Category: eSports

QuakeCon 2022 will be a digital-only event yet again

Skyrim and Doom fans will not gather for an in-person event this year.

This year’s QuakeCon will be an online event once again, much to the chagrin of LAN party enthusiasts everywhere.

On Wednesday, ZeniMax Media announced that QuakeCon 2022 be held from Aug. 18 through Aug. 20, 2022, but will not return as an in-person event. 

“Like you, we’re disappointed to not return to Dallas this year,” ZeniMax Media’s statement reads on Twitter. “An event this size requires months of planning, and in this case, we had to make decisions when there was still too much uncertainty to commit to successfully executing an in-person QuakeCon.”

It’s a bummer for fans on multiple fronts. Historically, fans of Doom, Elder Scrolls, and (of course) Quake attend QuakeCon for its massive Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN parties. It’s been going on since 1996, with professional Quake tournaments being the draw for attendees. In more recent years, it’s also an event for Bethesda to reveal games like Doom Eternal.

The good news is QuakeCon 2023 will probably ditch the online-only format.

“We’re committed to returning with our full in-person festival in 2023 and already look forward to reconnecting with friends, a massive BYOC packed with your latest custom PC creations, our wild contests, and tons of great new games and hardware for attendees to try out,” ZeniMax Media’s statement concludes.

QuakeCon 2022 will be particularly interesting since it could be where we see more of Starfield.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Speedrunner finishes Elden Ring in less than 7 minutes

Distortion2 shatters his previous record with time to spare.

The Elden Ring speedrunning scene proves once again that time is fake. How else can you explain that people are zooming through the Lands Between faster than it takes to boil a pot of water? You can’t; there’s no other explanation.

On Tuesday, speedrunning superstar Distortion2 broke Elden Ring’s world record completion time again, coming in at 6 and 59 seconds. This ridiculous feat comes mere days after his other record-breaking run. 

“World’s first [sub-seven] minutes in Elden Ring,” Distortion2 said on Twitter. “This category has been quite the ride. Still some room for improvement, but I am done with this for now.”

You can watch this absurd run for yourself below. The next time someone tells you that time isn’t a social construct, send them this video.

These records will probably be one-upped quite often, as speedrunners regularly hone their techniques to shave more time off of runs. Not to mention speedrunning scenes stay active for years. On Tuesday, a speedrunner found a hilarious ladder-skip glitch in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater — 18 years after the game came out.

With how staggeringly successful Elden Ring is, folks will probably refine their high-speed attempts for years to come.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Usain Bolt becomes co-owner of esports group WYLDE

The legendary sprinter will assist with brand growth.

Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt is now a co-owner of esports organization WYLDE.

On Tuesday, What You Love Doing Esports (WYLDE) announced that the world’s fastest man will help the company establish itself as esports next big brand. Currently, WYLDE has teams from all over the globe competing in Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and FIFA 22.

“WYLDE is on a journey to becoming one of the biggest brands in the fastest growing sport in the world. In esports, like in track & field, it’s critical to have that competitive, winning mentality,” Bolt said in a press release. “I look forward to working with the WYLDE leadership team to help our players to reach their potential while also taking care of their physical and mental wellbeing.”

WYLDE co-founder David Cronin is (unsurprisingly) happy about Bolt’s involvement.

“Usain coming on board takes WYLDE to the next level,” Cronin said in a press release. “With his vast competitive experience and Olympic-winning mentality, his guidance will be invaluable as we continue to build professional structures to support the development of our players.”

Bolt is just the latest mainstream athlete to embrace esports. Loads of stars from the NBA and NFL are doing the same. Heck, even Snoop Dogg signed up with FaZe Clan recently.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Electronic Arts bans Russian esports teams from events

The company further imposes restrictions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Electronic Arts will no longer allow teams from Russia and Belarus to compete in its esports events following the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts (EA) announced the suspension of all its game sales within Russia and Belarus. On Wednesday, the company took things one step further by imposing further restrictions. Specifically on the Apex Legends and FIFA 22 esports events.

