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The Division – New Xbox One Footage Reveals Latest Build Of Massive’s Online RPG Shooter

It’s a great day for fans of Tom Clancy’s The Division. Early this morning, developer Massive delivered specifics on the upcoming Closed Beta for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, announcing that it will begin on January 28, first for Xbox One users.

More recently, a blowout of brand new gameplay videos of the Xbox One version of the game have surfaced, courtesy of a handful of community members who recently had hands-on time with a more up-to-date but still work-in-progress version of the game. A lot of the new footage walks viewers through the game’s character creation, customization options, player abilities, and progression. There’s also a ton of combat from story missions and side missions, as well as player-versus-player shenanigans in the hostile environment known as the Dark Zone.

As some of the videos have pointed out, proximity chat is a thing in The Division, meaning you’ll be able to speak with nearby friendlies who aren’t in your fire team and gauge the intentions of other Agents you might stumble upon while exploring the Dark Zone. Others explain how your Base of Operations can be improved over time with better equipment and more skilled personnel. JackFrags also mentions Massive’s plan to bring both free and paid content to The Division in future updates.

We’ve rounded up a few must-see videos below. Have a look and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section. We want to hear ’em!

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The Division launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on March 8.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Mortal Kombat X Getting An “Enhanced Online Beta” That Aims To Improve Network Code

Gamers frustrated with Mortal Kombat X‘s poor online performance are in for some good news that will hopefully get retired fighters back into ripping the spines out of others in more stable player-versus-player fights.

NetherRealm Studios has announced that Mortal Kombat X’s network code will receive a major overhaul and will be replaced by the GGPO network code in order to provide smoother and more accurate online fights. The change won’t happen anytime soon, however, but the studio will be rolling out a beta for the GGPO enhanced network code, starting on January 19th. It will feature the following four characters to test out in the new environment: Jackie Briggs, Johnny Cage, Scorpion, and, of course, Sub-Zero.

NetherRealm will be adding more characters to the Enhanced Online beta periodically, so chances are you’ll get to play as your favorite kombatant if you can wait it out.

To sign up for the Enhanced Online Beta can do so by following this link when it goes live on Tuesday [Update: the sign up page is now live for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owners]. It should be noted that in order to be eligible for the beta, you must have at least played one hour of Mortal Kombat X prior to the sign-ups going live.

The news of MKX implementing the GGPO network code shouldn’t come much as a surprise if you have been following the ever playful co-creator of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon on Twitter recently.

Aside from the GGPO network code overhaul, MKX will also receive its second Kombat Pack with Leatherface, Xenomorph, Bo’Rai Cho, and Tri-Borg in the near future. Alongside access to the new characters, Kombat Pack 2 will also offer the following skins: Brazil Pack, Kold War Pack, Kold War Scorpion, and Armageddon themed skins for D’Vorah, Erron Black, and Takeda.

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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The Division Closed Beta Dates Are In, Starts One Day Early On Xbox One

After being moved out of last December and into 2016, the official start and end dates for The Division‘s Closed Beta on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC are finally in.

Ubisoft Massive announced January 29 as the official kick-off day for the closed beta on PlayStation 4 and PC. Meanwhile, Xbox One users will get in one day early on January 28. There won’t be a whole lot of time to take it all in, however, as the beta ends on all platforms on January 31.

If you haven’t signed up for the waiting list yet, the link to do so is right here. You can guarantee a spot by pre-ordering the game. Check out the official FAQ for more details.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Developer Stream Highlights Game’s Newest Features

With just a few hours to go until  Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2’s Open Beta officially kicks off on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, developer PopCap HD took the liberty of showcasing one of the game’s biggest new features, the Backyard Battlefround, during a recent live stream.

If you haven’t been keeping up with news, Backyard Battleground acts as the game central hub in-which you can party up with friends, pick up quests, customize your characters, take on hordes of the opposite team, or look for secret areas that are located throughout the map.

For those who happened to miss the developer stream, you can check the new gameplay in the two re-cap videos below:

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PopCap HD also announced that the servers for the Open Beta will go live some time around 6PM PST on both platforms.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will be available February 23 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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New Rainbow Six Siege Patches Out For PC & Consoles Today

New updates are coming in hot for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege on both PC and consoles today alongside a wave of permanent bans for offenders opting to cheat their way to victory in casual and ranked matches.

