It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the PC version of Monster Hunter: World… but now we finally have some news to share:

First up, let’s answer the big questions, where and when you’ll be able to play the PC version of Monster Hunter: World. It’ll be available on Steam on August 9 ^th.

You can already head over to the Steam page to pre-order your copy, which means you’ll also get the pre-order exclusive Origin Armor Set and Fair Wind Charm. And to help you plan for next month’s release, here is the list of minimum and recommended specs for the game:

You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge – a new boss bursts onto the scene of Mega Man 11! Introducing Blast Man, a Robot Master with a flair for the theatric… and a taste for explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. This volatile ‘bot is no joke, so read on for what to expect from his stage and learn about newly revealed features for Mega Man 11 !

While Block Man’s stage has pitfall-riddled pyramids built around his ego, and Fuse Man’s stage takes place in a tricky power plant, Blast Man has a decidedly more… wait for it… explosive approach to the place he calls home. This Robot Master is clearly on a short fuse, and it shows in the design of his stage: the ruined remains of a theme park and movie studio hybrid that Blast Man has shaped into his personal playground. He’s added several personal touches, including a number of signs featuring himself as the star of “Blast Man Adventure.” It seems like Block Man isn’t the only one with a narcissistic streak!

Getting to Blast Man’s lair is certainly no walk in the park. New enemies such as fireball-launching foes and explosion-prone mini-bots are the least of your problems when you have to deal with volatile boxes littered about each room, just waiting for a reason to detonate. Familiar enemies like Sniper Joe make their return to try and foil players’ progress, threatening to turn this adventurous stage into a total blowout. Always seeming to show up in the most troublesome places, Sniper Joe’s shield is as strong as ever, but smart use of the Power Gear can help even the odds against this classic foe.

Just when you think things couldn’t get more off the rails, you’ll have to deal with a roller coaster ride of a mid-boss. Explosive mini-bots zoom around in rockets on rails, occasionally tumbling out when they’re upside-down – so much for proper safety precautions! You can’t damage the rockets with regular buster shots, so you’ll have to get creative as you dodge dive-kicks from the falling robots and jump over the out-of-control coaster.

Successfully dodging the bangs, booms, and bots of Blast Man’s stage will bring you to the Robot Master himself, whose short-fused nature is apparent by what’s left of the amusement park in the background. Taking cues from his bomb-tossing predecessors, Blast Man hops around the room while slinging explosives everywhere in his attempt to turn Mega Man into scrap metal.

When Blast Man has reached the end of his fuse, he pushes himself to the limit using the Power Gear! As you might expect from this explosion-loving robot, the Power Gear supersizes Blast Man’s bombs, giving them greater explosive force while his attack patterns become more erratic. You’ll have to be at the top of your game if you want to disarm Blast Man for good.

Your reward for defusing this volatile Robot Master is Chain Blast, a unique weapon that floats bombs across the screen that stick to enemies along the way. As the name suggests, you can chain together multiple bombs and detonate them all at once, or use the Power Gear to create massive explosives for even bigger blasts!

As you’re busy busting ‘bots in Mega Man 11, you’ll collect bolts dropped by enemies and scattered throughout each stage. Just like in past games, you’ll be able to use the bolts you’ve found to craft new items and upgrades at Dr. Light’s Lab thanks to the hard work of Roll, Auto, and Dr. Light himself. The aptly named Auto-Charge Chip shown above is just one of the many upgrades you can get equipped with throughout your adventure, including some icons that may look familiar to long-time fans.

When you want to take a break from the fight for everlasting peace, you can also check out a number of different challenges! The classic Time Attack mode drops players into Robot Masters’ stages, tasking them with completing individual stages as quickly as possible to make their mark on the leaderboards.

Balloon Attack mode is a unique take on Mega Man 11’s stages, removing all the enemies in stages in favor of colorful balloons that dot the landscape. It’s not all clowning around, though; you’re still working against the clock! As you make your way through stages, burst blue balloons as quickly as possible by using your Mega Buster or simply running into them. Every red balloon you burst and each blue balloon you miss along the way adds to your timer, so you’ll have to navigate stages carefully to get the fastest time possible. This mode is sure to put your platforming skills to the test, alongside a number of other challenging modes included with Mega Man 11 .

Hope you had a real blast reading up on the latest info for Mega Man 11! For more updates on the Blue Bomber, check out the Mega Man Twitter and Facebook pages, and head over to the official website to preorder Mega Man’s newest adventure, available on October 2.

