Top Story
Over 50 countries ban access to GTA Online’s new casino
GTA Online, Grand Theft Auto 5’s extraordinarily successful online mode, remains popular over 5 years after release thanks to a steady stream of updates and significant expansions – all of which make Rockstar Games and publisher 2K a lot of money.
The game’s latest update is bordering on the shameless: A casino where players can change real-world money into in-game money and gamble in classic games of chance like blackjack and roulette.
While the Diamond Casino & Resort update does add some exciting new story missions, GTA and Rockstar might have gone too far this time. According to reports, the new update is actually banned in over 50 countries – thanks to the gambling.
The loosest slots in town
The list of countries includes China, Greece, North Korea, South Africa, Poland, and Vietnam – all of which have strict laws against online gambling, which Rockstar would be breaking if they made the Diamond Casino update available. While some features of the casino are still available to people playing GTA Online in these countries, it’s pretty much just a fancy building to them.
Reddit user ThatFlameThrough tried to buy some chips and got the error message “your account does not have permission to complete this transaction”, and was told by support that “because of my region I cannot enjoy the gambling related content in the new DLC.” While it is possible to play using VPNs moderators advise against it since you would literally break the law. Sorry.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
What renowned studio worked on Wolfenstein: Youngblood alongside MachineGames?
- Id Software (developer of Doom, Quake, Rage, and Wolfenstein 3D)
- Raven Software (developer of Quake 4 and Wolfenstein 2009)
- Tango Gameworks (developer of The Evil Within 1 and 2)
- Arkane Studios (developer of Dishonored and Prey)
The answer will be revealed at the end of this issue!
News Bits
Rage 2’s got a flashlight now
If you’ve played Rage 2, you know it’s a bright and surprisingly cheery post-apocalyptic game featuring plenty of sunlight – at least until you go indoors. Then it’s so dark you can forget about seeing anything.
At release, there was no flashlight available, and hardly any brightness settings either. Fortunately, today’s update adds a much-needed flashlight, as well as a New Game Plus mode – but to be honest, we’re more excited to be able to finally see more than a foot ahead of us.
Daily Fact
Tomb Raider changed from guy to gal, then from Cruz to Croft
Core Design’s classic Tomb Raider would probably not have earned quite as many magazine spreads if the studio had stuck to their original vision. Their archeologist hero was a bit too similar to Indiana Jones, and the team would rather be bit original.
The team shuffled some polygons around, and produced the gun-toting, artifact-plundering South American Laura Cruz. The team decided to stay a bit closer to home, and dug into the phone book to find a more quintessentially British name for their heroine. A few paper cuts later, Lara Croft was born.
Tomb Raider was a surprise hit back in 1996, and Lara Croft has starred in nearly 20 games, including spin-offs.