Ubisoft Montreal wrote in a blog update earlier that, “effective immediately, any cheating detected by the system will lead to a permanent ban, with no more three-day suspensions for first-time offenders.” Starting with Xbox One, the studio will also be testing out a new instant-death punishment (an in-game one, of course) for defenders attempting to enter out-of-bounds areas during the preparation phase.

More notably, as Update 1.2 hits consoles this Wednesday, both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be brought up speed in terms of tick rate, which should mean smoother online matches and better hit detection. Tomorrow’s Update 1.3 for PC, which also hits consoles on January 20, includes a host of much needed bug fixes as well.

If you didn’t catch the official notes for Update 1.2, don’t miss ’em, and read on to find out exactly what’s in Update 1.3, courtesy of the Ubiblog.

GENERAL TWEAKS & IMPROVEMENTS

(Live for PC and consoles, as of Jan. 13th)

HIT REGISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS

  • Updated the server tick rate for console users
  • With the goal of improving positioning and shooting replication, we had deployed a first update on PC in which the player position update rate is set to 60 times per second (vs. the previous 30). After testing, we are satisfied with its state so we are now deploying this update to all consoles as well.

ANTI-CHEATING IMPROVEMENTS

  • Cheating countermeasures have been improved further.
  • Banning policy update: all cheaters detected by the system will be banned permanently. No more three day ban for first offense.

EXPLOIT FIX: DEFENDERS EXITING THE PREPARATION PHASE

  • Added a configuration that allows us to turn ON an insta-kill configuration for Defenders that go outside their zone during the preparation phase (this behavior should not be possible, but if exploits are found, the guilty shall be punished by a swift death!)
  • We will be able to activate this functionality at any time. We will first be testing it on XB1 during the afternoon of January 13th (Montreal time). If it proves effective, we will be deploying this on all platforms later that day.

TOP COMMUNITY-RAISED BUG FIXES

(Live for PC on Jan. 13th, live for consoles on Jan. 20th)

Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list and that we are only highlighting fixes that were done about the most commonly raised community bugs.

LEVEL DESIGN FIXES

  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to exit their zone during the preparation phase (red wall). When transitioning from proning to standing position combined with putting up a barricade, players were able to go through walls. We believe this exploit is now solved. Please share your experience in this forum thread if you still encounter it after the patch (information we are looking for listed in opening post).

ONLINE FIXES

  • Partial fix of Error [2-0x00000041]. Refer to the High Priority Issues in the Known Issues post for more information.
  • Potential full fix of the loading screen freeze (smoke background). Refer to the High Priority Issues in the Known Issues post for full information.
  • Potential full fix of the failed data synchronization issue. Refer to the High Priority Issues in the Known Issues post for full information.
  • Session authentication operation requests are now using the per data center proxy instead of the Dev one.
  • Improved error tracking, for easier issue identification from our side.
  • Ranked match reconnection fixes for PC:
    • If game was closed by pressing [x] or ALT+F4, the players will not be leaving all sessions anymore.
    • Players leaving a Ranked match by pressing F10 will now be receiving reconnect & abandon messages.
    • Players leaving a Ranked match by quitting with ALT+F4 will now be receiving reconnect & abandon messages.
  • Various smaller connectivity and crash fixes.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Ubisoft Massive Releases Lengthy Gameplay Trailer For Tom Clancy’s The Division

Rejoice! The internet gets three minutes of brand new gameplay from Tom Clancy’s The Division in an all-new trailer that Ubisoft Massive published earlier today.

It’s got a ton of never-before-seen footage, including more combat scenarios and new locations that depict a devastated, post-apocalyptic New York city. If you look closely, you be able to pick out some of the neat abilities that your Agent will be able to unlock as he or she levels up through The Division’s RPG-inspired skill tree. You’ll also catch an assortment of rough and tough enemies that are looking to put up a good fight.

The Division launches on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on March 8. The Division’s Open Beta is expected to launch in the near future.

Drop some comments below. What’d you think of the new gameplay trailer?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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EA Brings “Origin Access” To PC For $4.99 Per Month

EA Access, a monthly subscription-based digital distribution platform that was formally only available on Xbox One, has now made its way to Origin on Windows PCs.

The company unveiled “Origin Access” earlier today, which is now available through the Origin store for $4.99 USD per month. The membership’s benefits include limited trials of upcoming EA games before they release and library of full EA games that are continuously added to “The Vault.” 15 games are currently available, including Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield 4, Battlefield 3, and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. Games in Origin Access aren’t only limited to EA titles only either. EA says third-party titles will also make an appearance in The Vault.