Thank you for all your support of Street Fighter 30 ^th Anniversary Collection! We’ve received your feedback and have been hard at work on various improvements, which will be implemented Thursday, June 28 at around 10am PT.

PlayStation 4:

• A matchmaking filter has been added. Users will now be able to select the minimum connection strength for opponents to match up with online
• Lobby issues have been improved
• Akuma is no longer playable in Ranked Mode for Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III: 2 ^nd Impact – Giant Attack now output sound in stereo
• Various localization improvements

Xbox One:

• Akuma is no longer playable in Ranked Mode for Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III: 2 ^nd Impact – Giant Attack now output sound in stereo
• Various localization improvements
• Note: The Xbox One version of Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection currently uses Microsoft’s system for optimizing matchmaking for users with strong signals. Therefore, a matchmaking filter was not implemented

Steam:

• A matchmaking filter has been added. Users will now be able to select the minimum connection strength for opponents to match up with online
• A fix for direct input controllers where some users were unable to use diagonal movements
• Akuma is no longer playable in Ranked Mode for Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III: 2 ^nd Impact – Giant Attack now output sound in stereo

Switch (July 30 at 5pm PT):

• Akuma is no longer playable in Ranked Mode for Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III: 2 ^nd Impact – Giant Attack now output sound in stereo
• Online matchmaking performance improvements to reduce lag
• Various localization improvements

When June 28 comes around, you will need internet connection to download this patch. Once again, thank you for supporting Street Fighter 30 ^th Anniversary Collection !

Are you up to the X Challenge? We previously announced that all eight Mega Man X games will be coming to modern platforms via two collections: Mega Man X Legacy Collection, featuring Mega Man X, X2 , X3 , and X4 , and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, featuring X5 , X6 , X7 , and X8 . Both of these collections come with the new X Challenge Mode, pitting X against pairs of Mavericks out for revenge. We’ve got a brand-new video showcasing a handful of these match-ups for you, alongside an amazing sweepstakes opportunity no Mega Man fan will want to let pass them by!

Check out the video above for brand new info on X Challenge mode, including some of the tricky sets of bosses you’ll have to take down. Even the most seasoned Mega Man X players will have to step up their game to defeat these Maverick duos and settle the score once and for all.

Get equipped with both collections as soon as they’re available on July 24 ^th with a digital bundle pre-order ! Pre-orders on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam will receive a 10% discount, and PlayStation 4 pre-orders made through PlayStation Network will also receive a free Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 theme.

In North America, fans can also pre-order a packaged bundle for consoles for $39.99 in a combo pack that includes a disc for each collection on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. For Nintendo Switch, the pack will include a game card with the first collection and a digital download voucher for the second collection. For participating retailers, click here .

We’re also announcing a unique opportunity for Mega Man fans in the United States; the Mega Man 30 ^th Anniversary Sweepstakes, providing one lucky winner with a trip to Japan to get hands-on time with Mega Man 11 before it’s released, meet the Mega Man development staff, and visit the biggest video game event in Japan, Tokyo Game Show 2018!

Mega Man 30th Anniversary Sweepstakes Official Site

Check out the link above for sweepstakes rules and details on how to enter. For all the latest on Mega Man, follow official Mega Man channels on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram !

The results are in, and it’s time to announce the winners of our “Get Equipped” art contest! We had over 240(!) entries for the contest, and it was incredibly difficult to whittle things down to four final selections from dozens of amazing art pieces. We asked artists to imagine what the Blue Bomber would look like if his appearance changed in past games when he swaps to a defeated Robot Master’s weapon, just like it does in Mega Man 11. The talented Mega Man art community didn’t disappoint!

A mega thank you to everyone who took the time to submit an entry! Read on for our four winners, as well as some special commentary from two members of the development team for Mega Man 11: Yuji Ishihara , Art Director and Character Designer, and Ryuji Higurashi , Character Designer!

Let’s get started with our four winners, listed here in no particular order:

Gravity Man by Midnite

There were a handful of Gravity Man entries, but this one stood out by incorporating Gravity Man’s design into Mega Man’s helmet while keeping his appearance recognizable. It also acts as a great showcase of how Gravity Hold works and just feels very well thought-out.

Yuji Ishihara: Gravity Man’s design is brilliantly incorporated into Mega Man’s helmet. The lines you’ve used to show movement help accentuate the gravity sensation, too! 

Ryuji Higurashi: The “mecha” aspects are really cool! Why won’t Roll let him take it easy for a bit? Haha!

Top Man by Andrew “AWD!”

