At long last, there's been a major development in the creation of Showtime's upcoming TV adaptation of the Halo video game franchise. We still don't know when it will premiere, but we are finally ready to meet Master Chief.
The mysterious masked figure, who is at the center of the video game franchise, has been cast by the network. According to Entertainment Weekly, Orange is the New Black and American Gods alum Pablo Schreiber will fill the role. A character description reads, "Earth's most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity."
What remains to be seen is whether fans will ever actually see Schreiber's face. In the games, Chief's identity remains a mystery. While you might assume that would change for the series, Showtime president of programming Gary Levine previously said whether Chief would unmask "is a key question and an important part of our series."
Schreiber isn't the only new cast, though. EW reports newcomer Yerin Ha had also been added to the show as Quan Ah, "a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both."
Halo is expected to begin production this fall in Budapest, with Kyle Killen and Steven Kane serving as co-showrunners. Black Mirror alum Otto Bathurst has signed on to direct and produce the series. Showtime describes its take on Halo as "weaving deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future."
Pokemon Go's April Community Day may have only recently ended, but Niantic is already looking ahead to next month's event. The developer has now shared the first details for May's Community Day, which is scheduled to take place around the globe on Sunday, May 19.
As usual, next month's Community Day will run for three hours, from 3-6 PM local time. During that window, players will be able to earn triple the usual amount of Stardust for every Pokemon they catch, and any Lure Modules that are used will remain active for three hours.
The featured Pokemon this time around will be another Gen 3 starter: Torchic. Throughout the Community Day, the Fire-type Pokemon will spawn in the wild more frequently than it normally does, making it much easier to add some to your collection. Going by previous Community Days, you'll likely also have your first chance to capture a Shiny Torchic.
Finally, if you manage to fully evolve a Torchic into Blaziken up to an hour after the Community Day ends, it'll learn a special, as-yet-unannounced event-exclusive move. Niantic typically reveals what the special move is the week of the event. You can find more details about next month's Community Day on the official Pokemon website.
In the meantime, there are a few other big events going on now in Pokemon Go. First, the Legendary Eon Pokemon Latios returned for a special week-long Raid that's scheduled to end on April 22. Niantic is also holding the annual Eggstravaganza event until April 23, which gives you more chances to hatch baby Pokemon and even capture a Shiny Buneary.
The puzzle gem BoxBoy is coming to Nintendo Switch next week, with a newly cooperative adventure called BoxBoy + BoxGirl. If you're new or just want to brush up on your boxing skills before the release, you can now try a demo for the game.
The demo includes both single- and multiplayer modes, showing you the ropes of the game mechanics and a handful of early puzzles. The "Tale for Two" multiplayer mode is recommended for two players, but you can take on the challenges solo if you wish by swapping back and forth between Qbby and Qucy.
BoxBoy + BoxGirl also introduces another new playable character, Qudy. The rectangular hero creates boxes that are extra-long or tall, which adds a new layer of complexity to the challenges. As usual, efficient puzzle solving will earn you medals you can use to unlock outfits, items, and accessories. The game also introduces a new timed balloon challenge mode.
BoxBoy was first introduced in 2015 by HAL Laboratories on the Nintendo 3DS. It was designed to look simple and monochromatic, similar to a Game Boy game. This is the series' first entry on the Nintendo Switch, and the first time the cast of characters has come into their own as playable. It will be available on April 26 for $10.
With just over a week to go until the release of Avengers: Endgame, the promotional videos are hitting hard and fast. We've already had two new TV spots this week, and a now a third has been released.
This one might be short but it actually features quite a bit of new footage. There's Rocket coming through a doorway, Hawkeye (aka Ronin) getting into a fight on a street, and a great exchange between War Machine and Ant-Man. Check it out below.
To get ready for Endgame, you might also want to check out our guide to the best order to rewatch the MCU movies. But be warned--it also looks like the ending to the movie has leaked online, so be careful while searching for Endgame information.
Avengers: Endgame releases on April 26, 2019. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larson, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Danai Gurira, Paul Rudd, and Josh Brolin. So far ticket presales have far exceeded those for Captain Marvel, Infinity War, Aquaman, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi combined.
