EA has announced that Count Dooku, aka Darth Tyranus, will become a playable Hero character in Star Wars Battlefront 2 this January. The Sith lord's arrival will precede a Battle Point Event, which should help more players have a chance to try him provided they play Galactic Assault on Prequel Era maps.
Count Dooku will be added to Battlefront 2 on January 23. That same day, the Hero character will also receive a second cosmetic appearance, titled Dark Ritual, and the Republic Clone Army will get a new skin called Coruscant Guard. Neither cosmetic has been revealed yet, but given EA's recent decision to incorporate more elements of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series into Battlefront 2, it stands to reason that we can probably look to the show for clues.
Dark Ritual probably refers to the outfit Count Dooku wears in The Clone Wars Season 6, Episode 13 "Sacrifice" when he and Darth Sidious perform a Sith sorcery spell, called dark illusion, on Yoda. In terms of the Coruscant Guard, the show devotes several episodes to events that transpire on the city planet--most notably the trial of Ahsoka Tano arc in the fifth season--where we see clone troopers in red colored armor. The show refers to this specific clone army as the Coruscant Guard, making them the most likely candidate for the upcoming Battlefront 2 skins.
The Battle Point Event starts on January 25 and continues to the 27. This event is focused on Eras, so you'll only be able to play as Hero characters that belong to the era of the multiplayer map you're playing on. However, the Hero fighters you can play as will receive a 50% Battle Point discount.
Most of Battlefront 2's updates over the past year have been Clone Wars focused in some respect. Both Grievous and Obi-Wan have been added as playable Hero characters, with both Count Dooku and Anakin scheduled for the near future. To capture the tone of The Clone Wars series, EA secured Matthew Wood, James Arnold Taylor, Corey Burton, and Matt Lanter to record in-game lines for each of the characters they portrayed on the show. Geonosis was also added as a multiplayer map, a Prequel Era playlist was implemented into matchmaking, and new Republic Army cosmetic skins--such as Yoda's 41st Elite Corps and Windu's 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps--have been routinely included in updates.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The Clone Wars animated series is returning with a surprise seventh season that sees Anakin and Obi-Wan once again teaming up with Ahsoka Tano to aid in the Siege of Mandalore.
This marks the beginning of the end of Vikings. The History original series, which first premiered in 2013, will end after its sixth season. Vikings is currently in the second half of its fifth season, which returned on November 28.
The news was first reported by Deadline and has been confirmed by GameSpot. The final season of the Michael Hirst created historical drama will debut later in 2019, though production has already come to an end.
It's not all bad news, though. In addition to the remaining Season 5 episodes and all of the installments of Season 6 still to come, a potential spin-off is in the works. According to Deadline, the new series would be co-created by Hirst and Jeb Stuart, who was one of the screenwriters on 1988's Die Hard. It's unclear how the new series would follow the Vikings story.
Of the original Vikings cast of regulars, only three actors remain on the series: Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha) and Gustaf Skarsgård (Floki) are still regulars, while Clive Standen returned in Season 5 in a recurring role as Rollo. Travis Fimmel, who led the series' first four seasons as King Ragnar, saw his character killed off in Season 4 as Vikings shifted to follow the story of his sons. It's entirely possible the proposed spin-off could follow one or more of them.
The DC movie Aquaman is one of the biggest hits that the studio has ever released, and its worldwide box office take that is expected to eclipse Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice this weekend. However, despite the movie's huge success, director James Wan is not happy about the fact the movie hasn't been included in the nominees shortlist for a visual effects Academy Award.
There are 10 semi-finalists for the visual effects category at the upcoming Oscars, including all three of last year's Marvel movies, but Aquaman is not among then. Wan took to Facebook to praise the work of visual effects supervisor Kelvin McIlwain, and made his feelings known about the movie's apparent snub.
"You and your department are the unsung heroes of this film," he wrote. "The fact that your VFX peers in the Academy aren't recognizing or appreciating what we/you've all contributed to the film and cinema is a f***ing disgrace."
Mcllwain replied to Wan's comment, stating: "I'm with you James. It was a complete shock to everyone that we are not in the final 10 films that will be presenting at the Academy VFX Bake-off. The selection process is very flawed in my opinion and very open to influence."
