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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta dates tabbed for early September

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s multiplayer beta weekends kick off on Friday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT, Activision… Continue reading Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta dates tabbed for early September
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s multiplayer beta weekends kick off on Friday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT, Activision announced on Monday.

The first weekend, which runs until Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. EDT, is set aside for those who have pre-ordered the game before then. However, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to get in the first beta without a pre-order. They can access it through the Game Pass library.

An open beta available to everyone kicks off the next weekend, Friday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. EDT, ending the following Monday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. EDT.

The beta is available for all platforms (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X). The beta client is available in those consoles marketplaces, as well as through Xbox Game Pass. For PC, it’s available from Steam, Battle.Net, and the Microsoft Store.

“The Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta gives fans hands-on with the incredible new Omnimovement system and other gameplay innovations across a variety of brand-new Core maps,” Activision said in a statement, “lets them build their own loadouts, access a variety of weapons, equipment and Perks, and drop in across a number of Modes.”

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 launches Oct. 25. It was formally announced May 23; rumor and speculation for months had suggested Treyarch would take the game to the Gulf War era, and a nostalgia-filled live-action trailer confirmed that four days after its announcement:

Featured image via Activision.

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San Diego Comic-Con: schedule announces Marvel, Walking Dead, and The Penguin

San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (SDCC) has announced this year’s schedule for its annual celebration of movies, video games, toys, and… Continue reading San Diego Comic-Con: schedule announces Marvel, Walking Dead, and The Penguin
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San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (SDCC) has announced this year’s schedule for its annual celebration of movies, video games, toys, and yes, comic books. Much-loved sci-fi and pop culture icons such as Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and Star Trek will hit the stage alongside some new movies and shows coming to screens in 2024.

San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 25–28, and it will be the first entirely in-person event since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to stage an entirely online event.

What’s on SDCC 2024’s schedule?

We have broken down the most significant announcements on the SDCC schedule to keep fans up-to-date. The three days are packed with highlights.

Thursday’s What We Do in the Shadows Farewell Kickoff showcases the final season of the vampire roommates Staten Island adventures. Jonathan Frakes brings a first look at Venus Prime, and Dan Harmon of Rick and Morty fame brings his new show to fans at SDCC.

Friday is a long day of anticipated television and limited series reveals, including The Boys, The Walking Dead, and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. A special panel is also in place for the creators and executive producers of Invincible and the much-loved Dungeons and Dragons series Critical Role.

The final day is similarly packed, focusing on entertainment staples like The Simpsons, American Dad, and Family Guy. For comic fans, this day is interesting as we see Matt Reeves’ Batman animated show, and Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige displays the future of the cinematic universe. That means we might see Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, and The Fantastic Four for the first time. Colin Farrell will take to the stage to show off his portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot in the upcoming Penguin HBO Original limited series.

(All times below are PDT.)

Thursday, July 25

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Transformers One panel
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Spongebob, Celebrating 25 years
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Teacup, the new Peacock horror show
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Jim Lee spotlight on one of America’s best-known comic artists
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Percy Jackson and the Olympians
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Those About to Die, a look at the Gladiator-inspired tv show from Peacock
3:15 – 4:15 p.m. A Conversation with Ronald D. Moore
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. What We Do in the Shadows Farewell Kickoff
4:45 – 5:45 p.m. Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime unveiled by legendary Star Trek actor Johnathan Frakes
8:15 – 9:45 p.m. Dan Harmon’s Universal Basic Guys and Krapopolis unveiled by Fox

Friday, July 26

10:00 – 11:00 a.m. The Boys
11:00– 12:15 p.m. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
11:15– 12:30 p.m. Snowpiercer
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Into the Whoniverse: A Doctor Who Panel
1:00 – 1:45 p.m. Executive producers Robert Kirkman (Invincible), Vivienne Medrano (Hazbin Hotel), Travis Willingham (The Legend of Vox Machina), and Kyle Hunter (Sausage Party: Foodtopia) talk about their respective Prime Video series.
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Jim Lee and Friends
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2
2:00 – 2:45 p.m. Solar Opposites
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Like a Dragon: Yakuza
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon —The Book of Carol
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski and Kevin Feige
3:00 – 3:45 p.m. The Great North
4:00 – 4:45 p.m. Bob’s Burgers
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Collider’s Directors on Directing
5:15 – 6:15 p.m. 20th Century Studios: Alien: Romulus
5:45 – 6:45 p.m. Dexter: Original Sin
8:15 – 9:15 p.m. Harley Quinn & Kite Man: Hell Yeah! Panel

