Game Information

Game Title: Cyberpunk 2077
Platforms:

• PC (Dec 10, 2020)
• PlayStation 4 (Dec 10, 2020)
• Xbox One (Dec 10, 2020)
• Google Stadia (Dec 10, 2020)
• Xbox Series X/S (Dec 10, 2020)
• PlayStation 5 (Dec 10, 2020)

Trailers:

• Cyberpunk 2077 — Xbox E3 2019 Briefing
• Cyberpunk 2077 — Official E3 2019 Cinematic Trailer
• Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay Reveal — 48-minute walkthrough
• Cyberpunk 2077 – Official E3 2018 Trailer
• Cyberpunk 2077 Teaser Trailer

Developer: CD PROJEKT RED
Publisher: CD PROJEKT RED
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 87 average - 89% recommended - 62 reviews

Note from OpenCritic:

Please note: This game has significant disparities in performance, player experience, and review scores between the PC, next-gen consoles, Xbox One, and PS4 versions.
The OpenCritic team and several critics suspect that the developer, CD PROJEKT RED, intentionally sought to hide the true state of the game on Xbox One and PS4, with requirements such as only allowing pre-rendered game footage in reviews and not issuing review copies for PS4 and Xbox One versions.
This notice will be taken down in February 2021.

Recent News and Notable Information

SkillUp reports:

I have finished Cyberpunk but I will not have a review up today as I could not comply with CDPR"s embargo requirement that prohibited us from using our own recorded gameplay in the review. Instead, we were told to use b-roll, which is basically trailer footage.
Reviews should not be vehicles for rolling out more marketing material, so I'll put my review up when I'm able to show you the reality of the game with my own footage.
I'm also disappointed that no console review code was provided to any outlet...
Console games are often reviewed without their day one or even day zero patches, so Cyberpunk would not have been special in this regard. Its really lame that no reviewer can tell you how this game runs on console on the review embargo.
I absolutely love this game and I think CDPR did extraordinary work, but its clearly unfinished at this point and no review relying on trailer footage alone can properly convey that.

Fabian Mario Döhla (CDPR PR) regarding reviews being on the Day 1 patch or not (getting conflicting info regarding this so take it with a grain of salt):

They are not - a bunch of issues reviewers encountered (and reported) have been fixed already, some more are part of the update.

Toms Hardware Performance Review:

The minimum GPU listed is a GTX 780, with GTX 1060 6GB recommended for 1080p high, RTX 2060 for 1440p ultra, and an RTX 2080 Super for 4K ultra. Then there's the ray tracing additions, with the RTX 2060 listed as the minimum for 1080p and RT medium, 3070 for 1440p and RT ultra, and 3080 for 4K RT ultra. Based on what we're seeing, it looks like those recommendations are for 30-40 fps.

Critic Reviews

ACG - Jeremy Penter - Unscored

Video Review - Quote not available

Areajugones - Víctor Rodríguez - Spanish - 9.5 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is the ultimate power fantasy. A video game that takes the best of modern RPG, first-person shooter, stealth, and the open world and masterfully blends it into a single product. If Skyrim and GTA V marked a before and after for their genres at the beginning of the 2010s, Cyberpunk 2077 is called to do the same from this 2020.

Daily Mirror - James Ide - 5 / 5 stars

The game may not be perfect but given CD project Red's reputation for fixing and updating games Cyberpunk has a bright neon-lit future. It can proudly sit among its influences of Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner and Neuromancer (as well as games like Deus Ex, System Shock) with its augmented head held high.
It's been a long wait, but the end result is a massive sprawling RPG with an incredible story, heart-pounding action, solid mechanics and customisation, offering you unparalleled player choice in a deep, atmospheric world that I can't wait to plug myself back into.

Destructoid - Chris Carter - 7.5 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is a victim of bloat, but you can choose to ignore a lot of it and take in the sights. That's where Night City is at its best, and I sincerely suggest that you take your time going through it, as rushing will only lead to disappointment. Even just strolling through though though, you'll probably be left wanting more.

Digital Spy - Owen Gough - 5 / 5 stars

We could wax lyrical about how good this game is for another ten years, and we still think the conversation would be relevant - so yes, we think Cyberpunk 2077 is the game of the decade. This is an event, and a big moment in gaming, because the brilliant Cyberpunk 2077 is laying down the stepping stones for greater feats in the future.

Easy Allies - Daniel Bloodworth, Ben Moore - Unscored

Video Review - Quote not available

Enternity.gr - Nikos Papakonstantinou - Greek - 9.5 / 10

CD Projekt RED is willing to take an even bigger risk and dare something very different, combining elements that they have proven to know well and elements which they have no previous experience in.

Eurogamer - Chris Tapsell - Recommended

Exceptional characters, heartfelt storytelling and enjoyable action threaten to be engulfed by endless bugs and hasty, uneven design.

Everyeye.it - Alessandro Bruni - Italian - 9 / 10

And it is precisely for this reason that, despite all the technical problems of the production, we cannot in any way fail to assign a vote of excellence to the work of CDPR: the defects will disappear over time, but already now Cyberpunk 2077 is a title which undoubtedly deserves a place of honor in all players' library.

GAMES.CH - Benjamin Braun - German - 88 / 100

Measured against the extreme expectations, Cyberpunk 2077 can't fulfill any of them. But all in all, despite the countless small weaknesses and inconsequences, with interesting characters, great story and dialogues or the freedom concerning gameplay, CD Projekt delivers a unique and great RPG that every fan of the genre needs to play.

GRYOnline.pl - Michał Mańka - Polish - 9 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 proves that the developers have improved their skills since fantastic The Witcher 3. It is an excellent action RPG that would benefit from a longer delay to polish the various issues. However, no amount of bugs can diminish the immense pleasure of exploring this world.

Gadgets 360 - Akhil Arora - 3 / 10

The era of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X has arrived, but Cyberpunk 2077 is currently running on those next-gen platforms via backwards compatibility. A true next-gen update isn't due until sometime in 2021. That means CD Projekt Red developed a game for three platforms, and it's running on an acceptable level on just one (PC), provided you have the hardware. That is just plain ridiculous.

Game Informer - Andrew Reiner - 9 / 10

An open world you can get lost in and continue finding new things to do

GameHaunt - Mark Louis Salazar - 4 / 5 stars

Cyberpunk 2077 is of massive ambition, and the characters in it are brilliantly written and performed.

GameMAG - Александр Копанев - Russian - 9 / 10

It's definitely feels like with Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt RED tried to tell a really meaningful story, while using as a backdrop truly a unique setting. And all the while the developers made sure that the game still feels approachable by all kind of people, and that it presents itself with insane graphical fidelity painting an image of an eerily realistic world of tommorow. We doubt there's too many people who don't believe in CD Projekt RED, but in case you're one of them, be warned - Cyberpunk 2077 is something that will change the way you look at the gaming industry as a whole.

GameOnAUS - Royce Wilson - Essential

This is an outstanding and highly enjoyable game, but take your time with it, do all the side missions (think of them as extensions of the main quest, in fact) and don’t rush the main storyline. You should absolutely take the earliest available opportunity to explore Night City and everything it has to offer. From the visuals to the music to the vibe, it’s a superb experience and one I am looking forward to spending a lot more time with.

GamePro - Dennis Michel - German - 83 / 100

Cyberpunk fascinates with its story and characters, but presents itself in a partially desolate state on consoles.

GameSpew - Richard Seagrave - 10 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t perfect, but it is ambitious. It marries a gripping story with a huge open world absolutely dripping with atmosphere; one in which, after fifty hours of gameplay, I still feel like I’ve only scratched its surface. Even now I’m itching to jump back in and complete yet more side jobs, not only because they’re enjoyable, but also just in case they offer V more options when it comes to ending their story.

GameSpot - Kallie Plagge - 7 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 has standout side quests and strong main characters, though its buggy, superficial world and lack of purpose bring it down.

GameWatcher - Marcello Perricone - 9 / 10

A remarkably well-executed open world game whose greatest heights exceed its deepest failings.

Gameblog - Gianni Molinaro - French - 7 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is a new masterpiece from CD Projekt RED, a huge, dense, vibrant, colorfoul and dark Sci-Fi RPG that any fan of the genre should step in. First because it will provide the sensation that the story really depends on you choices and that you have everything you need for your playstyle. Then because streets, stores, buildings, inhabitants of Night City won't get out of your head easily. You'll be happy to interact with Keanu Reeves, but the real star is this city and all it provides in terms of atmosphere, game mechanics and stories.
[OpenCritic note: Gianni Molinaro separately reviewed the next-gen (10) and current-gen (4) versions. The scores have been averaged.]

Gamerheadquarters - Jason Stettner - 10 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is the cyberpunk game of my dreams, it provides one of the most highly detailed environments I’ve ever seen, with an incredibly expansive and immersive narrative.

Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 60 / 100

Cyberpunk 2077 is a great game, but it could have been an incredible game that defined a generation. Instead, it falls victim to its own ambition and the industry's constant desire to push, push, push it out. In its current state, it's not for the faint of heart, and even hardcore Cyberpunk fans may struggle to stay interested amidst all the crashes and issues. If you have yet to pick it up, wait a few months and you could very well be treated to the experience we were all hoping for at launch.

Gamersky - 不倒翁蜀黍 - Chinese - 9.1 / 10

Although there still exist a lot of technical glitches, Cyberpunk 2077 stands out in terms of cyberpunk concept, story-telling, characters, level-design, combat, and so forth. It's a pleasure to spend hundreds of hours in the Night City, and I believe it would be one of the greatest open-world RPGs in the next decade.

GamesBeat - Jeff Grubb - 3 / 5 stars

It’s fine to make a game like that — for many, that’s the promise of Cyberpunk 2077. It just wasn’t the promise to me.

GamesRadar+ - Sam Loveridge - 5 / 5 stars

What Cyberpunk 2077 lacks in core campaign length, it makes up for with depth and soul, offering a world of intrigue and violence unlike any other.

Geek Culture - Marion Frayna - 9.1 / 10

The dark future certainly looks promising, thanks to the collective imagination of the team at CD Projekt Red, which seems to know no bounds. Cyberpunk 2077 certainly took a while to come to our hands, but be glad it’s finally here, for it is here to stay for a long time to come. And it certainly did not disappoint.

Giant Bomb - Unscored

Early Impressions Discussion: They should have delayed this game even more
One word: undercooked

God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 10 / 10

Despite a few flaws, Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most consistently astounding pieces of media I've ever had the pleasure of consuming.

Hobby Consolas - David Martinez - Spanish - 98 / 100

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the greatest RPGs of the generation. We love Night City, its characters and great writing for every mission. It is also one of the best looking games out there (if your PC is powerful enough).

