2mdn.net/instream/html5/ima3.js","cuePoints":null,"uvpc":"","partner":"gamespot","adPartner":"desktop/gamespot.com","desktopAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","mobileAdPartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile","mapp":"gamespot","cms":"pi","seekablePlaybacks":["html5","uvpjs"],"tracking":[{"name":"SiteCatalyst","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"charSet","value":"UTF-8"},{"name":"currencyCode","value":"USD"},{"name":"siteType","value":"responsive web"},{"name":"trackingServer","value":"saa.gamespot.com"},{"name":"visitorNamespace","value":"cbsinteractive"},{"name":"heartbeatTrackingServer","value":"newimagitasinc.hb.omtrdc.net"},{"name":"heartbeatVisitorMarketingCloudOrgId","value":"3C66570E5FE1A4AB0A495FFC@AdobeOrg"},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"siteCode","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"brand","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"account","value":"cbsigamespotsite"},{"name":"edition","value":"us"}]},{"name":"ComScore_ss","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"c2","value":"31824268"},{"name":"publishersSecret","value":"2cb08ca4d095dd734a374dff8422c2e5"},{"name":"c3","value":""},{"name":"partnerID","value":"gamespot"},{"name":"c4","value":"gamespot"}]},{"name":"NielsenTracking","category":"tracking","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"host","value":"https://secure-us.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?"},{"name":"scCI","value":"us-200330"},{"name":"scC6","value":"vc,c01"}]},{"name":"MuxQOSPluginJS","category":"qos","enabled":true,"params":[{"name":"propertyKey","value":"b7d6e48b7461a61cb6e863a62"}]}],"trackingAccount":"cbsigamespotsite","trackingSiteCode":"gs","trackingPrimaryId":"cbsigamespotsite","videoAssetSource":"Publisher Asset","uvpjsHostname":"//www.gamespot.com","siteType":"responsive web","startMuted":false,"screenMediumThumb":"https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/screen_medium/1574/15746725/4283406-22.jpg","videoStreams":{"adaptive_stream":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6A4c55rX.m3u8"},"userId":0,"premium":false,"datePublished":1712249040,"videoAdPartner":"desktop%2Fgamespot.com","videoAdMobilePartner":"mobile_web%2Fgamespot.com_mobile"}” data-non-iframe-embed=”1″ data-jw-context-name=”gamespot” data-jw-media-id=”6A4c55rX” data-jw-player-url=”https://cdn.jwplayer.com/libraries/VXc5h4Tf.js” data-jw-video-token data-has-youtube data-youtube-icon-path=”https://www.gamespot.com/a/bundles/phoenixsite/images/core/loose/icn-youtube-30×30.png” readability=”7.9130434782609″>

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Click To Unmute

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Sign up or Sign in now!

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s

Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Helldivers 2 – Warbond: Democratic Detonation Trailer

One of the game’s most popular weapons introduced in the Cutting Edge Warbond, the Sickle, has seen the number of magazines it can hold cut in half, from six down to three. Add on the fact that one of the best support Stratagems to help cut hordes of weaker enemies, the AX/AR-23 Guard Dog, has seen its damage reduced by 30%, and the bugs and bots have plenty to celebrate.

But all hope is not lost. The nerfs are far from making the weapons unplayable. Skilled Helldivers should have no trouble managing a slightly longer recharge time on the Quasar Cannon or dealing with fewer magazines for the Sickle, which rarely consumed magazines anyways unless a player was laying on the trigger and causing it to overheat.

Even though some of the game’s best weapons took a hit, developer Arrowhead Studios has delivered a bit of a silver lining as many other weapons have received damage buffs. The list of weapons now packing a little more of a punch includes many of the game’s sidearms and even the default assault rifle, the AR-19 Liberator.

There have been a few updates to enemies as well: a mixed-bag of buffs and nerfs that players will have to contend with. Scout Strider riders are now less vulnerable to explosions and Hulks are now more difficult to stagger, but fire damage, and the damage from flamethrowing Hulks, is now reduced.