Saturday, July 27

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. My Adventures with Superman Screening Presentation and Panel
11:15– 12:15 p.m. Everybody Still Hates Chris
11:15 – 12:15 p.m. Superman & Lois Special Video Presentation and Q&A
12:00 – 12:45 p.m. The Simpsons
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Abbott Elementary Class in Session
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. BRZRKR: The Immortal Saga Unleashed
1:00 – 1:45 p.m. American Dad!
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. The Rookie
1:45 – 3:15 p.m. The Star Trek Universe
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Family Guy
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Batman: Caped Crusader
3:00 – 3:45 p.m. Critical Role: Fireside Chat and Cast Q&A
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Tracker
4:00 – 4:45 p.m. Silo
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot
4:45 – 5:45 p.m. The Penguin Panel
5:00 – 6:15 p.m. Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Marvel Studios panel with Kevin Feige on the future of the cinematic universe
6:45 – 7:45 p.m. From
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. A Panel with Kevin Smith
10:00 – 11:00 p.m. A Celebration of Hazbin Hotel, Hosted by Hot Topic

Image: SDCC.

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EA FC 25 reportedly axing Volta for 4v4 Rocket League-style mode

EA FC 25, the brand that emerged from the split of the FIFA football game series, has reportedly been axing… Continue reading EA FC 25 reportedly axing Volta for 4v4 Rocket League-style mode
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EA FC 25, the brand that emerged from the split of the FIFA football game series, has reportedly been axing the game mode Volta.

Leakers suggest that a 4v4 Rocket League-like clone would replace the Volta game mode. The street football aesthetic was meant to hark back to the game’s urbanized roots, where kids would practice nutmegs and dribbling under the street lights.

EA FC 25 reportedly axing Volta

Volta has been a poorly received game mode compared to the series’ more established Career Mode, Pro Clubs, and Ultimate Team. EA Sports had hopes that it could take off like NBA 2K’s 2v2 and 3v3 modes in its outdoor basketball world, which enthuse casual players to develop combos and skills.

For EA, Volta hasn’t been a success, and well known leakers in the soccer esports community have heard rumblings of a successor to the casual mode with a “Kick-Off” style mechanic reminiscent of Rocket League.

EXCLUSIVE NEW EA FC 25 Game Mode: RUSH

– 4v4 + AI Goalkeepers
– Online Game Mode
– FUT & Pro Clubs combined together.
– Each player chooses their own FUT card, and earns rewards together as team for FUT and Pro Clubs!
– Combined season pass for UT and Pro Clubs so can also… pic.twitter.com/NdI5yEFvn6

— FGZ (@FGZNews) July 13, 2024

If prominent leaker FGZNews is to be believed, this new mode could combine Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs jammed together, with a way to gain experience points for both modes, through the choice of a set skill card.

FGZ continued in the social thread on X (formerly Twitter), “It should be the mode PENTA that we leaked a few weeks ago. I don’t know what the game Mode will be called at launch.”

One person responding to the thread said, “Any online manager mode yet? I mean if madden can do it why not fifa.” It seems like EA FC 25 is going back to existing game modes and trying to tether them to popular ones like Ultimate Team instead of rethinking how to entice players to compete online.

EA FC 25 has had a host of leaks ahead of the usual July storm of upcoming title information. The price, logos, and editions were all leaked before the official announcement.

As we reported, Jude Bellingham, the Birmingham wonder-kid and Real Madrid star, will be the face of the new EA FC 25. A host of leakers posted across social media this week with the English star in his trademark outstretched-arms celebration.

Image: EA.

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Expert Predicts Big Gains for This New Shiba Inu Meme Coin in Crypto Bull Run – SHIBASHOOT

The recent market pullback, despite an overall bull trend, presents a rare investment opportunity, and Shiba Shootout is one of… Continue reading Expert Predicts Big Gains for This New Shiba Inu Meme Coin in Crypto Bull Run – SHIBASHOOT
The post Expert Predicts Big Gains for This New Shiba Inu Meme Coin in Crypto Bull Run – SHIBASHOOT appeared first on ReadWrite.

The recent market pullback, despite an overall bull trend, presents a rare investment opportunity, and Shiba Shootout is one of the best tokens to capitalize on it.

The cryptocurrency market offers a rare opportunity for smart investors. Over the past six to seven weeks, there has been a significant bear market pullback amid a broader bull market.

This situation presents a prime chance to invest, following the adage: “Buy property when there’s blood in the streets.” It’s time to act on the principle, “Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.”

The Fear and Greed Index has been discussed extensively. Understanding it provides an edge. Currently, the market is neutral, sitting at a level of 48, up from extreme fear levels of 25 recently. Last week, it was at 28, indicating a recovery trend.