The 10 movies that have been shortlisted for the visual effects Oscar are:
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Christopher Robin
First Man
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Mary Poppins Returns
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Welcome to Marwen
Although Aquaman was the first DC movie since the flop Justice League in November 2017, there's plenty more from the studio on the way. Shazam! arrives in April, while the Joker origin movie is set for release in October. Beyond that, we have Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 due in 2020, plus the James Gunn-written Suicide Squad reboot to look forward to.
Earlier this week, Slightly Mad Studios CEO Ian Bell announced his company was developing the Mad Box, a new standalone video game console to rival the PlayStation and Xbox. Bell has now revealed a few more details about the mysterious platform, including how an early version of it looks.
The first images of the Mad Box were shared on Bell's official Twitter account, which you can see below. The console resembles a PC, with an M-shaped tower and the Slightly Mad Studios logo etched into one side. The system's internal components have been blurred out in the images, however, as Bell says the team is "still in discussions" regarding that. He also notes this is "not the final design."
According to Bell, the Mad Box is very light and features a deployable carry handle on the top so you can easily transport it. He also says the system "will talk to other Mad Boxes without cables," although he didn't elaborate any further on that.
Bell claims the Mad Box is "the most powerful console ever built," featuring specs that "will be equivalent to a very fast PC two years from now." Speaking with Variety, he said the system "will support most major VR headsets" and allow up to 90 frames-per-second "per eye" for virtual reality play. He also says the system will offer 4K visuals.
Pricing and release details for the Mad Box have yet to be announced, but Bell says the system will ship around the world in about three years and be "competitive with upcoming console prices."
Warner Bros. is bringing back two classic Hitman games in one package, with some new bells and whistles to take advantage of this console generation. The Hitman HD Enhanced Collection will bring back Hitman Blood Money and Hitman Absolution for $60. It will be available for PS4 and Xbox One, and Warner boasts the games will be 4K resolution and run at 60 FPS. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Collection is how close it is: it's coming next week, on January 11.
Along with the improved resolution and framerate, WB promises that the updated games will include increased texture resolution, upgraded texture formats, super-sampling, upscale support, better shadow map and mirror resolutions, better lighting, and updated controls.
Blood Money from 2006 takes Agent 47 around the globe, with iconic locations ranging from Chile to the Paris Opera House to the White House. Absolution told a more personal story about Agent 47 dealing with his own bloody history. These were the last two core Hitman games released until IO Interactive took a new approach with the episodic soft-reboot game in 2016, simply called Hitman.
"We're very happy with this collection and how we were able to update and remaster two of our classic Hitman titles for modern consoles," said Hakan Abrak, CEO, IO Interactive. "Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution have helped us on our journey to where we are today, and we're looking forward to players enjoying them in 4K and 60 FPS."
Most recently IO released Hitman 2, which ditched the episodic format but kept some of the previous game's live features intact, such as rotating one-chance targets. It earned a spot among our best games of 2018.
One of the less-frequently touted perks of being an Amazon Prime member is that you get a free subscription to Twitch Prime for no extra charge. Amazon owns the streaming company and presumably wants to create synergy between the two brands. All Prime members have to do is link their accounts to take advantage the perks Twitch Prime get each month. As it turns out, those perks are valuable: in 2018, Twitch Prime members received over $3,000 worth of free PC games and digital items.
Right now, Twitch Prime members can grab January's free games and loot on the company's giveaway page. This month's games include the action game Hyper Light Drifter, the cyber-detective game Orwell, and the Devolver Digital Holiday Pack. The latter contains highly acclaimed titles like The Messenger and both Hotline Miami games.
To access your free Twitch Prime games, you'll need to download the Twitch desktop app for Windows. Open the app, and you'll find all the titles you've claimed in the "My Games" section, where you can install and launch them.
Another bonus for Prime members is a free Twitch channel subscription each month. Normally $5, a subscription helps financially support your favorite streamers. That's in addition to the standard set of Amazon Prime perks, like free two-day shipping on many items, access to Amazon Prime Video, and more. You can learn more about Amazon Prime here.
Diablo 3 has once again kicked off its limited-time event celebrating the anniversary of the original Diablo. The Darkening of Tristram event is running through the end of the month, and offers some exclusive rewards for plumbing the depths of its dungeons and taking down some tough bosses.
