PS5 update will add variable refresh rate support this week

PlayStation 5 owners will gain access to the long-awaited variable refresh rate (VRR) feature in the coming days. Sony will this week start rolling out a system update that will enable VRR support.

VRR (a feature that’s been available on Xbox Series X/S since those consoles launched) improves visual performance by mitigating visual artifacts like screen tearing. It does so by dynamically matching the refresh rate of your TV or monitor to the PS5’s output. Sony says VRR can help render scenes faster and reduce input lag.

If your PS5 is connected to a HDMI 2.1 port on a compatible display, VRR will be switched on automatically for supported games. Several titles will receive VRR optimization updates, including Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Astro’s Playroom, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, Call of Duty: Vanguard, DIRT 5 and Destiny 2.

VRR optimization patches may be released for other games in the future. However, Sony says you’ll be able to switch on VRR for any other game. This might cause some issues, depending on the specific title, your TV and the game’s graphics settings. You can toggle VRR on or off through the Screen and Video section of the system settings.

Apple Music and the App Store are experiencing issues (updated)

If Apple Music and the App Store aren’t quite working as normal for you right now, you’re not alone. Apple’s status page notes that both services are dealing with issues that are impacting all users.

It states that Apple Music users may be experiencing some intermittent issues, which seemingly include song lyrics not being accessible. As for the App Store, Apple simply says users “may be experiencing a problem.” The company hasn’t provided more details, though Down Detector users started reporting App Store problems at around 9 AM ET.

The Apple Music and App Store problems follow an issue with Apple Pay on Sunday. For just over 40 minutes, Interac card holders were unable to make purchases with Apple Pay. Nor could they add, suspend or remove a card.

Update 4/25 5:05PM ET: Apple now says the Music and the App Store issues have been resolved, although it didn’t outline what occurred.

‘Apex Legends’ season 13 will bring big changes to the Ranked system

Respawn is set to once again shake up Apex Legends next month when the battle royale’s 13th season, called Saviors, gets underway. For one thing, there are major changes on the way to the competitive Ranked system. The studio says the new approach will reward teamwork and skill, as you’ll “rise and fall through the ranks together.”

A new season means there’ll be another playable legend to get to grips with. The next character to join the ranks is called Newcastle. His abilities haven’t been fully revealed, but he does have a shield. No word as yet as to whether he’s a member of the Toon Army, though he seems to be Bangalore’s brother.

Elsewhere, players can expect the Storm Point map to look significantly different after a security protocol is triggered by a monster from the deep. As yet, there doesn’t seem to be a major new game mode this time around. Respawn added a big team mode called Control in February, at the start of the current season.

More details about map updates, Newcastle, the overhauled Ranked system and the new battle pass will be revealed in the coming days. Apex Legends: Saviors starts on May 10th.

‘Diablo: Immortal’ is coming to mobile and (surprise!) PC on June 2nd

All the way back at BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard revealed Diablo: Immortal, which would fill in the gaps of the story between Diablo II and Diablo III. However, the fact it was announced as a mobile-only game didn’t exactly go over well with the publisher’s hardcore fans (to put it mildly). Fast forward nearly three and a half years and not only does the game have a release date, but Blizzard announced it’ll be available on PC after all.

Diablo: Immortal will arrive on PC, iOS and Android in most parts of the world on June 2nd. Folks in some Asia-Pacific regions will need to wait a few extra weeks. It’s a free-to-play title with some optional in-game purchases. The PC version will initially be in open beta, but will have all content and features. All progress and purchases will carry over too.

It will feature cross-play and cross-save support for all platforms, so you should be able to switch between PC and your mobile device with ease. The MMORPG allows players to take on challenges with eight-person parties and it has a faction-based PvP system.

In a blog post, Blizzard says it was of two minds about creating a PC version, which it calls “an experiment.” Ultimately, because a large section of fans would likely try to play it through an emulator anyway, the development team decided to create a dedicated PC build.

Unusually for a Diablo game (which are usually point-and-click titles), Diablo: Immortal will have the option of directional keyboard controls. The mobile control system allows for simultaneous movement and attacks, which Blizzard says wouldn’t be possible solely through mouse control alone. There’s also controller support on PC.

Diablo: Immortal was originally supposed to be released last year. However, Blizzard delayed it to 2022 to add some extra polish, including, evidently, on a PC port.

Word of the Diablo: Immortal release date comes at a particularly busy time for Blizzard. Last week, it announced the next semi-annual expansion for World of Warcraft, while the first closed PvP beta test for Overwatch 2 starts tomorrow.

Parent company Activision Blizzard announced this morning that its Q1 revenue was down 22 percent from the previous year. The company, which is facing lawsuits and accusations alleging harassment and misconduct, is the subject of a pending takeover by Microsoft.

Twitter bans climate change denial ads

On Earth Day, Twitter announced a ban on ads that promote climate change denial. It said misleading advertising that contradicts scientific consensus on the crisis won’t be permitted on the platform under its policy on inappropriate content.

“We believe that climate denialism shouldn’t be monetized on Twitter, and that misrepresentative ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis,” leaders from the company’s sustainability team wrote in a blog post. “We recognize that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet.”

