That the PlayStation Classic is hackable, and was on the first day, isn’t a big surprise. The reason for this is either a mistake or a feature, depending on your view of the PlayStation Classic’s designers. Related PlayStation Classic reviewWhere does this all lead? It means that it’s relatively easy for PlayStation Classic owners to put new games onto the console with a USB thumb drive. The fact this was made possible by leaving the keys under the PlayStation Classic’s mat was either a big-time

That includes services like cross-platform matchmaking, cloud saves, voice chat, and game achievements. This will support all 7 major platforms (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) to the full extent each platform allows per-title. Last week, the company announced that it was opening its own online game store, where it will sell a curated list of semi-exclusive PC games. Epic promises a more generous revenue cut for developers on its Epic Games Store, a move interpreted as a shot a

Nintendo announced the first in-game, limited-time event for Super Smash Bros. It’s clutch for spirit collectors, because this event will make a ton of quality spirits more readily available. And it’s especially good for those of us with subpar vision, because this event doubles as a celebration of glasses. Legend- and ace-tier spirits of bespectacled characters will appear during specific timeframes, Nintendo said. Winning the challenge against these spirits will also net players extra gold, wh

Nintendo Switch Online adds three classic games this month, but it’s a special game save — one of two — that gets most of the attention: Metroid, fast-forwarding the user to the boss fight with Ridley. With the save file (listed as “The decisive battle against Ridley!”) players will get Samus with all her equipment (including the Ice Beam) starting right at the fight with Ridley. There’s also a special version of Dr. Mario, which puts the user in at level 20 on high speed. Past special edition a

Some industry-watchers have made the germane point that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment owns the rights to Blood, not Atari. It looks like Warner Bros. owns the intellectual property rights to any new games based on the Blood franchise. The company has not announced any plans to create a Blood game. Monolith, which retained ownership of Blood’s IP, was acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive in 2004. Although unrelated to the specific issue of Blood, Atari and Warner have a long and storied

But it might just have one of the best cooperative modes from any first-person shooter that I’ve played all year. The act of reloading, for instance, is modeled very differently in Sandstorm than it is in other games. When you do manage to clear out the enemy, that’s the time to spend a few extra seconds to fully resupply at a weapons crate. Health in Sandstorm feels fairly abstracted, but in a good way. Once you reach and clear the final objective, that’s when you’re tasked with holding it at a

Super Smash Bros. Days after launch, players say their premium Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions are totally wasted on the new Smash Bros., because playing online simply does not work. Super Smash Bros Ultimate really is something special, man. It’s discouraging enough that competitive Smash Bros. players have even weighed in, including Leffen, an Evo stalwart. “[Super Smash Bros.

The next title from Jon Shafer, designer of Sid Meier’s Civilization 5, finally has a release date. Called Jon Shafer’s At the Gates, it’s a novel strategy game seven years in the making. At the Gates begins in Dark Ages Europe, tasking players with leading their tribe to glory. Unlike other strategy games in the space, At the Gates features an evolving map that will change with the seasons. “I love At the Gates,” Shafer said, “and even as its designer I really enjoy playing it, but in many ways

Earth Defense Force 5 is now available in the United States, and Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, a spinoff targeting Western audiences, will arrive in early 2019. Next year, the spinoff Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain will be released outside Japan. And what do you hope to accomplish with it that you aren’t already doing with Earth Defense Force 5? In 2011, D3 and Vicious Cycle Software released Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon. In terms of the core Earth Defense Force games, I feel like th

IGN has released an exclusive “motion poster” that hints at what the character will look like in the film, and we already have some concerns about what they’ve done to our friend Sonic. His arms and legs look heavily muscled, for starters. It’s not that his quills are just thin and tightly bunched together so they look furry; the movie’s producer has confirmed that the character has fur. And not just on his adorable belly, which is where real-life hedgehogs have fur — but also on his back and al