The world watched in horror as fire engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Monday evening, spreading through the top floor of its attic and eventually collapsing the church's iconic spire. Across the globe, people have expressed their support for the French people, and already millions of dollars have been donated to the cathedral's restoration efforts. Ubisoft is the latest company to pledge its support; the French video game company announced today it will donate €500,000 (about $565,000) to aid the restoration and reconstruction efforts for Notre Dame.
In addition, Ubisoft is giving away Assassin's Creed Unity for free--you can download it for PC (Uplay) at no cost now through April 25 at 3 AM (your local time). Once you download the game, it'll be yours to keep forever in your Uplay games library.
Ubisoft has a special connection to Notre Dame and the city of Paris--the setting was virtually recreated to a precise level of detail in Assassin's Creed Unity. In fact, the virtual rendition of Notre Dame is so accurate that it may serve as an important piece of historical media. Assassin's Creed Unity level artist Caroline Miousse told The Verge in a 2014 interview that she spent two years recreating the cathedral from the inside out. "I made some other stuff in the game, but 80 percent of my time was spent on the Notre Dame," she said.
Assassin's Creed Unity provides a unique opportunity, especially for those who have never been to Paris, to experience Notre Dame first-hand in its original glory, so be sure to pick up the game while it's free for the next week.
"Video games can enable us to explore places in ways we never could have otherwise imagined," Ubisoft wrote in its blog post. "We hope, with this small gesture, we can provide everyone an opportunity to appreciate our virtual homage to this monumental piece of architecture."
WWE's Superstar Shakeup has ended. Over the course of two days, both Raw and Smackdown programming switched things up by trading superstars between the two shows--and snagging some wrestlers from NXT. On Monday, Raw received plenty of new stars, strengthened their tag division, and gave War Raiders a cringe-worthy twist.
The chaos continued on Tuesday night with Smackdown, as the blue brand saw 12 superstars head to the show, with the biggest names being Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, and NXT callup Kairi Sane. While the night was all about creating a "shakeup" for the roster, there were some entertaining moments throughout the evening. Here's everything you need to know about what happened on Smackdown.
Finn Balor
The first person to head over to the blue brand is none other than Finn Balor, a man lost in the shuffle on Raw. Is there a rule that Balor and AJ Styles can't be on the same brand at the same time? Are we not allowed to see Bullet Club leaders in a rivalry? Regardless, with Balor comes the Intercontinental Championship. So, Smackdown will have both the United States and Intercontinental Championships, which is a bit weird. Maybe we'll at least get a Balor Club reunions with the Good Brothers, though.
Kevin Owens + New Day = The Best
The New Day is in the spot they should be on Smackdown: the main event. They open the show, they bounce around during the middle, and they close things out. Yes, that's a lot of screen time, but it's no different than any other WWE champion. Adding Kevin Owens to the mix this week was a lot of fun. Nothing huge came out of this, but it was a delight.
Where's Tyler Breeze?
This is more of a complaint from my end, but what's going on with Tyler Breeze? I really thought he'd come over to Smackdown, especially after Xavier Woods said on live TV, "If I don't see Tyler Breeze on Smackdown by the end of this show, I'm going to lose my mind." Woods has made mention of this on Twitter a few times too. If you watch Up Up Down Down, then you know the two are friends, and if you have watched WWE programming, then you know Breeze is exceptionally talented in the ring and on the mic. What's going on?
Lars Sullivan?
Wait.... I thought he was on Raw. What is going on? Later on in the program, it was announced Sullivan was now on Smackdown. Wasn't he just announced as a member of Raw yesterday? Is WWE already retconning something for 24 hours ago? This makes utterly no sense.
The Overly-Layered Women's Segment
During a Becky Lynch promo, Ember Moon and Bayley interrupted and announced they had moved to the blue brand. Moon is a fantastic addition to the roster and will bring a lot to the women's roster there. The Iiconics interrupted and talked about their championship titles. Then, continuing with the giant shakeup, Paige interrupted the interruption to introduce the challengers for the women's tag team championships--which was also interrupted by Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Anyway, the new tag team on the block is Asuka and the pirate princess Kairi Sane. Smackdown's women's division is looking stacked. I cannot wait to see Sane drop that elbow on everyone.
