Digital Extremes' Warframe is one of the longest-lasting live-service games on the market, having started its free-to-play romp back in 2013. Some of the game's oldest fans may well remember that DE's sci-fi adventure ambitions started earlier still, with the original concept behind Dark Sector: a game that embodied many of Warframe's core design principles at first, only to eventually be retrofitted into a bog standard (albeit charming) cover-based third-person shooter. Well, Dark Sector has always had more than a few parallels with Warframe proper, and those parallels may be explored in a new context with Warframe: 1999.

Notably, Digital Extremes recently revealed one of Warframe's two upcoming expansions, those being Whispers in the Walls and Warframe: 1999. 1999 is due to launch sometime in 2024, and what's really notable about it is that it appears to take players far, far away from the central conflict of the Sol system. Instead, it is seemingly set in an alternative version of the year 1999.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6NyR1Gfvr8

Is Warframe: 1999 a Dark Sector revival?

Digital Extremes has, historically, never been too concerned about whether the team will stray too far away from Warframe's core lore and gameplay principles. This has resulted in a remarkably layered but also fragmented experience, where not all of the game's features necessarily interact with one another. It's always been a bit strange, then, that the studio chose not to do anything with Dark Sector, short of releasing some of its cosmetics as microtransactions in Warframe.

It's worth pointing out that DE itself hasn't come out and said that 1999 is a re-envisioning of Dark Sector. The similarities, however, are certainly striking. The protagonist of Warframe: 1999 is a mystery man known as Arthur, who is - for whatever reason - fielding the Excalibur bodysuit with an old-school combat harness and other various tidbits of regular, modern-day kit. His enemies? The techno-organic plague, which may or may not have something to do with the mad scientist type (Entrati) who appears at the end of the trailer. The similarities with Dark Sector's Hayden Tenno are impossible to ignore.

Now, it's anyone's guess whether Digital Extremes is actually gunning to reenvision Dark Sector in the context of Warframe's own lore, but that certainly looks like what's going on. Warframe veterans may wish to keep an eye out for 1999, then, as it has the potential of being remarkably interesting to those who enjoy the game's wacky lore.

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Bungie appears to have done something very, very right with Destiny 2: Season of the Witch, according to the community. After a number of fumbles stemming from Lightfall's release onwards, it looked like the studio just couldn't catch a break with Destiny 2. Now, thankfully, things appear to have settled down, and players seem pretty happy with Season 22's key novelties.

The excitement comes from the destinythegame subreddit, where players posted dozens of trending threads doting over some of Season 22's best offerings. The Savathun's Spire activity has already been singled out as a particularly notable highlight, endeared for its high enemy density, interesting mechanics, and solid threat escalation from beginning to end.

[caption id="attachment_398431" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

It's not just gameplay hitting a high note in Season 22, either. Users like Voltax1999 and DerCatrix shared praises and jokes about major story beats and character arcs. In particular, Eris Morn's attempt to become a genuine Hive God rivaling Savathun, Xivu Arath, and even the late Oryx himself—may Deep rest his Oversoul—has captivated fans. Both threads received thousands of upvotes, delivering some much-needed positivity to a scene that's been gloomy as of late.

Ultimately, the community's response to Season of the Witch reads as a major Bungie win. Given the new season just launched on August 22, maybe take some of the fanfare with a grain of salt. But considering the humble community expectations for Season 22, Bungie may well be onto something here.

Season of the Witch and Player Feedback

Earlier this month, Bungie's Joe Blackburn commented on the game's troublesome state. Judging from his tweets, the studio finally seemed ready and willing to take some community critique to heart. Just note Blackburn's comments were more recent, so the feedback mentioned may not play a part in Season 22's quality. Though perhaps that's all the better and, hopefully, a signal things are looking up for Destiny 2.

After a rough period, it's welcomed news that some key seasonal mechanics, like Eris's deck of Hive playing cards, disguise Bungie's extremely well-trodden progression tropes. The new system is, technically, the same thing in place seasons prior, but Bungie's improved upon it through thoughtful tweaks. There's innovation present in Season of the Witch that hasn't been there in quite a long while. If Bungie keeps it up, the community may be on board again by the time The Final Shape launches in February 2024.