“We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the invasion. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” EA’s statement reads on Twitter. “We have made the decision to remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries in our esports programs. Effective immediately, players and teams in Russia and Belarus are ineligible to participate in the Apex Legends Global Series and EA Sports FIFA 2022 Global Series.”

EA already removed Russia’s national teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22 in response to the invasion.

Many major companies within the games industry are cutting ties with Russia. Sony, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red, GSC Game World, Itch.io, Square Enix, and The Pokémon Company have either stopped doing business with the country or aided humanitarian efforts within Ukraine through charitable donations.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Speedrunners finish Elden Ring in less than an hour

A quick tour of the Lands Between and nothing more.

Sure, Elden Ring might be challenging, but speedrunners are dusting the Lands Between faster than it takes to cook a turkey. 

On Wednesday, well-known speedrunner LilAggy completed Elden Ring in 58 minutes and 38 seconds. Allegedly the first time anyone’s ever finished FromSoftware’s action RPG that quickly. Much like recent Skyrim and Pokémon Shining Pearl speedruns, LilAggy uses game-alerting skips to blitz through Elden Ring. It takes a lot of skill, finesse, and practice to pull this inhuman feat off, especially since the game has barely been out for two weeks.

The entire archive of LilAggy’s record-setting Elden Ring run is right here.

Incredibly, someone broke LilAggy’s record the same day. Distortion2, another popular speedrunner, made it through Elden Ring in 49 minutes and 29 seconds. The footage of that ridiculous run is also on YouTube here.

What can you even say? They call speedrunning the “golf of esports” for a good reason. 

Anyone taking their time with the action RPG should check out GLHF’s complete walkthrough, 11 great tips, and dozens more guides we have up on ForTheWin. Aspiring speedsters should invest in lots of coffee should they wish to challenge Distortion2’s record, though. 

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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DrDisrespect settles Twitch lawsuit

The popular streamer is moving on.

Popular streamer Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm is no longer in a legal battle with Twitch.

In 2020, the platform banned DrDisrespect without publicly explaining why. Many saw it as a bizarre move since he was undoubtedly one of Twitch’s biggest stars. DrDisrespect began streaming on YouTube, and took legal action against Twitch over his ban. As of Thursday, however, it seems both parties are moving on.

“I have resolved my legal dispute with Twitch,” DrDisrespect said on Twitter. “No party admits to any wrongdoing.”

In a follow-up tweet, DrDisrespect clarifies that he will not be returning to the platform either despite the whole kerfuffle being over. Twitch gave PC Gamer the same statement that DrDisrespect posted as well.

Few secrets stay hidden in the games industry, especially with influencers as big as DrDisrespect. Yet two years removed from his ban, we still have no idea what happened. Probably never will, either. There’s clearly some legality involved that’s keeping everyone quiet.

Since his ban, DrDisrespect has gone on to form his game studio with former Call of Duty and Halo developers.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Overwatch 2’s PvP and PvE modes are releasing separately, and beta testing starts soon

Beta registration is open and testing will begin this spring.

We might not see Overwatch 2’s full release until next year, but Blizzard is splitting up the PvP and PvP modes to get it out sooner — with beta testing on the latter starting soon.

On Thursday, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2’s PvE and PvE modes will no longer ship together. Game director Aaron Keller explains the reasoning behind this move in a new developer update video.

“We haven’t communicated well, haven’t kept you up to date, and honestly, we’ve let you down when it comes to delivering Overwatch content,” Keller said on YouTube. “We hear you, and we’re committed to more continual updates on all things Overwatch 2.”

“We are shifting our plan with Overwatch 2 to enable you to play it sooner,” Keller continues. “This starts with de-coupling the PvP features of the game from the PvE systems so we can bring you PvP sooner. This includes the new 5v5 team format, new heroes, new maps, new push game mode, significant hero reworks, and many new gameplay features [like] a ping system.”

