The CoD series offers many challenges and tasks that provide rewards and a good feeling of accomplishment. Now there is something new to achieve in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which doesn’t bring any rewards, but afterwards you can say: I was killed by a chair!
What kind of crazy chair is this? In the multiplayer shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, you can be taken out in many ways. Recently, “Death by a chair” has become one of the latest ways to die.
On the map “St. Petrograd,” a murderous chair is on the loose. Camouflaged as a simple office swivel chair, the comfort-focused killing machine is doing its nefarious work, taking out soldiers who just want to take a little break from the constant run & gun.
New Weapon in Modern Warfare: Office Chair
What does this look like? On Reddit, there is a clip that irrefutably proves that chairs are now on the list of ways to die in Modern Warfare.
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How can this happen? At the scene of the seated crime, there are two swivel chairs behind a semicircular desk. When you move the chairs with melee attacks, the unusual weapons begin their deadly dance.
I bravely tried this for you: And indeed: With a wrong touch, the chair sends you back to the spawn screen without showing any remorse or regret. It feels like the chairs only kill out of sheer passion and don’t consider killstreaks or physical laws.
Where do I find the deadly seating? On the map “St. Petrograd,” you will find a sort of beer garden at the back on the bar side. Walk through this area and you will find the room with the treacherous office chair.
Walk through the beer garden and go through the door at the back. In an adjacent room, the life-threatening seating awaits you.
No one is safe from the killer objects
But beware! It is still not quite clear what plan the chairs are pursuing and what is behind the nefarious attacks. With every kill, the waiting room utensils gather more killstreaks and could soon be capable of taking over the entire map.
Are all objects going crazy now? The chairs are not the first killer objects to be annoyed by players with their constant loud shootouts and misuse. There is also a killer bush that has created a little death zone in Ground War.
In Destiny 2, most developers are on winter vacation, but community manager Dylan “dmg04” Gafner has taken some time to respond to 3 pressing issues from players.
This is the situation: The gaming industry, like the rest of the Western world, enters a two-week winter sleep between December 20 and January 6 to celebrate Christmas and New Year with family and friends. Most offices are closed. There are few official news updates.
This is the issue with Iron Banner: The “Iron Rain” quest step in Iron Banner annoys some Guardians, as they are supposed to achieve 10 rocket kills. Some consider this a problem because it changes the way Iron Banner is played overall.
All Guardians then crowd around the heavy ammo in the middle and do not play the actual objectives.
This is what dmg04 says: Bungie has seen the feedback and is also playing Iron Banner themselves. The quest will be active for the entire Season 9. Bungie is planning multiple events to complete it.
Dmg04 says he cannot promise that the quest will be changed mid-season, but he can assure that the developers are looking into the feedback.
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This is the problem with cheaters: Recently, there have been increasing complaints that Destiny 2 is infested with cheaters. This leads to issues in PvP: People die under strange circumstances and find it unfair.
This is what dmg04 says: Bungie does not comment on how investigations against cheaters are going, nor does it state who has been banned or excluded from certain modes. Sometimes, it takes time.
Dmg04 understands that it leads to frustration, but he assures players that there is a dedicated team at Destiny 2 that deals with the issue of “cheaters”.
What about XP? Some complain that it takes too long to level up the Season Pass for Season 9 to receive all items. Additionally, criticism arises that there are only a few “effective ways” to gather EXP for the pass in Destiny 2: Guardians wish for more variety in activities.
This is what dmg04 says: He states that they are also seeing this feedback. Players still have 2 months to level up the Season Pass and complete the seasonal content. He will pass on the feedback regarding bounties, activities, and more.
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Positively, Dmg04 notes the feedback regarding PvP and sandbox balance. They are aware that many players appreciate the changes that came with the Season of Dawn.
Dmg04 will also pass this feedback on to the team. They are constantly monitoring the topics of PvP and balance in Destiny 2.
Game developers can also get banned on Twitch. The channel of the developers of the hardcore shooter “Escape from Tarkov” was banned due to a gesture.
Breaking Twitch rules can often happen in just a few seconds, and a single, thoughtless reaction can have major consequences.
The developer’s channel “Battlestate Games” has now experienced this, as it was temporarily banned on Twitch. Battlestate Games is the developer behind Escape from Tarkov, a shooter that has recently gained significant popularity on Twitch.
A brief sequence of just 2 seconds led to the channel being banned.
Why was the channel banned? In a year-end livestream, the developers of the game “Escape from Tarkov” presented some new content that was integrated into the shooter at the end of the year. This included various items in the game’s store, which can have relatively high prices.
The “Abibas Tracksuit” costs about 4 million rubles in the game (in-game currency). Another developer then asked if the price was correct, which was confirmed. That would correspond to the price of a “mediocre apartment”.
Here the developer holds the weapon to his head and pulls the trigger.
The questioner used this as an opportunity to express his discontent with the price of the suit. He took a pistol, seemingly loaded it, and held it to his head, before pulling the trigger and pretending to be dead. You can watch the corresponding scene here:
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This is why it violates the rules: Even though the developer’s reaction was clearly meant to be amusing, it nonetheless violates Twitch rules. According to those rules, it is prohibited to engage in or threaten self-destructive behavior, which includes “the threat of suicide,” which was technically fulfilled by the gesture.
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The consequence is that the Battlestate Games channel has been temporarily banned. The developers can try to appeal this ban or they will have to wait until the ban expires, but that is likely to take some time.
What do you think of this action? Is this an entirely exaggerated rule that has been interpreted too harshly? Or is it good and sensible that the rules are enforced with such severity?
In 2019, the first players reached Level 65 in Black Desert Online. The grind for this is extremely high. An American has now shown exactly how long it took him.
How long does it take to reach Level 65? The American player Auzzell reached Level 65 live in a stream with his Archer. This is an impressive achievement, especially since it is associated with a lot of time and grind.
He needed 300 days, 20 hours, and 31 minutes for this. This equals 7,220.5 hours of gameplay. Auzzell refers to himself in the stream as a “Mastergrinder”. So if someone approaches leveling with a “normal” playstyle, they will probably take significantly longer.
Why does leveling take so long? In Black Desert, you normally level up to Level 60. After that, you have unlocked all skills and the bonuses for reaching higher levels are minimal. Additional leveling is actually not necessary but possible. There are no limits to the top.
However, after Level 60, the required XP doubles each time:
To reach Level 60, you need 630 billion experience points.
For Level 61, already 1.2 trillion XP.
For the currently highest reached Level 65, you need 20 trillion XP.
None of them have revealed the exact time needed. However, all grinded several hours daily for over half a year to go from Level 64 to 65.
When will the first player reach Level 66? Since players needed about 6 months for 20 trillion XP, they will need about a year for the 40 trillion.
The first players are expected to achieve a new record between February and April 2020. By mid-December, the American player Breeya had already reached Level 65.73. Thus, he has completed about 3/4 of the way. We currently do not know how far players from other servers are.
In 2020, Black Desert aims to achieve some goals. So if you don’t want to just grind, you will find other tasks in the MMORPG:
In January 2020, there is a new research breakthrough in Pokémon GO! Lapras with special moves is waiting for you. We’ll tell you if it’s worth it.
This is the research breakthrough: Throughout January, you will receive Lapras from the breakthrough. It knows the Ice moves Ice Shard and Ice Beam.
You will also have the chance to encounter a Shiny Lapras. So if you don’t have a Shiny yet, you can secure your chance.
Lapras in the Research Breakthrough in January 2020
How long will Lapras be available? So far, Lapras is announced for only one month. It appears on January 1st at 10 PM and will remain in the breakthrough until February 1st at 10 PM.
How do I get the research breakthrough? You need to complete field research on a total of 7 days. You earn one stamp per day. Once you have 7 stamps, the research breakthrough is waiting for you.