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Since Starfield is being optimized for AMD hardware, it's likely the game won't support any competing upscaling technologies by default. These, of course, being Nvidia's DLSS and Intel's XeSS. Historically, AMD-sponsored video games are usually limited purely to FSR 1.0/2.0, which puts modder PureDark in a unique position.

For context, PureDark is responsible for unofficial implementations of Nvidia DLSS into games that don't support this upscaler by default. This is a huge boon for Nvidia graphics cards owners due to better performance and image quality compared to FSR. The tricky bit, however, is that PureDark has started locking their mods behind a $5 Patreon subscription, and it would seem that they've taken things a step further than ever before by setting up Patreon-based DRM for their modded files.

https://twitter.com/Sebasti66855537/status/1693526622534509024

Starfield's DLSS mod may end up paywalled

PureDark previously announced that they'd have DLSS's frame generation and image upscaling functionality ready for Starfield as soon as possible. Their decision to set up a Patreon authentication system for mods is, therefore, suspiciously timely ahead of Starfield's launch. Given that Starfield's system requirements are reasonably hefty, Nvidia RTX GPU users would naturally hope to leverage DLSS in the game. And searching for this would eventually lead them to PureDark's mods.

There's definitely an argument for crediting modders for their hard work. Comprehensive and valuable feature-level additions like PureDark's DLSS injectors can make a world of difference for players. It's also easy to see why the community might feel rubbed the wrong way by actual DRM in mods. Some reports claim that it's a one-time payment, so PureDark's DLSS mods may not require a persistent subscription.

https://twitter.com/rdmetz/status/1693598201188643199

However, others claim this is not the case at all, and that game patches - which often come in rapid succession - break PureDark's mods on a regular basis. According to Reddit user jackyflc, "everytime a game update releases, the mod breaks and you will have to pay another $5 to resub and download the updated mod."

It's going to be interesting to see whether Nvidia reacts to PureDark's entrepreneurship, of course. While the company appears to have taken a more hands-off approach to DLSS integrations, allowing devs to do it for free, it's possible that PureDark may have stepped on its toes with this development.

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Destiny 2's The Final Shape reveal has come and gone, and, as it turns out, the community isn't too thrilled about it. Due to launch on February 27, 2024, the long-awaited The Final Shape expansion pack is supposed to fully wrap up the franchise's seminal Light and Dark saga. With the clash between the two primordial forces officially coming to a close and/or cooling off into a state of equilibrium, some Destiny fans may have expected Bungie to go all-out with a new elemental subclass, a new race of enemies to fight, and more. That, however, isn't happening for the most part.

Bungie was never going to meet all of its community's expectations, naturally, but there's a non-insignificant number of very whelmed and indifferent responses to the latest Destiny 2 showcase on the game's subreddit. Some have even gone so far as to call the whole event "incredibly weak," though it's entirely possible that the studio's recent problems have caused such cynicism, too.

[caption id="attachment_398356" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Destiny 2 players are not too thrilled about The Final Shape (yet)

While it's immediately worth pointing out that there is an air of careful optimism to be felt in the destinythegame subreddit, the Destiny 2 Showcase Recap 2023 thread is filled with jaded takes, too. From RayTrain's simple proclamation of being "whelmed" about the reveal to skyline_crescendo's announcement that this will be the first time they don't pre-order a Destiny 2 DLC, there's a wealth of similar comments to pick and choose from. Players seem to be careful, broadly speaking, about getting overhyped.

Danbuarth, for example, says that they're hoping "[Bungie is] holding a LOT back," possibly referring to the fact that Bungie is releasing new Light supers for Destiny 2 instead of delivering an all-new Darkness subclass. AjenoMervielles felt conciliatory - in their own words - saying that there may well be merit in accusations that Bungie is recycling content and leaning heavily onto fan service to keep The Final Shape afloat. Cayde-6 is, after all, making a grand return, and the new area is made up of pieces of old, previously explored architecture.

It's impossible to say what Bungie is going to deliver with The Final Shape just yet, naturally. There are many moons to go before the DLC drops, and the stakes have never been quite as high before, given that this particular DLC represents a new stage in the franchise's lifecycle. Time will tell!

