A few years ago, EA Sports broke with the long-standing demo tradition and did not release a demo for the current FIFA 23. We were able to speak at a press event in London withDavid Jackson, Vice President Brand Marketing EA Sports, and learned why EA has stopped making demos.
Here’s how it was with the demos: Until the release of FIFA 20, there were reliably demo versions in the FIFA series, allowing players to get a taste of the upcoming game before the final product was released. One could admire the new graphics, feel the gameplay changes firsthand, and usually play short offline matches with a handful of teams.
And it was available to everyone and even for free. In short: For many FIFA fans, the annual demo release was a sacred day that they eagerly looked forward to. But then the shock just before the release of FIFA 21.
EA announced that it would not be releasing a demo in order to dedicate all resources to the development of the final product. At the time, this was a plausible explanation, especially since development was taking place in the midst of the then-nascent corona pandemic.
However, even in the subsequent installments FIFA 21 and FIFA 22, there were no demo versions anymore. But why?
I cannot comment on future products, but I can talk about what we have done with past products. We stopped developing demos a few years ago based on player feedback. It turned out that it was a rather restrictive and somewhat thin experience that we could provide. And while the gameplay evolves over development time, what we delivered in the demo was actually quite different.
We did not only use the demos to show players what was to come, but we used the information from them to adapt the future game.
We are now doing this through things like open betas, where we encourage people to get in early and play with the new code. And I think that is a practice that is really robust in the world of video games and actually gives us the best chance to meet player expectations where they are.
David Jackson on the question of a possible demo for EA Sports FC.
How do you participate in an open beta? However, the last beta versions of FIFA were unfortunately not that “open”. Last year, there was only a closed beta, where one had to go through a lengthy process to secure a beta key. However, this was not guaranteed, and one could end up empty-handed.
The only way to play FIFA 23 earlier was to get the more expensive version of the game with early access. Then you could at least play the full version a few days earlier.
What do you think about it? Would you like a demo for EA Sports FC? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
If you want to know more about the FIFA successor, take a look here:
According to the New York Times, the alleged leaker of the US documents regarding the Ukraine war was caught through his profile on Steam. The documents have stirred up quite a bit of dust in recent days.
A leak of US documents about the Ukraine war has caused a lot of commotion in recent days. The documents are said to contain confidential information about the plans of the US and NATO. You can find more about it here: via tageschau.de.
Now, according to reports, a 21-year-old employee of the US National Guard has been arrested.
The young man is said to have shared the documents with friends in a Discord group for months. At some point, the documents found their way into public forums.
The US newspaper New York Times states: The Steam profile of the 21-year-old played an important role in the investigation.
Our expertise on MeinMMO is based on gaming. If you want to learn more about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we recommend checking official sites or news magazines:
– Ukraine live blog (via Zeit) – War in Ukraine (via nzz) – Solidarity with Ukraine (via auswärtiges-amt)
Important note:If you are struggling with dark thoughts due to the current situation: You are not alone. Please seek help. For example, at the telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling, where you can also use a chat. It’s free and applies nationwide.
21-Year-Old Wanted to Keep His Friends Updated on “What’s Going On”
According to reports, the documents had been accessible in a private Discord group for months. The New York Times conducted an interview with a 17-year-old member of this group, who said that the suspect did not want to be a whistleblower or leaker.
The guy was a Christian, against war, he just wanted to keep his friends updated on what’s going on. […] We have some people in the group who are in Ukraine. We like combat games, we like war games.
The New York Times also reports that it facilitated a breakthrough in the investigation.
During the investigation, attention was drawn to the Steam profile of the suspect. From there, a link was found to the Instagram profile of the alleged leaker.
On the profile, there were images showing exactly the background that was also visible in the leaked documents. This allowed the alleged perpetrator to be identified:
A breakthrough in our investigation came when the team identified a Steam profile in Airman Teixeira’s name that led to an Instagram profile with photos of the exact location where leaked docs were photographed — a kitchen countertop in his childhood home. https://t.co/XQAZf2kNV7pic.twitter.com/DWlkN8xmqK
The investigation is still in full swing. Authorities are examining how the suspect was able to gain access to the documents and how such leaks can be prevented in the future.
According to reports, the suspect initially even copied the documents by hand and only later switched to photos, which may now have incriminated him.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Diablo 4 is also celebrated in World of Warcraft. You level up much faster – and there are damn cool rewards.
For Blizzard, the next big launch is coming soon with Diablo 4, but fans of World of Warcraft will also get their money’s worth. A crossover event celebrates the start of the new demon hunt even in Azeroth – and it comes with some exclusive rewards.
What rewards are there? The colleagues from wowhead have already fired up the data mining and revealed a number of rewards that are visually quite impressive. Especially transmog fans should get their money’s worth.
Wirt’s Leg is a mace transmog and one of the most famous (and oldest) items from the Diablo franchise. It is a large wooden leg that has simply been repurposed into a weapon.
“Wirt’s Leg” has been known in WoW for a long time – soon also in beautiful versions. Image source: wowhead
The Treasure Nabbin’ Bag is the treasure pouch that you can occasionally encounter with loot goblins. It is a cloak transmog that allows you to carry such a pouch full of swords and gold on your back. Just right for greedy ninja looters.
You will soon be able to carry the loot goblin’s pouch on your back.
In addition, there are two small sets consisting of a hat and a cloak in various designs. The first features a demonic face, while the second depicts a bony tail.
Lastly, there is a special battle pet waiting for collectors, the little Baa’lial. This is a hellish goat in reddish color. This pet is currently only available in black and is the reward for a seemingly endless puzzle.
The little Baa’lial must not be missing from any pet battle collection.
How exactly to get the rewards during the event is still not entirely clear.
