Soniqs' Esports' Top Plays, Prize Money from PUBG NPL 2019 Week 11
Sep 7, 2019
HONG KONG, HONG KONG - August 26, 2018: Audiences watch a match of Hong Kong PUBG World Invitatiobal at the ICBC (Asia) E-Sports & Music Festival Hong Kong on August 26, 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board)
After a few months of downtime, the top PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds teams in the North American PUBG League have finally resumed play with the start of the NPL’s Stage 3. It’s the last stage of the NPL and the final opportunity for North America’s top teams to lock down their spots in November’s PUBG Global Championship.
With $200,000 in prize pool money on the line this stage, as well as candidacy for the Global Championship and its $2 million prize pool, Stage 3 holds serious weight, and Week 11 showed some heavy lifting by eUNITED, Team Envy, Ghost Gaming, Endemic and, in particular, Soniqs Esports.
In a departure from the earlier stages, Stage 3’s schedule is streamlined and features six matches per day among the 16 teams. To the delights of Soniqs Esports and Ghost Gaming, Sanhok has also been added to this stage’s map pool.
The first ever match of Sanhok goes the way of @GhostGaming in a 10 kill Chicken Dinner!
The first winnie winnie chicken dinnie of the day went the way of eUNITED, who pulled off nine kills.
Keeping things consistent, Team Envy took Match 2’s chicken feast with another nine-kill win. Their four-man squad of PatKaps, Pride, Interrogate and Moody showed some steady, unfazed comms as they clinched the map against Soniqs Esports.
That's a win for @Envy as they wrap up Match 2 with a 9 kill Chicken Dinner!
Then came the dawn of Sanhok, as Ghost Gaming and Soniqs Esports won Matches 3 and 4 on the newly added map. Ghost heated things up, as Shrimzy, Vegas, Drassel and Miccoy totaled 10 kills—but Soniqs got toastier as they earned 11 kills for their first-ever chicken dinner in the NPL.
.@SoniqsEsports find themselves an 11 kill Chicken Dinner in the fourth match of the day!
In the penultimate match of the day, Rumblers GG played it low-key and snuck into the kitchen for some chicken dinner while only needing five kills along the way.
Any Rumblers?@RumblersGG pick up 5 kills and a Chicken Dinner in Match five! Just one more to go in the day!
Finally, in a definite contrast, Endemic Esports scooped a 20-kill, 30-point win in Match 6—nearly breaking the NPL’s single-game record of 22 kills. Although Soniqs' consistency still earned them the top of the leaderboards and a place atop the Phase 3 mountaintop with 36 kills and 58 points, Endemic’s performance notched them second place and 50 points.
.@endemicesports come out with a massive 20 kill Chicken Dinner in the final match of the day!
EUNITED (47 points), Genesis (45 points), Ghost Gaming (43 points), Team Envy (37 points), Lazarus (33 points) and Riot Squad (32 points) round out the top half of the NPL’s 16 teams after the first day of action.
Professional gamer Richard Tyler Blevins aka Ninja arrives on the red carpet for the Time 100 Gala at the Lincoln Center in New York on April 23, 2019. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)
Record-setting Fortnite streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins announced an endorsement contract with apparel company Adidas on his Mixer stream Tuesday afternoon.
Ninja, who recently switched from Twitch to Mixer, said on his stream he's been negotiating with Adidas for over a year, and the sides finally reached an agreement.
Adidas released a statement to Edgar Alvarez of Engadget, saying the deal with Ninja is meant to illustrate its commitment to "creators who show dedication to excelling in their field" and gaming culture as a whole. He becomes the brand's first gamer under contract.
In April, the 28-year-old Detroit native was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time.
"At the end of the day, Ninja is an absolute legend, and someone to whom we owe a lot for making gaming what it is today," Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wrote in Time.
He's accumulated more than 22 million YouTube subscribers, 14.7 million Instagram followers and 4.8 million Twitter followers.
"No shortcuts. Only long days. Never let anyone tell you that you can't catch your dreams," Ninja wrote on Twitter. "Choose your path. Put the TIME IN. I'm humbled, and excited, to officially announce my partnership with Adidas Originals."
Terms of his contract with Adidas were not immediately released.
The Cult of NCAA Football: How EA's CFB Series Has Lived on Despite Cancellation
Jul 30, 2019
More than 2,000 days ago, EA Sports released NCAA Football 14, the latest in a popular college football video game series that had an almost cult-like following as a result of nearly two decades of spirited design that brilliantly captured the personality of the sport.