CoinMarketCap’s index also shows improvement, moving from 36 to 48 over the past few days, suggesting investors are becoming more neutral and eventually greedy. In the past, many might have bought high and sold low, influenced by market sentiment.

Whales, however, buy low when fear prevails and sell high during greed. By understanding this, one can avoid the common retail investor mistake of buying high and selling low. Instead, they can take advantage of opportunities like Shiba Shootout, poised for growth with its small market cap.

Shiba Shootout ICO raises $669k – Next big meme coin?

Shiba Shootout stands out as one of the most promising tokens to capitalize on the current market opportunity. Despite market conditions, Shiba Shootout is performing well in its presale, attracting $669,000 in inflows.

During the presale, investors can buy the token at a low price of $0.0196 per token. The price will increase at various stages, making each presale phase a chance to buy at potentially the lowest price.

Payment options include Ethereum, USDT, or BNB. Card payments are also supported, making it accessible to a wider audience before it launches on exchanges. Once investors secure their Shiba Shootout tokens, they can relax until the end of the presale to claim them.

Successful meme coins often rise by 20x, 50x, or even 100x after their launch. At the current price of $SHIBASHOOT, a potential 50x price rally presents a significant opportunity. But what makes Shiba Shootout so promising, and why might it grow so much after its launch?

Before discussing what Shiba Shootout can offer, stay updated about their upcoming features and potential by joining their X and Telegram accounts.

Key factors attracting investors to Shiba Shootout presale

Many meme coins lack practical use, but Shiba Shootout stands out by introducing several ways for its community to benefit. These utilities serve as incentives, drawing users back into the ecosystem and building a strong community. Let’s explore them further.

Firstly, there’s the Posse Rewards referral program, where investors can earn bonus tokens by inviting friends to join the Shiba Shootout community.

Another initiative is the campfire stories, where community members share their experiences in a relaxed storytelling format. This fosters a sense of belonging and learning from each other, crucial for community growth.

The token governance roundups allow holders to vote on important ecosystem decisions, promoting decentralization and ensuring community-driven development.

The platform also offers various earning opportunities. Holding $SHIBASHOOT tokens can yield returns, and there are passive earning options like the Lucky Lasso Lottery, offering chances to win prizes with a portion benefiting charity.

Cactus Staking enables users to stake $SHIBASHOOT tokens, with higher rewards for longer and larger stakes. The project has already secured over 16.5 million tokens in its staking pool, currently offering over 1,500% APY, which adjusts as more tokens are staked.

🌵🤠 Saddle up for the #LegendOfShibaShowdown! Step into a digital Wild West where crypto meets cowboy charm.

Gear up for a high-stakes battle of creativity and wit in the heart of the frontier. Ready to duel? 🔫🐕‍🦺 pic.twitter.com/coKfFikAbL

— shibashootout (@shibashootout) July 15, 2024

Lastly, the Savings Saddlebag feature lets users allocate a portion of their $SHIBASHOOT holdings to a specific wallet for a period, earning rewards in return.

As meme coins attract more attention from investors, Shiba Shootout’s distinct strategy and exciting features could set it apart as a notable contender in the unpredictable crypto market.

To take part in the $SHIBASHOOT token presale, visit shibashootout.com.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Holds Strong After Recent Market Slump as Shiba Shootout Presale Surges Past $600K
Shiba Inu Whale Activity Signals Potential Price Recovery – Will the Newest Meme Coin SHIBASHOOT Follow SHIB’s Success?

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Court papers expose how much Valve pays its employees, and how many it has

Valve, a PC gaming goliath for more than 20 years and the owner of Steam, has had some of its… Continue reading Court papers expose how much Valve pays its employees, and how many it has
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Valve, a PC gaming goliath for more than 20 years and the owner of Steam, has had some of its confidential payroll data exposed.

The information was unearthed by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, who meticulously combed through the court documents from Wolfire Game’s 2021 antitrust suit against Valve. As reported by The Verge, payroll over the past 7 years has hovered around $200 million, with Valve’s total headcount about 360.

Djundik compiled some of the data, with the court’s staff redacting the more sensitive aspects, making the rest undecipherable. The information shows how much the studio pays staff and the headcount at Steam since the early 2000s.

the wolfire v. valve case had a document published with request for redaction so it has a bunch of black boxes, but some data still remained under it like valves gross margins and commission for 2009-2021, and their employee counts and how much they pay them

█████████

— Pavel Djundik (@thexpaw) July 12, 2024

Valve staff information comes to light

The creator of Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Portal has been secretive about staff pay, the number of staff employed, and the significant projects in the works. A running joke for years in gaming has been founder Gabe Newell’s glacial pace at creating or developing games despite the zealous following of titles like Half-Life.