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It's safe to say that the gaming industry's obsession with live-service titles and microtransactions won't wane anytime soon. However, the remarkable success of Remnant 2 has shown that there's still a substantial market for smaller, more contained experiences. Remnant 2's sales have been so remarkable, in fact, that the game managed to dethrone Diablo 4 last month, skyrocketing to the very top of the July list of bestsellers.

This information comes from Mat Piscatella, a renowned gaming industry analyst who often posts sales information on his Twitter account. Piscatella's stats summarize sales data from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox platforms, ranking games based on their revenue. This isn't a huge surprise, since Remnant 2 moved over one million copies in four days after its July 25 launch. That said, it does show something very important.

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1693627938569097422

Not every new game needs to be a live service bonanza

Remnant 2 developer Gunfire Games already promised that there's more content coming down the line. But the game doesn't have a permanent loot treadmill, and it doesn't try to commandeer all of its players' time. Instead, it's an AA production that delivers no microtransactions and doesn't rely on time-gated content to keep players coming back. Its success is based purely on its merits as a game.

Obviously Diablo is a far more popular and renowned franchise than Gunfire Games' Remnant. Yet Diablo 4's shoddy seasonal offering is sure to have played a role in allowing Remnant 2 to beat it in sales. Additionally, Piscatella reports that Remnant 2 is now the 18th best-selling new game of 2023. We'll have to see how many players return to the game as it rolls out downloadable content in the future.

Diablo 4 is still going to be a more performant title with a longer financial tail for its developer, but the community is clearly eager for games like Remnant 2. Hopefully the industry will deliver more of them in due time.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is quickly approaching its upcoming November launch. While its respective gameplay changes are fairly interesting in their own right - namely the 50% health increase, the point-shooting feature, and customizable Operators - some may have come across a curious leak. This leak included, among other things, what appeared to be a full and comprehensive list of the game's weaponry, with guns both returning and all-new. The list was so surprising, in fact, that it would've been all-too-easy to write it off as fan fiction or a wishlist.

Some recent developments, however, make it plainly evident that the list may be correct. Or, in a worst-case scenario, partially correct, as some of Activision's latest Modern Warfare 3 promo materials prominently feature the guns from that very list.

[caption id="attachment_397723" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Activision[/caption]

What does the leaked Modern Warfare 3 weapon list mean?

When CharlieIntel leaked the supposed list of Modern Warfare 3 weapons, the whole thing felt a bit like a regular fan's wishlist. Primarily because it contained certain experimental and/or exotic weapons, such as the (in)famous Bushmaster ACR. The confusing bit about the list is that it featured some repeats, and some weapons were referred to under COD's fictionalized manufacturer and model names, while others kept their real-world titles. Here is a truncated list of the leaked gear:

• AK-556
• Kalashnikov SVK
• Chukavin SVCh
• PKP Pecheneg (Bullpup)
• Colt Model 635
• H&K G36/SL-8
• Uzi
• H&K UMP-45
• Bushmaster ACR (in 5.56, .300 Blackout, and .450 Bushmaster)
• CZ BREN
• CZ Scorpion
• QBZ-95
• Beretta 93R
• RSh-12
• MCX Spear/XM7
• FN EVOLYS
• FN F2000

There were others, too, such as the SCAR platform in both 5.56 and 7.62 variants, and the MP5. It's unclear why these were referenced, as they're present and accounted for in Modern Warfare 2 as well.

The bit that seemingly confirms this leak, though, are some close-up in-game screenshots that Activision released for Modern Warfare 3. In the featured image of this article, specifically, the character is using a kitted-out BREN carbine. Meanwhile, the screenshot above shows both the Colt 635 (to the right) and a variant of the Chinese QBZ rifle. Moreover, it seems that one of the shown Weapon Vault offerings features the MCX Spear weapon platform as its key highlight.

https://twitter.com/charlieINTEL/status/1692281944657002688

Overall, it does seem like CharlieIntel's leak may have some merit, with at least some of its featured weapons clearly showing up in official promo materials. The leaked list also basically covers every meaningful weapon niche (aside from shotguns), all the while carefully side-stepping the gear that's being carried over from Modern Warfare 2. To that end, there's no regular M4 carbine to be found, and the flagship AK rifle is chambered in 5.56.

The most exciting bit, perhaps, is the fact that CharlieIntel posted an image showing the player character firing the legendary ACR in a point shooting stance. In other words, the ACR could make a comeback, even though it fell out of favor in the real world.

