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After Blizzard Entertainment banned professional Hearthstone player, Ng “Blitzchung” Wai Chung, for calling for the liberation of Hong Kong during an official Blizzard interview, a large number of Blizzard employees expressed their disapproval with the company’s actions, even staging a full-on walkout on Tuesday. During a post-game interview, Blitzchung shouted, “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our age,” while wearing a mask similar to those worn by Hong Kong protestors. The match’s commentators seemed to agree with Blitzchung’s statement, turning the moment into a pro-Hong Kong demonstration, and also earning the commentators a ban from Blizzard as well....

It’s incredible to look back and see how far the gaming industry has come in just the past few years. Looking back, it’s amazing to see just how far some companies have come. It’s a wonder to think that the gaming Goliath that has come to be known as Blizzard was, 20 years ago, just another small company created by two men with a passion for gaming. For their 20th anniversary, Blizzard co-founders Mike Morhaime and Frank Pearce put together a short video to thank the people who helped them get where they are now: The fans....

Each year, Blizzard fans and employees gather in Anaheim, CA to celebrate the developer’s stable of games and get a sneak back at what is planned for the coming year. Although Blizzard has seen a record year with surge in World of Warcraft subscribers thanks to a successful WoW Classic launch, the developer is also in hot water with some fans (and some members of Congress) due to its handling of some political statements at game events....

You’re not alone if you think Bloodborne represents the absolute best of the Souls-like genre. With its incredible gothic horror atmosphere, and even more impressive gothic horror story, refined mechanics, and wonderful visuals, Bloodborne is considered by many to be From Software’s masterpiece. Nowhere is Bloodborne‘s place near the top of this genre more evident than in the game’s boss fights. With all due respect to Dark Souls‘ incredible bosses, Bloodborne‘s collection of deadliest foes features such a stunning array of gameplay, design, and narrative concepts that few games (in or out of this genre) can possibly compete with the experience’s most memorable bosses....

It takes a full 13 minutes for players to go from the start menu to actual shooting in Borderlands 3. We know because someone actually timed themselves. From clicking “New Game,” it takes 13 minutes to go through the various intro cinematics, to having Claptrap provide you with a slow, laborious tutorial that most people probably don’t even need, to finally, blessedly being able to pop a cap in someone....

Spiderant eggs are a quest item in Borderlands 3 and these pesky things can be a bit of a challenge to collect if you do not know where to look for them. Even if you do, going into a spider lair without proper preparation can be a tall order even for veterans, so if you’re looking to know how to farm Spiderant eggs in Borderlands 3, you’ve come to the right spot....

Seven long years since the launch of Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 is finally here. The looter-shooter has been a long time coming, with Borderlands 3 enjoying a level of pre-release hype that is rare for most games. Now that the game is out and the dust has settled, we know whether or not Borderlands 3 manages to live up to expectations and the lofty legacy left by its predecessors....

Supercell, the developer of the recent mobile hit Brawl Stars, has just launched a new website called Supercell Make. The site allows members of Brawl Stars’ online community to create and pitch skins for its playable brawlers. Visitors to the website can then vote for their favorites, and winning skins will not only be implemented into the game, but the winner will be awarded $10,000. To start, the Supercell Make website provides prospective creators with a pack of character assets that can then be imported into a 3D modeling program....

A voice actor in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has let some character details slip, during an interview. Don’t enter the next paragraph—or, indeed, the rest of the article—if you wish to remain completely unspoiled. Pietro Ubaldi, who voiced Daruk, a bearded and kindly Goron, in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild spoke to Lega Hyrule. (Thanks, Recetera). Ubaldi let slip that he would be voicing another Goron character, who is one of Daruk’s ancestors....

BAFTA has announced its nominations for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015, with a total of 51 games recognised across 17 categories. SEGA’s Alien Isolation leads the nominations race with six nods in Audio Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Game Design, Game Innovation and Music. Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4 earns five noms in Artistic Achievement, Game Design, Music, Story and Performer. Monument Valley is also up for five awards in Artistic Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Mobile & Handheld and Original Property....