The event has you hunting down cultists until you find yourself in a familiar cathedral. The twist is that the event recreates the look and feel of old Diablo, with retro-style graphics and UI, classic bosses, and even limitations to your movement.
Completing challenges and taking down each of the four bosses will grant you banner elements, pets, transmog weapons, and special portraits. This is the first time the event is available to Switch owners, so if you picked it up on that platform you can earn yourself the rewards on the go.
This is the same event as in previous years, even down to including one pesky bug. Fans on the official blog and subreddit have complained that the Wirt's Leg bug has been left intact. That transmog weapon is supposed to appear as a Legendary, but the bug has left it appearing as a less valuable blue item.
Most recently, Blizzard took the stage at its annual BlizzCon event to announce Diablo Immortal, a mobile-only addition to the franchise. This led to no small degree of fan backlash, which may have even impacted Activision Blizzard's stock price. Our hands-on impressions of Diablo Immortal were fairly positive, while acknowledging a lot we don't know yet about it.
"Immortal has translated the core framework and mechanics down to mobile devices in an impressive way," wrote Alessandro Fillari. "While it certainly isn't Diablo 4, it's also clear that it's not trying to be. I don't see it as a true replacement for Diablo 3--the recent Switch version will keep me from doing that for sometime--but I can see myself playing this game during my usual downtime. I was surprisingly pleased with how Immortal played, and it'll be interesting to see how the game will pan out once it launches in 2019."
Anyone who likes shooters and wants a new or renewed PS Plus membership can get a nice discount this week. Between now and January 13, PS4 owners can get a good deal on a bundle containing the new-to-PS4 battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and a year's subscription to PlayStation Plus for just $70. That saves you $20 off the cost of the items if purchased separately. Not a bad deal!
PlayStation Plus grants users access to online multiplayer, free games each month, and exclusive discounts on the PlayStation Store. Your PS Plus subscription doesn't have to be up for renewal when you purchase the bundle, either. When you add it to your account, an additional 12 months will be tacked onto your subscription regardless of when it's due to expire.
PUBG is a battle royale game whose matches involve 100 players dropping onto a map, searching for weapons and armor, and battling it out in a shrinking play area until only one player or team is left alive. The game launched in early access on PC in March 2017 before getting a full release in December of that year. It has since come to Xbox One and mobile, with its PS4 version launching just last month on December 7.
In GameSpot's PUBG review, Michael Higham wrote, "Each phase of a match presents a different type of tension that is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, driven by the insatiable desire to be the last person (or squad) standing. Whether you play solo or in a group, successfully executing adaptive tactics to win intense, high-stakes firefights makes for an incredibly rewarding experience."
If you'd like to save $20 on PUBG and 12 months' worth of PS Plus, make sure you buy the bundle before the deal goes away on January 13.
Epic Games is giving away a free PC game every two weeks this year via its new Store, and the next of those free titles has now been revealed. What Remains of Edith Finch, one of 2017's best games, will be available free of charge from January 10 until January 25.
All you need to do is create an Epic account on its Store and claim the game within those dates. You'll then be able to play the game for free whenever you like, even after January 25. Currently, the free game on offer is Super Meat Boy, which is free until What Remains of Edith Finch takes over on January 10.
Edith Finch is a relatively short adventure game about a girl whose family have all suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. Playing from Edith's perspective, you explore the family home to discover more about the events leading to each person's death.
Our reviewer, Justin Clark, enjoyed the narrative-driven game immensely, awarding it a 9/10. "It's not often that a game's plot slips past the bitterness of grief to finally get to the acceptance, but that's the triumph in What Remains of Edith Finch," he wrote of the PS4 version in our What Remains of Edith Finch review. "Ultimately, if the game has any resemblance of a moral, it's that the bravest, most beautiful thing every one of us does is choose to keep going, despite knowing what's coming."
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has provided another indication that Catherine, Atlus' narrative-driven puzzle game, will be released on PC. The Catherine ESRB listing has been updated to include PC alongside PS3 and Xbox 360, the platforms on which the game was originally released back in 2011. The listing also has Xbox One included in the platforms section, suggesting it may also make its way to Microsoft's console at some point.
This follows a teaser that appeared on the Steam page for Bayonetta, another game published by Atlus' parent company Sega. The teaser was a picture of a sheep, an animal used in Catherine to represent male characters that aren't the protagonist, Vincent. These sheep are usually vying for the affection of Vincent's love interest, Catherine, by way of competing in block-pulling puzzles.
