Employees told Vice that Riot’s decision to drop its mask mandate and stop testing for unvaccinated employees put them at risk, as hybrid working with three days in the office per week was being encouraged as the new norm. Today’s report comes just a week after similar criticisms and staff walkouts at Activision, which also has studios in California. Both companies said the changes reflected their state’s recent relaxation in Covid safety rules - despite rising case numbers due to the Omicron BA2 subvariant....

The latest entry in the teen-with-special-powers narrative adventure series first launched last summer, and was warmly received. It’s “a beautiful return to small-town mystery and young adult drama,” I wrote in Eurogamer’s Life is Strange: True Colors review. True Colors is just one of Microsoft’s latest list of titles headed to Xbox Game Pass through the first half of April. Also on the cards are sports games Cricket 22 and MLB The Show 22, plus gothic fairytale Lost in Random and cybernoir point-and-click adventure Chinatown Detective Agency....

According to Windows Central, anonymous but “trusted” sources sent screenshots of Hellblade running via xCloud, alleging that the streaming resolution was 1920x1080. Up until now, the hardware had previously only been able to run in 720p, but it seems Microsoft is now planning to refresh the streaming servers from “Xbox One architecture” to that of the Xbox Series X. If successful, it will bring xCloud in line with other streaming services such as GeForce Now and Google Stadia, which already offer 1080p (thanks, VG24/7)....

Earlier this month, a Steam version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was spotted in Ubisoft Connect’s database, prompting speculation the smash hit Viking adventure would finally arrive on Valve’s PC storefront. To date, PC players have only been able to access Valhalla via Ubisoft’s own launcher or the Epic Games Store. A Steam version of Ubisoft sports title Roller Champions was also spotted - and today was also made briefly available to view on SteamDb, all but confirming the game will launch there....

An earlier Twitter post from the official Marvel’s Avengers account was read by some fans as suggesting that they’d be given as free event rewards - something which the developer has now clarified. “We’ll be introducing the Red Room Takeover event this spring!” the account tweeted over the weekend. “Features rewards like animated nameplates, outfits inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a deadly HARM Room hacked by Yelena Belova, and more secrets to decrypt....

Announced last August, Marvel’s Midnight Suns - which draws inspiration from the Midnight Sons comic book run of the mid-90s - is superhero strategy game that follows a roster of familiar faces on an adventure blending turn-based combat, card-battling, and Fire-Emblem-style relationship building. Midnight Suns was originally due to launch in March this year but was delayed last November in order to add “more story, cinematics and overall polish”. Unfortunately, as its revised 7th October approached, publisher 2K and Firaxis made the decision to delay it once more to deliver the best possible experience for everyone....

The news had been announced by an “unauthorised” Twitter account and widely-shared. “Please be careful what you read online,” SNK wrote today. ORIGINAL STORY 13/2/22: Metal Slug: Awakening is on the way to PlayStation consoles. Revealed via a cap locks-heavy tweet posted earlier today, there are no further details on when the game - previously known only as Metal Slug: J and originally only slated to come to mobile devices - will release, but we’re invited to “stay tuned for details, dear commanders”....

“We have built an all-new Fully Ray Traced Lighting Pipeline that brings a number of optimisations, upgrades, and new features to the Ray Traced Global Illumination and Emissive Lighting that we pioneered with the original release of Metro Exodus, as well as an upgraded implementation of our powerful Temporal Reconstruction technology to further boost resolution, visual detail and performance,” 4A Games wrote in a blog post on the new versions....

Even more impressive is the fact this is all just boxed sales - not digital, which Nintendo does not disclose. With those included, Dread will likely have easily beaten Prime 1. Without them, less than 1000 copies separate the two. Metroid is still a markedly smaller series in terms of reach than Mario or Zelda, but one which is clearly growing. GamesIndustry.biz reports Dread shifted more than three times the number of copies at launch than Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS in 2017....

The console port was apparently sniffed out by Twitter user ALumia_Italia (thanks, VGC), after seeing a new file uploaded for internal testing via the Xbox Insider Hub. The file in question references Cardinal, Microsoft’s internal codename for Age of Empires 4, and is the first to reference the Xbox platform. On the one hand, a version of the Xbox Game Studios strategy game for consoles makes a lot of sense - and it may help to grow the series’ fanbase beyond its traditional PC borders....

