Apex Legends is hosting an irresponsibly long party, starting on January 14 and running for two weeks. There won’t be piles of Ferrero Rocher, I’m afraid, as this Grand Soirée is not that kind of party. Instead of fine dining and polite conversation, expect murder, new and returning limited-time modes, and prizes. Along with the returning modes, you’ll also be able to try out some new stuff, like DUMMIE’S Big Day, but Respawn’s not spilling the beans just yet. Dapper Legendary skins and art deco

This week’s Dota Underlords update was accompanied by the news that it’s almost broken free of Early Access and will soon hit 1.0. It’s not a moment too soon, as Valve’s auto battler has been losing traction. There’s only one more update to go before the milestone, along with some balance tweaks and fixes, and one more Underlord. The 1.0 patch that follows will include the battle pass, hero/item rotation, a UI update and more. Check out this week’s patch notes here.

DDR4 memory hasn’t been around very long, at least on consumer-level hardware—Intel switched to it with the sixth-generation Core CPUs (Skylake), and AMD adopted DDR4 with the release of the first Ryzen processors. Now we have DDR5 to look forward to, as Micron has announced it has started sending samples of the high-tech RAM to its hardware partners. Micron promises that DDR5 will deliver “more than an 85% increase in memory performance,” while also doubling memory density. (Image credit: Micro

(Image credit: Bandai Namco, Fromsoftware)Announced at E3 2019, Elden Ring is probably From Software’s most ambitious RPG: not only is it a collaboration with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Elden Ring is appearing at the Taipei Game Show next month as part of Sony’s presence. The show takes place between February 6 and 9, and while the game won’t be playable on the showroom floor, it’s likely we’ll get a new trailer at least. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard about the game, though Tar

We first took notice of the multiplayer Second World War FPS Days of War in early 2017, when we said that it appeared to be aiming for a higher skill ceiling than other online shooters: “Anytime you see ‘Challenging Recoil’ listed as a selling point in a trailer you know the game means business.” Three years down the road, Driven Arts and Graffiti Games have dropped a new trailer to announce that the full release has been set for January 30. The full version of Days of War will support up to 32

Price isn’t the only barrier to entry for many of the VR headsets currently on the market. But on top of that, the design of VR headsets hasn’t changed much over the last several years. Panasonic unveiled reference models of a new VR headset design at CES, one that’s smaller, more form-fitting, and as The Verge pointed out, looks like steampunk fashion glasses. The reduced screen size creates a boxy image, and it seems to be more front-heavy than current VR headsets. These are just prototypes, t

For those not keeping up with Hearthstone’s current scaly shenanigans, said Awakening is the new solo adventure that’s coming as part of the Descent of Dragons expansion. Galakrond’s Awakening features 24 encounters spread across two separate stories: One that sees the League of E.V.I.L. The new solo adventure won’t just bring Hearthstone’s Year of the Dragon to a close, it will also bring back the Solo Adventure format that challenges players to take on a series of unique and powerful bosses us

In September 2019, Warner Bros released a short video celebrating the 80th anniversary of Batman, which contained symbols that many people took as a tease for a new Arkham game. The next day, another symbol-laden tweet appeared, with the header, “Capture the Knight,” a far more overt hint that some kind of new Bat-stuff is is in the works. That was the end of it, though—until today, when a new tweet appeared, with a partial new symbol. (Gotham’s prominent Clock Tower served as the Oracle’s base

So just the difference in read speeds between XPG’s prototype models and the spattering of PCIe 4.0 SSDs is equivalent to the top speed of Crucial’s P1. One of the ingredients in the special sauce that makes these speeds possible is the PCIe 4.0 bus. On the consumer side, AMD’s X570 chipset and latest generation Ryzen processors support PCIe 4.0, as Intel has not made the jump yet. Every current PCIe 4.0 SSD on the market right now uses Phison’s PS5016-E16 controller. It tops out at around 5,000

There are two types of people in this world—those who love gaming chairs, and those who would like to buy them all only to pile them up and light ’em on fire. If you fall into the latter category, you might find Thermaltake’s CyberChair E500 more to your liking (for sitting, not burning). Thermaltake announced the new “ergonomic and durable gaming chair” at CES. While marketed as a gaming chair, at a glance, it looks like a cross between Herman Miller’s Aerion and Celle office chairs, both of wh