Top Man also received a few different entries. This art really stood out by blending Mega Man’s iconic design with Top Man’s aesthetics, telling you exactly which weapon he’s using at a glance with the top built right in to Mega Man’s helmet. We love the pop-out jets that help him spin!

Yuji Ishihara: You’ve really put some thought into showing how Mega Man will spin at top speed. This is one of the best parts about designing robots, isn’t it?

Ryuji Higurashi: The tires on Mega Man’s feet sure will come in handy when he’s running!

Bubble Man by MultitapStart

This one’s unique, since the Lead Bubble shooter is attached to Mega Man’s arm instead of coming from his Mega Buster. It makes sense for underwater functions! The flippers and mask are nice nods to Bubble Man’s design, and the red gem replacing the protrusion on Mega Man’s helmet brings it all together.

Yuji Ishihara: The general rule for weapon changes is that only Mega Man’s buster and helmet change, but the fins really suit this look. Both his face and the overall look are cute.

Ryuji Higurashi: Roll is cute! Bubble Man isn’t able to walk in water, but will the same hold true for Mega Man in this form?

Sword Man by Taitotu

Sword Man was a popular choice and had a number of entries, but Taitotu’s design stood out for many of the reasons outlined above. Retaining Mega Man’s recognizable appearance while adding Robot Master details to the design, it’s a great blend of Sword Man’s appearance combined with Mega Man’s recognizable style.

Yuji Ishihara: That’s the pose! The fact that the back of his helmet is rounded shows that Mega Man, not Sword Man, is the base of your design.

Ryuji Higurashi: Mega Man is in the exact same angle as he was in Mega Man 8. I really like this design!

***

Thank you again to everyone who sent in your incredible art and designs. It’s always amazing to see what the Mega Man art community comes up with! While there were only four winners for this contest, there are tons of great artists out there in the Mega Man community. Midnite has compiled a Twitter Moment with dozens of artists who have posted their entries to Twitter, so be sure to check it out!

With the Blue Bomber making his triumphant return, I hope you’re all looking forward to all the new ways that Mega Man will change up his appearance when Mega Man 11 comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 2nd! Fight on – and keep creating great art – for everlasting peace.

Hello World Warriors!

We’re getting closer to Evolution Championship Series , the biggest fighting game tournament of the year on the Capcom Pro Tour . Thousands of Street Fighter competitors will gather at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino again to determine who will win the coveted title of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition EVO world champion.

Capcom and EVO are happy to announce a new promotion for an exclusive Street Fighter II tribute t-shirt that will boost the EVO prize pool!

Starting now until July 20, all EVO registered attendees – competitors and spectators – will have a new option on the smash.gg registration page to purchase the exclusive Street Fighter II tribute shirt by artist Dave Wilkins for $10. This one-of-a-kind shirt is inspired by the iconic Super Nintendo box art of Street Fighter II, but reimagined with Blanka-chan, Battle Costume Chun-Li, and Hot Ryu from Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.

100% of the revenue generated from the shirt will go to boost the prize pool for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition at EVO 2018. The expanded prize pool will be distributed towards the lower end of the brackets – from 9th place to 32nd place – meaning more people will be rewarded!

Furthermore, once we reach 1,000 shirts sold ($10,000 additional prize pool), then Capcom will provide a free shirt to every entrant in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition . It will take the full effort of the community to reach this goal and make the shirt available to EVO Street Fighter competitors.

These shirts can then be picked up on-site at EVO 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. You must show up for your pools to receive this shirt. Please note, registrants who purchased a shirt and contributed to the 1,000 shirt goal will not receive a second shirt.

We’re very excited to add more support for the Street Fighter community at EVO and are looking forward to the extraordinary competition the event has become known for.

Remember, registration for EVO closes on July 20. You can find more information about EVO and sign up at evo.shoryuken.com/registration .

After the announcement of Devil May Cry 5 at E3 2018, it’s time to bring the party to Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition with three different Devil May Cry costumes for Ken, Ed, and Laura!

Dante Costume (Ken) – Dante is the main protagonist of the Devil May Cry series, who serves as a private investigator and Devil Hunter at his very own shop. Throughout the series, he meets mysterious allies while hacking and slashing through formidable foes – all while being stylish, of course. This particular costume is inspired by Dante’s outfit in Devil May Cry 4, which was released in 2008, and includes his trademark sword Rebellion on Ken’s back.

Using the alternate code will equip Ken with Gilgamesh, a set of armor that includes gauntlets, greaves, a mask, and back armor. In Devil May Cry 4, Gilgamesh focused on slow, but potent attacks.