IGN - Tom Marks - 9 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 throws you into a beautiful, dense cityscape and offers a staggering amount of flexibility in how you choose to take it from there.

IGN Italy - Davide Mancini - Italian - 9.3 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is like an addictive, huge, impressive braindance, where the feelings are real, while sometimes you see the puppet strings. It's an ambitious RPG, where narration, decisions and dialogue are far more important than combat, wrapped around a lot of fun, but usual and not always perfect, action mechanics. Engaging and marvellous to play, Night City on high-end PCs is stunning to see and super stylish. Cyberpunk 2077 is worth the wait, because the adventure of V and Johnny Silverhand is greater than the sum of its parts.

INDIANTVCZ - Filip Kraucher - Czech - 10 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 offers a great sci-fi experience in which you can get lost for hours. It is not a revolutionary title in its genre, but it brings fresh changes. Whether it's new tasks, well-written dialogues, and characters, good stylized graphics, or very pleasant controls. Decision-making constructions leave you free where you need them. Conversely, they bind you in places where it is important. Everything fits together thanks to that. And if you were afraid that Cyberpunk 2077 would be a debacle. Throw this worry behind your head. Enjoy Night City to the fullest!

Kotaku - Riley MacLeod - Unscored

I haven’t fallen in love with playing Cyberpunk 2077, but I haven’t loathed it either. Some moments have been exciting or moving, while others have just felt like stuff to do.

M3 - Raphael Cano Felix - Swedish - 5 / 5 stars

A more emotive and engaging title is hard to find.

Merlin'in Kazanı - Ersin Kılıç - Turkish - 85 / 100

Cyberpunk 2077 offers an experience that players who love the genre should definitely try despite the bugs and big problems it contains.

Metro GameCentral - GameCentral - 8 / 10

A stunning achievement in open world gameplay but one whose tonal inconsistencies and weak narrative undermines what could have been an all-time classic.

PC Gamer - James Davenport - 78 / 100

Some nice characters and stories nested in an astounding open world, undercut by jarring bugs at every turn.

PCGamesN - Richard Scott-Jones - 9 / 10

Groundbreaking, but not quite as much as you're hoping it is. Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't surpass its brilliant influences, but in Night City, Johnny Silverhand, and its chilling vision of hyper-capitalism, it claims territory of its own.

PCMag - 3.5 / 5 stars

I fell in love with Night City, warts and all. If its many bugs can get ironed out, Cyberpunk 2077 is a potential Game of the Year candidate. Here’s hoping that CD Projekt Red can quickly push out fixes.

PPE.pl - Wojciech Gruszczyk - Polish - 9.5 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is huge, steeped in sex, satisfying shooting, and the expansion of individual elements delights. It's one of those productions you want to get ing into to get to know its charms and enjoy every moment in Night City.

Polygon - Carolyn Petit - Unscored

Cyberpunk 2077 is dad rock, not new wave

PowerUp! - Leo Stevenson - 10 / 10

Frankly, Cyberpunk 2077 is the best video game I've ever played

Press Start - Brodie Gibbons - 9 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is staggering, overwhelming, and even surprising at times in its spectacle. Although my first dozen hours with the game has been marred by easy-to-fix problems, Nighty City, along with all it offers and all that call it home, makes for an intoxicating escape. Here's hoping the next one hundred hours are as utterly compelling.

Push Square - Robert Ramsey - Unscored

We're still playing Cyberpunk 2077 in order to bring you a finished review, but it's impossible to recommend picking this game up at launch on PS4 or PS4 Pro. On PS5 via backwards compatibility, there's still fun to be had - a glimpse of the game's excellent potential - but even then, it's crippled by bugs and crashing issues. There's something truly special at the core of Cyberpunk 2077, but in its current state, it's simply not good enough. So far, a colossal disappointment.

RPG Site - 9 / 10

When Cyberpunk's grim setting and mix of gameplay systems land, it is a powerfully impressive experience - sprawling, dense, clever, witty, and most importantly damn good fun. Other times, it has all the charm of a moody, edgy teenager.

SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - Slovak - 10 / 10

Absolutely stunning action game with a lot of content, deep RPG progres and dialogue. Another master-piece from CD Projekt Red!

Saudi Gamer - عصام الشهوان - Arabic - 8 / 10

An ambitious, maybe over ambitious, thrilling ride that falters when it comes to execution. The developer's strength shines through the world building and production, resulting in a unique mix that is let down by a myriad list of technical and AI problems.

Screen Rant - 4 / 5 stars

Ultimately, it feels like Cyberpunk 2077 is a fitting bookend for the previous generation of games and a strong starting point for current-gen. Now it's time to start innovating again.

Skill Up - Ralph Panebianco - Unscored

Video Review - Quote not available

Spaziogames - Italian - 9.5 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 traces a new path for the open-world RPGs, telling a thought-provoking story about the dangerous drifts of humankind.

Stevivor - Jay Ball - 9.5 / 10

The most important thing that everyone needs to know about Cyberpunk 2077 is that while it’s imperfect, it is without a doubt a superb game.

The Digital Fix - Andrew Shaw - 10 / 10

CD Projekt Red has set a new standard for what can be achieved in this sandbox. Cyberpunk 2077 is taking open-world gaming to the next generation.

The Games Machine - Danilo Dellafrana - Italian - 9.5 / 10

Cyberpunk 2077 is a wild journey within an incredibly fascinating setting; some technical uncertainties destined to disappear and a partial repetitiveness limit its glory, but overall it is an adventure worthy of William Gibson himself. Cyberpunk 2077 allowed me to finally feel immersed in that pen & paper RPG I discovered in 1988, pouring rain clouding my view in a kaleidoscope of neon signs, just as I had imagined while leafing through those pages. Some may not consider it a perfect game, but I do.

TheGamer - Kirk McKeand - 5 / 5 stars

I’m V and the game is Silverhand - I can’t get Cyberpunk 2077 out of my head. I’ve had it a week and played 70 hours, which is probably about as healthy as scooping out my face and replacing it with electronics, but it didn’t feel like work. Like a digital personality loaded onto a biochip, it felt like stepping into another life for a while. It’s a life I can’t wait to relive.

TrueAchievements - Heidi Nicholas - 4.5 / 5 stars

It might not reinvent the genre in every aspect, but for a fantastic story, an insanely detailed word, and brilliant dialogue, you’ve got to try it.

TrustedReviews - Jade King - 4 / 5 stars

CD Projekt Red has created a triumphant RPG experience with Cyberpunk 2077, yet it often falters under the weight of its own ambition thanks to inconsistent writing and narrative

Twisted Voxel - Ali Haider - 7 / 10

Too ambitious for its own good, Cyberpunk 2077 attempts to do too much and falters in its execution as a result. Despite its issues, it’s better than the sum of its parts and might be worth checking out for fans of action RPGs.

VG247 - James Billcliffe - 5 / 5 stars

In the midst of such intense anticipation and scrutiny, it’s easy to get carried away with what Cyberpunk 2077 could have been. The final experience might be more familiar than many predicted, with plenty of elements that aren’t perfect, but it’s dripping with detail and engaging stories. With so much to see and do, Cyberpunk 2077 is the kind of RPG where you blink and hours go by, which is just what we need to finish off 2020.

Windows Central - Jez Corden - 5 / 5 stars

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world masterpiece that features some of the most immersive and liberating storytelling this industry has to offer. With full freedom to choose V's personality, looks, and gameplay style, Cyberpunk 2077 gives the player an unrelenting amount of control in a world that delivers dozens upon dozens of hours of high-quality content. Cyberpunk 2077 is a mammoth achievement and solidifies CD Projekt RED's place at the top of the pile.

Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 6.5 / 10

It may not sound like it, but I enjoyed many aspects of Cyberpunk 2077. It doesn't hit the highs of The Witcher 3, but it still has a lot going for it. However, it was released in such an unfinished state that it's hard to give it a positive review. It's an 8.0 game hiding in a 4.0 game wrapper. I might change my tune in a few months, when patches have rolled out, but even when playing the best version available on the PlayStation systems, there's no getting around it: Cyberpunk 2077 might have been mocked for its delays, but it needed more of them. You'll still have fun if you pick it up now, but unless you're dying for it, it's best to wait until it's been patched and improved.

Disclaimer I want to thank everyone for the gilds, replies and suggestions. I just do not have time to reply to everyone, but I am reading everything. I am not sure how much bigger the thread can be, I already typed this but it vanished so I think I'm at the limit. I will try to keep updating, but I don't expect the thread to be up top for much longer and will likely vanish soon, so if you need anything save it.
Yes, it's hard, it sucks, it's depressing. It is something we all have to do if you want to see this virus go. Everyone knows the deal, too many think they're the exception but no one is. However, staying home is hard so maybe I can help at least one or two people with some incentives. I'll try to give links to some things that can help cure the boredom, and some support if you need it.
Most of this might be obvious to some, some might not even have internet and of course, money is a big issue, so I'll try to give some suggestions:
For streaming and on demand things such as Netflix et al, don't forget you can subscribe for free for your first month. This goes for most things in the list. If you are worried about putting in your payment details and forgetting to cancel a month later, don't worry! You can sign up and immediately cancel and you still get your free month!
For people who don't have a smart TV, you can buy a cheap Amazon Fire TV stick or a Roku box. The Fire stick can go as low as £20 often for 1080p. It will drop to £30 for 4k.
I picked up a 4k Roku device for £18 on Amazon once. It's fast and snappy. currently it's going for £33 for the 4k version. Having both, there is little difference between the devices. NowTV also do their own roku powered device.
Subscription based streaming sites that all offer 2-4 weeks free for first timers

• Netflix *According to comments the second month is free.
  
• Amazon Prime You can either get Amazon video on its own, or take prime with other benefits. I strongly urge those who use Amazon for buying off their store front to use [https://smile.amazon.co.uk/] as there is literally no difference except everything you buy amazon donates to a charity of your choice.
  
