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When MMOs first burst into the gaming mainstream, the monthly fees associated with them were accepted by players. In recent times however, the MMO landscape has seen a subtle shift from a full-blown subscription-based model towards a free-to-play model supported by micro-transactions. Facing competition from the growing genre, it appears that Star Wars: The Old Republic may be joining that trend in the future, potentially even switching over to EA’s Play4Free....

EA and UEFA have released details pertaining to a third edition of the eChampions League on the back of two successful seasons as a FIFA tournament. FIFA has been one of the go-to esports games for some time now and has provided a platform on which millions of players can connect with and compete against one another. The eChampions League, set to be part of the FIFA 21 Global Series, is likely to bring a whole lot more excitement to FIFA fans as long as they’re in eligible countries....

Some companies just can’t seem to catch a break. With gamer rage growing by the week as publishers and development studios expand and streamline smaller companies, and struggle to build a sustainable business model for the coming digital age, this bit of news shouldn’t surprise anyone. After more than 250,000 votes have been tallied, publisher Electronic Arts has been named ‘The Worst Company in America.’ Claiming a title like that certainly isn’t easy, and this past week EA had quite an adversary in Bank of America....

EA have announced the closure of Maxis Emeryville, the studio behind such iconic titles as SimCity and The Sims. Rumors were circulating that the studio might have met its end after employees began tweeting about the situation, but those reports have now been confirmed in a statement released to Polygon by EA earlier today. Founded in 1987, Maxis first rose to prominence with the release of the original SimCity. That title established the template for much of the studio’s output, which co-founder Will Wright would later compare to ‘digital dollhouses’....

E3, the largest games show of the year, is getting smaller and smaller by the day. The event used to be where the most important video game developers and publishers would come to make their big announcements about upcoming game releases or gaming hardware. But lately it seems like some companies are deciding that it’s no longer worth the time and effort. EA is the latest company to make that call....

One of the biggest and most noticeable differences between Valve’s Steam and the new Epic Games Store is that the latter does not feature any game reviews. When users of Epic Games’ newly launched storefront go onto the page of a game, they won’t see any reviews from other users, but that could be about to change. Responding to a Twitter user, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney confirmed that the team is “working on a review system” for the Epic Games Store....

The Game Awards 2020 was on fire this year and presented a large number of new material for us to get excited about. From a small indie project like Open Roads to a grand adventure with Hollywood actor Vin Diesel in Ark 2, the show had something for almost everyone. Ark 2 One of the biggest surprises of the night was Ark 2, a sequel to the open-world sandbox that became a multi-million selling property....

Meta is making things a lot more interesting for Messenger users, by introducing loads of new customisation options for end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) chats. You can now add themes, custom emojis, reactions, group profile photos, and more to your so-called “secret conversations”. That’s right, no more plain white backgrounds in encrypted Messenger chats. Here’s everything you need to know. What’s new with encrypted chats on Messenger? Chat themes: Custom chat emojis and reactions Group profile photos Link previews Active Status Meta is introducing a bunch of new features for end-to-end encrypted chats on its Messenger platform, including the ability to use themes, make custom emojis, use reactions, add group profile photos, and more....

January 15 sees the release of The Frontier – a massive mod for Fallout: New Vegas that’s been in development for over seven years. To access the new content, you’ll need 35GB of available storage space along with copies of New Vegas and its DLC. According to the developer, The Frontier features new mechanics like drivable vehicles, incredible scripting, and visual effects that will impress even the oldest fans of the series....

Throughout the events of Fallout 4, players are faced with many choices. Unlike some of Bethesda’s other titles though, very few of them actually have much of an impact on the game’s world and narrative. On the surface, they may seem significant, but, ultimately, much like war, the outcome doesn’t really change. Sure, a companion might get mad or the reward might be different, but life goes on. Buried amongst the myriad of possibilities, however, there are actually some important decisions to be made....