At the time, in July of 2013, this felt like nothing more than another content-rich update. New rosters. New features. New animations. New subtleties that separated the game from Madden, EA's flagship football product.
But behind the scenes, there were vast concerns over the future of the game. And soon, those concerns were proven well-founded.
NCAA Football 14 is still the series' latest official release.
The demise of the NCAA Football franchise has been well-documented. Mounting lawsuits over player likeness and the way players weren't compensated for their appearance—specifically a class-action suit against the NCAA filed by former college basketball player Ed O'Bannon—led EA to cease future development. The company paid out $60 million to college football and basketball players who were featured in the game, according to CBS Sports.
Those who worked on the game lost their jobs. Some moved over to work on Madden, the franchise they had spent years trying to outperform.
"When NCAA was taken away, I think something left with me," says Eddie Dorsey, who joined the team in 2005 and worked on NCAA Football through 2013. "It's tough to find that level of passion that we had in producing features for a community that was just like us: diehard college football fans."
Although it has been more than six years since EA Sports published an NCAA Football game, the passion hasn't waned. Those who produced the game still feel an intimacy to their creation. And players, past and present, yearn for a resolution from the NCAA so the game can perhaps be produced again. A small but mighty subset of NCAA Football fanatics has even poured countless hours into bringing its own version of the game to life every year.
The systems NCAA Football 14 last existed on, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, are now outdated. Soon they will be two generations behind. But some gamers hang on to these now-ancient gaming devices for the sole purpose of playing the last version of the game.
Games are still sold at original resale price online, and, in some instances, higher. There's even a market for the final cover and box without the actual game included.
If anything, hope and curiosity that the franchise will be reborn has only blossomed in its absence. In the midst of a discussion that could rock the foundation of collegiate athletics, the heartbeat of NCAA Football beats louder than it ever has.
Tom Vuong wasn't sure what his life would look like in 10 years. But he knew that he loved college football—specifically the Florida Gators—and the thought of being involved with a game that could allow his passion to flourish was too intriguing to pass up.
At first, this meant making $7 an hour to test NCAA Football 2000. Still, the opportunity was a dream come true.
"I would have probably cleaned toilets if they had let me, just to get in the door to work on this game," says Vuong, who eventually rose to become a producer for the franchise. "That's the only thing I wanted to work on."
There were others like Vuong. Passionate people and college football fans who found their way to EA Tiburon, the EA division that produced the series.
At interviews for EA Tiburon, potential employees were asked about their favorite team. At corporate events, an individual was introduced by what they did and the team for which they rooted. Jerseys littered the office on Fridays. And in one version of the game, the credits tied employees to their college football team of choice.
"We went out of our way to hire people who were passionate about the game," says Dan Baker, who joined EA Sports as a tester and worked his way up to producer. "We wanted engineers who cared about football. And I felt that really showed in the product."
The existence of Madden, the most popular sports video game ever created, actually allowed NCAA Football to flourish in its shadow. In many ways, NCAA Football was a testing ground—a place that features could be added to determine if they would have a fit in the NFL product. If something was a success, Madden might incorporate it in future installments.
"The company's focus was on Madden," Baker says. "They just kind of let us work under the radar. We got to try things and be a little more creative than they could because there were so many eyes from corporate on everything Madden did. It was a little lab to just try things out, which was awesome. Most of the stuff we tried, we really nailed."
The freedom in the creation process can be seen in various installments of the game. Like the evolution of recruiting through a dynasty mode that was constantly pushing forward. At one point, the game introduced NCAA sanctions and even a disciplinary rating for players.
"You could get scholarships and bowl games taken away," Vuong says. "We even had our version of the death penalty, which would essentially take away everything from your program. I'm not sure if that would fly today. But back then, we were under the radar, and it was an awesome feature."
The mentality wasn't to replicate the success of Madden, nor was there pressure to match sales that ultimately dwarfed the NCAA Football series. This was more personal than that—a collection of professionals, most of whom were enormous fans of college football, trying to recreate the elements of the game that brought them together.
"We pretty much knew we were going to do one-third of the sales Madden did," Baker says. "But we wanted to create experiences that were unique. The cheerleaders. The mascots running around. Student sections. That's what we wanted to capture."
