TODAY: Funny how offensive a symbol can get just by mirroring it — Microsoft Game Studios developer will use Unreal Engine 5 for next project — Phantasy Star Online 2 is finally making its way to PC

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Treyarch returns to cold war paranoia

It's not exactly a secret that there will be a new Call of Duty this year, but that hasn't stopped lots of speculation about what the new game will be called.

Eurogamer reports that the next game is called Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Treyarch started the Black Ops series – its alternate history and science-fiction take on the series – in 2010, and now the studio is going back to the series' cold war roots.

Soft reboot: The last few Black Ops games were set in the near future, but the original storyline seems to have run its course. Treyarch seems to be soft-rebooting the series by turning back the clock and returning to cold war paranoia.

Bunker tease: Activision has yet to comment on the leaks, but the latest changes and revelations in Call of Duty Warzone has the community speculating that there will be some kind of cross-over in the near future. Keep an eye on those bunkers, they just might turn out to be from the cold war!

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

Which studio developed the original Destroy All Humans from 2005?

• The 3DO Company
• Pandemic Studios
• Sandblast Games
• Locomotive Games

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Daily Fact

Is that a swastika on your forehead, or are you just happy to see me?

Konami's Kid Dracula for GameBoy launched in Japan in 1993 before heading Westwards. Once on Western shores, one of the game's bosses raised some eyebrows thanks to its prominent forehead tattoo.

To most people it looks suspiciously like a swastika, but fortunately it was a Buddhist symbol called a manji rather than the logo of a murderous European fascist regime. The symbol represents balance, and can mean love, mercy, strength and intelligence but Konami still decided to change the symbol to avoid any cross-cultural misunderstandings.

Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Unreal Engine 5

Who's developing in Unreal Engine 5?

Sony and Epic Games caused a bit of a stir when they jointly showcased an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo running on PlayStation 5.

The demo certainly dished out the eye candy, but the most outstanding feature was more subtle: The game world seemed to be streamed in throughout the demo, without any loading screens or obvious tricks to hide pop-in. Of course, the tech demo raised as many questions as it answered, the biggest being: Who is actually working on games using this new technology?

Tight-lipped: Epic will transition Fortnite to Unreal Engine 5 and are working on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions that will be released in 2021. Wasteland 3 developer inXile Entertainment – now pat of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios – just revealed that the studio will “indeed be using Unreal Engine 5 for our next project.” No-one has unveiled any games currently in development, however.

Beefier toolset: Epic boasts of loads of new features in Unreal Engine 5, such as their new and improved Niagara VFX system where “particles can talk to one another, and understand their environment”. The updated engine will feature improved animation, physics and destruction, as well as new lighting and audio solutions.

Pokemon News and Events

Community Day needs your vote

Voting for the Pokémon Go Community Days in June and July will be open on May 24th and 25th. Details about Pokémon Sword & Shield’s Player Cup have finally been announced.

Pokémon GO

• Community Day Voting
  • Polls are open from May 24th at 01:00 UTC until May 25th at 01:00 UTC
  • Options:
    • Squirtle – Evolve to Blastoise for Aura Sphere
    • Weedle – Evolve to Beedrill for Drill Run
    • Sandshrew – Evolve Kanto Sandshrew (Wilds) and Alolan Sandshrew (Raids) for Shadow Claw
    • Gastly – Evolve to Gengar for Shadow Punch
  • Winner for June, runner-up for July
• Terrakion with Shiny variant is Level 5 Raid Boss until May 26th at 20:00 UTC
• Reshiram appears in Raid Battles from May 26th at 20:00 UTC until June 16th at 20:00 UTC, with Raid Hour events every Wednesday at 18:00 local time
• Zekrom and Kyurem coming to Raid Battles soon

Pokémon Sword & Shield

• Wild Area event shift
  • Gigantamax Pikachu leaves boosted raids
  • Gigantamax Eevee new event focus, appears with Shiny variant and Hidden Ability until midnight on May 25th
• Player's Cup details
  • Player finalists limited to 16:
    • 4 from North America
    • 4 from Europe
    • 4 Latin America
    • 3 from Oceania
    • 1 from Invitational tournament
  • Qualifier dates:
    • July 11th: VGC, TCG and Pokkén down to 64 players each region
    • July 18th: VGC, TCG and Pokkén down to 16 players each region
    • July 25th: VGC, TCG and Pokkén down to regional player limits
  • Pokkén Tournament DX with 1v1 format
  • TCG Invitational on May 30th and 31st; streams online June 6th and 7th
  • VGC Invitational on June 6th and 7th; streams online June 20th and 21st
  • Pokkén Invitational on June 13th and 14th; streams online June 27th and 28th

What Else Happened Today?

• Phantasy Star Online 2 coming to PC on May 27th following its April 14th Xbox One launch as Sega finally brings its online sci-fi RPG to the West
• New Destroy All Humans! trailer welcomes you to Turnipseed Farm, the place where it all started, in the new teaser trailer. The remaster is scheduled for launch on July 28th
• Sony reveals Limited Edition The Last of Us Part II PlayStation 4 Pro Bundle featuring a 1TB console and DualShock 4 with “custom engraved design of Ellie’s iconic tattoo”
• Bohemia Interactive can not confirm a next-gen DayZ, but the studio is “looking into all the possibilities” for bringing DayZ to the upcoming consoles
• Embracer Group’s revenue up 31 percent according to annual report, has no less than 69 unannounced projects in the works, but no new Saints Row titles in the next year

Deal Spotlight

OIVO Switch Pro Controller Clip Mount

Check out the OIVO Switch Pro Controller Clip Mount for the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite.

It helps you play for longer without any cramping in your hands from clutching the device. It’s ideal for playing longer sessions without cramping your hands around the portable screen, and fits Nintendo's official Pro Controller. Oh, and you can play while you're charging too!

It's quick and easy to install, and keeps the screen at a comfortable level above the controller, allowing a more relaxed posture while playing. If you buy the OIVO Switch Pro Controller Clip Mount through our Amazon link DailyBits receives a small commission, so you’re helping us too!

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

Which studio developed the original Destroy All Humans from 2005?

Answer: Pandemic Studios!

Not many game studios have as clear a design ethos as Pandemic did.

The studio developed the first two Destroy All Humans games as well as the first two Star Wars: Battlefront games, but they also did the Mercenaries series and The Saboteur. Most of their games were open-world, and notorious for being extremely chaotic.

The studio was formed in Los Angeles in 1998 and opened a second studio in Brisbane, Australia in 2000. The studio down under was behind the first Destroy All Humans, which came out in 2005. Pandemic was acquired by EA in 2007, and shut down just two years later in 2009, just after The Saboteur was released. Pandemic might be gone, but we will never forget the fun we had blowing stuff up in their games.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, Ken McKown and Jamie Davey.