How effective will Lapras be with the moves? The attacks are good moves for Lapras. Ice Beam is particularly interesting because it has two charge bars and can be used quickly.
However, Lapras remains a weak alternative to the top Ice attackers. Pokémon like Mamoswine, Glaceon, or Snorlax are significantly better attackers. Therefore, the Pokémon from the breakthrough in January 2020 is more for collectors.
How is the breakthrough received by players? This announcement does not cause much excitement. Some players are even disappointed, as there have been recent opportunities to catch Lapras. For example, there was the Raid Day with Lapras, and recently during the Winter Weekend , players could frequently receive a Lapras from Glacier modules.
On the other hand, some players do not find Lapras that bad. At least there’s a chance for a Shiny with good IV, and the moves enhance the Pokémon a bit more.
In addition to the new breakthrough, many more events are waiting for you in January:
The success of the streaming platform Twitch has also made its way to Germany. We take a look at which German streamers have the greatest success with live streaming and how they do it.
These are the biggest German streamers: To determine which three streamers dominate the German-speaking area of Twitch, we looked at various numbers. For this, the statistics page Sullygnome was used, which collects various data.
Decisive for our top list was ultimately which streamers had the most followers in the past 365 days. The ranking is as of December 21:
1. MontanaBlack88 with 2,093,477 followers
2. Trymacs with 1,167,855 followers
3. Gronkh with 1,094,917 followers
Why did we choose this value? The number of followers determines how large a streamer’s reach is. It also shows how many viewers a streamer can potentially reach when they simply go online.
For MontanaBlack, Trymacs, and Gronkh, there is also the fact that they lead in other categories as well. MontanaBlack and Trymacs have the highest “Watch Times”, meaning the total time they have been watched. Just ahead of Gronkh is NoWay4u_Sir.
MontanaBlack
Who is MontanaBlack? Marcel Thomas Andreas “MontanaBlack” Eris is the biggest German streamer on Twitch and was even the second biggest streamer in the world in September 2019.
He often appears wearing a baseball cap and an undershirt, sitting in a darkened room. MontanaBlack, often simply called “Monte”, is actually a trained retail salesman.
How he became successful in 2019: Most of the time, MontanaBlack streamed Fortnite in 2019. This accounted for over a third of the total time with 347 hours. FIFA 20 is in second place.
However, he reached the most viewers with streams in the “Slots” category, i.e., with virtual slot machines. Here, he even generated the most followers per hour in the last 365 days – just ahead of Fortnite. MontanaBlack owed a large part of his success in September 2019 to streaming high-stakes gambling.
However, MontanaBlack now stays away from “Slots”. In a conversation with streamer Staiy, he said that he “infected” the German community with casino streams and now everyone only wants to see casino streams.
“Just Chatting” is also one of his larger areas. Here, MontanaBlack comments on other people’s videos, shares stories from his life, or explains his views to the viewers.
Recently, he got into trouble with a statement about women drawing a shitstorm. However, his fans labeled the comments as “typical Monte” or “Monte-Oldschool”.
MontanaBlack’s reach primarily comes from his personality. He has a strong character and knows how to market it.
Some professional streamers revealed in our streaming guide to Twitch that personality is one of the ways to become known and successful. The other is strong gameplay.
It is noticeable that MontanaBlack is relatively rarely seen on Twitch for a streamer of his size: Most other Twitch streamers in the top 30 worldwide have spent between 1237 (DrDisrespect) and 2987 hours (Summit1g) on Twitch. MontanaBlack is at the lower end with 892 hours.
Trymacs
Who is Trymacs? Maximilian Alexander Curt “Trymacs” Stemmler is the youngest top German streamer on our list. Born in 1994, Trymacs has been active on Twitch (and YouTube) since 2016.
Trymacs started on YouTube. He began publishing videos for the mobile game Clash Royale, at the time a niche he could fill. He had success especially with tutorials and “tips and tricks”.
Because of this success, larger YouTubers took notice of him and helped him gain subscribers. He has been regularly streaming on Twitch since 2016.
Numbers about Trymacs on Twitch 2019(as of December 21):
How he became successful in 2019: Like MontanaBlack, Trymacs also streamed most of his hours in Fortnite in 2019. He showed it for a staggering 784 hours.
He relies on both personality and gameplay. However, he often plays with other people and friends. This creates a certain dynamic that resembles gaming buddies streaming their sessions.
In his chat, one often reads that the viewers simply enjoy watching him and his friends. His success thus apparently comes from a foundation of YouTube, a good mix of co-broadcasters (playing mates), gameplay, and personality.
Trymacs streamed nearly twice as long on Twitch in 2019 as the other two German streamers on the top list.
Gronkh
Who is Gronkh? Erik “Gronkh” Range is actually a Let’s Player on YouTube. On YouTube, Gronkh was one of the German pioneers, if not the pioneer par excellence.
Many gamers may recognize his voice from games. He gave voice to several characters in adventures like Deponia or Harvey’s New Eyes. In The Witcher 3, he voiced a troll.
After many different projects, including in the field of gaming journalism, Gronkh finally gained fame with Let’s Plays of Minecraft. Recently, Gronkh was involved in the charity stream Friendly Fire 5, which raised over a million euros for a good cause.
Numbers about Gronkh on Twitch 2019 (as of December 21):
How he became successful in 2019: Gronkh relies on relatively rare, but long stream sessions on Twitch and averages 17,000 viewers.
In 2019, he was by far the most often active in “Just Chatting”, followed by Minecraft and the survival game Subnautica. His streams are usually quite relaxed.
Gronkh’s success is largely based on YouTube. As one of the first and one of the biggest Let’s Players, he made a name for himself with his videos. His YouTube channel now has over 4.87 million subscribers and is therefore the largest gaming channel in Germany.
He built up his reach before he started streaming on Twitch. And even after starting, he remains active on YouTube. Gronkh has managed to transfer his success from one format to another.
For fans of The Division 2, 2019 was not exactly the best year. Our author Maik thinks that 2020 could be much better if the developers really deliver what they promise.
What a year for Division fans. In March, the big second part of the series launched, and The Division 2 made a very good impression right from the start. Good reviews, nice gameplay, and plenty to do.
However, for agents who have stayed a bit longer in Washington, reality eventually set in.
After the raid had been completed for the tenth time and the standard builds had been tried out, there was nothing left to do. Except maybe to sort the always full inventory again. But how could this happen? Everything looked so good.
Division 2 started off strong.
Division 2 started strong and declined significantly
What did Division 2 do wrong? In my view, several mistakes were made in Division 2 that all have an impact on the current state of the service game.
The most important for me are:
The release state
The raid
The communication
It didn’t take long before many turned away from the game.
State at release
The first period in Division 2 was great: The game put us in an almost eternal reward loop, and it took many hours before gear level 500 was reached.
The big goal from then on was the raid. However, the first signs of wear and tear were noticeable. The poor inventory overview, the relatively limited number of activities, and fewer and fewer teammates made longer-term enjoyment a challenge.
Where was the problem? The tight update schedule after release left little room for actual improvements to the game, and although considerable content came with world rank 5 and the raid, it simply wasn’t enough to retain the majority of players.
If the raid had come as planned with TU6, things might have looked different. Many fans were not willing to return to the game for the few new Pentagon missions to try out the good new features.
The raid was a really good experience for many players, at least on the first run.
Focus on the raid
What does this mean? The raid is the largest and for some players the best activity in Division 2. Good loot, the chance of a strong exo, and challenges that require teamwork.
And that’s exactly how the developers apparently saw it and took great care of the raid activities. However, other aspects fell by the wayside, such as new missions or new builds.
Why is this a problem? The focus on the raid left us with unfinished activities and little new content.
