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Vikings, samurai, and knights face off in this month's 'For Honor' closed beta

For Honor Cinematic Trailer: Closed Beta Date Announcement – The Thin Red Path [US]
For Honor is shaping up to be one of this year’s most unique titles, delivering a mix of action and fantasy in both single-player and competitive multiplayer environments, and if you’ve been itching to try it out prior to its official release, you’ll soon be able to. The For Honor closed beta begins across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 26.

The closed beta will give you access to “War of the Factions,” which has players choosing to become a member of the Knights of the Iron Legion, Warborn Vikings, or Samurai of the Dawn Empire. This choice will stick with you for the duration of the beta, and allows you to take part in a cross-platform, ongoing battle for global domination. Even if you choose to play as another warrior in particular matches during the beta, the points you receive will still go toward your chosen faction.

“Depending on your performance,” you’ll be awarded “War Assets” at the end of every match, which are allocated to particular regions of the War of the Factions map. These are also attainable if you choose to play against AI instead of real players, and will still count toward the overall War of the Factions struggle for dominance.

Everyone who participates in the closed beta will also be rewarded with exclusive “Emblems of Old” that correspond to their chosen factions. Once For Honor officially releases, these can be redeemed and you can “adorn your weapons and armor with their distinction.” Ubisoft promises that more exclusive rewards will also be available, and these will transfer over to the full game, as well.

For Honor‘s closed beta runs from January 26 through January 29, and you can sign up to participate here. The full game, which requires an online connection across both single-player and multiplayer, hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on February 14.

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Ubisoft has a few notoriously troubled games in development that have left fans scratching their heads for years now. Aside from Beyond Good and Evil 2, the most curious game that has managed to avoid cancellation despite years of delays, restarts, and who knows what else behind the scenes is the pirate game Skull and Bones. It was first announced in 2017, and we've gotten almost nothing but bad news regarding this title in the years since. Despite having a playable build in 2018, for press only, the game has undergone major, if not complete overhauls.

Promised as a fully fleshed-out game built around the incredibly popular ship combat featured in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Skull and Bones was poised to make a big splash following that game's success. Gamers loved all the pirate activities seen in that game, so expanding on that should've been an easy move. However, public statements about the game have almost completely vanished, leaving many gamers high and dry regarding the status of this pirate epic. We pulled out our compass, plotted our course, and dug up all the details on Skull and Bones that you need to know.
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Based on my demo, I'm not fully sure what to expect from Atlas Fallen's mysterious story yet. The basic premise is that player was a person from the lowest caste in this world's society who was bonded with an ancient gauntlet. That gauntlet has an amnesic spirit named Nyaal living inside it and is now trying to save the world from gods that have left it in desert-filled ruins. The narrative wasn't a big focus in my preview build, though, and the script is full of jargon that probably will only make sense once I play more of the game.
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A new version of the PlayStation 5 may be on the horizon – at least if you believe the leaks. Earlier this week, Insider Gaming reported that a PS5 Pro is in development and is scheduled for a late 2024 launch. Considering that the rumor site previously claimed that a PS5 with a detachable drive would launch this year, you might want to take the claim with some skepticism. Insider Gaming provided no actual details on specs or what a Pro model would entail, only claiming that a source says it's in the works.

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