Vince Zampella, an industry legend, has sadly passed away today following a car accident in Los Angeles.

Zampella was an extremely influential figure in the video game industry. He was best known for his work on Call of Duty during his time as CEO of Infinity Ward, where he helped shape one of the most successful franchises in gaming history.

He later went on to serve as the head of Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, further cementing his impact on modern game development.

It is tragic news, and our thoughts are with his friends, family, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

A lasting legacy across generations of games

Whether you knew Vince Zampella by name or not, you have almost certainly felt his influence. He played a defining role in shaping Call of Duty during the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era while serving as CEO of Infinity Ward.

That influence is still felt today across modern shooters. Many of the design principles established during that period continue to inform how multiplayer games are built and supported to this day.

After leaving Infinity Ward, Zampella went on to co found Respawn Entertainment in 2010. The studio became known for titles such as Titanfall, Apex Legends, and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, each pushing the genre in different ways.

Zampella later served as an executive at Electronic Arts, where he oversaw multiple teams and franchises, including Battlefield, further extending his impact across the industry.

What has been reported so far

Unfortunately, Vince was involved in a single-car crash at around 12:45 p.m. on December 21, 2025, in Los Angeles and passed away at the scene.

It is a loss that will be felt across the entire industry. Vince Zampella’s influence extended far beyond individual studios or franchises, shaping how games were made, played, and supported across multiple generations. As tributes continue to pour in, his work and legacy will live on through the countless developers he inspired and the millions of players who grew up with the games he helped create.

He will be sadly missed, and our thoughts are with his loved ones, family, and friends.

Battlefield 6 launched to soaring success on October 10, 2025, peaking at over 750,000 concurrent players on Steam. It’s fair to say, Battlefield might just be back — and Call of Duty could be quacking in its boots.

However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The EA App on PC saw widespread issues that prevented users from booting the game, leading to frustration and a flood of social media complaints.

Fortunately for me, as an Xbox player, I was largely unaffected — and from what I’ve seen, PlayStation users weren’t hit as hard either. There were queues to get in, sure, but by the time I was free to play, it was smooth sailing.

EA has since spoken out about the EA App problems, and Respawn’s CEO has even suggested that players skip the launcher entirely. Let’s break down what was said — and what EA App users can expect as compensation.

Respawn CEO publicly slams EA app

As reported by Insider Gaming, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella quote-reposted a message on X (formerly Twitter) addressing the EA App issues that blocked players from accessing Battlefield 6.

The original post read:

In response, Zampella wrote:

In the replies, Zampella told frustrated users to “refund and buy on Steam,” agreeing that four hours of access issues was unacceptable. He also clarified that Andrew Wilson, EA’s chairman and CEO, “is just as upset as me” about the situation.

It’s a bit of an embarrassing display for the EA app, especially when those on Steam didn’t have similar issues, but let’s hope Zampella doesn’t get much stick for speaking out on the issue, as I think over 6 hours of delays is something worth raising concerns over in my eyes.

EA Responds and Fixes the Outage

EA identified and resolved the EA App login and DLC access problems after roughly four hours, although some players continued to report issues for as long as six.

Battlefield’s developers issued a statement apologizing for the disruption and announced compensation for those affected. Impacted users will receive twelve Hardware and twelve career 60-minute boosters, which should roll out over the weekend.

Additionally, affected players will gain full access to a seasonal Battle Pass, while anyone who purchased the Phantom Edition will receive Season 2’s Battle Pass in full as compensation.

It’s hard to say what else EA could have done to fairly make things right, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Hopefully, players won’t run into more problems — but never mind what I think. What’s the actual fan reception from those impacted?

Players respond to Battlefield 6’s rocky start

Initially, fans were understandably upset. Some players, however, defended the outage once it had been resolved, saying it wasn’t nearly as bad as previous Battlefield launches.

Still, paying full price and being locked out of your purchase for several hours is frustrating, no matter how you look at it. One fan wrote, “Quit whining. Some of y’all clearly never lived through a Battlefield launch, and it shows.”

Another added, “In today's world of inshitifcation, I genuinely expected zero compensation or acknowledgement of anything going wrong.”

It shows that while many players didn’t expect EA to offer anything, the gesture of compensation was widely welcomed once the outage ended.

Hopefully that’s the end of the drama, and players can get back to enjoying what’s otherwise been a smooth launch and a fantastic game. Let us know if you’ve picked up Battlefield 6 yet, if you’re holding out, or if you’re already loving the cinematic chaos that makes the series so iconic.

Update:

According to a report from Bloomberg, between 300 and 400 employees have been laid off from Electronic Arts on Tuesday, including the 100 staff at Respawn Entertainment. Bloomberg further reports that one of the canceled incubation projects was a Titanfall extraction shooter.

Original story:

More layoffs are rolling out across the gaming industry, with Electronic Arts (EA) canceling two incubation projects at developer Respawn Entertainment, with the studio sharing the news via X (Twitter) on Tuesday.

According to IGN, around 100 developers have been affected, with layoffs across Respawn's incubation team, as well as the group working on battle royale title Apex Legends and the Star Wars Jedi team.

IGN further reports that Respawn SVP of operations Daniel Suarez is being promoted to general manager of the studio, reporting directly to Vince Zampella, who was the previous GM of Respawn in addition to his current role overseeing the Battlefield franchise at EA.

This comes as EA already laid off 50 developers from BioWare in 2023, further laying off developers at the studio following the launch of 2024's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with BioWare reportedly reduced to around 100 developers that are now working on the next Mass Effect game.

EA also canceled a Star Wars shooter from Respawn Entertainment in 2024 as part of a broader wave of layoffs that saw 670 employees laid off from the publisher.

Looking ahead, Respawn Entertainment is continuing to provide support for Apex Legends while working on the third entry in the Star Wars Jedi series, as well as assisting developer Bit Reactor with the upcoming turn-based tactics game Star Wars: Zero Company, which is slated to launch in 2026.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launched in 2023 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5. The game received critical praise, with EA CEO Andrew Wilson saying the game was performing "very strongly" compared to EA's expectations. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor went on to become the ninth best-selling game of 2023 in the U.S.

Star Wars Zero Company is the next big game set in a galaxy far, far away, and it's just a few days away from being fully unveiled.

Co-developed by Respawn Entertainment and Bit Reactor with Electronic Arts publishing, this Star Wars game is being properly shown off at Star Wars Celebration on April 19, 2025.

What is Star Wars Zero Company?

While there's little to go on right now, the art shared by Electronic Arts on Monday features a few different characters, including what appears to be a bounty hunter, a Jedi, a droid, and a clone trooper. We also know that it's a single-player, turn-based tactics game.

Respawn Entertainment is no stranger to the world of Star Wars, with the studio previously launching Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019, as well as its sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023. Bit Reactor is a relatively new studio by comparison, founded by developers that worked on games like Civilization and XCOM.

As someone that enjoys tactics games and wishes we got more of them set in bigger franchises, I'm extremely excited to see what the teams at Respawn and Bit Reactor have crafted, especially with a Star Wars shooter from Respawn being canceled last year.

It wasn't a perfect game, but I really enjoyed the way Gears Tactics evolved the XCOM-esque gameplay formula, and I'd like to see Star Wars Zero Company make similar advancements.

I'd also like to see an emphasis on a home base, whether it's a starship or a secret hideout. Having downtime after missions feels better if there's a tangible place for the characters to talk and rest.

I'm very curious how character deaths or knockouts will work. A huge part of XCOM is losing your soldiers on risky missions, something that Gears Tactics mostly kept outside of a handful of main characters that couldn't be permanently lost.

Star Wars Zero Company will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5, as confirmed directly by Electronic Arts. I'll be covering the full reveal of Star Wars Zero Company on April 19, so stay tuned for more!

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: From the Rift is bringing a bevy of changes to Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment's ongoing battle royale title.
• Lifeline, one of the original launch characters in Apex Legends, is being reworked, with new passive and activated abilities, including being able to glide on her drone for a few seconds.
• Apex Legends: From the Rift is also shaking up all of the support class heroes, as they are no longer slowed while healing allies.
• Apex Legends: From the Rift kicks off today.

There's some big changes coming to Respawn Entertainment's battle royale experience.

Apex Legends' latest season, From the Rift, is bringing a rework to Lifeline, one of the original launch characters from when the game first kicked off back in 2019. Lifeline Revived, as she's being referred to by the developers, is being introduced in order to make her more viable across different team compositions.

“Lifeline’s one of the most beloved Legends in the game,” explains designer Evan Funnell, adding that the team is only reworking a character when it becomes clear they aren't meeting expectations by a significant amount. Lifeline is the second Legend to be reworked, with Revenant first being reworked back in August 2023.

Lifeline's new kit tweaks her existing abilities, allowing her to grab onto her D.O.C. drone and glide around for a bit. D.O.C can also be assigned to directly follow a teammate. Lifeline's ultimate ability now creates a 360-degree defensive halo, blocking damage all around her, but not above her.

While Lifeline is being heavily adjusted, the other supports in Apex Legends are also getting some bonuses. Supports are no longer slowed down when healing teammates, as well as being able to revive downed allies faster.

Finally, all players need to be on the lookout for Rift Relics, which contain a stash of weapons and gear that are empowered enough to shift the course of a match, such as an EPG-1 launcher that has infinite ammo.

Apex Legends: From the Rift is available starting today.

Apex Legends is currently available as a free-to-play game on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Apex Legends is no longer playable on Steam Deck or Linux, with Electronic Arts claiming the platform has too many cheaters.

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What you need to know

• Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment's battle royale title Apex Legends is no longer playable on any devices running Linux.
• According to Electronic Arts, this is because the platform's openness attracts cheaters, with the team having to balance the security issues it causes against the number of players using Linux.
• As a result, Apex Legends is also no longer playable through Steam Deck, though anyone using the device can play Apex Legends by installing Windows instead.

If you're a big fan of battle royale games, you've got one less option for taking them on the go.

Electronic Arts (EA) and Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play title Apex Legends is no longer playable on Linux, including Steam Deck, as shared in an update on Thursday. This decision is due to a focus on combating cheating, something EA claims is common on Linux due to the platform's open nature.

"We had to weigh the decision on the number of players who were legitimately playing on Linux/the Steam Deck versus the greater health of the population of players for Apex. While the population of Linux users is small, their impact infected a fair amount of players’ games. This ultimately brought us to our decision today," the update explains.

EA notes that the team doesn't have any way of determining if a player is truly using a Steam Deck or simply running Linux and claiming to be on Valve's handheld. There is technically a workaround available, as Steam Deck owners can install Windows. If they go this route, then Apex Legends will be playable.

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EA continues to fight cheaters in Apex Legends

This isn't the first time that EA's struggle against cheaters in Apex Legends has caused problems for Steam Deck owners.

Almost exactly a year ago, Steam Deck players and all other Linux users were unable to access Apex Legends due to an issue with anti-cheat. While this issue was fixed, it perhaps should've been taken as an omen of things to come.

For all other players, Apex Legends is continuing to grow with new Legends, maps, modes, and more. An update earlier this year finally brought the promised 120 FPS support to Xbox Series X|S consoles, while other updates have seen the addition of wild new features like akimbo pistols.

Apex Legends is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Shockwave is Season 22 of Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play battle royale game. 
• Apex Legends: Shockwave is bringing a new map called E-District, with a neon-soaked cyberpunk aesthetic. 
• This season introduces a new gameplay mechanic in the form of Revival, which automatically allows players to respawn until the end of the match, as long as they have a squadmate up.
• Shockwave is also bringing akimbo pistols, letting players duel-wield weapons like the Mozambique. 

Neon is back in style. 

Apex Legends: Shockwave is the next big season for Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' ongoing battle royale experience. In this season of Apex Legends, players will be exploring a new map called E-District. 

This is a flashy, cyberpunk-themed map that world director Ed Agostini describes as a "beautiful neon playground" to explore. This map has more playable space than prior Apex Legends battlegrounds, with iconography that's inspired by Angel City from Titanfall.

You can check out the gameplay trailer for Apex Legends: Shockwave below. 

Apex Legends: Shockwave introduces Akimbo and Revival

Another big addition in Shockwave is the inclusion of Akimbo P2020 pistols and Mozambiques, letting players dual-wield these guns for additional firepower in situations where precision isn't the most important factor. 

Revival is another shake-up this season, streamlining the process by which players can hop back into a match. Now, as long as at least one teammate is up, players will automatically respawn and jump back in after a short amount of time, though this timer increases the longer the match goes on.

“Revival shuts off in the final rings, creating a sudden death feeling in the endgame,” explains associate director Josh Mohan. “Revival is about shaking up the core combat loop of Apex.”

The team is bringing a few more changes to shake up the flow of a match. LMGs now have a front-facing shield that can absorb 40 damage, making machine gun users more survivable in fights with players using an SMG. Finally, any opened bins will be reset and closed at roughly the midway point of a game. Each match will also have a handful of random rare Gold Bins with better loot, as well as one Mythic Bin that's marked for all players.

Apex Legends: Shockwave is kicking off on Aug. 6, 2024. 

Apex Legends is currently available as a free-to-play game on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It's one of the best Xbox games for anyone that enjoys first-person multiplayer combat.

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What you need to know

• Apex Legends Season 21, Upheaval, is slated to begin on May 7, 2024. 
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• Alter can use portals to quickly navigate around enemies, while her ultimate ability enables her entire team to make a quick getaway. 
• Upheaval also brings back Solos mode, which is replacing Duos for the season.

Sometimes you can't make up your mind. What to eat for dinner, where to go on a date night, exactly what trauma you suffered in another dimension...

That's the gist for Alter, the latest character coming to Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' Apex Legends with Season 21, Upheaval. Alter is a dimensional hopper, someone whose origin lies in another reality as she crosses over space and time to make her way into the games. 

Aside from that core fact, she's not particularly trustworthy, with narrative lead Jaclyn Seto noting that “Her past is what she needs it to be,” and that while she's clearly had a number of wild adventures, there's a lot she'll say that isn't true. One of the few things that is steadfast is part of her culture, as she sometimes speaks Cantonese. 

Alter uses her dimensional rifts to easily navigate the battlefield, zipping around obstacles and enemies while aiding her teammates. Here's Alter's abilities:

• Passive: Gift from the Rift - Alter loots an item from a distant deathbox
• Tactical: Void Passage - Alter creates a portal on a surface that can be used to escape or lead enemies to the respawn chamber.
• Ultimate: Void Nexus - Alter places a device for her whole team, allowing them to use a one-way portal.

What else is coming with Apex Legends: Upheaval?

Alongside Alter, Upheaval is bring Solos mode back to Apex Legends. Solos is replacing Duos, and it comes with a few changes since the last time it was around. In Solos, combat is sped up as every weapon players find is fully kitted out, meaning you aren't waiting around shuffling attachments. Meanwhile, auto-heal and second chance mechanics mean that being knocked isn't necessarily the end of your time in a round.

The Broken Moon map is also getting some changes this season with the introduction of a new central point of interest: Quarantine Zone. This spot is meant to make combat a bit less chaotic early on, with lead level designer Steve Young noting that "There's no distinct power positions."

Analysis: Some fun shake-ups

Apex Legends has continued to evolve with steady updates, additions, and improvements for years now, including recently adding 120 FPS support on the latest consoles. Not every change has been perfect, but the developers have clearly shown a willingness to react and evaluate player feedback that is helping to keep the experience fresh. 

I'm really liking what I've seen of Alter so far, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying her out when the season arrives. 

Apex Legends is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

What you need to know

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor first launched back on April 28, 2023. 
• The sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order saw critical praise for improved level design and storytelling, and was the best-selling game of April 2023 in the U.S.
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is joining EA Play on April 25, 2024, meaning it'll be available to play at no cost for EA Play, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Subscribers to the highest tier of Microsoft's gaming subscription service can expect more Star Wars to play extremely soon.

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is headed to EA Play on April 25, 2024, as shared via Xbox Wire. As EA Play is bundled in as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, that means anyone subscribed to the top tiers of Xbox Game Pass will be able to play this Star Wars adventure at no extra cost.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor first launched on April 28, 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5, with the game quickly garnering critical praise and commercial success. Despite launching late in the month, it was the best-selling game of April 2023 in the U.S.