Did you know this option also now downloads game and system updates while your console is more fully powered down? It’s an update Microsoft made available last year, but which largely flew under the radar at the time. The change removes a key reason many keep their console in the energy-guzzling Instant On mode, which uses 20 times more power than Energy Saver. While the change isn’t new, Microsoft promoted it last night as part of a blog post on its efforts to become more sustainable - and it’s a worthwhile PSA....

A filing from Polish developer Big Cheese Studio (translated by Twisted Voxel) reveals it was paid $600k by Microsoft, a result of which saw the game making its way onto Xbox’s subscription service. This turned out to be a pretty great deal for the Polish studio, as the money it received from Microsoft was the equivalent of 22 percent of the company’s entire revenue during the previous fiscal year. Cooking Simulator was originally released in 2019 for PC, with the game then coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and mobile over the subsequent years....

We’re big fans of Santa Ragione’s previous work, which includes MirrorMoon EP and Fotonica, around these parts, and Saturnalia sounds just as intriguing. It’s a survival horror adventure, of sorts - one heavily influenced by the folklore of Sardinia - that sees players guiding four different characters through a mysterious ancient village steeped in murky rituals. The goal of Saturnalia is to investigate, and ultimately solve, the mystery of village, but there are shadowy things in the night determined to stop you....

As spotted by PC Gamer, Wizard101 was forced into unscheduled downtime in order to address in-game messages changed to read “this game is shit” and “dick and balls”, amongst others. “Wizard101 servers have been temporarily shut down due to an unexpected issue,” the company tweeted yesterday. “We will keep everyone updated on when they will be back up. Thank you for your patience.” Just a few hours later the servers were “back up”, with the developer apologising for the “in-game disruption” and saying it had “put in a temporary fix and are investigating further to ensure a long-term resolution”....

In Modern Warfare 2, while some matches allow long-distance combat, other modes will reward you for running around the map to find your enemies before they find you. Among the game’s arsenal, the MP5 is one of the best guns in Modern Warfare 2 to do so. So, in order to take the most out of the Lachmann Sub, we prepared this explainer with the best MP5 loadout, describing not only the best perks and equipment for it, but also how to unlock the Lachmann Sub....

This gun is Modern Warfare 2’s version of the classic and strong AK-47. This weapon takes a little bit of practice to better handle its recoil which makes aiming a challenge when dealing with farther targets. So to work around the Kastov 762 strengths, we have prepared this guide explaining what is the best Kastov 762 loadout – listing all the attachments, perks, and equipment you should pick – as well as how to unlock the Kastov 762....

Martin: So first of all, before we get to the campaign itself - I’m a fan of the split release. I love a good Call of Duty campaign but in recent years I’ve found myself skipping them in favour of the real meat that’s the multiplayer modes. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I finished a Call of Duty campaign - maybe Infinite Warfare? They can sometimes feel like afterthoughts and it’s easy to pick them up for a couple of hours then put them down and forget about them....

A Mortal Kombat movie reboot has, of course, been long in the works, with Warner Bros first announcing a director and writer for the project - Simon McQuoid and Greg Russo, respectively - back in 2016. Despite its lengthy gestation period, however, not to mention its looming release date, details have been surprisingly hard to come by until now. That’s all changed though, thanks to a new interview in Entertainment Weekly - released alongside a sizeable collection of first images from the movie - which chats to director McQuoid about his work adapting the iconic video game franchise....

Windbound is the work of developer 5 Lives Studios and serves up a visually striking blend of survival, crafting, and exploratory open-world sailing as players travel from island to island, attempting to unravel the mysteries of the world. “As Kara, you are a warrior, caught at sea in a fierce storm, adrift from your tribe,” explains 5 Lives in its official description. “Thrown from your boat, at the mercy of the turbulent waters, you are tossed on to the shores of the Forbidden Islands, a mysterious paradise....

Sonic Prime was announced last February, after a bit of a premature reveal toward the end of 2020, with Netflix promising a 24-episode series that would send Sonic on a “journey of self-discovery and redemption” in which the “fate of a strange new multiverse” was in his hands. Since then, we’ve had teases, plus a slightly more revealing 40-second trailer, confirming appearance from Shadow, Dr. Eggman, and Big the Cat - who appears to be having something of a renaissance this year, seeing as he’s also been sighted in Sonic Frontiers....