The expeditions arrived too late and were poorly received, and the two main missions per episode are really a joke. With update 6.1, a hardcore mode is now available, but it is again only delivered in an unfinished state and as a beta.
I think the developers bet on the wrong horse, and together with the strategy of free DLCs, it is now coming back to haunt them.
What mistakes were made here? The developers always gave us the wrong information somehow and never really stated how it would proceed.
Although The Division 2 even hosted its own community stream and reported weekly on developer activities and current changes, one never really knows: What comes next?
The episodes received release dates extremely late, and the content was hardly ever discussed until the last minute. In the “State of the Game” streams, there were almost always just a few cheerful Massive staff with a few friendly stories but little information.
What is the problem? On one hand, I don’t know what else to do in the game, and on the other, it is completely unclear what I can look forward to.
Sure, the new raid is coming sometime in 2020, and with episode 3, we return to New York, but these prospects are not motivating right now. The raid might come in the summer, and in episode 3, there will likely only be 2 missions set in New York.
Up until update 6.1, my research gave me the impression that some players even assumed that the game was not being worked on anymore. The sudden cancellation of the “State of the Game” streams for the rest of 2019 unsettled players and is indicative of the state of the relationship between players and developers.
Although 2 episodes did run afterward and even an update with new content came, somehow it all felt strange.
Year 1 was a disappointment for many players. In March, Year 2 begins, hopefully marking a better time for The Division 2 fans.
Put Year 1 behind us and make Year 2 better
Why could 2020 be better? The developers have seen what kind of content we players want. We need content that keeps us engaged in the game and brings new challenges again and again.
The expeditions unfortunately could not deliver this, but the hardcore mode is moving in the right direction. The completed hardcore mode, a fun Dark Zone, and maybe another mode with high replay value and the world of Division 2 could look very different again.
Recently, it has seemed to me that many mistakes have been recognized, and the responsible parties are on a good path.
What will be important in 2020? The developers must succeed in keeping us better informed and occasionally doing something with the game world.
How can it be that games like ARK or GTA 5 cover their entire game world with snow, while The Division 2, despite its frosty past in New York, can only manage snowballs from an SMG?
Something needs to be done here, regular events, new weapons or gear. Just small bites to prepare us for the big coming.
With a focus on gear, the people from SotG could entice us with information on builds and gear combinations.
This is what I wish for: In my opinion, the devs should focus more on builds and gear.
The targeting loot system is great, and one can actually specifically go hunting for gear. So why not take a step further and make specific gear pieces with fixed stats available through activities?
These activities could then have special modifiers and be incredibly difficult so they can only be completed with specific builds. With such items, the developers could steer the meta a bit, and agents would have a reason to build a specific setup.
This could also be transferred to streams and social media appearances. Instead of constantly sharing cosplays, posts could showcase new build variants, and the developers’ creations could be commented on during the stream.
Some agents would like to return to Washington. Hopefully, the developers will soon give us some good reasons for that.
What do you think about the future of Division 2?
Is the game at its end or is there still hope? What were your expectations of Division 2, and do you think it could still make a comeback?
Tell us your opinion: Write to us in the comments what you think. Were there perhaps other mistakes made, or do you consider my listing nonsense?
So what do you think? Will Division 2 make a comeback in 2020 and bring us back to Washington? What mistakes do you think were made this year?
Today on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2019, logging in to GTA 5 Online is definitely worth it for you. Gifts and snow are waiting for you again.
What’s happening in GTA Online? Many players have probably looked out the window of their CEO office in surprise today as the streets of Los Santos were once again blanketed in white. This is not a shipment of cocaine gone wrong from a motorcycle club, but the snowfall that is affecting the online world again.
What gifts are available? If you log in to the online mode of GTA 5 now, you will receive the same gifts that were available at Christmas.
Yellow reindeer light bodysuit
Firework launcher
20 fireworks
Full snacks
Full armor
So if you couldn’t secure the toys at Christmas, now is definitely the time to grab them. Full snacks and armor are a welcome gift for every player. This saves you the trip to the Ammunation and the nearest candy cabinet.
What’s new? After Christmas, the snow in Los Santos disappeared, and the streets returned to their original state. But this will now be interrupted again, as the snowfall is active once more.
If you love drifting through the thick snow with your tuned cars, you can now really let loose.
How long the snow will last is still unclear. The event will probably end shortly after New Year’s. By January 2 at the latest, the snow should be gone again.
What else should you do? If you are logging in anyway, head over to the casino and make your daily spin at the lucky wheel for a chance to win the podium vehicle.
Additionally, the time trial Grove Street is active, rewarding you with 101,000 GTA dollars. In our guide, we show you how to easily win the race and collect the cash in just about a minute.
Borderlands 3 was one of the biggest releases of 2019. Even though it is not a typical long-term service title, it continues in 2020. What can we look forward to?
This is how Borderlands 3 was received in 2019: On September 13th, the wait was finally over – after a long wait, the third (main) installment of the loot shooter with guaranteed chaos was released. Finally, bosses to crush, legendary weapons to collect, and laughing at crazy humor – Borderlands 3 hit just the right notes that its predecessors had.
But that’s not a bad thing, as many just wanted to feel the Borderlands vibe again. And that was provided in abundance. Although the game was plagued by technical issues at times and still is: Borderlands 3 is fun. And it is supposed to continue to be so in 2020. What comes next?
Borderlands 3 was a real fireworks display
What we expect in 2020 in Borderlands 3
Even more updates: Since the release, Borderlands 3 has steadily changed. Weekly updates for the loot shooter have dealt with various features of the game. Among other things, builds were adjusted, which was not always well received, but also bugs were fixed and player requests implemented. In the end, the updates received a positive response.
For example, the bank was expanded, loot pools were adjusted, and a new fourth level of the Mayhem mode was added. Gearbox is expected to continue to provide regular updates for the game – and possibly add another Mayhem level. After all, the endgame should keep players engaged in the long term.
At times, it was quite a back-and-forth with the updates
Even more events: For not being a service title, there is quite a lot happening in Borderlands 3. For instance, it brought a limited-time Halloween event – the “Bloody Harvest“. By the way, it has already been confirmed that the ghost event will return next year – possibly with new legendary weapons?
Next year, there will be ghosts again – and more?
However, this may not be the end: Although there are no official details yet, it can be assumed that we should expect more events. For example, the Saurian Maurice, who distributed the Bloody Harvest quest, is expected to play a role in the future.
It is quite possible that the lizard-like exchange student will have more time-limited quests for you to learn more about the universe.
Will there be more takedowns?
Additionally, with Maliwan Takedown came a new activity that offered a big challenge. Notably, the developers referred to “the takedowns” as a new type of content. It sounds like more is yet to come. Perhaps an Atlas, Dahl, or Hyperion takedown is on the horizon in 2020? We are excited!
More DLCs for Borderlands 3
This is how the story continues: On December 19th, the Handsome Jack DLC was released as the first major expansion of the game. Here, you went into the casino of the classic Borderlands villain. There were new legendary weapons, cosmetics, and an exciting story – an expansion that was very well received overall.
But Borderlands 3 will add more on this front as well. There will be a total of three other story DLCs that will all be released by September 2020. What will be included? That is not confirmed yet – however, it is expected that they will be similarly large as the Handsome Jack DLC.
For those who purchased the Season Pass, there is no need to worry about how to get them: They are all included in the pass.
The Handsome Jackpot makes you want more!
What else could come? Many players have now reached the level cap of 50. For these players, there are only the Guardian Ranks and collecting new gear to improve the vault hunters left. Of course, this takes a lot of time – nevertheless, it seems possible that the level cap will be raised in 2020.
More skill trees would bring more variety
This would also mean more skill points – but where to put them? Perhaps the vault hunters could receive additional skill trees. This theory continues to circulate in the community – after all, there are supposed to be no additional vault hunters added to the game in the future.
