Ubisoft is reportedly set to announce several new Assassin’s Creed games this Saturday during its Ubisoft Forward event.

First reported by Try Hard and later corroborated by Bloomberg, three new Assassin’s Creeds games are reportedly in the works, including two mainline games and a mobile entry. The two major ones are codenamed Red and Hexe/Neo. Red reportedly takes place in Japan and is developed by Ubisoft Quebec, while Ubisoft Montreal is reportedly developing Hexe/Neo, which takes place in the Holy Roman Empire and involves witch trials.

Both games are part of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Infinity, which is Ubisoft’s upcoming platform for future Assassin’s Creed titles. However, they aren’t expected to release until at least early 2024.

The Bloomberg report didn’t mention any other details about the mobile game, but Try Hard previously reported that it takes place in China and is codenamed, Jade.

Ubisoft is officially revealing Assassin’s Creed Mirage this weekend at the Ubisoft Forward event. The game takes place in Baghdad and looks to feature Basim, a character from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It reportedly will re-focus on the franchise’s stealth-oriented gameplay mechanics like its earliest entries rather than the RPG elements that more recent titles have.

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Halo Infinite is back with another free limited-time event, The Yappening. Unlike Alpha Pack or Interference, this event doesn’t serve any narrative purposes but instead offers players free premium cosmetics. In the event, players can get 10 cosmetics for free, as long as they participate in the limited-time mode. Here’s everything you’ll need to know about the Halo Infinite The Yappening Event.

The Yappening challenges

The Yappening event is live in-game and will only be here until September 19. During this two-week event, players will have 10 challenges to complete. To complete these challenges, you’ll need to play The Yappening. Players are thrown into one of six Big Team Battle games in this mode.

Here are the 10 challenges you’ll need to complete to finish your event pass.

Crazy Days – Complete Matches of The Yappening (1): 300 XPDemon – Kill Enemy Spartans in the Yappening playlist (5): 300 XPTeam Player – Earn Cumulative Player Score in the Yappening playlist (5,000): 300 XPWell Rounded – Earn Cumulative Player Score in the Yappening playlist (2,500): 300 XPWell Rounded – Earn Cumulative Player Score in the Yappening playlist (2,500): 300 XPDemon – Kill Enemy Spartans in the Yappening playlist (25): 300 XPWell Rounded – Earn Cumulative Player Score in the Yappening playlist (2,500): 300 XPPlay The Objective – Complete Matches in the Yappening playlist (3): 350 XPTop Shot – Kill Enemy Spartans in the Yappening (10): 350 XPTeam Player – Earn Cumulative Player Score in the Yappening playlist (10,000): 300 XP

All Game Modes

Here are all the game modes you’ll play during The Yappening.

BTB: Skockets Slayer on HighpowerBTB: Skockets Slayer on FragmentationBTB: Skockets Slayer on DeadlockBTB: Skockets Slayer on BreakerBTB: Shotty Snipes Slayer on HighpowerBTB: Shotty Snipes Slayer on Fragmentation

The Yappening cosmetics

After finishing all those challenges, you’ll be rewarded with various cosmetics in Halo Infinite. Here’s what players can unlock once they complete the challenges in the latest Halo Infinite live event:

Slippery When Wet (Backdrop)Erde Tyrene (AI Color)Platinum Marigold (Weapon Coating) – MA40 Assault RifleFree Hugs (Visor)Quillhawk (Helmet Attachment)A Banana (Charm)Citron White (Armor Coating)Platinum Marigold (Weapon Coating) – MK50 SidekickCaptain’s Pride (Stance)The Entropy Of Spring (Kill Effect)Halo Infinite The Yappening cosmetics won’t cost money.All cosmetics for The Yappening

So as long as they play The Yappening mode, players can complete all the challenges listed above. Make sure you unlock everything you want before September 19, or else they’ll be like the majority of Noble Team: gone. Good luck out there, Spartan!

For more Halo Infinite news, check out these stories:

Halo Infinite’s Biggest Update Ever Is Coming In November, With Season 3 Slated For March 2023Halo Infinite’s Split-Screen Co-Op Has Been Canceled, As Studio Focuses On Live ServiceSave Big On Halo Infinite Merch At The Xbox Gear ShopRead MoreGameSpot – Game News

The Iron Banner returns to Destiny 2 this week, marking the first of the competitive event’s appearances during Season of Plunder. This season, Iron Banner is a little different–it focuses on the new “Eruption” mode. The new mode changes Iron Banner significantly; it’s a totally different approach from last season’s Rift mode or the Control mode we’ve been playing for years. Eruption is all about working together with your team to achieve kill streaks and to protect each other while you have one going.