• Now TV (I believe it's 7 days)
  
• Disney+
  
• Britbox
  
• Amazon channels. I believe you can get all these individually but Amazon offers them as channels bound to your prime account, and they are again either free for a couple weeks (again, take them, cancel instantly) or very cheap. I recently subscribed to Starzplay for £1 for 3 months. It has some good shows on it like Fringe, doom patrol. It also has channels like Curiosity stream and shudder
  

If you have not subscribed to the any of the above, you can get a few months of free TV by signing up and cancelling instantly. I suggest waiting at least 5 minutes just to let it go through the system.
Some tips for Now TV. IF you already have a subscription, I've noticed you can get it cheaper by cancelling. When you cancel they will beg you to stay. Select "I can not afford it this month" and they should beg again, telling you what shows they have. If you say you still want to cancel, they'll beg one last time and offer you the subscription for cheaper. This won't work every month, but I've noticed they'll always offer it the first time, then again after a couple months. If you're subscribed to both films and entertainment do the most expensive one as it may not work both times (but it might!). You can also pick up passes from storefronts a lot cheaper sometimes, before I could pick one up on Amazon for £3 but, they seem to have cracked down on it. If you shop around (or if anyone knows of a legitimate store please let me know) you might be able to pick it up cheaper. Lastly, check their website and under your account they should have an "offers for you" section.
Completely free TV

• Pluto TV
  
• Viki
  
• Roku
  

If you do have a smart TV and/or device, there are some good free streaming apps. One I really love is called PlutoTV. I know this is on both Roku and the fire stick, as well as Ps4/Ps5 and xbox.
Pluto offers a bunch of live channels and now an on demand section, all for free. It has adverts but they are actually short (shorter than regular TV and fewer of them). Some of the channels are just streaming certain shows like Mythbusters 24/7 or Dog the bounty hunter, but it has a lot of old movie channels as well as 24/7 kickboxing and MMA. It also has a 24/7 poker channel I quite like.
Another one I like is Rakuten Viki however, I haven't watched it for a while as my fire stick is only 1080p and I have too many other devices attached. I believe it is on Roku but you have to jump through some hoops and have an account. The last I checked on the fire stick you did not. Viki offers a metric ton of Asian shows, mainly from Japan and South Korea but it does have chinese, Malaysian etc. It has subtitles. Some Japanese shows are hysterical, albeit weird.
Roku also do their own channels with free shows if you own a device.
For those who don't have a smart TV or a Streaming device, you can set up your own computer as a dedicated streaming device with Plex. It's been a while since I used it but I believe it now also offers free movies and TV.
Anime
If you are into Anime there is

• Crunchyroll
  
• Funimation
  
• HiDive
  

The first 2 are free to watch, or offer premium without ads which you can have a trial with. Crunchyroll is the better of the two with more original choice for Japanese voice and subs, while Funimation has more Dubs. I don't believe HiDive is free to watch but you do get a 2 week trial. These are more exclusives than the previous two.
PC Centric software
If you are a gamer or like Audiobooks or anything that uses computers for things like music making, programming or graphic design

• Humble Bundle
  
• Fanatical
  
• IndieGala
  

Humble Bundle offers, as per the name, bundles. A long running site that got bought out by IGN. It offers both single items and bundles you can buy individually/as a pack while also offering a separate monthly subscription for around £8-9. The subscription gives you 12 games on average per month. That's the simplest explanation but it changes somewhat as sometimes you get to pick 10 out of 14 games, or get all 12.
Humble bundle offers more than just games though. Every Tuesday they bring a new bundle of games, while Thursday (I "think) a new bundle of books. They very often have books from the Black Library giving you a ton of Warhammer books. Sometimes it's standard E-books, other times it's audiobooks. A few times a year they do bundles for graphic design, a typical bundle would include programs like Paintshop Pro Corel Painter etc, They usually go for £0.76 for tier 1 up to around £18 for tier 3, which would include 4-6 full titles with 10+ addons. They also often have Music making bundles or video editing software as well as Programming or video game development.
The bundles change often, they usually have around 11 bundles at a time that last for 20 days. Sometimes it's trash but they do often have some very good deals.
Fanatical offers the same as humble bundle except usually not as high quality, but sometimes they do have some incredible deals, and they are very very cheap.
Both humble and fanatical are safe, trusted and been around a long time, and they are NOT grey market key sites. They work with the publishers and developers. You can buy games both old and new for a lot cheaper than you would most other places. Unless it states otherwise, keys are usually for steam.
**BOTH HB and Fanatical (HB much more common) offer free games fairly often. The catch is linking your steam account to them (at least HB). It is safe however.
IndieGala is another site like above. Except, these are much much lower quality. However, they offer a metric ton of free games. Quality is low but it is legitimate, and a lot of free stuff.
Game Store Fronts

• Steam This one is so obvious I didn't add it, but apparently many want me to. It is the best out there, and you can find almost everything, with fantastic deals.
  
• Greenmangaming offers games cheaply. Again, not a grey market site (which are legal but unethical) and they sometimes do bundles.
  
• GoG (Good old games) is a DRM free site run by CDPR, the makers of the Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk. They offer you games quite cheap and not needing DRM (such as Steam, Uplay etc which is less invasive versions of dodgy DRM from the olden days).
  
• Epic Games Despite the controversy whether you care about their rivalry with valve, they offer free games ever week. Without ever having bought anything I have gained over 170 games. literally. Good games for the most part. They often give you £10 coupons as well.
  
• Twitch Everyone knows twitch, but if you don't, it's a streaming service for watching gamers and girls with low cut tops accidentally bending over in front of the game. However, if you're signed up to prime, you get free games each month (and randomly between the set bunch).
  
• Playstation Store Currently has January sales. Currently the free games for PS+ are for PS4: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Greedfall. For the Ps5 it is Maneater
  
• Games with Gold Bleed 2 and the King of Fighters XIII is available until Janurary 15th whilst little Nightmares is available until January 31st.
  

Gaming Subscriptions
Like the TV versions, you can sign up to these for a free trial (or very cheap). If you do sign up to only one at a time, it should keep you busy for a few months

• Xbox Game Pass You can do this on both/either an Xbox or PC. If you sign up to the regular one, you can get a month (maybe three!) for £1. After you have done that, you can sign up to the premium version for 3 months at £1 a month. Most people know game pass, but you can download a large selection of games for free. The premium version gives you games with gold, allowing you to keep the games forever (but can only play with a subscription)
  
• Ubisoft+ I'm not 100% sure if you get a trial or not. This allows a large collection of Ubisoft titles to play for £12.99 a month. Quite expensive but good if you like Ubisoft titles I guess.
  
• EA Play EA's version. Goes by a ton of names I think, EA Access, EA Play, Origin Access etc etc. There's a couple of versions of this, and it is across all platforms (PS4/5, Xbox, PC) but not sure about the switch. I "think" the premium allows you to play on all platforms, while the cheaper one on a single platform, but I may be mistaken.
  
• PS Now a once terrible service that is now actually very good. Allows you to download some Ps4 games to your PS4/5 and lets you stream a massive amount of Ps2/3/4 to your PC or playstation.
  

There's more like nvidia's service but you need the Shield device which is quite expensive. I'll leave it at that.
Audiobooks & Ebooks

• Audible Not sure what the current deal is but if you are a prime member you can sign up for a trial and get a free Audiobook each month for 3 months. Some warhammer books are 48 hours long, 3 of those gives you a good 100+ hours of listening!
  
• Comixology Another Amazon company, but lets you download some free comics I believe.
  
• Marvel Unlimited No experience with this. ItFuckingWont wanted me to add it. A subscription service for Marvel.
  

Education

• Sign Language BSL here No experience myself, suggested by n21brown and asked for a few times. Didn't know SL was so popular! Listed as "Pay what you can"
  
• BBC's Bitesize here is apparently good for home learning. Again, no personal experience.
  

If you need some spare change
Okay, I don't generally bother with it, but maybe some of this could be useful to you. These are NOT a quick way to make a fortune. These are small things you can do over time for a bit of pocket change

• If you have prime you can get a FREE FIVE POUND GIFT CARD by literally just streaming a song from Amazon music (which is included in prime) here is the details According to the comments it's only for select people, but it's worth trying If the link doesn't work for you just google "Amazon £5 coupon music"
  
• Now, these sorts of sites have been around for years, I haven't used any other than talkInsights which I must have signed up to 10-15 years ago. Basically they send you surveys and you answer them. They are confidential and don't ask for personal details in the survey. You need 2000 points and you get £20. During the pandemic they've slowed down but I probably get around £40 a year. Not much I know, but it's an email followed by a quick survey ticking boxes. Depending on your answer sometimes you get screened out, I'm not telling you to lie but just be consistent with your answers and you should be able to work out how to not get screened. Some emails are only worth 20 points, others 200. It's slow to get to the 2000 but very quick to just answer a few questions.
  
• Apparently beermoneyuk is a good sub to make some pocket change with.
  
• There is also matched betting. I have never done this, I don't have the patience but from what I've read, it's legitimate, it works and you can make a fair amount of cash from it so long as you do it correctly, and there's a ton of guides. I mention this because people stuck at home could get into it and as long as you're careful (I.E not entering in the wrong numbers) it's risk free AND it pisses off the betting shops. It seems people in comments have had success with it. Disclaimer A couple have complained about gambling. This arguably is not gambling. If you are susceptible to addiction do not do it. However, it's argued that there is no fun or buzz in this, and it's a very tedious and time consuming thing. Others argue you can't make the same money anymore (People were making thousands, now only hundreds if that). It's risk free providing you know what you're doing, the risks are user error, such as entering the wrong numbers. Someone pointed out that due to the lockdown, bets could potentially be cancelled due to sport stopping. So use on a side of caution. We're (mainly) adults so I'll leave it up just because this doesn't have the excitement of regular gambling.
  
• Microsoft Rewards This is an easy way to make pocket change doing very little. Most people have a MS account. The rewards program offers you numerous ways to grab points, by playing free to play games, answering small questions (you don't even need to answer most of the time, just open the link and shut it) and by using bing and searching on it. I've gotten 20k points JUST by answering questions over a couple months. There are many rewards but you can grab a £5 gift card for 6k for example, or a month of game pass (and AFAIK you can make points playing the games)
  
• Google rewards Someone mentioned this in the comments. I have not used it, so can not give any input on it. Sounds similar to TalkInsights which I linked. Google states "Complete short surveys while standing in line, or waiting for a subway. Get rewarded with Google Play or PayPal credit for each one you complete. Topics include everything from opinion polls, to hotel reviews, to merchant satisfaction surveys. We’ll notify you when a survey is waiting."
  