Balancing will likely become an issue in this Call of Duty, given its overabundance of overlapping weaponry. As it is, it's a given that MW3 won't be to everyone's tastes in the end. Yet, it sure seems like Activision is making darn sure that the game's arsenal leaves nothing to chance, and that's a good sign, if nothing else.

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Destiny 2's Season 22 is launching on August 22, and the community has some admittedly sensible expectations for some of its key content. Namely, one of Destiny's most important features has always been its trademark Bungie gunplay, which naturally ties into the game's weaponry. One of the reasons why Destiny 2: Lightfall missed its mark was because the DLC's main weapon set consisted of slightly remodeled and re-skinned Shadowkeep weapons, leaving a bad taste for some players.

Granted, Lightfall had way bigger problems than just reskinned guns, and those too are allegedly going to start being addressed as of Season 22, according to Joe Blackburn himself. In the time interim, with just hours to go before Bungie reveals Season 22 proper, the community has explained precisely what it wants and expects out of the season's arsenal of new weapons.

[caption id="attachment_397678" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

What the community wants from Destiny 2 Season 22 weapons

Judging by r/destinythegame, the biggest and most prominent Destiny subreddit, the community has got two big expectations for Destiny 2 Season 22. The first is that Season 22 weapons ought not to be reskins of previously existent gear, and the second is that the new gear should be worth chasing. These are, once again, perfectly sensible in the context of a live-service game that needs to keep its loot treadmill going. As it currently stands, however, the previous two Destiny 2: Lightfall seasons have failed to deliver on these promises.

Notably, Season of Defiance featured a partial set of re-textured Season of the Lost weaponry, while the Season of the Deep mainly featured old Reckoning weaponry in two different variants. Aside from Exotics, then, it's easy to see why the Destiny community might feel like the regular Legendary-tier weapons are being visually left behind, making them relatively uninteresting. The changes coming with Destiny 2 Season 22 should, therefore, include a more hands-on approach to the game's lower-tier gear.

Whatever the case may be, the good news is that the Destiny community won't have to wait long to see what Bungie's got in store for Season 22. Its content has been locked in for some time now, however, so it's entirely possible that Bungie couldn't pivot this particular piece of content following the disastrous response to its latest State of the Game blog post.

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Bethesda's Starfield is one of the most hotly anticipated titles of 2023, which is a heck of an achievement for a year that's already played host to heavy hitters like Hogwarts Legacy, Resident Evil 4, and Diablo 4, to list a few. It's easy to see the appeal, too, as the game's been described as "Skyrim in space" by Todd Howard himself. It's a given, of course, that not everyone will find themselves enjoying what appears to be a classic Bethesda Game Studios RPG, but some may have taken their biases a tad too far.

In fact, some early critique coming from a particular game developer has drawn the ire of Bethesda Game Studios' own Head of Publishing, Pete Hines. Certainly, there's room for critique in every project - especially one as large and substantial as Starfield appears to be. Whether the critique that's now being directed at the game is valid or not, however, is a wholly different matter.

https://twitter.com/Grummz/status/1692944018051641516

Judging Starfield by its Main Menu

Mark Kern of Firefall infamy has taken to Twitter/X to argue about the "physiognomy" of Starfield's main menu screen, claiming that its simplicity betrays "hasty shipping deadlines." Rather pointedly, Kern feels that Starfield is a game that's been made by a "passionate team overworked, or a team that didn't care." Before making these claims, Kern said that a given game's start screen is, in fact, extremely telling of how much pride a dev team has taken in its work, and that it's something that's "often done at the very end of [a game's] development."

It is telling, perhaps, that Kern decided specifically to reference physiognomy when bringing his claims to light: a pseudo-scientific theory claiming that a person's character or personality could accurately be assessed from the appearance of their face.

Bethesda's Pete Hines did not mince any words.

https://twitter.com/DCDeacon/status/1693253453642928477

Basing critique on the aesthetics of a game's main menu is an interesting choice of argument, though, and it is certainly worth pointing out that Bethesda's behavior implies the opposite of what Kern is saying. Starfield is in select reviewers' hands as of just a couple of days ago, specifically, giving them weeks' worth of access.