Other changes include tweaks to how the game’s missions distribute objectives, which should translate to less running across the entire map. Running patrol missions solo just got more challenging, especially at higher levels, with increased patrol spawns. And trigger happy Helldivers beware: Shots that ricochet from heavily-armored enemies will now bounce back at whoever fired the shot. You can read the full patch notes for the balance update below.

Helldivers 2 players recently believed they had pushed the Automatons out of the the galaxy, only for them to return with a vengeance after a few short days. The Termanids, too, are in resurgence, with the game’s most recent major order tasking players with deactivating the Terminid Control System players fought to activate just a few weeks ago, on account of Termacide actually helping the bugs reproduce even faster. Go figure.

Helldivers 2 Updated 01.0.3 Patch Notes

Overview

For this patch, we have made improvements and changes to the following areas:

  • Balance changes to weapons, stratagems, and enemies
  • Change to the Spread Democracy mission

Balancing

General

  • Armors with armor rating above 100 now also reduce damage on headshots.
  • Victory poses will now only play for the extracted. (No stolen valor on my ship.)
  • Burning damage reduced by 15%

Primary, Secondary & Support WeaponsCB-9 Exploding Crossbow

  • Slightly smaller explosion
  • Increased stagger
  • Decreased number of maximum mags from 12 to 8
  • Increased number of magazines received from resupply from 6 to 8
  • Slight reduction in ergonomics
  • Muzzle velocity increased

LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

  • Increased recharge time by 5 seconds

BR-14 Adjudicator

  • Full auto is now the default fire mode
  • Reduced recoil
  • Increased maximum mags from 6 to 8
  • Increased number of magazines received from resupply from 6 to 8
  • Now placed amongst assault rifles

LAS-98 Laser Cannon

  • Slightly increased damage
  • Slightly reduced damage versus large volume bodies

SG-8P Punisher Plasma

  • Decreased maximum mags from 12 to 8
  • Increased amount of magazines received from resupply from 6 to 8
  • Increased projectile speed, but will still keep a similar range
  • Decreased damage falloff on the explosion
  • Now placed in the energy weapons category

ARC-12 Blitzer

  • Increased shots per minute from 30 to 45
  • Now placed in the energy weapons category

R-36 Eruptor

  • Decreased number of maximum mags from 12 to 6
  • Explosion damage drops off slightly faster

LAS-16 Sickle

  • Decreased amount of magazines from 6 down to 3

LAS-5 Scythe

  • Increased damage from 300 to 350
  • Decreased max number of mags from 6 down to 4

RS-422 Railgun

  • Increased armor penetration in both safe mode and unsafe mode
  • Stagger force slightly reduced

MG-101 Heavy Machine Gun

  • Third person crosshair enabled

63CS Diligence Counter Sniper

  • Damage increased from 128 to 140
  • Ergonomics improved

R-63 Diligence

  • Damage increased from 112 to 125

P-19 Redeemer

  • Slight increase in recoil

P-2 Peacemaker

  • Increased damage from 60 to 75

P-8 Senator

  • Increased damage from 150 to 175
  • Speedloader added when reloading on an empty cylinder–speeds up reload on empty considerably

LAS-7 Dagger

  • Increased damage from 150 to 200

AR-19 Liberator

  • Damage increased from 55 to 60

AR-23C Liberator Concussive

  • Damage increased from 55 to 65

JAR-5 Dominator

  • Damage decreased from 300 to 275

AX/AR-23 Guard Dog

  • Decreased damage by 30%

RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher

  • Airburst Rocket Launcher will no longer detonate when shot near stratagems (HMG turret, Sentries, Resupplies) and other Helldivers
  • Reduced proximity radius

Stratagems

A/MG-43 Machinegun Sentry

  • Increased health to match other Sentries

A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower

  • Increased health by 33%

FAF-14 Spear

  • Added reload stage reload after the spent missile had been discarded

RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher

Enemies

  • Bile Spewer and Nursing Spewers movespeed slightly reduced
  • Hulks: Force required for them to stagger slightly increased
  • Hulk Scorcher direct flamethrower damage reduced by 20%
  • Devastator fire rate slightly increased (only the standard devastator)
  • Gunships sideways movement slightly increased
  • Scout strider Riders now less vulnerable to explosions
  • Fog Generators health and armor increased
  • Gunship spawners now have a much lower cap on how many gunships they can have active at the same time

