Arrowead Game Studios has detailed Helldivers 2’s latest Premium Warbond. It’s called Freedom’s Flame and promises new fire-themed armaments and other treats when it launches alongside the bug-splattering, bot-bothering live-service shooter’s previously announced “biggest ever update” next Tuesday, 6th August.

“Incinerate everything standing in your path with new weaponry almost too hot to handle,” Arrowhead exclaims on the PlayStation Blog. “Survive the heat of battle with lifesaving armour; and burn brightly across the cosmos with fresh emotes, capes, and skins.”

If it’s specifics you want though, Freedom’s Flame includes the SG-451 Cookout as a new primary weapon capable of unleashing a “burst of incendiary phosphorus pellets” at enemies. It also features the FLAM-66 Torcher lightweight flamethrower as a second primary.

Helldivers 2 – New Freedom’s Flame Premium Warbond Deployed | PS5 & PC Games

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This is your friendly reminder that Microsoft is set to close its Xbox 360 digital store on 29th July – that’s next Monday – so you have just a few days left to make the most of those last discounts on some of the best Xbox 360 games of the generation.
Microsoft announced a raft of discounts on Xbox 360 digital games back in May. Whilst some games will live on via other platforms and services – including Microsoft’s comprehensive backwards compatibility system – there are a handful of games that will disappear from sale forever. So, if you’ve ever fancied one, now’s the time to pick it up.

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Lego has revealed a new set in the Sonic the Hedgehog line, this time a bust of nemesis Shadow the Hedgehog.

The set is over eight inches tall, consisting of 720 pieces, and will be released on 1st October for £59.99.

It “captures the bold colouring and fierce expressions of Shadow” reads the description and is specifically made for adults as a display piece.

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Just weeks after Microsoft’s major Xbox Game Pass shakeup, a new report claims the company is mulling over a variety of additional subscription tiers in a bid to expand the service’s reach, including a tier offering access to the Game Pass catalogue exclusively via cloud gaming.

That’s according Windows Central’s Jez Corden who, in a lengthy article discussing Game Pass’ future, claims to have heard from sources that Microsoft’s is “working towards” a cloud-only version that would be “cheaper and more approachable” than Game Pass Ultimate.

The aim is said to be two-fold, with Microsoft hoping the tier will appeal to those put off by the upfront costs of a console, as well as to existing owners of competing consoles who don’t want to buy an Xbox but might find the Game Pass catalogue appealing. It’s reportedly also intending to monetise the cloud-only service further by offering digital ownership of individual games in its catalogue, should a user wish to buy something outright.

Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?

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Ubisoft’s massive open-world adventure, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, is free to play until 28th July.
Right now, the trial is only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (sorry, PC players), but those who can jump on are able to sample the first five hours, or until you reach Hometree in The Aranahe Clan mail quest – whichever comes first.

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UK retailer GAME will soon end the in-store sale of POSA (Point of Sale Activated) cards that offer currency or in-game credit, such as funds for the Nintendo eShop, Eurogamer understands.

Once again, the move is a casualty of the brand’s increasing integration within the Frasers Group, and the adoption of the wider company’s more generic till software.

GAME, which has been owned by Frasers Group since 2019, now operates mostly via concessions housed within other Frasers Group chains, such as Sports Direct and House of Fraser.

Newscast: Does the loss of day one launches make Xbox Game Pass pointless?

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Nintendo fans keen to find out more details on yesterday’s unexplained horror game teaser Emio believe The Medium and Layers of Fear developer Bloober is behind the project.

There are clues that Bloober is involved in a recently-published interview with company boss Piotr Babieno, fans say. In it, Babieno discusses a mysterious title “for Nintendo platforms” codenamed “Project M”.

“Project M, although its budget is significantly smaller than the games we are working on at Bloober Team, is extremely important due to our long-term plans,” Babieno told Polish site Strefa Inwestorow.

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Publisher Paradox Interactive has delayed Cities: Skylines 2’s console release once again.
The game was initially slated to arrive on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 alongside PC in October last year. However, this date got moved to spring, before getting bumped back again to October of this year. At this time, the team said it had been “struggling to get Cities: Skylines 2 to the necessary level of optimisation for a console release”.
Now, the game’s console launch isn’t going to be in October either, as the team has “not yet met the stability and performance targets” it had set for Xbox and PlayStation.

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A developer who worked on Rockstar’s scrapped GTA 5 single-player Trevor DLC has discussed the project’s cancellation and expressed regret it never saw the light of day.

The existence of GTA 5 single-player DLC, in which fan-favourite character Trevor Philips would have taken a starring role, has been discussed previously, and fans have wondered for some time if they’d ever hear more on why it was never released – though the sheer magnitude of GTA Online’s success always seemed the reason why Rockstar ultimately priotised its resources there.

Now, speaking to YouTube channel SanInPlay, former Rockstar senior camera artist and virtual cinematographer Joseph Rubino has discussed his work on the project – and why it was cancelled.

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Xbox owners in the US will be able to play and purchase games directly from the Xbox App on Android from November.
The change follows the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Google. Earlier this week a US judge ruled Google runs a monopoly via its smartphone app store, meaning third-party storefront apps must now be made available from the Google Play Store.
This has opened the door for Microsoft, meaning players can now purchase Xbox games on Android devices and then immediately stream them through Xbox Cloud Gaming.

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