The service was originally offered to Xbox One users back in August 2014. Meanwhile, Sony says it felt that EA Access “does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect,” and so it remains unavailable on PlayStation 4.

Check out quirky announcement trailer above, guest-starring Bill Nye.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Mortal Kombat X – New Kombat Pack 2 Characters Revealed

With the new year upon us, NetherRealm Studios is finally ready to showcase what’s in store for Mortal Kombat X fans with the upcoming Kombat Pack 2 DLC.

As promised late last week by MK co-creator Ed Boon via Twitter, the very first in-game footage of Kombat Pack 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, which you can watch above. It reveals horror film icons Leatherface and Xenomporh from the Alien series as brand new additions to the series. They will join Mortal Kombat’s “drunken master,” Bo’ Rai Cho, and new comer Tri-Borg who harnessed the abilities of the fan-favourite cyborg ninjas, Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke.

Those who purchase Kombat Pack 2 will also receive the following items: Armageddon skin pack featuring skins for D’Vorah, Erron Black and Takeda, Brazil Skin Pack, Goro, the Kold War Skin Pack and Kold War Scorpion.

It should also be noted that during the finals of ESL’s Season 2 Mortal Kombat X tournament, which takes place on January 24, there is going to be another video that will provide an in-depth look at one of the Kombat Pack 2 characters. If history is anything to go by, you can expect the character to be released relatively soon after.

Excited to get back into Mortal Kombat X with all-new characters? Who’s your favorite?

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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First Look At Halo 5’s January Update, New Forge Maps & Game Types Coming To Matchmaking

Halo 5: Guardians‘ fans have more free content to look forward to later this month. Developer 343 Industries is back from the holidays, preparing new free content and planning a few excellent playlist updates.

Infinity’s Armory, Halo 5’s latest free content drop, is scheduled to launch near the end of January. It’ll include new maps, weapons, weapon skins, armor, and more, according to 343’s latest blog. A lot more will be detailed in upcoming previews and developer livestreams in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled. For now, the studio teased this image, showing off one of the new maps in Infinity’s Armory:

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In addition to new goods, improvements are also being made to Halo 5’s multiplayer playlists with updates coming as soon as this weekend. Team Arena will be this weekend’s featured playlist, and in accordance with fan feedback, XP earned in featured playlists from now on will be more than doubled. Players will also earn more REQ points per minute in an effort to keep up with more rewarding playlists.

Down the road, 343 also plans to insert some of the community’s favorite Forge maps into matchmaking.

“We’ve been working with a variety of Forge communities to identify some of the top maps out there, and building out plans with the Multiplayer Team on a few different ways that we plan to bring these into the matchmaking lineup and places like Waypoint, Twitter, live streams, and more,” 343’s Community Manager Andy “Bravo” Dudynsky wrote.

“These playlists are in the works as we speak, and we’re looking forward to featuring the best community maps and game types, ranging from competitive maps to classic remakes to wacky and fun custom-built map and game variants.”

You’ll get an idea of the type of stuff 343 is looking for by checking out the Community Spotlight section of the studio’s latest blog.

Lastly, matchmaking is also due for an update with new game types, including fan-favorites like Grifball.

“We know many of you are looking forward to jumping into new Halo 5 game types, and the team is hard at work on a wide variety of modes – ranging from competitive modes to Grifball to Fiesta to more,” Dudynsky added.

“These are currently being slated into future Halo 5 updates, and although final timelines aren’t set just yet, things are going through engineering, test and polish, and we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at an old bit of game type concept art to wet your whistle:”

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Neat! How many of you would be happy to see modes Grifball and Fiesta return to Halo 5: Guardians? Any others that you’re missing? Drop some comments!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Rainbow Six Siege Bug Fixes A Top Priority This Month, Says Ubisoft, Two Updates Incoming

Back at work following the holiday, Ubisoft Montreal is promising all Rainbow Six Siege players relief from a handful of issues currently plaguing the tactical shooter and disrupting the online experience.