That's it for now. I will try to update as I go along. A long post but I hope that it can help some of you with finding something good to do that's free, cheap or a bargain. I do suggest getting prime, especially since you get free music, free delivery, free TV and music and free video games each month. In fact, there's a ton of perks and I feel I've gotten way over the cost investment.
Hope it helps someone at least
PartTimeCrazy said if you bought an Apple product you get 3 free months of Apple Arcade and Apple TV free for a year
fakehunted is upset I didn't mention wanking. Tesco have 225 sheets of Tissue for £0.75!
tale_lost suggested Project Gutenberg for a collection of free E-Books
Learning Language
Unfortunately, I don't have time to check every link listed so I will link the comments:
Togtogtog Gives a lot of links for Spanish

• Duolingo Numerous people have suggested this So I haven't used myself. Thanks to OhHiGCHQ StephanieMecredy & Allorie_95

Board & Tabletop games
Corporal_Anaesthetic has made a list of Board games
ilyemco suggested these
HEALTH
I'm not a doctor! But if you're a smoker, something I strongly suggest is to quit. I struggled for years but in the first lockdown I quit, technically. I haven't had a cigarette since, however, I do that silly thing millennials do. I vape, but, it made quitting extremely easy. I would not have been able to do it if it wasn't for 88Vape They sell extremely cheap liquids at £1 each. You can find these in B&M but you can pick up 25 for £20 or buy your own mix.
Vitamin D deficiency has been said to be a big problem for the virus. I'd suggest (again, not a doctor!) that you pick some up. Tesco do a 3 for 2 deal. So you can pick up 270 tablets for £7.
If you are vulnerable you MIGHT be able to phone tesco and get put on their delivery saver list (currently it's paused but phoning may help. At the very least they might give you a priority slot. I did this for my mum, we didn't shop at Tesco but I phoned for her, and they put her on with no hassle, so she can always get a delivery.
HELP & ADVICE
The lockdown Rules.
Reasons to leave home include:

• Work or volunteering where it is "unreasonable" to work from home. This includes work in someone else's home, such as that carried out by social workers, nannies, cleaners and tradespeople
  
• Education, training, childcare and medical appointments and emergencies
  
• Exercise outdoors (limited to once a day). This includes meeting one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise
  
• Shopping for essentials such as food and medicine
  
• Communal religious worship
  
• Meeting your support or childcare bubble. Children can also move between separated parents Activities related to moving house
  

I want to add, if you are in danger you are also allowed (and must!) to get away from the situation for some reason, BBC seems to have missed this very important thing (or I am blind)

• To flee the threat of harm or violence.*
  
• CoronaVirus Symptoms
  
• CoronaVirus government site You can check your location and how many cases here.
  
• Worldometers Shows cases around the world.
  
• Interactive UK Map Another easy to read map with cases in counties and local area's.
  
• World Health Organisation
  

Support

• Samaritans
  
• Mental Health UK forum on reddit
  
• Link to above's stick post for support outlets
  
• Mindful
  
• Mind.org
  

FOR THOSE SHIELDING YOU CAN CONTACT THE ROYAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE. These people helped my mother with picking up her medicine from the chemist. They were very helpful and went out their way to keep in touch and do it immediately. (It's the only experience I have with them though)
_riotingpacifist wanted these links added, but I simply just don't have the time to vet and check all the suggestions here, so I will link as is:

• https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/
  
• https://www.goodsamapp.org/
  
• https://vaccinationvolunteers.sja.org.uk/roles/volunteer-vaccinator.html
  
• https://nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk/getting-you-started-guide-steward-volunteer
  
• https://peoplesmomentum.com/evictionresistance/
  
• https://londonrentersunion.org/
  

Update:
Digital Art
These are Free

• Krita Arguably the best in my opinion. It has a load of options, brushes and a decent UI. It works fantastic with a tablet.
  
• Gimp This is a decent program but last I used, the UI was a pain, and it isn't so user friendly while misses features, but it works, and it is possible to do some incredible creations on it.
  
• Medibang Paint This is slightly geared towards Comics and Manga. I really enjoy using this with my drawing Tablet. As far as I know, it also for regular tablets for Android/Ipad and is free.
  

You can pick up a drawing tablet on Amazon quite cheap these days! Small ones that are just a black slate such as the wacom ones are good but takes some practice to get use to, but very worth it if you can't afford a dedicated drawing tablet with a screen.
Office suit software
A couple of free applications for word processing, spreadsheets etc.

• LibreOffice This has most the average user would need to write their own books or to work from home. There's not a huge amount of difference between the two I'm linking (since I last used anyway) so it's more for preference.
  
• Open Office You can pick this up here and again, like above it's just preference.
  

Music Making
I'm going to direct to matthewharris806 for some links as all the programs I've used like Reason are expensive, or cheaper stuff in bundles such as Magix software.
Games development
D_Dad_Default gives some links for that here

Game Information

Game Title: Destruction AllStars
Platforms:

• PlayStation 5 (Feb 2, 2021)

Trailers:

• Destruction AllStars - Mayhem Starts Now Launch Trailer l PS5
• Destruction AllStars - Gameplay Trailer l PS5
• Destruction AllStars - Announcement Trailer | PS5

Developer: Luicid Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 69 average - 35% recommended - 18 reviews

Critic Reviews

Ars Technica - Sam Machkovech - Unscored

The good outweighs the bad. Get a PlayStation Plus trial and give this imperfect car-combat gem a spin.

Chicas Gamers - Estela Villa - Spanish - Unscored

Destruction AllStars is a destruction derby with frenetic gameplay and a good foundation for future growth. If you like the style of play, it will give you hours and hours of fun and we hope that over time more game modes will come. A novel bet by Lucid Games that with time could become the next Rocket League.

Critical Hit - Darryn Bonthuys - 7.5 / 10

Destruction AllStars is both new and familiar, but it's a refreshing collection of cars, modes, and madcap driving that shows great promise for the future. A mental destruction derby with some admittedly annoying quirks, there's plenty of charm under the hood of this game that respects your time and smashes into the competition with a gung-ho attitude and some novel ideas.

Daily Star - Tom Hutchison - 4 / 5 stars

Destruction AllStars is a brilliant new addition to the PS5 roster and will brighten up dull February with some colourful car-smashing fun.

DualShockers - Peter Szpytek - 7.5 / 10

Destruction AllStars made me feel like a kid playing with Hot Wheels, it's just a shame how often it falls off the tracks.

Eurogamer - Wesley Yin-Poole - No Recommendation / Blank

In desperate need of depth and content, Destruction AllStars is at least a fun whiz around the corner.

Explosion Network - Dylan Blight - 7 / 10

Hopefully, there's an injection of skins and other items to chase over the next month, and it'll be able to sustain a long-term player base. I'd love to be part of that group as I'm enjoying smashing into cars like never before, but the game needs a better progression system.

Game Informer - Jeff Cork - 8 / 10

Destruction AllStars' frantic blend of bumper-car and on-foot action offers plenty of short-term fun, but the thrills are less thrilling after a few hours

GameCrate - Angelo D'Argenio - 9 / 10

Destruction AllStars may not be a killer app that sells you on a PS5, but anyone who owns a PS5 will be happy to add it to their library. It is definitely one of the best perks of owning a PS5 yet.

GamePro - Hannes Rossow - German - 78 / 100

Destruction AllStars offers innovative multiplayer action without interruptions, but monetization stands in the way of the game itself.

Hobby Consolas - Daniel Quesada - Spanish - 75 / 100

This new PS5 exclusive offers some amusing ideas while taking advantage of the superior hardware, but it's too shallow in content and uses some greedy strategies. Future updates could change the situation, though.

Metro GameCentral - GameCentral - 5 / 10

A fun, uncomplicated romp that's a great way to relax for 20 minutes or so. Beyond that though it struggles to entertain, especially given the grubby approach to microtransactions.

PPE.pl - Matthew Sparrow - Polish - 5.5 / 10

Lucid Games didn't take care of immersive modes or extensive vehicle controls, which creeps into the monotony. The visuals itself will not be the title on the pedestal.

PlayStation Universe - Joe Apsey - 5 / 10

Destruction AllStars is a clunky mess of a multiplayer experience, committing a few cardinal sins when it comes to its online experience and offering uninteresting and dull gameplay most of the time. Each character feels unique and their abilities and vehicles are fun to use, but when meshed with the rest of the experience, it doesn't work. Predatory microtransactions, a lack of lore and backstory into the AllStars, and poor single-player offerings make this the weakest PlayStation Studios title in a long time.

Push Square - Stephen Tailby - 6 / 10

Destruction AllStars can be a brilliantly frantic multiplayer game, with fun characters and cars, great DualSense feedback, and entertaining modes. However, it can ring a little hollow at times when the action dips. Lacklustre customisation options and mictrotransaction-locked content doesn't help matters, but when everything is playing out smoothly, this is more than capable of giving you a good time. Currently free to PS Plus members, it's well worth taking for a spin.

Shacknews - TJ Denzer - 8 / 10

As far as gameshow/sporting event-style games go, Destruction AllStars is maybe some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. I love the pageantry when a match starts and my character does their intro before kicking things off. The visuals are smooth and pristine throughout the fast-paced action and the gameplay in different modes is absolutely delightful. I would like the foot game to be boosted a bit, and it desperately needs some better cosmetics and an easy-access Mute All function, but there’s an absolutely enthralling foundation here in Destruction AllStars. I want to see more characters, more arenas, events… I want to see where Destruction AllStars goes in the long run and I’ll be happy to keep playing as we work our way there.

TheGamer - Sam Watanuki - 2 / 5 stars

I wanted to love Destruction AllStars. I still do. There’s just not enough there to make it worth my while right now. A couple of times, I ran into a weird technical issue where I would jump into a brand-new car, but it just wouldn’t move. I think that issues like this can certainly be fixed in a future patch, though. I also know that the development team of Lucid Games has a year’s-worth of content planned for the game. As such, although I can’t recommend playing Destruction AllStars right now, I do have high hopes for the future of the game. Especially since the car combat genre is ripe for the taking with no new Twisted Metal in sight.

TheSixthAxis - Jim Hargreaves - 6 / 10

The car combat genre has long been out of fashion and still has a way to go if it wants to take us back to its glory days of the 1990s. Destruction AllStars is a mostly satisfying modernisation that has some neat ideas and looks fantastic, though ultimately spins its tyres on repetitive rival-wrecking gameplay and a lack of truly worthwhile content at launch.

Use a Potion - Daryl Leach - 8 / 10

Destruction AllStars’ chaotic vehicular-based combat makes for an exhilarating (and surprisingly strategic) experience that I’ve had a blast playing – I just hope that it gets enough post-launch content and support to keep players coming back for more.
As it stands though, it’s certainly a heck of a lot of fun to play. Sure, there’s some inconsistencies in its scoring here and there and the arenas themselves lack imaginative flair, but between its colourful cast, it’s satisfyingly destructive driving, and its slick visuals, there really is a whole lot to like about Destruction AllStars frantic showdowns.

