How to make a map in MinecraftMicrosoft-owned development studio Mojang has released a major update for its sandbox construction title Minecraft, overhauling the game’s combat mechanics in a bid to “make fighting more interesting and offer more map-making options.”
The update greatly impacts Minecraft‘s long-untouched combat aspect, giving players more options when braving the randomly-generated wilderness in Survival mode.
Starting in version 1.9 of Minecraft, players can construct handheld shields that block enemy attacks. This addition gives combat enthusiasts a new way to take on enemies who attack from afar with ranged weaponry, as shields can now provide safety from incoming projectiles.
Close-quarters melee combat also sees a number of sweeping changes. Attacks now have a “cool-down” timer that eliminates the frantic button-mashing combat that defined earlier versions of Minecraft, and players will now need to carefully consider their strikes in battle.
In-game swords and axes now boast unique sweeping and crushing attacks, respectively, allowing players to follow up a combination of strikes with a finishing blow. Minecraft‘s latest update also lets characters hold items in both hands, and adds the ability to switch to an off-hand item instantly by pressing the F key.
Version 1.9 of Minecraft additionally introduces new enemy mobs, block types, and food items. Minecraft‘s endgame area has also been expanded, and players can now resurrect the Ender Dragon in order to relive the game’s final moments.
Other additions featured in Minecraft‘s Combat Update include skeleton riders, new arrow types, player-constructed igloos, and “a whole bunch of new sound effects,” according to Mojang.
Minecraft‘s latest patch arrives more than a year after the game’s last major update. Minecraft‘s “Bountiful Update,” released in September of 2014, introduced now-standard features like underwater dungeons, a Spectator game mode, and an alternate player skin. Minecraft players can expect to see more tweaks and additions rolled out via patches in the coming months.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.