There’s no Iron Banner quest during this season, and old Iron Banner bounties have been removed from the game. To gain the rewards from Iron Banner, you just need to play matches; you’ll unlock four different Pinnacle weapons as you complete matches, and can get additional rewards for gaining reputation. Wins are your greatest benefit for gaining rewards, so while just participating is good, playing well is even better. Here’s how the new mode works and the strategies you should use to win ahead in Iron Banner this week.

Understanding Eruption

Iron Banner is very different this season, and it might not be immediately obvious what you’re facing when you jump into a match. Last season, all Iron Banner matches were Rift matches, and this season, all Iron Banner matches are Eruption matches. The Control and Rift modes are off the table this season, so don’t expect to play either one until sometime in the future.

The new Eruption mode has similarities to what you might remember from the old Control version of Iron Banner, which centered on the idea of “The Hunt.” In Control, you activated The Hunt by capturing all three control points on the map, which triggered a short period in which the team who captured the points earns three points per kill. In Eruption, there are no control points, but you can still trigger the Hunt by performing well in gunfights.

Eruption focuses on kill streaks–killing or assisting on kills of several players without dying yourself. When you get more than one in kill in a life, you gain a buff called “Surging.” While you’re Surging, you gain ability energy on additional kills, and earn an extra point per kill.

Kill streaks make you Surging, which gives you an additional point for your kills. Earn five kills and you’ll become Primed, earning three points per kill.

Your goal when you’re Surging is to keep earning kills until you unlock a streak of five kills or more. When that happens, you become Primed. When that happens, you earn three points per kill and your abilities charge even more quickly. However, you also have a timer counting down on your character. The timer is extended whenever you earn a kill or an assist, but if the timer hits zero, you’ll explode (or erupt, get it). When you’re Primed, you’re also visible to all the other players in the match, helping your teammates try to defend you, while making you a target for the enemy squad.

Having at least one Primed player triggers the Hunt, and even if you’re not racking up a ton of kills in a streak, having a Primed player on your team is a major goal. Not only does the Primed player get a boost to ability energy, but so does the rest of the squad. That effect lasts until you run out of Primed players, so it’s easier to get kills during the Hunt, and while your whole team won’t earn extra points (unless they are also Surging or Primed), it’s easier for more players on your team to attain the higher kill streak tiers.

Eruption strategies

Winning Eruption is more about staying alive than scoring kills. Building up kill streaks is essential to getting ahead, and to do that, you’ll need to make good decisions about where and when you engage enemies and keeping yourself in advantageous situations. Lone-wolfing it in Eruption isn’t the best idea, because you’re more likely to find yourself wandering into situations where you’re facing multiple enemies at one time, which means you’re much more likely to lose that fight. And every time you lose, your kill streaks reset, forcing you to start from scratch to earn Surging and Primed bonuses.

Loadout for survivability

You get bonuses to your Iron Banner reputation for equipping Iron Banner armor and weapons, as well as an Iron Banner emblem, so that might limit your loadout options. However, wherever possible, you want to spec out for increased survivability during Eruption matches. Exotics such as the Hunter’s Wormhusk Crown, which heals you whenever you use your dodge ability, or Titan’s Loreley Splendor helmet, which heals you with a Sunspot when you’re critically wounded, can be great for keeping a streak going. It’s a good idea to try to lean into Solar 3.0’s revamped healing capabilities, or into the Overshield effects of Void 3.0. Speccing for Recovery is also a good idea, as it’ll help you start healing more quickly after taking damage. Winning fights is important and so is racking up kills–but staying alive is the best way to win in Eruption.

Play as a team

Playing together with your teammates will help you be more successful in Eruption, where you benefit from both kills and assists.

Even if you’re jumping into Iron Banner through the Freelance playlist, which only puts you onto teams and against opponents who are not grouped up into a fireteam, you still want to work together with your squad as much as possible. From a simple standpoint, you’re more likely to win a fight if you’re team-shooting an enemy with a group than if you’re alone, and having additional teammates helps mitigate the possibility that you might run up against a group that takes you out with their superior numbers. Whenever possible, try to stick with your teammates for better chances of racking up kills and staying alive. You also increase your chances of Surging and being Primed when you’re working together, as do your teammates–and the more people on your team who are Primed at once, the longer you’ll be able to extend the Hunt, and the better your chances of running up a lead on the opposing squad and guaranteeing a win.