What else does the event bring? Additionally, the event might be worthwhile for all friends of twinks and fast leveling. Because while the “Winds of Sanctuary” are active, all players receive 50% extra experience points and probably also extra reputation – with the exception of the new faction of the Niffin from the Zaralek Cavern, which comes with Patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion into the game.
So if you want to get characters to level 70, you should wait for the start of the event.
What exactly needs to be done during the event? This is still not entirely clear. WoW has previously had a crossover event where players had to kill familiar foes like the “Cow King” and treasure goblins appeared at various locations in the world. Whether this event will follow a similar format or proceed entirely differently remains to be seen.
When does the event start? Although Blizzard has not yet revealed an official date for it, data mining suggests from May 25 to June 14. However, please note that this date has not been confirmed and may still change. It seems logical, as it would mean the event would last for three weeks – two weeks before the launch and one week after.
Are you looking forward to the event? Which of the rewards do you want to obtain?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
There was an attempted murder at the game developer Konami (Silent Hill, Metal Gear). A 41-year-old tried to kill his former boss with a fire extinguisher. The boss (48) is going to the hospital for a week, and the perpetrator caught in the act is in custody.
Where does the report come from? The report comes from the Japanese site Livedoor, which refers to a police report from the Tsuiki Police Station. The news reached the English-speaking world through the website Siliconera.
This is said to have happened there: A 41-year-old employee of Konami, Hiroki Yamazaki, was caught in the act trying to attack his former boss at the company with a fire extinguisher from behind. The employee also hit his boss (48) with the fire extinguisher, causing an injury to the head that will send the former boss to the hospital for about 7 days.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning at 11 am in Ginza Six, which is a 56-meter tall building with shops and offices in the heart of Tokyo.
Man says he hit his boss with the intention of killing him
What does the man say? According to the police report, the man said he had been bullied by his former boss and therefore hit him with the intention of killing him.
It is said that another employee of Konami recognized the man, restrained him on the spot, and handed him over to the police.
The
This is known about the case: According to the report, the perpetrator had worked for his victim but then felt bullied and complained to HR about his boss.
However, the company Konami decided there was no evidence that the boss had abused his power to bully the employee. In August 2020, it was decided that the man would be transferred to another team.
As Japan Today reported, the 41-year-old was fired by Konami.
What is meant by bullying? The man did not provide an example of the allegedly abusive behavior of the boss. The translation refers to “Power Harassment,” which means the exploitation of the power dynamic that a boss has over an employee.
Konami is a well-known Japanese game developer, particularly recognized in the West for the game series Silent Hill and Metal Gear:
MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider was completely enchanted by the ideas behind Minecraft Legends (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch). A few hours into the game, he was glad to be able to put aside the strategy game with action combat.
With a fun factor and minion control, I was hooked right away. I love building games and can be persuaded to play any strategy game. Especially Rimworld has captivated me. This combination of “they do their thing” and direct control over the colonists – a perfect gameplay balancing.
Accordingly, I was very interested in Minecraft Legends. I played with the colorful blocks for longer than I would like to admit and found the concept very exciting, charging at crazed Piglins with a crazy army of Minecraft characters.
Minecraft Legends releases on April 18, 2023, for Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, and Nintendo Switch, and costs around €40. It is also included in the Xbox Game Pass from release.
I had the chance to try the strategy game and spent about six hours in Minecraft Legends, mostly in the campaign. Unfortunately, I have to say that I didn’t have fun. And I think it was due to the strong focus on multiplayer.
Here you will find a brief description of the game flow and an assessment of why I wasn’t as enthusiastic as hoped.
If you want to see gameplay, here is a cut video of the PvP mode that we received from the developers:
Start video
Minecraft Legends: Gameplay – Versus Mode
Slaughtering Piglins, getting better, slaughtering more Piglins
There are two main game modes: the campaign and the versus mode. The campaign can also be played in co-op.
In the campaign, I play through a large, colorful open world. The Piglins pour out from the Nether into the overworld, causing fear and terror among the peaceful villagers.
My task is to destroy the bases of the nasty intruders and restore peace. For this, I can initially create “Golems,” rally them around me with a command, and send them against the enemies.
But animals and other characters in the world also follow my command, and I attack myself with a sword.
Almost everywhere in the open world, I can build spawners for minions or construct bases
Some Piglin bases, however, are still too strong for me, so I first take care of my combat strength.
For this, I am supposed to build certain buildings with which I can extract new resources or gain abilities. Unlike in original Minecraft, I do not have to unpack the pickaxe myself.
I select an area with a certain resource and let my little helpers do the work. First only stone and wood, later iron, coal, and redstone are added.
The best thing about Minecraft Legends: Little helpers automatically collect marked resources.
In addition to the resource helpers, I also have construction troops that build buildings for me.
I can use them to expand, fortify villages, or even place my own bases anywhere in the world. Important buildings, like those for new resources or abilities, I always place near my main base.
Before attacking an enemy base, it might be worth building my own base nearby. It goes quickly and smoothly. Walls and turrets are erected within seconds, as well as the spawners for my minions.
Gradually, I get better buildings for attack and defense, and my army becomes more colorful with new units. I hack apart every enemy stronghold, liberate the overworld, and in between, cinematics tell me a story about how legendary and heroic I am.
The versus mode is played on a smaller map, and there is a base for each team. The Piglins also join in and attack now and then. The goal is to destroy the opponents’ base.
The progress that I work on for hours in the campaign can be achieved much faster in versus mode. However, the gameplay principle changes little.
Why would less multiplayer have been better? The whole game felt to me like: they thought it was a cool idea to let several people control different minions, who would then determine a winner in epic, chaotic battles. Sounds great in principle, right?
But in practice, we constantly run back and forth because you can only control a few minions yourself. In the campaign, it started with 25; in versus mode, there are only 10 at the start of the match. A building in the campaign increases the capacity to 40.