According to a recent forum post from the studio, two patches are in the works for January, both of which will launch first for PC and then consoles upon further testing. The first, Update 1.2, is scheduled to hit PC today, January 7, and then consoles on January 14. Update 1.3 will deploy mid-January on PC and end of January for consoles. With these, Ubisoft hopes to fix the following issues:

  • Error 41 – Most recurrent PvP connection error
  • Extended matchmaking connection time – Irregularly long loading time for some players (especially in Ranked).
  • Failed data synchronization – Failed data screen resulting, in some cases, to no renown being issued at the end of a match.
  • Loading screen freeze (smoke background) – Some players get stuck in a screen when loading a match.
  • Game exploit in which Defenders are able to go outside during the preparation phase (bypassing the red wall).
  • Party of 4 Matchmaking – Some users experience much longer matchmaking times if they try to matchmaking with a party of 4 players.

In February, Update 2.0 will mark the beginning of Siege’s first season of content.

Recently, we learned that the shooter’s first round of downloadable content, Black Ice, has been put on hold for a short while. Originally meant to launch some time in January, Season Pass holders will get first dibs on the DLC this February 2.

According to the studio’s post-launch roadmap, upcoming Siege content includes new operators, maps, weapons, game modes, cosmetic items, and “exclusive seasonal content and events.” Siege’s first DLC, Black Ice, will feature operators from the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 along with one new map, new gameplay upgrades, new seasonal player skins, and more.

Hopefully, Siege’s current troubles aren’t affecting your enjoyment too much. At the very least, it’s nice to see Ubisoft Montreal keeping its fans in the loop. Here’s to hoping everything will be sorted out by the end of this month.

UPDATE: Here are the official patch notes for Update 1.2, now live on PC and coming soon to consoles.

General Tweaks and Improvements

HIT REGISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS

Updated the server tick rate for all PC users, coming soon to consoles

With the goal of improving positioning and shooting replication, we had deployed a first update on PC in which the player position update rate is set to 60 times per second (vs. the previous 30). This change however has been done in an intermittent fashion and in certain regions only, as we were testing various configurations. We are now satisfied with its state so we are now deploying this update to all PC users. As soon as this feature has been validated with this more massive test on PC, we will be deploying this update on consoles as soon as possible.

Data center selection is now possible (PC users only, for now)

PC users can change their default data centers in the Rainbow Six game settings file (gamesettings.ini), which is usually located in the ‘My Documents\My Games\your Uplay ID’ folder. Change the DataCenterHint value from ‘default’ to the region’s short name that you wish to have as your default data center. The available region short names can be found just above the DataCenterHint line.

Note that we are planning to eventually expose this in the in-game UI for all platforms and this PC-exclusive feature is only a first step.

MATCHMAKING IMPROVEMENTS

  • Refining the quality of PVP matches with more evenly matched opponents
  • Added a criteria that increases the odds of pre-made parties being matched against a squad with an equal number of pre-made parties within them.
  • Skill criterion originating from the player’s region is now more precise.

IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY TO PVP AND PVE MATCHES

  • Increased match quality by ensuring players using the same data center get matched together, leading to better ping.
  • Improved accuracy of the estimated waiting time while in lobby.

Top Community-Raised Bug Fixes

Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list and that we are only highlighting fixes that were done about the most commonly raised community bugs.

GAMEPLAY FIXES

  • Ranked matches HUD synch with Casual update has been applied (read: playlist changes from this post).
  • Did some fixes on an issue in which players would get stuck when walking, running or at the end of a rappel. The player could do other actions and rotate but couldn’t move.
    • Some situations still cause this bug. It is a work in progress.

LEVEL DESIGN FIXES

  • Kanal: fixed a bug in which the red blocker wall was not present on a window in the holding room for Defenders and allowed them to exit their zone during the preparation phase.
  • Some lighting issues on maps have been fixed.
  • Some minor collision issues have been fixed on House, Clubhouse, Kanal and Russian Café.

ONLINE FLOW FIXES

  • Fixed Error [3-0x0001000B].
  • Partial fix of Error [2-0x00000041]. Refer to Top Issues in the Known Issues post for full information.
  • Partial fix of the loading screen freeze (smoke background). Refer to Top Issues in the Known Issues post for full information.

UI FIXES

  • Player skill rank display has been re-activated.
  • Authentication pop-up title had inconsistent spacing.

AUFIO FIXES

  • XB1: Fixed a bug in which if a player constrained the game, snapped an app, then unconstrained the game, he or she would lose the voice chat.
  • XB1: Fixed a bug in which the game did not exhibit any audio whilst the player had any app snapped.

