Live Service Roundup: Late March 2021

We know it can be tricky to keep up to date with all things in the games world, especially considering games are lasting much longer than they used to thanks to the idea of making them a live service. Essentially, the concept of live service is to ensure a game continues to develop and expand way past its launch, and while we still get plenty of complete packages, a lot of the biggest games out there are live service. To ensure you're up to date with all of their comings and goings, we've decided to create a new fortnightly series that tells you about all the happenings in the world of live service. To start things off, is Fall Guys.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

The latest season for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has landed and alongside bringing a whole list of new challenges and courses for you to blunder your way through, the title developed by Mediatonic has also brought an entirely new battle pass to grab some neat gear over. With an Among Us-themed skin available to earn and flaunt, there's no better time than the present to dive into the world of Fall Guys.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone

There's always something new cracking off in the world of Call of Duty, but the latest thing to be excited for is the official introduction of the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow that can be earnt today by completing a series of in-game challenges or through buying the blueprint.

Next week is also looking to be a busy one for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans as Treyarch seems to be teasing the arrival of the next stage of the Dark Aether storyline. If we had to guess, get ready for some more mysteries to unravel and plenty more undead to face off with.

Fallout 76

The next fortnight isn't exactly busy in the wastelands of Appalachia, but that hasn't stopped Bethesda from getting us all hyped-up for the next year of Fallout 76. The roadmap for 2021 has been revealed and it has shown us a look at the next four seasons coming to the title. With the promise of a conclusion to the Brotherhood of Steel questline, more seasonal events and even the second expansion to the Daily Ops, the next year of Fallout 76 gives us plenty of reasons to dive back into our Power Armor.

Fortnite and Rocket League

It might seem strange to include both of these immensely popular titles in the same section, but when a crossover of the scale of the second season of Llama-Rama is in question it makes sense. This event brings the two titles together again offering players the chance to grab some unique gear and loot to flaunt in-game. From the Lil' Octane emote in Fortnite to some Umbrella Royale wheels in Rocket League, there's plenty to be excited for, and it all caps off with a performance by Kaskade (the headline of Rocket League Season 2) in Fortnite's Party Royale mode.

Apex Legends

With Season 8 - Mayhem being in full swing and the Nintendo Switch launch now in the wind, Apex Legends is looking to make it to the end of its latest season by moving on to the second split of its Ranked mode. If you haven't already, make sure to dive back into Respawn's battle royale and knock out a few games to earn some new in-game gear at the end of the season.

Destiny 2

Bungie is one of the best developers at keeping its game packed with new exciting content to explore, and right now, it's offering another round of Iron Banner (until March 30) to earn some powerful weapons and armour for your Guardian in Destiny 2. The developer has also noted that the elusive Raid Exotic rocket launcher Eyes of Tomorrow will be receiving slight adjustments to its drop rate, so if you haven't yet, make sure to head into the Deep Stone Crypt with a group of friends in the hopes of grabbing one. As a final note, a brand-new Strike has been added to the live game called The Proving Grounds, giving Guardians a chance to well... prove themselves to Empress Caiatl.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Back at BlizzConline, the next expansion for Hearthstone, Forged in the Barrens was unveiled, and while it looks to kick of Year of the Gryphon, the update will also be bringing balance changes, Battlegrounds cards and heroes, seasonal events, the Core Set and even the Classic mode for old school fans to once again experience the game as it was at launch. With 135 new cards on offer just in the Forged in the Barrens expansion alone, it's an exciting time to be a Hearthstone fan.

Pokémon Go

It might be tricky to get out and about these days to really experience Pokémon Go as it is intended, but that hasn't kept Niantic from bringing us a new event to get our hands on some Castform Pokémon. Weather Week started on March 24 and will last until March 29, and while there are plenty of water Pokémon on offer, fans can look forward to a chance to find a shiny Rainy Form Castform or even a Therian Forme Thundurus from five-star raids.

Red Dead Online

If you fancy heading back to a simpler time, Rockstar has revealed the latest bonuses available for Read Dead Online and its headlined with all horse races offering twice the normal rewards. Posse bonuses are also available over the next week, allowing players to set up a posse without so much as needing to pay a dime. And, to round it all out, horses and their equipment, bandoliers, coats and ponchos, and camp dogs are all at least 30% off, so be sure to spend some of your hard-earned money before the offers move along.

Watch Dogs: Legion

As a quick note, Ubisoft's open world title Watch Dogs Legion will be free to play this weekend, March 25-29, giving new players a chance to explore all that the futuristic take on modern London has to offer, which is ideal since the Online mode is now available on all platforms that the game launched on.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

The awaited Update 11 for PUBG has finally been detailed and amid bringing a new ranked season for players to jump into, the title will also be seeing a whole bunch of new balance changes and features. From emergency pickup balloons that can be used to escort you and your team to the centre of the safe zone, to the return of the map Paramo, this update is now live on the PC test servers, meaning we will no doubt be seeing the official launch relatively soon.

As there are plenty of live service games out there, many of which will see more updates and content launches as the weeks roll along, be sure to check back in two weeks when we once again give you the rundown on the biggest happenings in the live service world.