Today, it was revealed that Ubisoft Connect will replace Uplay to create a more unified ecosystem for the publisher’s games. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also had an extraordinarily popular evening of playing Among Us on Twitch yesterday, Bethesda announced that Fallout 76 will be getting a free trial this weekend, publisher 2K acknowledged NBA 2K21‘s in-game ad controversy, and more. Here’s the video game news you might’ve missed on Oct. 21, 2020.
Fallout 76 Will Be Free to Play This Weekend
In celebration of Fallout‘s Bombs Drop Day, which occurs on Oct. 23, Fallout 76 is getting a free trial across all platforms from today through Oct. 26. The free trial will include all of the game’s base content, along with its Wastelanders and Nuclear Winter expansions. Plus, it will feature a preview version of Fallout 1st, the game’s premium membership. As with many free trial events, there will also be discounts on purchasing the game — up to 60% off in some cases!
Come join us in celebrating Bombs Drop Day!
Our #Fallout76 free trial period starts October 20th and runs through the 26th. 🎉https://t.co/87ez4BzS4B pic.twitter.com/5xDWIyGqR3— Fallout (@Fallout) October 20, 2020
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reaches Impressive Concurrent Twitch Stream Viewer Count
Last night, United States representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streamed Among Us on Twitch, which quickly became one of the most concurrently viewed streams of all time, peaking at 439,000 viewers. For context, the stream with the most concurrent viewers of all time was when Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Drake streamed together, peaking at over 600,000 viewers — followed closely by Shroud’s return to Twitch, which had over 500,000 concurrent viewers.
Read More: US Rep Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch stream drew 439k peak viewers
The Outer Worlds Gets Nintendo Switch Update, Live Today
Though The Outer Worlds is a fantastic game, its Nintendo Switch version leaves a lot to be desired due to assorted performance and graphical issues. However, a patch has rolled out today, addressing many issues and including improved textures, better detail across many assets, and other graphical enhancements. Previously, the game’s biggest issue on Switch had to do with muddy visuals, making it tough to look at, especially during segments where a lot of assets were on screen at once. This update won’t make it look as good as its console counterparts, but it will at least look better than before.
Read More: The Outer Worlds Nintendo Switch Patch 1.2
Gears 5 Will Feature Improved Latency on Xbox Series X
Unsurprisingly, Gears 5 will be enhanced on Xbox Series X, and the game’s official Twitter account divulged how it will make the most out of the more powerful hardware. One of the most notable improvements is that latency will be lowered by 57% compared to on Xbox One in the versus mode, making it feel more responsive. The tweet features a chart comparing the latency across Xbox One X, Xbox Series X at 60FPS, and Xbox Series X at 120FPS. The campaign mode will also feature an input latency improvement of 36% on Xbox Series X.
(3/3) pic.twitter.com/PKfHg1U2Tv
— Gears of War (@GearsofWar) October 21, 2020
2K Says NBA 2K21’s Ads Will Be “Fixed”
Earlier this week, we covered the implementation of unskippable ads into NBA 2K21 — a practice that fans were upset about. After the tremendous backlash, publisher 2K released a statement via Twitter, which read in part, “Yesterday’s 2KTV ad placement impacted our players’ experience in a way we didn’t intend, as these ads are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction. These will be fixed in future episodes.” It’s unclear if the publisher intends to remove them completely or if they will be altered in such a way that will allow them to be skipped.
2K Community 🗣 pic.twitter.com/rvMC9z0Wft
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) October 20, 2020