Why can’t I just control everything in view and let a huge troop of nervous Creepers, accurate skeletons, and limping zombies loose on the hapless Piglins?
Here, it seems they wanted to balance the co-op and PvP gameplay and give action combat a greater role. But that made it unfun for me. The fights against enemy bases were monotonous, even with later tools.
The gameplay expands over time through new friendly units and tools for attack and defense. Additionally, more Piglin factions come into play, introducing new enemies with fresh attack patterns.
This brings variety, but it takes far too long for any thrills to arise in the game. And they don’t last long.
Gathering minions, sending them off, and from the beginning – I found the base battles dull.
In general, I am convinced that a multiplayer mode enhances any game. But Minecraft Legends makes me critically reconsider this view.
The constant running around really got on my nerves. The low minion capacity too.
If four people coordinate perfectly, you can definitely have a lot of fun. But alone or in pairs, it wasn’t fun, especially in the beginning.
With a game featuring minions at every corner and a large open world filled with friendly and enemy strongholds – why can’t I automatically guide my allies to a location via a tactics map for defense or attack?
Instead of finding a way that allows Minecraft Legends to have balanced co-op and PvP modes, they should have relied more on the strengths of such a game: fun factor and minion control.
In Dreams, players should be able to create their own games on PlayStation. After 3 years, the developers will discontinue support in 2023.
What kind of game is this? Dreams is a game by Media Molecule that was released exclusively for PlayStation in February 2020.
In Dreams, it’s about accessing a toolbox of various tools and then creating your own game and sharing it in an online library with other players.
Accordingly, Dreams is characterized by two fundamental gameplay aspects:
creating your own creations
finding and playing creations of other players
Developing your own games on PlayStation? That was a revolutionary concept for consoles. However, the desired success apparently did not materialize.
How this can look in practice, you can see in the trailer for Dreams:
Start video
Dreams Release Date Trailer PS4
The support wanes, but creations remain
What’s next for Dreams? The developers of Dreams announced on April 11, 2023, that there will be no more events or updates for the game. Media Molecule will officially discontinue support on September 1, 2023.
However, you will still have the opportunity to create your own creations after September 1, share them with others, or access created creations (via indreams.me).
Are there similar games? Yes, the popular free-to-play title “Roblox” follows a similar principle to Dreams. You can create various levels and games and share them with other players.
Additionally, Dreams has recently gained a new competitor in the “genre” with Fortnite. There, players can also create their own games, maps, or modes with the “Unreal Editor for Fortnite” released in March 2023 and make them available to other players.
Players can then find your creations in Fortnite with a code and play them. However, Epic Games prohibits works that violate the copyright of other games. For example, you may not recreate maps from Call of Duty.
How maps created by players in Fortnite that were not removed by Epic Games look is shown to you by MeinMMO author Christos Tsogos:
In GTA Online, the costs of some vehicles are being adjusted. Powerful ones will become more expensive, unique ones will become cheaper. A significant change is coming for a griefer vehicle.
What kind of adjustments are these? In the latest blog post from Rockstar Games, they discuss the current and future changes in the game. Starting next week, a new website will be available where you can create your own license plates. Additionally, the prices of vehicles will soon be adjusted.
How prices will change in a few days has already been shown by the developers in the blog post.
Price Adjustments for Vehicles in GTA Online in April 2023
When will the adjustments take place? The changes will come into effect on April 27, 2023.
What is happening? In the first step, they want to adjust the costs of current vehicles so that they “better reflect their value for players,” as stated in the blog post. For certain vehicles with unique features or special abilities like the Ruiner 2000 or the Stromberg, the costs will be lowered.
Vehicles with “overpowered performance, utility, or extremely strong weaponry” are set to become more expensive to acquire. This also includes the so-called griefer bikeOppressor Mk II.
How does it proceed? In the future, Rockstar Games also intends to make changes to vehicle prices. These are not meant to be the last buffs and nerfs. Air vehicles are also expected to receive some balance changes soon, so that uninvolved players are better protected in free mode.
How are players reacting? In the community, the changes are met with mixed reactions. User shababs-botten writes on Reddit: “What I can’t understand is why some people think these changes will stop the griefers. They already have [the Oppressor Mk. II].”
On the other hand, user darthtidiot writes that these changes make it even harder for new players to buy the “good” stuff. Because aside from the fact that the motorcycle is often used by griefers (even though it was just nerfed recently), people like to use the Oppressor Mk II to quickly travel across the map.
What do you think about the announced changes to the prices in GTA Online? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments here on MeinMMO.
Perfect New World is a new MMORPG that will start its beta on Steam in May. It has significantly higher system requirements than WoW, Black Desert, or New World. The developers have now released nearly 9 minutes of gameplay, showcasing what the game is all about.
What kind of game is it? The new MMORPG will be the successor to Perfect World, which was released in 2005 and was an alternative to WoW for many due to its Free2Play model. It features a Chinese game world, Unreal Engine 4, and action-packed battles.
A new video has revealed details about the game, especially the upcoming beta test in May:
During character creation, you will have the option to choose from 3 classes, each tied to 3 different races. However, more classes are expected to follow before the release.
The game world is said to be completely open. For the test, there will be four different zones, each with a different theme. One zone is expected to be filled with puzzles, another will focus on group content like boss fights, and Dracopolis will likely be the capital featuring a mix of Chinese and steampunk elements like airships.
There will be random events in the game world that can occur and in which you can participate.
You will be able to glide with wings in the open world.
Perfect New World will feature an action combat system without the ability to “lock on” to a target. So you will always need to aim actively with your abilities. There are also combos that modify your attacks, such as when you launch enemies into the air.
It is currently unclear how the PvP will work. While an arena is shown, whether there will also be battles in the open world has neither been confirmed nor denied.