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It's hardly a secret that Destiny 2 and Bungie are in a bit of a pickle right now. Most years, the big "State of the Game" blogs used to signal big batches of positive changes coming to the game with the next paid DLC. This did not happen this time around. Instead, the community raised pitchforks after Bungie clarified that, no, there wasn't a big PvP content drop on the horizon. And no, there was no yearly ritual armor refresh because the team was too busy working on microtransaction armor.

The release of 2023's Lightfall DLC already soured things for a non-insignificant number of players. The game became more expensive to play on top of failing to reach the heights of 2022's Witch Queen expansion. This set the stage for some big disappointments, then, with the State of the Game simply underlining them further still. There's a flicker of goodness on the horizon, though, which Bungie's new "This Week in Destiny" blog highlights.

This comes hot on the heels of Destiny 2's game director Joe Blackburn promising to work on some of the game's biggest problems. This includes, but is not limited to, a downright ridiculous lack of investment in its PvP content. Blackburn also promised to deliver occasional Q&A streams where he'd play Destiny 2 and interact with the community to the best of his abilities - another unprecedented change.

[caption id="attachment_397286" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Will Destiny 2's Season 22 correct its course?

Players who are unhappy with the current state of Destiny 2 won't need to wait until The Final Shape to see (potentially) positive changes, either. The latest TWID went into some details on what to expect out of Season 22, which is due to kick off on August 22, appropriately enough. Some of the most notable highlights include:

• The Exotic mission rotator, allowing players to enjoy old Exotic missions and reap the rewards for their troubles
• A revamp of Destiny 2's resource economy
• A comprehensive rebalancing of many old Exotic armor pieces and abilities
• Relatively light PvP changes focusing on respawns, matchmaking, and related features

These are all supposed to launch with Season 22. Additionally, there's a mysterious Raid coming back over the course of the season, too. Blackburn promised that Bungie would deliver on his promises for further PvP improvements with yearly map packs and beyond.

The big question, of course, is whether Bungie will pull through on all of its new promises. The studio is now working on a Marathon revival in the form of an extraction shooter, of all things, and Blackburn already confirmed that Destiny 2's seasonal content model will undergo big changes with the 2024 release of the Lightfall DLC. Fans may need to prepare for a rocky rest of the year, with that in mind. Even though Bungie is now seemingly trying to pivot towards things that the community considers important, it's anyone's guess whether the studio will be able to follow up on its promises.

Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

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Activision has made it clear that it's got some big plans for the November release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, one particularly interesting tidbit of related information comes from the recent pre-order announcement. Featuring an admittedly substantial selection of skins, weaponry, and additional Season 1 goodies, the special Vault edition of MW3 also signals the grand return of the Weapon Vault system. Which was, by all accounts, seemingly forgotten for an entire year now.

Modern Warfare 3's Carry Forward functionality means that Modern Warfare 2 players can effortlessly transition over to the new title with all of their gear and cosmetics included. This is good news, broadly speaking, even if it will inevitably complicate the new title's meta and balancing. But this is also the first time that Activision transitioned anything from one CoD over to the next. That includes last year's FJX Cinder Weapon Vault, which poses a curious question about the new pre-order offering.

[caption id="attachment_397275" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Activision[/caption]

What is up with Weapon Vaults in CoD?

Players that spend a whopping $99 on the Vault Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will get exclusive access to the arguably tacky FATE Weapon Vaults. This isn't strange in and of itself, being an extremely expensive upsell option for a AAA shooter. But what is a bit strange is that Modern Warfare 2's FJX Cinder Vault never did get a successor up until now. Many in the community expected to see one at some point during the previous game's production cycle.

Modern Warfare's Weapon Vaults are, essentially, pre-unlocked weapon families. They feature full modification platforms and their respective attachments, providing a big leg-up in the early days of the game. Activision hyped the concept of Weapon Vaults with the FJX Cinder Vault's release, calling them the "Ultimate Weapon Blueprint". However, the feature appears to have panned out to become strictly a pre-order upsell.