Don’t be afraid to disengage

Pick fights you think you can win, and avoid helping glowing opponents increase their Surging or Primed scores.

As we’ve been saying, your primary goal in Eruption is to stay alive, because the longer you live, the more likely you’ll be to build a kill streak, and the better your chances of scoring more points and helping your team secure that W. Taking advantage of opponents who are distracted by your teammates and rolling in a group so you can support each other is important, but don’t be afraid to run for it if a situation gets hairy. Sometimes, a fight looks like a losing proposition, or you’ll be in a weak location with bad cover. If that happens, it’s okay to just bail, to find a more advantageous spot to fight from, or to try to lose your attackers so you can heal up.

Use your abilities

The upshot of the Surging and Primed buffs are that they grant you additional energy on kills. Even if you’re not Primed or Surging, though, you gain benefits if anyone on your team is Primed. Thus, make use of your abilities as much as you can, especially if they can keep you alive. You don’t need to save your grenades or melee abilities as much as you might normally, and while you probably won’t get so much in energy gains that you can just chuck grenades like it’s a Mayhem match, you should also be more liberal with them in every Iron Banner fight.

Support your squad

Up until now, these tips have been about helping yourself to maximize your kill streaks and boost your own score. However, Iron Banner is a team sport, not an individual one, even if you’re playing alone. Eruption gives you an opportunity to help your team in more ways than just earning kills. As you play, you’ll notice both opponents and teammates glowing with blue energy–that denotes when they’re Surging. Of course, you want to focus on opponents who are Surging, but helping your teammates is just as important. Tossing healing grenades, contributing to team-shooting, or even just stepping up to act as a human shield for a player who’s Primed can be huge in helping your team win. Staying alive is essential, but helping keep your teammates alive is also a major part of Eruption. Work together, be supportive, and watch for your squadmates to become Surging or Primed, and do everything you can to help them out as they rack up points. You’ll also benefit thanks to increased ability energy during the Hunt.

Hunt the Hunters

Track down enemy players who are primed to end the Hunt as fast as you can.

Sooner or later, the opposing team is going to get someone on a streak where they become Primed. When that happens, the Hunt is triggered, giving all of your enemies a bonus, while allowing Primed players to earn extra points. The Primed player is also marked on your screen, showing you their location. You’re getting that information for a reason: the Primed player or players should be your top priority, and you want to take them down as quickly as possible. That doesn’t mean you should run straight into a bad situation and get yourself killed, though–with the extra points Primed players earn, your death costs your team more dearly during the Hunt. But working together with your teammates, you can easily ambush Primed players, force them into corners, or cut them off at chokepoints. Take down Primed players as fast as you can to stop the Hunt and end the benefits that your opponents are gaining from it. Just make sure to work together and be smart about defeating these VIPs.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

At a Q&A during PAX West, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty expressed a desire to bring AI technology to QA and testing in video games.

As spotted by VGC, Booty stated that he has asked AI researchers to develop a system that could test games. Booty emphasized how difficult and multifaceted game development can be, so that adding small features can have long-reaching effects. He said, “A game… can be ready to ship, and a designer’s like, ‘I’ve got this one little feature, I’m just going to change the color on this one thing’ and then it somehow blows up something and now the first 10 minutes of the game doesn’t play.” These knock-on effects ensure that the entire game must be thoroughly tested with every new addition. That testing costs plenty of time and manpower.

In theory, AI might be able to pick up some of the difficulties there, enabling developers to complete more testing faster. Booty speculated, “I would love to be able to start up 10,000 instances of a game in the cloud, so there’s 10,000 copies of the game running, deploy an AI bot to spend all night testing that game, then in the morning we get a report.” Thereby, thousands of hours of work could be completed overnight. Whether such testing would work as envisioned, or how much human assistance such an AI would need, is still pure speculation.

The scale of games has gotten larger over the last couple of generations. In the same Q&A, Matt Booty pointed out that multiple game studios working on a single game is a new normal rather than a cause for concern.