Nero Costume (Ed) – Nero first appeared as the main protagonist in Devil May Cry 4. He is a Holy Knight in the Order of the Sword, which serves to fight demons and protect the world. Unlike Dante’s carefree attitude, Nero is distant and cynical.  Nero acquires the Yamato, a blade that belonged to Dante’s brother Vergil, which then manifests itself as a spectral demon floating behind Nero. This is reflected in Ed’s costume!

Ed takes off Nero’s jacket when using the alternate code to reveal his whole Devil Bringer arm, which can pull in enemies to himself and vice versa – perfectly matched for Ed’s V-Skill!

Both the Dante and Nero costumes will be available for purchase for MSRP $3.99 each on PlayStation and Steam the same day Cody arrives on June 25. This brings us to the Gloria costume, which can be obtained in Extra Battle Mode.

Gloria Costume (Laura) – Appearing in Devil May Cry 4, Gloria is an executive in the Order of the Sword. Her true identity is Trish, Dante’s work partner, from previous games in the series who possesses supernatural abilities of her own. Trish/Gloria is able to use the element of electricity in various ways to aid in combat or even teleport. As an electricity user herself, Laura is the perfect character to wear the Gloria costume. Using the alternate code will replace Gloria’s hair with Laura’s hair.

HOW DOES EXTRA BATTLE MODE WORK?

Every month, there will be at least one unique costume like a Crossover Costume up for grabs, which can only be obtained by playing Extra Battle Mode with Fight Money. Here’s the flow of how to go about getting these costumes:

• Each costume requires you to complete four challenges that take place over the span of a month – one challenge per week.
• Each time you attempt one of these challenges, you will need to spend 2,500 Fight Money. So if you successfully complete each of the weekly challenges in one go, you can get that Extra Battle Costume for 10,000 FM!
• Once you complete all four challenges, the costume for that month is yours!
• These challenges are time exclusive, so make sure to log in each week to complete them, especially if you have your eyes on that month’s unique costume.

Air Man Costume (Rashid) – Anxious for the next Crossover Costume after Gloria? With Mega Man 11 sliding on to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 2, we wanted to pay homage to the series by turning our very own master of wind into Air Man, a Robot Master who made his debut in Mega Man 2. If you can’t wait to defeat Air Man, pick up Mega Man Legacy Collection, out now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC!

What a way to bring three different Capcom series together! Get ready to rock with Devil May Cry costumes and the Air Man costume in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition!

Cody has heard the calls of the citizens and has decided to start his job as mayor one day early on June 25! Also coming with Metro City’s New Mayor are improvements to Survival Mode and introducing the Fighting Chance mode, including new obtainable skins! Learn more about these features below and how they work.

CURRENT SURVIVAL MODE

As you likely know, Survival Mode is a single-player mode where you’re challenged to fight a consecutive number of CPU opponents until you either beat them all or are defeated – if you fail, you must start from the very beginning. There are four separate difficulty settings with different rewards:

• Easy
• 10 consecutive opponents
• Unlocks Color 3 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
• EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Normal
• 30 consecutive opponents
• Unlocks Colors 4, 5, and 6 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
• EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Hard
• 50 consecutive opponents
• Unlocks Colors 7, 8, 9, and 10 for Default, Story, and Extra Battle Costumes
• EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character
• Extreme
• 100 consecutive opponents
• Unlocks a title
• EXP awarded for the first time completed with each character

As you progress in each attempt, you’ll rack up score depending on how quickly you defeat the opponent. In between rounds, you have the option of spending some of your score to purchase a Battle Supplement, which will help you against the next opponent in various ways.

But this much you may already know, so what are these improvements we speak of?There are quite a few, so let’s start with the addition of Battle Goods!

BATTLE GOODS

Similar to Battle Supplements, Battle Goods can be used to give you advantages or improve your chances of winning the next round. Unlike Battle Supplements, Battle Goods are consumables, meaning they will disappear once you use them. You can also use up to five of them between rounds whereas you can only use one Battle Supplement.

Once this update goes live, you’ll automatically receive some Battle Goods in your inventory to get you started. You can obtain more Battle Goods by completing Survival Mode – the higher the difficulty, the more rewards – or by participating in the new Fighting Chance mode, which will be discussed below.

CARE TO CONTINUE OR SAVE YOUR PROGRESS?

Currently, once you are defeated in Survival Mode, you must start from the very beginning. With this update, you can now spend Fight Money to continue after a loss. If you are defeated, you can spend 800 Fight Money to continue without losing progress. When continuing, you will start with a full health bar, EX Gauge, and V-Gauge to make the match fair.