From forum post, website, and Steam

Greetings Commanders,
We wanted to share an update with you regarding the ongoing development of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey.
2020 was a difficult year for many, but in spite of those challenges we are pleased with our progress towards what is a truly ambitious new era for the game. We’ve been delighted with the excitement and positive response to our development diaries, interviews, streams and trailers and want to thank all of you for your continued support.
The ongoing impact of the pandemic however, including the renewed lockdowns in 2021, continues to put added pressure on our teams and ultimately our development timeline. We have therefore had to make the difficult decision to make some adjustments and changes to our existing development roadmap.
Our PC plans have only been affected by a small amount, however our plans for the console release will unfortunately see a larger development shift. Please do know that these difficult decisions have been made with a focus on making Odyssey as incredible as it can possibly be for all our Commanders regardless of their platform, while also respecting realistic project deadlines for our teams during this difficult global situation.
We would like to sincerely apologise to all of our community. We know you have been waiting patiently and how disappointing and frustrating this must be. With that in mind, we would like to share with you our latest roadmap so that you are fully aware of our plans.
 

Alpha – early spring 2021

We are continuing with plans to bring Alpha access to our PC players and get boots on the ground. This will now be a little later than originally planned, in early spring.
Much like our original Elite Dangerous release, we will be taking a phased approach to our Alpha, bringing new features and systems online throughout the period. This will allow us to focus and best consider our community feedback while also providing vital user testing on key areas of the game. We will be sharing further information including details of feature drops and Alpha plans as we get closer to release.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Deluxe Alpha and Lifetime Expansion Pass holders will get access to this release.
 

PC release – late spring 2021

Following the completion of our Alpha phase we are targeting a full launch on PC in late spring.
As with every era in Elite Dangerous’ history, we will be closely engaging with our community and continuing to react to feedback refining Odyssey through to the console launch.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey pre orders will be able to access the game with this release.
 

Console release – autumn 2021

After continued feedback, iterations and balancing, we are targeting our release on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One in the autumn of this year.
 
We understand that for many, this additional delay will be frustrating. Once again, we would like to apologise wholeheartedly to our community, especially our console Commanders. However, as mentioned previously, we feel it is vital to ensure that the content being released on consoles meets the highest standards and this will require this additional extension to our roadmap.
Throughout this time we will continue to bring more news, videos and content of the development in progress. We would like to thank you all for the ongoing support and we are very excited to bring in this new era to the game with you. Your feedback, support and involvement is a vital part of this process and we are looking forward to a shared Alpha experience, which will be touching down very soon.
o7 Commanders
 
More about the Elite Dangerous Odyssey timeframes and COVID-19 impact on devteams:

From FDev's January 2021 Trading Update

Extended home working has created additional development challenges.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is still planned for release on PC in FY21, with PlayStation and Xbox releases now coming in FY22 to ensure the best experience for players on all platforms.

HOME WORKING

We successfully transitioned to working from home prior to the official lock-down in March 2020, enabling our teams to continue to work as effectively as possible. Our talented and dedicated teams performed amazingly through the challenges of 2020, continuing to develop and launch high quality content to our player communities, including the great technical achievement of expanding our audiences with Planet Coaster being launched on both current and next generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and Jurassic World Evolution having added the Nintendo Switch to its list of platforms. In general we found individual task-based working in most cases to be just as effective from home as from the office, but are continually trying to adapt our processes for group and planning tasks that require collaborative working. There is no question there are still some efficiency challenges, especially for larger projects, when working remotely.

ELITE DANGEROUS: ODYSSEY

Our next major internally developed release is Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, which is a major new paid era for Elite Dangerous, allowing Commanders to explore distant worlds on foot for the first time, taking on new missions and engaging in intense tactical combat, seamlessly merging with Elite Dangerous' iconic cockpit experience. Premiered during The Game Awards on 10 December 2020, reaction to the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey trailer has been positive and encouraging in advance of its release this year.
Elite Dangerous continues to perform well through an engaged and ever growing community of Commanders. During 2020 Elite Dangerous hit its highest ever player numbers shortly after the Fleet Carriers update at Easter, and then again higher still since on multiple occasions, including just before Christmas. There is a great deal of excitement around Elite Dangerous: Odyssey both outside the Company and within. Over its lifetime Elite Dangerous has already generated over £100m in revenues, with over 4 million base game units sold. A successful strategy to seed new players in advance of the launch of Odyssey yielded an additional 8 million base game owners through the launch of Elite Dangerous on the Epic Games Store in November 2020 including a 'Free Week'.
As always we are committed to delivering a high quality experience through the release of Odyssey, to a large and engaged player community with high expectations. Odyssey is coming together well, despite Covid-related challenges with collaborative working on such a large project, which are resulting in some inevitable minor delays.
Having reviewed project timelines to take into account the renewed need to continue with remote working for the near future, as well as our commitment to release only when we are certain that the experience for our players, on all platforms, will be as enjoyable as possible, our launch plans for Odyssey have now been updated.
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is expected to release on PC, the biggest platform for Elite Dangerous, before the end of the financial year (which ends on 31 May 2021), albeit slightly later than our initial target for Q1 2021 (January to March). This will be preceded by an alpha period. Our plan for PlayStation and Xbox is to submit console versions for approval as soon as possible after we have released on PC, rather than putting the console developments of Odyssey under additional time pressure by planning for a simultaneous PC/console launch. PlayStation and Xbox console releases will therefore now come in FY22.

David Braben, Chief Executive, said

"2020 was a hard year for a great many people because of the challenges of Covid-19. Despite this, and doubtless helped by lockdown boosting demand for screen-based entertainment around the world, we had a successful year through the hard work and adaptability of our talented teams. Our four great franchises have really long play times and engaging social aspects to them, which make them well-suited to lockdown.
We know that our Elite Dangerous community are looking forward to the arrival of Odyssey this year, and we're focussed on delivering the high quality experience that they expect and deserve. 2021 is set to be another great year for Frontier."

https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-pre-launch-guide/
---
Welcome to the HITMAN 3 Pre-launch guide. This blog post will be our place to share in-depth details about HITMAN 3, including how to carryover your progression, our new Access Pass system, what to expect on launch day and more.
We are excited to see all of our players embark on Agent 47’s next journey and experience the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy.
Before you start reading, this is how the game begins.

Release Details

HITMAN 3 will be available on 20 January 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Stadia, Nintendo Switch and PC.
We’re happy to confirm that the Nintendo Switch version of HITMAN 3 will also launch on 20 January. The Switch version of HITMAN 3 is playable via cloud streaming technology. A stable and permanent internet connection is required to play.
Release Time HITMAN 3 will release simultaneously on all platforms at 13:00 UTC on 20 January 2021. To see the exact release time in your timezone, follow this link. This release time will ensure that the IOI teams in Copenhagen and Malmö are best-placed to ensure a smooth launch. At that time, digital copies will be available to play and the games servers will be online.
📷
Pre-load It will be possible to pre-load HITMAN 3 on PlayStation and Xbox platforms. Make sure that you’ve configured your console to do that and the downloads will begin when they have been prepared and certified. On PC, there won’t be a pre-load option for HITMAN 3 and downloads will begin at the above release time.
(For PS4 and PS5 owners in Asia, please note that HITMAN 3 will not be available for pre-order or pre-load. This is due to recent changes in the age ratings systems in those regions. HITMAN 3 will be available for purchase at the above time.)
Day One Patch HITMAN 3 will require a day one patch for all disc users. The day one patch will be automatically applied to digital players. This patch will include access to the VR mode for PlayStation users and will include the remaining locations that are not included on the disc.
Game Size HITMAN 3 will take up approximately 60-70 GB of storage space on all platforms, with the obvious exceptions of Stadia and Switch. The data that you download will also include all the content required to access HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 – but you are still required to own/purchase access to those games. To underline that; purchasing HITMAN 3 does not grant access to the previous two games by default.
Using this method allows us to reduce the file size for all players to 60-70 GB and has the benefit of making the process of redeeming or purchase access to HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 as simple as possible. (We talk about that more later). Also, we want to clarify that reducing the file size doesn’t mean that we’ve made any compromises on the visual/audio quality of the game. If you’re curious about the technical aspects that made this possible, we recently talked to PC Gamer about it.

HITMAN 3 - Editions

There are two editions of HITMAN 3; The Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition.
– The Standard Edition includes the HITMAN 3 base game. Nice and simple. – The Deluxe Edition includes the HITMAN 3 base game and the Deluxe Pack. Again, nice and simple.
The only difference between the two editions is the Deluxe Pack, which includes 6 Deluxe Escalations, in-game suits, items and weapons, a digital soundtrack for each game in the World of Assassination trilogy, an introduction to each HITMAN 3 campaign mission by the Game Director and a digital artbook that highlights the characters, targets and missions included in the trilogy. A free IOI Account is required to download the digital soundtracks and World of HITMAN Art Book.
Here’s a visual look at everything that’s packed into the HITMAN 3 Deluxe Edition:
📷
Next-gen Upgrade Console players who pre-order or purchase a physical or digital copy of HITMAN 3 (either Standard or Deluxe) on the current generation of consoles (PS4/Xbox One), will receive a free upgrade to the next-gen version of the game for no additional cost. Note that you won’t be able to receive the next-gen upgrade if you purchase HITMAN 3 on disc and you own a disc-free next gen console.
When making a digital purchase, you will automatically be entitled to download the next-gen version when you access the game on that console.
When making a physical disc purchase, you’ll need to insert the current gen disc into your next gen console and you’ll be able to download the next-gen version for no additional cost. Simply keep the disc in your machine whenever you want to play and you’ll be good to go.
Pre-order Bonus The HITMAN 3 pre-order bonus celebrates all three games in the World of Assassination trilogy. Introducing the Trinity Pack. You’ll get it just by pre-ordering the game, no matter what platform or edition.
The Trinity Pack includes a total of 9 items, with 3 distinct sets that represent a different game from the trilogy. Each set includes a suit, briefcase and weapon. From the White of HITMAN 1, the Red of HITMAN 2 or the Black of HITMAN 3, you’ll have all 9 items in your inventory to mix and match as you like. The classic Hitman insignia is etched onto the items in gold to add an elegant flourish.
Note: The Trinity Pack will not be included with either the Standard Edition or Deluxe Edition after January 20.
📷
At selected retailers, pre-ordering a physical edition of HITMAN 3 will also include an exclusive physical passport. This unique item is filled with details and references from Agent 47’s career and commemorates 20 years of Hitman. See the list of retailers in our previous pre-order blog post.