As college football's popularity grew, the interest in NCAA Football grew with it. At the same time, there was a growing sense that it could all eventually crumble.
While EA Sports had relationships with the NCAA and conferences to license its teams, the players who were captured through jersey numbers were not compensated for a likeness in skill and appearance that was undeniable.
"It was always a fine line," Baker says. "Everybody knew what we were doing, obviously, but that didn't exactly make it right. We finished NCAA 14 and then there was just a weird feeling in the studio. The pressure was mounting. EA had to do something about it. That's what it came down to."
At a Starbucks earlier this summer, Jared Zabransky met with some of his current customers. The former Boise State quarterback who architected the Broncos' historic 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl now works for DistributionNOW—a company specializing in energy.
The first topic to be explored had nothing to do with his current line of work. They didn't pepper him on his storied college career or his stops with the Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers and the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos.
"Man, what was it like?" they asked him. "What was it like to be on the cover of NCAA Football?"
Zabransky has become fluent in this discussion more than a decade later. In many ways, the popularity surrounding his selection as the cover athlete for NCAA Football 08—an honor he won overformer LSU quarterback and No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell—surpasses his greatest football accomplishments.
Jared Zabransky
"Looking back at it now, it's humbling to be a part of such a long list of great cover athletes," Zabransky says. "It is like a fraternity."
The first-ever cover athlete was former Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier, who graced the cover of College Football USA 97. Other notable cover stars include Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard, Ricky Williams, Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Bush and Tim Tebow.
Zabransky has held onto his PlayStation 3 to play the game he was featured in. His son, who just turned six, is beginning to understand what his father did and his existence in this virtual version of the world. A copy of the game's cover also hangs on a plaque in their home.
For being named the cover athlete, Zabransky was paid $52,000—a significant financial boost for an undrafted quarterback straight out of college. But the honor of being the face of a video game he played religiously growing up surpassed the compensation.
"It was an event," Zabransky says. "The whole locker room played. You had your game reserved weeks and months ahead of time to ensure you got a copy. In my opinion, it's the best sports game ever made. I think a lot of people would agree with me."
Those thoughts are echoed in locker rooms around the country. And while production on the game was ultimately halted due to concerns over the use of player likeness, current college football players still feel a connection to the game.
Like Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin's workhorse running back who has accumulated more rushing yards through his sophomore season than any player in history. Taylor grew up hoping to one day see his number on one of the rosters.
"Everybody played NCAA," Taylor says. "You get excited because you hear rumors it's coming back, and then it doesn't. You grow up, and you say, 'I can't wait to play as myself on the game.' Without a doubt, I'd love to see this game come back."
Tua Tagovailoa, perhaps the face of the sport heading into his junior season at Alabama, also logged many hours playing the game growing up.
Over the past year, the Alabama quarterback has been featured prominently on photoshopped covers of NCAA Football that fans and media outlets have produced to celebrate the anniversary of what used to be its typical release.
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after the win over the Oklahoma Sooners during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Fl
"I definitely would like to play that game again," Tagovailoa says. "That would be a lot of fun. I would love to see NCAA Football come back."
His name is vikesfan059. That's not his real name—just a forum alias that has become almost royalty in his online world.
For the purposes of this story, vikesfan059 is adamant about remaining anonymous. "Just a matter of personal preference," he says in one of a handful of emails exchanged.
One could argue that no one over the past five years has done more to keep the NCAA Football franchise alive than him.
Vikesfan059 says he became obsessed with the franchise during NCAA Football 08. Before then, he was never really much into college football. From there, he played the game religiously until EA stopped making it.
At the time, a void was left in a community that had grown accustomed to new rosters and yearly gameplay advances. While much of the gaming world moved onto other sports titles and next-generation gaming systems, there was still an appetite for college football fans in search of more.
To satisfy this demand, vikesfan059 and others who frequent Operation Sports, a website and forum dedicated to sports games, began producing rosters. These "editors," as vikesfan059 refers to them, provide updated rosters for certain teams every year.
While most editors don't return for multiple years, vikesfan059 is an exception. He began producing free, updated rosters for PlayStation 3 users the year after the franchise suspended development. He has created and updated rosters ever since.
"We are all equal members of the project," he adds. "There isn't an official 'leader.'"
The rules of the forum and editing process are as follows:
Editors will claim teams they are interested in.
Every new editor we bring on automatically gets their favorite team, unless it's already a favorite team of another editor.