OTHER FIXES

  • The Season Passes temporary activation for everyone for issue identification purposes has now ended, see this post for more details.
  • Fixed a bug in which the Tier 5 faded skin for the FBI’s 5.7 USG pistol didn’t unlock even after purchasing it.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Visceral Sets Launch Date For Battlefield Hardline’s Getaway DLC, Watch The New Trailer

If you’re a Battlefield Hardline Premium member, grab your calendar and mark off the 12th of January. That’s the date Visceral Games’ cops vs. criminals shooter gets its second round of downloadable content following Hardline’s Robbery DLC last September.

Getaway DLC, as it’s called, will also be available to download for non-Premium members on January 26, two weeks later. So far, we’ve gotten brief look at some of the new maps, weapons, vehicles, and gadgets on offer and, more recently, we also learned about Getaway’s new Competitive Match feature that aims to up the challenge with new multiplayer leagues.

Alongside the announcement, and with the help of Battlefield video creator TheFloppyRagdoll, Visceral also dropped a brand new cinematic trailer for the expansion, delivering some action-packed moments on Getaway’s four new maps. Have a look above.

Excited to get back on Hardline later this month? What’d you think of the new footage? Drop a comment below.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Open Beta Goes Live January 14, Xbox One & PS4

With just a few more weeks left until the next installment of PopCap HD’s quirky third-person shooter, Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, arrives, the Vancouver-based studio is starting the new year with some big news about an upcoming Beta.

Those who own a PlayStation 4 or a Xbox One will be able to join in on the long-standing war between Plants and Zombies on Suburbia starting January 14 via an Open Beta. To accompany the announcement, a new video has also been released, showcasing what you’ll experience during the testing period. Check it out above.

It should be noted, however, that you won’t have much time to spend in the Beta, as it will only be available until January 18.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is set to be released on February 23rd for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One platforms.

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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Battlefield Hardline Getaway DLC To Deliver New Competitive Matchmaking & League Options

With the arrival of Battlefield Hardline‘s Getaway DLC later this month, developer Visceral Games is introducing a new set of competitive features to the shooter’s matchmaking options.

“It’s called the Competitive Match system, and it opens up the ability to compete in skill-based 5v5 matches, with regularly refreshed seasons, leaderboards, and winners,” wrote Visceral in a recent blog update. “In Competitive Match, play is organized into two to three week-long seasons; each season features a themed map/mode rotation created by Visceral. You can play solo or with a squad (console only), and you will be matched against players of similar skill. Do well, and your Skill Rating will go up. Do poorly, and… yeah, it’ll go down.”

A Skill Rating is recalculated after every match, placing each player in a range of ranks from “Cadet” to “Elite Gold Captain.” Each season, the top five players will get an exclusive upgrade to their Kill Card while the No. 1 players will be “celebrated for all to see.”

Premium members will be able to participate in two leagues: the Standard League and the Premium League. They’re similar, except that the latter will include maps and modes from Hardline’s expansion packs, as well as maps and modes from the base game. Non-Premium members will only be able to participate in the Standard League.

More details are sure to come, including an official launch date for Battlefield Hardline Getaway DLC. You can find out the latest on it right here.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Activision Blizzard Aims To ‘Create The ESPN of eSports’ With Recent MLG Acquisition

Video game publishing company Activision Blizzard is growing its reach into the world of esports with its recent acquisition of Major League Gaming (MLG), a leading esports network dedicated to broadcasting live gaming events and organizing professional gaming tournaments.

With the big addition to its “rapidly-growing esports ecosystem,” Activision shared its excitement to build upon MLG’s proven streaming capabilities and technologies in a recent release. Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, said the move furthers the company’s plans to “create the ESPN of esports.”

“Together, we will create new ways to celebrate players and their unique skills, dedication and commitment to gaming. We are excited to add Sundance and the entire MLG esports team to our competitive gaming initiatives.”

Sundance DiGiovanni, Chief Executive Officer and MLG Co-founder, added that “this acquisition and Activision Blizzard’s commitment to competitive gaming will expand the opportunities for gamers to be recognized and celebrated for their competitive excellence.”

Activision Blizzard’s new esports broadcast network will be led by former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein and MLG Co-founder Mike Sepso. Sepso says “the acquisition of MLG’s business is an important step towards Activision Blizzard Media Networks’ broader mission to bring esports into the mainstream by creating and broadcasting premium esports content, organizing global league play and expanding distribution with key gaming partners.”