The Modern Warfare games have emphasised their gun customization, so the paywall for Vaults may sadden some fans. For those who've got money to spare, though, $99 will now earn them two Vaults on top of everything else. They'll focus on some variant of the legendary AK platform and possibly the MCX Spear/XM7. The full details on what's included are still pending.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will launch on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is 2023's seminal CoD release, due to launch in November, but it would seem that Activision's got some monumental changes planned for the new game. Or, at least, that's what this particular CoD's marketing campaign would have you believe. With a huge new information drop slated to go live in very short order, fans of the franchise have already got a whole slew of things to be looking forward to, not the least of which is the return of the legendary Zombies mode.

Naturally, now's also the right time to remember that Modern Warfare 2 launched less than a year ago to reasonable critical acclaim, only for Activision to squander any launch-day goodwill over the course of the next couple of seasons. At the time of writing, Modern Warfare 2 is sitting at an "Overwhelmingly Negative" review rating on Steam due to a slew of issues with multiplayer and the broader content delivery pipeline.

[caption id="attachment_395459" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid.[/caption]

Modern Warfare 3 promises lots, but will it deliver?

On top of promising the grand return of Treyarch's seminal CoD: Zombies, one of the other big highlights of the new Modern Warfare 3 is that the game aims to carry over virtually of Modern Warfare 2's content. More specifically, this includes effectively the entirety of the previous game's Gunsmith 2.0 system, Operators and Operator skins, and more. It's unclear how, exactly, the new Carry Forward system will be implemented, but it's a promising concept, at the very least.

Other noteworthy reveals include:

• Open Combat missions in Campaign
• Improved Operator customizations
• Tac-Stance movement
• After-Market Parts for weaponry

Naturally, the specifics of these features are yet unknown, as the idea of the "Tac-Stance movement" really could mean pretty much anything at this point. The good news, though, is that fans won't need to wait long to learn what on earth is going on with the new CoD, as Activision has promised that the game's grand feature reveal rollout is due to begin later today, on August 17.

The post Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Promises Zombies, Content Carry Forward, and More appeared first on Destructoid.

Capcom's Exoprimal is the company's first full-fledged live-service offering, and it's definitely taken the job to heart. Notably, Exoprimal's  Title Update 1 is already available as of August 16, delivering a strong follow-up to the game's official July 14 launch date. Players now have access to a surprisingly large roster of new goodies, the highlight of it all being the introduction of Alpha-variant exosuits.

Exoprimal is, of course, still in its early days, being a live-service title and all that. Capcom did successfully deliver a content-rich and feature-complete game on day one, however, which doesn't always happen with games that are supposed to last for years at a time. This means that, even though Exoprimal players have had their hands full since the game's come out, they will now be fuller still, which is always a good thing!

[caption id="attachment_397089" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Capcom[/caption]

Exoprimal Title Update 1 Overview

The addition of Alpha-variant exosuits is bound to change up Exoprimal's suit tier list once players finally manage to unlock them, though it's still unclear what the big differences are between Alpha exosuits and their regular, garden-variety alternatives. Capcom promises that Alpha exosuits "allow for different playstyles," but the option to purchase one is only made available after the default variant reaches level 20. Or, alternatively, if players splurge on the Early Unlock Tickets.

Another Title Update 1 highlight is that Capcom's now added the "excruciatingly difficult" 5-person PvE boss battle missions to the Savage Gauntlet co-op content rotation. Savage Gauntlet, too, came out shortly after the game launched, adding a new twist to the hectic dino-slaying core of Exoprimal.

On top of these big features, Title Update 1 also introduces:

• New exosuit skins
• New weapon skins
• War Chest drops: new decals, charms, stamps, emotes, emblems and player icon backgrounds
• New gameplay medals and awards

Players can also expect to see some changes to Exoprimal's UI, as well as a big list of changes to the exosuit balancing. All the pertinent nitty-gritty can be found on Capcom's official Exoprimal Title Update 1 announcement page, though it's worth highlighting that the majority of these tweaks are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things.

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Destiny 2 has had a bit of a rough time after the launch of the Lightfall DLC earlier in 2023. Following a troubled set of releases that came at a higher price than ever before in the history of Destiny, as well as a "disastrous" State of the Game blog post detailing what the developer has in store for the game in the coming months, it hasn't been a grand old time for the players.

Destiny 2 Game director Joe Blackburn has, therefore, taken to Twitter/X in an attempt to assuage the community to some extent. In a recent 15-minute video, Blackburn has taken some of the players' vocal critiques to heart, promising changes and compromises, as well as a renewed focus on PvP.