Editors are free to claim any team not claimed by another editor.
Editors who edited a team the year before are given the first choice on if they want to renew or drop their claim.
Editors are not allowed to touch other teams they do not have a claim on without permission.
Each editor has a different process when it comes to roster creation. Vikesfan059 begins his by collecting information: practice reports, previews and news articles written throughout the year to help him establish a depth chart of a given program.
"Since the game only allows 69 players per team, I then start cutting down my notes to get below the limit," he adds. "I have to balance strict depth-chart accuracy with roster balance. Once I've chosen the 69 players that make the cut, I then find information to set the specific attributes, which includes speed, acceleration, agility and strength. The last step is then to adjust their overall rating."
Ratings, numbers and names—even the names of coaches—all go through a robust re-creation process each year. Members of the forum created a program that allows editors to manipulate rosters on their computers, an alteration that has saved time and provided flexibility during the process.
Typically, new rosters debut around Week 1 of the college football season—though this does largely depend on the editors' schedules. They have lives outside of Operation Sports. Families. Friends. Jobs. But this task has become a significant part of their summers and falls.
As for the amount of time vikesfan059 has spent assembling rosters over the past five years, he struggles to put a figure on something that has become a way of life. He also couldn't see himself doing anything else—at least until the game returns.
"I've spent too much time on this," he says. "But working with such a great team, it's hard to get burned out. I plan on doing this for the foreseeable future as long as we have a full team."
The images and videos are striking. College football captured and displayed on a video game through pixelated brilliance—a kind of graphical leap that was never possible six years ago.
For those who have yearned for the return of the NCAA Football franchise, seeing Clemson and Texas compete in high definition is almost too good to be true. And in a way, it is.
Over the coming weeks, millions of gamers will play as one of 10 college football programs in Madden NFL 20. The teams that agreed to license their individual logos and looks, a separate relationship from the NCAA, are Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas Tech and USC.
Users will be able to select their university at the start of a new game mode, Face of the Franchise: QB1. Players will then guide their quarterback through the College Football Playoff and National Championship Game—licenses that have also made their way into the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbRy7lZuUNI
For at least a few hours, players will enjoy a modernized college football gaming experience—a recruiting-less, feature-less sample of the game they loved and the potential joys ahead. It is a tease for long-time fans of the franchise, but it is a glorious tease.
EA Sports has remained mum on the future of NCAA Football and chose not to comment for this story. In some ways, its decision to bring back the franchise rests largely in the hands of the NCAA and the future of amateurism in athletics.
Earlier this year, the NCAA announced it had created a committee that will examine player likeness. Specifically, it will assess whether college athletes should be allowed to be paid through various avenues, one of which could ultimately be a college football video game.
Currently, college football players are not permitted to profit off their name, appearance and celebrity status. Given the groundswell of support this movement has received, change could be coming soon.
Such a decision could drastically alter the future of NCAA Football, providing an outlet for athletes to be compensated for their appearance while creating a more realistic and immersive product.
The possibilities are wildly intriguing, and the thought of the game's return has become a social movement. Each year, the cries for a return grow louder. Stronger. More defined.
The servers are still active, allowing players to continue to enjoy the product with rosters of their choosing. New rosters are being worked on at this very moment by those who refuse to let this game die.
A resolution with the NCAA inches closer, so many hope. All the while, we move further away from NCAA Football 14. The future is unknown at this point, but the game, despite its absence, has never felt more alive.
Adam Kramer covers college football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KegsnEggs.
Zinedine Zidane Revealed as FIFA 20 Ultimate Edition Cover Star
Jul 30, 2019
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane will star on the cover of FIFA 20's Ultimate Edition when the game launches on September 27, EA Sports have announced.
The news follows the announcements of new Real Madrid arrival Eden Hazard and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as the cover stars of the Standard Edition and Champions Edition, respectively:
The one, the only, Zizou 🤩 🙌 On the cover of the #FIFA20 Ultimate Edition and in #FUT20 as an ICON 💪
Zidane will be the first manager to star on the cover of a FIFA game, though past stars such as Ryan Giggs and Patrick Vieira have since gone into coaching after hanging up their boots.
The 47-year-old will also be playable for the first time since he retired from playing in 2006.
He'll appear as a FUT 20 Icon, having been the most requested footballing legend to appear in the Ultimate Team mode.
Other Icons announced for this year's edition of the game are Andrea Pirlo, Ian Wright, Didier Drogba and Ronald Koeman.
Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 Prize Money, Twitch Live Stream and More
Jul 25, 2019
People play the game 'Fortnite' at the 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3, opening in Los Angeles, California on June 11, 2019. - Gaming fans and developers gather, connecting thousands of the brightest, best and most innovative in the interactive entertainment industry and a chance for many to preview new games. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
After months of competition between 40 million players, the Fortnite World Cup Finals are finally here. The prize pool is obnoxious, the schedule is packed and the players are all ready for years of building forts and flossing on opponents to finally, literally, pay off.
The weekend, set in New York City, features the World Cup Finals Solo and Duo tournaments, a World Cup Creative tournament, a Pro-Am and the Fortnite Fan Festival. After already paying out $10 million during the World Cup Qualifiers, a grand total of $30 million is on the line during the Finals.
All qualified players will win a minimum of $50,000, but the top five winners in the Solo and Duo tournaments will each leave New York with serious cheddar. Of the 100 Solo players, the top five will earn a grand total of $7.95 million, with $3 million going to whoever wins first place. Of the 50 Duos, the top five teams will earn a cumulative $9.4 million, with $3 million to first place.
Friday will feature the World Cup Creative and Pro-Am tournaments, each running for a $3 million prize pool as well as immense bragging rights. The Creative tournament will feature eight teams of four competing in various Fortnite Creative games. Of the global teams, the most popular is probably Ninja's Chicken Champions.
The Pro-Am is also pretty stacked. Featuring musicians such as RL Grime and Marshmello, streamers like TimTheTatman and Nickmercs, and even NBA players like former Orlando Magic teammates Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja, the competition is sure to get pretty spicy.
Nothing could be spicier than the World Cup Finals, though. With players ranging from the former FaZe Clan member and most-watched Twitch streamer, Tfue, to a 14-year-old named yung calculator, no one has any idea what to expect.
Joining Tfue as one of the most popular players to qualify—New Jersey's Vivid is looking to add to the $290,000 he has already earned in winnings.
With so much money and pride to be built, glided and sniped over by such a wide array of competitors, the Fortnite World Cup Finals is primed to be must-watch entertainment.
If you couldn't get a ticket to New York, all of the matches will be streamed live by Epic Games on Fortnite's YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as in the game client itself.
Look: Fortnite Adds John Wick Skin for John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum Release
May 16, 2019
John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum is set for nationwide release in theaters Friday, and Fortnite Battle Royale is celebrating the occasion by adding an official John Wick skin to the popular video game.
Here's a look at the entire set, based on the movie trilogy, added to the item shop Thursday—which also includes a back bling, pickaxe and weapon wrap:
Along with the skin, Fortnite also created a new limited time mode called Wick's Bounty that will allow players who purchase the set to complete challenges to earn additional items.
Epic Games released a trailer for the LTM:
In Season 3, the tier-100 reward for the battle pass featured a skin called The Reaper, which bore a striking resemblance to the Keanu Reeves character. It was informally referred to as John Wick by Twitch streamers and casual gamers alike.
Now, as Fortnite moves through its ninth season, the game has officially welcomed Wick to a group of special skins, which also includes Avengers characters and NFL uniforms for all 32 teams. Wick's house was also added to the map at the start of the season outside Paradise Palms.
The partnerships with such major global brands highlight the extraordinary impact Fortnite has made in a relatively short period by video game standards. The battle royale game mode was released in September 2017 and was nearing 250 million registered players in March.
Gamers can find the John Wick skin in the Fortnite item shop for 2,000 V-Bucks, the equivalent of $20.
Video: Fortnite Season 9 Trailer with New Map, Pump Vaulted and More Patch Notes
May 9, 2019
TOPSHOT - Online game
Fortnite Battle Royale started Season 9 on Thursday morning with the arrival of Neo Tilted, Mega Mall and Pressure Plant on the popular video game's revitalized map.
Epic Games announced a wide variety of changes in its latest patch notes, highlighted by the surprising decision to vault the long-tenured pump shotgun.
Here's a look at the trailer for the new Fortnite season:
Clingers, buried treasure, the poison dart trap, the scoped revolver, the suppressed assault rifle, the thermal assault rifle and balloons were also removed from standard game modes on Thursday. Grenades were the only item un-vaulted in the patch.
Meanwhile, the newly created semi-automatic combat shotgun was added in place of the pump—but it doesn't deal nearly as much damage per shot.