According to the release, the MLG.tv, MLG Pro Circuit, and GameBattles platforms will continue to operate. MLG will also continue to work with partners and other publishers across the industry.

Last year, Activision announced big plans for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 esports in 2016, revealing the new Call of Duty World League and a whopping $3 million prize pool. The Call of Duty World League Pro Division Stage 1 begins next week at CallofDuty.com/CWL.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Get A Look At The New Maps In Battlefield Hardline’s Getaway DLC

As the new year approaches, so too does Battlefield Hardline‘s second multiplayer expansion, which the team over at Visceral Games is calling the “Getaway DLC.”

The add-on was introduced last week when the studio announced its upcoming launch this January, first for Premium members. An exact launch date still hasn’t been nailed of this writing, but Visceral has taken the time to show off some of the new maps, vehicles, and more arriving with the Getaway DLC next month.

You can watch the map overview trailer above and catch a few descriptions of some of the other content below, including new rides, weapons, gadgets, and camos. Have a look:

MAPS

Pacific Highway

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This stunning and sprawling daytime map is inspired by the iconic coastal routes of central California. An infamous restaurant, an abandoned substation, and more suspicious sites can be explored when you enter and exit the highway via this map’s featured vehicle: the exotic car.

Train Dodge

BFH

This (literally) cavernous map is situated in the hilly, tree-topped plains of Colorado. Cops and criminals square off in an old frontier mining town, bisected by an active railroad track that regularly sees locomotives cross through the area.

Double Cross

BFH

Some lines should never be crossed. And then there’s Double Cross: a map located on the U.S.-Mexican border, where cop and criminal teams cross back and forth constantly in pursuit of the big score. This is one of the largest Getaway maps, and is a terrific place to play for fans of Conquest and Hotwire modes.

Diversion

BFH

Not all getaways take place in a car. Deep underground, in the dimly-lit channels of the Houston Flood Diversion Center, an on-foot escape is the only one you can make.

MODES

Capture The Bag

BFH

Similar to Capture the Flag, two teams clash over bags of cash that must be delivered safely to each team’s base.

WEAPONS

BFHL_DLC3_Getaway_Screenshots_Web_01_Axe

3 New Weapons for the Mechanic Class

  • A bullpup submachine gun – it’s a bit more accurate while moving.
  • A sub-machine gun – fires 9mm rounds, with the option to roll with the stock in or out.
  • Another new sub-machine gun – which excels at midrange and is also effective up close.

Fire Axe

  • Two-handed weapon that can one-hit-kill enemies.

GADGETS

RF Jammer

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Available for the Mechanic class only, the RF Jammer disables all deployed equipment and gadgets (such as tripmines and C4) within a specific radius.

RIDES

Performance Sedan

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A high-performance sedan that combines the health and armor of a transport vehicle with the speed and agility of a coupe.

Import Tuner

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This a normal sedan that’s been highly customized with aftermarket parts and accessories, and features right-hand drive!

Luxury Coupe

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Inspired by Italian luxury sports cars, the luxury coupe is the fastest land vehicle in Hardline. It rides low and handles tight.

Limo

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This refined and luxurious ride feels like a moving fortress. It’s a good alternative to the SUV, minus the gun mounts.

CAMOS

Legendary Camos

All new Legendary Camos that will unlock over time (only for players who have reached Legendary status).

Source: Battlefield

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Awakening DLC Drops February 2, Check Out The Official Reveal Trailer

Before breaking for the holidays, Call of Duty developer Treyarch dropped the official launch date and reveal trailer for Black Ops 3’s first downloadable content add-on, Awakening, arriving early next year.

According to the studio, Awakening lands first on PlayStation 4 on February 2 and will eventually make its way to Xbox One and PC at a later date — likely one month later. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players are out of luck. Like map packs for previous Call of Duty games, Awakening comes with four new multiplayer maps and a new installment in an ongoing Zombies saga.

In the video above, Multiplayer Game Director Dan Bunting described a few of the new locations.

Gauntlet – A military training facility with three distinct paths running through three very different environments: dense jungle, thick snow, and rainy city streets.

Splash – A playful, vibrant map set in an abandoned water park with lots of opportunity for underwater traversal and combat.

Rise – A construction facility in Snowy Zurich. Bunting called it a classic and competitive Call of Duty map that he hope will be adopted into the eSports season.