Fortnite season 7 has been underway for almost a week and that means we’re coming up on the first patch of the season, which looks like it will add swords to the game. This information comes to us thanks to a tweet from the official Fortnite account — and in a hidden teaser in the official patch notes art for season seven. The video doesn’t give us much about how exactly the weapon will work, but we do see a character pull it from the ground in a snow-covered part of the map. The sword itself ha

Red Dead Online, the multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, allows you to make your own story with your own character. It’s only after digging — with a friend or two, if you can wrangle them — that the promise of Red Dead Online becomes clear. As soon as you launch into Red Dead Online, you’ll be asked to create your character. Red Dead Online offers far more cinematic moments and missions than GTA Online. That being said, I don’t regret my choice to ignore Red Dead Redemption 2’s campaign

Stardew Valley’s multiplayer mode launches on Nintendo Switch this week, making it the first console to receive the update. As players on PC already know, Dec. 13’s big update will come with a slew of both single- and multiplayer content for farmers to check out. Voice chat is available as well — note that all online features require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to access. Chucklefish will continue to handle and publish the Switch and mobile versions of Stardew Valley, while Barone is t

Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher is coming to Monster Hunter: World next year. Unlike other crossovers for Monster Hunter: World, Capcom and CD Projekt Red’s collaboration is more than just a costume; Geralt will be a playable character, and the game will send players on “Witcher-inspired quests.”In an announcement, CD Projekt Red said the Geralt cameo in Monster Hunter: World will “offer a unique gameplay experience blending RPG mechanics of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with Monster Hunter: World’s

Game designer John Romero, co-creator of Doom, is building a spiritual successor to the game. Called Sigil, it will be released as a free modification for the original 1993 version of Doom and as a boxed collector’s edition. In 1995, Romero helped to build The Ultimate Doom, an updated version of the original first-person shooter. Sigil™ is in no way affiliated with ZeniMax Media Inc. or id Software LLC and is not approved by ZeniMax Media Inc. or id Software. Sigil is a trademark of Romero Game

The official YouTube channel for Kingdom Hearts 3 published the game’s introductory movie yesterday, and it recaps what’s taken place over its long canonical history. The music is a new song, “Face My Fears” by Hikaru Utada, who did the opening themes for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2. She was originally going to do a remix of “Chikai” (or “Oath”) the Kingdom Hearts 3 main theme. But when she brought aboard Kingdom Hearts superfan Skrillex, they elected to go with something completely new,

Boosting — basically one person playing on another’s account to rank them up — is going to be a criminal offense in South Korea with some stiff punishments awaiting the booster. The new measure comes courtesy of an amendment to the country’s Game Industry Promotion Act, reports The Daily Dot. As you probably understand, South Korea is a hotbed of esports competition and enthusiasm, and so boosting is a problem of commensurate importance over there. Evidently, sanctions game companies could levy

The first official trailer for Avengers: Endgame — née Avengers 4 — is here! Marvel Studios revealed the title, a poster and a slightly earlier release date. Here’s everything to know about the surprise trailer release this morning — plus a few things you might’ve missed. Here’s your first look at the poster for Marvel Studios’ #AvengersEndgame, in theaters April 26, 2019! pic.twitter.com/kPSJKcnriq — The Avengers (@Avengers) December 7, 2018

Viz Media announced new changes to the U.S. version of Weekly Shonen Jump in a video on its website. Shonen Jump global vice president Hisashi Sasaki said that the American publisher will discontinue the collected version of the magazine in favor of free, individual chapters of all currently running manga. This new service, simply called Shonen Jump, will launch on Dec. 17. All of this occurs without the consent of the original creators, and the ad revenue generated from these sites benefits the

The first trailer for Avengers 4 came with two pretty big reveals. First, that the title of the movie is Avengers: Endgame. For years, or what feels like years, anyway, Avengers: Endgame has been pinned to May 3, 2019, a traditional first-weekend-in-May opening for the summer’s biggest Marvel Cinematic Movie release. Marvel later confirmed a more specific date: Endgame will hit theaters on April 26, 2019. pic.twitter.com/sMJPdwLPed — Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) December 7, 2018This release da