Payday 3 will finally be getting an offline mode - although we don't know exactly when.

Payday 3 hasn't exactly had the best of launches. It was plagued with matchmaking issues and online-only requirements on release, and subsequent patches were delayed. All this lead to developer Starbreeze admitting that sales and player activity were lower than it had hoped, but it would endeavour to turn this around with a series of prioritised improvements.

Now, we know more about what these upcoming improvements will be, thanks to the reveal of Operation Medic Bag. Here, the developer announced that an offline mode is coming to Payday 3, as well an overhaul to matchmaking (Starbreeze admitted that right now, "matchmaking isn't doing a good job of bringing people together"), tweaks to the UI, a solo mode and a quickplay option. Additionally, "challenges will be removed", with the developer stating it will "switch infamy progression to be tied to heist completion".

Read more

As the new year kicks into high gear with an amazing slate of PS5 game releases like The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Tekken 8 and Helldivers 2, along with FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth later this month, we’re pleased to roll out another PS5 system software beta today with a number of quality-of-life enhancements and new features.

While beta access is limited to invited participants in select countries*, we plan to release the update globally in the coming months. If you’re selected to participate in the beta, you’ll receive an email invitation today when it’s available to download. Some features available during the beta phase may not make it into the final version or may see significant changes.

Let’s jump in to the newly added features:

DualSense wireless controller built-in mic and speaker audio enhancements

We’ve updated the device software of the DualSense and DualSense Edge wireless controllers to improve their sound features.

• Controller speaker enhancements. The controller speakers can now produce higher volume sound, allowing you to hear in-game sounds and voice chat audio more clearly.
• Improved noise cancellation. The mic input quality on these controllers has been improved, courtesy of a new AI machine learning model. Background noise from button presses and game audio are suppressed, resulting in a better voice chat experience. Install the system software beta and update the controller device software to enjoy enhanced clarity of your voice chat audio when using the controller mic.
• With this update, you may feel that the sounds coming from your controller speaker may sound louder. You can adjust the controller speaker volume from the control center.

Share Screen Interactions

Players watching Share Screen in full screen mode can now use pointers and emoji reactions to interact with the host’s gameplay.

• Viewers can move a pointer around, send a ping or draw a line on the shared screen, allowing them to highlight certain objects or areas to guide the host player more accurately.
• Viewers can send emoji-based reactions to the host’s screen to visually encourage and celebrate gameplay actions.
• Note: this feature is available by default but can be turned off by the host in the Share Screen settings. Both the host and the viewer must be participating in the beta to use this feature during the beta period.

Adjust Brightness of PS5 Power Indicator

You can now adjust the brightness of your PS5 console’s power indicator.

• Go to [Settings] > [System] > [Beep and Light], and then select [Brightness].

A heartfelt thank you to our community for always providing valuable feedback and supporting our beta programs. We’re excited to hear your thoughts!

*PS5 beta access will be available to selected participants in the U.S., Canada, Japan, U.K., Germany and France (same countries as our last system software beta).

PC version was "ready to ship".

Dreams remains a tremendous hub for imaginative players (and is home to some truly excellent creations), but the underplayed PS4 exclusive will, sadly, remain a PS4 exclusive. Outcry from fans about the game's potential were it to be released on more platforms — particularly PC — have been around since the start, but unfortunately, ports to PS5 and beyond never materialised. Now that ongoing development of the PS4 version is over, ports will never happen, but there are now rumblings that they very nearly did.

Lance McDonald, a modder known for getting Bloodborne running at 60 frames-per-second, recently spoke about what he'd heard from connections at Media Molecule. During a Twitch livestream, he claims that Media Molecule "finished the PC port" of Dreams, and the game was also due to get an "enhanced edition for PS5" with support for keyboard and mouse controls as well as ray tracing. McDonald says he knows all this because he "knows a guy that was testing it".

Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Buried treasure?

The eternal churn of online scuttlebutt continues apace, and this time, our old pal Nathan Drake is said to be coming out of retirement. According to XboxEra's Nick Baker and John Clarke, the very first game in the series — Uncharted: Drake's Fortune — might be in the running for a PS5 remake.

Speaking on their podcast, the pair have apparently been told about the project independently from each other. As the discussion continues, it's said that an Uncharted 1 remake was pitched "a number of years ago" and that the new evidence shown to Baker and Clarke suggests "at the very least, it was being strongly considered" to go into production. They stress this doesn't mean it's "100 per cent happening".

Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Or possibly the one after that.

Naughty Dog recently released Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II, a two-hour documentary delving into the creation of the mammoth sequel. Full of in-progress footage and stories from development, It's well worth watching, and you can do so for free on YouTube. In its closing moments, Neil Druckmann says he has a concept for a third game, and while that's exciting, it's very likely the studio will release something else beforehand.

Druckmann's comments suggest a potential The Last of Us 3 currently only exists in his head, which means, if it does get made, it'll be years and years before we see it come to fruition. We know Naughty Dog is currently working on something, though, so it stands to reason we'll see what that something is before another Last of Us comes our way.

Read the full article on pushsquare.com

Mad world.

In case you missed it, there have been a lot of reports recently about Xbox exclusives being ported over to rival platforms. The latest of these rumours concerns one of Microsoft's biggest franchises, the third-person shooter series Gears of War, which is apparently being considered for a port to PlayStation.

This comes from Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, known for weighing in on hot topics with some degree of insider information. Speaking on his usual show, he says Gears of War is one he's heard is "definitely under consideration", stressing that this doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.

Read the full article on pushsquare.com