The Continued Destruction Of 205 Live
It's no secret the ranks of 205 Live are thinning, after [Mustafa] Ali joined Smackdown a few months back and Cedric Alexander moved to Raw on Monday. Now, Buddy Murphy is headed to Smackdown. You're probably more than familiar with the former Cruiserweight Champion, as he was consistently putting on a clinic on PPV Kickoff shows, defending his title. He is a more than welcome addition to Smackdown, even if WWE's main rosters are over-stuffed.
Vince's Big Announcement
Vince McMahon came out to announce his big acquisition, and it's Elias. However, that wasn't all. Roman Reigns came out, beat up Elias and McMahon and announced he's part of Smackdown. With the Tuesday night show eventually moving to Fox, this is a great get for the weekly series, and they'll need a big name to draw in viewers.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has received a new PC patch on its test server, and it adds a feature that will be familiar to anyone who's played Rainbow Six Siege. Update 28, as developer PUBG Corp. calls it, introduces weapon charms as part of a wider weapon progression system that will be making its way to live servers "very soon."
The progression system, which is called Weapon Mastery, allows players to level up weapons by doing well with each gun. You can level up each weapon individually to a maximum rank of 100. Weapon XP is awarded for dealing damage, getting headshots, and, of course, killing opponents. Extra XP will be gained if your kill counts as a Defeat, a new term PUBG Corp. says includes "knockdowns, killing the last member of a team, and killing solo players." The amount of XP awarded will also scale depending on how late in a match you performed the action.
Leveling up a weapon can grant you three reward types that cannot be obtained through any other avenue. The first is the aforementioned charms, which appear to work in a very similar way to Rainbow Six Siege's equivalents. "Charms are keychain-like trinkets that attach to the left side on the barrel of each weapon," PUBG Corp. says. "You can equip and see which charms you have unlocked from inside the Mastery tab. We're launching with 20 unique charms that must be earned on a per weapon basis and it's a safe bet that there are more on the way."
The second type of reward is emblems, which you'll gain when you rank a gun up to level 10, 20, 30, and so on up to 100. While these don't appear to do much at present, PUBG Corp. says it "will be exploring ways for you to show off your emblems to other players" over the next few months.
Weapon Mastery's final reward type is medals, a "way of highlighting the awesome accomplishments you perform." Examples include one called Double, which is awarded when you kill two enemies in quick succession, and another named Frenzy that you'll get when you get five kills with the same weapon in a single match.
You can read more about Weapon Mastery, which is separate to the battle pass system, on PUBG Corp.'s blog. Alternatively, check out the full list of patch notes for update 28 below, via PUBG Corp.
Weapon Mastery has been added, a new feature that allows players to check their gun stats and earn rewards based on their skills!
New Progression System
Weapon Mastery is a new progression system where players can increase levels by gaining weapon XP based on players' weapon use.
It operates all the time without being affected by seasons.
Weapon Mastery offers 100 levels for players to achieve per weapon.
In the lobby, players can check their weapon use information, last match results, and the rewards they acquired thus far through the newly created Mastery tab.
Weapon Mastery Rewards
There are three types of Weapon Mastery rewards. These rewards can only be acquired through Mastery achievement.
Charms
Charms are accessories that can be equipped to weapons.
New charm can achieved at every five levels of progression per weapon.
Charms can be used with any weapon skins.
Acquired charms can be equipped/unlocked in the rewards page. Equipped charms can be seen in-game.
Charms cannot be traded, sold, or exchanged for BP.
Medals
Medals highlight awesome accomplishments players perform with their weapons.
Each medal can be earned multiple times. There is even a counter that tracks how many medals have been achieved.
Tier Emblems
Players can earn emblems equivalent to their level brackets achieved per each weapon.
Up to 10 tiers can be achieved.
How to earn Weapon XP
Weapon XP for is earned when one or more of the following elements is satisfied during a match.
Damage
Headshots
Defeats
Defeats is a new term used for tracking actions that includes knockdowns, killing the last member of a team and killing solo players.
You can acquire extra weapon XP based on distance of defeats.
When earning Weapon XP, the amount received will increase based on how long you survived.
Defeats follow the existing judgment rules for DBNO/Kills currently used in the game.
