Forza Motorsport’s social media account seems dead. Castle Crashers is getting new DLC. And Battlefield 6‘s open beta is a smash hit that seems to indicate EA’s choice to recreate Battlefield 3 was a smart one. Plus an ugly Atari 2600 and some cool Kotaku stories you might have missed. Yes, folks, it’s time once again for Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku’s daily round-up of news, trailers, and cool shit.
The Battlefield 6 Open Beta Is A Massive Hit On Steam
I knew there was a lot of excitement for Battlefield 6, which is launching this October on Xbox, PS5, and PC, but I didn’t realize just how many people were apparently ready for a new, grounded BF game. Turns out a lot of people want to play this new installment in EA’s military sim shooter series. On Steam alone, the open beta has already hit over 330,000 concurrent players. And this is despite numerous server issues and long queues. Also, keep in mind that this session of the “open” beta isn’t actually open. You need an early access code to join in right now. I imagine Battlefield devs (and EA as a whole) are very excited about the high numbers. We’ll see how much higher the player count goes later this week when the beta goes truly open.
Castle Crashers‘ First New DLC In A Decade Is Out Now
2008’s Castle Crashers is getting some new DLC today. As previously announced, the beloved cartoon brawler from the XBLA days is getting a big upgrade via the Painter Boss Paradise DLC. This $4 expansion is available now on Steam and adds a new world map, a new official character named Paint Junior, some quality-of-life changes, and the ability to create your own playable characters, too.
What’s Up With The Forza Motorsport Twitter Account?
So here’s something odd. The official Forza Motorsport Twitter account hasn’t tweeted anything since July 10. This is strange, as Forza Motorsport is a live-service game that, in theory, is frequently being updated with new content and events. You’d think Xbox or Turn 10 would want to keep people updated on the game’s status or at least tweet something here and there to remind people that the game is alive and still active. But as pointed out by Destin Legarie, it seems the account has gone dormant. What does that mean in the wake of layoffs at Turn 10 and Xbox? Probably nothing good.
A very yellow Atari 2600 is now available for pre-order
A new, version of the Atari 2600+ (a modern spin on the retro console that can play the old carts) is now available for pre-order. But it doesn’t feature the console’s iconic faux wood veneer. Instead, it is painted a bright, obnoxious yellow in honor of Pac-Man. This special edition of the console arrives in October and will cost you $170. It does come with a wireless controller and two different versions of Pac-Man. First is a new game, Pac-Man 7800, which is a fresh port of the classic arcade game. The other included cart is the 2600 version of Pac-Man, which might be the worst way to play the game in 2025. Yay? Anyway, if you want a really ugly Atari 2600+, you can pre-order this now.
Park building sickos should check out this Jurassic World Evolution 3 trailer
The first two Jurassic World Evolution games had totally serviceable terrain modification tools and options. But the upcoming Jurassic World Evolution 3 is going to the next level, letting you build waterfalls and even use cliffs and valleys to contain your various dinos. This trailer has me so excited to spend many, many hours digging holes and placing individual trees in my digital parks. I’m going to lose a large chunk of my life to this game, and I’m so fucking excited.
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