[caption id="attachment_396940" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Changing the course of Destiny 2 - new showcase dated for August

Following the "we're listening" spiel that was posted in the recent Destiny 2 State of the Game blog, it seems that Bungie has taken at least some of the community's feedback to heart, with Blackburn now slated to take the brunt of the critique for the time being. Notably, Blackburn has not only promised to start streaming the game with live questions-and-answers features every so often, but he's also detailed a number of key changes slated for Destiny's near and far future.

The most notable of these is, perhaps, the fact that Destiny 2's live-service content delivery model is due to undergo some big changes after the Final Shape DLC comes out in 2024. According to Blackburn, more information about these changes will be shared at the upcoming Destiny showcase, which is due on Tuesday, August 22. Another key highlight is that the game will receive occasional free PvP map packs, though it may take a while before the first of these actually comes out.

https://twitter.com/joegoroth/status/1691512349398822914

The upcoming Final Shape expansion will also bring about some changes for the resident tentacle-faced miser, Xûr, as well as a new revision of Destiny 2's HUD. One of the more specific highlights is a buff interface, allowing players to quickly and easily reference what's going on with their character.

Blackburn went into some detail on a variety of other changes, one of which is the fact that Bungie is revamping the Season 22 Eververse armor, turning it into a freely available ritual armor that anyone can farm at their own behest. This, however, appears to be a one-off designed to appease the community.

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Surprising absolutely no one that's been keeping up with the gaming industry over the past couple of months; Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 is dominating both the zeitgeist and the review charts, now having become 2023's best-reviewed game.

Indeed, even though 2023 has already had a surprisingly rich roster of top-tier titles, like Nintendo's very own The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3 has successfully mopped the floor with all of its considerable competition. According to Metacritic, Larian has ostensibly created the best game of the year, handily beating Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter 6, and the Dead Space remake - just to list a few additional examples of well-reviewed video games in 2023.

[caption id="attachment_396210" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Larian Studios[/caption]

Baldur's Gate 3 is the Best Game of 2023?

The fact that Baldur's Gate 3 is an impressive CRPG hasn't come out of nowhere, naturally. Larian Studios initially launched the title via Steam Early Access in October 2020, only to take the next couple of years to produce a truly staggering amount of content and a roster of Dungeons & Dragons-inspired features and gameplay systems to match. The end result is predictably high-quality, but the unpredictable bit comes from the game's popularity, surprising even the developer itself.

It is a perfect storm for something like this to happen. Baldur's Gate 3 ticks a few key boxes that stand in direct opposition to some of the most commonly critiqued industry trends. The game is an immense role-playing experience with no live-service elements or microtransactions, and its Early Access tenure means that it launched in a fairly polished state. Baldur's Gate 3 also commands remarkably widespread appeal, what with being a D&D-based continuation of an old classic, now having been blown wide open for anyone and everyone to enjoy.

Though there's no denying the immensity of what Larian Studios has accomplished here, some caveats yet remain. Firstly, the Tears of the Kingdom may yet overtake it, as many Baldur's Gate 3 reviews still haven't been fully wrapped up. Secondly, Bethesda Game Studios' long-awaited Starfield is due to launch early in September, meaning that Larian is up against some of the most competent games seen in years. If Starfield doesn't end up falling flat on its face, that is.

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A Moscow court has found Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of the original Metro 2033 novel and its sequels, guilty of "deliberately spreading false information," leading to a hefty eight-year prison sentence. The charges state Glukhovsky posted texts and videos on his social channels claiming that Russian servicemen have been committing crimes in Ukraine.

As reported by the Associated Press, Glukhovskey was tried in absentia as he is not in Russia. A famed journalist and author, Glukhovsky was pronounced a "foreign agent" last year due to his critique of the Kremlin and Putin himself. This case falls under the law passed by Russian parliament shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading "fake" news about the military.

Dmitry Glukhovsky has been a vocal critic of the Russian regime for some time, and he hasn't been hiding it at all. The author has talked openly and critically on social channels about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.

Within games, Glukhovsky is well-known as the author behind the Metro series that spawned the video game adaptation. These dystopian novels follow survivors living in the metro of Russia, as rival factions vie for power beneath a post-nuclear wasteland.