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TuneIn is one of the biggest and best radio streaming apps on the market for iOS and Android. While the app is free and grants access to more than 100,000 radio stations and millions of podcasts, you can purchase a subscription that gives you far more content to listen to while on the road. TuneIn Premium normally costs $10 per month, but right now you can get a one-year subscription for only $40 via GameSpot Deals.

TuneIn Premium is especially great for sports fans, as it gives you access to every broadcast of MLB and NHL games. Additionally, it includes some college football and basketball games as well as big races across multiple leagues. To complement the play-by-play coverage, TuneIn Premium comes with sports commentary such as ESPN Radio and podcasts centered on a wide range of sports.

Outside of sports, you get a bunch of ad-free music stations across all major genres of music. And if you want to tune into the news, you also get access to radio broadcasts for all of the major US networks.

TuneIn Radio has received great reviews for both iOS and Android from GameSpot’s sister site CNET.

While those who are unfamiliar with TuneIn will probably want to opt for the one-year subscription for $40, you can get even better deals on multi-year memberships. A three-year subscription to TuneIn Premium is available for $100 ($33/year), while a five-year membership is only $160 ($32/year).

Editor’s Note: Article updated on September 6, 2022

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

A new God of War Ragnarok teaser, courtesy of Game Informer, showcases the new dwarven realm Svartalfheim. The short video doesn’t show much gameplay, but does walk us through what Svartalfheim will look and feel like.

Svartalfheim is a product of Dwarven ingenuity and has “mine pits, artificial water channels, and sprawling cities all setting the stage for potentially complex environmental puzzles,” the narrator says. Kratos can freeze water using the Leviathan Axe and smash pots with his Blade of Chaos. The video also shows Kratos rowing a boat to get around Svartalfheim, and the narrator teases that there could be other unrevealed modes of transportation available.

This teaser video follows Game Informer’s interview with God of War Ragnarok’s lead combat designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh. In combat, the Leviathan Axe, once infused with ice, can deal major damage to enemies using its Weapon Signature Move Frost Awaken.

New shield types will also be a feature in Ragnarok–some will be designed for optimal parrying and others will come with “shockwave” features. Yeh and Sheth also revealed a new Lizard-like enemy called Grims. They can come in a ranged type, Cursed Grims, that can shoot liquid projecticles from their mouths.

God of War Ragnarok is set to release on November 9 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

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CD Projekt Red shared new details on Cyberpunk 2077’s first expansion, Phantom Liberty. The paid add-on launches in 2023 and brings back Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Silverhand for another adventure.

Phantom Liberty is described as a “spy-thriller” expansion that introduces a new cast of characters, in addition to the return of Silverhand. It takes place in a new, previously unexplored district in Night City–check out the announcement trailer below to learn more.

Phantom Liberty is set for release in 2023 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Stadia. It will not be released for PS4/Xbox One because CD Projekt Red is ending new updates for those platforms.

The new 1.6 update that releases today, September 6, will be the final significant patch for Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4 and Xbox One, CD Projekt Red confirmed. This update will add equippable items from the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime to the game.

“Players will have the chance to don the jacket worn by David Martinez, the anime’s protagonist, and wield a shotgun used by another character from the show,” the studio said in a press release. “Alongside Edgerunners-inspired items, the update also brings a swathe of features to the game including a clothing transmog system, cross-platform progression, playable Roach Race minigame arcade cabinets, and much more.”

Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t have the smoothest launch in December 2020, but it went on to sell 18 million copies, making it one of the most commercially successful RPGs in the history of video games.

As for upcoming projects, CD Projekt is currently developing the next Witcher game, which will run on Epic’s Unreal Engine 5. For more, check out GameSpot’s roundup of all the Unreal Engine 5 games below.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Qualcomm this morning is taking the wraps off a pair of new SoCs for the mid-range and entry-level smartphone markets. Refreshing the company’s longstanding 600 and 400 series of chips, Qualcomm is announcing the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. Both SoCs are receiving similar spec bumps, incorporating newer and faster IP blocks from Qualcomm – such as Arm Cortex-A78 derived CPU cores – as well as moving to newer, more contemporary manufacturing processes.