Additional information:
Weapon Mastery does not count friendly fire/team damage.
Weapon Mastery does not count downs caused by road kills or environmental factors (blue zone, red zone, fall damage, or drowning).
Weapon Mastery does not count throwables or melee damage.
There is a maximum limit on each weapon that can be getting weapon XP.
Gameplay
A second round of Erangel loot rebalances has been made, as well as improvements to some sounds and effects related to gameplay.
Erangel 2nd Loot Rebalance
As we have spoken previously in our Dev Letter: Erangel Loot Rebalance, we are constantly analyzing player feedback, play patterns and other data. With this update, we're implementing a second round of changes to improve the player looting experience on Erangel.
The total amount of items spawned in Erangel has been increased by approximately 28%.
Increased the overall amount of items spawned, especially the spawn rates of those higher priority items.
Spawn rate of AR has been increased by approx 64%.
Spawn rate of DMR has been increased by approx 114%.
Spawn rate of SR has been increased by approx 177%.
Spawn rates of equipment and armor have been slightly increased, especially level 2.
Spawn rates of healing items have been slightly increased.
Erangel Blue Zone Rebalance Test (Test Server Only)
During this test server phase, we'll be testing some changes to the blue zone on Erangel. At this stage, these changes are purely experimental and we're looking for feedback to understand how players feel about the direction of the changes.
There is no expected date or certainty that these changes will come to live servers, but we greatly appreciate and are looking forward to your feedback as we experiment with the blue zone changes specifically on the test server this week.
SR Damage Multiplier Changes
Decreased the damage modifier of SR shots to the torso from 150% to 130%.
Decreased the base damage of the AWM from 120 to 105.
The AWM will no-longer kill full health players wearing a level 2 vest in one shot with these changes.
Sound Improvements
We've now added more sounds for item interactions.
Previously items were looted, dropped, equipped and unequipped, some items had the same sound effects regardless of the characteristics of each item. Sounds will now vary more between items.
Added vehicle suspension sounds.
Sounds of moving vehicles' suspension working can now be heard.
Different sounds will be played in different situations. Vehicles moving on rough terrain or when landing from a jump will make unique sounds.
Suspension sound volume is different between TPP and FPP.
Smoke Grenade Improvement
Smoke grenades are now more accurately synchronized across all players and observers.
Previously, smoke grenade duration for the viewer would start when coming into viewable range (1 km) of the smoke grenade. Smoke grenade plumes will now end at the same time for all players/observers.
Vehicles Effects Improvement
Added vehicle lighting effects.
Vehicle headlights, tail lights and dashboard are turned on when the vehicle's engine starts.
The lights are only local visual effects and will not illuminate the surrounding areas.
Open/Close Doors Animation Improvement
Improved the algorithm to determine when vehicles are blocking doors, preventing them from opening or closing.
Survivor Pass 3: Wild Card
After the launch of the Survivor Pass 3: Wild Card, we've been continuously collecting and analyzing mission result data. Additionally, we've been actively reviewing players feedback regarding specific mission difficulty. We have chosen to adjust and remove some missions which players found too difficult to complete.
Daily Missions: Decreased the difficulty of 16 missions and deleted 4 missions which were too difficult.
Weekly Missions: Decreased the difficulty of 16 missions and deleted 6 missions which were too difficult.
Challenge Missions: Decreased the difficulty of 5 missions.
UI/UX
Store UI Overhaul
Added Zoom in/out feature to item previews.
Use mouse scroll to zoom in/out of the part where the mouse cursor is pointing.
When zooming on the character, character UI is shown on the bottom right.
You can zoom in to 4 different parts (Head, Torso, Lower body, Feet).
Zoomed in parts are highlighted in the character UI.
Click on different parts of the character model to select a view of that part (Head, Torso, Lower body, Feet).
Horizontal rotations are now enabled in weapon and equipment previews.
Release the mouse button during weapon or equipment preview to reset the camera view.
Team UI Overhaul
Teammates boost gauges are now in the team UI visible while playing to enhance team play.
Changes in Display Mode Settings
When using full screen mode, the window mode will be changed to full screen (windowed) while in the lobby to prevent specific crashing caused by typing. In-game will remain full screen.