The Verge followed up on Djundik’s deep dive into the semi-redacted court documents, showing the staff data of the company founded in 1996. The data goes back to 2003 and details the individual resources in separate headings, such as Admin, Games, Steam, and Hardware.

One of Steam’s most significant assets is the simplicity of the online storefront, but Wolfire, as part of the 2001 antitrust suit, criticized Valve for its lack of investment. Wolfire said at the time “devotes a minuscule percentage of its revenue to maintaining and improving the Steam Store.”

We don’t think this would ever shake founder Gabe Newell or Valve’s resolve. Nor do we think this would force any major cosmetic or background work, as they are content with the earnings raked in from the simple interface.

As we reported, $19 billion has been spent on Steam games that have never been played, which is more than the gross national product of some countries.

Valve-developed titles such as Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 are the most played on Steam. Both games have 1,077,167 and 627,802 concurrent players, respectively. Counter-Strike 2 launched in 2023, but it’s the sequel to a franchise that has been topping the Steam charts since those statistics have been kept. Dota 2 launched in 2013 and has been similarly dominant on its home turf.

Image: Steam

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College Football 25 review: A campus legend makes a triumphant return

The three years of anticipation for College Football 25 have been a combination of giddiness and glee that an old… Continue reading College Football 25 review: A campus legend makes a triumphant return
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The three years of anticipation for College Football 25 have been a combination of giddiness and glee that an old favorite is coming home, and anxiety that it might be something different, or less featured than what fans loved in the old NCAA series. Let me put all of that to rest now: EA Sports College Football 25 is like reaching into the back of your closet for your old letterman’s jacket, and finding out it still fits after all this time.

The gameplay is dynamic, exciting, and capable of broken-play rescues that you have never seen before. Franchise, the series’ bedrock mode, leans into the player management opportunities that only collegiate football affords, through its recruiting and playbook customizations.

Road to Glory, the big-man-on-campus fantasy, likewise takes full advantage of the compact experience offered by four years of eligibility. And Ultimate Team, though it doesn’t do anything particularly unique, isn’t just a reskin of Madden Ultimate Team, and its compact offerings still have strong appeal.

College Football 25 launches July 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, July 16 for those who have pre-ordered the game.

College Football 25’s gameplay: Big hits you can still recover from

Let’s start with the gameplay, though, as it serves all of the modes of play. It’s one thing to say a sports title’s gameplay is crisp and realistic, as I have for more than a decade. It’s another to see all my thoughts about it summarized in a single play. To wit:

This came in Ultimate Team, on a difficulty lower than what I normally play. But this wasn’t a defense behaving stupidly that sprung me for the touchdown. There are two hits that, in the past, would have effectively ended the play right there. They would have forced my runner into a stumble animation he could not break, enough for the rest of the defense to arrive and finish the job.

Instead, my runner was actually stabilized by the second glancing blow, remained upright, and spun out of the scrum, and with all of the defensive backfield coming to the play, there was nothing but daylight to the endzone.

You’ll see a lot more of this in Madden NFL 25, a series long beholden to canned, unbreakable animations. You know those runs where Barry Sanders would go into a cloud of defenders and somehow scamper out Looney Tunes-style while they grasped at air? That’s on deck in both games, thanks to newer logic and animation technology.

My first point of measurement for an American football video game is the running game; obviously plays like that help. College football, however, uses option runs in ways the pros do not. Triple options and read options (used more in the NFL) can be intimidating because they depend on finding the defensive “keys” and recognizing what they are doing in time to make the correct choice for who gets the ball. But a game without a challenge is not much of a game.

The straight option run, from a flexbone or veer formation, however, is a thing of beauty thanks to the aforementioned stumble mechanics and physics. The point of that run is to pitch it as late as you can, and I’ve even tossed after a hit to spring the trailing runner. Better-rated linebackers and defensive backs who have run-stopping capability can still corner the play, but the message is clear: a hit is not enough.

As far as the hitting goes, it’s ferocious and contextual. There’s almost no need to lay on the right analog “Hit Stick” when you want to blow someone up. As I said in an earlier preview about Madden, College Football 25 likewise excels at presenting a modern game that is more about shoves and shivers to the body than concussive blows, for obvious reasons. But I remember that running down a quarterback often took a user-initiated tackle (X/square, or the Stick). Here, no, just steer a guy into him, you’ll get a delightful blow-up.