Why is EA Play included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

Electronic Arts' EA Play subscription service has been included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass since November 2020 and March 2021, respectively, a move that the publisher credits with helping EA Play to grow. 

EA Play includes a library of Electronic Arts titles, including some of the latest sports games, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and the Dead Space remake. There's no set length of time before a game will be added to the service, but it's usually around a year for the biggest single-player games, which is the case for the aforementioned Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was one of many great games in 2023

2023 saw the launch of a number of excellent games, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor earned its place as of them. While the setting is nothing new, taking place between the events of Episodes 3 and 4, the story resonated in fresh ways. Instead of focusing on grandiose plots and planet-wrecking weapons, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor tells an extremely personal story that focused on questioning its confused cast of characters. 

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "Everything here is just fun, and while the more personal tone of the story may not work for everybody, it's the kind of thing that will bring me back to the vast universe of Star Wars over and over again."

Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor fixed?

While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was praised at launch, its technical performance could be rough, especially on PC. The game has received a number of patches since it first launched nearly a year ago, with noted improvements to performance across all platforms.

Analysis: A great game more people need to play

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was one of my favorite games of last year, and I'm glad more people will now have the chance to play it, especially since I'm extremely doubtful Electronic Arts will be successful in bringing it to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. While we never got official sales figures, the game had "millions" of players just a couple of months after launch, so it's reasonable to expect that figure will only continue to grow. 

What you need to know

• Electronic Arts is laying off 670 workers across different divisions, or around 5% of its current global workforce. 
• The layoffs will see studio Ridgeline Games close, as well as the cancelation of a Star Wars first-person shooter at Respawn Entertainment. 
• The upcoming Iron Man and Black Panther games are still in development.
• Electronic Arts laid off 774 workers back in March 2023, with an additional 50 laid off from BioWare. 

It's another day in 2024, which means there's more mass layoffs in the gaming industry. 

Wednesday's culprit is publisher Electronic Arts, which announced that it is cutting 670 workers, or about 5% of its current workforce, as shared by GamesIndustry.biz. As part of these closures, Electronic Arts is canceling an upcoming Star Wars shooter that was being developed by Respawn Entertainment. 

This game — which was announced back in 2022 alongside a Star Wars strategy game and a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — was still in early in development, but was rumored to feature a Mandalorian character, though not necessarily the titular Din Djarin from the show and upcoming film. 

Electronic Arts is also closing Ridgeline Games, a studio in Seattle, Washington that was founded in order to develop a campaign for the next Battlefield game. Criterion will now be leading single-player efforts for future Battlefield titles. 

The previously-announced Iron Man and Black Panther games, which are being developed by Motive Studio and Cliffhanger Games, respectively, are still in development. 

Electronic Arts already laid off hundreds in 2023

All of this comes as Electronic Arts already laid off 774 employees back in March 2023, which was (at the time) 6% of the company's workforce. An additional 50 employees were laid off from BioWare later in the year, with the studio declaring that it needed to be "agile" in developing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and the next Mass Effect game. Neither game currently has a release date. 

What does this mean for Electronic Arts and Star Wars fans?

The loss of a new shooter set in part of the Star Wars universe and being developed by Respawn Entertainment is a big blow to the hopes of anyone who likes everything about that premise. Electronic Arts is continuing to slim down its projects, so players should overall expect less games with a great focus on live-service projects. 

That doesn't mean there won't be any new games, of course. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — also developed by Respawn Entertainment — was the ninth best-selling game of the year in the U.S. It seems overwhelmingly likely that Respawn will, at the very least, close out the trilogy with one final game starring Cal Kestis. The strategy game Respawn is co-developing also appears to still be in development.

Analysis: A rough year revs up

Just yesterday, I was writing about how 900 people at PlayStation were losing their jobs. Numerous companies have cut hundreds upon hundreds of workers, and we're not even in March yet. I pray the bleeding stops, but until it does, workers are going to have to rely on each other. I also sincerely hope more developers join unions (or start new unions if need be) in order to help scrape out better protections against this grim tide in the industry. 

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Breakout is the next season for Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' big Battle Royale. 
• Breakout is shaking a lot of things up, changing how armor works and introducing the Legend Upgrade system. 
• Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 users will also be able to play Apex Legends: Breakout at 120 FPS. 
• Apex Legends: Breakout is scheduled to kick off on Feb. 13, 2024. 

As its premiere Battle Royale experience turns five years old, developer Respawn Entertainment is still innovating. 

Breakout, the next season of Apex Legends, is bringing some big shake-ups to the formula, with changes that'll affect the flow of gameplay and increase the quality of the experience. As shared by Respawn Entertainment, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 will finally have the option of playing at a higher framerate this season, with Apex Legends joining the list of 120 FPS games on current-generation consoles.

One of biggest changes in Breakout is the addition of the Legend Upgrade system, which gives players the opportunity to power up their character-specific abilities up to two times throughout a match as they earn EVO. These EVO points are earned for numerous actions taken in a match, including taking out enemy squads and locating rare EVO harvesters.

This Legend Upgrade mechanic adds to the flexibility of squad composition, with Respawn Entertainment noting that the upgrade decisions will usually happen around the early game and mid-game points of a match. 

Meanwhile, shields and armor are getting a fairly major overhaul, as players will no longer be dropping Body Shields. Instead, each character has Legend Armor, which will increase in capacity as the Legend is levelled up in a match. Players will drop Shield Cores, which can picked up in order to overcharge a player's shields for 30 seconds.

When does Apex Legends: Breakout arrive?

Apex Legends: Breakout begins on Feb. 13, 2024, across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The original game first launched on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC back on Feb. 4, 2019. 

Since then, the game has grown exponentially with maps, modes, additional Legends, and new story arcs. For a blast from the past that shows just how far the game has come in the last few years, check out the launch trailer below:

Analysis: Big changes for the five-year anniversary

Some of these changes are pretty major, and I'm expecting the one-two punch of Legend Armor and the Legend Upgrade system to have a radical impact on the way Apex Legends plays. That's likely a good thing, and it's great to see that Respawn Entertainment isn't getting complacent in handling upgrades or being afraid to overhaul systems that players have used for years. 

What you need to know

• The next season of Apex Legends is called Ignite. 
• Apex Legends: Ignite is bringing a new Legend named Conduit, who has a special suit powered by the battery of a fallen Titan. 
• Conduit's abilities are based around boosting her shields and those of her squadmates.
• Apex Legends: Ignite also introduced long-awaited cross-progression functionality.

The next additions to Respawn Entertainment's battle royale are downright energizing. 

That's quite literal, as Apex Legends' newest season, Ignite, is introducing Conduit, the latest Legend in the ever-growing roster. While the prior season focused on a big, well-received rework for Revenant, Ignite is back to adding new characters.

Described by narrative lead Christal Rose Hazelton as having a "bright, infectious personality," Conduit uses a special suit powered by the battery of a wrecked Titan. As a support character, Conduit is designed to reinforce her allies and herself with shield-based powers. Here's the list of Conduit's abilities:

• Passive - Savior's Speed: Conduit gains a burst a speed when sprinting towards teammates outside of the range of her tactical ability.
• Tactical - Radiant Transfer: Conduit sends energy to a teammate, giving temporary shields to both of them. 
• Ultimate - Energy Barricade: Conduits spreads out several shield-jamming devices that slow and damage enemies.

These abilities mean Conduit has been designed to be flexible, and she can work as a support character by taking offensive or defensive measures that ensure her squad stays alive. You can take a look at Conduit's gameplay trailer below.

Outside of having a new Legend to play around with, the other biggest addition to Apex Legends: Ignite is the long-awaited cross-progression. This feature is rolling out as mandatory, requiring players to link up their accounts, with the highest-ranking account taking priority.

No longer do you have to track progress or buy skins on separate platforms, instead, players can simply keep all of their progress no matter where they choose to play.

Apex Legends: Ignite is scheduled to launch across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch on Oct. 31, 2023.

What you need to know

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA and released in April 2023.
• The game reviewed well, but the launch was marked by controversy surrounding a very buggy PC port and console performance issues alike.
• Respawn has continued to issue bug fixes regularly, with Patch 6.5 having just released in mid-July.
• Patch 7 will be focused on much-needed performances fixes and improvements, including optimizations on console and PC.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was Respawn Entertainment's highly anticipated follow up to 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order that launched earlier this year. The game received  ample praise for its narrative and gameplay, but it was also heavily criticized for a slate of performance issues across consoles and PC alike. On the Xbox Series S Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was locked down to 30FPS at launch, while the Xbox Series X version of the game was capable of hitting 60FPS at the expense of the game's resolution. Meanwhile, PC players reported poor optimization for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, leading to unstable frame rates, game crashes, and various other bugs.

Respawn Entertainment committed to patches and bug fixes for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor following the launch. Since that time, the studio has buckled down and released a bevy of patches targeting some of the most egregious glitches and stability concerns. With the game now considerably more playable across all platforms following Patch 6 and 6.5, Respawn were finally able to focus on Survivor's frame rate woes. 

On console, players can expect to see improvements to Quality and Performance modes alike with Patch 7. Performance mode has been completely overhauled to improve player experience on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. PS5 players will also receive support for Variable Refresh Rates with Patch 7, which was already supported on the Xbox Series edition of the game. Players on the Series S or those who prefer Quality mode will also notice visual improvements, including additional optimizations to reduce FPS fluctuation.

For those playing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC, there will be optimizations as part of the update that will benefit CPUs and GPUs to provide a better experience for players. Patch 7 will give PC gamers the option to disable Ray Tracing along with support for DLSS, both of which may help players hit the 60FPS target when playing in Performance mode. Despite these optimizations, cinematics for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will continue to be locked at 30fps.

Other fixes will also take effect with Patch 7 across all platforms. These include tweaks to the save system to prevent file corruption, changes to the save system to prevent file corruption, and a fix for a bug that prevented players from retrieving their XP after dying. Game stability and crash fixes are also included as part of Patch 7 as well as additional fixes for clothing, lighting, and UI.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Resurrection is the next season for Respawn Entertainment's battle royale experience. 
• In this update, Revenant has been reworked with a new look and some changes to his abilities that make him a deadlier hunter than ever before. 
• Revenant is free for all players to use this season, and can be unlocked permanently for free by completing a series of challenges. 
• Apex Legends: Resurrection kicks off on August 8, 2023. 

The robotic killer has some upgrades. 

In the next season of Apex Legends, fittingly dubbed Resurrection, Revenant has gotten a rework. In addition to a shiny new look, the cybernetic assassin's abilities have been tweaked, making him even more dangerous. 

Revenant's Passive ability, Assassin's Instinct, now has an improved wallclimb while also allowing Revenant to mark foes, making it easier to get the drop on them. His Tactical, Shadow Pounce, can easily get him closer to an enemy, encouraging a more aggressive playstyle. 

Finally, his Ultimate ability, Forged Shadows, creates armored shadows around Revenant that absorb damage before breaking. If Revenant knocks an opponent down while Forged Shadows is active, Shadow Pounce is instantly recharged and his shadowy armor returns if it was broken. 

Revenant is completely free for everyone to try out during this season. By completing a special series of challenges, players can also keep Revenant for free after the season ends without having to buy him. 

Will we see other characters get reworks? According to Respawn Entertainment designer Evan Funnell,  the team doesn't want to commit to it on a "regular basis,” but “We don’t want to be too precious," with the way Legends function. 

This rework follows the events of the Kill Code Part 1 story and the current activity following Loba. According to Ashley Reed, narrative lead at Respawn Entertainment, all of these are the "first pieces" of a story running through the rest of 2023. 

Apex Legends: Resurrection is set to begin on August 8, 2023 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. 

Windows Central's take

The rate at which Respawn Entertainment continues to provide updates for Apex Legends is truly impressive. This rate of revamps, new Legends, and map changes can't be easy to keep going. 

I recognize it's unlikely considering the resources it would take and the reports of a cancelled game earlier this year, but I do hope we get to have a proper single-player game set in this universe again, especially since it's grown so much since the days of Titanfall. 

What you need to know

• Circana (formerly the NPD Group) provided the April 2023 results for video game hardware and software sales in the U.S.
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was the best-selling game of April 2023, flanked by Dead Island 2 and MLB: The Show 23. 
• The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in dollar sales, while the Nintendo Switch was the bestseller in units sold. 

The latest monthly results for the U.S. are in, and while we don't have exact numbers, Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment's latest Star Wars adventure is doing very well. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was the best-selling game of April 2023 in the U.S, per the latest Circana report, as shared by executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella. This is exceptionally notable because of how late in the month Star Wars Jedi: Survivor arrived, releasing worldwide on April 28, 2023. 

Dead Island 2 and MLB: The Show 23 took second and third place respectively for the month, with the Resident Evil 4 remake — which was the bestseller for March 2023 — falling to fourth place. Minecraft Legends from Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios debuted at #11 on the chart.

For video game hardware, the PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in dollar sales, while the Nintendo Switch was in the lead for units sold. Total sales across hardware and software reached $4.1 billion, with video game content sales down 6% and video game hardware sales up 7%.

You can find the full details on the best-selling games in the U.S. for the month. It's always important to remember that for games, Circana tracks total dollar sales, not units sold, and some publishers like Nintendo don't provide digital sales data. 

April 2023 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

1. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

2. Dead Island 2

3. MLB: The Show 23**

4. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

6. Hogwarts Legacy

7. PGA Tour

8. Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

9. FIFA 23

10. Mario Kart 8*

11. Minecraft Legends

12. Elden Ring

13. Minecraft

14. Final Fantasy 1-VI Bundle

15. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

16. New Super Mario Bros.*

17. The Last of Us Part 1

18. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet*

19. Madden NFL 23

20. Super Mario 3D World*

* *Denotes digital sales not included
* **Denotes Xbox and Nintendo digital sales not included

Below, you can see the best-selling games of 2023 so far. 

April 2023 Circana: Here are the best-selling games in the U.S. so far this year

1. Hogwarts Legacy

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

3. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

4. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

5. MLB: The Show 23**

6. Dead Island 2

7. Dead Space (2023)

8. FIFA 23

9. Madden NFL 23

10. Elden Ring

11. The Last of Us Part 1

12. God of War Ragnarok

13. Mario Kart 8*

14. Minecraft

15. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet*

16. Fire Emblem Engage*

17. Forspoken

18. Sonic Frontiers

19. Octopath Traveler 2

20. NBA 2K23*

Windows Central's take

This is a fantastic result for a fantastic game. I loved Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (as I wrote in my review), so I'm happy to see it being so successful so far. Hopefully Respawn can continue getting out patches to improve performance and fix bugs for those that haven't had as pleasant an experience.

Looking forward to the May 2023 Circana results, but I think we all know a certain Hylian is taking the crown there...

In a galaxy of danger, it helps to be prepared.

I've gathered a list of every enemy and boss in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, so that players can be better prepared (if they so choose) for the dangers that await in Cal Kestis' latest adventure from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts.

Before diving in, it's important to note there are a few bosses in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor that are initially introduced with a unique name and health bar before later being encountered as somewhat regular (if still very dangerous) enemies. In order to prevent confusion here, we've opted to only include them once as they appear when encountered as a non-boss fight. 

Similarly, some boss fights are just visually different (and tougher) versions of non-boss enemies, so I've included them where relevant, but not with unique entries in this list.

For what should be very obvious reasons, there will be major spoilers in the article below, so tread carefully. Because of non-linear structure of many parts of the game, we've arranged these enemies by faction and by the rough order in which they'll be encountered.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies and bosses - Bedlam Raiders

Bedlam Raider Grunt

Bedlam Raider Grunts will show up early on in your journeys once you reach Koboh and while they're not too difficult to overcome, they pose danger in groups.

B1 Battle Droid

Reprogrammed by the hundreds, a number of former CIS droids now serve the Bedlam Raiders, and the Battle Droids form the ever-hilarious frontline. Armed with blasters, grenades, and melee weapons, they pose little threat even early on.

B2 "Super" Battle Droid

The armored big brothers of the regular Battle Droids, the B2s (or Supers, as they more colloquially known) are far tougher and can take more reflected shots before going down. They also hit harder, with a powerful wrist blaster and rocket launcher.