Progression Carryover

All current HITMAN 2 players will be able to carryover their hard-earned progression into HITMAN 3.
After completing the carryover process, HITMAN 2 players will be able to start HITMAN 3 with their existing player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks and Elusive Target suits/unlocks. All of those things are what we call ‘progression’. It’s not possible to pick and choose elements to carryover. It’s all or nothing.
The carryover process requires an IOI Account and can only be done through a web browser, it’s not possible to do it in-game. We will have the website ready to go before launch, but it is not live yet. Once it is ready, we will share the news via ioi.dk and update this post.
📷
Here’s more about how it will work:
– Progression can only be carried over from HITMAN 2, including progression you have from the Legacy Pack (HITMAN 1 locations within HITMAN 2).
– Progression can only be carried over from within the same platform. There are only three options:
HITMAN 2 (PlayStation) → HITMAN 3 (PlayStation) HITMAN 2 (Xbox) → HITMAN 3 (Xbox) HITMAN 2 (PC/Steam) → HITMAN 3 (PC/Epic)
Note: “PlayStation” = PS4, PS4 Pro and PS5. “Xbox” = Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
Essentially, it doesn’t matter what specific console you have earned progression on. It only matters that progression can only move forward and within the same console ‘family’.
– Progression carryover is a one-time process, meaning once you have performed a carryover for a particular platform, you will not be able to do so again at a later time.
– If you have played HITMAN 2 on multiple platforms, you CAN perform a carryover for EACH of those profiles, but only within the same platform, as listed above. For example, if you play H2 on Xbox and PlayStation, you can carryover your H2 Xbox progression into H3 Xbox and independently carryover your H2 PlayStation progress into H3 PlayStation.
– When you complete the carryover process, your existing HITMAN 2 progress will remain as it is (i.e it will not be removed/deleted). However, your progression in H2 and H3 will NOT be synchronised.
– If you have already started playing HITMAN 3 and THEN choose to perform the progression carryover process, you will lose all progression earned within HITMAN 3 up to that point. We recommend you carryover progress before starting HITMAN 3.
📷
What exactly will be carried over?
When you start the process, you will need to select an account that you have linked to your IOI Account. You will then be able to review the HITMAN 2 progress earned on that account and confirm that you want to perform the carryover process into HITMAN 3.
The following progression will be included in the carryover process: player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks and Elusive Target suits/unlocks. Savegame files are not carried over.
Note that there are a small amount of items/unlocks that are not carried over through this process, such as the rewards unlocked through the HITMAN 1 GOTY Escalations, becuase they are linked to a purchase. Those items will be available in HITMAN 3 when you redeem access to the associated content. In addition, the ICA Electrocution Phone has been retired and will not be available in HITMAN 3.
HITMAN 3 on Stadia On Stadia, all progression that players have earned in Hitman: World of Assassination (from both H1 and H2) will automatically ‘carryover’ to HITMAN 3. For additional clarity, Stadia and PC are two different platforms and progress cannot be shared or carried over between them.
HITMAN 3 on Nintendo Switch Progression carryover is not possible on Nintendo Switch because HITMAN 2 is not available on that platform as a standalone game.

Access Pass FAQ

HITMAN 3 allows players to access locations from the previous games in the trilogy (H1 and H2) and play them all under one roof. Essentially, we have setup H1 and H2 as DLC for HITMAN 3. You can buy or redeem/download an Access Pass and get access to its content within H3. For example, if you buy the HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass DLC for HITMAN 3, you’ll get access to the locations and missions included in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition within HITMAN 3.
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In addition to the option of purchasing an Access Pass, it is also possible to redeem/download an Access Pass for no additional cost, if you have already purchased that content from the same store that you have pre-ordered or purchased HITMAN 3.
To make this happen, we detect what you already have installed for HITMAN 2 and can make the corresponding Access Pass available for no additional cost on the same store. Note: If you only own HITMAN 1, you will need to import that content into HITMAN 2 first, via the instructions in our Legacy Pack FAQ.
This process will work between console generations. For example, if you own HITMAN 2 on PS4, you’ll be able to download the HITMAN 2 Access Pass DLC in HITMAN 3 for both PS4 and PS5. The same applies for the Xbox family of consoles as well.
We know that’s a lot of information, but once you’ve seen all of the Access Pass options, and there are five in total, it will make more sense.
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HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 1 GOTY Edition: ICA Facility, Paris, Sapienza, Marrakesh, Bangkok, Colorado, Hokkaido, 3x GOTY Escalations and rewards and 4x Patient Zero campaign missions
How to get it – Consoles: If you have previously downloaded the HITMAN 1 Legacy Pack, HITMAN 1 GOTY Legacy Pack or HITMAN 1 GOTY Upgrade for HITMAN 2, you will be able to download it for no additional cost. (Yes, that’s a free upgrade to the GOTY Edition if you only own the Standard Edition of H1!). The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you own a version of H1 on disc, you must follow the process in the Legacy Pack FAQ to access that content in HITMAN 2 – and then redeem this Access Pass.
– PC (Epic): If you pre-purchase or purchase HITMAN 3 on EGS within the first 10 days of launch, you will be granted the HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass for no additional charge. In addition, if you own or redeemed a free copy of HITMAN – The Complete First Season on EGS when it was available for free, you will be able to download this Access Pass at any time after purchasing HITMAN 3.
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HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, plus 1x Sniper Assassin map: Himmelstein
How to get it – Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Standard Edition or HITMAN 2 SilveGold, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store.
– Disc: [See below]
– PC (Epic): As HITMAN 2 is not available on EGS, we have set up an 80% discount for this Access Pass for the first 14 days after HITMAN 3’s launch.
HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass [DISC] Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, plus 1x Sniper Assassin map: Himmelstein
How to get it – Consoles: If you own a physical disc copy of HITMAN 2 Standard Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost through the HITMAN 2 in-game store. (You will see the full listing price if you look for the Access Pass in the PS/Xbox store as a disc owner.) On Xbox, you also need to own a digital copy of either HITMAN 3 or the HITMAN 2 Free Starter Pack before navigating to the in-game store.
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HITMAN 2 Gold Access Pass Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Gold Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, New York, Haven Island, plus 3x Sniper Assassin maps: Himmelstein, Hantu Port, Siberia and 4x Special Assignments.
How to get it – Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you bought HITMAN 2 Gold Edition on Disc, it will have included a download code for the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass; you need to use that to get access to the content from the Gold Edition. See below. – PC (Epic): As HITMAN 2 is not available on EGS, we have set up an 80% discount for this Access Pass for the first 14 days after HITMAN 3’s launch. It will also grant access to the HITMAN 2 Expansion Access Pass.
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HITMAN 2 Expansion Access Pass Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass: New York, Haven Island, plus 3x Sniper Assassin maps: Himmelstein, Hantu Port, Siberia and 4x Special Assignments.
How to get it – Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for the Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you own a physical copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost because a download code for the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass was included in the box. If you have redeemed that code, the price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store.
HITMAN 3 Access Pass on PC We’ve done everything possible to make this process smooth and player-friendly. However, due to various circumstances out of our control, we want to acknowledge that the process is different to our initial plans for PC players. We also want to share some of the initiatives we’ve set-up to make sure that PC players the chance to keep enjoying the benefits of the World of Assassination.

• The HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass will be available to claim in the first 10 days after launch for anyone who purchases (or has pre-ordered) any edition of HITMAN 3 on Epic Games Store.
• Owners of HITMAN 1 on EGS (including all players who claimed it when it was available for free in August) will get a free upgrade to the HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass at any time after purchasing HITMAN 3.
• The HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass and HITMAN 2 Gold Access Pass will be 80% off for 14 days after the launch of HITMAN 3 on Epic Games Store and will continue to be discounted regularly.

Our hope is that these initiatives help to ensure all HITMAN 3 PC players can able to enjoy the new game with full access to HITMAN 1 and their progression carried over as a minimum.
HITMAN 3 Access Pass on Stadia Due to the convenient set-up of HITMAN 1-3 on Stadia, the Access Pass system is not required. Players will continue to have access to the locations they already own through Hitman: World of Assassination, or can purchase the games that they don’t own through the Stadia Store.
HITMAN 3 Access Pass on Switch HITMAN 3 is the first game in the trilogy to be available on Switch. As such, each relevant Access Pass is available for purchase through the HITMAN 3 in-game store.

HITMAN VR

At launch, HITMAN 3 will support PS VR and all locations in the World of Assassination trilogy can be experienced in a new first-person perspective. Yes, that means you can traverse the outside of the tallest building in the (Hitman) world in PS VR! If you own the previous games from the trilogy on PS4, you can also access locations from them within HITMAN 3. That’s more than 20 Hitman locations from the World of Assassination trilogy to enjoy in PS VR.
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You can either play HITMAN 3 in PS VR natively on your PS4 or via backward compatibility on PS5. To make sure all PS VR owners can experience the game in VR, we’re including a free digital copy of the PS4 version of HITMAN 3 with all PS5 copies, whether you choose to buy it via disc or digital.
If you are playing on PS5, your progress between the PS4 (VR) and PS5 (non-VR) versions is shared between the two versions. You’ll be able to play the non-VR version of HITMAN 3 on PS5 with the next-gen improvements that we support (including Dual Sense support!) and then switch to the PS4 version for VR and all of your items and unlocks will be right there waiting for you. You will need to have both versions of the game installed on your PS5 to make that happen.
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Whether you play on PS4 or PS5, a DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller is required to play HITMAN 3 in VR. Playing HITMAN 3 in VR on PS5 also requires a PlayStation Camera adaptor. For full details on the requirements for playing PS VR on your PS5, including how to order a free PlayStation Camera adaptor, see the official PlayStation PS VR site.

More to come

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We have got our sights firmly set on January 20 and our entire team is doing everything in our power to make the launch of HITMAN 3 as successful as possible. It’s an incredibly exciting time for us to be so close to releasing our next game, as well as deliver the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy.
Please keep the conversation going on Twitter, Discord, Reddit and in HitmanForum and be excellent to each other.
The World of Assassination awaits…

Disclaimer: Many people have mentioned comments about games like Demon's Souls, Persona, Ghost of Tsushima, essentially single player, well crafted experiences. I agree, they can argue a price increase. Games riddled with MTX cannot. This post is to specifically criticise the actions of blockbuster developers who charge high prices and then load their games with grind (and use MTX to reduce it), microtransactions themselves, and season passes.
In the Eurogamer article "We need to talk about the cost of next-gen video games" Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick is quoted from an interview with Protocol.

The bottom line is that we haven't seen a front-line price increase for nearly 15 years, and production costs have gone up 200 to 300 per cent.
But more to the point since no one really cares what your production costs are, what consumers are able to do with the product has completely changed.
We deliver a much, much bigger game for $60 or $70 than we delivered for $60 10 years ago. The opportunity to spend money online is completely optional, and it's not a free-to-play title. It's a complete, incredibly robust experience even if you never spend another penny after your initial purchase.