Enemy Patrols

  • Patrol spawning has been increased when there are fewer than 4 players. The fewer the players the bigger the change. For 4 player missions there will be no change compared to before.The biggest noticeable change will be for solo players at higher difficulties

Gameplay

  • Made minor level generation improvements to how we distribute locations throughout the mission map. This should improve variation in distance between objectives, and objectives will likely not spawn as far away from each other as often as before.
  • Added setting in the options menu gameplay section to disable automatic climbing and vaulting while sprinting.
  • The Spread Democracy mission otherwise known as “raise the flag” can now be enjoyed on higher difficulties for maximum freedom spreading.
  • When readying up, Helldivers now salute to ensure maximum democratic readiness.
  • Added ambience to the Tremor planetary hazard to underline the severity so Helldivers can react accordingly
  • Shots that ricochet from heavy armored enemies will now properly hit the Helldiver who fired them. Trigger discipline is highly recommended.

Fixes

Crash fixes

  • Fixed crash that could occur when host abandoned mission with squad.
  • Fixed crash that could occur if a player tried to enter an occupied EXO-45 Patriot Suit.
  • Fixed crash that could occur for all players after or during mission results screen.
  • Fixed crash that could occur after shooting from the EXO-45 Patriot Suit’s rocket launcher.
  • Fixed crash that could occur for all players apart from the one that rejoined the ongoing mission with different armor and got reinforced.
  • Fixed Superior Packing Methodology ship module not working properly.
  • Fixed Blast Absorption ship module so that it correctly increases sentries’ resistance to explosions.
  • Fixed issue where players could not navigate to the search results in the Social Menu.
  • Fixed some issues where items equipped in a Warbond were not actually equipped.
  • Fixed an exploit that allowed overly eager Helldivers to use grenades excessively.
  • Fixed issue where kills from orbital barrage did not progress Indirect Fire Exercise order.
  • Fixed issue that allowed traitors to try to sabotage the extraction shuttle by deploying sentry stratagems below it.
  • Fixed issue where ion storms incorrectly prevented extraction beacon from deploying.
  • Fixed some stratagem beams using incorrect color-coding.
  • Fixed issue where the left stick on a controller could not be used to navigate the Social menu.
  • Fixed some issues where various UI elements were cut off, off-centered or too close to the edge of the screen on ultrawide displays.
  • Fixed Anti-Materiel Rifle facing away from the Helldiver after deploying it.
  • Fixed bug where player could duplicate rounds by canceling the reload of Anti-Materiel Rifle at a specific time.
  • Fixed bug where Anti-Materiel Rifle would consume an extra magazine after a canceled reload.
  • Fixed bug where Recoilless Rifle would consume an extra shell from the backpack if the reload was canceled just after a shell was inserted, but before the reload was completed.
  • Fixed issue where the Sickle and Quasar Cannon could not shoot through foliage.
  • Fixed several issues where weapon thumbnails would disappear when scrolling through Armory.
  • Fixed issues where Automaton Gunships sometimes could not see the player.
  • Fixed incorrect collision being left over after destroying Automaton bunkers or detector towers with hellbombs.
  • Fixed issue where Hellbombs would not deploy on certain missions
  • Fixed certain issues that resulted in Helldivers drowning in deep water upon landing.
  • Fixed issue where Hellpod Space Optimization made ammo go above capacity.
  • Fixed issue where Stalkers became very visible in fog
  • Mines are now pingable for better coordination with your team.
  • Receiving friend requests now gives the player a pop up.
  • Improved readability of prompts and hints displayed in the tutorial and onboarding.
  • Total experience is now visible in the career tab.
  • Added better support for ultrawide monitors by fixing the aspect ratio of menus to 16:9 and adding a setting to control the width of the HUD.
  • Keybinds bound to numpad will no longer reset upon restart.
  • Fixed inconsistent audio when headphones are plugged into the Dual Sense controller while playing on PC.
  • Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors in front of the ship no longer causes player to fall out into space.
  • APW-1 Anti-Material Rifle and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun now trigger hitmarkers while scoped in.
  • Secondary weapon no longer remains in the Ballistic Shield ADS position after using a stim with the Ballistic Shield Backpack equipped.
  • “Open Text Chat” is now rebindable.
  • Explosive weapons such as R-36 Eruptor, CB-9 Exploding Crossbow. GP-31 Grenade Pistol no longer pulls players inward from the blast.
  • Disabled the squad invites during the tutorial which caused an overlap in the UI.
  • Fixed Primary and Secondary weapons overlapping on the character model in the armory.
  • Fixed UI elements during first boot are cut off on a 21:9 aspect ratio monitor.
  • Report and block player is now visible in the squad menu.
  • Dead Scavengers now stop screaming for help if killed while calling in reinforcements.
  • Fixed Anti Air cannons showing up as “Stratagem Scramblers” in danger warnings.