New skill trees and abilities would be a great way for players to experience the game in a different way again. Even if they have already completed the story with every vault hunter in True Vault Hunter Mode.
What would you like to see for Borderlands 3? Let us know in the comments!
The events for January 2020 have been announced in Pokémon GO. The first event of the new year will be the Egg Hatch Marathon. Shiny Heatran will also make an appearance.
What kind of events are these? These are all the events that you can expect at the beginning of January. Niantic is already giving a good outlook on what is coming up for you in the new year.
The first highlight will be the Egg Hatch Marathon, many details of which are already known.
Egg Hatch Marathon brings Party Hat Pokémon
When is the event running? The event closely follows the Christmas event. It starts on January 2 at 10 PM German time and ends two weeks later on January 16 at 10 PM.
What will be at the event? The event focuses mainly on Pokémon with party hats. The following bonuses will be available:
Pichu and Wurmple will hatch from 2 km eggs with party hats, and Pichu will also hatch from 7 km eggs
You will find Raticate and Woobat with party hats in Level 2 raids
Pikachu with a party hat can be found in the wild
The shiny versions of all party hat Pokémon will be available in the game
Double stardust and double candy when hatching Pokémon
Adventure Sync rewards you with 50,000 stardust, 15 special candies, and an Unova Stone at 50 km
Now new with the hats are Woobat, Raticate, and Wurmple.
Shiny Heatran comes to the legendary raids
When does Heatran return? The legendary Pokémon will replace Virizion and will appear on January 7 at 10 PM. It will remain for almost an entire month and will disappear only on February 4.
This is what the shiny looks like: As shiny, Heatran is slightly lighter, and its eyes are pink instead of red. However, the differences are not huge.
Are Heatran raids worth it? If you have caught the shiny, you can easily skip Heatran raids. Other fire Pokémon are significantly better.
This is due to Heatran’s poor moves. If these were to change in the future, Heatran would play a bigger role.
New Unova Pokémon will be coming
Niantic announced: The developers have reported that more Pokémon from the 5th generation will appear in January. However, they are not going into detail and are not revealing which Pokémon it will be.
The spectrum of Pokémon is large, as only a small part of the 5th generation has been released so far. So we can definitely expect a big wave of new Pokémon.
New special research with Giovanni
This is waiting at Team GO Rocket: As Niantic announced, Giovanni will also return in the new year. The Rocket boss will again be found through new special research.
This Pokémon will he bring with him: This time, Giovanni will fight with Crypto-Articuno at the end. It is the last of the three legendary birds you can catch in the Crypto version.
What is known about the special research? In November and December, there were the same special research under a different name. It can therefore be expected that you will have to go through the same research in January.
2019 brought Pokémon many great events and features. We show you the 10 best innovations:
Many players are reporting a ban wave in WoW Classic. Has it finally been cleaned up?
For several weeks, the atmosphere in World of Warcraft Classic has been tense. This is not only due to the changed perception of players regarding powerful addons and frustration with the PvP system, but it also has another source: bots. However, these cheaters are now facing consequences, as a ban wave arrived just in time for New Year’s Eve.
What is the problem? The bots for WoW: Classic have become increasingly sophisticated in recent weeks. Many bots are fully automated; they not only kill opponents but also sell their loot independently, perform repairs, and can even defend themselves fundamentally in PvP situations. Even if they die, they automatically find their corpse, regenerate, and continue their work.
As a result, they collect many resources and diminish the success of the “real” players, as their resources lose value or they cannot even farm in areas that are being farmed by bots.
What happened? On the night of December 30 to 31, there were increasing reports on Reddit and social media from players who reported being banned. The reason: botting. Many players insist that they were banned unfairly, claiming that they did not use a bot.
Whether these players are telling the truth is, of course, hard to say. However, it is clear that many accounts have received a temporary or even permanent ban in the past hours.
Why now? Why Blizzard is executing a ban wave between the holidays is also unclear. It could be that the numerous complaints have led the developers to act sooner. Actually, a large part of the Blizzard workforce is currently on vacation until the new year. However, it could also be that the ban has been automated and has been targeted for today for some time.
If you have had trouble with bots in recent days and have put them on the “watchlist”, you should take a look today and see what the bot problem looks like currently. Apparently, many players have been affected.
Do you know someone who has been affected by the ban wave – whether unfairly or deserved?
Escape from Tarkov is a survival shooter that is currently very popular on Twitch. That is why so many are interested in the multiplayer shooter, which made great strides in 2019.
What is Escape from Tarkov? Escape from Tarkov is a multiplayer shooter developed by Battlestate Games. It combines survival with PvE elements and a hardcore shooter. Players start around the namesake city of Tarkov and try to find equipment, escape in time, and do so without dying.
If someone dies, they lose all their equipment and have to replace it with new gear.
More viewers than League of Legends and Fortnite: Escape from Tarkov currently has around 124,000 viewers and is ahead of popular games like League of Legends and Fortnite. Most of them are watching the popular Australian streamer Pestily (via Twitch). That’s around 45,000 viewers right now.
That is why the game is so popular: Overall, Escape from Tarkov has developed well in recent months and attracted some prominent streamers and convinced them, such as the Mixer star shroud.
Moreover, there is currently a shortage of games on Twitch in December 2019: There is no new game in hype that many big streamers are playing.
Developer Battlestate Games also offers the popular Twitch Drops together with Twitch. This means: If you watch certain Tarkov streamers, you can get special loot.
This includes
Variants of special weapons
Skins
Tools
And keys for special doors on Tarkov’s raid maps
How long does the event last? The event has been running since December 30, 2019, and ends on January 5, 2020. During this period, you can watch the streamers on Twitch and earn rewards for watching.
How do I get the Twitch Drops? First, you must link your Twitch account with your Escape from Tarkov player profile. This can be done on the official website of the manufacturer.
Then you must watch a livestream of Escape from Tarkov where the Twitch Drops are enabled. The stream will be labeled accordingly with “drops are enabled.”
How is the shooter Escape from Tarkov doing? We took a look at how well the survival shooter stands out from the competition:
In Diablo 3, four classes have now successfully completed the highest Nephalem Rift of level 150. Who are the three stragglers and why are they struggling?
What is new? After only two classes were able to complete a Greater Nephalem Rift at level 150 on time two weeks ago, more players have now stepped up. What’s surprising is that even the Necromancer has been able to clear level 150, even though this class wasn’t really on anyone’s radar in Season 19 of Diablo 3.
This is the current status about a month after the season started:
Will the classes still achieve GR 150? It can be assumed that Monk, Demon Hunter, and Witch Doctor will achieve the successful completion of a Greater Nephalem Rift at level 150 in this season.
Even if the builds of these classes are currently not as strong as those of the other four, enough damage boost is available due to a high Paragon level to successfully complete this difficulty. Ultimately, it is just a matter of time.
Many players wish for a buff for the Demon Hunter
Season 19 started on November 22 and is expected to be active for about 3 months based on experience. So there is still plenty of time for players to reach the goal.
Necromancer and Sorceress Surprise
What is surprising? When we checked the leaderboard of Season 19 in Diablo 3 on December 18, 2019, only Crusaders and Barbarians had cracked level 150 in the G-Rift. The Sorceress was in 4th place at that time and the Necromancer was in the second to last, sixth place.
At that point, it was not apparent that the Sorceress would suddenly jump from 141 and the Necromancer from 133 to 150 in the Nephalem Rift so quickly, although a good ranking was already predicted for the Sorceress in the Tier List of Season 19 in Diablo 3.
The season buff of S19 plays a significant role in the ranking here. The skillful use of the buff can also be seen in the leading Necromancer. We will include the 150 run of Kuzohito here, who is currently (December 30, 2019) the strongest Necromancer of Season 19 in Softcore.