The Snapdragon 600/400 lineups were last updated in mid and early 2021 respectively, so as Qualcomm is already preparing for 2023, the time has finally come to update the bottom half of their product stack. Following Qualcomm’s broad cascading IP strategy, this generation of parts sees both SoC lineups migrate to Cortax-A78 CPUs for their main CPU cores, and in the case of the 6 Gen 1, doubling the number of high-performance CPU cores. Both SoCs also come with faster Adreno GPUs, though in traditional Qualcomm fashion, the company isn’t offering much in the way of details on the underlying hardware there.

Notably, however, Qualcomm’s 2023 mid-range/low-end parts aren’t making the jump to the Armv9 architecture. Unlike the 8 Gen 1 and 7 Gen 1, which incorporated Arm’s new Armv9 cores, Qualcomm’s cascading development strategy means that the 6 and 4 series will remain a bit farther behind the curve. For end users this should have little significance for the moment, but for smartphone vendors and software developers, it does mean Qualcomm won’t complete the Armv9 transition for at least another generation.

Meanwhile, coming up on nearly a year since Qualcomm announced their initial Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, today’s announcement from Qualcomm brings their remaining smartphone SoC families in alignment with their new product branding strategy. The 6 and 4 series pick up from where the 600 and 400 series left off, respectively, resetting the counted with the inaugural Gen 1 parts. Like the rest of simplified “Gen” series, this also means that Qualcomm is doing away with individual model numbers for its Kyro/Hexagon/Adreno/Spectra blocks, obfuscating a bit what generation of IP Qualcomm is using there.

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Sony has revealed a new set of designs for its PS5 hardware, DualSense controller, and Pulse 3D wired headset, which it calls the Gray Camouflage Collection. Unlike the default white model PS5 or its more vibrant selection of console cover plates, this design will wrap the console in a camouflage design that makes the device great for grabbing someone’s attention and hiding it in case a war breaks out on an overcast day.

Sony says that preorders will begin on September 15, with the DualSense wireless controller and PS5 console covers launching globally on October 14. The Gray Camouflage Pulse 3D headset will arrive later in December.

Here’s what it looks like:

Can you see it?

Okay, here’s what it really looks like, and if you look closely, you can even spot some familiar PlayStation icon shapes in the design:

The PS5 Gray Camouflage Collection

The PS5’s design has been unique this generation, as its modular casing allows for new faceplates to be easily attached to it. In addition to military camouflage, you can also slap on Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Starlight Blue, Galactic Purple, and Nova Pink console covers. A number of third-party options also exist, although Sony has been quick to shut them down if they emulate their PS5 faceplate design too closely.

As for price, this gear will likely retail for a similar price as their counterparts. A new PS5 DualSense controller typically costs $75, console covers sell for $55, and a Pulse headset will set you back $100.

While getting the Gray Camouflage covers shouldn’t be too difficult, grabbing a PS5 to apply them to has proven to be tricky. If you’re looking to grab one of the consoles, keep an eye on GameSpot’s PS5 tracker page to see when fresh stock is available near you.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

September is another great month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, but as usual, a number of games will be leaving the service to make room for the latest additions. On September 15, a grand total of 11 games will be removed, with some of the affected titles being an indie classic set inside of the insect kingdom, a harrowing journey through medieval France, and an almost unstoppable goose.

A Plague Tale: Innocence, stealthy ninja adventure Aragami 2, and rock opera odyssey The Artful Escape are some of the biggest departures coming later this month. The enchanting Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, Final Fantasy XIII, and Skatebird will also be making a grand exit as the Game Pass library adds several games throughout the month. As a reminder, Game Pass members can save 20% on any of the games listed below if they choose to buy them afterwards.

Xbox Game Pass Titles Leaving September 15

A Plague Tale: Innocence — Cloud, Console, and PCAragami 2 — Cloud, Console, and PCBug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling — Cloud, Console, and PCCraftopia — Cloud, Console, and PCFinal Fantasy XIII — Cloud, Console, and PCFlynn: Son of Crimson — Cloud, Console, and PCI Am Fish — Cloud, Console, and PCLost Words: Beyond the Page — Cloud, Console, and PCMighty Goose — Cloud, Console, and PCSkateBird — Cloud, Console, and PCThe Artful Escape — Cloud, Console, and PC

In case you missed it, the September Game Pass titles include a mix of life simulation fun and heavy metal exorcisms. Disney Dreamlight Valley starts its early access phase today, DC League of Super-Pets assembles an all-star roster of heroic companions on September 13, and you’ll be able to blast demons to the beat of some heavy riffs on September 15 when Metal: Hellsinger launches.

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