Known Issues

Various issues involving friend invites and cross-play

  • Friend Request cannot be accepted when the requesting player changed their username before the request was accepted.
  • Cross-platform friend invites might not show up in the Friend Requests tab.
  • Players cannot unfriend players befriended via friend code.
  • Players cannot unblock players that were not in their Friends list beforehand.
  • Damage-over-time effects may only apply when dealt by the host. We expect to have this fixed in the next patch.
  • Reinforcement may not be available for some players who join a game in progress.
  • Helldiver may be unable to stand up from crouching when surrounded by enemies.
  • Game may crash if the host leaves while dead and rejoins the same play session.
  • Game may crash if the player changes the text language while on a mission.
  • Players may experience delays in Medals and Super Credits payouts.
  • Enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions.
  • Scopes on some weapons such as the Anti-Materiel Rifle are slightly misaligned.
  • Arc weapons sometimes behave inconsistently and sometimes misfire.
  • Spear’s targeting is inconsistent, making it hard to lock-on to larger enemies.
  • Stratagem beam might attach itself to an enemy but it will deploy to its original location.
  • Explosions do not break your limbs (except for when you fly into a rock).
  • Area around Automaton Detector Tower makes blue stratagems such as the Hellbomb bounce and be repelled when trying to call them down close to the tower.
  • Planet liberation reaches 100% at the end of every Defend mission.
Gunar
Read More
All news

The Roku Home Screen Is Getting Video Ads

Roku CEO Anthony Wood has revealed the company’s plans to introduce video ads to the Roku home screen. This move, discussed during Roku’s Q1 2024 earnings call last week, aligns with the broader trend in the streaming industry where ads are becoming more prevalent, raising concerns for some viewers.

During the call, Wood highlighted the intention to display ads to viewers (via Ars Technica) “before they select an app,” aiming to ensure ad exposure during TV-viewing sessions. He mentioned the additional ad content that could be coming soon includes the introduction of video ads, similar to the autoplay ads that came to Fire TVs in 2023, which faced criticism for their intrusiveness.

Wood also mentioned ongoing tests for various video ad units, expressing a commitment to maximizing ad opportunities within the Roku OS ecosystem. None of this is exactly expected to thrill viewers, but as Roku devices have the ability to reach 120 million people per day (per The Streamable), Wood explains the expectation that this option is likely to be “very popular with advertisers.”

The CEO also discussed Roku’s efforts to improve the user experience on the platform, including the introduction of a recommended-content row. This feature compiles picks from various streaming services and utilizes AI to guide customers toward new shows and movies they might enjoy. “There’s lots of ways we’re working on enhancing the home screen to make it more valuable to viewers but also increase the monetization,” Wood said. A recent Accenture survey found that 52% of viewers report titles displayed within Roku’s “recommended for you” rows do not accurately reflect their viewing habits.

In January of this year, Prime Video introduced ads, even for paying subscribers.

Gunar
Read More
All news

How Diablo 4’s Loot Reborn Update Will Make Its Items, And Players, More Powerful Than Ever

With three seasons under Diablo 4’s belt since its launch, it’s safe to say a lot has changed for Blizzard’s ARPG. But it will be the game’s upcoming Season 4 update on May 14, dubbed Loot Reborn, that marks the biggest shift for Diablo 4 yet, completely reworking items–how they drop, their stats, and how they are upgraded.