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The Twitch streamer Tfue encounters a severe cheater in Fortnite. He is now requesting a ban from Epic Games.
What happened to Tfue? The Twitch streamer Turner “Tfue” Tenney was hosting a custom match where he was playing against other strong players and fans. He calls it Tfualt Skirmishes.
Such matches are particularly helpful for professionals who want to practice. In regular matches, they encounter less evenly matched opponents. With these custom matches, they aim to challenge themselves.
However, a cheater disrupted the last Tfualt Skirmish and ruined the fun for everyone.
Here he meets the hacker in Fortnite
What did the cheater do? A player had sneaked into the custom match and used an aim-bot in the game. This way, he could hit other players without actually seeing them or aiming himself.
No matter how far away they were, the cheater easily hit them. When he encountered the duo Tfue and scoped, they quickly realized that something was wrong.
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The duo partner scoped was the first to find the cheater. He said: “Oh my God I just got aim-botted!” The cheater then killed Tfue in seconds.
“He’s hacking. The guy has an aim-bot.”
Tfue’s reaction to the cheater
That the player was hacking became clear when Tfue continued to observe him in the game. The opponent could hit any player in the lobby without much effort. The video shows the clear aim-bot.
After confirming the cheat, Tfue demanded a ban from Epic Games.
“Hey Epic Games, can you damn ban this guy who is using an aim-bot in my custom match?!”
Asked Tfue in his stream
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If it had been a one-time occurrence, it might have been excusable. However, since it happened in several matches, it ultimately ruined the enjoyment of the whole lobby.
Tfue had actually wanted to play a serious game against his subscribers. But when stream-snipers infiltrate, ruining the fun for everyone with their cheats, it’s a problem.
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Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Moreover, the game was heavily criticized for fundamental gameplay systems: the progress was off, and there was no enjoyment in upgrading the Javelin and searching for new items.
Then practically half the team that developed Anthem left the game, either leaving the company or working on Dragon Age 4 – the SWTOR team in Austin was supposed to take over.
The roadmap and the planned development of Anthem were put on hold. BioWare retreated for a fundamental overhaul.
How can one see this positively? BioWare and EA have assured that they will not give up on Anthem. Allegedly, a major overhaul or even a reboot is planned for 2020.
Maybe Iron Man will rise again in 2020. By now, expectations are so low that anything looks like a silver lining.
Blizzard and Hong Kong – the most unnecessary shitstorm of 2019
This was the expectation: Blizzard has been propagating humanitarian values for decades:
every voice counts
think globally
learn and grow
Essentially, Blizzard are the “good guys”, the ones who understand games and players, valuing quality and good communication.
Players expect a behavior that matches this image from “their” company.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Moreover, the game was heavily criticized for fundamental gameplay systems: the progress was off, and there was no enjoyment in upgrading the Javelin and searching for new items.
Then practically half the team that developed Anthem left the game, either leaving the company or working on Dragon Age 4 – the SWTOR team in Austin was supposed to take over.
The roadmap and the planned development of Anthem were put on hold. BioWare retreated for a fundamental overhaul.
How can one see this positively? BioWare and EA have assured that they will not give up on Anthem. Allegedly, a major overhaul or even a reboot is planned for 2020.
Maybe Iron Man will rise again in 2020. By now, expectations are so low that anything looks like a silver lining.
Blizzard and Hong Kong – the most unnecessary shitstorm of 2019
This was the expectation: Blizzard has been propagating humanitarian values for decades:
every voice counts
think globally
learn and grow
Essentially, Blizzard are the “good guys”, the ones who understand games and players, valuing quality and good communication.
Players expect a behavior that matches this image from “their” company.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Moreover, the game was heavily criticized for fundamental gameplay systems: the progress was off, and there was no enjoyment in upgrading the Javelin and searching for new items.
Then practically half the team that developed Anthem left the game, either leaving the company or working on Dragon Age 4 – the SWTOR team in Austin was supposed to take over.
The roadmap and the planned development of Anthem were put on hold. BioWare retreated for a fundamental overhaul.
How can one see this positively? BioWare and EA have assured that they will not give up on Anthem. Allegedly, a major overhaul or even a reboot is planned for 2020.
Maybe Iron Man will rise again in 2020. By now, expectations are so low that anything looks like a silver lining.
Blizzard and Hong Kong – the most unnecessary shitstorm of 2019
This was the expectation: Blizzard has been propagating humanitarian values for decades:
every voice counts
think globally
learn and grow
Essentially, Blizzard are the “good guys”, the ones who understand games and players, valuing quality and good communication.
Players expect a behavior that matches this image from “their” company.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Moreover, the game was heavily criticized for fundamental gameplay systems: the progress was off, and there was no enjoyment in upgrading the Javelin and searching for new items.
Then practically half the team that developed Anthem left the game, either leaving the company or working on Dragon Age 4 – the SWTOR team in Austin was supposed to take over.
The roadmap and the planned development of Anthem were put on hold. BioWare retreated for a fundamental overhaul.
How can one see this positively? BioWare and EA have assured that they will not give up on Anthem. Allegedly, a major overhaul or even a reboot is planned for 2020.
Maybe Iron Man will rise again in 2020. By now, expectations are so low that anything looks like a silver lining.
Blizzard and Hong Kong – the most unnecessary shitstorm of 2019
This was the expectation: Blizzard has been propagating humanitarian values for decades:
every voice counts
think globally
learn and grow
Essentially, Blizzard are the “good guys”, the ones who understand games and players, valuing quality and good communication.
Players expect a behavior that matches this image from “their” company.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
At the end of the year, MeinMMO reflects on 5 events and games in the world of online gaming that shaped 2019, but not in a good way: What were the low points in the MMOs of the year?
How was the list compiled? The list is based on the author’s assessment.
To truly disappoint, there must first be high expectations: A game that hardly anyone had on their radar in 2018 cannot be significantly disappointing in 2019.
Therefore, the list primarily features games and events that had previously built a good reputation.
In January 2018 and January 2019, MeinMMO readers voted Anthem as the “most anticipated online game.”
Anthem – Iron Man down
This was the expectation: Anthem was supposed to be a new service game from BioWare that would be played and developed for a long time:
In January 2019, it received 29.67% in the same survey for 2019 and again landed in first place
The promise was to narrate the vibrant world, the great characters, and the story of the RPG classics for which BioWare is famous, in an ongoing story that is continuously developed: BioWare mentioned plans for Anthem content spanning 10 years.
Additionally, the popular “looting and leveling” gameplay in a stylish Iron Man aesthetic was enticing. Solo and team players were to be catered to. Fun for the whole family.
What went wrong: From the very beginning, Anthem faced an icy headwind because the studio’s fans preferred a single-player game over an “endless game” – as they are considered story-weak and stretched.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Moreover, the game was heavily criticized for fundamental gameplay systems: the progress was off, and there was no enjoyment in upgrading the Javelin and searching for new items.
Then practically half the team that developed Anthem left the game, either leaving the company or working on Dragon Age 4 – the SWTOR team in Austin was supposed to take over.
The roadmap and the planned development of Anthem were put on hold. BioWare retreated for a fundamental overhaul.
How can one see this positively? BioWare and EA have assured that they will not give up on Anthem. Allegedly, a major overhaul or even a reboot is planned for 2020.
Maybe Iron Man will rise again in 2020. By now, expectations are so low that anything looks like a silver lining.
Blizzard and Hong Kong – the most unnecessary shitstorm of 2019
This was the expectation: Blizzard has been propagating humanitarian values for decades:
every voice counts
think globally
learn and grow
Essentially, Blizzard are the “good guys”, the ones who understand games and players, valuing quality and good communication.
Players expect a behavior that matches this image from “their” company.
Blizzard subsequently banned the player for life and ended the collaboration with both moderators, and it was said that the player would lose the prize money he had already won. Additionally, a statement from Blizzard appeared on an Asian social media platform saying that they protect “China’s pride”.