BX "Commando" Droid

These acrobatic droids first debuted in The Clone Wars show, and now they're here to terrorize Cal. Capable of evading some attacks, they can be armed with rifles, vibroblades, or even dual-wield a smaller blaster and blade together.

Bedlam Raider Veteran

First fought in a boss fight named Zeik, these foes are degraded into non-bosses after, but remain a dangerous threat. They have more moves than the Raider Grunts, and hit much harder.

Bedlam Raider Lieutenant (Single-Bladed) 

First encountered in a boss fight on the Shattered Moon, a handful of Bedlam Raiders are equipped with single-bladed lightsabers. Lacking Force abilities, they make up for it by using cloaking generators to try and surprise Cal with sudden attacks. 

Bedlam Raider Lieutenant (Double-Bladed)

Rarer yet are the Bedlam Raiders equipped with double-bladed lightsabers. They are well suited at defending against erratic strikes, meaning you'll need to carefully parry them in order to find an opening.

Bedlam Smasher

The Bedlam Smashers can be the most dangerous non-unique foes the raiders can throw your way. Their hammers have a dangerous area-of-effect attack, making dodging critical. Try to get around them and hit them in the back where possible.

An especially tough smasher named Urgost, Fist of Rayvis will block your way in a boss fight.

Dagan Gera

This one-armed fallen Jedi from the days of the High Republic will be a major obstacle over the course of Cal's journey. He shows up as a boss fight three times, with new moves each time. Every time, he uses precise lightsaber attacks and if you put too much pressure on him, he'll counter with Force pushes. Parrying is absolutely critical with him.

Droideka

The rolling wheels of death have returned as a mercifully-rare enemy. Droidekas are shielded, meaning that the usual strategy of reflecting blaster bolts on droids won't work with them. You have to get in close and take their shield down with melee attacks. A special Droideka named E3-VE3 is a boss fight.

Magnaguard

Another enemy first introduced as a boss, Magnaguards can go toe-to-toe with Cal in a fight, using an electrostaff to quickly deflect attacks and exploit any moment his guard is down. An extra-dangerous Magnaguard named the Massiff (after the creatures that live on Tatooine) can be found as a boss fight.

Rayvis

Rayvis is a Gen'Dai warrior, a rare sight in the galaxy and leader of the Bedlam Raiders, working for Dagan Gera. Using his massive flail, he can deal huge amounts of damage with surprising speed, and many of his attacks can't be parried. His natural resilience as a Gen'Dai is combined with a huge suit of armor, meaning he soaks up a lot of hits without faltering.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies and bosses - The Empire

Scout Trooper

Scout Troopers are the grunts of the Imperial forces, sent to try and bring Cal down with electric batons. They can sometimes catch you off guard, and the shielded variety take a bit more effort to bring down (though you can always take their shields away with the Force).

Stormtrooper

If Scout Troopers are the frontline, the Stormtroopers are the backbone of the Empire. They aren't great shots, but they can be dangerous in numbers. Stormtroopers and their orange-shouldered commanders are usually armed with rifles, but the heavy assault troopers wield a shielded minigun, and should be the immediate priority whenever spotted.

KX Security Droid

Security Droids return from Fallen Order. They can take several hits without failing, and are shockingly quick whenever they lunge to grab you. Where possible, weaken them with ranged attacks or reflected shots from other Imperial troopers before going in for the kill.

Probe Droid

Probe Droids aren't too difficult to take care of, as they merely float and slowly fire a a blaster. If they start approaching you while damaged, Force Push them away, as they have a nasty self-destruct option.

Purge Trooper

Purge Troopers are far more confident than rank-and-file Imperial troops, using coordinated attacks and deadlier weaponry against Cal Kestis. Troopers with electrostaves or twin electric batons can block lightsaber attacks, while other Purge Troopers carry heavy rifles that can fire unblockable shots, necessitating a dodge.

Ninth Sister

The first "real" boss fight in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the Ninth Sister has a couple of nasty new tricks she'll use in combination with her old moves, like dodging your attacks by reading your mind. For more information, consult the Ninth Sister boss fight guide.

Flame Troopers

Flame Troopers don't have much range, but can deal massive damage and interrupt attacks with their flamethrowers. Throwing your lightsaber or using the Force is highly recommended over getting in close with these foes.

Jetpack Trooper

Stormtroopers with jetpacks start showing up once you visit Jedha. While they aren't too tough to kill, they stay well outside of melee range and can be a nuisance if they aren't grabbed with The Force.

AT-ST

Imperial AT-STs are a commonplace encounter on Jedha. Usually accompanied by other troops, they take a fair bit of damage to bring down, and can use unblockable rockets at a distance. If you get in close, they'll drop shock grenades to make Cal's life miserable. Try reflecting what shots you can, then command Merrin to bind the walker in place before you use heavy lightsaber attacks.

DT Sentry Droid

These proto-Dark Troopers don't show up until you're well intro the game, which is good news, as they pose serious danger. "DTs" can take heavy damage and wield weapons like twin electrostaves to terrifying effect. Gang up on them by using Jedi Mind Tricks on human foes nearby.

Darth Vader

The Dark Lord himself shows up at a pivotal moment in the game, during which you are briefly playing as Cere instead of Cal Kestis. Because you won't have access to a variety of lightsaber stances, Darth Vader can be extremely challenging depending on your playstyle. You'll have to fight aggressively, and he hits so hard you're better off dodging rather than parrying in many instances.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies and bosses - Flora and Fauna

Shiverpede

The sluggish Shiverpedes are pretty easy to cut through. The biggest threat they pose is a surprise attack, as these creatures are often found in dark caverns and tunnels.

Gorocco

The Gorocco is a big creature that hits hard. Many of its attacks can still be parried, and it's sensitive to being stunned when hit a rock with a Force Push. An extra-dangerous boss variation known as the Gorocco Matriarch can also be found.

Gorger

Large groups of these pudgy lizard-like creatures can be found on Koboh. They don't hit too hard, but if you're not careful, they can surround you.

Bramlik

These creatures look like giant rolling burrs, but lash out and bite when they get in close. 

Rawka

These birds aren't too tough, but they can catch you off-guard with their tendency to suddenly headbutt. These attacks can't be parried, so you'll have to dodge.

Bilemaw

These largely-armored creatures have a heavy carapace but sluggish movements. To compensate, they'll roll around and try to crush you. They can also shoot a jet of sticky burning mucus, giving them their names.

Mogu

These Wampa-esque beasts are introduced beating down Stormtroopers, and that's what you can expect if you aren't careful. They hit hard and fast, with little warning as to whether or not an attack is unblockable. If you're grabbed, you can escape and cut off an arm, which limits its attacks but drives into a frenzy.

In the swamps of Koboh, there's a huge horned boss Mogu called The Mire Terror.

Hardshell

The tiny Hardshells can be found on Jedha. They're easily disposed of and don't deal much damage, but can be surprisingly dangerous when they show up in swarms. If you're surrounded, they can stunlock you, so don't let them get around you.

Sutaban

Native to Jedha, the Sutaban is another threatening creature that can easily pummel Cal to death if you're not careful. Parrying the attacks is key, and you can dodge to get around its lumbering strikes. 

A dangerous boss variant, the Sutaban Alpha, can be found deep in the caves on Jedha.

Skriton

The Skriton is a particularly gnarly giant scorpion that lives on Jedha. It initially stalks Cal when he first arrives, grabbing him when he sets foot on the sand before being fought as a boss later on. The Skriton will burrow and attempt to strike in surprise, grabbing Cal to sting with its tail. The oversized left claw can be broken off if you focus your attacks.

A more powerful Golden Skriton can be found later as an optional boss.

Rancor

The mighty Rancor shows up for a challenging fight in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. There are two Rancors to take down, and each one poses a serious threat, but you can use the lairs the beasts dwell in to your advantage. For more information, consult our Rancor boss fight guide.

Spawn of Oggdo

The absolutely dreaded Oggdo appears to have offspring, and this green meanie is even more deadly than the original frog that proved to be a scourge on Bogano. This boss fight is optional, but you'll have to take it on if you want to acquire Cal's poncho in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies and bosses - Haxion Brood

Haxion Brood Grenadier

These jetpack-equipped bounty hunters are introduced with a boss fight not too far into the game's main story. After that, you'll encounter them frequently if you choose to undergo the bounty hunting side missions. Grenadiers stay out of range with their jetpacks, using a rifle and shock grenades to stun Cal and deal precision damage. A less heavily-armored variant, the regular Haxion Brood Bounty Hunters, provide rank-and-file support.

Haxion Brood Commando

Haxion Brood Commandos provide heavy supporting fire, using their shield to block reflected attacks and cover their advance as they unleash heavy blaster fire. A variant, the Haxion Brood Shock Commandos, have upgraded shields they'll use to charge Cal in an unblockable attack.

Haxion Brood Gunslinger

Gunslingers are the quickdraw experts of the Haxion Brood, unleashing calvacades of fire with no warning and quickly maneuvering around the battlefield. They're often paired with a more physically-imposing bounty hunter in order to coordinate their attacks.

Haxion Brood Bounty Droid

These massive droids are used by the Haxion Brood as hulking enforcers. They can take heavy damage and dish out punishing melee attacks, while their wrist blasters give them a ranged attack option. 

Caij

After going through the Bounty Hunter side mission chain and eliminating the Haxion Brood nearby, Caij turns on Cal in a deadly fight. Caij is functionally an enhanced gunslinger, dashing around to avoid reflected fire and using a number of unblockable attacks. Finish the fight, and you'll get an unexpected visitor...

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor enemies and bosses - Final Boss

Bode Akuna

When Bode betrays the group, he's revealed to be working for a section of the Empire and is also a former Jedi that survived Order 66. You'll fight Bode twice, and he uses Dagan Gera's lightsaber in a reverse grip alongside the mobility afforded by his jetpack. He also has special grenades that can't be Force Pushed away, making careful dodges a priority.

Galaxy of danger

There's a number of deadly foes lurking in the galaxy, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will test your skills no matter what difficulty you're playing on. 

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that it was an " emotionally-resonant story" that was well worth seeing through, with numerous improvements over its predecessor in gameplay, level design, and accessibility.

What you need to know

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was released on April 28, 2023. 
• The game already has "millions" of players according to EA, and is pacing "very strongly" compared to EA's expectations and the prior game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
• EA recorded net bookings of $1.946 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, which naturally does not include the recent launch of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

The latest big Star Wars game from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts (EA) is off to a big start.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launched on April 28, 2023, and is already doing well, according to comments made by EA CEO Andrew Wilson during the company's FY23 Q4 earnings call. Wilson indicated that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor already has "millions" of players and is pacing "very strongly" compared to both EA's expectations and the numbers by its successful predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

For comparison, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order crossed 10 million players in May 2020, under a year after the game launched in November 2019. By June 2021, that number doubled, with 20 million players trying the debut adventure of protagonist Cal Kestis. 

It's worth noting that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn't included in EA's reported numbers for the quarter, which are explicitly for the quarter ending March 31, 2023. EA recorded $1.946 billion in net bookings for the quarter, with live services making up $1.622 billion of the net bookings. EA reported $1.874 billion in net revenue for the quarter.

Other points of interest include how The Sims 4 reached over 70 million players, while Apex Legends Season 16 saw player counts increase by 20% over the previous season.

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I noted that despite some performance problems, the game was a huge step up from Fallen Order in storytelling and gameplay.

Windows Central's take

While I'll wait until we have specific numbers to really celebrate, this is a great start for a great game. Right now, I'm expecting Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to hit 10 million sold by summer. I've loved my time with the game, and I hope Respawn is able to improve the experience to fix bugs some players are encountering. 

Update, May 10: This patch is now available on PC.

What you need to know

• A new patch is available for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor console players, with the patch expected to arrive for PC players later in the week. 
• The patch notes indicate that this update will fix multiple bugs, including several PC-specific problems. 
• Future patches are also being worked on to address other issues.

If you've been having issues playing through Respawn Entertainment's latest Star Wars adventure, there's fixes on the way. 

Respawn shared the patch notes for the latest Star Wars Jedi: Survivor update on Tuesday, detailing a number of bug fixes, improved performance, and PC-specific issues that are being solved. The patch is currently available on consoles, while it's slated to launch later this week on Windows PC. You can take a look at the full patch notes below:

• (PC only) Updated occlusion behavior for raytracing, reducing idle time stalls.
• (PC only) Updated streaming budgets that will help alleviate traversal hitching.
• (PC only) Performance improvements for some VFX.
  • Coming soon to console
• (PC only) Updated data handling when toggling raytracing, improving non-raytraced performance.
• (PS5 only) Fixed an HDR value mismatch that would cause HDR setups to display incorrectly for PS5 users.
• Fixed various save state errors.
• Fixed a streaming issue that causes some streaming scenarios to end on a black screen.
• Fixed an issue where one of the vents did not properly activate in Stone Spires.
• Audio fix for a narrative moment where music was behaving incorrectly.
• Fixed lightsaber marks not displaying correctly in some scenarios.
• Fixed a scenario where the player could enter a progression blocked state in the Lucrehulk.
• Fixed an elevator to prevent the player from falling through it and entering a progression blocked state.
• Fixed a bug where Rayvis would become unbeatable.
• Fixed a severe animation issue that would break a late game narrative sequence.
• Fixed a collision bug where players can get stuck inside a Meditation Chamber.  
• Added a note explaining that some of BD-1’s abilities are not available while in combat.
• Improved text scrolling.
• Minor text translation fixes.
• Various crash fixes.

Players have recorded a number of issues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, with particularly poor performance found in the PC version of the game. Respawn Entertainment confirmed that more patches are on the way, with issues like hitching on PC and a number of other bugs being investigated.

Despite these issues, the game has been critically acclaimed. In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "Everything here is just fun, and while the more personal tone of the story may not work for everybody, it's the kind of thing that will bring me back to the vast universe of Star Wars over and over again."

Windows Central's take

More fixes are good, and hopefully these patches continue to make the game a better experience for players regardless of platform. Despite being in the middle of a second playthrough, I've still encountered absolutely no bugs, but it's clear that's not the experience many players are having right now.

So what if red is traditionally a Sith color?

In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, players can customize their lightsaber with a wide variety of details, from different parts and materials to the blade color. While you're required to start the game with a blue blade, once you unlock the ability to customize your lightsaber early on, you can change the blade color for something else.

Cal Kestis is a Jedi Knight, meaning you can choose green, purple, yellow, and many other colors, but not red. It is still possible to unlock a red lightsaber though. Here's how you do it. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — How to get a red lightsaber

Unlocking a red lightsaber blade color is simple, but it'll be frustrating for anyone on their first playthrough. You actually can't get a red blade on your first journey through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. This is a New Game Plus, unlock, so you'll have to start a second playthrough in order to use a red lightsaber. 

Fortunately, there's a small saving grace here. After you've unlocked the option to go into New Game Plus, the red lightsaber will stay unlocked for any future playthrough instead of being locked to New Game Plus.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — What else does New Game Plus unlock?

In addition to the red lightsaber, there's a few other nifty tidbits that you'll get when deciding to go through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor again through New Game Plus. For starters, there's a "Party blade" color that changes every single time you swing it. You'll get to watch as it shifts through a myriad of colors in fights. Like the red lightsaber, this is unlocked in any subsequent playthroughs, so you don't explicitly have to be playing in New Game Plus. 

Outside of these lightsaber colors, New Game Plus allows you to keep all your Skill Points (though you'll have to redistribute them) meaning you've got instant access to the best skills in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. All the cosmetic items you've unlocked will also carry over, so if you've made Cal Kestis the sexiest Jedi in the galaxy, he'll stay that way.

Multiple journeys

If you're after 100% completion in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, you'll almost certainly be going through the story a second time. It's technically possible to earn every achievement in your first playthrough, but going into a second will have some advantages too. 

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I noted how the story took a personal, emotional turn that worked well, while developer Respawn Entertainment clearly took feedback on what worked and what didn't back in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

In the words of Cal Kestis' performance actor Cameron Monaghan, "Never trust a man who doesn't wear a poncho."