You can check out the new gameplay here:
Start video
Perfect New World – Gameplay
The combat system is well-received, but the performance is not
What stands out in the trailer? The world of Perfect New World strongly resembles the visuals of games like Swords of Legends Online or Revelation Online, two Chinese MMORPGs that only found moderate success in the West. Only the large jumping puzzles in Mechanopolis and the steampunk elements in the capital stand out somewhat.
There is praise on reddit and under the YouTube video, especially for the combat system. It looks very action-packed and dynamic.
Each character also has at least 10 normal abilities, two spirit abilities, and four slots for consumables like potions or buff food. Through combos and chain attacks, the abilities can change slightly – for example, when hitting enemies in the air – which increases the total number significantly.
There is significant criticism regarding the performance. Although the player is mostly alone in the video, there are strong FPS drops in some scenes. The high level of detail in the graphics and the fact that the MMORPG is being developed in Unreal Engine 4 and not the newer 5 has led to mockery.
It particularly stands out that Perfect New World has extremely high system requirements. According to Steam, the minimum requirements are:
Operating System: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7-5700X
Memory: 32 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 70 GB
By comparison: WoW relies on a 4th generation processor and on NVIDIA GTX 900 series graphics, GW2 only requires an Intel i3 2.8 GHz and a NVIDIA GTS 250 as a minimum requirement.
Even modern titles like New World (Intel Core i5-2400 and NVIDIA GTX 670) or Throne and Liberty (Intel Core i5-6500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060) are significantly below that.
On Saturday, April 15, 2023, the Pokémon GO Community Day in April 2023 features Togetic. You can find everything about the bonuses and how to make the most of the day here.
This is the Community Day: Community Days regularly occur in Pokémon GO. Once a month, a specific Pokémon is highlighted for the duration of the event. In April 2023, it is Togetic.
Additionally, there are some bonuses as usual that are meant to make the event more interesting for you. This includes an increased shiny rate. What to expect this time, we summarize here for you.
Community Day with Togetic in April 2023 – Start, Bonuses
What? Community Day with Togetic When? Saturday, April 15, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM local time Pokémon of the day: Togetic spawns everywhere in the wild Exclusive move: If you evolve Togetic into Togekiss during the event or up to 5 hours afterward, it will learn the fighting move “Aurasphere”
Bonuses: – Double catch candy – Four times hatch speed for eggs placed in the incubator during the event – Double chance for XL candy from Trainer level 31 when catching – Lure modules & incense last 3 hours if activated during the event (not the adventure incense) – Snapshot surprises – Togepi can hatch from 2 km eggs obtained during the event. They have the same shiny probability as wild Togetic. – Limited research with Togetic is available, rewarding you with up to 5 Sinnoh stones
Additional bonuses (until 10:00 PM local time) – Additional special trade (maximum of 2 on this day) – 50% less stardust cost when trading
Bonus Raids after the event: As is now customary, bonus raids level 4 will appear until 10:00 PM after the event. There you can face Togetic again, but only with local raid passes. If you win, more Togetic with an increased shiny rate will spawn around the arena for 30 minutes.
This means the regular Community Day runs from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, followed by the 5 raid hours.
What does the in-game shop offer? The Community Day will offer a 1 Euro research called “Spreading Joy”. There you can receive various items and further encounters of the Togetic evolution line.
Who is the Community Day with Togetic worth it for?
Is it strong? Togetic is not an absolute top performer, and its evolution Togekiss has also been partially surpassed. Nevertheless, the latter remains a decent option in the PvP league, especially against strong dragon Pokémon in the Master League.
Pokémon GO: The strongest attackers of all types in the video
Can Togetic be shiny? Yes, you can catch the shiny variant. The shiny family looks like this:
The shiny versions of the Togetic family
This means there is something to collect for shiny hunters on this Community Day. Additionally, the event “A Wise Hero” in Pokémon GO runs simultaneously over the weekend. By evolving Pokémon, you can therefore likely secure further XL candies.
How to make the most of the Community Day with Togetic
Make space: If you want to catch many Togetic without long breaks, you should clean up your Pokémon storage beforehand. Use the filter function in the game. By entering “0*,1*,2*” you will only get monsters with a maximum of 2 stars.
Have a good item stock:
You should have enough balls, we recommend at least 300. Especially Ultra Balls are worthwhile here.
With Nanab Berries, you can double the candy bonus.
Incense & lure module bring you spawns for 3 hours.
Sinnoh stones: This item is needed for evolving Togetic to Togekiss. You can also get up to 5 during the event from limited research if you play enough.
The right Mega Evolution: Use a Mega Evolution of the fairy type or if you want more bonus candies for Togetic. Suitable are:
Mega Altaria
Mega Brutalanda
Mega Tauboss
Mega Gardevoir
Mega Aerodactyl
Mega Charizard X
Are you participating in the Community Day with Togetic? Let us know in the comments!
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Wartales has now celebrated its major release on Steam after an early access phase. The game is doing very well on the platform with 91% positive ratings.
Wartales is an open-world role-playing game where you lead a group of mercenaries. In search of riches, you travel through a vast medieval world. Recruit additional members for your crew and claim bounties. Additionally, there are some secrets to uncover.
After being in early access on Steam for a long time, it launched now on April 12, 2023, with version 1.0 on Steam.
Here you can see a trailer for Wartales:
Start video
Wartales – Official Release Trailer
Explore the medieval world as a mercenary
You command your group of mercenaries by clicking on a large world map. The skills, equipment, and appearance of the crew can be customized. The camp is also customizable, where the characters can rest and regain strength.
You can accept quests and earn your money as a bounty hunter. The battles take place in a turn-based system where you let the characters attack strategically.
The game can be played as a single player, but it also features an online co-op. Up to 4 players can embark on their journey as mercenaries together.