This led to a shitstorm, accusing Blizzard of “cowering” to the “Chinese government”. For fear of facing business disadvantages, Blizzard would now practice censorship and restrict freedom of speech, while betraying their own values and yielding to China’s national interests.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to adhere to the rules: Official streams should focus on the games, not on political messages. The now reduced penalties for those involved remained in place.
Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack apologized at BlizzCon 2019.
How can one see this positively? Blizzard showed remorse at BlizzCon 2019 and clarified that they do not want to be the Blizzard that they presented in the Hong Kong affair, but rather a more relaxed, tolerant version committed to their own values. In retrospect, it was said that they acted hastily and incorrectly when issuing the harsh penalties.
It can be assumed that Blizzard will recognize such a PR disaster in a similar situation next time and work on communication with their Chinese partners.
The evolution of The Division 2 – Hard up, harder down
This was the expectation: The shooter The Division 2 was released in March 2019 and received positive feedback. The shooter was considered the “most complete loot shooter to date” at launch. The Division 2 offered a well-rounded campaign, the systems felt solid, and the atmosphere was dense.
Great ratings at the launch of The Division 2 on MeinMMO.
The Division 2 was quite enjoyable for about 6 weeks. Players expected solid content to be added subsequently.
What went wrong: The Division 2 relied on free DLCs and was praised for it before release: Finally, the community would not be split between those who purchase DLCs and those who do not.
In practice, however, free updates proved too thin and too infrequent to maintain the initial hype of The Division 2.
Players also criticized that features and progress from The Division 1 were missing in the second part. It quickly became clear that The Division 2 could not sustain the initial momentum from the launch: the game rapidly lost steam.
While updates and DLCs were released, they did little to keep agents motivated to stay in The Division 2. As 2019 progressed, less and less new content arrived, and communication dwindled. As a game, The Division 2 convinced at launch, but as a “Games as a service” title meant to entertain players for over a year, the shooter fell short.
How can one see this positively? Division 1 improved after several months – the same can be hoped for The Division 2. Another DLC and a raid are planned for 2020. The game’s potential is also high, as evidenced by the reaction during the launch phase, which was later described by Massive as the “honeymoon” period.
The strange thing about The Division 2’s evolution is that Massive has already gone through all the difficult phases with The Division 1 between 2016 and 2018. The decision to focus on free DLCs and bring new missions instead of new modes seems to have significantly impacted long-term motivation.
Massive seems to be aware of the fundamental problems with The Division 2: However, it is still unclear whether they have the resources to change the issues.
Google Stadia – Who is this meant for?
This was the expectation: Google wanted to make a big entry into gaming with Stadia: Their system was clearly designed as a competitor to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One.
Through streaming, players would no longer have to download games, but could seamlessly jump in and play from anywhere without having to buy expensive, high-performance hardware upfront.
Google’s announcement to enter the gaming market made such waves that Microsoft and Sony even formed a strategic partnership in May 2019 to support each other as “classic gaming companies” more strongly. Later, insiders mentioned that the established platform holders had “great respect” for the tech giant Google’s entry into the gaming market.
Google Stadia was clearly positioned as a competitor to PS4 and Xbox One.
What went wrong: Actually, not much. The only issue remains unclear is who Google Stadia is actually aimed at: because the console primarily offers full-price titles that have long been available on other platforms. The typical “Free2Play” hits like Fortnite or Apex Legends are missing – there are currently no notable exclusives.
The system is especially attractive to people who have neither a PC nor a console or a game collection, but have decided to fully immerse themselves in gaming and purchase 60€ full-price titles.
Overall, the concept of Google Stadia, although technically impressive, does not seem coherent at the moment: You can play games without download, but you have to purchase them beforehand.
Players would likely prefer a subscription model, like what Microsoft offers with Gamepass: Play all the games in the offering for a flat rate, depending on what one feels like. Especially without bothersome downloads and patching, Stadia would be excellently positioned for such usage.
But Stadia doesn’t offer such a deal: Google offers a subscription, but it’s tied to only a few selected titles.
How can one see this positively? Stadia is still in its early stages and Google is working on the concept: Google has already proven that they can technically provide streaming – at least in many cases. Now they need games and titles that people will genuinely want to switch to or enter the gaming space for.
It will still take a while before the mechanisms kick in and exclusive studios develop top titles that only run on Stadia.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint – What repairs that wasn’t broken
This was the expectation: In 2017, Ghost Recon Wildlands was an unexpected success for Ubisoft. The tactical shooter managed to build a loyal community and was solidly developed over months.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was supposed to build on this success.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint aimed to replicate the success of Wildlands.
What went wrong: Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a flop for Ubisoft, that the head of the company, Yves Guillemot, questioned Ubisoft’s business model afterward and delayed the release of firmly announced games for early 2020.
Apparently, Ubisoft developed the shooter Breakpoint past its target audience, who did not understand why they should buy a new game when Wildlands was continuously being improved.
Breakpoint was said to lack new features, and the features that were genuinely new fell flat with players. The new ideas were aimed at “grinding” and “RPG” elements – while players preferred tactical elements that fit the “Ghost Recon” series over bullet sponge ideas like in The Division.
How can one see this positively? Ghost Recon Breakpoint was obviously a turning point for Ubisoft and a reason to re-evaluate the formula that had brought so much success in recent years: The idea to further develop and improve games like Rainbow Six Siege or For Honor has earned Ubisoft a lot of money and significantly enhanced the company’s reputation.
Halting the development of functioning games and then launching a new installment, as happened in 2019, seems to be a weak point in the formula that Ubisoft now needs to rethink. While it brings more launches, new attention, and money – players then want compelling reasons to see why a “restart” is necessary before engaging with the new game.
Ubisoft has clearly learned this lesson the hard way with Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Patch 8.3 of World of Warcraft is almost here. We will tell you how to prepare for this update to make sure you don’t miss anything important.
The year 2020 is approaching, and for fans of World of Warcraft, there should soon be a pleasing announcement. Patch 8.3: Visions of N’Zoth is on its way and will be released on January 15. However, this update brings some new features and changes that one should prepare for thoroughly to not fall behind on release day. We will tell you how to optimally prepare for Patch 8.3 and what points you should keep in mind.
1. Preparations through reputation unlocks
With Patch 8.3, there are a few new unlockable features. These include Vulpera as a allied race for the Horde or the Mechagnomes as an allied race of the Alliance – the Vulpera are even quite useful. Those who want to start with these two races right from the start should have their reputation with both factions pushed to exalted already.
This is currently particularly easy because the 15th anniversary of WoW is ongoing, granting 15% additional reputation points.
Pre-order buyers of “Shadowlands” can create Death Knights of the allied races and Pandaren with the next patch – if the respective races are unlocked. Therefore, those who plan to start a Death Knight should unlock the corresponding race now.
Lastly, new legacy armor for Goblins and Worgen is also coming. For this unlock, a character of the respective race and exalted reputation with their home faction is required. But thanks to the tabards of Gilneas or the Bilgewater Cartel, this can be done very quickly.
2. Catching up Twinks – now or never
If you want to play a new character class in endgame with Patch 8.3, you should ideally level your character to 120 right now. Currently, there is not only a 15% XP buff from the birthday event, but also on the battleground “Korrak’s Revenge”, where players receive XP automatically every few minutes – finishing the battleground even grants a whole level-up depending on your level.
Leveling Twinks has not been as easy as it is right now for a long time. Anyone who misses this opportunity is just making a mistake.
3. “Bunkering” Artifact Power to have a head start
With Patch 8.3, it is once again possible to improve the Heart of Azeroth through Artifact Power and level it beyond level 70. For those who want to have a slight advantage here, should farm reputation with the current factions until they can pick up a Paragon Chest. However, this should not be picked up yet, but instead wait until the patch release. This way, a hefty chunk of Artifact Power is waiting, which would otherwise expire.
