Whilst developer Ubisoft acknowledged that the “news will come as a disappointment” to some players, because of Valhalla’s “very different structure from its predecessors”, the open-world Viking game will be the first Assassin’s Creed game not to feature an option to boot up a New Game+ run. “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been built as a unique Assassin’s Creed experience, one that is very different from its predecessors in its structure, offering new ways of engaging with the world and its characters,” Ubisoft explained in a blog post....

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla heroine Eivor will become available to purchase later this week with a bundle of themed items, alongside a general launch for the game’s previously-released Ezio promotional skin. Both Ezio and Eivor will make their item shop debuts upon the store’s refresh on Thursday night (that’s 1am Friday here in the UK). Eivor’s Fortnite skin will feature styles with both her hood up and hood down. Accompanying items include her twin axes and a longboat for a glider....

The Final Fantasy publisher purchased a 20 percent stake of Bulkhead back in 2018, and announced plans for a fresh project at the studio. Today also brings a long-awaited update on Battalion itself, which will get an “overhauled, final update” and name change to Battalion: Legacy on 16th August, when it will also be made available for free via Steam. The game’s missing-in-action console port has also finally been put out of its misery, nearly six years after it was initially crowdfunded via Kickstarter....

Previously combined with the Assault class, the Medic now gains exclusive access to the rifle class of weaponry - arguably the most powerful in our early experience of Battlefield 1 - and is just as much of a threat offensively as it is providing support for your team. It’s probably the most popular class in the game, and certainly one of the most important when it comes to sustaining both defenses and pushes for the objective, so here’s our complete guide to the Medic class....

In a long Twitter thread, DICE did not mention the Santa skin by name - but did talk generally about the use of “unique cosmetics” it had designed for “special #Battlefield Portal modes to further enhance the fantasy in special events”. The suggestion, then, is that you won’t be able to run around as Santa in all modes forever. DICE also pointed out that cosmetics such as these are planned and designed well ahead of time - likely to counter the frustration among some fans who thought the studio was whiling away the time creating cosmetics instead of fixing the game’s bugs....

In a lengthy blog post, DICE has detailed how it will bring “classes back to Battlefield” by reintroducing the “classic and familiar” Assault, Recon, Support and Engineer as groups in which existing Specialists will sit as “unique sub-classes”. Each of these classes will be tweaked to restrict gadget usage, enabling players to “better assess the threat”, and assign new class traits. These changes are a “big undertaking”, DICE wrote, and will not be available in the game’s imminent Season 2....

Making the announcement on Twitter, Ripple Effect Studios’ Justin Weibe - who works as senior design director on the shooter’s latest instalment - says the plan is to “fix it in the future” and “keep it in alignment with standard game progression”, adding that to do so, the team has also “tightened [its] review process”. ​​“We’ve removed the Zombies mode and replaced it with Gun Game,” wrote Wiebe. “Hopefully we can fix it in the future and keep it in alignment with standard game progression,” Weibe tweeted (thanks, NME)....

Platinum’s action game starred in tonight’s Nintendo Direct with a new trailer, below, and a 2022 release window. The video shows off plenty of action, with Bayonetta revealing her new look and what sounds like a new voice actress. There’s all the over-the-top fighting you’d expect from the series, and a big boss to boot. This time, Bayonetta can directly control demons. “A new-look Bayonetta returns to battle foes with her signature Witch Time!...

The game originally arrived on Switch in digital form only accompanying Bayonetta 2, but a physical edition was promised this year exclusive to the Nintendo Store. This was then delayed from September to the “first half of October”, but fans criticised the inability to pre-order in advance. Watch on YouTube Bayonetta 3 Review: A Slight Mess? SPOILER FREE Review - BAYONETTA 3 GAMEPLAY Then, on 25th October, the game was released on the Nintendo Store but sold out almost instantly....

Splash Damage’s Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory first released in 2003 and was recently made available for free on Steam. Now, almost 20 years after it came out, Bethesda has deployed new servers dedicated to the online multiplayer shooter. The official servers run the vanilla Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory campaign ruleset, including all six original maps and no mods. This is a pretty cool move from Bethesda. Many responses are happy to see an old favourite getting some love, with some on Reddit eager to jump back in with the basic experience after a long time away from playing Enemy Territory....