College Football 25 Franchise: Management made easier

As a video game, collegiate football has always present a wrinkle on the sports management sim in that players choose a team, not the other way around. The recruiting experience can be a downpour of information, as while you’re both scouting a prospect to see if he is worth one of your precious scholarships, you’re also trying to figure out whether he’s even going to give your school the time of day.

College Football 25 assists this, and not in a thumb-on-the-scale way, by organizing the information into a sortable spreadsheet calling out what your team needs for the next season, finally. I remember many pad-and-paper days where I was writing down how many players I’d have at each position after this year’s seniors graduated. (I still have my notes for Kansas in 2013, even). Now, College Football 25’s menu simply says “NEED” next to a prospect if his position group needs attention in the coming year.

From there, yes, you can see his one-to-five star rating, as well as his interest in you, and even whether he’s from a part of the country where your coach has a special connection (the “pipeline”). That’s combined with the “dealbreaker,” which is a recruit’s most important priority, like playing time or proximity to home. If you can’t meet what he wants, you’ll be told right there not to waste your time, and I appreciated that assist.

That said I did notice some discordant uses of the dealbreaker. Supposedly one player was deal-broken to me (with a no sign over a handshake) even though my team, Indiana, was listed as no. 1 on his preferred list of schools. I was still able to offer a scholarship. Other players with the same icon were fully locked out from any further communication. I’m not sure if this was a glitch, but if not, it was one area where information was a least incomplete.

It’ll take a while to see the longer-term effects of the relationship begun in recruiting, which includes things like playing time promises. Longer still before I start battling the transfer portal, which has come into being in the decade since NCAA Football 14. But the gameplay described above is more than enough reason to play a full season.

Franchise lets players start as a head coach, or a defensive or offensive coordinator controlling only those plays for the game. I recommend beginning as a coordinator because leaving half of the game up to the AI allows for some brutally realistic losses if you’re trying to take an historic underdog to a national title, something of a tradition in this series. As a head coach controlling the whole thing, it’s tough for me to accept losses, even to superior teams.

College Football 25 Road to Glory: Living your best life

Road to Glory is the single-player career where you create one athlete and control only him. College Football 25 manifests this with an off-the-field time management component where, yes, you have to go to class. It’s surprisingly engaging, mainly because you always have to be on guard for your conditioning and injury potential.

It’s also not going to give you everything you want at the outset. Players can create themselves as one of five classes of player, from Elite to Contributor. Obviously a five-star recruit can write his own ticket, but where’s the challenge in that? As a four-star, my best offer was still second-string at Clemson. In any event, the early goings of Road to Glory are a clever preamble of earning your coach’s trust and respect, which ends in a promotion up the depth chart, which is won through a mini-game challenge.

Some of these mini-games can be hard if you haven’t played them yet, and it was frustrating at first to have my career pivot on whether I could dodge giant tennis balls being shot at me as I weaved through tackling dummies. But this still does a couple of things: It gives the out-of-nowhere Rudys of the world a playable and engaging chance to make starter, and again, it doesn’t just hand you stud status on a plate.

As a second-string running back, I wasn’t in for every down of my first game, though I did score on my first drive. The big-game commentary team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit (we were playing No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta) properly noted the moment. Freshmen especially will have only one play in the play-calling window (with five opportunities to change it). More plays and more changes are available the more your coach trusts you.

Like Franchise, Road to Glory is about relationships, and not just between the player and his coach. There’s a chance for you to sabotage the guy in front of you on the depth chart by “forgetting” to wake him up for morning practice. And when you’re committed to signing autographs at a car dealership when you really should be recovering from the last game — I came back from Georgia at “severe” risk of injury and only had one hour to knock that down to “high” — you’re really going to understand that the life of a campus superstar isn’t all hot girls and fawning alumni.

College Football 25 Ultimate Team: A small buffet, still enjoyable

I was surprised by how much time I spent in this game’s Ultimate Team considering how little it was discussed at the preview event in May. I use Ultimate Team’s challenges as a kind of onboarding or refresher tutorial, and here it works well. But once the real loot started piling up in the Solo Battles and Solo Seasons modes (I’m a multiplayer chicken) I was hooked.

That said, there isn’t much more to it than those three modes, plus online head-to-head, and House Rules (a shorter game played under specific parameters) all of which are found in Madden Ultimate Team. For a sport given to recruiting, I would have figured some kind of quirky draftlike would figure into this game.