Now the "opportunity to spend money online is completely optional" is of course, correct. You don't have to buy microtransactions, but remember this is the CEO who said:

We are convinced that we are probably from an industry view undermonetizing on a per-user basis. There is wood to chop because I think we can do more, and we can do more without interfering with our strategy of being the most creative and our ethical approach, which is delighting consumers. ^{Source - The Escapist}

They are completely aware that microtransactions are the future of their business, and while the singleplayer campaigns of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series are always cinematic masterpieces when they are released. In recent years this falls apart when it comes to their online components. We've all seen the articles about 'Shark Cards' and 'Gold Bars' in relation to their respective games.
Take-Two is not the only one to blame in this regard either, Activision is on the same boat as they are.
From the Eurogamer article:

Here's another game that seems outrageously priced: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. On GAME's website, the next-gen versions (PS5 and Xbox Series X) both cost £70 each. The current-gen versions cost £65, which seems ridiculous (they're £60 elsewhere - nice one GAME). Activision is pushing the digital-only cross-gen bundle version of the game, which costs £65 on the PlayStation Store as well as the Microsoft Store.

Now moving past the fact that it's in pounds and not US dollars. Microtransactions are the standard fare here too. You do not have to buy the season pass if you don't want to. This is the same with any other game that offers a purchasable season pass for its multiplayer component.
But if all your friends have it the peer pressure is there to buy it too, and the rewards you get for buying it are pressure too. It helps ease the grind, it helps save time. Before you say something like 'You can just say no to (peer) pressure.' We've all been there and we all know that's not how it works. It is a hard thing to say no to, especially if you feel like you are missing out or being left out.
These are just two of the most glaring examples. Other major publishers such as EA and Ubisoft have both committed to free cross-gen upgrades for some current gen titles, without the price increase, or cost of a next-gen patch (EA is announcing it on a game-by-game basis, here is FIFA 21 as an example). But we still wait to see what completely next-gen titles will cost.
I do not see a future where any company at all, that heavily uses and benefits from monetisation can justify increasing the prices of next-gen titles.

What's Mortal Kombat?

Mortal Kombat is a long running fighting game series that began in 1992 under Midway Games. Originally a 2D fighter, the series is notable for being the first fighting game series to have the idea of a "secret character" who could only be unlocked by fulling hidden requirements, and for being one of the first successful movies based on a video game ever with the 1995 movie. It's also notable for being very, very violent, thanks to the Fatality mechanic where a player can input a button command to cause an extra-gory finishing blow after winning a match. Mortal kombat's Fatalities were part of the reason for the creation of the game certification board the ESRB.
Following four successful games, the series took a shift for the worse in the 2000s with the transition to the Playstation 2/Xbox generation of consoles, with several games failing to interest the fans as much as the original four. The reasons for this vary (the series shifted from the now-iconic 2D sprites to 3D graphics, the Fatalities got a bit too over the top, more fighting games were embracing the ideas of MK, many of the new characters weren't iconic and also just the games often weren't great), but the end result is the same: Midway Games selling many of its assets (including MK itself) to Warner Bros before filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
Ed Boon, one of the head honchos at Midway, would gather many of the old crew into a new studio, called Netherrealm, that formed in 2010 and joined the Warner Bros family to get their hands on the MK license again (fun fact, Netherrealm's logo is Scorpion, the mascot of the MK series, since Scorpion is Ed Boon's favorite character). Since then they've launched a reboot of Mortal Kombat, with the following three games (9, X and 11) all being commerically and critically successful, alongside helming a DC brand of fighting games called Injustice. Mortal Kombat 11, their most recent game, was an especially successful game for the company, having sold over eight million units. It just got a free upgrade for the new consoles called the Ultimate Edition which added Mileena, Rain and John Rambo of all people.
Suffice to say, Mortal Kombat's had a storied history, emphasis on story. While many fighting games throw in a bare-bones story to just explain the violence, MK has gradually increased its production values to put more effort on story and characters, fleshing out the world and elaborating on the motivations for each fighter.

So who's Sindel?

Sindel is a supporting character in the series introduced in 1995's Mortal Kombat 3. Her backstory in the game was that 10,000 years prior to the events of the series, Sindel was the queen of the world of Edenia, but when the series antagonist Shao Khan invaded Edenia as part of his plans for conquest, Sindel was forced to watch her husband Jerrod murdered and her daughter Kitana kidnapped. Sindel committed suicide after this rather than become Shao Khan's consort. During MK3, Shao Khan has a sorcerer named Shang Tsung resurrect Sindel and brainwash her to have no memory of opposing Shao Khan, becoming his faithful consort. Notably, through resurrecting Sindel on Earth instead of Edenia, Shao Khan was able to bypass barriers that kept him from invading Earth as he now had "just cause" to reclaim her and merge Earthrealm with his Outworld.
Kitana, having realized Shao Khan's deception in the earlier games and defecting to the heroes, manages to break the Khan's hold on Sindel and returns her to her senses. Sindel retakes Edenia's throne and swears vengeance on Shao Khan for Jerrod's murder and his crimes against all the realms he'd invaded.
Keep that in mind, especially the part where Sindel was brainwashed into serving Shao Khan and chose to kill herself instead of serving him. It's a surprise tool that'll help us later.
Sindel would play a supporting role in the remaining Midway games, usually getting captured and locked in her own cells by the villain of the week or getting betrayed by other Edenians working with said ones, one of whom outright killed Kitana and resurrected her in the Ol' Sindel Switcheroo. Sindel's biggest remaining lore contribution would be in her non-canon ending in MK Armegeddon, the final Midway title, where she would claim the godlike powers of Blaze. In her ending, Sindel resurrects Jerrod and together with Kitana, leads Edenia into a new golden age while fending off otherworldly threats to keep all worlds safe from tyranny.
I transcibed a lot of Sindel's history so you understand her plotline in the original games- a good mother and queen who took her life instead of becoming a slave, who was then made a slave regardless when she was brought back from the dead, only to recover her humanity and remain a good person and queen.
In the MK reboot series that began with Mortal Kombat 9, the story initially follows the same beats- as MK9 is a loose adaptation of the first three games, we get Sindel's return from the dead and brainwashing to become Shao Khan's consort, alongside one of the dumber scenes in the game where Sindel, armed with the power of plot, wipes out almost every heroic character in the game just to instill an artificial sense of tension. After this Sindel dies but is brought back as an evil Revenant who aids Shao Khan and later Shinnock in MKX as a small-scale villain.
It's Sindel's return in Mortal Kombat 11, where she sat out the base game roster, that this drama begins.

MK11 Sindel, or: The Rise of Twindel.

As part of Kombat Pack 1, Sindel was announced to be joining the roster alongside returning characters Nightwolf and Shang Tsung, and guest characters Spawn, the Joker and the Terminator (MK has a thing for guest characters). Her fans were generally interested to hear this, especially as MK11 had introduced new lore for the Revenant characters which would allow the reboot timeline to flesh out Sindel.
Unfortunately, said wish was granted from a monkey's paw. Sindel's new bio read as follows:

The former Queen of Edenia will stop at nothing to keep her place. When threatened with the loss of her throne when Shao Kahn conquered her realm, Sindel betrayed her husband, and her people, to keep her privileged position. Now Shao Kahn's wife and Queen of Outworld, she enjoys power and wealth beyond most people's imagination. Good luck to anyone who tries to take it from her."

This was the first sign that something had changed internally regarding Sindel's writing. Even back in MK9 it was clear that Sindel was a tragic figure, but ultimately a hero. Her bio there read:

"The mother of Kitana, Queen Sindel was forced into marriage with Shao Kahn when he conquered her realm of Edenia. In an attempt to thwart the emperor's designs on Earthrealm, she sacrificed herself. Her suicide created a magical ward preventing him from setting foot there. But now the barrier has been dissolved. Sindel has been resurrected, her mind enslaved by Shao Kahn. Earthrealm's former ally has become a deadly threat."

Now however, Sindel was being written as though she had willingly sided with Shao Khan. Further lore would reveal that as part of the retcon, Sindel, like Jeffrey Epstein, did not kill herself- she was murdered by the sorcerer Quan Chi who staged the murder to look like a suicide, then lied to Shao Khan about the barrier Sindel had placed on Earthrealm. Sindel's arcade ending also doubled down on the retcon by revealing that the "Jerrod died and Sindel killed herself to prevent Shao Khan from claiming her" was a fabrication generated to cover up Sindel having betrayed Jerrod and killed him herself.
Mortal Kombat has always had a bit of a history with retconning characters between games, with it sometimes working for the better (such as changing Skarlet's origins in 9 from a blood homunculus to 11 making her a starving orphan Shao Khan saw and turned into a blood mage, but that was OK because Skarlet had no real personality in 9), but the Sindel one rankled a lot of fan's feathers, especially as while the MK9 reboot could have made the transition to a more villianous Sindel easlier, 9 instead doubled down on Sindel's old backstory, to the point of needing to be brainwashed again in 9 after she was brought back. This is one of the bigger consequences of the titular lore-breaking: Why would Sindel need to be brainwashed again by Quan Chi if she was already a willing ally of Shao Khan and his forces? It just muddies the waters for little good reason. Additionally, Jerrod's crown was an item found in MK11's Krypt, which itself says that Jerrod was killed by Shao Khan like in canon. The game itself is unable to keep its story straight on Sindel's backstory.
I won't go into the full details of what was and wasn't changed, but this video from Tabmok99 goes more in-depth on the nature of the Sindel retcon, while this medium article by Samara Kho discusses how Sindel's writing in MK11 is actually a step back in writing for women in games compared to the more nuanced character seen in the Midway era.
Prior to the release of Sindel's DLC, writer Shawn Kittelsen tried to assure Sindel's fans who weren't happy about the known details of the retcon, assuring fans in November 2019 that "much more care and thought has gone into her portrayal than some fans assume. More nuance to be revealed." Soon after, Sindel would release and her Arcade ending which covered the retcon of her murdering Jerrod would be released, leaving many of Sindel's fans to feel that Shawn had told a bare-faced lie regarding Sindel and her "nuance," especially after many of Sindel's pre-fight intros just involved her making agressive come-ons to nearly every male fighter in the roster (Despite her loyalty to Shao Khan apparently being a big thing now), and Sindel point blank saying "I never loved my daughter Kitana."
Sindel's fans were made further angry in the Aftermath expansion, where Sindel was set to receive a large role in the story. Aftermath doubles down on the retcon by having Sindel betray Kitana and side with Shao Khan, with the two getting a chapter to themselves as a "Power couple" to kick heroic ass.
I cannot believe I just had to refer to an abusive couple as a "Power Couple" but MK11 is surprising like that. This isn't even the most fucked up dynamic involving Shao Khan, Skarlet wants to marry him despite the fact that he adopted her like it's discount Usagi Drop.
Sindel's actual release did lead to some positive praise being given. While the retcon irked many fans, a lot of people liked Sindel because of said changes- her being a "boss ass bitch" who took no one's crap made for a fun villain if nothing else, and her moveset is pretty cool. She also looked really good and had some great VO work done by Mara Junot. Among Sindel's fans, many admitted to liking the idea of the character, just disliking the idea of being Sindel specifically given how it went against her pre-existing characterisation. Sindel in MK11 being made into an entirely new character probably would have gone down a lot better than what we got. Many took to calling the new Sindel Twindel as a response to the retcon.

