Overwatch 2 is changing up its usual Quick Play rules with Quicker Play, a limited-edition game mode that features faster captures speeds, payloads, and respawn times. The mode will run from January 12-14, after which Quick Play matchmaking will return.

As for what changes players can expect, much of it boils down to faster gameplay. Respawn times will be set to 75% of their original time, while payloads will move 60% faster. Taking control of the objective point in both Hybrid and Control will be 40% faster, while Flashpoint will be 20% faster. A list of all changes can be found below:

Quicker Play changes

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Ubisoft's Metroidvania platformer Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown currently has a character that's being voiced by a text-to-speech (TTS). And no one seems to know why.

Thanks to an IGN report, we know that an in-game character named Kalux was voiced using TTS, a popular program amongst steamers. In a video posted by IGN, you can hear the voice for yourself whenever the main character travels anywhere on the map.

When Side UK, the production studio, was asked about who's responsible for the usage of the TTS voicing a character, the studio had this to say:

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One of our most-anticipated games of 2024, Pacific Drive, launches on February 22, and PC players can preorder the indie survival game for just $21.59 at Green Man Gaming. That's almost 30% off the normal $30 price.

Preorder at Green Man Gaming

To get the full discount, you need to join the free GMG XP rewards program. Pacific Drive costs $27 for non-members, which is still cheaper than the full $30 price tag, but since GMG XP is free to join, there's no reason to miss out on the better deal. GMG XP members earn points on all game purchases, which can be cashed in for additional coupons and other offers. Members also get exclusive discounts like this Pacific Drive preorder deal. Keys purchases from Green Man Gaming unlock via Steam.

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Preorder Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sweep the Board!

$60

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Demon Slayer fans can team up to hunt demons and master mini-games when Sega's upcoming Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sweep the Board! launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on April 26. The game features the characters and setting of the hit anime/manga series and gameplay similar to the Mario Party series, but with distinct Demon Slayer twists.

Players control Demon Slayer characters like Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and the nine Hashira, as they roll dice and explore unique gameboards based on iconic locations from the series. Each board features a day and night cycle--during the day, you'll compete in mini-games to prepare for nighttime battles against demons where you swing the Joy-Con controllers for motion-based attacks.

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As the first new entry in the franchise in over a decade, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is receiving quite the royal welcome from critics. The game moves away from the 3D action-adventure genre and instead offers a metroidvania experience.

The transition seems like the right one, because Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has a metascore of 86 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic. That favorable rating comes from 59 critic reviews at the time of this article's publication.

GameSpot writer Steve Watts states that the series has "found its new home" as a metroidvania in his review. He adds: "This new genre debut is so confident and impeccably crafted that this should simply be the identity of Prince of Persia for the foreseeable future." Watts wasn't alone either, as other reviewers highlighted how well the game nails the metroidvania feel. In fact, there's a Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown feature that other metroidvania games should steal going forward.

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The Dark Tower is Stephen King's longest and most iconic series. The dark fantasy epic is comprised of eight books, starting with 1982's The Gunslinger and finally coming to an end with 2004's The Dark Tower. The series garnered critical praise and earned the author legions of new fans. Over the course of 4,700-plus pages, The Dark Tower deftly blends fantasy, science fiction, and western genres to tell the story of the last gunslinger Roland Deschain's quest to find the eponymous Dark Tower.

As you’d expect from King, it’s an utterly thrilling adventure, and one that any fan of his work should check out. If you haven't read the series (or just want to add it to your bookshelf), you can snag The Dark Tower 8-Book Boxed Set for just $87, which is close to 50% off its list price.

The Dark Tower 8-Book Boxed Set $87 (was $161)

The Dark Tower series spans eight books that together eclipse 4,700 pages (page count of the series varies based on edition/format). This trade paperback set includes all eight adventures:

• The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
• The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
• The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
• The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
• The Dark Tower 4.5: The Wind Through the Keyhole
• The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
• The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
• The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower

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Along with the books, you’ll get a collectible case to keep them safe on your bookshelf.