Ultimately, this method is probably interesting primarily for hardcore players who need every little percentage of advantage. As a “normal player,” it hardly matters whether you lag behind with the Heart of Azeroth by 1 or 2 levels.
4. Spend Titan Residuum beforehand
If you want to have the best Azerite items, you need a lot of Titan Residuum. In previous patches, large amounts of it could already be collected in advance to spend it with the release of the update. However, that is not the case this time.
Anyone who can, should spend their Titan Residuum now.
So: Spend your Titan Residuum now and buy the items you want. Later, this will no longer be possible.
5. Island Expeditions: Save your Doubloons
Even a year after the release of Battle for Azeroth, Island Expeditions are still a controversial feature. However, the developers have listened and already adjusted some things so that collecting transmog items, mounts, and toys will be easier in the future.
With Patch 8.3, it is possible to specifically purchase “Loot Boxes” for Doubloons. The boxes contain a selection of rewards from certain species that would otherwise be awarded at the end of an island. So, if someone wants the pirate parrot mount, they can spend their Doubloons on pirate loot boxes and possibly get it with a bit of luck.
A certain parrot is still missing from the collection …
If you want to flood the market with many transmog items, you should start hoarding Doubloons now to be able to spend them immediately upon the release of Patch 8.3.
6. Save resources to make big money
Unlike ordinary “end patches” of an expansion, Patch 8.3 Visions of N’Zoth comes without its own resources. This means that the current endgame resources, which were collected in Nazjatar, will still hold great significance in Patch 8.3. They are needed to craft equipment up to an item level of 470.
The demand for crafting materials such as Zin’anthid or Osmenite ore will surely rise, and in the first weeks, outrageous amounts will likely be required for them. So, if you want to make a little extra income, you should start accumulating these resources now to satisfy the large demand upon the patch launch.
7. Legendary transmogs are finally coming – get them now
After many years, Blizzard is loosening a rule that has bothered transmog fans. With Patch 8.3, it will be possible to use legendary weapons like Thunderfury, Thori’dal, or Val’anyr as a transmog template for your class.
Thunderfury – soon finally available as a permanent transmog.
Now is the perfect time to complete the legendary quests or visit old raids one more time to farm these legendary weapons.
Will you take some aspects of this list into consideration? Or what else will you do before Patch 8.3?
The time trial Grove Street in GTA Online rewards you with a lot of money if you beat the set time. In this guide, we show you how to win easily.
What is a time trial? Every Thursday, the public time trials on the map of GTA Online change. These are races that send you from A to B without checkpoints. If you complete it in the specified time, a generous cash reward awaits you.
The race Grove Street: In this race, Rockstar gives you a guideline of one minute and twenty seconds. If you manage to reach the finish line within that time, you will receive 101,000 GTA dollars. Ideally, you need just under a minute to grab the cash. You shouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Where does it start? The starting point is, as the name suggests, the famous Grove Street. Players who have played GTA San Andreas will remember this street. The character Carl “CJ” Johnson spoke the iconic lines there: “Grove Street, home. At least it was before I fucked everything up.”
The route: The route is easy to memorize. At the start, follow the road that the GPS indicates when you select the destination with the GPS marker on the map.
There are two easy shortcuts that you should take. The first is at this left turn, where you shortcut over the sidewalk.
The second shortcut is at this right turn, where you shortcut over the rails and the sidewalk.
Now continue to follow the street and try to drive as fast as possible until you are just before the finish. In the luxury neighborhood, where the road goes uphill, you should take your foot off the gas and possibly even brake to avoid losing control of your vehicle at the crest. We marked the area on the map with a red exclamation mark.
Once you reach the top, turn left twice more, and you will be at the finish. The time is quite generous and should be easily achievable if you don’t have an accident.
Video guide: If you still lack a few seconds to finish the race on time, the video from GTA-Series shows an alternative route:
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Can you repeat the race? Yes, you can race as often as you want. However, you only get 101,000 GTA dollars once per week for this time trial. After that, you will only receive 2,000 GTA dollars for finishing on time.
Which vehicles should you choose? Since this race measures time generously, you have a wide range of vehicles to choose from. In the test, we drove with the Nero Custom, the Tron bike “Shotaro“, and even a motorcycle parked in Grove Street by an NPC, reaching the finish on time.
In Destiny 2, since Season 9, you can level up Obelisks with Polarized Fractaline. We explain where you can obtain the resource and how you should ideally invest it.
These are Obelisks in Destiny: If you immediately think of the Egyptian-looking monuments when it comes to Obelisks, you are not entirely wrong. In Destiny 2, the constructs are just not made of stone, and they can do more than just look monumental.
The Obelisks are connected to the Sundial activity. In addition, they provide you with bounties, weapons, mods, and other amenities in the Season of Dawn. The higher you level one of the four Obelisks on the different planets, the more rewards await you.
However, the Obelisks do not level up with experience points like the Guardians do. Rather, you need to upgrade them using the resource “Polarized Fractaline”. By Rank 11, you will have unlocked all available perks and items for an Obelisk. After that, you can theoretically earn random rewards for every ascension, similar to the NPCs’ token system.
What lies behind Polarized Fractaline? Behind the highly scientific-sounding term Polarized Fractaline is simply the seasonal currency. The resource thus replaces the “Vex Components” from Season 8.
With Polarized Fractaline, you can shop at the Obelisks. For example, you obtain the bounties for time-lost weapon forms. This material is also used to level up the Obelisks. Each rank ascension costs the Obelisk 200 Polarized Fractaline.
This means you need 2200 units of the resource for the maximum level. In Destiny 2, there are four Obelisks that you can upgrade. So that’s 8800 if you want to bring all constructs to the highest level.
The Obelisk in the EDZ – leveled up to Rank 8
In plain language: You need a fair amount of Polarized Fractaline. We list the sources for the seasonal currency and then explain how you should proceed when leveling up the Obelisks.
Sources for Polarized Fractaline
General Play: You have a relatively low chance of receiving the new resource by completing a variety of activities. A Fractaline surprise can await you after a Crucible match or a round of Gambit.
The Sundial: In the seasonal PvE activity Sundial, you will definitely receive Polarized Fractaline. However, the amount is normally quite low. Per run, you get credited with 10 units of the required material.
Triumphs from Season 9: Check under the Triumphs tab to see what you can accomplish in the Season of Dawn. Some of the current Triumphs grant you the coveted resource upon completion. The amount to be obtained varies depending on the Triumph.
Here you can get 50 units of Polarized Fractaline
Reward from the Season Pass: If you take a look at the Seasons tab, you will also find Polarized Fractaline here. The material can be obtained from rank ascensions in the Season Pass. It is not too often present as a reward, but every little bit counts.
The weekly Obelisk bounties: At each of the four Obelisks, you can pick up and tackle weekly bounties. As a reward, you can expect a respectable 100 Fractaline each. There are two weekly bounties available for each Obelisk.
As objectives to complete, you will find general tasks like “Kill a certain number of enemies” or “Achieve X ability kills”. But gathering tasks and specific weapon requirements can also be part of it.
Saint-14 in the Tower: Since the legendary Titan has surprisingly landed in the Tower, you have another source for Polarized Fractaline. He offers you four fresh bounties each day. These reward you with a small supply of the resource.
The Tower Obelisk: The fifth Obelisk takes on a special role. Unlike the other monuments, you do not level this one up with Fractaline. Instead, it serves as a “Quality of Life” feature, making your daily life easier.
In addition to some unique weapons, like the shotgun Perfect Paradox, you can buy boosters here. This significantly increases your chances of randomly receiving Polarized Fractaline from completed activities. Per account, the booster can be purchased six times a week for 5000 Glimmer.