Ponchos were all the rage in the predecessor to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and while they're nowhere near as popular in this game, you can still grab a poncho if you know where to look. Follow along with my guide to find Cal's poncho, but beware. You're going to have your work cut out for you though, because just like the poncho returned, something far more sinister has also made its way into Respawn Entertainment's latest Star Wars adventure.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — How to find the poncho

To start, you'll need to find the Fort Kah'lin meditation point. If you haven't gotten to it yet, it's right in the center of a large Bedlam Raider fort on Koboh, located northwest of your hub at the town of Rambler's Reach. You'll get there much faster if you have a Nekko mount, but traveling by foot is fine.

Once you make your way to this meditation point, I highly recommend clearing the entire outpost at least once. This way, you'll unlock all the shortcuts and you'll understand the layout before proceeding onward. In order to find the poncho, you need to make your way on top of the large round building covered in spikes and droid parts. This building is right next to the meditation point, with a couple of bridges connecting it to towers around the base. 

There are droids everywhere, but at this point, they shouldn't be too much of a problem for you to deal with. Just be mindful of the Super Battle Droids, which take a few hits to bring down.

On top of the building, you'll find a platform with a group of battle droids like in the image below. Destroy the droids from a distance, either using a blaster or deflecting shots and Force-pushing grenades back at the offending droids. Now, take a deep breath (you'll need it) and walk onto the platform. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — How to beat Spawn of Oggdo

Veterans of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order may be having horrified flashbacks at this point, and I'm inclined to say that's a completely fair response. The dreaded Oggdo that terrorized players on Bogano is back, this time in the gross green guise of Spawn of Oggdo. If you want the poncho, you'll have to kill this horrifying frog first.

In order to prepare for the fight, it's important to keep in mind that this is one of the hardest boss fights in the game. Depending on your exact gameplay style, it may actually be the hardest. Spawn of Oggdo hits hard and fast with unrelenting speed and some one-hit kill attacks, making it somehow more of a menace than the violence-induced progenitor for which it is named. 

You need to have found at least six of the Stims in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor before trying this fight (seven would be best) and you'll also want to have a number of upgrades across your skills, improving Cal's Life and Force meters. Even with these upgrades and even playing on lower difficulties, get ready to sweat.

Spawn of Oggdo will aggressively push forward toward you with attacks in rapid succession. Some of these can be parried, but as usual, any flashing red attacks need to be dodged. The close range and rapid attacks mean you'll have little room to maneuver. I highly recommend using the Blaster and Double-Bladed lightsaber stances in order to make this fight a bit easier.  

With blaster stance equipped, you can use charged shots to interrupt Spawn of Oggdo's attacks. Study carefully for tells and when you successfully interrupt a flashing red attack, you'll have a half-second or so to quickly get a slash in. You can use this pattern to regain blaster energy over time. When you are able to stop time, switch to the double-bladed stance and use heavy attacks to deal some massive damage. These heavy attacks can also interrupt some of Spawn of Oggdo's flashing red attacks, but it's far more difficult to get the timing right.

The most dangerous attack Spawn of Oggdo has is when it rears back, flashes red, and opens its mouth to try and grab Cal with its tongue. If it connects, this is a one-hit kill, and you need to double-jump above the tongue in order to avoid losing the fight in an instant. 

Spawn of Oggdo will sometimes flash red and jump up, landing back down and sending a shockwave out a short distance. Right after this attack, you'll have a brief window to get in a slash or two. Be patient and don't get greedy.

Follow all of these tips and eventually, the frog will fall. After felling the Spawn of Oggdo, collect the poncho from the chest in the slimy cave, and then make your way out.

Show your style

With your poncho in tow, it's time to keep exploring and see what else is lurking across the myriad planets of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Optional bosses, secrets, rewards, and more can be yours if you look. 

This is one of the best Xbox games of the year, and in my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic game, with developer Respawn Entertainment taking everything so good about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and building on it to reach new heights. The result is a well-told tale with surprisingly personal yet extremely emotional stakes that asks what it means to be a Jedi and a survivor in the face of an all-consuming Empire. "

As you progress through the latest big Star Wars adventure, you'll be unlocking a huge number of skill points, and some skills deserve your attention faster than others. 

In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, you'll earn skill points as you defeat enemies and bosses and even find different echoes of the Force, which give glimpses into the past. After dozens of hours in-game, I've listed the best skills that you should gravitate towards sooner rather than later. 

It's technically possible to earn every skill in the game, but this is going to require a truly ridiculous amount of grinding on top of earning everything there is naturally, so you should really try to prioritize, at least in the beginning hours of the game.

Can I reset my skills in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor?

You can reset your skills at any time, allowing you to experiment with different combinations. The first time you reset your skills is completely free, but after that, it'll start to cost a skill point, so plan accordingly. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — Survival skills

Every bit of health you can get matters, so you should take every skill here that increases Cal's maximum Life (the central column of skills in the tree) as well as grabbing Improved Stim Formula and Teamwork, which increase the amount of health you recover from a Stim in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and reduce the time it takes to use a Stim, respectively. Focused Sight, which allows you to automatically dodge attacks at the cost of Force, is nice to have as well and is required for one of the game's achievements.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — Lightsaber skills

This is going to vary much more than any other recommendation, as it depends entirely on which of the lightsaber stances in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor that you are using.

For single-bladed users:

You're required by the game to unlock Lunging Strike. Aerial Assault gives an excellent leaping overhead slash, and can be upgraded through Aerial Ace. 

For double-bladed users:

Vortex Dive gives a spinning attack that absolutely chews through weaker enemies. Double Orbit enhances your heavy attack, which can deal obscene damage with careful timing.

For dual-wielding users:

Progressing through the tree until you unlock Dancing Blades allows Cal to bounce his thrown lightsabers between enemies, which is great for creating distance between you and a group of foes.

For crossguard users:

Rending Swipe and Sundering Swipe give Cal extremely powerful attacks for attacking one and multiple enemies respectively, but the windup time is also extremely long, so you'll need to be precise.

For blaster users:

Progress through the tree until you unlock Quick Draw, which has a long charge-up time but can quickly dispose of several foes at once.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — Force skills

The Force skills here aren't as broad as the lightsaber skills, but there's still more than a few options and you'll have to determine what Force powers you find yourself using in combat the most. 

All of the Atunement skills are worth grabbing, as they increase Cal's maximum Force power. You should absolutely get Unrelenting Pull, which allows Call to Force Pull larger enemies. Soaring Lift and Mass Slam are also must-haves, allowing you to create instant breathing room by lifting up a group of foes and slamming them back down, respectively.

Play and find your way

Ultimately, the best skills in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are going to be the skills you enjoy using, so experiment and figure out what works (or doesn't) for your style. Remember to consult the game's difficulty and accessibility settings if it seems like something really isn't working out for you. 

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I called it a "must-play adventure", and Respawn Entertainmnent is currently working to provide patches that fix any of the performance issues or glitches players are currently reporting.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Arsenal is the next season of Respawn Entertainment's ongoing battle royale title. 
• Apex Legends: Arsenal is adding some big changes to World's Edge, as well introducing a completely reworked Firing Range. 
• There's also a new Legend named Ballistic. 
• Apex Legends: Arsenal is set to launch on May 9, 2023.

Developer Respawn Entertainment is shaking things up with the next season for its ever-popular battle royale. 

The next season of Apex Legends is coming, and with it comes a few updates that new or returning players will appreciate. In Apex Legends: Arsenal, the Firing Range has been completely reworked, and is now perfect for testing the different abilities of Legends in addition to the game's guns. 

In addition to this rework, there's a new Legend named Ballistic, a veteran of the Thunderdome games that can carry a third gun in his sling. The World's Edge map has seen some big changes with a new point of interest (POI) in the form of a dedicated Apex Legends museum. You can check out the latest trailer for Apex Legends: Arsenal below. 

Outside of all this, Apex Legends: Arsenal is introducing Weapon Mastery challenges, and as the name implies, it'll take true mastery to complete some of the challenges required. Completing these challenges will unlock some special rewards, including unique cosmetics. 

Apex Legends: Arsenal is currently slated to launch on May 9, 2023 across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

Windows Central's take

The focus on the game's health last season with Apex Legends: Revelry seem to have been well-received, so it makes perfect sense for this new season to go back to introducing a new Legend and give World's Edge some much-needed love. I'll definitely be finding time to check out Ballistic when the season begins.

Going from a Padawan to a Knight means mastering new skills, and Cal Kestis has plenty of new abilities to help gain an edge over his foes. 

In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, there are now five so-called Lightsaber stances available. Different stances mean different ways of using your lightsaber, which can provide advantages and disadvantages, depending on which enemies or bosses in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor you happen to be taking on. 

You'll start with some of these, while the others will require a bit of work to unlock, but don't worry: They're all required to complete the game, so it's impossible to miss any of them. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - How to change stances

You can have two lightsaber stances equipped at a time, but these can swapped out whenever you rest at a meditation point. Every lightsaber stance also unlocks a unique skill tree, so there's plenty of ways to customize Cal and his combat prowess. For most of the game you'll be able to choose whatever stances you want (outside of brief tutorial sections and specific challenges) and it's worth noting you can use the Void Training option when resting to familiarize yourself with a stance's abilities.

Single-bladed

The classic, tried-and-true method that players will have used throughout much of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the single blade is the ol' standby for a reason: It's not bad at anything. It has no distinct advantages and no distinct disadvantages, being perfectly fine for any kind of fight. You'll have this stance unlocked from the very beginning of the game.

Double-bladed

Another stance returning from the preceding adventure, double-bladed combat prioritizes speed, aggression, and defense over power and strength. This stance is great for taking on groups of weaker enemies, or rapidly dealing damage to an extremely large foe such as the Rancors of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. There are downsides though: It doesn't hit as powerfully as some of the other stances, and also lacks the precision of a single blade.

Dual-Wielding

Dual-wielding was technically present in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but it was only available as a single attack. Here, it's a fully-fledged out stance with a new moveset. Dual-wielding is even faster than the double-bladed stance and still hits hard, but sacrifices your defensive capabilities. Cal's stamina is noticeably reduced in this stance, making successful parries absolutely critical. You'll unlock dual-wielding a short ways into the game, while you're fighting the Ninth Sister on Coruscant.

Crossguard

This design dates back hundreds of years in-universe, most famously being adopted by the fallen Jedi Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy. The crossguard is something of a high-risk, high-reward option, dealing massive damage with each slow swing. It's incredibly powerful, but timing is difficult to get right and it's easy to be overwhelmed by multiple opponents. You'll unlock the crossguard by going to the Shattered Moon in the game's storyline.

Blaster

By far the most unique stance, the Blaster stance (appropriately enough) has Cal using a blaster in his left hand while using his lightsaber as a single blade in his right hand. The result is something that can take a bit to get used to, as Cal gains ranged firepower that's perfect for softening up a foe at distance or quickly disposing of weaker enemies without having to get in close. 

The downside is that it naturally limits the number of lightsaber moves he has, meaning it's not great for keeping pressure on an opponent at close range, and also suffers when trying to fight defensively. You'll unlock the Blaster stance by progressing the story on Jedha.

Find your style

With all of these different ways to play, there's really something for everyone. Every stance has situations it'll shine in, but it's also up to how you choose to play.

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "better exploration, fantastic combat, and emotionally-resonant story, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a must-play adventure marred only by some performance issues."

The mighty Rancor has been one of the most iconic monstrous creatures in Star Wars media since it first appeared in Return of the Jedi. 

Now, it's Cal Kestis' turn to take on these beasts in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. There's more than one Rancor in the game, but each one represents a difficult boss fight that will be a challenge to take on regardless of how prepared you are. That doesn't mean there aren't a few things you can do to get an edge. With my guide, you'll have  a much better chance at success. 

Rancor boss fight: How to prepare and win

No matter when you fight a Rancor, it's going to be tough, but this is especially true if you somehow manage to find one in the early stages of the game. I highly recommend finding at least a few of the Stims in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in order to be able to heal yourself. If you have less than four or five Stims, it's probably not a good idea to fight a Rancor right now. 

You'll want to have a few skills unlocked for Cal, so focus on anything giving increased Force and especially increased Life. The Rancor hits hard, so any additional life is the difference between the fight continuing and dying after one hit. I also highly recommend progressing through the story until you have the crossguard lightsaber stance — you'll unlock it naturally by going through the Shattered Moon — which can be used selectively to deal heavy damage. 

Once you start the fight, there's a few things important to keep in mind. Most enemies in Jedi Survivor require you to stay close and keep pressure on. That is not the case with the Rancor, and whenever you aren't actively dealing damage, it's a good idea to put some space between you and the creature. 

This monster's moveset is fairly limited early on. It'll slam one clawed hand down at a time, and these attacks can be parried. If you're quick, you can follow up with a single slash after parrying a hit, but don't go for more, as the Rancor is surprisingly fast considering it's size. 

The most dangerous attack is when it flashes red and slams both hands down at once, sending a shockwave forward. Even on lower difficulties, this attack can kill you in one hit if you haven't upgraded your health, so it's vital that you jump to the side whenever it happens. At this point, the Rancor may also try to grab you while flashing red, and this attack needs to be dodged at all costs. 

Once you've gotten the Rancor to roughly the two-thirds mark on its health, it enters a second phase. This transition is fairly obvious, as it'll stagger back a step then wildly roar, waving its arms in the air. The important this here is to take it slow, only going for a hit or two after you parry or dodge an attack, being mindful of the creature's stomp attacks. It's a marathon, not a sprint. 

Whenever you are able to slow time is when you'll be able to deal a heavy amount of damage. Immediately after slowing time, switch to the crossguard or double-bladed stance and use a heavy attack do deal extremely heavy damage to the Rancor. It's worth mentioning that the double-bladed attack can also stagger the Rancor out of unblockable (flashing red) moves, but the timing needed here is extremely precise. 

Finally, you can also look around the lair of the beast for bones that can be picked up using the Force. These bones can be thrown into the Rancor's mouth, jamming it open and disabling the monster. You'll then have a couple of precious seconds to attack the Rancor before it's able to attack you again. 

Keep pushing forward

Rancors are just some of the monsters lurking in the darker corners of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The list of every enemy and boss in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is immense, but with time and practice, you'll be able to overcome whatever is around the corner. If you have one of Microsoft's latest consoles, this is one of the best Xbox games to grab right now.

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "There are some performance problems in specific areas right now, which I hope to see addressed because it's a small tarnished spot on what is otherwise a stellar adventure. Where Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced a Padawan on the run, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor shows Cal Kestis genuinely earned the title of Jedi Knight."

Ready for your first real challenge in Respawn Entertainment's latest Star Wars adventure? 

There are a huge number of enemies and boss fights in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, many of which can provide a tough fight, especially if you're new to this sort of game. That's why I'm here to help with a guide on how to beat the deadly Inquisitor known as the Ninth Sister. If you've played Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, then you might be getting a bit worried at the prospect of fighting her again, but don't worry: Cal Kestis has some new tricks this time. 

Ninth Sister boss fight: How to prepare and handle each phase

Because of how early on this fight is in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, there's really not much you can do to prepare. Since you'll have only earned a couple of skill points by this point, I recommend grabbing the Survival Skills and Improved Stim Formula skills, which will give Cal a bit more health and make Stims heal a bit more, respectively. On the higher difficulties, these two skills can be the difference between life and death after a single hit.

Outside of that, be sure to grab the Stim that's available before this fight. Most of the Stims in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be found later on, but for this boss, having three Stims instead of two can be a substantial aid. 

When you go into the fight, it's important to keep in mind that the Ninth Sister has a wide variety of moves, more than any enemy you've fought so far. Be mindful of any move where she flashes red, these can't be blocked. They can be interrupted with Force Push, but the timing window here is tight and you're usually going to be better off just dodging to the side. The fight is divided into roughly three stages, each of which is clearly separated by a cutscene. 

In the first phase, the Ninth Sister will open the fight throwing her lightsaber at Cal. This can be deflected by parrying, but watch out: She quickly throws it a second time. Successfully deflecting these attacks will weaken her stamina bar. 

Watch out for her lunge attack where she flashes red, as this move is very sudden and deals heavy damage. I recommend using the double-bladed stance for this first phase, which will allow you to deal quick attacks that wear down her stamina bar without giving her a chance to recover. 

In the second phase, the Ninth Sister will start to predict Cal's moves, dodging him. To get the upper hand, you need to simply not attack. Let her move, and then parry her attacks. When you've parried her to the point that her stamina bar breaks, use Cal's ability to slow time and wail on her with single-bladed attacks, which are slower but deal higher damage. You should only have to do this twice before going into the third phase. 