How is Wartales rated on Steam? The role-playing game performs very positively on the platform. Out of a total of 9,581 reviews, including those rating the early access version, 91% are favorable (as of April 13, 2023, via Steam).
georgejho: “Excellent game and concept. Fair price for the depth. A consistent challenge. Co-op is great. I can only recommend this game. Great work developers, with a clear roadmap and achieving 1.0 in a reasonable timeframe.”
[Early Access Review]: “Good groundwork, but there’s still a lot to do. Not a diamond yet, but with polish, it could be one. 6.5/10 with 9/10 potential. The first 15 or so hours in this game are amazing; they have built a cool world to explore. Great mini-games, awesome XCOM-like battles, a mediocre RPG system, a cool graphic style, a wonderful mix of Mount and Blade meets XCOM with many other influences sprinkled in […]”.
C. Justice: “By far one of the best strategy role-playing/tactical games in a long time and incredibly welcome for a change. The developers have put so much into this game, from the small, engaging mini-games to the details in the individual game systems which, while not too complex, still offer so much depth that you don’t lose track on your journey through the world […]”
How much does Wartales cost? You can currently get the game on Steam at a special price with a 25% discount. Instead of €34.99, you currently pay €26.24. The offer ends on April 24, 2023.
A Riot employee asked the AI ChatGPT what he should respond when people ask him about a rare item in Valorant . The AI responded with harsh consequences for the players
Note: The title image is a symbolic image.
What is the special item? It is the “Riot Gun Buddy”, a weapon charm in Valorant. This is quite difficult to obtain in the shooter because: players must be nice. So nice that a Riot employee rewards the charm.
Although Riot Games explicitly states that it is unlikely that the item will be awarded on request from a player (via support-valorant.riotgames.com), employees seem to be repeatedly contacted by players.
User @RiotJiaxsun, who claims to work as a Security Engineer at Riot Games, asked ChatGPT for a response to the situation where players ask him for a Gun Buddy. He shared the result on Twitter.
Start video
Valorant Champions Tour 2023 LOCK IN Cinematic Trailer
“It’s not the weapons that ruin the games, but the players demanding exclusive items”
The AI ChatGPT first thanks the player for the message but promptly delivers the bad news. The request to receive a Riot Gun Buddy is declined. However, the AI shows empathy:
“We understand that it’s a huge joy to own rare items in the game. But we must prioritize fairness and equality among all our players.”
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Here you see the full response from ChatGPT in the Twitter post
An exception would not be made. But then the AI goes a step further: the request would even violate the rules of the game. The measure that follows:
“We are sorry to inform you that you will never receive this Riot Gun Buddy, and we must take measures to ensure that this type of behavior does not occur again.”
With a heavy heart, the player is banned – permanently, in all Riot Games, forever. Because we must enforce the rules of the game and ensure that everyone plays fair.
The AI wishes the hypothetical player to now turn to other games without strong feelings. “And who knows, maybe you’ll find loot in another game that really hits the mark.”
But that’s not all. ChatGPT also includes a P.S. in the message:
“It’s not the weapons that ruin the games, but the players demanding exclusive items. We will stick to this decision, so please try not to violate our guidelines again. We do not want to have to load again and ban you a second time.”
The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online will release the new Chapter Necrom on June 5, 2023. One of the highlights is the new class: The Arcanist. MyMMO author MiezeMelli was able to play the new chapter and the Arcanist. What makes it so special, you can find out here.
Players had to wait a long time for a new class. The last class was released with the Chapter Elsweyr, which came out in 2019. Therefore, players often wondered why there was such a long dry spell. In the announcements of the previous chapters, disappointment was often expressed that no new class was introduced to the game.
Start video
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom – Cinematic
So what is actually involved in the development of a class in ESO, and what makes the Arcanist so special? I was able to ask the developers exactly these questions and not only caught an interesting insight into the new class and its development but also received answers to many of my other questions.
The global reveal has already stirred excitement. You can learn more about it in this article:
A new class should provide players with a special gaming experience
An important reason for the long pause since the last new class release in ESO was the developers’ requirements for their content, and thus also for a new class. The Necromancer, for example, was well received by the community but didn’t really fit into the story.
Thus, the Chapter Elsweyr was an important lesson for the development of a new class. Although the Necromancer was cool as a class itself, it did not authentically fit into the story. With the Arcanist, the developers therefore aimed for the story and the new class to fit better together.
Furthermore, the new class is supposed to really stand out for players compared to existing classes. There was feedback from the community for both the Warden and the Necromancer that they did not significantly differ from the other classes.
The Arcanist not only visually fits perfectly into the setting of Necrom.
This is mainly due to the fact that each class often uses the same weapon skills, making the rotations very similar. To avoid a new class feeling fundamentally the same as all previous classes, the developers wanted to ensure that the Arcanist truly feels unique in its gameplay.
The Arcanist represents almost 2 years of work
What players often forget is that a lot of work goes into a new class. From the initial idea to the finished class, it could take almost 2 years. That’s why there was such a long pause between the introduction of the Necromancer and the Arcanist.
And of course, a new class also presents new technical challenges, as well as the implementation of sound and graphic effects. Therefore, in the future, there will also be no fixed timelines for new classes, as one might know from the chapters and DLCs.
The Arcanist fits perfectly into the setting of Necrom
But what can one imagine the process from the initial idea to the finished chapter and the finished class to be like? The first thing the developers do is look back at the last chapter. From that, they draw conclusions for the next project.
With the first ideas for Necrom and the Arcanist, they wanted to create the complete opposite starting from the previous Chapter High Isle. According to the developers’ assessment, the setting of High Isle can be classified more in the traditional fantasy realm. The story was comparatively more anchored in reality.
With Necrom, they wanted to take the setting to the exact opposite. Therefore, the first thought was to create a wildly large cosmos with the new chapter. And which Daedric Prince would be better suited for this than Hermaeus Mora?
