We get a first look at Starfield, the next action role-playing game from the developer who brought us Fallout 4 and Skyrim, Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite get updated, streamers raise money for (RED) with a friendly gaming competition.

A year away from release, we can start getting excited about Starfield

The other day, Bethesda Game Studios released the first episode of a video series about Starfield, an action role-playing game coming exclusively to Xbox Series X/S next November.

“The Endless Pursuit” is episode one of, Into the Starfield. It features the game’s director, Todd Howard, talking with studio director Angela Browder and art director Matt Carofano, about how Bethesda goes about making games, with some teasers about what we might expect from the new game.

“The mechanics of the world are completely different,” admits Howard, but he also said that Starfield will include many of the elements that people – including the developers – expect of Bethesda games, like being able to interact with the environment and having a complete world created.

“I always say the one thing video games can give you that nothing else in entertainment can,” says Howard in the video, “is that feeling of pride. ‘Look what I did.’”

Updates come to Battlefield 2042, Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and someday maybe Cyberpunk 2077

Because games and game systems are mostly connected to the online world, game developers can mostly update and improve them.

This week, Battlefield 2042 from EA will release the third update to the online multiplayer shooter.

Along with fixing bugs and making the user interface easier for players to use, weekly missions are being introduced to the game as a way to encourage regular play. The developers at DICE promise more updates in December.

Meanwhile, Halo Infinite, which hasn’t even officially released yet, has made some changes to how players collect experience points in its multiplayer mode. Experience points are how players can customize and enhance their avatars.

The changes were detailed in a Twitter thread by community manager John Junyszek.

1st Game = 300XP
2nd Game = 200XP
3rd Game = 200XP
4th Game = 100XP
5th Game = 100XP
6th Game = 100XP
7th+ Game = 50XP

We believe this increase will help address those slower initial payouts while also benefiting those of you jumping on each and every day.

— John Junyszek (@Unyshek) November 30, 2021

343 Industries is increasing the amount of experience points players get for the first six matches they play each day.

As for Cyberpunk 2077, which launched a year ago, it’s been updated more than 10 times in the last 52 weeks, and the publisher, CD Projekt, says that a next-gen console update will be coming in the first six months of 2022.

Streamers, esports pros, and celebrity guests game for good

December 1 is World AIDS Day. This year, (RED), an organization that was created to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS, created a Minecraft server and invited the gaming community to come play.

Dubbed the Creator Cup, the participants, which included Twitch and YouTube streamers and professional esports players, were subjected to a Minecraft world that was being constantly changed by viewers, who were triggering events in the game by making donations.

Funds raised by the event are being directed to pandemic relief efforts due to the impact the covid-19 virus has on people living with HIV/AIDS.