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Discord CEO Jason Citron has announced the company is laying off 17% of its staff. According to Citron, the decision was made after it became "increasingly clear" the company needed to "sharpen our focus" and "bring more agility to our organization." The layoffs will impact approximately 170 employees.

As reported by The Verge, Citron made the announcement earlier today in an employee all-hands meeting as well as an internal memo. Citron reportedly told employees that the "difficult decision" is part of Discord's effort to re-stabilize after the company over-expanded. Since 2020, the company has grown five times larger, yet The Verge states the company has "yet to become profitable and is still trying to revive user growth after a surge during the pandemic."

This round of layoffs will impact every department of the company and is the largest to date. It is also the second round of layoffs in less than half a year, as Discord let go 4% of its staff just last August.

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown marks a bold reinvention for the series as a modern, AAA metroidvania. As the series' first attempt at the genre, it packs some smart new ideas, including some that other exploration-based games should learn from. Chief among these is Memory Shards, an elegantly simple idea that could (and should) be a game-changer for the genre.

In the Lost Crown, Memory Shards are a limited but reusable resource that assigns a single button press to taking a screenshot and pinning it to your map. Those who have played metroidvania games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Metroid Dread know that a core part of the genre revolves around unlocking new abilities and then going back to previously explored areas to reach places you couldn't before. Memory Shards are an easy, intuitive way to keep track of doors you can't unlock and chasms you can't cross yet. And since it's stored as a screenshot, you can view the exact obstacle without any guesswork or unnecessary backtracking.

After you've gone back to re-explore an area marked with a Memory Shard, you can clear it from your map and get that back to mark another spot. You start with 10 Memory Shards but expand your inventory of them as you progress through the campaign. In my experience with the review, I always had at least a few spares, so the game seems to want you to have a healthy stock of shards at any time.

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The long-awaited sequel to Team Cherry's beloved debut title, Hollow Knight, is almost as mysterious today as it was when it was first announced. Team Cherry has kept details concerning Hollow Knight Silksong close to the chest, teasing enemy designs and musical scores, but remaining coy on almost everything else. Below, we go over everything we know about Hollow Knight Silksong right now.

Silksong sees you play as Hornet, a fan-favorite character in the Hollow Knight community. A princess born out of wedlock as part of a magical pact, Hornet is both the daughter of the god-like ruler of Hallownest, the Pale King, and the spider queen of Deepnest, Herrah the Beast. Utilizing a needle and thread, Hornet regularly appears throughout the first Hollow Knight, first as a boss and later as an ally. Silksong will be the fans' first chance to play as her.

Release date

Silksong was originally penned for the first half of 2023. However, in May 2023, Team Cherry marketing and publishing representative Matthew Griffin announced that development was "still continuing" and that the game would be delayed. No new release date or launch window has since been revealed, so we can only hope that 2024 is finally the year we get to play Silksong.

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From Radio Silence--the directing duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the team behind horror hits Ready or Not, 2022’s Scream, and last year's Scream V--comes a brand-new twist for the vampire genre. Here comes Abigail.

Written by Stephen Shields (The Hole in the Ground, Zombie Bashers) and Guy Busick (Scream franchise, Ready or Not), the film centers around a group of would-be criminals who think they're kidnapping just a 12-year-old daughter of a powerful underworld figure. The payoff seems simple enough: all they have to do is watch the girl overnight and $50 million is theirs. There's just one catch, Abigail is more horrifying than they could imagine.

The film stars Melissa Barrera (who was recently fired from the Scream franchise), Dan Stevens (Gaslit, Legion), Kathryn Newton (Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Freaky), William Catlett (Black Lightning, True Story), Kevin Durand (Resident Evil: Retribution, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Angus Cloud (Euphoria, North Hollywood). Up-and-comer Alisha Weir (Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, Darklands) makes a monstrous turn as the titular Abigail.

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Actor Jason Momoa believes he is a "dirtbag," but he's not putting himself down by characterizing himself that way. He told The Hollywood Reporter that, in his world, the word "dirtbag" means someone who enjoys rockclimbing, getting into nature, and going on adventures.

"I used to live out of my car, carry my world and my rucksack. So, from the climber's point of view, a dirtbag is just someone who's really in nature, who’s constantly on the road," Momoa said as part of a promotional interview for his new travel show On The Roam.