The new Shotgun is awful and I don't want to hear anything different.
The combat shotgun is available in rare, epic and legendary versions with the latter providing maximum damage with a 138 headshot. The tactical shotgun remains in the game and received a buff, but the max hit is still well below full health with a 158 headshot. The gold pump's highest possible damage per shot was 232.
Now, the snipers (heavy sniper, suppressed sniper rifle and hunting rifle) are the only weapons in the game that can eliminate a full-shielded opponent with one bullet.
The drum gun and the boom bow, arguably the two most overpowered weapons available, had their spawn rates significantly reduced to open Season 9.
Possibly intended to combat the possibility of camp-happy snipers or inspired by Apex Legends' mobility, movement around the map also received a boost.
Slipstreams were created, allowing players to jump into a wind tunnel for more mobility throughout named locations and around the map in general. Air vents, which returned to the game last season, were modified to match the new aesthetics for a vertical boost.
Lmao if you use a baller inside a slipstream, it just carries you around through it. You can literally just chill or go out and grab a cup of coffee while it takes you through it all.
Ultimately, those Fortnite players waiting for a completely fresh map didn't get their wish—perhaps the dream will come to fruition to start the milestone 10th season—and taking out the pump shotgun will likely cause a ruckus within the competitive community.
Epic Games has showed it will do everything in its power to give casual players an opportunity to compete. Removing the pump, which was most dangerous in the hands of high-skill gamers with good accuracy, and bringing back the drum gun, a powerful spray weapon, is the latest example.
Now the question is how Thursday's widespread changes will impact the meta in both public lobbies and competitive matches for Season 9.
Respawn Addresses Apex Legends Leaks and Fortnite's New Patch Arrives
Mar 12, 2019
Welcome to the Daily Drop, where we'll break down some of the biggest news in gaming.
Apex Legends rumors have hit a new peak, causing Respawn Entertainment to finally address the community's hype, while Fortnite releases its first new update of Season 8.
Respawn Comments on Recent Apex Legends Leaks
It's been a wild few weeks for Apex Legends rumors and leaks, and Respawn has finally commented on the situation.
As fans eagerly anticipate the game's first content update since release, Respawn is asking fans to be patient. In the past few weeks, various leaks have been datamined by the Apex Legends community, including the anticipated new champion and a potentially leaked future roster. The rumors peaked when fans saw a new banner when logging on to play the game on Tuesday, showcasing the previously datamined artwork for Octane and new details about the Battle Pass.
With fans expecting an imminent release, Respawn took to Reddit to clarify the situation: Battle Pass and new champion details were coming "very soon," but not on Tuesday.
Furthermore, Respawn commented on the nature of datamining and drawing definite conclusions based on what is found in the game's files. Respawn insisted that finding new, unannounced content is by no means a confirmation of future plans, noting that oftentimes the content is old or stuff the company was testing and decided to cut.
Fortnite's First Major Season 8 Patch Drops
Time to roll out! Downtime has ended. Hop in and try out the newest vehicle, The Baller! pic.twitter.com/Cc3C3hXcnK
Epic released Patch 8.10 today, the first big patch since Season 8 began.
The highlight of the patch is Fortnite's newest vehicle, the Baller—a single-seat vehicle that has a Grappler attached to it. They can be found at any Expedition Outpost and at pirate camp loot stashes.
Additionally, Epic has decided to combine the Xbox One and PS4 pools, making crossplay for consoles default. Players will now be grouped into the same matchmaking pool regardless of what console they're playing on. Epic made the same player pool changes for mobile and Switch as well.
Among the gameplay changes, Epic tweaked how vending machines work in Fortnite. The machines no longer have a material cost associated with them, but will be destroyed after a player uses them to get an item. Epic also made adjustments to the Clinger's stack size, removed the Infantry Rifle's common rarity and reduced the Heavy Assault Rifle's rarity damage scaling.
Fortnite 8.1 Patch Notes with Baller Vehicle, Health Animations, More Changes
Mar 12, 2019
TOPSHOT - Online game 'Fortnite' enthusiasts attend the ESL Katowice Royale Featuring Fortnite Tournament during the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2019 event in Katowice on March 3, 2019. - World's top gamers vie for $500,000 in prizes at Fortnite International video game tournament. (Photo by BARTOSZ SIEDLIK / AFP) (Photo credit should read BARTOSZ SIEDLIK/AFP/Getty Images)
Fortnite Battle Royale received its first major update of Season 8 on Tuesday with the arrival of a new vehicle named The Baller to help players navigate the map in a unique way.