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s second DLC pack, Ascendance, will launch on PS4, PS3 and PC on April 30, Activision has announced. Ascendance features 4 new maps, a 2-in-1 directed energy light machine gun/shotgun called the OHM, the OHM Werewolf custom variant and the all-new Exo Grapple ability and playlist. Ascendance Maps Perplex: Get vertical in Sydney as you fight to dominate this five-story modular apartment complex. Take the high ground or blast through the close-quarters interior in this small to medium sized map....

Graphics have taken a huge leap forward this generation in more ways than just traditional rasterization improvements. In addition to the improved performance of the hardware itself, software is making noteworthy progress in delivering better experiences. Nvidia’s machine learning-based DLSS is certainly the best example at this point. This is due in thanks to the huge framerate boosts it offers without affecting visual quality (when implemented properly). AMD has been keen to offer its own improved version of resolution upscaling with FidelityFX Super Resolution, but it has yet to detail how exactly the feature will work or when it will be ready for its Radeon GPUs....

The latest Nintendo Direct focused on Animal Crossing: New Horizons and revealed quite a few new details about the upcoming title. There’s a lot to cover here, but the gist of what we larned is that New Horizons is going to be a bit different from some of the series’ most notable titles of the past. It’s been described as more “structured” in some ways by other outlets. We’re not sure about that, but Nintendo’s preview did strongly suggest that New Horizons is going to focus on allowing you to really build your own world rather than exist in someone else’s....

The Pathless, from developer Giant Squid and published by Annapurna Interactive, will launch on Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch on 2nd February. The game was originally released in 2020 for PlayStation and PC, but Annapurna announced at its showcase last summer it was due for release on Xbox and Switch this winter. iam8bit and Skybound will release physical editions of the game for Switch, with details coming soon. Watch on YouTube THE PATHLESS | Coming to Switch and Xbox February 2...

EA really wants you to know that a new Apex Legends season is coming, and its ceaseless drip-feed of Season 12 details continues with a new gameplay trailer showcasing the free-to-play battle royale game’s incoming map changes and new Control mode. To date, developer Respawn’s pre-launch promotional material for Apex Legends: Defiance (as the new season will be known) has largely focused on new hero Mad Maggie, but we’re going deeper into gameplay territory this time around, starting with Control....

EA and Respawn have announced that free-to-play battle royale shooter Apex Legends will finally arrive on Nintendo Switch on March 9. In a letter to fans announcing the news, game director Chad Grenier revealed the game will support cross-play on Ninty’s console, the latest seasonal content and full feature parity with the other versions of the game. Grenier credits veteran Switch porting studio Panic Button with helping get the game on the system....

Apex Legends Season 6 will introduce Rampart, a rough and ready Legend who mods her own weapons, and a crafting mechanic for upgrading your gear. Beginning August 18, the Season 6 Boosted Battle Pass will go live, with new and exclusive cosmetics like Legendary skins, Apex Packs, new Holo-Sprays, and more. Additionally, the new Volt SMG looks like it will leave a mark with electrifying elemental damage. Most interestingly, the game will be integrating a new crafting mechanic through a Replicator that drops into the surroundings....

According to Apex Legends’ lore, Sergeant Anita Williams – also known as Bangalore – is a professional soldier who competes in the Apex Games after a military operation gone bad, hoping to one day earn enough money to afford passage back home. Over the weekend, with the release of her new “Cherry Bomb” legendary skin, players are asking a vital question about Bangalore: does she regularly enjoy the sweet, sweet taste of AriZona Iced Tea’s Green Tea, always available at local retailers for just 99 cents?...

Apple has shifted its approach for Apple Arcade, and has scrapped contracts with studios which were producing games that wouldn’t secure suitable levels of “engagement” with the service. The news comes from Bloomberg, and the report claims to have spoken with sources close to the situation. Apparently, in April, an Apple Arcade creative producer communicated to a handful of developers that their upcoming games wouldn’t generate the level of “engagement” that Apple wants....

Today at 1pm EST, Apple is holding an event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, where they are expected to reveal the details behind the much anticipated iPad 2. In typical Apple fashion, nothing has been confirmed ahead of schedule but there are some likely updates to the device. The iPad 2 is likely to be thinner and lighter, have a front-facing camera, better speaker and a faster processer as most generation successors do....