Ultimate Team will be supplemented with live service content, particularly reflecting real-life events (and some historical ones, too). It may not seem like much out of the box at the beginning — and it isn’t — but it’s still a good place to get that team-building serotonin hit without the deep investment Franchise necessarily requires. Yes, it has microtransactions, and the freely earned currency seems insubstantial at first. But play anything other than Challenges and you’ll see the rewards pile up pretty quickly.

College Football 25 summary: A must-have for sports fans

The wait was long, basically a decade since we’ve seen college football in any video game form. Whether it was worth it is in the eye of the player, but I can definitely say it is rewarded with a guns-blazing effort from EA Sports Orlando.

Read back through our earlier previews for more on College Football 25’s gameday presentation, visuals, and broadcast package, all of which deliver first rate immersion. Small school or powerhouse, whether you went there or you’re playing with them cause you like their traditions, College Football 25 provides one of the sweetest affirmations a sports fan could ever find in a video game.

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Where is Anais in The First Descendant?

In The First Descendant, there is a lot of traversal both in missions and out, sometimes requiring you to find… Continue reading Where is Anais in The First Descendant?
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In The First Descendant, there is a lot of traversal both in missions and out, sometimes requiring you to find NPCs if you want to progress.

One particularly important NPC in The First Descendant is Magister Anais since she holds the keys to a particular part of the game.

However, if you’re first starting out, you may not be able to locate her on your map.

Here, we’ll take a look at where to find Anais in The First Descendant so you can get straight to utilizing her to her fullest.

Where to find Anais in The First Descendant

As previously mentioned, Anais is a key character in The First Descendant who is essential to various of the game’s mechanics.

Thankfully, it’s not actually too hard to locate her if you do a little exploring in Albion, the social hub of The First Descendant.

Anais can be found in the right hand corner of Albion, and if you follow the marker on screen that almost looks like a fidget spinner, you should be able to get to her.

If you’re still having a bit of trouble though, see the map below where you can see her precise location:

Once you reach Anais, you’ll be able to utilize her to research different characters, weapons, materials, and more.

This is integral to the experience since utilizing different characters for example will enable you to complete certain missions that you’d be otherwise unable to.

Because of this, Anais is likely an NPC you’ll be returning to often, so if you ever have one of those moments where you completely draw a blank, head back here and you’ll know exactly where to go once more.

Other The First Descendant guides you may like

How to unlock Bunny
How to get Blair
How to get Void Shards
The First Descendant max level
How to find and open Encrypted Vaults
How to fast travel
The First Descendant Twitch Drops
The First Descendant beta rewards

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Meta’s CTO Bosworth starts predicting what kind of VR headset we will have in 2031

If you are into your virtual reality you will likely know Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew “Boz” Bosworth from his… Continue reading Meta’s CTO Bosworth starts predicting what kind of VR headset we will have in 2031
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If you are into your virtual reality you will likely know Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew “Boz” Bosworth from his many posts conferences and videos. Now Boz’s latest podcast – Boz to the Future (spoiler, he likes being called Boz), sees the Quest head honcho go into great detail while looking into the future, at what kind of standard VR we will be getting by the year (randomly) 2031 and to be fair he is extremely pragmatic about it.

If you are expecting him to say it will all be implemented in your retina by Elon and his merry gang, or you will be living most of your day in Ready Player One’s Oasis, then you are going to be sorely disappointed as Bosworth firmly puts the boot in on that idea and the scale of ambition in the next seven years won’t take us dramatically beyond where we currently sit today.

In terms of what Meta will be focusing on, Boz doesn’t believe headsets will need to go beyond the 120Hz refresh rate we already have today. That might sound ridiculous when we have monitors that already do twice that. While it might be functionally possible Bosworth says, “I’m not saying 240 isn’t better than 120, just like I think 60 PPD is better than 40 PPD, but within these limited compute budgets you’re not seeing generational huge improvements on that.”

He also believes that the weight of a headset will come fairly dramatically and is one of the things Meta will be pushing for as a lighter headset is obviously much more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.

“I do think comfort is a tremendously important part of it. You’d like to see the weight pushed down. In particular, it’s not just the raw number of grams. It’s not the most important thing. How you balance it on the head, how close can the optical stack be to the eyes, that lever that is on the edge of your nose out to the edge of the device that controls the comfort on your nose, on your cheeks, the amount of pressure on your forehead, depending on what kind of strap you’re using, that’s determined there. So you can move that stack in a little bit, which is one of the big shifts from Quest 2 to Quest 3, that distance is quite a bit in so it feels more comfortable. So I’d like to see the weight reduced by, you know, 100-200 grams by that point.”