Catherine is set to be re-released on PS4 and PS Vita as Catherine: Full Body, an updated version of the game that will feature new content. Since it's the ESRB listing for the original version of Catherine that's been updated, it could be that the PC release will be the vanilla version of the game, should it materialize.
In GameSpot's Catherine review, Kevin VanOrd said the game is "mature and occasionally profound, exploring themes like sexual fidelity, personal responsibility, and trust. Catherine doesn't just challenge your hand/eye coordination: It challenges your intellect and your emotions."
Sony's big January PS4 game sale is still ongoing, and now the company has discounted even more titles. Big games like Assassin's Creed Origins, Far Cry 5, and Hitman 2 are going cheap in Europe in addition to the titles that were already discounted.
These deals are in addition to a plethora of discounts that went live in December. Those included such promotions as Battlefield V for £30, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for £36, and God of War's deluxe edition for £25. The whole sale runs until January 18; for the full list of games on offer, head over to the PlayStation Store.
The upcoming sequel to 2017's popular Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle may see its cast grow and include the rapper-turned-actress Awkwafina. According to Variety, Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, is in talks to appear in the sequel.
Awkwafina had a big year in 2018, having appeared in popular movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's 8.
All the major stars of the 2017 Jumanji movie--Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan--are all expected to come back for the sequel. What's more, director Jake Kasdan, who is the son of legendary Star Wars writer Lawrence Kasdan, is returning as well.
Plot details are under wraps for the Jumanji sequel, but The Rock teased that Kasdan gave a "dynamite pitch" for the plot. The film hits theatres in December 2019.
The Rock and Kasdan are also working together on a new Netflix movie called John Henry and the Statesman.
Actor Will Poulter, who played the star video game designer on the buzzy choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror episode, Bandersnatch, has announced he's reconsidering how he uses social media in the wake of his "recent experiences." He said he's taking a "step back" from Twitter to focus on his mental health.
In a statement released on Twitter, Poulter said he thanked everyone for watching Bandersnatch, and added that he accepts "all criticisms." He's stepping away from social media due to his "recent experiences." Though Poulter didn't mention any specific experience, he may be referring to the reaction on social media to his character, a game designer named Colin Ritman who has some interesting ideas about the way the world works and conspiracy theories.
"In light of my recent experiences I am choosing to take a step back, of sorts, from Twitter. Before I do, I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to everybody who has watched Bandersnatch and for their responses (whatever they may be) to the material we created. I accept all criticisms and it's been a delight to learn that so many of you enjoyed what many people worked very hard to produce," he said.
The statement continues: "As we all know there is a balance to be struck in our engagements with social media. There are positives to enjoy and inevitable negatives that are best avoided. It's a balance I have struggled with for a while now and in the interest of my mental health I feel the time has come to change my relationship with social media."
Poulter said he'll continue to use social media to advocate for the various charitable organisations he works with for things like anti-bullying, but apart from that, it appears the actor is done with social media for now.
"I don't want to appear unappreciative of all the amazing support I have received online for which I am genuinely so grateful, nor do I want my disengagement with social media to be at the expense of any of the organisations I am lucky to work with," he said. "I am privileged to have this platform. I hope that this shift to reduce my personal expression and increase the focus on issues that matter will result in a better outcome for everyone. This is not the end. Consider it an alternative path."
Poulter's first major role was in Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010. He's since gone on to appear in the Oscar-winning movie The Revenant, along with The Maze Runner and Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit.
In other news about Bandersnatch, Netflix has released a pair of neat behind-the-scenes features in which writer Charlie Brooker, some of the actors, and other creatives talk about how they made the unique episode that lets you choose how events play out.
As you can clearly tell, Bandersnatch was no small endeavour. It required a lot of work, and the extended production time led to a delay for Black Mirror Season 5.
The 2019 Independent Games Festival has announced the finalists for its awards ceremony. The winners for each award will be announced on March 20 during GDC 2019.
There are several awards that over a dozen different games have been nominated for. Titles can be nominated for Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, Best Student Game, the Nuovo (Innovation) Award, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Each winner for the first six awards also earns a cash prize worth several thousand dollars, with a grand prize of $30,000 USD going to whoever receives the Seumas McNally.