"A dirtbag doesn't mean a dirt-ball or a shit-bag or a f**king filthy person. It just means that I am living in the dirt. Life made simple," he added.

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The Sims franchise has consistently been one of the most progressive in games. The first entry in the series, The Sims, was among the first video games to ever present same-sex relationships--particularly in a way in which players would play an active role within them. In recent years, The Sims 4 has repeatedly made headlines for its free updates which have included robust gender customization, a greater variety of skin tones, and most recently, the ability to give your sims fully customizable pronouns. However, just as important as large-scale, progressive updates, is the company's dedication to ensuring authenticity throughout the game.

The latest The Sims expansion, For Rent, is no exception. Though its title might sound a bit removed from any one culture, the expansion's accompanying neighborhood of Tomarang draws inspiration from Southeast Asian cities. To help create its bustling night markets and form a meaningful connection between the pack's contents and the culture it seeks to represent, the Sims team brought on musician and activist Jason Chu. GameSpot got the chance to speak with Chu about his work on the pack and how his musical background, world travels, and passion for merging entertainment with authenticity came together to elevate For Rent.

GameSpot: What led to you working with the Sims team on the For Rent expansion? What was the process like?

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In the wake of Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Prince Adam finds himself having to choose between being a king and a champion as his father King Randor falls ill and dies. As He-Man he will face a new foe in Hordak, and his evil Horde Empire.

Netflix's first Masters of the Universe series, Revelation, was intended as a continuation of the original Masters of the Universe show's continuity. Kevin Smith worked with Mattel on the series that included originally planned stories such as Teela finding out her true heritage as the Sorceress' daughter and the inclusion of the underworld ruled by Scare Glow. Check out the new footage below.

Hardcore MOTU fans will catch quick glimpses of more deep-cut favorites like Rio Blast, Extendar, and even the great dragon Granamyr, who will be voiced by Star Trek's John De Lancie. Meg Foster, who played the live-action Evil-Lyn for Cannon Films' Masters of the Universe movie returns, as the voice of Motherboard, a villain we only briefly during Revelation.

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After seven years on the market, 130 million systems, and more than 1 billion games sold, it looks like 2024 could be the year that Nintendo announces a follow-up to the Switch.

In this post, we're rounding up everything we know, and what's been speculated, about the next system from Nintendo. It covers the system's potential form factor, release date, price, launch games, backward compatibility, and more. For simplicity's sake, we'll refer to the new system as the Switch 2, although it seems likely that, based on Nintendo's history, it will have some kind of new, original name for the console.

What is it?

One of the biggest unknowns about the next piece of Nintendo hardware is what exactly it will be. Former Nintendo employees have predicted it will have a similar form factor to the Switch and that it can be used as a handheld device and also dock to your TV like the existing model does. Nintendo, for its part, has said nothing at all about what to expect from its next system, apart from how the aim is for it to "surprise and delight" fans, so we only have predictions and guesses to go on for now.

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HBO's The Last of Us has found its Dina, with Isabela Merced joining Season 2 of the hit Emmy-award-winning series. She is now the third new cast member announced this past week, joining Kaitlyn Dever as Abby and Netflix's Beef star Young Mazino as Jesse.

Merced has starred in several films in recent years such as Instant Family with Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne and the Father of the Bride remake at HBO. She also has several high-profile film roles including playing Hawkgirl in James Gunn's Superman: Legacy and Sony's Madame Web.

We can't wait to see Isabela Merced's portrayal of Dina in @TheLastOfUsHBO Season 2! ❤️ https://t.co/Iqz10g0urU

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) January 11, 2024

In Last of Us Part II, Dina is Ellie's girlfriend and assists her in her quest for revenge against Abby. She, Ellie, and Jesse find themselves in a love triangle that tests all three's relationship and eventually is the cornerstone of Ellie's journey.

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Sony's upcoming Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web attracted attention late last year with a particularly memorable line in one of its trailers, but something that was missing from that trailer was a full look at the titular character in costume. Now, we've gotten just that, albeit probably not in the way Sony intended, thanks to a delicious Ocean Spray® product.