Even within the gaming world, Glukhovsky is hardly alone in his critique of Russia's behavior. Metro 2033 developer 4A Games called for support among many others, helping shine as bright of a limelight on the situation as possible for the industry.

Some of the developers have, of course, had first-had experience with the war. Some of the devs have fought and even reportedly died on the frontline.

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Gunfire Games' Remnant 2 did more than just improve upon its predecessor: it also established itself as the go-to option for gamers that are fans of secrets, bespoke gameplay features, and a remarkably involved procedural generation system that delivers plenty of variety. It also had a fair few balancing issues for the dev, Gunfire Games, to deal with, though, and the latest PC update follows through on them.

Remnant 2 on launch day overwhelmed its players with a wealth of content and a solid progression system, meaning it took a bit longer than expected for its problems to crystalize with the community. Issues with survivability were certainly a highlight, but some unexpected quirks with character archetypes came up, too, and the new Remnant 2 PC update released on August 10 alleviates a huge deal of these problems.

Not only has Gunfire now improved the game's performance further still, but the studio has also delivered slight survivability buffs to a huge selection of gear and class passives. In other words, players should now find it ever-so-slightly easier to stay alive when the going gets tough. In co-op, specifically, Gunfire nerfed the multiplayer scaling value by an additional 5%, meaning that a full three-player fireteam will now take 10% less damage in total from all damage sources.

[caption id="attachment_394821" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Gunfire Games[/caption]

Key improvements in Remnant 2 gear availability

Another highlight from the full Remnant 2 August 10 patch notes has to do with a huge variety of rare items - or, rather, the lack thereof in many traders' stock rotations. Gunfire claims that players should now find that most world traders - like Cass from Ward 13 or Nimue from Losomn - will stock randomized gear more often. Up until now, it was possible for players to never come across certain items exclusive to Cass, limiting their character build options.

Finally, dedicated players are sure to have already found themselves juggling several Remnant 2 character archetypes all at once. While the system is a great deal of fun, unique archetype unlocks didn't apply account-wide up until now, which was an obvious oversight on Gunfire's behalf. That, too, has now been resolved via Wallace in Ward 13, who will sell all previously unlocked archetype engrams during each subsequent playthrough.

Broadly speaking, it seems that the future of Remnant 2 is bright indeed. With three expansion packs planned for release sometime down the line, and patches coming in at a brisk pace, Gunfire Games appears to have got a slam dunk on its hands.

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Bungie has announced that the new voice of Destiny 2's Commander Zavala will be none other than the legendary Keith David. David is known for a variety of acclaimed performances, having appeared in Cloud Atlas, Pitch Black, and the Halo franchise. He will now continue Zavala's journey following the tragic news that the character's former actor, Lance Reddick, had passed away earlier this year.

The Destiny 2 community was hit with the news about Reddick last March, bringing his long tenure as the talent behind Destiny's Commander Zavala to an untimely end. Reddick was responsible for a substantial number of iconic video game, film, and TV show roles. The issue with Destiny, specifically, was that Bungie would need to recast Zavala moving forward or scrap the character entirely.

Thankfully, Bungie went with the former option. The beloved character will continue leading the Guardians in their struggle against the forces of Darkness.

"I am honored to continue the great work of Lance Reddick as Zavala," said David. "Lance captured the character's sense of integrity so wonderfully. It is my intention to continue that work."

[caption id="attachment_204626" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Lance Reddick's work will remain

In previous instances of character recasting in Destiny 2, the new actors would re-voice all the old, existing dialogue alongside the new stuff. However, Bungie clarified that this wouldn't be the case for Zavala. According to the official statement, Reddick's existing voice-work as Commander Zavala will remain untouched "for the upcoming release."

It is worth pointing out that this isn't the first time that Keith David has joined forces with Bungie. Notably, he voiced the Arbiter in Halo 2 and Halo 3. It goes without saying that the role of Zavala is particularly significant, considering the character's history.

"Bungie is honored to continue the relationship that began with Keith during the days of Halo, and the team is excited for what he brings to the role of the Commander," Bungie wrote in the announcement's conclusion. "We will always remain respectful to the role Zavala has played thus far, and look forward to the journey ahead."

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