In the third phase, the Ninth Sister will combine her moves from both prior phases, as well as gaining a new attack where she pounds the ground. You'll need to jump over the shockwaves in order to avoid taking heavy damage and being stunned. You'll have to use the dual-wielding stance here, which gives you fast attacks and high damage, but lowers your stamina, so parrying (not blocking) is critical. Eventually, you'll get the prompt to use a special move, which will end the fight. 

More fights ahead

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a more open action adventure game than its predecessor, meaning there's more to explore and more to fight. It's one of the best Xbox games available, regardless of how much you're into Star Wars.

In my Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review, I wrote that " Everything here is just fun, and while the more personal tone of the story may not work for everybody, it's the kind of thing that will bring me back to the vast universe of Star Wars over and over again."

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order became an instant fan-favorite when it launched back in 2019, and its highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, has finally launched and is now available for all to play. However, Cal Kestis' return isn't without its problems, as players have begun to report bugs, glitches, and other launch issues they've experienced while starting their new adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

Thankfully, Respawn Entertainment has committed to fixing bugs and improving performance in patches that are scheduled to come "in the weeks ahead" to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor players. Until then, though, it's important to be aware of known bugs and their potential workarounds so you can do your best to avoid and mitigate them. In this article, we've documented every issue and fix we've seen so that you know what to look for and how to deal with these problems when they occur.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — Top bugs and launch issues

These are all of the biggest bugs and issues impacting Star Wars Jedi: Survivor players. While everyone won't experience them as they play, a large number of players have identified their presence and have been affected negatively by them. If the community discovers workarounds for these problems, we'll update this article with the latest information.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor PC performance issues

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's PC performance has proven to be less-than-stellar at launch, with many outlets and players reporting big framerate drops in open areas and large battles. If you're experiencing these, try lowering your settings and/or restarting the game. Also, make sure you have the latest drivers for your GPU and that your rig meets the game's minimum requirements. Additionally, some fans have had success turning off the Data Sharing option in the Extras tab, so give that a shot.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor low FPS on console

While the worst of the framerate issues seem to be tied to the PC port of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, many console players have experienced low FPS as well. Aside from playing in Performance Mode, fans don't have any way to mitigate this issue and will need to wait for an update from Respawn.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor stuttering

Many Unreal Engine games have historically had issues with stuttering due to shader compilation and asset loading issues, and based on player reports we've seen, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also suffers from this problem. This is something that only the developers can resolve with a post-launch patch.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor stuck unpacking slowly

Unpacking preloaded games is a normal process on Steam, but some players have experienced an issue with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor unpacking extremely slowly. Sadly, you can't do anything other than wait the process out, which could take one or several more hours.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor stuck on loading screen

If you get stuck in a loading screen when loading up the game, try waiting for awhile and seeing if you can get past it. If you're not able to load the game successfully, your best bet is to close and restart the game.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 'Optimizing Game Files'

If you see this screen pop up, don't close or restart your game. While you might be stuck on it for several minutes, the process will start over if you close the game before it's complete. Be patient while the game compiles its files.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor screen tearing

If you're experiencing lots of screen tearing in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC, try turning on V-Sync and see if that solves the problem. Also, if your monitor supports NVIDIA G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, there's a very good chance that using it will eliminate screen tearing. If neither of these solutions work or you're experiencing screen tearing on consoles, you'll need to wait for a patch from the developers.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor cutscene bugs

Some have reported that the game's framerate nosedives pretty hard during cutscenes, and that objects in the scenes distractingly "pop in" as well. Unfortunately, there's currently no fix for this issue, so players will have to wait for a patch.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor crashing

If you're experiencing crashes while playing, there's not much you can do beyond resting at Meditation Points as much as you can. This saves your progress, and will hopefully mitigate your lost progress whenever your game crashes. Players that are consistently crashing immediately after launching the game should try reinstalling the game or restarting their console or PC.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor broken HDR

Some players have reported that HDR is broken in their game, with it causing most things on-screen to become pitch black and glitchy looking. You can try restarting or reinstalling the game to fix this, but simply turning HDR off will also stop the problem from happening until Respawn deploys a fix.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor HDR settings revert

If you ever experience a crash, there's a good chance that your HDR settings will be reverted back to the default options. Sadly, there's currently nothing you can do about this beyond correcting all of your settings each time.

Jedi Survivor EA app 'Your game failed to launch' error

If you're attempting to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor through the EA app, you may run into the "Your game failed to launch" error. If this happens, wait a few minutes and try again. Eventually, the game should launch. If it doesn't, try completely restarting the EA app.

Jedi Survivor 'This game cannot be streamed live' Xbox bug

Several Xbox streamers have said that they're unable to stream Star Wars Jedi: Survivor from their console and simply get a "This game cannot be streamed live" error message. There's no way to get around this right now, so players will have to be patient and wait for a patch.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch notes

While there are several issues affecting every version of the game, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's PC port has particularly poor performance. As a result, PC players are hoping that Respawn will deploy patches that improve the situation soon, as many have found the experience to be unplayable so far.

Following countless bug reports and a flood of negative Steam reviews, Respawn Entertainment has apologized for the issues players are dealing with and has confirmed that the studio is "working to address these cases quickly."

"While there is no single, comprehensive solution for PC performance, the team has been working on fixes we believe will improve performance across a spectrum of configurations," the developer's statement reads. "We are committed to fixing these issues as soon as possible, but each patch requires significant testing to ensure we don't introduce new problems. Thanks for understanding and apologies to any of our players experiencing these issues."

Right now, Respawn Entertainment has confirmed it's working on the following fixes and improvements:

• (PC only) Improving performance on newer i7 and i9 CPUs that have efficiency cores
• (PC only) General performance improvements to improve both CPU and GPU utilization while reducing idle time, both with and without raytracing
• (PC only) Improving some hitching which can be attributed to streaming raytracing data, assets, and a gap in our prebuilt shaders
• Various bug fixes

Below you can find the latest patch updates and the included fixes.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch — May 8 & 10

The second major round of fixes for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor began rolling out to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 players on May 8, 2023. The patch continued to address issues with crashes and damaged save states, while also fixing numerous issues with animations, gameplay, performance, and more. The same patch update, with a handful of additional fixes, began rolling out to Windows PC players on May 10, 2023. The patch notes for this update can be found below.

• (PC only) Updated occlusion behavior for raytracing, reducing idle time stalls
• (PC only) Updated streaming budgets that will help alleviate traversal hitching
• (PC only) Performance improvements for some VFX
  • Coming soon to console
• (PC only) Updated data handling when toggling raytracing, improving non-raytraced performance
• (PS5 only) Fixed an HDR value mismatch that would cause HDR setups to display incorrectly for PS5 users.
• Fixed various save state errors
• Fixed a streaming issue that causes some streaming scenarios to end on a black screen
• Fixed an issue where one of the vents did not properly activate in Stone Spires
• Audio fix for a narrative moment where music was behaving incorrectly
• Fixed lightsaber marks not displaying correctly in some scenarios
• Fixed a scenario where the player could enter a progression blocked state in the Lucrehulk
• Fixed an elevator to prevent the player from falling through it and entering a progression blocked state
• Fixed a bug where Rayvis would become unbeatable
• Fixed a severe animation issue that would break a late game narrative sequence
• Fixed a collision bug where players can get stuck inside a Meditation Chamber
• Added a note explaining that some of BD-1’s abilities are not available while in combat
• Improved text scrolling
• Minor text translation fixes
• Various crash fixes

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch — May 1 & 2

The first PC patch for the game arrived on May 1, 2023, bringing improvements to non-ray traced rendering performance and a variety of fixes for other issues. This update should make the game run smoother as long as you’re not using ray tracing. Respawn promised that additional patches are coming, and that the studio will share more information about when updates can be expected when it’s available.

The developers also patched the Xbox and PlayStation versions of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor with performance improvements and bug fixes as well. The first post-launch patch came on May 2, and resolved a large number of issues (notably, the PC version of the game already has these fixes). The patch notes for this update can be found below.

• Multiple crashes fixed across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
• Fixed crashes that were tied to skipping cinematics
• Performance improvements across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
• Fixed an issue with dynamic cloth inside the Mantis
• Fixed various rendering issues
• Fixed an issue with registered Nekko colors not saving
• Fixed an issue with registered Nekko colors disappearing from the stable
• Fixed issues with cinematic dialogue overlapping
• Fixed various collision issues
• Fixed an issue with enemy AI remaining in T Pose during Photo Mode
• Fixed a freeze that occasionally occurred while talking to Doma
• Fixed a bug where the BD-oil VFX did not properly render
• Fixed an issue where players were getting stuck inside of the Chamber of Duality if you didn’t save after leaving the chamber and die

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is finally here, and for fans of the galaxy far, far away, it's undoubtedly one of the best Xbox games around. It's available for $69.99 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5. If you want to read more, you can check out our Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review.

Want to get an edge over your enemies, with or without a lightsaber?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is action adventure game, and while there's many different moves and abilities that can be used to deal heavy damage to enemies, some of those enemies are more than happy to wallop you in return. This can mean dying in only a couple of hits, especially if you're playing on higher difficulties like Jedi Grandmaster. That's where Stims come in. 

Stims can be used to heal Cal up, and while you start with a couple of Stims, you'll have to find more hidden throughout the galaxy. They're a pretty rare treasure, but because you always gain your Stims back whenever you rest at a meditation point, this means even finding just one Stim can be the difference between getting through a difficult battle and failure. 

Now, because sections of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor require different abilities to access, we've put these Stims in roughly the order you'll encounter them instead of sorting them by planet. You won't be completing going through one planet before starting the next, but instead, travelling back and forth from time to time. If we find any more that we previously missed, we'll be sure to update this list.

Stim #1 - Coruscant: Undercity Meats

This is the first Stim you should be able to find in your journey. Located on Coruscant, it can be found after getting to the first meditation point after Cal slides down into the meat processing facilities of the lower levels. Just head up the wall jump area next to the meditation point and destroy the droid guarding the Stim. Be careful though: If you miss it, it's going to be a long time before you unlock the ability to return to Coruscant and grab it.

Stim #2 - Koboh: Basalt Forest

This Stim is another that you'll find early in the game. You'll get it not too far into exploring the planet Koboh, and you can find it in the Basalt Forest on a ridge overlooking a ruined bridge. 

Stim #3 - Jedha: Sheltered Hollow

Another Stim that can be found in the earlier hours of the game, you'll be able to acquire this shortly after arriving on Jedha and getting to the Sheltered Hollow.

Stim #4 - Koboh: Doma's Shop

After you've found 10 Priorite Shards, head to the hub on Koboh. Here, you can pay the 10 Priorite Shards to Doma in order to open the locked door in her shop. Behind that door is another Stim canister waiting for you to take it. 

Stim #5 - Koboh: Viscid Bog

Another Stim can be found a decent ways into the game, when you head into the swamp on Koboh. Following a trail of stones that can be lifted using the Force near the entrance to the swamp will lead you to this Stim, but be careful. A deadly Mogu called "The Mire Terror" is a boss fight here, and it's bigger and stronger than the others you'll have fought. You can get the Stim after finishing the fight. 

Stim #6 - Shattered Moon: Assembly Staging

As you explore the Shattered Moon, you'll eventually come upon a large circular structure where you have to do a near-excessive amount of parkour, traveling across multiple cables and wall-running for an extended period of time. When you get to this structure, stop, then find the cable going from one side to the other. It's electrified, so you'll have to jump to avoid being thrown off. When you've made it to the other side, follow a short path to grab this Stim. 

Stim #7 - Koboh: Rambler's Reach

From Rambler's Reach Outpost in Koboh, find the path that starts right at the center of town and follow it. You'll come across a shack guarded by a handful of Bedlam Raiders. Kill them, then use a nearby Nekko to jump up on the ledge near the shack. Have BD-1 slice a terminal, and a roller droid will pop out. Carefully use the Force on this roller droid to destroy the debris inside the shack, clearing the way for you to grab this Stim. 

Stim #8 - Jedha: Crypt of Uhrma

Deep into the Pilgrim's Path on Jedha, you can find the Crypt of Uhrma. Within this crypt, there's a puzzle to solve. You can pull out eight different blocks on the wall using the Force. These blocks are organized in two rows of four. You need to pull out the top block on the left, the bottom two middle blocks, and the top block on the right. This will open a secret chamber containing the Stim. 

A galaxy to explore

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is here, and it offers a huge leap up from the previous game in level design and storytelling, while building on the combat that made the experience so enjoyable. Regardless of whether or not you're a big Star Wars fan, it's one of the best Xbox games available to grab this year.

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote that "With better exploration, fantastic combat, and emotionally-resonant story, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a must-play adventure marred only by some performance issues."

What you need to know

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is one of the most anticipated games of 2023, and it's almost available for folks to play on Xbox, Windows PC, and other platforms.
• Ahead of its release, a new ad for the game that features Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Cameron Monaghan (Cal Kestis) has been shared on the official Star Wars Twitter account.
• In the video, Hamill and Monaghan have a lighthearted "Jedi coaching" session during motion capture. There's plenty of lighthearted banter between the two, so make sure to check it out.
• We've embedded the ad in this article for easy viewing.

Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is one of 2023's most anticipated games, and its extremely high review scores have only gotten fans even more excited. We're less than a day away from its launch now, and ahead of release, a new ad for the action-adventure epic has been shared by the official Star Wars Twitter account. 

The ad features Mark Hamill and Cameron Monaghan — the actors behind the legendary Luke Skywalker and Survivor's protagonist, Cal Kestis — doing some "Jedi coaching" during a motion capture session. The lighthearted banter between the two is pretty amusing, making it a must-watch for any Star Wars fan. You can view it in the embed below.

Speaking as someone who's been a diehard Star Wars fan since childhood, it's awesome to see the series' original hero and one of its latest main characters interact. It's a crazy reminder of just how far George Lucas' space opera franchise has come over the years ever since that fateful July film debut in 1978. It also made me realize that both Luke and Cal are surprisingly similar, in that they're both selfless good-natured dorks with a touch of naivety.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launches on April 28, 2023, though it'll technically be available for some folks on the US West Coast late on April 27. In his review of the game, my colleague Samuel Tolbert wrote that it's "a must-play adventure" with tons of character, heart, and tight lightsaber and Force-focused combat.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is nearly here, and for fans of the franchise, it'll undoubtedly stand tall as one of the best Xbox games. It's available for $70 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4.

"Everything I'm doing seems pointless. The Empire's only growing stronger."

So says a weary Cal Kestis to his friends, lamenting how the last five years of effort haven't made a dent in the Imperial war machine. There are always more Stormtroopers, while the Empire reaches new planets every day. But then Cal learns something about a long-hidden planet that even the Empire doesn't know about. Somewhere people could take refuge from constant war. Somewhere Jedi could thrive again. Cal Kestis and his friends can't topple the Empire, but maybe they can outlast it.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic game, with developer Respawn Entertainment taking everything so good about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and building on it to reach new heights. The result is a well-told tale with surprisingly personal yet extremely emotional stakes that asks what it means to be a Jedi and a survivor in the face of an all-consuming Empire. 

Combined with improved exploration, accessibility, and combat options, this is one adventure that delivers not just as a Star Wars story but as one of the best games of the year so far.

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review code provided by Electronic Arts. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review — Story and characters

Cal Kestis returns as the protagonist of Survivor, and it's his frustration at the state of the galaxy that drives so much of the plot. Cal is the same quiet but trusting guy from years past, but he's clearly tired. Cameron Monaghan turns in an excellent performance that really sells just how weary Cal is over the repeated loss of friends.

However, learning of Tanalorr, a planet that has been hidden since the days of the High Republic, ignites a second wind in Cal as he tries to protect everyone around him. Despite the importance of this revelation, the story ends up being surprisingly personal. While it doesn't swing for the fences too often, the result is a narrative that ends up being meaningful in a way that most Star Wars media simply isn't.

I already liked Cal, but this game made me honestly care for him. Ultimately, it's Cal's relationships with his friends that define this story, and they get to shine in spades. The returned Jedi Cere (as performed by Debra Wilson) is a beacon of guidance to Cal, while the ever-chummy Greez and the mysterious Nightsister Merrin (performed by Daniel Roebuck and Tina Ivlev, respectively) bring out the best in Cal's bravery and compassion.

