Steve Thomas - IT Consultant

BioWare has officially unveiled the cast behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard's seven companions and the playable hero, Rook.

In a new blog post, ahead of its San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) panel this week, the studio finally revealed the faces behind the The Veilguard's cast of core characters. 

"Featuring the most comprehensive character creator in Dragon Age yet, your character, nicknamed Rook, debuts with four different voice overs to make this story truly your own," BioWare explained. "Rook is Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s leader in the making who has to bring the Veilguard together to take down the threats on Thedas."

Players will be able to choose which voice they prefer, with two options from US/North American actors and two from the United Kingdom/EU. 

These voices have been provided by Alex Jordan, best known for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Amazing World of Gumball, Bryony Corrigan (Baldur's Gate 3) Erika Ishii, who voices Valkyrie in Apex Legends and Ana Bray in Destiny 2, as well as Jeff Berg, who has worked on Battlefield 1.

Along with the return of Gareth David-Lloyd, who is returning as Solas, and Brian Bloom as Varric, BioWare also shared the full cast list, which features some familiar faces known in the industry. You can read the list below: 

  • Ali Hillis (Mass Effect 3, Naruto) returns to the fray as Harding, the dwarven scout, a Dragon Age: Inquisition hero with a big heart, a positive outlook, and a ready bow – as well as unexpected magical powers.
  • Ike Amadi (Mass Effect 3, Halo 5: Guardians, Insomniac's Spider-Man) as Davrin, a bold and charming Grey Warden who has made a name for himself as a monster hunter.
  • Jee Young Han (Perry Mason, Unprisoned) as Bellara, a creative and romantic Veil Jumper obsessed with uncovering ancient secrets.
  • Jessica Clark (True Blood, Pocket Listing) as Neve, a cynic fighting for a better future, both as a private detective and a member of Tevinter's rebellious Shadow Dragons. 
  • Jin Maley (Star Trek: Picard, Silicon Valley) as Taash, a dragon hunter allied with the Lords of Fortune who lives for adventure and doesn't mind taking risks. 
  • Nick Boraine (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Black Sails) as Emmrich, a necromancer of Nevarra's Mourn Watch who comes complete with a skeletal assistant, Manfred, voiced by Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Fallout 4).
  • Zach Mendez (Horizon Forbidden West, Married Alive) as Lucanis, a poised & pragmatic assassin who descends from the bloodline of the House of Crows, a criminal organization renowned throughout Thedas. 

"Each companion in Dragon Age: The Veilguard brings a unique personality and backstory, with some of the most compelling individual storylines in franchise history,” said Ashley Barlow, Creative Performance Director at BioWare. 

"The talent contributing to this next game in the series is tremendous - translating stellar writing from the BioWare team into performances fans will find worthy of the drama, fantasy and romance they come to expect from Dragon Age."

The studio is heading to SDCC this week where it will host its "Dragon Age - Meet The Heroic Companions of Thedas” panel. Those in attendance on July 26 will meet some of the actors bringing these characters to life and be provided a "glimpse at how bonds and connections will unfold through BioWare’s dynamic conversation system."

The Veilguard doesn't have a release date just yet, but BioWare has confirmed it will launch on PS5Xbox Series XXbox Series S, and PC in "Fall 2024". 

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The next Xbox Wireless Controller design could be launching next month, featuring the return of a fan-favorite design concept.

That's according to French outlet Dealabs who, as reported by VGC, claim the next special edition Xbox Wireless Controller will be named 'Sky Cipher' and feature a blue translucent chassis not dissimilar to the gorgeous Forza Horizon 5 Xbox Wireless Controller that originally launched alongside the popular racing game.

Dealabs claims Microsoft will officially reveal the Sky Cipher Xbox Wireless Controller just over a week from now on July 31. This should also be when pre-orders open for the controller, which will "most likely" be available for purchase on August 13. As for pricing, Dealabs suggests it'll come in at $69.99 (around £64.99), which is pretty standard for special edition Xbox Wireless Controller designs.

The leak has no imagery to accompany it, so we don't have a visualization on what the alleged upcoming controller might look like. But if it is inspired by the Forza Horizon 5 model, then collectors (or those simply after a new, fancier design) could be in for a treat. The translucent yellow of this controller, paired with its vibrant splashings of pink and blue paint, make it an utterly gorgeous special edition that's still in demand to this day - three years after it originally launched.