From the Skrakk of Pandora to the Chupacabratch of Athenas, you’re going to be hunting down some rare beasts and ensuring that they’re very dead indeed. For every successful hunt, you’ll be rewarded with some XP, some spending money and a pile of Eridium. On this page: Pandora: Athenas: Eden-6: Nekrotafeyo: If you’re looking for more help in the crazy galaxy of Borderlands 3, then check out our Borderlands 3 walkthrough....

It’s a cosy city-builer with a “snack-sized” approach to the genre, with narrative aspects and a focus on sustainability. Check out a first look at gameplay in the trailer below. “We love builder games big and small! With a rise of comfortable handheld gaming and no time for many hour tutorials or 100 hour save files (work, parenting…) we wanted a snack-sized relaxing experience with a bit of depth that more people can see the end of,” says Mossfield Origins’ developer Ruby Ruze....

“Standing up for reproductive choice and liberty is not a difficult decision to make, and Bungie remains dedicated to upholding these values,” the developer tweeted earlier today. Then, in its official statement, Bungie called the leaked draft decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade a “direct attack on human rights”. “At Bungie we believe that everyone has a right to choose their own path and that freedom is expressed across all facets of life… Bungie is committed to safeguarding the freedom and privacy of its employees and providing support to all employees affected by this decision....

The map, which is called Farm 18, was inspired by Modern Warefare’s Shoothouse map. “We tried to think of hidden training facilities, but it is also in an industrial cement factory,” explained Geoff Smith, the director of multiplayer map design on Modern Warfare 2. “The idea was, what if we put a Shoothouse type situation in the middle. “If you want to play that crazy game, you can go to the centre and that action will find you....

Word of this latest mitigation technique comes via a new blog update detailing the current state of Call of Duty’s anti-cheat solution, and follows previously revealed anti-cheat techniques Cloaking and Damage Shield. Damage Shield, Richochet’s first major mitigation technique, essentially works by turning on God Mode for all legitimate players when a cheater is detected in-match. Cloaking, meanwhile, makes it impossible for detected cheaters to see opponents and bullets, or even hear sounds....

Yes, medieval multiplayer Chivalry 2 is making its way onto Microsoft’s subscription service today. “Chivalry 2 is coming… and you’re gonna need a battlecry,” Microsoft proclaimed via its Xbox Game Pass Twitter account, alongside a short clip showing off some of the in-game shenanigans you too will be able to take part in. This includes running into the fray clutching a chicken and launching yourself off battlements. Chivalry 2 first released last year across platforms....

Given the rise in blockchain technology, and the growing number of companies looking to implement it in their games, Climate Replay has additionally released a guide addressing everything that is wrong with NFTs. “NFTs are the digital elephant in the room for the games industry right now, and many are feeling the pressure to pick a side,” Climate Replay wrote (via TheGamer). “… This technology has massive implications for games, the climate crisis, and society at large....

The news was shared on the official Twitter account for the game. “Today we received a devastating news that Fahmi, the creator and writer of Coffee Talk, has passed away,” it reads. “May his soul rest in peace, and our hearts are with his family and loved ones. “May all the good things he shared, story he wrote, live on with us forever. “Thank you, Fahmi.” Released in 2020, Coffee Talk is a visual novel set in a coffee shop inhabited by fantasy creatures....

Let’s face it - a development studio advertising for developers isn’t particularly newsworthy. In this instance, however, Zenimax stated several times that the new hires will be contributing to “the development of a long-running iconic action FPS”, and makes mention of “sci-fi and fantasy environments” - and that’s the bit that’s got everyone a little excited. With Machine Games presumably leading on Wolfenstein and Avalanche leading on Rage, that leaves id Software with just a couple of options for what that “iconic action FPS” might be - Doom or Quake....

Available for free on itch.io in both SFW and explicit versions, it was created by three-strong developer Triple Thirst as a form of fanfiction for the game. And yes, that means you can bang Keanu Reeves. Interestingly, Cyberbang 2069 was made with the permission of CD Projekt Red, despite the terms of service stating that video games based on Cyberpunk 2077 are not allowed. Triple Thirst sent an email to clarify if their visual novel would be considered a game or fanfiction....