Twitter says it will assess whether climate change ads break the rules based on reports from authoritative sources, such as the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The company added that, in the months ahead, it will share more details about its “work to add reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations happening on Twitter.”

This move builds on some other measures Twitter is taking to address climate change. By the end of 2022, Twitter aims to only be using carbon-neutral power sourcing at its data centers. It also joined the EU climate pact earlier this year. Among other things, Twitter committed to switch to renewable electricity at its leased operations in the bloc and to increase its investments in carbon-removal tech.

The revamped PlayStation Plus should hit the US on June 13th

Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed its rollout plan for the overhauled PlayStation Plus service. It’s targeting a launch date of May 23rd in select markets in Asia before expanding to Japan on June 1st. The new tiers are then expected to arrive in the Americas on June 13th, followed by Europe on June 22nd.

In addition, SIE is opening up access to cloud streaming in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Folks in those countries and the 19 others where PlayStation Now is currently available will be able to sign up for the Premium tier of PS Plus at launch.

Sony announced the long-rumored PS Plus restructuring in March. The current version of PS Plus will soon be the lowest tier of the updated service. As is more or less the case now, PS Plus Essential will offer online multiplayer access, cloud storage, PSN Store discounts and two claimable games per month (down from the usual three).

The middle tier is PlayStation Plus Extra, which adds a library of 400 PS4 and PS5 games that players can download to their console. At the outset, those are expected to include the likes of Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11 and PS5 exclusive Returnal.

At the highest end is PlayStation Plus Premium, which includes access to another 340 games from PlayStation, PS2 and PSP titles that you can stream or download. PS3 games will be available through cloud streaming. Premium will also offer limited-time game trials and cloud gaming on PC.

In countries where cloud streaming isn’t available yet, Sony will offer a Premium tier replacement called PS Plus Deluxe. This will be a bit less expensive than Premium and include downloadable PS1, PS2 and PSP games as well as everything from the Essential and Extra tiers.

US pricing starts at $10 per month, $25 per quarter or $60 per year for PS Plus Essential. Extra costs $15 per month, $40 per quarter or $100 annually. As for Premium, you’ll need to pay $18 per month, $50 per quarter or $120 for a year of access. PlayStation Now will be folded into the new PS Plus, and subscribers of that service will be moved to the Premium tier.

Unlike with Microsoft’s Game Pass, none of the tiers will offer access to first-party PlayStation games on their release day. However, a year of access to PS Plus Premium costs $60 less than 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the standard price.

Paradox outlines a revenue-sharing plan for Vampire: The Masquerade fan games

Many publishers and developers are very protective of their intellectual property (what’s up, Nintendo?). But Paradox Interactive and World of Darkness are taking things in a slightly different direction. As part of the Unbound project, they’ll let anyone make a Vampire: The Masquerade fan game as long as they abide by certain rules.

Developers need to get their games approved by Paradox and can only offer them through the Itch.io storefront. They can charge for their creations if they want, but they’ll need to give Paradox a 33 percent cut of revenue.

The developers will own all game assets that don’t use World of Darkness intellectual property and can sell them in art books, soundtracks and so on. They can’t run crowdfunding campaigns for their project, however, and aren’t able to use science fiction, steampunk or cyberpunk settings. Beyond those (and a few other restrictions), developers can let their imaginations run wild.

The Unbound program stems from a successful game jam that took place in 2021. “Following the Vampire Jam last year, we realized how passionate our community is about creating Vampire: The Masquerade games,” World of Darkness community developer Martyna Zych said in a statement. “While we could only award one grand prize to Heartless Lullaby, we knew we had to create a platform that empowered our community to work on the projects they love while giving them the support they need to be successful.”

Developers created more than 80 games during Vampire Jam and six of those are available through Unbound at the outset. They include survival horror game Descent, puzzle project The Chantry Trials and strategic card title The Game of Elders. There’s a first-person shooter called The Autumn People. You can also check out point-and-click adventure Prodigal as well as 4x strategy and roleplaying game Praxis. All are free to download.

It’s neat to see a publisher and transmedia brand approve fan-made games. The fact that all of those six titles are in different genres is fascinating as well, since it shows the breadth of what developers can do when they have the freedom to be creative with a notable IP. 

As it happens, these titles might be the only way for fans to play a new Vampire: The Masquerade game for a while. Last year, Paradox parted ways with Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 studio Hardsuit Labs and delayed the game indefinitely. The publisher said in November it was happy with the progress made by the game’s new, unnamed developer, but the release window remains unknown.

Godzilla and King Kong are coming to ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’

Crossovers between gaming and other areas of entertainment are becoming more and more common. On the same day it emerged Wu-Tang Clan is coming to Fortnite(?), Activision Blizzard confirmed a long-rumored crossover for Call of Duty: Warzone. Godzilla and King Kong will arrive in the battle royale on May 11th.

The event is called Operation Monarch and it isn’t entirely clear just how exactly these movie monsters will fit into Warzone. However, a blog post notes that the event will introduce a new four-player Quads mode “based on several classic experiences with a titan-sized twist.”

Despite their militaristic vibes and settings, Warzone and the Call of Duty series at large aren’t exactly known for hyper-realism. They’ve long had zombie modes. Still, this seems like an odd crossover, especially given that the Godzilla vs. Kong movie came out over a year ago.