In other news, Microsoft has once again landed in hot water with the FTC over its recent Xbox Game Pass price hike. With a new filing submitted, the FTC claims the move degrades the product, stating: "removing the most valuable games from Microsoft's new service - combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged."

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Microsoft is reportedly considering adding more tiers to Xbox Game Pass.

That's according to Windows Central, who reports that the company is planning on introducing additional membership tiers to its subscription service, including an ad-based tier and a cloud-based tier, with the latter aimed at being "cheaper".

"I've heard that Microsoft is working towards a cloud-only version of its subscription that would be cheaper and more approachable to buy than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate," the publication said.

This new tier is said to be designed around users who don't want to buy an Xbox console and don't like upfront costs, but could also include the ability to "'double dip' by offering digital ownership of games within the service," - so they can play their games through the cloud and also own them digitally. 

As for the ad-based tier, this is something Microsoft is "currently actively working towards" and could potentially be aimed at those who prefer not pay anything on Xbox Game Pass at all.

This report comes after Microsoft implemented new changes to its Xbox subscription service earlier this month by increasing the prices of its membership tiers across the board. The changes affected the most expensive Ultimate tier, and also introduced a brand-new Standard tier that will replace the Console version. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - who has been actively appealing Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard - recently submitted a new filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, calling the latest Game Pass price hike "consumer harm" and "product degradation".

These changes also arrive right before the apparent imminent launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass, which will be followed by the day-one Game Pass launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

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Guilty Gear Strive is set to get its first guest character - and the first in the series' history - and it's one hell of a choice. 

Lucy from the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime is coming to the game in 2025 as the final character in Season Pass 4. Announced at EVO 2024, she'll be coming to the game in 'Summer 2025' - that's likely between the months of June and September. Before her, Season 4 will see the addition of returning characters Dizzy and Venom, as well as Unika - a new character from the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime.

Season 4, which officially kicks off today (July 22) with balance adjustments and a premium character color pack, will soon see the addition of a 3v3 team battle mode, even more character colors and two additional stages coming to the game next year.

While the Season 4 announcements unfortunately leaked ahead of time on developer Arc System Works' official channels, it's undoubtedly an incredibly exciting lineup of characters. Dizzy and Venom have been highly-requested characters for the game since its 2021 launch, so it's nice to see them finally make a return.

Though the biggest news here is certainly the addition of Lucy from Cyberpunk Edgerunners. As the deuteragonist of the hit Netflix anime, Lucy swiftly became a fan favorite and while her announcement for Guilty Gear Strive came as a huge surprise, I feel like she'd fit into that universe perfectly.

We don't yet know if Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has any Guilty Gear Strive-related content in store for its open-world RPG - and there's no concrete release date for Lucy's addition as of yet - but I'm willing to bet a whole lot of Cyberpunk fans are going to be picking up Guilty Gear Strive in 2025 when she arrives.

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Ubisoft has come out in defence of the Star Wars Outlaws graphics criticism and said it won't delay the game.

IGN published 10 minutes of Star Wars Outlaws gameplay earlier this week ahead of its August 30 launch date, showcasing the game's playable protagonist Kay Vess on an expert mission on the desert planet Tatooine. 

However, the gameplay has since garnered some criticism, mainly for its graphics, frame-rate drops, animations, and effects, causing the video to gain over 13,000 dislikes in comparison to just 8,000 likes as per GamesRadar.

"The game itself seems cool but... doesn't it look awfully unpolished for something coming out in August?" one user asked in the comments. 

Another wrote, "Why do the graphics look so poor and the particle effect[s] to explosion, and Kays face?" 

In the latest Ubisoft Q1 FY2025 Sales call, when asked if the publisher would potentially delay the game following the gameplay criticism, Ubisoft chief financial officer Frederick Duguet said, "The game has gone gold, so the date is well confirmed for August 30."

"We'll shortly be seeing more content of very high quality and multiple hours that will really show the depths of the open world that is a key element of the promise to enjoy the exploration of the galaxy with multiple planets, so that should bode well for the game in terms of high-quality delivery."

Ubisoft chief executive officer Yves Guillemot then goes on to defend the footage and graphics, adding that he is sure of the final product's quality. 