The dark setting of Necrom in the color combination of black and green fits perfectly with the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora.
Starting from this vision, one idea leads to another and finally to the design of a new class.
The Arcanist fulfills the demands of the developers more than adequately
During the hands-on in London, I was able to play the new class. I tend to have a critical view of innovations and changes in ESO, as I have been following the MMORPG since its first days. But this time I must really say: What the developers set out to do, they have accomplished very well.
The Arcanist fits perfectly into the overall package of ESO, as well as ideally into the upcoming Chapter Necrom. Through the innovative gameplay of the Arcanist with the resource “Crux”, the developers also meet the requirement that it feels unique.
Given that some class abilities produce Crux, while others consume this Crux, the class will have a greater focus on these class abilities. It should not, like the other classes, result in a fundamentally similar rotation with many weapon abilities.
Conclusion: With the new class, the developers have struck the perfect balance. On one hand, it feels familiar, which is important for all players who have learned to love the combat system in ESO. At the same time, it is also something completely new, providing variety to the previous classes.
I am curious to see what the Arcanist will look like after its final polish before it comes to the live servers with the release of Necrom! But until then, we will have to wait a little longer.
MiezeMelli Author at MeinMMO
Until then, you can distract yourself ideally with the ESO events:
You can really earn many rewards there. If you don’t want to miss this and want to stay up to date on ESO events, then visit our ESO Event Ticker. Here you will always find all current information about ESO events.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Ludwig Ahgren (27) is a successful YouTuber known for his spectacular events. His chessboxing championship in December 2022 reached 3 million viewers. Some of them have now held their own championship, but the 27-year-old wants nothing to do with it.
What kind of YouTuber is he? Ludwig Ahgren, who online usually appears only by his first name, was once considered the golden boy of Twitch. In spring 2021, he broke the record for the most paid subscriptions with his 31-day Subathon: a total of 283,000.
In November of the same year, Ludwig switched exclusively to YouTube. On the red platform, everything continues as before. The 27-year-old streams and has already held a Subathon there and recently his chessboxing event.
What is chessboxing? It is a real sport where the name says it all: The opponents compete against each other in chess and boxing in alternating rounds.
Although Ludwig did not invent chessboxing, he certainly helped bring the sport closer to over 3.7 million viewers with his “Mogul Chessboxing Championship”. Some fans even arranged a private chessboxing event, but the YouTuber is far from thrilled about it.
Before Ludwig, Ninja held the record for the most simultaneous subs.
Start video
Through Fortnite to the largest streamer on Twitch – Who is Ninja and what is he doing today?
How did Ludwig find out about the event? In a stream on April 12, Ludwig reacted to a post shared in his subreddit. In the post, a fan wrote that they had held their own chessboxing tournament in an abandoned factory.
The Reddit user shared a photo of a participant with a bloody nose.
How did the streamer react? Ludwig was initially stunned by the post. He admitted that the idea was funny and quite extreme, but also dangerous:
It’s shocking that some Ludbuds [fans of Ludwig] decided to hold chessboxing in an abandoned warehouse on concrete, without any protection.
Though Ludwig is not the inventor of chessboxing, it seems quite obvious that the organizers of the unofficial fight club were inspired by his event. The streamer drew this conclusion and was quite displeased about it:
Don’t associate that with me, you bastards. […] Why do you come into my subreddit and show a direct connection as to why you did that?
Ludwig continues, stating that his event was very safe. The World Chess Boxing Organization approved the event, there were boxing rings, gloves, and paramedics. He emphasizes that he bears no responsibility for the actions of his viewers, as chessboxing has existed for a long time.
Clearly, the 27-year-old wants nothing to do with the matter: “Don’t use my subreddit to post your crimes. That is illegal, that is bodily harm.”
You can watch Ludwig’s entire reaction here:
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Ironically, the poster did not even seem to realize that his action has some parallels to the 1999 film Fight Club – otherwise he would have known that one does not talk about the chessboxing club. Instead, Ludwig advised him to watch the film.
With the chessboxing event, Ludwig proved a golden touch, but his latest investment has so far yielded less. In the midst of the tense situation in American e-sports, he bought his own team for the shooter Valorant; how that went can be read here:
Ubisoft has announced that it will remove the talisman of Twitch streamer Thaqil from Rainbow Six Siege after the content creator made some racist remarks and jokes about Castle, a black operator in Rainbow Six Siege.
Who is streamer Thaqil and what does he have to do with the game?
Thaqil was the 35th largest Twitch streamer for Rainbow Six Siege last month.
Last year, he showed the shooter for 769 hours and had an average of 403 viewers.
Thaqil is among the streamers who have a “charm” (talisman) in the game. These are cosmetic items that can be attached to weapons in Rainbow Six Siege.
In the bottom left we see Thaqil’s talisman.
Star streamers like shroud or AnneMuniton have such talismans in the game, but there is also a program that any streamer can participate in if they show 20 hours of Rainbow Six Siege a month and entertain more than 150 concurrent viewers.
Start video
Rainbow Six Siege Solar Raid Tactical Battle Pass Trailer
Poor jokes about black operator spread on TikTok
What did the streamer do? The streamer made some racist remarks about the black operator Castle in TikTok videos. The videos have since been deleted, but they can be viewed on Twitter.
He played “Kiss – Marry – Avoid” and said “Avoid” – Castle, because he is black – then he corrected himself, and made a strange remark about what he actually meant.
Additionally, during a “challenge where you have to find an operator” he clearly associated the letter “N” with Castle and connected Castle with a banana.
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This is what Ubisoft says: Ubisoft made a statement. They are ending collaboration with Thaqil. They have zero tolerance for racism or harassment. Thaqil’s posts are a breach of Ubisoft’s code of conduct, therefore his talisman will be removed from Rainbow Six Siege.