Skyjacked – A reimagining of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s Hijacked, rebuilt to encompass Black Ops 3’s new movements mechanics.

Director of Zombies Jason Blundell called Der Eisendrache the first chapter in an “epic time-traversing Zombies odyssey that will unfold over the course of Black Ops 3’s four DLC packs in 2016.” It’s set in a medieval castle surrounded by dark forces and also introduces four new Mega Gumballs.

You can check out some of the first off-screen gameplay footage of the new content in the trailer above. Awakening goes for $15 but is included in the Black Ops 3 Season Pass.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Treyarch Teases Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies DLC, Free Weekend On Steam Now Underway

Treyarch Director of Zombies, Jason Blundell, teases what fun is to come for fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3‘s Zombies mode in the near future.

You can watch Blundell’s announcement, along with a cutscene starring our good friend Nikolai Belinksi who recalls some of his sorrowful memories, in the video above. “Der Eisendrachen” is Black Ops 3’s first Zombies DLC that arrives with four other multiplayer maps in the upcoming Awakening pack, launching early next year, first on PlayStation 4.

The DLC, as it appears, may have something to do with Nikolai’s past. What do you think?

PC players will also want to take note of Black Ops 3’s free weekend on Steam, which, according to Treyarch, is already underway until 1PM Pacific Time on Sunday, December 20.

Jump in!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Rainbow Six Siege Referral Program On PC Lets Friends Play Free This Weekend & Get 25% Off

 

Know someone who plays Rainbow Six Siege on PC? If you’re really nice to them, they can get you in for free this weekend through Ubisoft Montreal’s new Friend Referral Program.

As of today, PC users who own the game can snag four referral codes at rainbow6keys.ubi.com to give to four friends. Those friends can then download and play Rainbow Six Siege for free until 9:01AM PST / 12:01PM EST on Monday, December 21. Referrers get a 24-hour Renown Boost once the program ends.

In addition, anyone who visits that link and clicks “Buy Now With 25% Discount” will be taken to the Uplay Shop where they’ll find either the Standard or Gold Edition of the game for 25% off. Any progression made during the free weekend will also carry over.

It’s a pretty good deal and we recommend taking part if you know someone who plays on PC. Our review for Rainbow Six Siege was largely positive, praising its finely-tuned multiplayer and intense firefights.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Destiny’s Iron Banner Returns End Of December With PlayStation-Exclusive Gear

Upon the departure of Destiny’s Sparrow Racing League timed-event at the end of this month, Lord Saladin and his Iron Banner will return to The Tower. According to Bungie, that’s at 10AM Pacific Time on December 29.

The game mode will return to Control and a new set of gear will be available as purchases from Lord Saladin or as post-game rewards. This time around, users on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 are also getting their own set of exclusive rewards, which will come in the form of armor pieces. Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Auto Rifle

IB_Auto_Rifle

Shotgun

IB_Shotgun

Titan Armor

IB_Titan_Gear

Hunter Armor

IB_Hunter_Gear

Warlock Armor

IB_Warlock_Gear_1

PlayStation-Exclusive Armor

IB_Sony_Gear

According to Bungie, Guardians will be able to purchase the boots at Rank 3, the Helmet and Auto Rifle at Rank 4, and the Shotgun at Rank 5. Meanwhile, the Helmet may drop as a post-game reward at Rank 2, the Class Item and Auto Rifle at Rank 3, and the Shotgun at Rank 4.

You can read more on Bungie’s latest Weekly Update.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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The Division Gets A Pair Of New Videos, Alpha Servers Go Back Online Tomorrow Morning

After dropping a few teases earlier this week on their Facebook page, Ubisoft Massive has finally delivered its surprise. Tom Clancy’s The Division gets a chilling new live-action trailer depicting the fall of New York city. Check it out above.

Recently, the studio also invited some of The Division’s community members to play the game and share their experiences while playing its PvP mode, the Dark Zone.

[youtube id=”hCd1n10sYDg”]

Additionally, those of you who were lucky enough to participate in The Division’s Closed Alpha on the Xbox One platform can get ready to jump back into fray for a few hours tomorrow morning. Servers go online again starting 9AM Eastern time, though it won’t be up for long as the testing phase is set to conclude after roughly three hours.

Tom Clancy’s The Division is set to be released on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms on March 8, 2016.

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author