Keller then explains that Overwatch 2’s first closed beta tests will begin in late April. There are no concrete dates yet, but you can register for Overwatch 2’s beta test here. 

So yeah, Overwatch 2 might squeak in as one of the biggest shooters of 2022.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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EVO 2022 reveals its entire games lineup

Street Fighter 5, Mortal Combat 11, and seven other fighting games will be at this year’s competition.

Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, revealed what titles will be at this year’s event.

Competitions at EVO 2022 will run from Aug. 5 through Aug. 7, 2022, pitting the world’s best fighting game players against each other across nine different titles.

EVO 2022 lineup 

Matches will use the PS4 versions of each game.

  • Street Fighter V: Champion Edition 
  • Guilty Gear -Strive- 
  • Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate  
  • TEKKEN 7
  • THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV
  • MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA
  • DRAGON BALL FighterZ
  • Granblue Fantasy: Versus
  • Skullgirls: 2nd Encore

Pretty solid choices, though the glaring omission is (obviously) Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, which Nintendo isn’t allowing at EVO 2022.

“We are thrilled to present a slate of fighting games representing so many of the genre’s player-bases for EVO 2022,” Rick Thiher, EVO’s general manager, said in a press release. “Our team is incredibly excited to once-again host them in offline competition at EVO this August. There is nothing like the global Fighting Game Community’s energy when we gather for EVO, and I’m greatly looking forward to seeing what happens when we start the event series’ next chapter together later this year.”

There’s not been an in-person EVO since 2019 due to the global pandemic. Hopefully, Street Fighter 6 or Riot’s Project L will make some sort of appearance.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Snoop Dogg is FaZe Clan’s latest member

The legendary rapper is getting into esports.

FaZe Clan welcomes a budding esports star by the name of Snoop Dogg into its ranks.

Yes, Snoop is now part of FaZe Clan’s active roster and will serve on its board of directors after the company goes public later in 2022. For those of you unaware, Snoop is semi-active on Twitch streaming when he’s not busy playing Super Bowl halftime shows. So he has more knowledge of gaming influencers and major esports organizations than you might expect.

“It only makes sense to partner with FaZe Clan as both a team member and on the Board of Directors,” Snoop said in a press release. “The youth identifies with their brand and that’s something my son Cordell knew, which is why he brought us together.”

Snoop will also work on community outreach programs with FaZe Clan, supporting youth initiatives via charitable activities. FaZe Clan chief strategy officer Kai Henry says bringing Snoop on only makes sense.

“The organic relationship between Faze and Snoop has been building for years now, so we are thrilled to officially welcome Faze Snoop to the family,” Henry said. “As the original internet kid and first-generation gamer, Snoop has always understood the cultural connection between music, lifestyle and gaming.”

FaZe Clan is known for interesting promotions, including a Batman crossover comic last fall.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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¡Atención gamers! Liga MX deja el FIFA y va por exclusiva en eFootball

La Liga MX encontró en eFootball la manera de potencializar su marca a nivel mundial pues será una de las ligas exclusivas del videojuego

La Liga MX tiene nueva casa en los videojuegos y será por exclusiva en eFootball de Konami tras dejar el FIFA de EA Sports.

La desarrolladora japonesa y la primera división mexicana firmaron un convenio que comenzará en verano del 2022 sin que se dieran a conocer detalles económicos del arreglo que no debió ser barato.

La Liga MX encontró en eFootball la manera de potencializar su marca a nivel mundial pues será una de las ligas en exclusiva que tendrá el videojuego de usabilidad tanto en PC como en consola y de descarga gratuita en su versión eFootball.

Konami tendrá acceso a todos los jugadores de la primera división para escanear en 3D sus rostros y movimientos para hacerlo lo más parecido a la realidad de la Liga MX además de recreaciones fieles de todos los uniformes de la primera división.

Así pues termina una relación con EA de muchos años donde sinceramente los aficionados de la Liga MX en México y Estados Unidos siempre sentimos que nos quedaron a deber. Ya veremos esta nueva entrega con Konami.

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