This is what the streamer says: The streamer claims he did it intentionally. However, his intention was not to be racist, but he wanted to come off as “edgy” and make people laugh.
However, he now realizes that his attempts to make it funny came across the wrong way. He did not want to discriminate against anyone. On Twitter he says (via twitlonger):
Apologies to everyone I have hurt, I will be more careful with my words in the future and become a better person. We move forward and remember: No matter who you are or who you identify as, whoever you want to be, you are awesome and loved.
If that’s not an apology that comes from the heart…
Other Twitch streamers who are their own worst enemy:
Millions of streamers try their luck on Twitch every month. One must come up with something special to stand out from the crowd. For example, getting taped to a colleague’s house, as streamer Emily “ExtraEmily” Zhang has done.
What kind of streamer is she? ExtraEmily has been on Twitch since 2020. She had her breakthrough in the summer of 2022. Since then, her channel has seen rapid growth.
How did she achieve this? Among other things, with her rather unusual variant of a so-called subathon: A marathon stream where viewers can extend the duration of the stream by completing paid subscriptions (“subs”).
The 28-year-old did not stop there, sitting in front of her PC for hours while being live. For her “Wall-A-Thon,” she had herself taped to the house of her OTK colleague Esfand. After just 13 hours, however, it was already over (via JeuxVideo).
Other content creators earn their viewers with kindness:
Start video
Twitch streamer with only 1 viewer becomes famous through a nice gesture – This is her story
Streamer lets herself be pelted with eggs for $20
What was the stream like? On April 9, ExtraEmily started her Wall-A-Thon. It was planned for her to be taped to a wall for 24 hours. However, the 28-year-old explained that she only intended to do it for 6 hours; it turned into a full day due to “peer pressure” from her streaming crew.
Instead of just extending the stream with subs, viewers could make the streamer suffer for extra money.
For $10 or 1.00 Bits, the virtual currency of Twitch, ExtraEmily let herself be hit with a water balloon. Particularly generous viewers could also have her pelted with an egg for $20, 2,000 Bits, or 10 gifted subs.
You can see how that looked in this clip:
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This is how the stream went: Getting taped to a wall for 24 hours is apparently easier said than done. After ExtraEmily initially tried to stick the tape herself, she sought help. This also led to great Google searches such as: “What is the best way to stick someone to a wall Reddit?”
However, just after 2 hours, there were doubts about the structural integrity of the tape formation. The streamer was removed from the wall and quickly taped to a pillar. There she lasted another 8.5 hours before she threw in the towel.
After a total of 11 hours and 45 minutes in the stream, ExtraEmily announced she would give up and just endure the remaining time. Subs were then no longer supposed to increase the timer. However, mischievous viewers quickly managed to extend the remaining time from 45 minutes to over 2 hours before this change was through.
After a total of 13 hours on the wall, it was finally over, and ExtraEmily was cut out of her tape cocoon.
Is it worth it? According to the analysis site TwitchStats, the Wall-A-Thon brought the streamer 1,057 new subs, which should earn the 28-year-old just over $2,640. Additionally, she gained 5,400 new followers, so she now has over 200,000 followers on Twitch (via sullygnome).
Whether it was worth having egg in her hair for hours can probably only be answered by the streamer herself.
Subathons like ExtraEmily’s are popular on Twitch. The record for the probably most successful subathon is currently held by Kai Cenat, whose marathon stream during Black History Month in February 2023 brought him more than 300,000 paid subs. This even caught the attention of musician Drake.
Twitch streamer Amouranth ordered food that did not arrive. With the help of her surveillance camera, she found out what happened.
The driver from UberEats was supposed to bring the streamer her food. The delivery was confirmed in the app, but Amouranth did not receive anything.
She then watched the video from her surveillance camera. It shows the delivery person placing the food in front of the door and taking a photo to confirm the delivery. A car is parked a few steps away behind him. “Come now,” someone from the car shouts, prompting the delivery person to grab the bags with the food and run away.
Who is Amouranth? Her real name is Kaitlyn Siragusa. She is considered the biggest streamer on Twitch, where she has 6.4 million followers and earns money with provocative content. She also runs a channel on OnlyFans. The net worth of the 29-year-old is estimated to be several million.
Amouranth shares the video publicly on Twitter
Apparently furious about the theft, Amouranth shares the surveillance video on her Twitter account. “Yo UberEats, why are your delivery drivers stealing my order after they took the photo?” she writes.
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Additionally, she explains that a sign on her door informs people that they are being filmed. According to her, they even announced their action verbally – presumably referring to the shouts from the parked car.
How did the delivery service react? The response from the Twitter account Uber_Support came relatively quickly, as the tweet gained a lot of attention. “Hey Amouranth – We’re so sorry! This is definitely not okay. Could you send us your account information via DM? We want to make this right,” they write.
The further conversation is not publicly accessible, as it presumably took place via DM. We do not know how UberEats compensated the millionaire and what consequences the delivery person might face.
What do you think about the action? Feel free to leave us a comment!
MeinMMO author Julian Schröder had the chance to speak at an EA event with David Jackson, Vice President Brand Marketing EA Sports, about the new brand EA Sports FC. There he learned how EA is investing in community footballand what the future of football games could look like.
Over the Easter weekend, EA hosted a press event in London, which we from MeinMMO were also able to attend. Our author Julian Schröder was on site and was even able to have a conversation with EA boss David Jackson.
EA Sports invests 10 million dollars in community football
After the separation from FIFA EA Sports is now taking new paths and instead of FIFA 24, this year they are bringing out their own game with EA Sports FC. It is a kind of spiritual successor to FIFA. With “FC Futures,” a project will also be started to promote youth football worldwide and invest a proud 10 million US dollars in the next 3 years.
The starting signal for this was the opening of the Rocky and Wrighty Arena at the Turnham Academy in South London.