Post-DLC drop drama

Following the retcon drama and after, both Shawn Kittelsen and Dominic Cianciolo came under fire as the two were the primary writers behind MK11/Aftermath and Sindel specifically. Fans have grown to really dislike Shawn and Dominic's writing, especially after people realized that the two had also written Injustice 2 which was sharply criticised for how it handled the characters of Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy. Dominic didn't help matters by liking a tweet calling classic Sindel a bad mother who wasn't as empowering as New Sindel. Dominic's full explanation for Sindel's retcon was as follows:

First, let me acknowledge your disappointment. It’s understandable, given the nature of the change. I also want to thank you for calmly expressing your disappointment. It makes it much easier to respond. So here goes:
When we sat down to write Sindel, we had to choose her “voice”, her point of view. Our options: go with “evil queen”, or embrace “tragic mother”. For various reasons, we couldn’t do both.
Our options: go with “evil queen”, or embrace “tragic mother”. For various reasons, we couldn’t do both. We looked to Shakespeare’s Lady MacBeth, Ragnorak’s Hela, and Gemma Teller from Sons of Anarchy as references.
Among other things, this change gave us more grist for her conflict with the heroes, allowed us to explore a new side of Shao Kahn, and to heighten Kitana’s identity crisis.

While fans were grateful for Dominic being open about the reasons for the change, many were left wondering "So why not follow the option closer to the character and why go for such a drastic change?"
Shawn Kittelson meanwhile brought up his sick kid out of the blue to call out the Sindel critics in what many felt to be a deflection tactic. While I can't read every response Shawn got after the Sindel news broke, many of the replies I checked where Kittlesen talks about Sindel were strictly professional in keeping their criticisms to the writing itself and didn't devolve into personal attacks.

The Aftermath

While it has some defenders, Sindel's retcon has been met with an overwhelmingly negative reception online. On Wikipedia, Sindel's page describes the reception to the change as having "received heavily negative reactions by critics and fans alike, many believing that the game's retcon of Sindel as a willingly evil character to be an unnecessary deviation from her established character arc." Since then, MK has brought back two more legacy characters in Rain and Mileena, with the reception to both being pleasant surprise in both characters fitting the game well thematically and writing wise. Mileena's ending especially was a surprise given it outright confirmed a canon romantic attraction between herself and Tanya, making it the second case of Mortal Kombat confirming an LGBT pairing in canon following MKX's Kung Jin. Rambo was also a pleasant surprise in that NRS portrayed the character with a lot more tact then was expected of the action star, including a great performance from Sly Stallone. That being said, among some fans the reception to Mileena especially was "Wow that could have been a lot worse."
Sindel's retcon has still not been forgiven by a lot of fans of Mortal Kombat, who dread the perpetual leaks and rumors of a third Kombat Pack or Aftermath Part 2 expansion that would give the game more story and thus give Sindel more screentime as her retconned self. Some have resorted to very... creative... memes making light of the whole thing. This, alongside the general issues people have had with NRS games and their stories for the past several years (the general handling of female characters, hiring Ronda Rousey as Sonya Blade given Rousey being a transphobic school shooting denier, and their horrible working conditions) has led to some skepticism of the future of MK and for Dominic and Shawn to have a reduced role for Injustice 3, MK12 or whatever is next on the horizon for NRS (hopefully an internal revision of work policies so members of their staff don't get PTSD from how gory the Fatalities got in MK11). Assuming Sindel is even in the next Mortal Kombat roster, whether she is returned to her original characterisation from the Midway titles, or NRS stick with Twindel and try to salvage the concept, is something that likely won't be known for several more years.*

• Watch as they announce Kombat Pack 3 before this post is a month old and I'm left with egg on my face.

Thanks for reading.

Hey guys. So as we are slowly edging closer to release and the demo, in my boredom I've decided to create a simple FAQ as I find myself answering a lot of the same questions.
Some of these answers are lifted directly from PCF, some are just info I'm aware of myself. I will try to keep it updated with any questions asked in the comments.
Included are General questions, Demo info, Gameplay info, QOL info, and Crossplay/Multiplayer info.
EDIT: All updated now, if I have missed anything obvious I'll update this when I'm made aware.. thearcan feel free to do with this thread as you see fit
 

GENERAL

 

- When will Outriders be released?

01 April 2021

- What Platforms will Outriders release on?

Outriders will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC (Steam & Epic). Outriders will be released on Stadia at a later date.

- What kind of game is Outriders?

Outriders is a 1 to 3 player, drop-in-drop-out co-op, third-person-perspective shooter set in an original dark and desperate sci-fi universe.

- Where can I watch the Outriders reveal trailer?

Right here. This is also on their official channel with plenty more in depth info on the game.

- Is there an official discord?

Yes here

- Is Outriders a Free-to-Play game?

No. Outriders will only require a one-off purchase of the game.

- Is Outriders a Games-As-A-Service?

No - Outriders will be a complete experience out of the box.

- Will Outriders feature Micro-transactions?

No. However the pre order bonus will be able to be purchased separately afaik.

- Will Outriders support Smart Delivery on Xbox? Will we get a free upgrade to PlayStation 5?

Yes. Anyone who purchases the game for Xbox One or PlayStation 4, will get a free upgrade to Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 respectively.

- Will Outriders support Cross-Play?

Yes. Outriders will Fully support cross-play, meaning you will be able to explore Enoch with any of your friends on any other platform. You can play Outriders from start to finish with your friends regardless of what system they own.

- Will there be DLC?

At this time we don't know, if the game does well, hopefully we will see more of Enoch.

- Will my PC be able to handle Outriders?

See here

- Why was the game delayed?

See the official response here
 

DEMO

 

- When does the Demo release?

25th February 2021

- What will the demo include?

Final details have not been announced yet. But we know it will be the first few hours of the game.

- Will my demo progress carry over to the full game?

Yes - but there will be progress caps in place. At this moment in time we know there will be a level cap, world tier cap and story progress will be capped.

- Will the demo feature crossplay?

Yes
 

GAMEPLAY

 

- Can I play all classes?

Yes, you should have 6 character slots available.

- Will I have to replay the story for each class?

Yes, as far as we know.

- Does each class have multiple skills/powers?

Yes each class has 8 skills total. Only 3 can be equipped at one time.

- Why can we only play in groups of 3?

PCF found that groups of 3 hit the sweet spot for balancing, optimisation and visibility, especially with some much going on in battle.

- How does difficulty scaling work?

The game utilises a world tier system. There are a total of 15 World tiers. In essence the more you kill, the longer you survive, the higher the world tier you unlock. Each world tier increases difficulty, but also your rewards. This can be adjusted up (to the max you have unlocked) and down at any point.

- How does endgame work?

Endgame consists of 14 expeditions, all fresh content. In essence, get to the end as fast as you can on the highest difficulty you can for the most rewards. See more here

- What if I miss a loot drop?

There is an auto loot feature in game.

- Why don't enemies drop loot in expeditions?

They do. It all just goes to the chest at the end. See clarification here

- Does that mean if I fail an expedition I don't get any loot?

No, as per the previous linked comment, you still get this loot even if you fail.

- Can I transfer loot to another character?

Yes, there is a stash system.

- How does crating and mods work?

See Here Approx 16 mins in.

- Is there an in game achievement system?

The game will feature accolade system which is something in between achievements and battle pass. It will reward you for doing actions you would normally do in gameplay with small cosmetic rewards so if you need extra motivation to repeat few side quests and spend more time in the game here it is. The system will give only cosmetic rewards and there is no way to buy your progress, it is also completely optional but completionists can have nice fun with it.

- How do armour stats work?

See an official breakdown here

- What weapons can we use?

From what we have seen you have Pistol side arms, and equip 2 primary weapons. So far we have seen Assault rifles, LMG's, Shotguns, Sub Machine guns and a variety of rifles including Snipers.

- Can I play the whole game solo?

Yes, the number of enemies etc scale depending on how many people are in your party. Expeditions are designed for 3 players, but should still be doable solo. See clarification here

- Is there PVP?

No.
 

QUALITY OF LIFE

 

- Will there be in game comms?

No - at this time there is no in built chat or ping system. See further explanation as to why this is here

- Will there be loadouts?

No, not at this time.

- Will there be a transmog system?

No, not at this time.

- Are there colourblind settings?

Yes, I believe so.

- What are the next gen upgrades for Xbox Series X and PS5?

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but we can expect some optimisation benefits etc. Suggestions that we should know for certain by the release of the demo.

- Do I have to be online to play?

Unless something has changed recently, I believe you have to be online to play.

- Is there a mass dismantle system in game?

Yes

- Is there an item protection system in game, such as item locking?

No.

- Will players be able to mod/hack their saves etc?

Alls saves are server side, so this shouldn't be theoretically possible.
 

CROSSPLAY/MULTIPLAYER

 

- Can I turn crossplay off?

Yes

- Is there a social hub?

There are hubs in game. However they will only be accessed by yourself and those within your matchmaking party.

-How does joining a friend work?

The game operates on a host based system. You join and play in the hosts world. Host migration systems should be in place if the host dc's. You can join any friend at any point once the prologue is complete.

- How does scaling work when I join a friend?

As you are in the hosts game, you play at the level and world tier setting they are at. So you will either feel OP or under geared if you join low/high level friends retrospectively. See more here

- How does loot work in a friends game?

Loot is instance based for each player. Loot drops depending on enemy level, which is in turn based on world tier. So if you are joining friends playing on substantially lower or higher world tiers. Loot drops in essence won't be much use to you.

- How will I invite cross play friends?

They have said they will utilise a friend code system.

- Is there a cross save system?

Only between similar systems - eg Xbox one to Xbox series x, or PS4 to PS5. You will not be able to cross save between platforms, eg from Xbox to PC, or Xbox to PS.