100 consecutive matches can take a while! That’s why we’re adding the ability to save your progress so you can resume at a later date. After clearing a stage, you’ll have the option to open the Save Menu at the Battle Supplements screen. Upon doing so, you’ll be prompted with the ability to Save and Quit. Once you decide you’re ready to continue, you can head to Survival Mode again where a prompt will ask if you’d like to resume play.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

When playing Survival Mode, you can now select Standard or Random, which will affect the CPU opponents. In Standard, only the initial 16 characters will appear in a predetermined order. In Random, all currently-released characters, including those from Season 1-3, will appear in random order – except for the “boss” character that appears every 10 stages.

Finally, any unused V-Gauge will also be carried over into the next stage giving you more options as you take on the increased CPU difficulty..

INTRODUCING FIGHTING CHANCE

Battle Goods are potent items that can greatly increase your chance of completing Survival Mode, especially with the increased difficulty. This brings us to Fighting Chance, a new system where Menat will open up shop to tell your fortune! By spending 500 Fight Money, you can obtain a Fantasy Fortune Reading, which Menat can help you decipher. These readings contain multiple items, including some exclusive to Fighting Chance.

• Battle Goods for Survival Mode
• New colors only obtainable in Fantasy Fortune Readings
• Rare costumes only available via Fantasy Fortune Readings
• Cammy’s Cannon Spike costume below is one of these rare costumes
• We’ll introduce more rare costumes as time goes on!
• Classic pieces of Street Fighter art from across the series

Upon logging in once the update is live, you’ll receive one free Fantasy Fortune Reading that will walk you through this process!

We hope you check out the new and improved Survival Mode and Fighting Chance along with meeting Mayor Cody Travers! Word on the street is that there are more fashionable additions coming with this update, so follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay up to date on all the latest news!

Monster Hunter: World patch update 4.01 (PS4) / 4.0.0.1 (Xbox One) is now live; patch notes available below.

This update has actually been live since June 14, but due to craziness that was E3 2018, we didn’t get to publish the patch notes until today (June 15). Apologies for the late notice.

In addition, we also wanted to highlight a couple of changes that took effect with version 4.00 (PS4) / 4.0.0.0 (Xbox One) but that we didn’t get a chance to talk about:

Tempered Elder Dragon Investigations (4.00 / 4.0.0.0)

• With the addition of Lunastra and Teostra in update Ver. 4.00/4.0.0.0, they have now also been added to the pool of Threat Level 3 investigations.
• The draw chance for certain tempered elder dragon investigations have been revised.
• All Threat Level 3 investigations now have an equal chance of having increased special reward slots. Originally, varying values were used to determine the number of special reward slots for each tempered elder dragon investigation, but these have all been matched to the value for Vaal Hazak, which was the highest.
• Note:
• You may see increased special reward slots for Threat Level 3 investigations that you possessed before this fix was applied in Ver. 4.00/4.0.0.0.
• The chance for increased special reward slots for tempered Vaal Hazak has not changed.

General Matchmaking

• The search conditions have been relaxed for the Online Session “Matchmake” search option. (If you are HR 100 or higher, “Matchmake” may put you in Online Sessions made by players between HR 100 and HR 999.)

Investigations

• The naming method for investigations in other languages has been updated. Investigation names now include the main target in addition to the quest type (hunt, capture, or slay). Affected languages include: Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. See comparison below:

 
BEFORE Ver. 4.01 / 4.0.0.1

AFTER Ver. 4.01 / 4.0.0.1

Other

• Mistakes were corrected in the Asian version text for Traditional Chinese and Russian customer support information.

Hunters, a brand new special collaboration is making its way into Monster Hunter: World for free, this summer the fearsome Behemoth from Final Fantasy XIV Online storms into the New World!

This exciting announcement came from a special E3 2018 live stream hosted by Square Enix, featuring guest appearance by Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. You can catch a glimpse of the mighty Behemoth in this Monster Hunter: World teaser:

This marks the very first time a Monster Hunter game welcomes a beast from another game franchise that you can hunt, and we are more than excited to be partnering up with Final Fantasy XIVOnline for this unique opportunity! We can’t wait to show you more about this game-changing crossover before it arrives on Monster Hunter: World this summer.

And in a true collaborative fashion, we’re also sending over a new challenge to the world of Final Fantasy XIV Online. Our very own “King of the Skies” Rathalos will be soaring into Hydaelyn this summer—take a look at the reveal trailer here:

For the latest updates, make sure to follow @MonsterHunter and @FF_XIV_EN . In the meantime, let us know what you think of these collaborations in the comments below. =)