Newcomer Bode Akuna (performed by Noshir Dalal) seems like just another gun for hire, happy to fight the Empire, but he, too, has a more personal reason for belonging to the group. Meanwhile, Dagan Gera and Reyvis (performed by Cody Fern and DC Douglas, respectively) are two mysterious living relics from the High Republic that provide a nice juxtaposition with the core group.

If I had to draw a comparison to any other piece of Star Wars in recent history, it would be Andor, despite the prominent difference in the number of lightsabers on screen. You're not getting massive plot twists that shake the very nature of the Force, but you see the very concept of Jedi examined under the cruel lens of survival. Can you hate an enemy that is pushing you to extinction? What does betrayal do to people who are already lost in their obsessions? It's in asking these questions that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor truly shines.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review — Gameplay and customization

The tight, tough-but-fair, give-and-take lightsaber combat of Fallen Order returns better than ever. Cal hasn't lost any of his abilities, and he'll quickly gain some new ones. In Survivor, there are several ways to play through the different Lightsaber Stances: single-bladed, double-bladed, dual-wielding, crossguard, and blaster. Every stance has different advantages and disadvantages, as well as a corresponding number of skills to unlock. 

For example, using a lightsaber in double-bladed form allows you to hit multiple enemies quickly. Meanwhile, the crossguard stance is slow with awkward timing but deals massive damage on connecting attacks. Outside of the tutorials, you'll never have to use a stance you don't want to, and it grants a huge amount of flexibility in figuring out how to take on the myriad dangers lurking in the dark corners of the galaxy. 

All of Cal's Force powers return as well, and he's got a few new ways of getting through scraps, such as with Jedi mind tricks, which can temporarily sway enemies to your side, providing much-needed breathing room in more hectic battles. From time to time, you can also command allies to assist (if they are present). Dealing with a dozen Stormtroopers and an AT-ST suddenly becomes a lot easier with Bode laying down cover fire or Merrin tethering enemies to the ground.

One of the weaker points in Fallen Order was the level design, which utilized a Metroidvania-esque approach of having players return to areas over time with new abilities that unlocked new paths. The problem was that there was no form of fast travel, and many areas — I'm looking at you, Zeffo — were borderline counterintuitive to navigate. In all these respects, Survivor is an absolutely massive improvement.

Paths across different planets frequently reveal new shortcuts in smart locations, meaning that you're rarely too far away from a meditation point where you can rest and recover.  On average, this made the experience a bit easier than the preceding game, not because the combat challenge was tuned down but because it felt less unfair whenever I did die. Fast travel is also available, allowing you to quickly go between meditation points on the same planet — load times never took longer than 6-7 seconds.

You can also use some of the different alien fauna to make your way around, gliding to new locations or riding different creatures to reach otherwise-inaccessible ledges. This provides variety for solving different environmental puzzles, and there were more than a few times when I had to really think carefully about every tool available to me to unlock a hidden path. 

While Fallen Order only allowed players to customize their lightsaber, swap a few skins, and collect the now-infamous ponchos, Survivor allows for a much deeper level of customization. You can adjust Cal's hair, beard, and clothing at an in-depth level. BD-1 is similarly customizable to an extreme extent. Do you want your little droid buddy to resemble the unfinished state of C-3PO in The Phantom Menace? That's available. 

While not quite an open-world game, a couple of the planets you'll explore are pretty extensive, particularly the secluded frontier world of Koboh. There's even a saloon here that functions as a kind of hub, with minigames like gardening and a holotable. Sometimes you can find characters and recruit them, bringing them back to the saloon for new conversations, shops, and dialogue trees. None of this is strictly required, but it gives you even more of a reason to explore outside of the main path.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review — Visuals and audio

Leaving the last generation of console hardware behind, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor can look quite impressive. From burning nebulas to strange alien creatures, the galaxy is a vast place, with this game turning in some improved character models compared to the previous entry, as well as a few downright gorgeous areas. It's not the best-looking game I've seen, but considering the increased location sizes and denser world, that's a trade-off I'm okay with. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has two modes on Xbox Series X: A visual-focused mode that runs at 30 FPS and a performance mode that targets 60 FPS. As best I can tell, both modes use dynamic resolution, with the performance mode explicitly capping the resolution to 1440p to improve the framerate. 

Performance mode mainly was fine throughout my playthrough, with one notable caveat. Whenever I was exploring Koboh and got close to the hub area, the resolution and framerate noticeably tanked, with some textures even taking a couple of seconds to pop in. It was jarring whenever it happened, with a marked difference in the game's visual quality and the responsiveness of the controls, so I hope this is something the developers can improve before or shortly after launch. 

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review — Accessibility and approachability

There are several accessibility options available in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, with the ability to adjust the game's field of view (FOV), tweak navigational assistance, alter HUD scaling options, choose between having to button mash or hold a button down for inputs, and more.

It's not the most exhaustive list of options seen in a game, but it does mean that this adventure is far more accessible to a range of players than its predecessor. The developers have also noted they'll be adding more options after the game's launch.

Suppose the game's difficulty is a concern. In that case, there's also a new Story mode that provides a much simpler gameplay experience, meaning players don't have to master dodging and parrying enemy attacks. This way, you don't have to worry about being killed quickly in a fight. 

Broadly speaking, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is accessible to new players. The game does a good job reintroducing characters without coming off like it's dumping large amounts of info on your head. There's even an in-game databank for any players like myself that want to read and re-read the lore of...well, pretty much everything.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor review — Should you play it?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic action-adventure game and a testament to what developers can do when taking feedback. Everything here is just fun, and while the more personal tone of the story may not work for everybody, it's the kind of thing that will bring me back to the vast universe of Star Wars over and over again. 

There are some performance problems in specific areas right now, which I hope to see addressed because it's a small tarnished spot on what is otherwise a stellar adventure. Where Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced a Padawan on the run, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor shows Cal Kestis genuinely earned the title of Jedi Knight. 

What you need to know

• The final gameplay trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is now available. 
• In the trailer, we get to see a glimpse of different fights against a Rancor, Droidekas, and more. 
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is slated to launch on April 28, 2023. 

We're only a couple of weeks away from the launch of Respawn Entertainment's widely-anticipated Star Wars adventure, and there's a new gameplay trailer to check out. 

In this new trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, we get to see a range of enemies that protagonist Cal Kestis will be tasked with defeating. These include shielded Separatists Droidekas, as well as the terrifying Rancor that first made an impression so many years ago in Star Wars: Episode VI. You can check out the trailer below:

These are just some of the enemies we'll be tackling, as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is seemingly set across a much wider range of locations than its planet-spanning predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 

With more worlds to explore, new Force abilities to master, and more, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is promising to be one of the best games of the year. It's scheduled to arrive on April 28, 2023, across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5. 

Windows Central's take

Every time I've seen Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, it's looked even better. From making it a current-generation exclusive game to improving on all the areas of feedback that were brought up with Fallen Order, Respawn Entertainment has been on the right track at every point, at least from what we've seen so far. Bring on April 28!

Is your computer ready for the next Star Wars outing? 

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is on the way, bringing with it a whole host of improvements to the formula that players enjoyed in its 2019 predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Ahead of the game's launch, the developers have updated the Steam page with details on what you'll need in order to play the game on Windows PC, as well as the recommended requirements for getting the most out of it. 

In general, the requirements seem fairly reasonable for a current-generation title, though you may want to invest in one of the best SSDs available, as it requires a beefy 155 GB minimum space.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC - Minimum Requirements

The minimum requirements for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are enough to play it, though you may not have the best framerates or be able to use the highest texture options. Any of the best gaming laptops on the market will easily meet this standard.

• GPU Features: DX12, 8GB VRAM
• GPU: Nvidia GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 580
• CPU Features: 4 cores / 8 threads
• CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 1400
• RAM: 8 GB
• STORAGE: 155 GB SSD
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC: Maximum Requirements

The requirements get heavier here, especially when it comes to the CPU. If you don't have the newest line of CPUs, you may not be able to push the framerate very high. Otherwise, things seem fairly standard as far as new releases go, and the recommended GPU is actually a bit lower than we've seen in many other games that have recently launched. 

• GPU Features: DX12, 8GB VRAM
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 2070 or RX 6700 XT
• CPU Features: 4 cores / 8 threads
• CPU: Intel Core i5 11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X
• RAM: 16 GB
• STORAGE: 155 GB SSD
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit

Just what awaits?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is looking to be an excellent adventure. Picking up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the game has protagonist Cal Kestis on the run, fighting a losing war against the might of the Empire. He's not alone though, as his friends like Merrin and Greez are right there with him.

There's a wide range of new abilities, such as a crossguard lightsaber stance, a grappling hook, Force taming different alien beasts across the galaxy, and even the ability to use a blaster at the same time as a lightsaber. Respawn has clearly listened to player feedback, as fast travel will also be available, though time will tell just what other secrets are hiding away in this story.

In my review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I wrote "There are some performance problems in specific areas right now, which I hope to see addressed because it's a small tarnished spot on what is otherwise a stellar adventure. Where Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduced a Padawan on the run, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor shows Cal Kestis genuinely earned the title of Jedi Knight."

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is currently slated to arrive on April 28, 2023 across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5.

What you need to know

• Respawn Entertainment is expanding with a new studio located in Madison, Wisconsin in the U.S.
• This is the third studio to be part of Respawn Entertainment, in addition to the Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada teams. 
• The Wisconsin studio will primarily be focused on supporting Apex Legends. 
• This comes just a few weeks after the news that Respawn parent company Electronic Arts laid off hundreds of quality assurance testers working on Apex Legends. 

Developer Respawn Entertainment continues to grow as one of Electronic Arts' premiere studios with an upcoming third location.

Respawn Entertainment shared on Monday that the team is expanding with a third studio located in Madison, Wisconsin in the U.S. This studio's primary focus is on continuing to support Apex Legends, with the team being led by Ryan Burnett, who previously worked at studios like Raven Software and Epic Games.

"At its core, this expansion represents Respawn’s commitment to work with the most skilled, curious, and creative minds in the industry. Having just passed its 4th anniversary, our aim is to continue to make Apex Legends the premiere Battle Royale on the market," says Daniel Suarez, SVP operations at Respawn Entertainment. 

"I cannot think of a better addition than the immensely talented developers in Madison working alongside our Los Angeles and Vancouver teams to help us shape what comes next."

Respawn Entertainment first expanded in support of Apex Legends back in 2020, opening a studio in Vancouver, Canada to assist with the ongoing work the Battle Royale hit would require.

This most recent expansion comes just weeks after Electronic Arts laid off hundreds of quality assurance (QA) testers who worked on Apex Legends. Electronic Arts also reportedly cancelled an unannounced single-player Apex Legends game in the Titanfall universe. The company also announced that support for Apex Legends Mobile, which launched in 2022, would be ending.

Windows Central's Take

On one hand, it's cool to see Respawn Entertainment expanding. A new studio means more potential and more jobs. People I know that were laid off months ago have still been unable to find a new job, so the more positions available, the better. 

At the same time, I can't help but feel a little disappointing that it's mainly to support Apex Legends. I get it, maintaining a live service game takes a lot of work, but it would be cool to see Respawn get to work on something that isn't Star Wars or Apex Legends. Or, at the very, would be adjacent to Apex Legends, like a Titanfall 3 or the now-cancelled single-player game.

There's also the optics of this studio being opened just after hundreds of people working as testers lost their jobs. I understand it's not one-to-one, but it feels gross to watch.

What you need to know

• Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts have shared a new story trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
• The story trailer shows Cal, alongside his friends Greez, Cere, and Merrin, as they all try to resist the strength of the Galactic Empire. 
• The trailer also shows combat in some new areas, as well as more usage of Cal's new grappling hook. 
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is slated to launch on April 28, 2023. 

It's almost time to continue the adventure of Cal Kestis, Jedi survivor, as he attempts to fight back against the Empire.

Developer Respawn Entertainment and publisher Electronic Arts shared a new story trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on Monday, with the trailer focused on Cal and his friends like Merrin and Greez. You can check out the story trailer below.

We get to see more combat and cinematics from the game, with a wide range of locations to explore and traverse with abilities like the grappling hook. 

After initially being slated to arrive in March, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is now scheduled to arrive on April 28, 2023 across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5.

Windows Central's take

I loved my time with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order back in 2019, but there's no denying that game had a lot of rough edges at launch, a handful of which are still present in the version of the game updated for current-generation consoles. Additions like fast travel and a grappling hook mean Star Wars Jedi: Survivor could easily be one of the best games of the year. 

On another note, I've been reading through The High Republic books lately, and while I don't want to spoil anything, I do wonder if this latest trailer is hinting at some sort of story connection...

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Revelry is the next season of developer Respawn Entertainment's ongoing shooter, Apex Legends. 
• Apex Legends: Revelry eschews adding a new playable Legend, with the team focusing on new game experiences and rebalancing the existing Legends.
• The developers are sunsetting the Arenas mode, while the highly-requested Team Deathmatch is finally being introduced.
• Apex Legends: Revelry is slated to launch on Feb 14, 2023.

The next big season for Apex Legends is almost here, and the developers at Respawn Entertainment are shaking some things up. 

To start, there's no new Legend coming this season. While past seasons have frequently expanded the roster, with more recent additions including Catalyst and Vantage, the developers are choosing to focus on balancing and tweaking the entire existing cast for Apex Legends: Revelry through new Classes and Perks, something that requires not introducing another character. 

Arenas mode is also going away, with the developers choosing to sunset this mode because it just hasn't clicked with majority of players.

"We feel Arenas is missing the mark for our players,” says Evan Nikolich, senior design director at Respawn Entertainment. Arenas will be replaced by the widely-requested Team Deathmatch, which will be rolling out as part of Apex Legends: Revelry. Team Deathmatch is fast-paced, with two teams of six players picking loadouts and fighting until a team wins two rounds.

Respawn Entertainment is also taking time to focus on the new player experience, making the Battle Royale a touch more accessible to new players. Anyone playing Apex Legends for the first time will now have to complete a handful of "orientation" matches, being paired mostly with bots, with only four squads of human players.

Across Battle Royale and Team Deathmatch, players will also get to try out a new gun, a burst rifle called the Nemesis, which should shake up close and mid-range encounters.

All of this comes on the heels of recent game cancellations at Electronic Arts, with Apex Legends Mobile shutting down and a new unannounced Titanfall game reportedly being shuttered. Speaking on the former, game director Steven Ferreira noted that the closure of Apex Legends Mobile was "not a reflection" on Apex Legends as a whole.

Apex Legends: Revelry is slated to launch on Feb. 14 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

Windows Central's take

There's some promising tidbits here, but we'll have to wait and see how the Legend remastering goes to make any other calls. Team Deathmatch should be a welcome addition, and Respawn making sure newer players have a better experience is also welcome. All things told, this should continue to be one of the best Xbox games for any multiplayer fans for some time.

What you need to know

• Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts announced that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is being delayed to April 28, 2023.
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor previously got a release date March 17, 2023 at the The Game Awards 2022.
• This game is the follow-up to the extremely successful 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which introduced protagonist Cal Kestis.

If you're one of the many Star Wars fans looking forward to the next big game in the franchise, there's a slight delay you need to know about. 

Developer Respawn Entertainment and publisher Electronic Arts shared on Tuesday that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is being delayed six weeks to April 28, 2023. The game was previously slated to launch on March 17, receiving a new trailer and release date at The Game Awards 2022. 

"In order for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, provide the team the time they need, and achieve the level of polish our fans deserve, we have added six crucial weeks to our release schedule - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will now launch globally on April 28th, "Respawn wrote on Twitter.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the sequel to Respawn Entertainment's 2019 adventure Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The game was a huge commercial success, with over 20 million players as of 2021.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and sees Cal Kestis continuing to run. The game will introduce new enemies and planets from the Star Wars universe, alongside new gameplay mechanics like the ability to ride different creatures in order to access new areas.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a current-generation exclusive, and as such is being developed for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5. 