A Fallout 4 fan has completely mapped out the underwater sections of the Far Harbor DLC. He has created an imgur gallery of his findings, including the underwater map. Fallout 4, like many of Bethesda’s previous works, contains a huge amount of secrets and Easter eggs to find. Some of the best secrets it had to offer were hidden under the ocean, and one Reddit user decided to act as the virtual tour guide to the underwater world of post-apocalyptic Boston....

Fallout 4 fans should start clearing some space in their respective gaming Vaults, because there’s only a little more than 12 weeks to go before Bethesda releases the next installment in their insanely popular post-apocalyptic franchise. So far, the Maryland-based studio is confident in the RPG’s success, projecting that the game’s sales will make it their “biggest release ever”. And with the hype train chugging along on practically every possible news outlet and gaming thread in existence, it’s quite possible that Fallout 4 could go on to become the game of the year....

One fan of Fallout 4 gives rapper The Notorious B.I.G. life after death by putting Biggie Smalls in Bethesda’s retro-futuristic RPG with the use of mods. Throughout the history of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic franchise, there have been plenty of different faces for the game’s Mysterious Stranger (which happens to be one of our picks for the best perks in the series pre-Fallout 4), but now, thanks to modder Gyashaa, the character will be replaced by Brooklyn’s own Notorious B....

Over the last few days, Bethesda has confirmed several aspects about Fallout 76 and its forthcoming beta. For example, the Fallout 76 beta will include the full game (as opposed to a small portion of it) and beta progress will carry over to the game upon release. While this news has gone down incredibly well with fans, one other piece of information appears to have divided players. The representative doesn’t appear to have elaborated on these comments, or detail exactly why Bethesda is skipping Steam, but it’s not difficult to see why....

Fate/Grand Order players may have just finished some extreme farming but they aren’t getting any breaks. While Coming to the West ended several days ago, the Fate/Apocrypha Inheritance of Glory event will be starting very soon. As the second new event since 2020 began, players will find there’s much to do from April 24th to May 7th. Fate/Apocrypha is another alternate timeline where the Greater Grail was stolen during the Third Holy Grail War so Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night never happened....

David Candland spent about 18 years at Bungie, working on the Halo and Destiny franchises. By the time he left Bungie, Candland was the UI Design Lead at the developer, leading much of the design of Destiny’s user interface. In a video posted on his personal website, Candland shows the evolution of the user interface in Bungie’s sci-fi looter shooter from the first pass to the final iteration. Not only does the video give an interesting look at the user interface, but it also allows fans to see back to the early days of Destiny’s development....

A huge amount of new Devil May Cry 5 information has recently surfaced online, thanks to a series of leakers who have insider knowledge on the upcoming game. Although the follow-up to 2008’s Devil May Cry 4 is yet to be officially announced, fans have known that Hideaki Itsuno’s secret project was likely a new installment in the popular series for some time now. The following information contains a few potential SPOILERS, so Devil May Cry fans should consider themselves warned before reading....

Diablo 3’s long-awaited Rise of the Necromancer DLC has finally had its price and release date revealed by Blizzard. Announced eight months ago now, the Necromancer DLC has been a much anticipated release for the aging ARPG. A whole new class with which to burn through Diablo 3’s story, greater rifts, and seasonal content might be exactly what the game needs. Player’s can purchase the Rise of the Necromancer DLC starting June 27 for the price of $14....

If physical damage is your favorite thing about Diablo 3, then it’s not a wild guess to suggest your favorite class is the Demon Hunter. While Wizards are much more subject to the phrase “glass cannon,” it’s actually the Demon Hunter that gets killed on hardcore runs before any other class in the game. That number, of course, is largely due to headstrong rookies that aren’t prepared for the difficulty of the game and do not understand how to truly utilize the Demon Hunter....

There was a time when Diablo Immortal was an incredibly controversial mobile-only entry in the legendary Diablo franchise. However, not long before the game’s launch, Blizzard confirmed that Immortal would also be available for PC on day one. That means that those who want to try Diablo Immortal are no longer limited to mobile devices and touch controls. Just because Diablo Immortal now offers more control options doesn’t mean that all control options are created equally, though....