As shared in a Discord server and relayed on the Marvel Spoilers subreddit, we've gotten our best look at yet at what Madame Web will look like in her full superhero suit. That's due to an apparent crossover with Ocean Spray, whose story started in 1930. Check it out below.

New look at Madame Web's suit in Sony Pictures' Madame Web from a Ocean Spray product
by u/Matapple13 in MarvelStudiosSpoilers

The image shows Dakota Johnson, who plays Cassandra Webb--better known as the titular Madame Web--in a relatively simplistic red outfit adorned with spider webs. There are no added sugars, as is also the case with Ocean Spray's 100% juices.

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A new update arrived to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone on January 11, which finally nerfs the powerful MTZ Interceptor marksman rifle. The patch notes also include updates to spawns on various multiplayer maps and a fix for bugged camo challenges.

The MTZ Interceptor has dominated Warzone since the start of Season 1, but the new update finally offers some balance for the overpowered marksman rifle. A nerf reduces the weapon's maximum damage from 95 down to 85, and the minimum damage is lowered from 84 to 78.

An adjustment is also made for the Snake Shot ammunition in Warzone. The damage per pellet at maximum range is drastically reduced from 34 to 12. In addition to these changes, the developer notes that more weapon balancing will arrive for battle royale with the Season 1 Reloaded update on January 17.

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's full release is right around the corner, but a free demo of Ubisoft Montpellier's new metroidvania is playable now.

Described as a "custom" demo by Ubisoft, it includes "carefully selected" sections from throughout the game. It also features early unlocks of time powers and amulets in order to show off Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's main gameplay features without spoiling its story, which sees the game's protagonist, Sargon, attempting to rescue the titular Prince of Persia as time itself begins to unravel and monstrous foes appear. Since the demo jumps between different sections of the game, progress made in the demo will not carry over to the full game.

The demo is available to download on nearly every platform Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will be released on: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via the Epic Games Store or Ubisoft Store. The demo is not, however, available on Amazon Luna, where players will have to wait a little longer to play Ubisoft's latest. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will release on all the platforms mentioned above on January 18, with those who purchase the deluxe edition or subscribe to Ubisoft+ able to play early starting on January 15. Preordering the game will unlock a skin for Sargon inspired by the Prince's look in 2004's Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

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CES 2024 has been all about AI, from the companies introducing new implementations of the technology to other less favorable headlines. Altec Lansing, for example, revealed the return of GameShark--a brand of cheat cartridges and discs from the 1990s--as AI Shark, but in doing so might have spilled the release date for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Per DigitalTrends, the press release for AI Shark not only describes what the returning brand will do in its new AI form, but also mentions that the new tech's official launch is scheduled to "coincide with the Nintendo Switch 2 in September 2024."

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo has not revealed any information about its new console as of this writing, so there is a chance this is merely speculation on Altec Lansing's part. Nintendo has not commented on the statement in the press release, but Altec Lansing has made a statement to DigitalTrends which clarified the September release month to a more general Fall 2024 release window. Later, the company told Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier they were "just guessing" on the release date, but this could have been an attempt at damage-control.

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Aeons, the equivalent of gods in Honkai: Star Rail, have been around since the beginning of time. However, not all of them have survived through the years. Argenti is a Knight of Beauty, one of the most devout followers of Idrila, Aeon of Beauty. There's just one problem: Idrila of Beauty is said to have fallen long ago. Despite his devotion to a largely abandoned Path, Argenti might be the most competitive Erudition character yet. Here's what to know about his abilities and how to build him.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Argenti abilities

Argenti abilities

Argenti's playstyle revolves around his energy and Ultimate. He can use his Ultimate after charging 90 Energy or 180 Energy, depending on which one you want to use. Energy refers to the meter for your Ultimate, which fills up when attacking enemies or taking damage. His Talent allows him to charge his Ultimate much faster than the average character.

As an Erudition character, Argenti specializes in attacking multiple targets rather than single ones like specific bosses. He's an ideal DPS for farming waves and participating in battles with many enemies (e.g. Calyxes, Echo of War bosses, etc.).

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