In our example, we connected the Obelisks from Nessus and the EDZ with the Tower.
With the Tower Obelisk, you can continue to access the bounties of the other Obelisks. To do this, you connect each planetary Obelisk with the hub in the Tower by creating a time-lost weapon.
However, you still need to travel to the individual Obelisks on the original planets to level them up and buy mods.
Which Obelisk should I level up?
Since you do not have unlimited amounts of Polarized Fractaline, you should choose wisely where to invest it. Here are some tips from PvE expert Datto for you. He is one of the most well-known Destiny streamers and has made a name for himself in the community with his guides.
Theoretically, you could accept and tackle every weekly bounty at all four Obelisks. You can do this for the greatest possible gain with all three characters. This way, you’d earn 2400 Fractaline. That amount is more than enough to fully level up one Obelisk.
However, completing 24 weekly Obelisk bounties is extremely time-consuming, and even Datto says that should not be your focus. Rather, you should upgrade the Monolith that fits your playstyle.
We present the focus of the four Obelisks next. Afterwards, there’s the general recommendation from Datto.
Datto (right) is probably the most well-known Destiny YouTuber. He has interviewed the developers at Bungie as a moderator.
This is what each Obelisk offers: Each of the Obelisks on the planets supports an activity in a special way:
Mars Obelisk – If you like to play a lot of PvP, invest your resources in the Obelisk on the red planet. At max level, the Obelisk grants you more rewards for completing the Sundial. You can now select one more powerful weapon.
Nessus Obelisk – If you want more Fractaline from the Sundial and the Menagerie, you should level this Obelisk. At Rank 11, you’ll receive a progress boost for time-lost bounties, completing them 25% faster.
Gambit Obelisk – The focus is on the Gambit mode. If you reach Rank 11 here, you increase the number of connections from the Obelisk to the Sundial by 1. This means that after a successful Sundial run, you have loot pools not from one Obelisk but from two.
EDZ Obelisk – The focus here is on Strikes. Early on, you will unlock the ability to gain more Fractaline from Vanguard activities. At the highest level, there is also a bonus for rewards from the Sundial. This Obelisk is currently bugged. Read here how to deal with the issues.
This is the strategy from the pro: If you don’t plan to play a specific mode extensively, the general tips from expert Datto could be interesting for you.
He analyzed that it is most efficient if you do the following:
Play Strikes, so you should first invest some resources in the EDZ Obelisk.
Additionally, take suitable weekly Obelisk bounties with you. You then complete these in the Strikes.
Ideally, also include daily bounties from Saint-14. This way, you hit two birds with one stone.
Furthermore, it’s very useful to aim for a mixture of the Nessus Obelisk (Rank 9) and the Mars Obelisk. This way, you can specifically hunt for a God-Roll of the new weapons in the Sundial.
In Osiris’ Sundial, you can find the cool weapons this season
You combine this with a reward from the Season Pass. At level 92, you will gain the ability for weapons from the Sundial to have an additional perk selection. This increases your chances of gaining the creative new perks.
A small tip from the expert: After completing the upgrades and grinding for weapons that are important to you, save excess Fractaline. Because according to the roadmap, a new activity called Empyrean Foundation is coming in February.
Datto expects that you will need to “donate” a considerable amount of Polarized Fractaline here. This assumption is supported by the emblem “Restorative Light”. You can already check this out in your collections.
Was the guide helpful? Which Obelisk are you leveling first? Let us know in the comments. If you’re faced with “An Impossible Task,” you’ll find a solution here:
The team Royal Never Give Up RNG wins the Demacia Cup 2019 of League of Legends. Superstar Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao is not participating, instead, one LoL player on the Midlane surprises, who previously could not convince.
What is the Demacia Cup 2019? The Demacia Cup is a winter tournament that featured 20 Chinese teams. The tournament took place from December 21 to December 29, 2019.
16 teams from the Demacia Cup have also played in the Lol Pro League (LPL 2019), the top league in China – 4 teams came from the 2nd league in China to the tournament.
Who won the final? In the final, Royal Never Give Up (RNG) faced EDward Gaming. The final can still be viewed on YouTube in English:
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Superstar Uzi is missing, Midlaner excites the audience
Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is especially known for its legendary ADC “Uzi”. For many, Uzi was long considered the “mechanically” best player in the world in League of Legends. He is regarded as the one who can best handle the mouse and keyboard, executing moves that require making the right clicks in the blink of an eye.
However, Uzi skipped the tournament to recover from an “old injury”. Instead of Uzi, his substitute Lu “Betty” Yu-Hung played, which surprised many at first.
A Midlaner shines at RNG, who was previously considered a weak point
What was the surprise? The midlaner Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao from RNG was heavily criticized upon returning from Worlds. Many believed that his playing style was poor and his overall performance was not good.
In the Demacia Cup, Xiaohu showed a completely different side. The Midlaner managed to secure several MVPs and demonstrated an overall strong performance. Here in the clip, Xiaohu manages a 1vs3 under the tower with Vladimir. He puts RNG ahead 2-0.
What do the viewers say? Many users on Reddit praise the decision to let Lu “Betty” Yu-Hung play instead of superstar Uzi. Some believe that this could be very promising for upcoming games. Many like Lu “Betty” Yu-Hung’s style.
User Faye_Dragon writes: “Betty played really well, albeit technically not as good as Uzi, and the RNG solo laners had more chances to showcase their performance.”
FakerBangMyWife is not so optimistic and replies: “Xiaohu played well today, but I don’t think he can compete long-term in a top league like Rookie and King Doinb.”
He is the star of RNG, Uzi.
The Koreans Rookie (Invictus Gaming) and Doinb (FunPlus Phoenix) are both star midlaners in the Chinese LPL league. The two teams are actually considered the strongest in China. However, they played hardly any role in the Demacia Cup 2019: Invictus Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix had entered with their academy teams while the main players took a break.
For Day 13 of the Winterfest 2019 in Fortnite you need to search ice chests. We will show you the locations of the coolers on the map and what rewards you get for the challenge.
What is the challenge? In Fortnite, the Celebration of Winterfest is currently running, which regularly unlocks new tasks for you. Today, on December 30th, the task starts that revolves around 2 coolers.
This task is not difficult, as you will find the ice boxes in several places. We will also show you a location where you can safely find 2 ice chests.
Fortnite: Locations of the Coolers
Locations on the map:
You will find the coolers at:
Sweaty Sands, on the roof of the highest building
At the gas station, east of Pleasant Park, near the blue bridge
Dirty Docks, in the large factory
Inn Schlotter, outside the ice building
Misty Meadows, on the right side of the town
Weeping Woods in the largest house
In the office of Logjam Lumberyard
Gas station, west of Holly Hedges
If you prefer to see the exact locations of the coolers in a video, you can do so here:
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What do the coolers look like? You will find the cool chests in various locations, and just like chests, you can search them.
This is what the ice boxes look like:
Coolers at Weeping Woods
If you want to complete the task particularly quickly, it is advisable to visit the ice chests at Weeping Woods.
There, you will find up to 3 coolers. All are located in the largest house and are spread across different rooms. However, you should be able to hear them well, as the sound differs from the normal chest.
In this house at Weeping Woods, you need to search:
What reward do you get for the challenge? Once you have searched 2 coolers, you will receive a reward for it. Today, the reward is a polar bear spray.
This is what the spray logo looks like:
What is currently happening in Fortnite? In Fortnite, the Winterfest event is currently running, where you can unlock a challenge at your Christmas stocking every day.
Additionally, you can open a gift daily at the Winter Lodge, which brings you rewards such as pickaxes, gliders, and skins. So check out the Winter Lodge and get your challenges and gifts!
New Year’s Eve is already around the corner, and likely an event is waiting for us in Fortnite:
