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Recommended Reading: The cost of Fortnite's success
How Fortnite's success led to months of intense crunch at Epic Games Colin Campbell, Polygon There have been a few stories recently about intense work conditions, or crunch, at studios making high-profile titles. Earlier this month we read about Anthem, and now we're hearing about Fortnite. Polygon conducted interviews with employees at Epic Games who detail working over 70 hours a week and discuss how voluntary overtime became an expectation.
Respawn spaces out 'Apex Legends' content updates to avoid crunch
Now that Respawn has released its first Apex Legends Battle Pass and is otherwise settling in, it's outlining how it will handle Apex updates going forward -- including what it won't do. In the lengthy status post, the company's Drew McCoy stressed that his team would make the battle royale game feel "alive and thriving," but wasn't going to pursue updates so aggressively that it required crunch time that could prompt "burnout or worse." In other words, he'd rather a new feature take longer than jeopardize health or the quality of the output.
'Avengers: Endgame' event is coming to 'Fortnite' this week
Epic Games is again linking up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the developer has teased a Fortnite and Avengers: Endgame crossover. We don't know many details yet, other than a start date of April 25th, the same day the movie hits theaters, and that it might have something to do with Captain America's shield.
'Fortnite' rune event asks for help from every player
Epic is increasingly turning Fortnite's big events into participatory affairs. A floating rune has been traveling across the game map, but it only moves closer to its objective whenever it takes a collective 100 million damage from Fortnite servers worldwide. Its exact goal is unknown, but it has already traveled across a large chunk of the map as we write this and is likely headed to a hatch in the middle of Loot Lake. There's a chance it ties into the start of the game's ninth season on May 9th.
Epic banned over 1,200 'Fortnite' World Cup players for cheating
You'd think that an event as high stakes as the Fortnite World Cup would have participants on their best behavior, but that's apparently not the case. Epic has revealed that it banned more than 1,200 accounts for some form of cheating during the first, online-only week of the tournament. Most of those, 1,163, received a two-week ban for bypassing regional restrictions and trying to play in multiple areas -- 196 of them had to forfeit prizes they'd won as a result. Another 48 were banned for account sharing (nine of which lost prizes), while one received a 72-hour competitive ban for intentionally disconnecting. There were also a handful of more serious allegations.
'Apex Legends' update makes its big boys harder to kill
Respawn technically addressed the overly large hitboxes of some Apex Legends characters with a recent update, but that didn't work as well as expected. The developer has a simple solution, though: make those beefier characters harder to kill. A version 1.1.1 update to the game has bestowed Gibraltar and Caustic with a "Fortified" perk that reduces incoming damage by 10 percent. Gibraltar's Gun Shield is slightly stronger, too. While neither change is enough to throw caution to the wind, you might be more inclined to play if you can better serve as your team's bullet sponge.
'Fortnite' takes a cue from 'Apex Legends' with respawn points
If it wasn't already evident that Epic is concerned Apex Legends might cut Fortnite's momentum short, it is now. Epic is preparing an update that introduces Reboot Vans, a not-so-subtle parallel to Apex's revive stations. Should any of your squad mates meet a premature end, you can pick up their Reboot Cards (aka banners in Apex) and head to one of the vans to bring them back to the fight, so long as it hasn't been used too recently. Resurrected players won't have any gear, and you'll want to clear out quickly due to the attention-getting light and noise -- but at least your teammates won't have to sit idle if you're determined to finish the round.
'Apex Legends' fix restores the progression you lost
If you fired up Apex Legends after the 1.1 patch on April 2nd only to panic as all your progression was nowhere to be seen, don't panic -- it's back. Respawn has fixed a mistake on its end that moved players to servers that didn't have their persistence, making it look as if all their progress had been erased. Everything you did up until the moment 1.1 went live should be intact, and any currency will revert back to the pre-fix state.
'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' gets a second battle royale map tomorrow
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout battle royale mode is about to get a new map. The second arena in which players will duke it out for supremacy is Alcatraz. The map hits PS4 tomorrow and will arrive on other platforms later.
What we played in March
Welcome back to Engadget's Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where we run down what our editors are playing. And basically, we've been dying a lot in Apex Legends. We're also catching up with Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4, and Just Cause 3 from 2015. There's no shame in bringing up older games -- I bet we've all got a mighty large backlog to work through. We'd also love to know what you've been playing, shout out in the comments below!
'Battlefield V' gameplay trailer shows its take on battle royale
In the wake of seemingly endless teases and leaks, DICE and EA are ready to show gameplay from Battlefield V's imminent Firestorm battle royale mode. True to the scoops, it's not quite a cookie-cutter BR experience. While you'll have familiar mechanics like dropping into the arena, an ever shrinking circle and varying gear quality, you can also complete objectives (such as contestable resupply points) and unlock safes to score better equipment. Get knocked down and you'll still have a pistol to defend yourself, so enemies take a risk if they come to finish you off.
'Apex Legends' has banned 500,000 accounts for cheating
Apex Legends season 1 is now underway, and beyond the updates previously Respawn had revealed would be included in today's patch (including a new character, balance changes and character hitbox fixes), it revealed 499,937 accounts have been banned for cheating so far. You'll have a better way to report cheating and abuse, which you can do from the spectate view after your character dies or from the Squad tab.
Vehicular battle royale 'Notmycar' hits Steam on April 5th
If you're fed up of dying too quickly after dropping into a Fortnite or Apex Legends match, another battle royale game with a fresh twist is on the way -- one in which you might be able to get out of dodge fast when a massive firefight goes down. The battle royale fundamentals are all present in Notmycar: you'll drop from a plane onto an island, race around to pick up guns and gear and fight to be the sole survivor as the playable area shrinks. The main difference here is that instead of running around and building structures, you play as a car.
'Battlefield V' 64-player battle royale arrives March 25th
After months of waiting, Battlefield V's long-promised (but conspicuously absent) battle royale mode is nearly here. DICE and EA plan to make Firestorm available on March 25th to all players, and they've shed more light on what the mode will involve in a reveal trailer (below). The 64-player experience will take place on the largest Battlefield map to date, Halvoy, and will grant access to some rather unusual advantages if you complete objectives. Apparently, a farm tractor carrying artillery is one of your options. You can also expect helicopters, tanks and one-time perks like V-1 strikes.
'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' loses PlayerUnknown
The man who pioneered the battle royale sensation is moving on from the game that bears his name. Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene is leaving PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds to work on a new division within PUBG Corp. He's moving to Amsterdam from Seoul to lead PUBG Special Projects, though still retains some ties to his namesake game, on which he'll be a consulting creative director.
‘Apex Legends’ update attempts to balance its most powerful weapons
It's the stuff of nightmares. You're looted out of your mind, there are only two squads left standing, and you get double-tapped from the other side of the world by a Wingman-wielding Pathfinder. Well, you can sleep soundly now sweet Lifeline, because the first Apex Legends balance patch has dropped and the inevitable has occurred: The Wingman's been nerfed. Specifically, the pistol's maximum rate of fire has been reduced, and the Skullpiercer attachment doesn't increase headshot damage by quite the same degree anymore. Also, when firing wildly from the hip in moments of sheer panic, the Wingman is less accurate and bullet spread takes longer to settle after your frantic volley (assuming you won the firefight in the first place).
'H1Z1' has a new name and old mechanics
H1Z1 got somewhat left behind as rival battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds exploded in popularity over the last year or so. Its player numbers dwindled and the H1Z1 Pro League didn't even finish its first season due to a lack of interest. Back in September, a different development team took over as Daybreak Game Company revealed the title would be renamed Z1 Battle Royale (or Z1BR). The rebranding is now official as of today, as a wealth of updates arrive in a major patch.
'PUBG' gets limited-time 'Horizon: Zero Dawn' outfits on PS4
It's been two years since Horizon: Zero Dawn was released, and to mark the occasion, Guerilla Games is partnering with PUBG Corporation to bring themed outfits and weapon skins to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on PS4. You'll be able to earn or buy the cosmetics between March 5th and April 5th.
The first 'Fortnite' World Cup kicks off April 13th
Epic entered the world of eSports with a bang last year when it unveiled its $100 million Fortnite tournaments. It made waves again last month by staging its latest showdown at the Australian Open. Not everything went according to plan, however, with complaints by pros that Fortnite's abrupt updates were affecting their strategies. But after some fine-tuning to the game proper, Epic is now preparing for the final chapter in its debut season: the Fortnite World Cup.
'Tetris' is now a battle royale game exclusive to Nintendo Switch
Forget Apex Legends, there's another new free-to-play battle royale game now: Tetris 99. This version of the classic puzzle game is launching today on Nintendo Switch with 99 players trying to outlast each other. Players can attack each other with "garbage" that pushes you closer to the top of the screen and out of the game. You rack up "KO" badges for each opponent you knock out, and Nintendo promises there will be online events soon. Announced today during the Nintendo Direct stream, it's available exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online members. Update: Check out our hands-on impressions here.