"As we've said also for Star Wars, the level of quality of the world and the experience is really very high," he said. "We are really leveraging our engine, and I think people will love it."

Star Wars Outlaws launches next month on August 30, 2024, for PlayStation 5Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

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Developer 1047 Games has announced that Splitgate 2, the sequel to the 2021 first-person shooter Splitgate, will launch for free on PS4PS5, Xbox OneXbox Series X|S, and PC in 2025.

The upcoming game is a 4v4 multiplayer shooter built in Unreal Engine 5 and boasts "fast-paced portal gunplay with objective-based game modes and distinctive futuristic maps", and features a faction system, customizable weapons, and, you guessed it, portals.

"In the summer of 2021, when we released Splitgate on PS4, we didn’t know what to expect," said 1047 CEO, Ian Proulx in a new interview with PlayStation Blog. "We certainly weren’t ready for the millions of people who hopped online wanting to play our take on a first-person shooter.

"With Splitgate, we made a game we loved and that our awesome community embraced, but we didn’t make the game of our dreams."

Proulx continued, saying that he believes that the upcoming sequel is "the game I dreamed of making when Nicholas Bagamian [CTO and Co-founder of 1047 Games] and I got together in a Stanford dorm and decided to put portals in a shooter."

The developer said that the team has been working on the game for so long and will be ready to share more about it next month, adding that while it was hard to halt the development of Splitgate in 2022, Proulx and the team knew that the right way forward was to develop a sequel.

"We had to start fresh, in some ways," Proulx explained. "That meant building from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, with completely new character models, new maps, new weapons, and even new portal walls and portals."

Despite being a multiplayer shooter, a narrative writer was hired to work on the universe, creating rich lore for Splitgate 2 with digital comics and cinematics set to arrive in the future.

The game doesn't arrive until 2025, but Proulx already has plans for the future, and explained that in order to keep the fun, the goal, the key was to "build a game that can last a decade or more".

"It’s not just about making sure we have lots of content ready when we launch," Proulx added. "It starts from the very foundations of design. Though the first Splitgate was inspired by classic arena shooters, we realized that to make a modern game that lasts, we had to develop the tools for a deep and satisfying gameplay loop. "

The developer said this starts with Splitgate 2's faction-based multiplayer, and although the team isn't ready to share details just yet, there's "a lot of it on display in our announcement trailer."

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EA Sports has revealed the official release date for EA Sports FC 25, as well as its cover star.

EA Sports FC 25 is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 27, 2024. 

For this latest instalment, Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham will grace the cover of the Standard Edition, while the Ultimate Edition will feature Bellingham alongside other football stars like Aitana Bonmatí, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Gianluigi Buffon.

Pre-orders are also available right now, but players will have until August 20 to pre-order the Ultimate Edition and receive limited-time rewards. These rewards include an untradeable Hero or ICON Player Item in EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team from the 'Greats of the Game' campaign, as well as an untradeable Hero Player Item in EA Sports FC 25 Ultimate Team with an upgraded 'Prime' version, which will arrive in November.

EA Sports FC 25 will introduce a bunch of new changes for the series. For starters, Career mode will feature women’s football for the first time ever. The game will also have several modes, which EA Sports has already provided details for. 

There's 5v5 Rush, which is described as "new way to play with friends in Football Ultimate Team, Clubs, and Kick-Off", and will replace Volta, with "fast-paced small-sided gameplay."

FC IQ has had an overhaul for greater strategic control and realism for team building, and will also utilize a new AI model "powered by real-world data" that will "influence player tactics through all-new Player Roles."

Ultimate Team is also getting changes, by introducing a way for players to employ Manager Items, customize Evolution items, and a way to duplicate items with a new duplicate storage mechanic.

Developer EA split with FIFA in 2022, meaning the continued use of the FIFA name in the company's video game series had to be rebranded. FIFA 23 was the final game in the thirty-year run of FIFA-branded EA titles, before EA Sports FC 24 was released last year, making it the first entry in the newly renamed series. 

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If you’ve been thinking of giving Nvidia GeForce Now a spin, then a new 50% off discount might just tempt you into finally making that commitment.

The game streaming service is currently half-price for the Priority and Ultimate subscription plans as part of Nvidia’s GeForce Now summer sale.

That means you can bag a Priority membership for $4.99 / £4.99 per month and an Ultimate membership for $9.99 / £9.99 per month. Normally, you'd be paying $10 / £10 or $20 / £20 respectively.

Or if you want to run with the six-month option, you’ll pay $24.99 / £24.99 and $49.99 / £49.99 respectively for Priority and Ultimate, rather than $50 / £50 or $100 / £100.

Priority is essentially the standard subscription (taking ‘priority’ over free users, extending game session length, and providing ray tracing to boot), whereas Ultimate offers all that and an extra range of goodies (4K support, or up to 240 fps for smoother frame rates).

The offer will run for a limited period, until August 18, 2024, so you’ve got a month to decide if you want to avail yourself of this sizeable discount.

Alongside this announcement, Nvidia revealed nine new games which are coming to GeForce Now this week.

The highlights picked out by Team Green include Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, which by all accounts is a smart little outing in a similar vein to Orcs Must Die (a tower defense spin), but in a Japanese setting.

There’s also Dungeons of Hinterberg, an RPG with a ‘social twist’ and Persona-style elements (plus Zelda vibes) that sounds quite intriguing, too.

Here’s the full list of new games:

  • The Crust (New release on Steam, July 15)
  • Gestalt: Steam & Cinder (New release on Steam, July 16)
  • Nobody Wants to Die (New release on Steam, July 17)
  • Dungeons of Hinterberg (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, July 18)
  • Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, July 18)
  • Norland (New release on Steam, July 18)
  • Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (New release on Steam, July 19)
  • Content Warning (Steam)
  • Crime Boss: Rockay City (Steam)

Nvidia GeForce Now

(Image credit: Nvidia)

Analysis: Dream stream

This is a great deal on the streaming service, although to be fair, we have seen 50% off discounts before – though usually only on Black Friday, as far as we’re aware. Also, Nvidia generally offers the six-month plan at half-price, and here you can get the benefit on the monthly plan too.

So, this is well worth considering if you want to try game streaming. The thing to remember about GeForce Now is that you must own the games (on the supported platforms, like Steam or Epic) to be able to play them. In other words, it’s the hardware you’re paying for (Nvidia servers to play the games on, and stream them to your device), rather than the software.

The other important point is while Nvidia’s hardware is doing the heavy lifting rather than your device, the quality of your internet connection is obviously vital for any streaming duties, whether that’s watching TV shows or playing games online.

Nvidia notes that there are now over 1,900 games in the GeForce Now library.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called the recent Xbox Game Pass price changes "product degradation".

Earlier this month, Microsoft introduced new changes to its Xbox subscription service by increasing the prices of its membership tiers across the board, including Ultimate and a brand-new Standard tier that will replace the Console version. 

Now, in a bid to appeal Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, the FTC has submitted a new filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, calling the latest move "consumer harm".

"Product degradation - removing the most valuable games from Microsoft's new service - combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged," the latest filing reads, which refers to the FTC's attempt to block the deal before it was closed.

The FTC argues that the new Standard tier is "inconsistent" with what Microsoft promised, that being "the acquisition would benefit consumers" by making Call of Duty available on Microsoft’s Game Pass on the day it is released on console "with no price increase for the service based on the acquisition".

"Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation - combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs, are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger," the file continues.

The FTC adds that "Microsoft’s price increases coincide with adding Call of Duty to Game Pass’s most expensive tier, and discontinuing the Console tier will happen shortly before releasing CoD’s newest game."

Microsoft recently confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will arrive on Xbox Game Pass day one for all members when it launches later this year, which will make it the first new game in the series to be brought to the service.

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Ubisoft's first-quarter earnings report for 2024 has confirmed the publisher has delayed two of its upcoming, high-profile mobile games.

As reported by Eurogamer, said earnings report confirms that The Division Resurgence and Rainbow Six Mobile have both been delayed into the next financial year. Both were originally slated to launch before March 31, 2025, though this no longer appears to be the case.

In full, the report states: "Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence are no longer expected in FY25 as the teams are taking the necessary time to ensure that these experiences deliver on expectations with optimized KPIs in the context of a demanding yet very large market."

At the head of the report, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot cites "a solid start to the year with net bookings above target, reaffirming that we are on the right track."