Return of the Obra Dinn is the most nominated game for IGF by far, with the title up for five of the seven awards. Obra Dinn was one of the three indie games to earn a spot in our 10 favorite games of 2018 list, alongside Dead Cells and Into the Breach. It captured our eye with its superb story-telling and unique murder mystery mechanics. Although they haven't received as many nominations, other notable standouts for the IGF awards include Forgotton Anne, Minit, Opus Magnum, and Unavowed.
We've compiled the full list of finalists below, which you can also view--along with the honorable mentions for each category--on the Independent Games Festival's blog.
Independent Games Festival 2019 Awards Nominees
Excellent in Visual Art
Forgotton Anne
Alto's Odyssey
Hypnospace Outlaw
Just Shapes & Beats
Mirror Drop
Return of the Obra Dinn
Excellence in Audio
Ethereal
Hypnospace Outlaw
Moss
Return of the Obra Dinn
Alto's Odyssey
Paratopic
Excellence in Design
What the Golf?
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
Noita
Return of the Obra Dinn
Dicey Dungeons
Opus Magnum
Excellence in Narrative
Wandersong
Genital Jousting
Unavowed
Seers Isle
Watch Me Jump
Return of the Obra Dinn
Nuovo (Innovation) Award
Circle0
eCheese Zone
Noita
Mirror Drop
Black Room
Paratopic
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
Nth Dimension[al] Hiking
Best Student Game
It's Paper Guy!
Grace Bruxner Presents: The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game
According to mobile tracker Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go generated an estimated $795 million in revenue worldwide in 2018--a 35% increase over 2017. US players sunk the most money into the game last year, spending an estimated $262 million in 2018, although Japanese players weren't far behind, spending approximately $239 million.
Daily spending in Pokemon Go was up as well last year. The game generated an average of about $2.2 million per day in 2018. Players also spent more than $75 million on the game in the month of December alone between Google Play and the App Store, up from $57.2 million spent during the same month in 2017.
These impressive figures can likely be attributed in part to the regular stream of new Pokemon, events, and features that Niantic introduced to Pokemon Go throughout 2018. Early in the year, the developer kicked off a new monthly series of events called Community Days, which give players around the world a chance to catch rare Pokemon and learn exclusive moves for one day every month.
On top of that, Niantic implemented a host of new features in the game. Last summer saw the long-awaited arrival of friends list and trading, while PvP trainer battles finally arrived in December. Niantic also introduced Adventure Sync, a feature that allows Pokemon Go to track your distance walked even when idle, making it easier to hatch Eggs.
Pokemon Go's latest in-game event, the Adventure Sync Hatchathon, is currently underway. The event runs until January 15, during which time you'll earn twice the normal amount of Candy and Stardust for hatching Eggs. Meanwhile, the next Community Day is scheduled to take place on January 12 and will feature the Gen 2 starter Totodile.
Beyond Pokemon Go, Niantic is also co-developing a Harry Potter mobile game with Warner Bros. titled Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The game was originally slated to launch in 2018, but it will now arrive sometime this year. The studio also recently launched an enhanced version of its original mobile game titled Ingress Prime.
Destiny 2 has been pretty much crammed full of content since the release of its latest expansion, The Black Armory. This week is a lull between the ending of The Dawning holiday event and the release of the next content infusion, Niobe Labs. If you're hard-pressed waiting for new loot to become available, though, at least you can tide yourself over with some Year One Exotics care of Xur, Destiny 2's weekend vendor.
You'll find Xur in the EDZ on Earth this weekend, in the Winding Cove area. Head to the north end of the area and scale the wall to reach a crashed Fallen ship, and you'll find Xur hanging out beside it. As usual, he offers a small group of older Exotics that you can use to fill out your collection from before the release of the Forsaken expansion. He carries one weapon, as well as a piece of armor for each of the three character classes. While Exotic weapons are identical, it's worth checking Xur's wares each week to see what he's offering for armor, even if you already have it, since Exotic armor gets random perks that can make some versions better than others.
This week Xur is offering Graviton Lance, a powerful Exotic pulse rifle that's long been a Crucible favorite. It fires a three-round burst like other pulse rifles, but the second round in the burst is extra powerful thanks to the Black Hole perk. That works together with another perk, Cosmology, which causes anyone killed with Graviton Lance to explode, sending Void projectiles chasing after other nearby enemies.
