Daily Briefing: Tuesday 16th March

Bethesda games get a big FPS boost on Xbox Series X

Microsoft's FPS Boost functionality is now being used by five of Bethesda's highest-profile titles - Dishonoured: Definitive Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Prey. Each of these games are also available on Xbox Game Pass thanks to the completion of Microsoft's purchase of ZeniMax.

• Microsoft announced the support earlier this week and stated that players can "expect to see an increase from 30fps to nearly 60fps" on each of these titles, once they activate the feature. It should be noted that "in some instances", Microsoft highlighted Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 in particular, games may run at a lower resolution to accommodate FPS Boost.

Rockstar reward fan who fixed Grand Theft Auto Online's terrible loading times

Earlier this week Rockstar confirmed that they will be releasing an update that officially implements a fan-made solution that can improve GTA Online's god-awful loading times by a whopping 70%. The fix, compiled by a programmer going by the name t0st, reduces loading times by preventing the game from performing excessive, needless item checks.

• Rockstar initially thanked t0st for his discovery and confirmed that they would be implementing changes on their end, but it was later revealed that t0st earned a $10K reward for their efforts as part of Rockstar's HackerOne in-game bounty program. While usually only for bugs and potential security issues, Rockstar reportedly made an exception for t0st's efforts - which is probably more than fair.

Alienware to end partnership with Riot Games following harassment claims

That's according to a new report from Dot eSports, which claims that Alienware have axed their existing eSports partnership with Riot due to sexual harassment allegations made against Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent earlier this year. The deal was been in place since January 2019 and was originally set to expire in January 2022.

• Riot have already pulled Alienware branding from League of Legends eSports broadcasting but haven't yet elaborated on why - a Riot statement suggests that discussions are still ongoing. Riot are no stranger to harassment allegations and this most recent spate, which comes from Laurent's former executive assistant, is already proving particularly damaging.

Undertale finally launches on Xbox this week

In a move that has definitely been a long time coming, indie masterpiece Undertale releases on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S today and will be available on Xbox Game Pass from launch - it also has "a few Xbox-specific enhancements" that apparently make things a bit more comfortable.

• While Undertale's arrival on Xbox consoles is certainly a bit late, it's still very welcome. The game first released on PC way back in 2015 before coming to PlayStation 4 in 2017 and Nintendo Switch the following year. The much-acclaimed RPG is still very much worth a play so it coming to new platforms is a win.