In terms of Field of View Bosworth predicts we will get a taller field of view rather than huge gains in the width of it that we might expect, “I actually think taller field of view matters more than wider field of view, for immersion. Certainly wider field of view is more important for us as a species in terms of information density, because our eyes do see more horizontal, but vertical is a good way of convincing you that you’re immersed in a space, in a way that’s kind of deceptive.”

UploadVR goes into a lot of depth reviewing the episode or If you want to listen to Boz from the Future in full, seek it out where you usually get your podcasts such as Spotify

Featured image courtesy of Meta

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Upheaval reminds us of the good old days of Fighting Fantasy books – a simpler time before microtransactions and loot boxes

We have a lot of time for solo developers here at Readwrite Gaming. For starters, unlike most of the industry,… Continue reading Upheaval reminds us of the good old days of Fighting Fantasy books – a simpler time before microtransactions and loot boxes
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We have a lot of time for solo developers here at Readwrite Gaming. For starters, unlike most of the industry, they are unlikely to lay themselves off to keep profits high, so that has to be a bonus.

We have recently looked at things such as Dystopika and Talk To Me Human and now we have another one that looks like it is worth your attention.

Upheaval by Alex Leone has a demo available on Steam that should definitely pique the interest of fans of roguelikes and old-school text adventures at the same time.

What Alex has created here is an open-world roguelike with “incredible freedom”. The premise is you have 30 in-game days to prepare for the arrival of a mysterious magician, and in that time, your choices could lead to all manner of things going wrong.

Upheaval is completely open-ended and has no quests. Basically follow the path you choose by selecting the text-based response you fancy the most – in a lot of ways it reminds me of playing the Fighting Fantasy game books as a kid – hand’s up who remembers such classics as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, but instead of page turning, you are mouse clicking. That’s no bad thing, and the fact that the variations here are so wide-ranging looks like once the game has captured your imagination, there will be plenty to come back through, especially as each playthrough is short and will only take between 30 and 90 minutes to complete.

You can follow and wishlist Upheaval on Steam right now and support Alex in his work who said. “I love games where you get to know the world very well as you play: my favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, where you can watch each of the citizens of Clock Town go about their lives over the three-day cycle, and you have opportunities to interfere in their lives for better or for worse. I wanted to make a game where the player can get to know the patterns of behavior in the world but has more freedom to interfere with the characters and experiment with how different paths might turn out.”

Make sure you check it out.

Features:

Short runs: Each adventure usually takes players 30-90 minutes.
Open-ended adventures: No actions are prescribed, no quests are required to complete the game. Follow a trail of clues to find a powerful artifact, make friends with NPCs, or muck around and stumble into adventures anywhere you go (though the demo may feel a bit sparse right now, much more content is coming).
Blind-accessible: Play with your favorite screen reader on the command line version (instructions here), no sighted assistance is necessary. TTS is planned soon for the graphical version.
Mobile-friendly: Made to be easy to play on your phone (alpha + demo is out on Google Play, still working on iOS). Play for a few minutes or a few hours.
Choose your own adventure gameplay: You always know what your options are in any situation, no need to type commands or play guess-the-word games.

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Germany’s Bitcoin Sell-Off Could Propel These 3 Meme Coins to Big Gains

As Germany approaches the end of its massive Bitcoin sell-off, the cryptocurrency market could be on the brink of one… Continue reading Germany’s Bitcoin Sell-Off Could Propel These 3 Meme Coins to Big Gains
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As Germany approaches the end of its massive Bitcoin sell-off, the cryptocurrency market could be on the brink of one of its largest rallies ever, potentially driving significant gains for altcoins.

This article will explore why investors shouldn’t fear the current situation in Germany, the anticipated end of this sell-off, and the top three meme coins poised to soar once confidence is regained.

Germany has been selling nearly 50,000 Bitcoin over the past few days and weeks, at a time when Bitcoin is down 30% from its recent highs. Needing funds, the German government decided to liquidate Bitcoin that it confiscated years ago.

This Bitcoin was taken in 2013 from a business involved in movie piracy, and now it’s being sold on the open market. On Wednesday alone, the German government transferred more than 10,853 Bitcoins to centralized exchanges and other market entities, presumably to sell.

At around 9:00 a.m., they transferred over 1,100 Bitcoin to an address identified as belonging to Flow Traders. Additionally, 750 Bitcoin were sent to the crypto exchange Kraken, and more than 536 Bitcoin to Cumberland DRW, according to on-chain analytics platform Arkham.

Despite these large transfers, the market has shown resilience. Recently, it absorbed 17,000 Bitcoin in a single day, the largest daily sell-off, yet continued to post green lines. This indicates that the market is capable of handling these sales without significant drops in value.