On the armor front, Xur is sporting the Dunemarchers Exotic boots for Titans, which build a static electricity charge on your body while you sprint. Meleeing enemies once the charge is built up causes it to chain to others nearby as well. Hunters get the Celestial Nighthawk helmet, which changes your Golden Gun Super from having three or six shots to one high-damage blast that causes enemies to explode and returns Super energy for kills with it. Finally, Warlocks can acquire Sanguine Alchemy, a piece of chest armor that makes your Rifts cause powerful enemies to be marked in your vision and maintains your radar even when you're aiming down sights.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they'll cost you:
You can also buy a Fated Engram, if you can afford it. Dropping 97 Legendary Shards on the item will grant you one Year One Exotic you don't already have for that character. Xur also offers the Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
While there's nothing new going on this week, Destiny 2 players will have plenty to do through January and February. According to Bungie's content plan for Season 5, the Niobe Labs content drop is next on January 8 for players who purchased The Black Armory, followed by an Exotic quest called The Draw on January 29. After that, it's Crimson Days, Destiny's Valentine's Day-themed event, which starts on February 5 and is free to everyone even if they didn't purchase The Black Armory.
The line between The Walking Dead and its companion series Fear the Walking Dead is about to get a little more blurry. At the beginning of Fear's fourth season, Morgan (Lennie James) was moved to the series from the original, creating the first crossover between the two shows. Now, based on reports, it looks like he's getting some company.
ComicBook.com is reporting that Austin Amelio, who appeared in Seasons 6-8 of The Walking Dead as Negan's right-hand man Dwight, is set to pop up on Fear. The character was last seen in the Season 8 finale of The Walking Dead when he was banned from ever returning to the Alexandria safe zone.
While it remains unclear exactly how major this crossover will be, Entertainment Weekly notes that co-showrunner Ian Goldberg previously revealed that new characters would come into play during Fear's fifth season. Should Dwight be one of those, he could serve as a very interesting ally to Morgan.
The addition of Amelio takes Fear even further from its origins. At this point, only one of the show's original cast members--Alycia Debnam-Carey--remains. The first half of Season 4 saw the characters played by Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane killed off. Meanwhile, new cast Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt, and Jenna Elfman were added this year to round out the show.
As for future crossovers, that might become tricky. Early in Season 9 of The Walking Dead, following the departure of Andrew Lincoln, the series jumped ahead 6 years. Unless Fear were to match that at some point, chances are it'll be a while before another character moves from one show to the other.
Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season later this year. The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres on February 10 on AMC.
The lawsuit that Bethesda brought against developer Behaviour and media giant Warner Bros. over a Westworld video game has come to an end, it seems.
Bethesda and Behaviour announced that they have reached an amicable settlement, though no terms were disclosed. Bethesda initially said Behaviour's Westworld mobile video game was a "blatant ripoff" of Fallout Shelter.
Behaviour worked on Fallout Shelter, and Bethesda further alleged that Behaviour "illegally" used the same copyrighted source code from Fallout Shelter to developer the Westworld game. Not only that, but Bethesda claimed Behaviour "copied Fallout Shelter's game design, art, animations, gameplay features, and other elements.
Bethesda was suing Behaviour and Warner Bros. for "copyright infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of [Bethesda's] intellectual property."
Filings with the United States District Court in Maryland, where Bethesda is located, show that Bethesda and Behaviour came to terms on a settlement in principle back in November 2018. A notice dated December 12 confirms that Bethesda and Behaviour "resolved their dispute." Bethesda, Behaviour, and Warner Bros. each will bear their own costs, including attorney's fees; however no other terms of the settlement were disclosed. It is not uncommon for settlement details to remain under wraps.
The Westworld game, which is free and supported by microtransactions just like Fallout Shelter, remains available to download on iOS and Android.
Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann recently left, and was recently named the next CFO of Netflix. And now, Blizzard CFO Amrita Ahuja has left the company to join mobile payment company Square as its new CFO.
Jack Dorsey, Square's co-founder, said in a statement that Ahuja "brings us a deep understanding of ecosystem businesses, and she's purpose-driven, disciplined, and has a strong growth mindset."