Changing the way vending machines operate, reducing the rarity and power of the heavy assault rifle and creating new animations when using health-based items are among the other highlights from the version 8.10 patch notes released by Epic Games.
A new vehicle doesn't come as a surprise, with the need for additional movement mechanics created by the removal of planes and most of the rifts following Season 7.
The Baller has the look of a hamster wheel with a grappler on the front, which allows for change of direction. The driver is immune to damage while inside the ball, which has 300 health that must be taken off to destroy its protective cover.
How a character acts while using the various health items—bandages, medkits, small shields, large shield, slurps and chug jugs—has remained mostly stagnant through the popular video game's history.
That changed Tuesday with new animations, though the consumables themselves still provide the same healing power they have in the past.
Vending machines had become an essential aspect of competitive play, with the ability to purchase multiple key items such as rift-to-gos, shields and high-end weapons. While it's still possible, players lucky enough to find machines won't be able to stack those essentials.
Now once a single item is taken out of the machine—the material cost has been removed—it gets destroyed. It will force some tough decisions and also eliminate the massive advantage of landing on a gold or purple vending machine, getting the safe zone and using it with no restrictions.
The heavy assault rifle had emerged as the top AR selection among most pro players and streamers because of its ability to hit for head shots in the 90s. The gun should be a little more balanced by reducing its power, with a rarest version now hitting for damages of 40 base and 80 head shot.
Other weapon changes include removing the grey infantry rifle, decreasing the number of clingers a player can carry to six and a multitude of modifications to the pirate cannon, an addition at the start of the season, to make it operate smoother.
Meanwhile, Fortnite is looking into ping issues potentially created by the new patch:
We are aware that some players are experiencing higher pings following the release of patch v8.10. We are investigating.
Events added include the return of The Getaway limited time mode, new gauntlet solo and duo tournaments as well as the Scallywag Duos Cup on March 16 and 17, which will include $100,000 in prizes available across all regions, with qualification based on performance in the gauntlet tourneys.
Apex Legends' New Champion and Google Console Coming?
Mar 11, 2019
Welcome to the Daily Drop, where we'll break down some of the biggest news in gaming.
Apex Legends' new champion rumors are intensifying, while a recently published patent from Google has people talking about the tech giant's entry into the console space.
New Apex Legends Champion Expected Tomorrow
Respawn Entertainment is expected to announce the first Apex Legends Battle Pass on Tuesday, and with it, the game's rumored new champion, Octane.
The history of Octane rumors is a long one. Data miners first found his name (along with another rumored champion, Wattson) and his stimpack ability in patch files. Following that, myriad leaks followed, including images, models and Octane's full ability kit.
Obviously, none of these rumors have been further substantiated, but Respawn did note upon Apex Legends' release that the Season 1 Battle Pass would drop sometime in March. Here's to hoping that meant Tuesday.
Google has been teasing a major announcement at this year's Games Developers Conference (GDC), and it might be a console. According to recent patent filings, Google has plans for a possible game controller.
There's been speculation that Google was diving into a game-streaming service or a console device for a while, with the company having experience in cloud-based gaming. In October, Google created "Project Stream" that allowed people to play Assassin's Creed Odyssey in their Chrome web browser.
Whatever it is Google is planning, GDC starts March 18, so we can expect to see if these rumors come to fruition then.
Shroud Passes 100K Twitch Subscribers
SAN JOSE, CA - OCTOBER 27: Michael 'Shroud' Grzesiek stands onstage prior to the Doritos Bowl 2018 at TwitchCon 2018 in the San Jose Convention Center on October 27, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek has finally taken his throne as the king of Twitch.
The popular Twitch streamer recently passed another huge milestone on Twitch, breaking 100,000 subscribers last Sunday.
It's reasonable to believe that the variety streamer enjoys the same subscription breakdown as other popular streamers like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, where they receive 70 percent of the basic $5 Twitch subscription. If that's true, the new subscriber total would put Shroud at an astonishing $350,000 a month.
Shroud has been on the platform for years, streaming on Twitch before he became a CS:GO pro in 2014. After retiring from professional play in 2017, Shroud focused on his streaming career enjoying a steady climb to the Twitch throne.