Further down, the report also cites a strong launch for free-to-play multiplayer shooter XDefiant, continued "strong performance" for Rainbow Six Siege, as well as growth for the Assassin's Creed and The Crew franchises - both of which have received recent entries in Assassin's Creed Mirage and The Crew Motorfest respectively. The report also mentions the recent release of Skull and Bones' second season of content, though no word as to whether or not the game has picked up any traction since its launch earlier this year.

No concrete release date has been given for Rainbow Six Mobile or The Division Resurgence as of yet. But with Star Wars Outlaws (August 30) and Assassin's Creed Shadows (November 15) both launching this year, Ubisoft enjoyers will have plenty to keep them occupied in the meantime.

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Dragon Age fans will soon be able to catch another glimpse at Dragon Age: The Veilguard at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC).

Following the game's official reveal last month, BioWare recently announced that it will be attending the annual comic convention on July 26, with a panel of several voice actors and developers to discuss the upcoming role-playing game. However, it seems that the studio is planning on revealing much more than expected.

According to Temple of Geek, BioWare will seemingly showcase brand-new gameplay that will provide a deeper insight into The Veilguard's cast of characters. 

The "Dragon Age: Meet The Heroic Companions of Thedas" panel information  indicates that it will feature the voice actors behind the game's cast of characters, including Lucanis, Harding, Emmrich, and Neve, along with creative director John Elper and creative performance director Ashley Barlow.

Those in attendance will "gain exclusive insights into the motivations and inspirations behind each unique companion" and also be provided with brand-new gameplay - perhaps a trailer or extended segment - that will showcase "how relationships and bonds unfold through BioWare's renowned conversation system".

The event is expected to be one hour long and be hosted by GameSpot's host and producer Lucy James, who will also moderate the discussion.

Since the panel is exclusive to those in attendance, it's unclear at this time if BioWare will share the gameplay preview for those at home on the same day, or at a later date.

We also don't have a release date for The Veilguard at the moment, but it is expected to launch on PS5Xbox Series XXbox Series S, and PC in "late 2024". 

It is possible that we could receive an announcement at SDCC alongside the gameplay reveal, but we'll have to wait and see.

BioWare has already shared plenty of details about the next entry in the Dragon Age series. Most recently, it confirmed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will let players choose between several "playstyles" as difficulty options.

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Star Wars Outlaws features a Grand Theft Auto style wanted system that can be pushed to the limit.

Speaking to GamesRadar, lead systems designer Matthieu Delisle and lead gameplay designer Fredrick Thylander provided additional insight into the open world Star Wars game's wanted system, ahead of its August release.

According to Delisle, the wanted system reaches to level six and can be a difficult challenge early on in the game. The pair also go on to describe the wanted system as a "toy" that players can "mess with" and can be pushed "as far as you want".

"It's definitely a lot of fun to kind of bring it [the wanted level] to level six and then see if you can survive it," Delisle said. "And spoiler alert, it's very difficult, especially at the beginning of the game. But as kind of an end game challenge to yourself it works really well. Also, it's quite a different experience depending on which planet you're on. Because the Empire has a different presence on the different planets, and space. Same thing with the syndicates."

The developer continued, saying that players can get themselves caught up in chaotic situations where multiple syndicates will hunt you down if you have a "terrible reputation" with them, as well as the Empire.

"So that's kind of like the ultimate open-world playground type of self-imposed challenge because if you push it that far, you are really looking for it," Delisle added. "But yeah, we have mechanisms in place for you to get out of a bad spot, we have different tools for you to fix your reputation, getting contracts, there's data that the syndicates are interested in that you can trade against reputation. So there are many ways for you to get out of a tough spot. But if you want to challenge yourself [you can]." 

Thylander also made it clear that while you can have a bad reputation with the Empire, you can never have a good one, and explained that the team had a "hardline" where it didn't want Kay Vess (the playable protagonist) to be a partner with the Empire whatsoever since its the ruling power and Kay is a scoundrel.

"They are trying to be the law and you're trying to be the element of chaos in there," Thylander added. "So, we felt like matching them was a really fun way to play with a scoundrel archetype. And also it opened up to a lot of emergent types of moments."

Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30, 2024, for PlayStation 5Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Pre-orders are also now available. Players can also expect two additional expansions to arrive post-launch, including the day one exclusive mission, Jabba’s Gambit.

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