Ahuja was with Activision Blizzard for more than eight years, where she held a number of finance-related positions including VP of Finance and Operations and VP of Strategy and Business Development, before becoming CFO. Before joining Activision Blizzard, Ahuja worked at Fox Networks, Walt Disney and Morgan Stanley.
Ahuja's departure from Blizzard comes not long after the company's controversial announcement of Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon late last year. Kotaku reports that there has been increased friction between management at Activision and Blizzard, and the report also states that Blizzard is trying to cut costs.
In 2018, former Hearthstone director Ben Brode and several of his coworkers left Blizzard and founded a new company, now known to be called Second Dinner. The indie studio has announced that it's begun work on its first title, and it will be a Marvel game.
Second Dinner has received a $30 million investment from NetEase, which will go towards supporting the studio as it develops this first game. Second Dinner has not revealed details about the Marvel game; however, an announcement video did reveal that the studio has been working on the title for six months and already has a working prototype.
The new indie studio is currently composed of Hamilton Chu, Ben Brode, Mike Schweitzer, Yong Woo, and Jomaro Kindred, who each had a hand in creating Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Several of their resumes include other games as well, such as Halo 2 and Diablo III.
Looking forward, 2019 sees the release of the long-awaited Avengers: Endgame as well as Captain Marvel. The writer for the Ms. Marvel comic is also stepping down and passing the series off to someone new, who's creating a new story for Kamala Khan called The Magnificent Ms. Marvel. A sequel to the beloved Ultimate Alliance video game franchise, titled Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, is also coming out. And even though we haven't heard anything about it for a while, there's still Square Enix's Marvel game, codenamed The Avengers Project, to look forward to.
Following the Christmas-themed Starlight Celebration, Final Fantasy XIV's annual Heavensturn New Year event is back again on PS4 and PC. The festivities are underway from now through to January 15, giving players until then to take on seasonal quests and earn some New Year gear.
To participate in the Heavensturn event, you'll need to have a character that is at least level 15, then speak to the Inoshishi Bugyo, who can be found in the upper decks of Limsa Lominsa. It appears the residents of the city are unaware of the festival, so you'll need to help him drum up some interest and sell his rice cakes.
After completing the event quest you'll be able to earn two different styles of the Inoshishi Kabuto helmet, which features an adorable piglet sitting on top to commemorate the Year of the Pig. You can also get a new seasonal piece of furniture for your home: the Boar's Head Kadomatsu. Certain items from previous Heavensturn events can be purchased from the seasonal shop as well.
In addition to Heavensturn, a new update is on the way to Final Fantasy XIV very soon. Patch 4.5, A Requiem for Heroes, is scheduled to drop on January 8, and it's set to introduce a load of new content to the game, including a new main scenario, side quests, and a dungeon.
On top of that, Patch 4.5 will bring a new job class: the Blue Mage. You'll also be able to acquire new mounts and minions, such as an adorable fishing otter, as well as new hairstyles, emotes, and custom deliveries, among other things. You can read more about the upcoming patch on the official Final Fantasy XIV website.
We're partway through Season 7 of Epic's hit battle royale game, Fortnite, and there's a new batch of challenges to complete on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. Clearing these missions earns you Battle Stars that, in turn, level up your Battle Pass and unlock the new Season 7 rewards. There's an added incentive to complete all of the challenges from a given week, however: you'll also clear a related Snowfall challenge, which will net you a special loading screen that features a clue to the whereabouts of a free item.
The item in question will either be a Battle Star--which levels your Battle Pass up by one tier--or a Banner--which can be used as a profile icon--depending on how many weekly sets of challenges you complete. If you finish five weeks' worth of missions, you'll be able to get the former. But first, you'll need to find it.
Fortunately, the loading screen you receive for completing the Week 5 Snowfall challenge will point you in the right direction. As you can see below, the screen features Trog--one of the new skins introduced to Fortnite in Season 7--having a little tea party inside a snowy cave. If you look in the top left-hand corner of the image, however, you'll be able to spot a Battle Star just above the wooden hut in the background.
The cave depicted in the loading screen is located in the southwestern portion of the map, in quadrant B9 between Frosty Flights and Happy Hamlet. Glide to the area at the start of a match and you'll find a hole leading to the aforementioned cave. Enter it, and you'll spot the Battle Star exactly where it was teased: atop the wooden hut. Use the stairs to reach the roof and collect the Battle Star to level your Battle Pass up by one tier.
