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Dragon AgeMass Effect

EA is closing BioWare, and the next Mass Effect is cancelled

The studio behind Dragon Age (including The Veilguard), Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic is shutting down after more than 30 years, along with its Edmonton office. Early development on the next Mass Effect has ended. It's part of an EA restructure that cuts around 400 jobs (about 3% of staff), roughly 50 of them at BioWare. EA says it will focus on fewer big action-adventure games and is still making Marvel's Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game. The Sims' Project Lotus has also been paused.

SourceBioWare statement ↗AP News ↗Reuters ↗

PS5Switch 2Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.5 is out today, with the official patch notes now up

The Edgerunners 2 Update lands today on PS5, Xbox and PC, while Switch 2 gets it "in the days to follow" but with everything included, mod support too. Highlights: a new side quest, Clampdown (finish The Heist and two gigs for Wakako, then wait for her message), which rewards a five-piece King gear set; another new quest narrated by Richard Night that unlocks at Street Cred 15; the HKGN 102.0 FM radio station; dual-wielding pistols and revolvers via the new Double Trouble perk in the Cool tree; custom skins for hand cyberware at five Glamdocs; new outfits; and cross-platform mods through mod.io. It also fixes HDR settings doing nothing on PS5 and a 'save failed' error on Switch 2. It's also now part of Xbox Play Anywhere.

SourceNintendo Life (full notes) ↗Insider Gaming ↗

PS5GTA

Sony's new Pulse headset launches with GTA 6 on 19 Nov

The PlayStation Pulse wireless headset costs $99.99 / £89.99 / €99.99, comes in White or Midnight Black, and has planar magnetic drivers and PlayStation Link. Pre-orders open on 29 Oct at 10:00 local time. South Africa isn't on the first list of launch regions. The pricier Pulse Edge, with noise cancelling, follows next year.

SourcePlayStation Blog ↗Push Square ↗

PS5PS Plus

PS Store's Planet of the Deals sale is live until 4 Nov

It replaces the Player's Choice sale, which ended yesterday. Push Square has picked out 40+ games worth a look. Also cheap right now: the Shadow of the Colossus remake is $4.99 in the US and 88% off in the UK, and Demon's Souls is at an all-time low.

SourcePlayStation Blog ↗Push Square picks ↗

PS5Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert's big Charting the Unknown DLC gets an overview trailer

It's out on 29 Oct, and the trailer shows new storylines, ocean voyages, underwater exploration, shipbuilding, strongholds, running a business, expanded housing and deeper character relationships.

SourcePush Square ↗

Industry3 stories

PS5XboxPCStar Wars

Report: Star Wars Battlefront 3 is in development at DICE and Respawn

EA's restructure memo says DICE and Respawn will team up on a future shooter. EA didn't name it, but Variety's sources say it's Battlefront 3 for Lucasfilm. Nothing is officially announced yet.

SourceVariety ↗Push Square ↗

Xbox

Xbox is testing pay-as-you-go cloud gaming without Game Pass

It's called Cloud Playtime, and Xbox Insiders can try it now. Packs of hours are 10 hours for $3.99, 25 for $7.99 and 50 for $11.99. They're ad-free, unused hours don't expire, and there's also a free option with ads. The wider launch is due in November.

SourceXbox Wire ↗Pure Xbox ↗

XboxPC

Report: Game Pass could go à la carte

From Fortune's new profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma: Game Pass would stay tiered, but you'd pay for add-ons such as console games, cloud gaming and multiplayer. There's no price or date, and Microsoft hasn't confirmed it.

SourceGamesRadar+ ↗Kotaku ↗