Present at the opening ceremony were EA boss David Jackson, Emma Hayes, coach of the women’s team of Chelsea FC, and Arsenal legend Ian Wright, who is also partially named after the modern playing field at his former school.
Rocky and Wrighty Arena at the Turnham Academy
EA SPORTS FC is a symbol of a positive football future. And the foundation of this future is to provide young people with access and resources to realize their dreams.
David Jackson, Vice President of Brand Marketing at EA Sports at the opening of the new training ground.
Furthermore, the EA boss reveals plans to open more community pitches worldwide and tells us in the interview about another project: “In Vancouver, we are providing a similar pitch on a community level, with the help of an organization called Hope and Health, which provides indigenous young people with access to sports facilities. That is really, really significant for us.”
Whether the new global community pitches can also help inspire a new generation of children and young people for the future football simulations from EA Sports remains to be seen.
“The opportunity that EA Sports FC offers is immense for us”
In the interview with David Jackson, the discussion also covers the “FC Futures” initiative, the future of EA Sports FC, as well as the evolution of football games:
“Nowadays, even with our AAA games, some processes are quite identical, especially for players who play very frequently. I think that in the future, so much data will flow into these experiences that the player experience will be different every time.”
“HyperMotion was a major leap in development for us. It helped players understand what the future might look like. In the future, we will invest even more in these experiences because realism and authenticity are two very important pillars for us.”
David Jackson looks positively to the future: “The opportunity that EA Sports FC offers is immense for us. We want to build a brand for the future. We want to ensure that it is also a brand in football that is somewhat different through its identity and the visual quality we deliver.”
If you want to know more about the FIFA successor, then take a look here:
The air is getting thinner for hardware cheaters. Device manufacturers, which help aiming in shooters like Call of Duty, are probably realizing this now.
For a long time, software cheaters were considered the biggest plague in modern online shooters. However, there has been hardware for cheating for years. And while software cheaters are mostly found on PC, cheat devices can also be connected to consoles.
For a long time, it seemed that developers of major online shooters had no chance against the cheating devices. They couldn’t gain access and simply couldn’t detect the devices.
But now the trend is going in a different direction. With the announcement from Call of Duty that their anti-cheat RICOCHET can now detect such devices, the tide has turned. Other major players in the shooter market have announced that they want to follow suit.
Even the manufacturers are getting nervous.
Recently, Season 3 of Call of Duty went online. You can watch the trailer here.
Start video
CoD MW2 & Warzone 2: Season 3 – Trailer
“Please be aware of the associated risks”
As reported by the US site PC Gamer, the manufacturers of the device “Cronus Zen” have now made it clear on their Discord that there can currently be more bans, as the device is being recognized.
Here are the postings:
We are currently investigating reports that the latest game update contains a detection system that may be able to recognize the use of Cronus Zen.
Therefore, we would like to remind you that using Cronus Zen may result in penalties such as a ban or account suspension.
It is important to note that the use of Cronus Zen in any game is at your own risk. Please be aware of the associated risks and make the right decision. Thank you for your attention and understanding.
In Pokémon GO there is a new promo code on April 13, 2023. What it brings and how to redeem it, you can find out here.
What kind of code is this? Pokémon GO periodically distributes new promo codes that can give you items or other content in the game. You can redeem these either in the game itself (Android) or on a corresponding website (iOS).
Today, on April 13, the following code was shared with the community:
What does the code bring? The code gives you 5 potions and 5 Great Balls. If you want to redeem the items, you should hurry. The last code with these items was only active for a few hours.
Do you also redeem such smaller codes or are you only waiting for more valuable items as gifts? An overview of all promo codes in Pokémon GO can be found here:
iOS: On iOS devices, entering in the shop is not possible, there isn’t even a field for that. Instead, you need to visit Niantic’s rewards website. You can find the link to it here: Redeem Promo Code (via rewards.nianticlabs.com).
Log in here with your linked account. Then you can enter the code and confirm. After that, the items will be credited to you in the game.
You should also receive a corresponding message via push notification. If you want to be sure: in the game’s journal, you can check whether the items have arrived.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Ash Habib is a boxing fan from England who was frustrated that no new games like Fight Night from EA were being released. He quit his job to start his own development studio, even though he had no experience in it. Now, his game is on Steam and is getting good reviews.
What kind of game is it? Undisputed was released on January 31 in Early Access on Steam and has since received over 6,300 reviews, 78% of which are positive. His goal was and is to create the most realistic boxing simulation possible.
He started by watching tutorial videos on the Unity engine and developing a 2D game. However, he soon realized that a 3D version was also possible. Together with his brothers, he founded the studio Steel City Interactive in 2020, where 50 people are now working on Undisputed.
The boxing game focuses on:
60 different types of punches
Especially realistic footwork
Physically controlled interactions, so punches can sometimes go around or through the guard
50 attributes and characteristics to distinguish the styles and skills of fighters
Small details like intentional fouls or interactions with the referee
You can fight against AI opponents with various difficulty levels, but also online against other players.
Start video
Undisputed – Trailer for the Early Access Release
“I want this game to be as technical as possible, but still fun”
How was the development of the game? According to Ash Habib, who spoke extensively with PCGamer at an event, his main goal was to make the game as accurate as possible. Real dimensions and the reach of punches should also play a role. He explained:
I have a wish list of everything I’ve ever wanted in a boxing game. I can’t complain to anyone that I didn’t include that in the game. So during the pre-production phase, we just tried to incorporate everything we could with a very young and very small team. I want the game to be as technical as possible, but also fun.
A lot has been tried out, and not everything is perfect yet, which some reviews on Steam criticize. Some modes are missing, there are technical issues, and the movements are said to not be fluid enough. However, many praise the game as a true “boxing simulation” and not just a rough game for “Street Fighter” fans.