As usual, this Battle Star won't appear for all Fortnite players. You'll first need to complete five weeks' challenges and unlock the corresponding loading screen before the item will show up in the game, so you won't be able to simply go to the right place and collect it if you haven't put in the necessary work. If you need more help finding the Battle Star, you can watch us collect it in the video above to see exactly where it's located.
There are still a few weeks remaining in Season 7, which means you still have plenty of time to complete this season's challenges and unlock its new rewards. You can find tips for all of this season's trickier missions in our complete Season 7 challenge guide. You can also find the whereabouts of Season 7's other free Battle Stars and Banners using the guides below.
Nintendo is doing a very un-Nintendo thing on the Eshop this week. Instead of keeping its exclusive titles at a rigid $60 price point, it's discounting them between now and January 10 as part of a New Year's sale. These are games that rarely get the discount treatment, so if you've been holding off on titles like Octopath Traveler and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, now is a great time to buy. A bunch of other games are on sale this week as well, so let's take a look.
But this week's sale is bigger than just those titles. You can save lots of cash on a swath of other games as well. Mega Man Legacy Collection, which bundles the core series' NES installments (games 1-6), is on sale for $11.25. You can solve murders in 1940s California in LA Noire for $25. And if you'd like to take over the world, Sid Meier's Civilization VI lets you give it your best shot for $45.
Other notable discounted games include Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, which comes with seven arcade games from yore, on sale for $16. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes the core game and two expansions--and will be getting the King of Cards expansion for free this year--is discounted to $20. Sonic Mania is down to $15, and the digital version of the tabletop game Carcassonne is on sale for $16.
You'll find more of our picks below, or you can check out the whole list of deals here.
Microsoft might be rolling out new upgrades to its Xbox One controller in the future. The company filed two patents for its controller's triggers back in June 2017--the first for triggers with an input device with linear geared feedback and the second for triggers with motor-driven adjustable tension--and both were granted in December 2018.
Together, both patents focus on providing greater feedback when pulling the trigger on an Xbox One controller, which should increase the level of responsiveness in games where the triggers are used for action-specific tasks, like shooting or running. Both patents only include a diagram of the Xbox One controller, but if these upgrades were to roll out, Microsoft would potentially implement them in Xbox One Elite controllers as well. Windows Latest, which first reported on the patents, theorized these designs might also be for entirely new controllers instead of upgrades to existing ones.
In 2018, the Xbox One faced another year without many noteworthy first-party console exclusives. However, Microsoft did take steps to improve how people play games with release of both the Xbox Adaptive Controller and mouse and keyboard support for the console. Games Pass also now allows people to play all first-party titles on the day they release for a fraction of their combined retail cost. Between that service, Games With Gold, and EA Access, Xbox One supplies players with a game library of hundreds of digital titles. So, all in all, it wasn't all that bad of a year for Xbox One.
After making her debut during the "Elseworlds" Arrow-verse crossover, Batwoman is ready to take center stage. The CW has officially ordered a pilot for the potential spin-off series, which will see Ruby Rose (The Meg) return once again in the title role of Batwoman/Kate Kane.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Batwoman pilot will be directed by David Nutter, who has previously directed episodes of Arrow, The Flash, and Game of Thrones. Caroline Dries serves as showrunner on the project with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Geoff Johns executive producing.
Batwoman's Arrow-verse debut in "Elseworlds" also introduced Gotham City for the first time on The CW, as well as Arkham Asylum and a few interesting characters that could potentially return at some point. At the moment, however, only Rose has been confirmed as appearing in the pilot.
In the Arrow-verse, Kate Kane has been revealed as the cousin of Bruce Wayne. After Wayne/Batman left Gotham, she rose up under a cowl of her own as Batwoman in an attempt to save her city from collapsing. The "Elseworlds" crossover planted seeds for what could eventually some plot details for the spin-off series, including Kane's revelation that she's launching her own real estate development firm.
It's important to note that the pilot order does not mean a series will happen, just that a first episode will be made. However, when GameSpot and TV Guide teamed up to discuss the possibility of a Batwoman standalone series, the decision was unanimous that it's something that needs to happen. Now the waiting game to see if it gets ordered to series for the fall begins.
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