Across both the game’s Eternal and Seasonal realms, items will be fewer in number, with fewer affixes. Many of the game’s more confusing, niche, or circumstantial affixes will be removed, resulting in items that will generally be better and more suited towards a player’s class and build. Meanwhile, Blizzard is introducing two new ways to improve items, Tempering and Masterworking, which will give players more control over their item progression than ever before. There’s even a new, 200-floor endgame dungeon players can fight their way through, all in the name of upgrading their items even further.

We recently chatted with Diablo 4 lead live game designer Colin Finer and lead live class designer Adam Jackson for more insight on these sweeping changes. They shared details on how Blizzard is looking to not only get players back to the fun of killing demons faster but also how the game’s itemization changes will result in a more balanced, “better feeling” game.

Fewer Chores, More Demon Slaying

The core issue the Loot Reborn update looks to address is one that many dedicated Diablo 4 players have had with the game since launch: It takes players too much time to sort through items and manage their inventory, when they would much rather be playing the actual game. Great items were out there waiting to be found prior to Season 4, Finer said, but sifting through hundreds of items to find one powerful item felt like a “chore.”

It was a piece of feedback Jackson said the team has heard consistently from players since the game’s launch.

“[Players] said, ‘I go to a dungeon, I get 30-plus items, and I have to sit there and spend a lot of time going back to town and parsing all of these stats on all of these items,'” Jackson said. “Four lines of stats, on 30 different items, and a lot of them can be really complicated. It’s a lot of brainpower and not fun work when we really want players to be going out and fighting the monsters and killing things and getting loot. That’s the fun part of the game, right?…So we are trying to reduce that and add fun to the parsing part of the backend, by turning it into a crafting system that’s engaging and enjoyable to do versus just looking at stats when they drop.”

Masterworking improves affix values on a piece of gear, with the required crafting materials gained from the new endgame dungeon, The Pit.

That’s where Masterworking and Tempering come in. Though items will drop with fewer affixes than before, Tempering recipes allow players to add an additional affix. When used in conjunction with the Enchanting system already present in Diablo 4, players can now more precisely tune an item to their tastes, with Tempering recipes even introducing brand-new affixes that allow for new build possibilities. Jackson used an example of Dust Devil Barbarians. Whereas there were previously some Barbarian Legendary items that would spawn tornadoes damaging tornadoes, they didn’t scale and ultimately weren’t effective at higher difficulties. After the Loot Reborn update, however, players will be able to seek out Tempering recipes that grant affixes that relate specifically to buffing Dust Devils, turning it from a niche Legendary power that can be fun for a little while into an actual endgame build.

“There’s a lot of stuff there that wasn’t possible to do before that is now,” Jackson said. “A lot of builds can come online now and actually scale and be meaningful and powerful that didn’t exist before.”

Masterworking, on the other hand, lets players take their chosen items even further in power than before. Upgrading an item through Masterworking improves all of that item’s affix values. For every four Masterwork upgrades, one random affix on the item will see a large power increase, making it even stronger. Items can be Masterworked 12 times, but for an item to reach the pinnacle of its power, players will need to get the required crafting materials from The Pit, a new, 200-floor endgame dungeon that is described as “the hardest the game is going to get as far as your normal dungeon and farming content.” Each floor will increase in difficulty, and the tilesets and bosses on each floor will be random. Making The Pit’s boss encounters even more challenging will be the fact that ghostly shade versions of other Diablo 4 bosses will appear mid-fight to throw out one-off attacks, just to keep players on their toes. Conquering these challenging encounters and climbing to higher floors will result in higher level Masterworking materials, allowing players to push their gear even further.

Rebalancing Sanctuary

With Tempering, Masterworking, and a chance for Ancestral items on World Tier 4 to roll with a larger stat roll than normal for a given affix, players will have more control of their gear, and gain more power from it, than ever before come the Loot Reborn update. That’s something the Diablo 4 team is well aware of, and though Jackson said no one class benefits from the itemization changes more than the others, overall, characters will no doubt be stronger.

“I would say we’re pretty cognizant that total player power is going up in this season, because we made gear more powerful,” Jackson said. “You get meaningful stats, you get new stats that didn’t exist before, and you can juice them up now with these additional systems.”