The fear-to-greed index, a measure of market sentiment, has ticked up from 36 to 40, reflecting growing investor confidence. As the market absorbs the remaining German Bitcoin, confidence is expected to turn into greed.

This scenario is favorable for small market cap coins, which typically see the most significant gains during bullish phases.

Top Three Cryptocurrencies to Watch

Here are three cryptocurrencies with the potential to surge in value as market confidence returns:

WienerAI (WAI)

WienerAI (WAI) has thrived despite the crypto market slump and is gearing up for its exchange launch. Investors have shown strong support, raising over $7.4 million in the presale.

The WienerAI token will be available on exchanges in August, with the presale ending on July 31st. With only 16 days left, this is the last chance to buy WienerAI at the fixed price of $0.00073 before market forces determine its value. Potential investors can visit our guide on how to buy WienerAI tokens here.

Investor demand has remained strong, boosting the project’s total raise significantly over the weekend. Positioned between the high-energy meme coin and AI narratives, WienerAI is set for a remarkable exchange debut. Explore WienerAI’s future potential through our $WAI price predictions.

WienerAI will be the first meme coin with an in-house AI trading bot, enabling seamless trade execution. Trades on its platform will be MEV-resistant, instant, fee-free, and user-friendly, eliminating MEV exploits and long wait times for on-chain trading.

This dog will lead the way in AI trading!

Join the WienerAI revolution and let’s trade smarter together 🛸🌭 pic.twitter.com/XGOrWNqppA

— WienerAI (@WienerDogAI) July 14, 2024

Additionally, WienerAI features a trading-focused AI chatbot. Users can ask it questions, create strategies, or set criteria, and the chatbot, powered by LLM technology, will scan the market for the best trading opportunities.

WienerAI not only facilitates easy trade execution but also serves as an excellent research tool for cryptocurrency traders. Alongside its meme coin AI use case, it offers staking rewards, providing a significant advantage over other meme coins. Staking is live and currently offers a 151% APY.

Secure your spot in the $WAI token presale by visiting wienerdog.ai.

Pepe Unchained (PEPU)

Pepe Unchained (PEPU), a meme coin inspired by Pepe and featuring its own layer 2 blockchain, has raised over $3.6 million in its presale, making it one of the best crypto presales. During this presale stage, each $PEPU token sells for $0.0084261.

Pepe Unchained offers an “unchained” version of Pepe, addressing the crypto community’s issues with high fees and slow speeds on the Ethereum network, especially for meme tokens. $PEPU introduces a Layer 2 (L2) solution on the ETH network to solve these problems.

This L2 blockchain provides faster transaction speeds and better scalability while maintaining Ethereum’s security. Pepe Unchained guarantees immediate connection between Ethereum and the Pepe chain, offering the lowest transaction fees and transaction volumes 100x faster than ETH.

Combining meme culture with technical strength, $PEPU offers attractive staking rewards, with an annual yield of 518% according to its official website. These features, along with a bullish market environment and strong community support, make Pepe Unchained a promising player in the meme coin space.

For those looking to invest in the next big meme coin, Pepe Unchained presents a compelling opportunity. With its robust features, significant presale success, and potential for high returns, $PEPU is set to become a standout in the crypto market.

To take part in the $PEPU token presale, visit pepeunchained.com.

Shiba Shootout (SHIBASHOOT)

Today, the new Shiba Inu-themed meme coin, Shiba Shootout (SHIBSHOOT), is making waves as its presale surpasses $660k in total raised, edging closer to the crucial $1 million milestone.

Combining Shiba Inu lore with crypto’s Wild West theme, Shiba Shootout is leading the charge in crypto’s memetic showdown.

According to its whitepaper, Shiba Shootout offers a range of features including a referral program, incentivized community events like storytime, on-chain governance, a lottery, staking, and a unique savings feature that earns token rewards.

These features are designed for the community, reflecting the essence of meme coin culture. Shiba Shootout’s appeal as a new meme coin with a comprehensive ecosystem is drawing significant attention.

The team has already taken proactive steps, launching the staking feature with substantial rewards. Currently, stakers can earn over a 1,500% APY, though this rate will adjust as more holders stake their tokens. These utilities act as incentives, encouraging participation and nurturing a robust community.

Shiba Shootout is rapidly gaining recognition, and as more people become aware of it, its potential for growth in value increases. For those interested, now is an opportune moment to join the Shiba Shootout community.

Currently, each $SHIBASHOOT token is priced at $0.0196 during this presale phase. The presale price is anticipated to rise as the campaign progresses, with the next increase scheduled in eight days.