Full screen: In-game: Full screen / Lobby: Full screen(windowed).
Full screen (Windowed): In-game: full screen (windowed) / Lobby: Full screen (windowed).
Windowed: In-game: Windowed / Lobby: Windowed.
Survivor Title Season 3 Overview UI Improvements
Season reward chart now shows 4 stages of rewards instead of 3.
Additional UI has been added which shows points required for the next title.
Performance
Optimized performance to decrease the time it takes to load into matches.
Custom match
Observer Feature Improvements
Kill message improvements
To prevent confusion and distinguish individual messages from team messages, the existing individual multi-kill messages (RAMPAGE / EXECUTIONER / MASTERFUL / CONQUERING) have been removed to focus on the number of kills.
Team Multi-kill messages will remain the same.
The images for team multi-kill messages are now each shown with a separate image.
Added timer UI for Smoke Grenades
To show the remaining time for the smoke grenades, each smoke will now have a timer UI showing the remaining smoke plume duration.
The smoke timer lasts for about 40 seconds starting from the moment the smoke grenade plumes.
When the timer hits approx. 20% remaining, the UI turns red and the icon shakes.
When the timer hits 10% remaining, the icon shakes x2 as hard.
The timer UI disappears when the spectator is farther than 100 m.
The transparency of the UI changes depending on the distance.
Restored Kick Player Function
Observers can find the KICK button by right-clicking a player's name on the player list. Click the left mouse on kick button to remove the player from the game.
Players can be kicked in the middle of a game.
Replay System
In the replay feature, click right mouse button to toggle the REPORT button. Click the left mouse button again to report a player.
The replay feature version has been updated. Existing replays recorded prior to this update are no longer playable.
Skins & Items
The PUBG 2nd Anniversary Cap will no longer be available after April 24th (KST) / April 23th(PDT).
This is a free 2nd anniversary item, so don't forget to redeem it within the availability period!
Item sales for FACEIT Global Summit Hoodies and Mask will end on April 24th( KST) / April 23th (PDT).
25% of the item's revenue goes to the teams participating in FACEIT Global Summit, support the teams by purchasing these items!
Bug Fixes
World
Fixed an issue with some barbed wire fences blocking bullets.
Fixed an issue where players are unable to pick up items that are placed under broken barbed wire fences.
General
Fixed the issue with center screen DBNO and kill messages being delayed.
Fixed the issue with interaction UI remaining in spectator screen when is killed during interaction UI activated.
Fixed the issue with certain maneuver could prevent motorcycles from flipping.
Fixed the issue which a vehicle could constantly move when system menu was opened.
Fixed an issue with different UAZ model variants having different maximum speeds.
Fixed the awkward character movement when using an emote and rotating the mouse in FPP view.
Fixed the issue with a frag grenade ground burn mark textures overlapping the player character's model
Fixed an issue where only one side of footsteps is output in certain situations.
Fixed an issue which would remove player's hair completely when equipping caps.
Fixed a visual issue when punk knuckle gloves were equipped.
Fixed a visual issue preventing belts from being visible when wearing a fur coat.
Fixed an issue where character's hair and face overlap when a female character equips specific hair styles and caps.
Fixed a visual issue with shadows displaying incorrectly when swimming in FPP.
Fixed a replay issue causing explosion effects to continue when moving through the timeline.
Fixed an issue where players are unable to revive their teammates if casting UI freezes at 0 while reviving.
Fixed an issue when using a scope and the character moves backward, the scope shakes.
Fixed certain limb animations not playing while vaulting.
Fixed an issue preventing the correct crosshair from being displayed after holstering a sidearm.
Fixed an issue with Shirt (Plaid) icon not matching the in-game asset.
Fixed a bug which prevented footsteps from being heard while walking over mud or water while wearing Harley Quinn Daddy's Lil' Monster Outfit
Rocket League has issued a patch removing loot boxes in two countries, in order to abide by local laws forbidding the practice. With the 1.61 patch, players in both Belgium and the Netherlands are no longer able to open crates with earned keys "due to government regulations."
Last year in response to concerns raised by games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, both countries declared that loot boxes constitute gambling and are therefore illegal. The governments of the countries determined that the practice could entice minors to gamble. In January, EA removed FIFA Points in Belgium for the same reason.
