343 Industries dropped a ton of new info about Halo Infinite multiplayer during E3 2021, including new features being added in and how the Battle Pass systems will work. Now we're diving a little deeper into how the Halo Infinite multiplayer seasons will evolve through an ongoing story, with season one bringing us back to Reach to kick things off. 

While the main campaign story gave us a new look earlier this month with Cortana Lite (she's not actually Cortana, that's a joke), 343's Joseph Staten opened up a little more about how the multiplayer story will progress. Yes, there is the story of Master Chief but there is a wider arc, as well. "There’s another hero standing beside Master Chief at the very heart of the Halo universe," said Staten to close out the latest Halo Waypoint blog post. "Some of you may have met this hero way back in 2001 with the launch of Halo: Combat Evolved. Some of you will meet this hero for the first time this holiday. Because this hero is you."

The first season of Halo Infinite's multiplayer is called Heroes of Reach. Players will be able to customize their own Spartan to look the way they want, which is "a huge part of the journey." But it's more than just a personalized avatar, there is a deeper connection to the overall Halo-verse that is vital to the experience. "At the center of our plans is a goal to deeply root your Multiplayer character in the larger Halo universe and give them a vital, active role in the Halo story moving forward. How exactly we’re going to do this in the Seasons and years ahead… Well, we’re not ready to share details yet. But I can share that we picked Heroes of Reach as a Seasonal theme for very specific reasons: Reach has a rich history; it’s a key location for Spartans of old and a focal point for a new generation of Spartans preparing to wrestle with the perils and mysteries of a galaxy that has fundamentally changed after the events of Halo 5."

Staten calls the changes made to Halo Infinite's multiplayer a "transformational moment" in Halo history, one that will play a key role in future Halo adventures to come. 

The evolving dual storylines is a part of the five key pillars that the live team has when approaching their game development. These pillars include the prioritization of healthy engagement, maintaining a "player-first" focus, providing "unambiguous value," and to always listen and learn from the community and each other. Halo Infinite has the potential to pave a new feature for the franchise. It very much feels like we could potentially be facing the end of Master Chief's storyline, which poses the question: What's next? Do we go multiplayer-only in the future, adapting the live-service model to continue on a form of storytelling? Do we go a new hero route, someone that dares to step into the boots of Master Chief? Do they keep Master Chief's story going, despite evidence that it could be on its way to conclusion?

Those are all billion-dollar questions where only time will tell. Still, the latest blog post is alight with insider knowledge about what's going on behind the scenes. If you're interested in learning more about Halo Infinite, we encourage you to read the full blog post here. 

While Super Smash Bros. and Kingdom Hearts may be the long-reigning kings of the crossover in gaming, Epic Games' Fortnite has quickly made its case to claim the throne over the last several years. Ever since Marvel's Thanos entered the fray hot on the heels of Avengers: Infinity War, Fortnite has exploded with new crossovers. While the skins and characters available have expanded far, far beyond that of the Marvel Universe (even though it devoted an entire season to various Marvel heroes and villains facing off against Galactus), Epic Games seems to be dipping back into that well one more time. 

A teaser image released on social media by the official Fortnite channels features the god of mischief's signature horned helmet with the caption, "It seems Mecha Cuddle Master wasn't the only one who found their way to the island. Looks like a trickster snuck his way through the portal and into the Fortnite Crew this July."

While Fortnite already features the likes of Black Panther, Deadpool, Wolverine, Storm, Iron Man, Thor, Doctor Doom, Groot, and more, Epic Games and Marvel are looking to strike while the iron's hot. Disney Plus' Loki series has become more popular as the season has continued (episode three released earlier this week). The crossovers expand well past the Marvel heroes and villains, however, with events featuring characters from The Walking Dead, Tomb Raider, Terminator, God of War, Halo, Street Fighter, Horizon Zero Dawn, Star Wars, and, yes, Marvel's main competitor DC Comics.

While we don't have much more information about Loki's appearance in Fortnite, we do know the trickster is arriving at some point in July. Until then, we'll just have to make do with one of the myriad other Marvel gaming options, as the comics and movies giant continues to expand its reach in the gaming world through titles like Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man VR, and Avengers. For more on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy from the team at Eidos-Montréal, be sure to hit up our coverage hub here.

If the last year has left you longing for some big musical festival action, but you’re not quite ready to venture out into a teeming sea of thousands on your own, it sounds like EA has you covered with its summer plans for The Sims 4. The long-running life-simulation game is set to host its first in-game music festival this summer from June 29 to July 7.

The event, entitled Sims Sessions, allows players to take their Sims to a music festival, letting them camp out at the event, snag festival outfits, and listen to the music. No word yet if the festival will also feature your Sims experiencing too-few bathrooms, heat exhaustion, or getting stranded on site after the event, but we have our fingers crossed!

The actual tunes will come courtesy of Bebe Rexha performing Sabotage, Glass Animals’ lead singer Dave Bayley performing Heat Waves, and Joy Oladukun performing Breathe Again. However, attendees will be treated to new versions of those songs, since all will be performed in the game’s native Simlish language.

In addition to the actual in-game event, EA is leveraging social media platforms to bring some increased attention to the current The Sims 4 experience. Bebe Rexha will join a cadre of TikTok musical personalities for a virtual karaoke challenge on TikTTok, where users can opt to perform/embarrass themselves in side-by-side duets with Rexha, singing along with Sabotage. In addition, at least some of the Sims Sessions event is going to broadcast out via Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, in case you’re wanting to follow along without actually attending “in-person.”

The Sims 4 has had a gradual climb to its current success. After its initial launch way back in 2014 to mostly middling reviews, the game has changed massively and seen a significant growth in player count. In a recent financial report from this May, EA indicated that the game had a whopping 36 million players worldwide across all its various platforms, which includes PC and previous-gen consoles.