In our review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, former staff writer Jennifer Locke noted that "This is the Star Wars game we've all been waiting for. It takes the best elements of Tomb Raider, Metroidvanias, and a dash of souls-likes to create a memorable and fun experience with amazing combat that makes you feel like a true Jedi."

What you need to know

• During The Game Awards 2022, we got a new look at Star Wars Jedi: Survivor from Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment. 
• The trailer showed new gameplay as Cal Kestis tries to survive a galaxy overrun by the Empire.
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor now has a release date of March 16, 2023.

Anyone tuning into the Game Awards 2022 got to see a new big look at publisher Electronic Arts and developer Respawn Entertainment's upcoming Jedi adventure.

Shortly after a release date leaked thanks to Steam, we've got official confirmation. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is set to release on March 17, 2023. You can check out the trailer below:

In the gameplay trailer, we see Cal fighting new enemies like battle droids, as well as making his way across a variety of new environments in the Star Wars universe. This appears to build on what the developers created in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which launched back in 2019. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is set five years after the events of Fallen Order, and appears to be leaning into the darker side of Star Wars as Cal attempts to survive the threat of the Empire.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS5, and Windows PC. This is in line with other upcoming Electronic Arts games like the Dead Space remake, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and the next Mass Effect game, which are also being developed exclusively for current-generation game devices.

In our review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, former staff writer Jennifer Locke wrote that "This is the Star Wars game we've all been waiting for. It takes the best elements of Tomb Raider, Metroidvanias, and a dash of souls-likes to create a memorable and fun experience with amazing combat that makes you feel like a true Jedi."

What you need to know

• Apex Legends Season 15 is titled Apex Legends: Eclipse. 
• Apex Legends: Eclipse is adding a new character named Catalyst, as well as a new map called Broken Moon. 
• The developers at Respawn Entertainment are also introducing item gifting and stickers, the latter allowing extra customization. 
• Apex Legends: Eclipse is slated to launch on Nov. 1, 2022.

The next season of Apex Legends is on the way, and there are some big changes coming with some widely-requested features, as well as a new place for Legends to fight.

Apex Legends: Eclipse is introducing the Broken Moon map, which was designed to break up the normal flow of combat across the other maps in rotation. Respawn Entertainment notes that the points of interest are much larger here, allowing squads to explore and relax for longer before breaking out in fights.

Broken Moon is slightly larger than World's Edge, but due to some of the more unique systems in play, it “really is its own animal," per Jeff Shaw, level designer at Respawn Entertainment. The moon as been partially terraformed, and the map is set on the light side of the moon, with structures and imagery inspired by Monet paintings.

“We wanted to make sure it was something people could spend hours in but that wouldn’t become oppressive or depressing,” notes Ed Agostini, world director on Apex Legends at Respawn Entertainment.

With Apex Legends widely being seen as one of the best Xbox games for multiplayer and battle royale fans, a new map is a huge event. Completely new maps — not updated versions of older maps — take a long time to build for Apex Legends, with Respawn Entertainment saying that the total process is around a year and a half, with the first six months being pre-production.

“We don’t want to put out anything that isn’t ready for prime time," says Agostini. 

Outside of the new map, the fifteenth season of Apex Legends is bringing some widely requested features. Players will be able to start giving each other gifts, allowing someone to purchase items or bundles for a friend who might not have played as long and hasn't earned a lot yet. 

Players will also be able to further customize their Legends through stickers, which can be applied to equipment. Looking ahead, Respawn Entertainment is continuing to look into cross-progression, though there's no release window for when this feature might become available. 

Apex Legends: Eclipse launches on Nov. 1, 2022 across all platforms.

What you need to know

• Vantage is a new character coming to Apex Legends with the next season, which is called Apex Legends: Hunted.
• Vantage can scan enemies from a distance for info, reposition around the battlefield using her pet bat Echo, and 
• Apex Legends: Hunted is scheduled to begin on Aug. 9, 2022.

As Apex Legends continues to grow, the youngest character yet is joining the playable roster in the next season. 

Apex Legends: Hunted brings Vantage, a young survivalist who grew on a harsh, icy planet. As a sniper, Vantage is used to tracking targets from a distance, which plays a role in her skillset, making her a stark contrast to the defensive Newcastle, who was added earlier in the year. 

Vantage is also accompanied by her pet bat Echo. Echo isn't just there to show off, but is instead an extension of Vantage's abilities, helping her relocate around the map when needed. Rachel Gagner, concept artist at Respawn Entertainment, explained that Echo was meant to strike a balance, as the team wanted him to be cute, but also "feral and wild." 

Anyone worried about the poor guy getting hurt can relax however, as Respawn also shared that Echo can't be shot or targeted in any way. All of this means that Vantage will help shake up the game at a time it's already getting some other big changes, with King's Canyon returning and the level cap expanding as part of Apex Legends: Hunted, which is set to begin on Aug. 9, 2022.

Here's Vantage's list of abilities: 

• Passive - Spotter’s Lens 
  • Using her Spotter’s Lens to read tactical information on enemy squads at a distance, Vantage always has the upper hand with critical intel like Legend name, Shield rarity, team size and range. 
• Tactical - Echo Relocation 
  • Vantage’s companion Echo is at the ready to help her reposition herself in a fight. Using her modified jetpack and targeting system, Vantage can launch herself towards Echo’s position and take the high ground.
• Ultimate - Sniper’s Mark 
  • There’s nowhere to hide from Vantage’s custom sniper rifle, which reveals enemies with its scope and with its ammunition: a successful hit highlights opposing squads for 10 seconds accompanied by a diamond marker, and damage scales up with each hit.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Hunted is the next season of content for Respawn Entertainment's ongoing battle royale first-person shooter.
• With Apex Legends: Hunted, the developers are bringing back the King's Canyon map, with a few changes to make it a more balanced experience than ever before.
• The level cap is also being raised, going up from 500 to 2000, vastly increasing the number of Apex Packs players can earn.
• Apex Legends: Hunted is currently scheduled to begin on Aug. 9, 2022.

The next season of Apex Legends is on the way, with a few big changes for players to look forward to. 

To start, King's Canyon is coming back with Apex Legends: Hunted. This map was the first-ever arena available in Apex Legends, and its revamped form sees some changes to make it a more competitive experience all around. Jeff Shaw, lead level designer for Apex Legends: Hunted, notes that The Cage has been opened up, so there's less cover, meaning that firefights should be resolved quicker than in the past. 

As part of the King's Canyon revamp, the iconic Skull Town is returning as Relic. While this location was destroyed by Loba back in Apex Legends' fifth season, the damage has since been repaired.

The level cap is also being increased this season. It's not a small bump, with the developers confirming that the cap will be increasing all the way from 500 to 2000, as players will be able to "loop" back with ranks 1 to 500 three additional times, similar to a Prestige system in games like the Call of Duty franchise. Naturally, this means there's a massive increase in how many Apex Packs players can earn through leveling up. 

Finally, a few major changes are coming to different guns and equipment as part of a balancing effort. The Laser Sight attachment is being added for pistols and submachine guns, massively reducing hipfire spread for those weapons. The Wingman is being moved over to Heavy ammo, while the Spitfire is being moved to Light ammo. Finally, the EVA-8 is getting a variety of tweaks to make it more useful, including an increased fire rate and Stocks as an attachment. 

Senior game designed Eric Canavese says that these weapon changes are meant to add "wiggle room" in case the team designs to experiment with new weapons in future seasons. Additionally, Gold-tier items are being reworked. As an example, Gold backpacks are losing the Guardian Angel perk, but will allow players to hold even more items. 

All in all, there's a lot for players to go through, including the new hero Vantage, and Apex Legends is set to continue growing as one of the best games around for anyone that enjoys multiplayer shooters. Apex Legends: Hunted is slated to begin on Aug. 9, 2022. 

What you need to know

• Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts revealed Vantage, the latest character coming to Apex Legends. 
• Vantage is a survivor who grew up alone on the icy world of Págos, accompanied only by her alien bat friend named Echo. 
• Vantage is being added as part of Apex Legends: Hunted, the next big update for the popular battle royale title. 

Details are still early, but we've got our first look at the next character coming to Electronic Arts (EA) and Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends. 

The developers shared a new trailer on Monday, revealing that Vantage will be the next Legend in the game as part of the Apex Legends: Hunted update. Vantage grew up as the child of a criminal who was wrongfully convicted. Vantage is alone aside from alien bat companion, who is named Echo, and the pair have struggled to survive on an icy planet called Págos. 

You can take a look at the new trailer, Stories from the Outland: Survive, below: 

While we don't know exactly what her skills will entail, Vantage's name and usage of a sniper rifle in the trailer indicate that she'll be good at long-ranged precision combat. It also seems likely that her pet bat Echo could play a roll with her skillset.

Earlier in the year, Respawn Entertainment introduced another Legend named Newcastle as a part of Apex Legends: Saviors. Apex Legends is continuing to grow as one of the best games for multiplayer around, and we'll have to wait and see what else will be part of Apex Legends: Hunted. 

We'll know more soon, as Apex Legends: Hunted is currently scheduled to launch on Aug. 9, 2022 across all platforms. 

What you need to know

• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a third-person action-adventure game released in 2019.
• The sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022 with a teaser trailer.
• The teaser shows protagonist Cal Kestis watching someone in a bacta tank and fighting off Inquisitors.

If you enjoyed Respawn Entertainment's 2019 Jedi adventure, you're in luck. 

At Star Wars Celebration 2022 on Friday, a teaser trailer for the sequel was revealed. It's called Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Like the previous game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, it stars Cal Kestis as the protagonist, a young Jedi who survived the events of Order 66. You can watch the teaser trailer below:

The teaser shows our hero and his robot companion BD-1 fighting off enemy threats like Inquisitors, while also gazing at a mysterious person in a bacta tank. The game is described as taking place five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, or ten years after the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. 

“Millions of Star Wars fans have been captivated by the story of Cal Kestis, and we’re thrilled to be working with the world-class developers at Respawn to continue this epic tale,” said Douglas Reilly, vice president of Lucasfilm Games. “We could not be more excited to reveal Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and this next chapter of Cal Kestis’ journey with players around the world.”

Like its predecessor, it's being developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, the latter of which previously confirmed that a sequel was in development, though no other details were given. The game doesn't have a release date, but is currently slated to arrive at some point in 2023. 

Notably, Electronic Arts is looking to launch a remake and a "major IP" in the first quarter of 2023. The publisher then went on to confirm that the Dead Space remake would launch on Jan. 27, 2023. As such, it's possibly that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is being aimed to launch before April 2023.

The game is a current-generation exclusive, meaning it's only coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and PS5. Stig Asmussen, game director at Respawn Entertainment, notes that the team will share more later this year. Asmussen also confirmed that the game will take advantage of the ultra-fast SSDs in the new consoles, as well as utilizing ray-traced lighting thanks to the additional processing power.

What you need to know

• Newcastle is the latest hero to be added to the roster in Respawn Entertainment's battle royale, Apex Legends.
• Newcastle is actually Jackson, the brother of Bangalore.
• Apex Legends: Saviors is slated to launch on May 10, 2022.

Apex Legends: Saviors, the latest season for the ongoing battle royale game, is gaining another Legend for players to use.

Newcastle arrives as part of Apex Legends: Saviors, the same season that's bringing a dead sea monster and IMC Armories to the Storm Point map. Newcastle is designed as a duality, simultaneously a bright-eyed, optimistic hero of the people while also hiding secrets.

Newcastle is Jackson, brother of Bangalore. He's entered the games while impersonating the original Newcastle. This is reflected in the design of his logo, per lead character concept artist Christina Ferez, who notes that the layered castle is divided in two, representing Jackson's double life. Newcastle has been designed to be inspiring and heroic, though clearly still adapting from suburban life, as he has a bit of "dad bod."

Narrative writer Ify Nwadiwe sums Jackson up by saying he's "authentically a dad," adding that "He's trying to get back to his kids at the end of the day."

The team at Respawn Entertainment has been working on Newcastle for the last couple of years, changing out ideas of a superhero-esque figure who could also be something of a "medieval celebrity." These ideas are reflected in Newcastle's abilities, which are focused on defense, making him a foil to Bangalore's offensive style, with Devan McGuire, senior game designer, saying that "The idea of a knight in Apex is something we realized just made so much sense."

Here's Newcastle's list of abilities:

• Passive - Retrieve the Wounded
  • Using his wrist-mounted Revive Shield, Newcastle can protect himself and his companion from incoming fire while he revives and pulls his ally to safety. The Revive Shield is powered by Newcastle's own Knockdown Shield, so finding higher levels of the item increases the strength of this ability.
• Tactical - Mobile Shield
  • Newcastle creates a hovering energy shield and can control its movement to adapt to the ever changing combat fronts of the battlefield. Advance the line, cover a retreat or turn the shield to guard against a sudden flank. The Mobile Shield's versatility and top/bottom shield projections give creative opportunities to the tactical defender.
• Ultimate - Castle Wall
  • Drawing his signature shield from his back, Newcastle leaps into action and slams the shield to the ground activating the construction of a massive fortress to give him and his allies a strong defensive position. Enemies in its wake are knocked back and those who try to push through the energized wall are punishd and slowed.
  • While Newcastle can leap great distances in a single bound with his Ultimate, it is even stronger when used to regroup. When targeting an ally, Newcastle can leap higher and farther than normal allowing him to heroically reach his companion and turn the tide of a fight.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends: Saviors is the next season for Respawn Entertainment's ongoing battle royale title.
• Apex Legends: Saviors is adding a new point of interest in the form of a dead sea monster.
• There's also new IMC armories which provide a risk-reward minigame, as well as a new hero named Newcastle.
• Apex Legends: Saviors is slated to launch of May 10, 2022.

Jeff Shaw, lead level designer at Respawn Entertainment, sums up Apex Legends: Saviors pretty well by asking "What if we could fight inside and around a giant sea monster?"

Apex Legends, the juggernaut battle royale title from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts, is growing even more with its upcoming season. Apex Legends: Saviors is adding a lot, from the mysterious new hero Newcastle to a new major point of interest on the Storm Point map. That latter addition radically changes things, adding a dead sea monster that's more that just scenery, it's a part of the map.

While going inside the creature — known as the Downed Beast — naturally cuts down on players' spatial awareness, the best loot will be found in the belly of the beast. That's not the only place to get great gear however, thanks to the introduction of IMC Armories on Storm Point.

IMC Armories have recently emerged on Storm Point and add a new way for players to get the perfect equipment, no matter how far they are into the match. Once an IMC Armory is activated, the doors seal shut, preventing third-parties from interrupting the fun. Meanwhile, waves of Spectres are deployed. The more waves the team of Legends can cut down in during the one minute lockdown, the better the gear will be.

New "Smart-Loot Bins" scan the players' current loadouts, granting them the equipment that'll best fit them right now. If they've got a particular gun, for example, they might be awarded attachments for said gun. It adds a new PvE element into Apex Legends, one that also helps further call back to the game's setting in the Titanfall universe.

But will the IMC Armories remain exclusive to Storm Point? We'll have to wait and see what happens. "While we are starting with them on Storm Point exclusively, depending on player reception they could be moved to other maps," says Samantha Kalman, senior game designer at Respawn Entertainment. In the meantime, Apex Legends: Saviors is slated to launch on May 10, 2022. The game was recently updated for Xbox Series X|S and PS5, with more features coming in the future, including 120 FPS support.

That's not all Respawn Entertainment has in mind for the month though, as Apex Legends Mobile is now confirmed to be launching sometime in May for Android and iOS devices.

What you need to know

• Respawn announced a number of changes ahead of Season 6's debut on Aug. 18.
• A new hero, Rampart, will be joining the game. She is a modder.
• Other big changes include a new crafting system, a "boosted" battle pass, and a new weapon.

In celebration of Apex Legends Season 6 debuting on Aug. 18, developer Respawn Entertainment had to announce some changes, including some big ones.

The first is the introduction of a new hero, Rampart. Not much is known about her yet, and fans who have been playing the game haven't heard many rumblings about her, but based on the teaser released Thursday, she appears to be a weaponsmith and is described as a modder.

She doesn't appear much in the trailer introducing her, but we get some details on her personality, her look, what she sounds like, and of course, an introduction to "Sheila." Unclear if Sheila is a robot or drone companion like Lifeline's drone Doc or if it's just a really big gun or gatling turret.