That increase in player power has required some rebalancing, Jackson said. Monsters, in general, should be a bit more challenging come the update to accommodate for more powerful players, and stat caps have been put in place in certain areas to ensure that “things don’t just completely break down.” Overall, however, the game should feel more balanced and consistent, as Jackson said making certain powerful affixes, specifically ones like Damage Reduction, more rare in Season 4 makes it easier to balance the rest of the game accordingly.

Tempering adds a random affix from a recipe to a selected item, and will allow for even more character builds.

“At first you think, ‘Oh, I can’t get it, that’s not cool,'” Jackson said. “But actually what it does is it lets us normalize and better know how much survivability a player is going to have when damage reduction is very, very rare or many players don’t even have it. One, it makes that stat really meaningful when you get it, so if you ever see it somewhere, like on a unique or something, that’s really impressive. But also it makes it better for us to tune incoming monster damage. The difference between a monster hitting you and your player having all damage reduction on every piece of gear and having none is very large, a thousands of percent difference in survivability. So players that didn’t know or didn’t have any just got one-shot by everything. We want to normalize that experience of incoming and outgoing damage so that we can actually balance and have a better feeling game on the tuning side.”

Another major itemization change is the fact that all Legendary Aspects will now be added to the game’s Codex of Power upon being acquired, which can then be imprinted on a piece of Legendary gear as many times as needed. It’s a huge quality-of-life change that will result in less inventory management and more experimentation on the part of players, who will no longer have to micromanage their inventory of Legendaries.

“Players were just hoarding Legendaries in their stash…It just added so much mental overhead to the whole experience,” Finer said. “It’s cooler to just say once you find that Legendary item you get to keep that roll forever and you don’t have to think about it anymore, it goes straight into your codex, you can imprint it on any Legendary item. We just think that made it way more streamlined. We didn’t want you managing your stash and having to keep all these crappy aspects on the back end and having to manage that.”

Aiding The Iron Wolves, And The PTR’s Future

Reworked loot may be the focus of the season, but like previous seasons, there is new story content for players to dive into as well, even if it’s not the main selling point. Season 4 sees players teaming up with the mercenary band the Iron Wolves to push back the demons inside the game’s updated Helltide areas, which feature new activities inspired by Season 2’s Blood Harvest events. Though the loot rework is the star of the season, Finer said the combo of the Iron Wolves and the theme of Loot Reborn pair nicely together and “made for a pretty seamless integration.”

Season 4 will introduce Accursed Rituals to Helltides, alongside a new mini-boss, the Blood Maiden.

With so many massive changes to Diablo 4’s items, more testing was needed. It’s for that reason Blizzard deployed a public test realm to help gather data and feedback for Season 4, something that was common for Diablo 3 and is regularly used in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft but hadn’t yet been done in Diablo 4. Finer said Season 4 felt like the right time for more player feedback given the breadth of changes, but that the team in general feels like it has a “ton of data” when it comes to making more standard, seasonal balance changes and that a PTR might not always be necessary.

“Season 4 just had so much that it really required a ton of time to chew through and test, and it felt like that was the right time for it [the PTR],” Finer said. “We don’t necessarily know, or have concrete plans, on doing a PTR every single time.”

A Fresh Start

Loot Reborn is a major turning point for Diablo 4. With reworked items, item progression, and a rebalancing of both player and monster power, it’s in many ways a fresh start for Blizzard’s ARPG. Jackson said the update just marks “the beginning” for systems like Tempering, which he said Blizzard can continue to adjust and add build-specific recipes to help further balance the game in the future.

The update all goes towards getting the ARPG closer to what Finer said has been the Diablo 4 development team’s goal from day one: having awesome loot that players are excited to find.

“We’ve sort of reframed it,” Finer said. “We still want you to be excited about loot, but we don’t want that journey to stop as soon as that awesome item hits the ground. We want you to take that piece of gear and take it on its own journey.”

Diablo 4 Season 4 will begin on May 14, alongside a host of class balance changes. Its first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, is slated to arrive in late 2024.

Gunar
Read More