Riley MacLeod

Fortnite‘s New Season Gives Tilted Towers A Cyberpunk Overhaul

Fortnite Season 9 is here, and things look pretty different. There are new buildings, new ways to get around the map, and a lot of things floating in the sky. Over the weekend, the game’s volcano erupted, causing molten rocks to destroy different parts of the map. With the dawning of Season 9, we have…

Snowy survival game The Long Dark’s latest update, “Steadfast Ranger,” adds a new weapon, the revolver; causes cold and fatigue to affect your aim with the rifle; and changes the sprain mechanic, among a host of other neat-sounding tweaks. Watch the video above or see the change list here

Fortnite‘s Vault Opens, Volcano Destroys Tilted Towers

Fortnite’s vault opened today in Loot Lake, after weeks of chasing runes across the map. There were conflicting opinions about what it would do, but it seems to have done…everything? At 3pm Eastern, the countdown over Loot Lake ended, the sky darkened, and the vault opened. Jumping into the brightly-colored pit sent players to a…

Esports team Rise Nation has released Fortnite players XXiF and Ronaldotv from its roster following World Cup cheating allegations, the team tweeted last night. XxiF was accused of teaming, and Epic later removed him from the World Cup rankings. According to Dexerto, Ronaldo has been accused of teaming with the players who allegedly helped XXiF…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for going to a Kentucky Derby viewing party and losing some money. Then it’s for consoling myself with video games. I haven’t had much time to play more Baba Is You lately, which means my 10-year-old nephew has made it much further than me. This ends now. (He’s a really smart kid,…

Overcooked And Edith Finch Are May’s PlayStation Plus Games

May’s PlayStation Plus games are here, and even though it still feels weird that there’s only two of them, they’re not bad. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus account. May’s PlayStation Plus games are: What Remains of Edith Overcooked

Hitman 2‘s Elusive Target Sean Bean will reappear May 3-June 3 in Miami in a mission called “The Undying Returns.” It’s part of developer IO’s discounted Miami Pack and will be available to all players with access to the level.

Here’s May 2019’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

May’s Xbox Live Games with Gold aren’t too exciting, but it’s at least a diverse lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. May’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Marooners (May 1-31) The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour (May 16-June 15) [Correction 4/30 9:16am—This…

Epic Removed A Popular Fortnite Mechanic Because It Made People Play Less

Epic has finally addressed Fortnite’s controversial 8.20 patch, which removed a popular mechanic from the main game by which players would get health and shields when they eliminated opponents. According to Epic, the mechanic, called “siphoning,” made players avoid the main battle royale mode. In a competitive update today, Epic reiterated their initial reason for…

I Want To Be Like Tony Hawk’s Twitter Account

Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk tweets about a lot of stuff. He tweets about his kid. He tweets about skateboarding. He tweets about his skateboarding video games. And he tweets about people being surprised he’s Tony Hawk. Tony Hawk, who’s 50 now, is famous for his prodigious skateboarding career. In 1999, Activision released Tony Hawk’s Pro…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for going to buy some of those mesh bags you put produce in so you can feel like you’re doing something for the environment. It’s also for playing video games. Subnautica: Below Zero got some new items and areas I’m excited to check out. For a survival game about the cold, I…

Fortnite‘s Endgame Mode Is Fun Whether You’re Wielding Avengers Weapons Or Being Thanos

Even if you’re not a Marvel fan (I’m not), Fortnite’s Avengers tie-in, Fortnite Endgame, is a lot of fun. It continues the game’s recent trend of unique limited-time modes that barely feel like Fortnite but still fit right into its world. As my colleague Mike Fahey detailed this morning, Fortnite Endgame pits two sides against…

CCP has cleared EVE Online player Brisc Rubal of allegations regarding sharing confidential information and breaking a non-disclosure agreement. Rubal was formerly a member of EVE’s governing body, the Council of Stellar Management, but was removed from office and has since chosen to resign. CCP will reinstate his account, as well as those of two…

Epic Games Boss Says They’ll Stop Doing Exclusives If Steam Gives Developers More Money

Last night, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney tweeted that his company would end its controversial exclusivity agreements if Steam raised its revenue cut for developers. It’s a strong statement, even if there are reasons to be skeptical of Sweeney’s position. “If Steam committed to a permanent 88% revenue share for all developers and publishers without…

The Fortnite World Cup Is Worth Watching, Despite Its Flaws

Over the last two weekends, I’ve obsessively watched the Fortnite World Cup tournaments. I turn on the long broadcasts while cleaning the house or cooking, certainly tormenting my neighbors with hours of esports shoutcasting. It’s introducing me to new players and techniques, and it’s inspiring me to get better at the game. Watching competitive Fortnite…

Epic Has Caught Over 1000 Fortnite World Cup Cheaters So Far

Epic Games revealed some statistics about cheating in last weekend’s Fortnite World Cup opens today, including actions taken against over 1,200 accounts for various forms of cheating. Cheating has been a hot topic in competitive Fortnite this week. The esports team Kaliber released one player, Johnathan Kosmala, for cheating during the World Cup qualifiers; Kosmala…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for repotting and trying to trim down my very leggy houseplant, which once looked lovely and is now a gangly monster. We’ll see how that goes. It’s also for playing video games! Keza’s impressions of Katana Zero got me really excited to check the game out. Also, watching the Fortnite World Cup Open…

The Fortnite World Cup will have a Creative competition, Epic announced today. Trials will run from April 29 to June 7 and feature five different community-made Creative games. Players can submit clips of themselves running the modes, and the top selected player from each trial will earn a spot in the finals in New York.…

Fortnite‘s New Air Royale Mode Is Chaotic Fun

While I played Fortnite’s new limited-time mode, Air Royale, my colleague Cecilia looked over my shoulder and said, “This isn’t the game I used to play.” Air Royale barely feels like Fortnite, but it’s a lot of fun. The new LTM showed up in today’s 8.40 patch. In it, 12 duos are put in Stormwing…

Here’s Brazilian Fortnite player zCharlees_ pulling off a wild three eliminations with the Boom Bow in the Fortnite World Cup Week 1 finals. North American East and West finals are still to come if you want to join me in saying “OK, just one more match” and then continuing to watch.