It didn’t get off to a brilliant start, but Sea of Thieves, our best ongoing game of 2019, has tempted more than 10 million players to explore the pirate and skeleton-infested ocean since it launched. “For everyone at Rare, the Sea of Thieves community represents the very best of what gaming can be. To every person who’s played Sea of Thieves, thank you.” Rare is continuing the free updates this month, celebrating legendary pirates by getting players to go hunting for Easter eggs. It’s worth not

Hitman 2’s final mission launched back in September, so Agent 47’s latest outing is now winding down. At least you’ll be able to hunt down Sean Bean again. Most of the team has been moved over to the next Hitman, but Hitman 2 still has some life in it. Across the year, new contracts created by the community will be available, along with reactivated Elusive Targets, starting with the first one from 2018, Sean Bean. I’ve been filled with regret over not killing Sean Bean (the first time it’s proba

League of Legends Season 10 begins tomorrow, and to celebrate a new year and a new season, Riot’s released another flashy music video. The cinematic features plenty of fights and a new cover of Imagine Dragons’ Warriors, originally made for League of Legends World Championship 2014. I’ve spent a lot more time watching cinematics, music videos and live acts inspired by League of Legends than I’ve spent playing the game—I played for an hour, I was crap and everyone was awful—so I’m more invested i

The first gameplay footage of Magic: Legends has been released and displays how the card game adaptation will work as an action MMO. The pre-alpha footage shows two of the five playable classes in action. Perfect World officially announced the Magic: The Gathering MMO at the Game Awards last month with a flashy cinematic trailer, although Cryptic Studios first announced their plans for a Magic MMO adaptation back in 2017. For more information about the game’s classes, worlds, and beta access can

Super Crush KO is a fast-paced brawler that blends beat-em-up with run n’ gun combat. You play as Karen on her mission to save her cat Chubbz, a.k.a The Cutest Cat in the Universe, from a robot army controlled by a fashionable alien commander. The trailer (above) shows off Super Crush KO’s fluid and punchy combat. I’m keeping Super Crush KO on my radar when it releases on January 17. Vertex Pop is both developing and publishing Super Crush KO and plans to release it on Steam next week.

(Image credit: Devolver Digital)Released exclusively for Apple Arcade last year, Exit the Gungeon is a spin-off of the beloved Enter the Gungeon. Basically, rather than delving downwards through increasingly dangerous dungeons, in the spin-off you’re climbing upwards (usually via a hurtling elevator) in order to escape. Studio Dodge Roll Games has announced that the spin-off will release “on PC and consoles early this year”. The exact date probably depends on Apple’s exclusivity rights, but if i

Since its alpha testing days, Rare has been honoring Sea of Thieves players with in-game Easter eggs that commemorate outstanding community contributions and milestones such as the first death by falling and the grossest overindulgence in bananas. There’s a massive list of the player skeletons, plaques, engravings, and wanted posters scattered around the map over on the Sea of Thieves wiki, and next week’s content update will task you with hunting them down. I’m doubtful we’ll notice the populat

Here’s what’s coming:WarlockFiendish Rites : Mana cost increased from (3) to (4). WarriorScion of Ruin : Mana cost increased from (3) to (4) . : Mana cost increased from (3) to . Invocation of Frost : Mana cost increased from (1) to (2). “Further Battlegrounds balance changes are coming very soon, in addition to the exciting new content we have in the pipeline,” Blizzard said.

One thing about Steam that’s always been kind of a low-key pain in the ass is the way it handles game soundtracks. That will enable a number of improvements over the DLC system:Customers can now purchase soundtracks without purchasing the base game. Customers can now download soundtracks without downloading the base game. Developers can upload and manage soundtrack content entirely through the partner site, without using steamcmd. Developers can sell soundtracks where the base game itself is not

The latest innovation in this murderous niche is ‘math camp’: basically a trap that requires the victim to solve a math problem before they can escape. The work of reddit user Vault101manguy, once the player has entered the camp an automated door shuts and locks behind them. A math problem is written on the wall, and there’s a keypad for entering the correct answer, which unlocks the door. The creator was inspired to create math camp after witnessing countless inescapable CAMP traps. Read more a