As Season 5 has been winding down, players have been spotting hints throughout the map for what was to come. Audio diaries have featured unannounced characters and there were signs that were vandalized with "All Hail Sheila." Now we know what Sheila refers to, at the very least, but a lot of what was teased still hasn't been confirmed by Respawn yet. Other clues showed a familiar face from Titanfall 2, which players would see after completing quests. A new map was also teased, but that could be announced at a later date.

It makes sense then based on the new hero that the game would also include a new crafting system to go along with her. Not much is known about it yet, but it'll involve collecting materials to make your own gear.

Another announcement involes a "Boosted Battle Pass," which will include exclusive items, including Legendary skins, Apex Packs, and more. It's unclear what this will cost, if anything, and how it will compare to the Battle Pass already integrated into the game.

Finally, there's a new gun: an energy SMG called the Volt.

There's bound to be more coming this season, too. The trailer shows off some previously unknown features. You can see Bangalore shooting through a shield wall and Caustic whack Pathfinder with a canister.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends Season Five has begun.
• Season Five is introducing Quests, with the first one being called The Broken Ghost.
• This quest will run over the course of the season as players try to find nine different parts of an artifact.
• Finding the artifact parts will unlock new pieces of lore.

With Apex Legends Season Five kicking off, Respawn Entertainment is introducing a new event to shake things up with Quests. The first of these Quests is The Broken Ghost. Players can undertake weekly Hunts, delving into King's Canyon at night to recover nine fragments of an artifact. Successfully completing these Hunts will unlock the story of The Broken Ghost.

You can go on weekly Hunts by yourself or in a squad but in order to get the rewards, you'll need to have unlocked the missions yourself. If you recover all nine pieces of the artifact, Respawn states you will "uncover a secret that the Outlands might not be ready for."

Apex Legends has been a huge success for Respawn and Electronic Arts, with Respawn recently announcing that it is opening a second studio in Vancouver. This studio will grow to around 80 developers and will focus entirely on Apex Legends.

Xbox

Main

• What is Xbox Game Pass?
• Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
• Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
• Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
• Best Upcoming Xbox Games for 2021
• Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S

What you need to know

• Gravity Well is a new independent studio founded by Respawn Entertainment veterans Drew McCoy and Jon "Slothy" Shiring.
• They are aiming to build a team around 80-85 people at peak, while still developing AAA games.
• Gravity Well is developing games exclusively for next-generation hardware and PCs.

Since its acquisition by Electronic Arts in 2017, Respawn Entertainment has been delivering critically-acclaimed games including Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Meanwhile, Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella is now studio head of both Respawn and DICE L.A, the latter of which will soon be renamed.

Still, with some of its members leaving, opportunity emerges and now, there's an exciting new independent studio on the scene. Gravity Well is a completely new team founded by some Respawn Entertainment veterans, including former Executive Producer Drew McCoy and Jon Shiring.

"We are starting a studio because of how we want to make games. We want time to iterate on everything and get ideas and feedback from the whole team. We're building this studio to last for decades, and that doesn't happen without putting the team first," McCoy explained. "We take team health as an absolute top priority. That means we are anti-crunch. That means good compensation. That means everyone at Gravity Well has creative freedom, because when someone else makes all of the decisions, work isn't fun and the end product isn't as good."

Shiring explained that "We're going to build a team that is 80-85 people at peak" and that "...once your team size crosses 100 people, everything changes." Gravity Well is setting up for remote work given the ongoing pandemic and is now taking job applications. Gravity Well is also setting out to build games exclusively for next-generation hardware and PCs.

Given how the team is just now beginning to hire, it'll probably be some time before we see its first game. If you're interested in following Gravity Well, you can check out the official Twitter account here.

Xbox Series X/S

Main

• Xbox Series X: Everything we know
• Best games coming to Xbox Series X/S
• List of Xbox Series X specs
• What is the Xbox Series X release date?
• How much does Xbox Series X cost?
• Why you can't preorder Xbox Series X yet
• Best Xbox Series X Headsets

What you need to know

• Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is the first entry in the landmark series in almost a decade, and is Respawn's first VR game.
• Respawn is focusing more on personal, emotional stories from actual WWII war veterans, creating empathy that other WWII games don't have.
• This focus means that realistic human-on-human violence is being toned down to avoid confusing the narrative of the game.

Virtual reality is a really intriguing medium, in part because the implementation of realism can have such staggeringly different effects on the outcome of the game. In the case of the upcoming Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, developer Respawn Entertainment is treading the line of violence in virtual reality very carefully. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella spoke with The LA Times about the seemingly sudden shift of thought regarding human-on-human violence; something that seems a bit odd for the man behind games like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, the Call of Duty series, Titanfall, and Apex Legends.

While all of these past games feature cinematic events and, in the case of Call of Duty, can feature incredibly realistic-looking scenarios, none of them have exuded the empathy that Respawn is attempting in the upcoming Medal of Honor reboot for Oculus Rift VR headsets. It all boils down to how Respawn is attempting to tell the tales of the people in the many battles that spanned years and thousands of miles, claiming the lives of millions, each with a personal story to tell. That personal touch is what will set Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond apart from all the other World War II games that came before it.

Everything we know about Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond

Since virtual reality puts you in the literal eyes of a virtual person, Respawn is using this wholly unique and immersive perspective to transport you into the minds of actual WWII veterans as they retell the haunting stories of the sights and sounds war. Utilizing a unique mix of documentary interview footage of war veterans, complete with new footage the team took of historical locations throughout Europe, Respawn is hoping to take players on a journey not just of sight, but also of empathy and emotion. Because of this unique perspective on war, Respawn is being careful to represent human-on-human violence in a way that's authentic but not necessarily realistic.

While there are plenty of violent and/or realistic games on the market, many of them are still treated as a game. VR titles like 'GORN' and 'Blade & Sorcery' are certainly as violent as you could make a game, but neither of them is attempting realism or trying to elicit any specific emotion from players other than the enjoyment of a video game. Other titles, like Onward, attempt to recreate as realistic an experience as possible via complicated weapons and environmental systems. Medal of Honor, on the other hand, is focusing more on the variety and depth of stories told from first-hand accounts while trying to focus in on the feelings and real emotions of the people involved, and that might end up being a more realistic experience than violence or visuals could ever recreate.

Best games for Oculus Rift S

In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the military of the Galactic Empire is filled with tons of different soldiers, and each of them are dangerous in their own unique ways. These troops make up the majority of the enemies that you'll be fighting over the course of the game, so it's a good idea to get a strong understanding of how each foe behaves, as well as what their strengths and weaknesses are. Here's our guide to every Imperial enemy you'll fight in the game (excluding boss encounters).

Standard troopers

The vast majority of the time, you'll be fighting the standard troopers of the Empire. Though they're far from the toughest enemies in the game, enemies that fall within this category can be very dangerous in groups, and later on in the game you'll often have to take on multiple different classes of trooper at the same time.

• Stormtroopers: Ah, Stormtroopers. As the bread-and-butter of the Imperial military, Stormtroopers are some of the most common enemies in the entire game, and are arguably the easiest ones to defeat. Usually deployed in small squadrons, these troopers will accurately (yes, that's right; they can hit things in this game!) fire at you from afar with their blaster rifles. The easiest way to take them down is to deflect their blaster bolts back at them, but closing the distance and cutting them down while they recharge their weapon is also an effective strategy.
• Heavy Stormtroopers: Heavy Stormtroopers are an upgrade from their normal variant, and wield minigun-like rotary blasters. These weapons shoot fast, and also have frontal energy shields that block any blaster bolts you deflect. However, they have a weakness: after a volley, the trooper has to let the weapon cool before shooting again. Wait for this to happen, and then quickly run up to them and cut them down before the trooper begins firing again.
• Scout Troopers: Scout Troopers make up the bulk of the foes that will engage you in melee combat. They wield stun batons in battle that do moderate damage and are capable of being used to block your lightsaber strikes. However, their defenses quickly go down to a volley of attacks, and they are also susceptible to counter-attacks after you parry their strikes. Like Stormtroopers, Scout Troopers usually engage you in groups, so it's a good idea to use movement and Force abilities to control the crowd. This will allow you to tackle them one at a time, which is much easier than trying to deal with multiple melee combatants simultaneously. Once you get it, the double-bladed lightsaber's inherent crowd control strengths make it an amazing weapon choice against squads of Scout Troopers.
• Flame Troopers: Flame Troopers are arguably the trickiest enemy of all of the normal Imperial soldiers, as their flamethrowers make approaching them head-on difficult. The last thing you want to do is get cornered by a trooper blasting you with volleys of fire, so make sure that you use lots of movement to prevent that from happening. In terms of getting around their strong frontal defense, using the Force Slow ability is a fantastic way to do so. This is because you can slow the trooper's movement down and prevent him from keeping a wall of flame in your face, allowing you to move to his side and go in for an easy kill.
• Rocket Troopers: Rocket Troopers are Stormtroopers equipped with heavy-hitting rocket launchers. In addition, they tend to prefer high ground that gives them a better firing angle, so always keep your eyes peeled for them on ledges. Their rockets do a lot of damage, but you can counter these troops in several ways. My favorite is to use Lightsaber Throw from range, but slowing the missile down with Force Slow and then flinging it back at the soldier that shot it with Force Push is also effective.

Purge Troopers

Purge Troopers are a significant cut above the normal Imperial riffraff in terms of health, damage, and speed, and are capable of killing you in seconds if you aren't prepared for their capabilities. They typically don't spawn in groups, although they are often accompanied by a couple of regular troops. All of them fight up close in melee combat, with the exception of the Purge Trooper Commander that will be discussed later in the guide.

• Electrostaff Purge Trooper: The most common Purge Trooper you'll run into are the ones that wield electrostaffs. These soldiers can resist Force abilities and excel at countering attacks, so your best bet to do damage to them is to wait for them to strike, then parry their blow and hit them with counter-attacks of your own. In addition, there's also a brief window of time after their attack combo ends that you can hit them freely.
• Electrobaton Purge Trooper: Electrobaton Purge Troopers are the fastest of the bunch, and their specialties lie within their ability to dodge. As with the Electrostaff Purge Trooper, going on the attack isn't a great idea because they will most likely dodge out of the way, then hit you. Instead, counter-attacking them is generally the best way to take Electrobaton Purge Troopers down. They are also less resistant to the Force than Electrostaff Purge Troopers, so you can use abilities like Force Slow to make them vulnerable or Force Push to knock them into environmental hazards.
• Electrohammer Purge Trooper: Electrohammer Purge Troopers are the beefiest of the Purge Troopers, and unlike the other two, are geared towards an offensive mindset. Their electrohammers do huge damage and are generally unblockable, so trying to go for counter-attacks is not advised. Instead, it's better to dodge away from their strikes and then launch your own attack combos as they try to lift their weapon into ready position again. Due to their stocky nature, they resist Force powers too, so sticking to your lightsaber is your best bet.

Commanding officers

A special enemy class in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are the Commanders. These are units that share similar traits with their subordinates, and have the ability to inspire nearby soldiers to fight harder and faster. In addition, they sport increased health and combat prowess.

• Stormtrooper Commander: These special Stormtroopers can be identified by their orange pauldron. Like normal Stormtroopers, they fire their blaster rifles from range, but also throw grenades that can damage and stun you. On top of this, they also can organize groups of normal Stormtroopers to fire in volleys, which are much more difficult to deflect. As with standard Stormtroopers, deflecting blaster bolts at them, closing the distance and cutting them down, and stunning them with Force powers are all effective.
• Scout Trooper Commander: These Scout Troopers can also be identified by their orange pauldron. They attack with stun batons as Scout Troopers do, but are better at blocking your attacks and are quicker to launch their own, though they can still be overpowered with enough repeated strikes and taken down with counter-attacks. They inspire other Scout Troopers to attack you more aggressively.
• Purge Trooper Commander: These special Purge Troopers have red pauldrons and rapidly fire away at you with blaster rifles from range. They have heavy resistance to the Force and will constantly throw stun grenades at you to try and keep you from getting close with your lightsaber, but if you manage to avoid the grenades and successfully manage their blasterfire, you'll be rewarded with lots of attack opportunities when you get in lightsaber range. Be aware, though, that they can still dodge you, and if they do, they will attempt to get behind you and shoot you in the back. They, like other commanding units, inspire nearby troops to fight at a quickened pace.

Vehicles

Though you'll be fighting infantry for the vast majority of the game, there are a few instances where you'll need to take down Imperial vehicles in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

• AT-ST: Also known as a "chicken walker," the AT-ST is the only vehicle you'll have to take down on foot. Its heavy blaster cannons will need to be dodged away from or else you'll take massive damage, but you can use Force Push to blow its grenades back at it, and also use a combination of Force Slow and Force Push to send its rocket attack back at it, too, similar to how you take down Rocket Troopers. Once the walker goes down, the driver climbs out of the hatch and is an easy kill.
• AT-AT: In a later section of the game, you'll be piloting an AT-AT, and you'll be tasked with going toe-to-toe with another walker. The key to winning the duel is to always be firing either the AT-AT's chin cannons or the fast-firing blasters on the sides of its "head." You never want both weapons to overheat at the same time, as the other walker will then gain an edge in the damage race.
• Imperial Shuttle: The other vehicle you'll go up against in your AT-AT is an airborne Imperial Shuttle that will sway side-to-side as it attempts to take your walker down with its heavy, slow-firing blaster cannons. Taking the ship down isn't too difficult, but you'll need to lead your shots a bit to compensate for the evasive movement of the shuttle.

Your thoughts

What do you think of all of the different Imperial foes in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order? Which one do you think is the most difficult? Let me know.

Related: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order beginner's guide and tips to know

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for $60 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

What you need to know

• Apex Legends Season 3 is coming on October 1.
• To celebrate, there's a new trailer for Season 3 showing off the new Legend, Crypto, as well as the new map: World's Edge.
• World's Edge is themed on a clash of ice and fire, with extreme elements and weather conditions.

Apex Legends Season 3 is coming soon, as recently announced on Twitter. To tease what's coming in the next season, Respawn has released a new, stylized trailer showing the cast everyone is familiar with dropping into new territory alongside the mysterious newcomer Crypto. That new territory is an entirely-new map called World's Edge, which features strong themes of fire and ice. You can check out the snazzy new trailer below:

World's Edge is on Planet Talos, which is a seperate system altogether, as the previous map was set on Planet Solace. We'll likely learn more about this new world (and the new Legend, Crypto) as Season 3 gets closer to release on October 1. Apex Legends is entirely free-to-play, with paid Seasons that allow players to complete different challenges to unlock different cosmetics skins and items.

Xbox

Main

• What is Xbox Game Pass?
• Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
• Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
• Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
• Best Upcoming Xbox Games for 2021
• Xbox One X vs. Xbox Series S

In a statement, EA says that it will pay $151 million in cash, as well as up to $164 million in long-term equity in the form of restricted stock units to employees, as part of the deal. In addition, EA says it could pay an up to an additional $140 million based on performance milestones through the end of 2022.

Alongside news of the acquisition, EA also revealed that a new Titanfall game is currently in development at Respawn, as is a an untitled Star Wars game and a virtual reality game.

"We've seen firsthand the world-class caliber of Respawn as a development studio with incredible vision, deep talent and an inspiring creative mindset," said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. "Our longtime partnership is grounded in a shared desire to push the boundaries and deliver extraordinary and innovative new experiences for players around the world. Together, we've brought this to life in the Titanfall franchise, and now with the Respawn team joining EA, we have exciting plans to accomplish even more amazing things in the future."

Respawn Entertainment was initially founded by former Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West in 2010. In a blog post concerning the deal on the Respawn website, Zampella says that the studio is joining EA to better compete in the future with access to more resources, new technologies, and more. From Zampella:

Zampella says he will continue to run things at Respawn and will become a part of the leadership team at EA. No layoffs or major organizational changes are planned at Respawn as part of the acquisition.

Respawn has seen success with the Titanfall franchise in recent years, with the sequel, 2016's Titanfall 2, receiving critical praise despite disappointing sales. While joining EA will surely give Respawn access to more resources as it works on the next Titanfall entry, fans of the franchise are likely to be a little wary in the wake of EA's shuttering of Deadspace developer Visceral games.

See at Microsoft