Some countries have outlawed the practice, but it's far from settled across the board. New Zealand and France have both determined that loot boxes are not gambling, and investigations are still ongoing in the United States and Australia. That has left the practice inconsistent, as in the case of Rocket League and FIFA, where developers allow the microtransactions in some countries but not others.
Last year, the ESRB responded to the growing concerns by announcing new labeling tools to more clearly identify games with loot boxes and similar microtransaction schemes.
News of an all-digital Xbox One S leaked earlier this month, and Microsoft officially unveiled the new console Tuesday during an Inside Xbox stream. The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which has no disc drive, will release on May 7, and you'll be able to pick it up for $250 (£200) --about $50 cheaper than the standard Xbox One S at full price.
The digital Xbox One S comes pre-installed with three games developed by Microsoft--Minecraft, Forza Horizon 3, and Sea of Thieves. The new console is identical in functionality to the regular Xbox One S--the only difference is the lack of a disc drive, so there's no ability to play game discs, DVDs, and other disc-based media. The digital Xbox One S will still be able to play 4K content from Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming sites.
If you're excited to pick it up on Day 1, save yourself some time and pre-order the new console today. The following retailers have opened pre-orders for the new Xbox One S:
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition has been a long time coming; Microsoft has reportedly wanted to launch an all-digital console since 2013. Some gamers still prefer to own a physical disc--and the other Xbox One consoles still exist to serve this audience--but this new console is aimed at those who are ready to go completely digital and want a (slightly) cheaper option. "The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition was created for those who prefer to find and play their games digitally and are looking for the most affordable way to play Xbox games," said Xbox executive Jeff Gattis.
Timed perfectly with the release of the digital Xbox One S is a promotion for Xbox Game Pass, the subscription service that grants unlimited access to more than 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 digital games. Microsoft is currently offering three months of Xbox Game Pass for just $1, and that deal will be available until May 13 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET / 7 AM GMT / 5 PM AET.
Following Disney's recent purchase of Fox's entertainment assets, the future of the X-Men on the big screen remains unclear. But the current version of the mutant superhero team will get at least one more cinematic outing, with Dark Phoenix releasing in June. The final trailer has now been released.
The latest trailer lays out the story of the new movie. On a mission to rescue a stranded space shuttle, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is hit by some weird space matter, transforming her into a powerful villain that her former X-friends must stop. Check it out above.
Dark Phoenix sees the return of all the main characters from the past few X-Men movies, including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Tye Sheridan, Olivia Munn, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-Mcphee. It also features Jessica Chastain in a villainous role and is directed by Simon Kinberg, who will make his directing debut after years as a writer and producer on X-Men movies. It releases on June 7.
There is technically another X-Men movie to come, but it's unknown when we might see it. New Mutants was shot back in early 2017, but has been delayed numerous times since. It's currently scheduled for an August release, but last month star Maisie Williams revealed that planned reshoots were yet to take place and that she had no idea when the film was coming out. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The New Mutants could be released straight to the upcoming streaming service Disney+, but the studio has not commented on this.
The X-Men are now under the Disney banner, as are the Fantastic Four. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is now in control of these properties and it is thought that they will eventually be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Netflix's The Witcher series has been slated for 2019, but now the company has considerably narrowed its release window down to a few months. The company announced in a letter to investors that the show will premiere in the last three months of the year.
The show, adapted from the popular novels turned video game series, stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. It's currently in production in Hungary. The setting lends itself to snowy landscapes, even to the point that Cavill had to trek through some powder to hit the gym while preparing for the role. The most recent game in the series, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was often marketed with a distinctly snowy look as well, and so the now apparent winter launch for the series makes sense.
The show is also set to star Freya Allan (Into the Badlands) as Ciri and Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Yennifer, two notable names from the series. The showrunner is Lauren S. Hissrich, known from the Netflix series Daredevil and the recently released Umbrella Academy.
Cavill's first screen test footage showed him donning Geralt's iconic silver mane. Hissrich has said the actor most known for his role as Superman in recent DC universe films was perfect for the role, because he understands Geralt on a deep level. He had spoken openly about his desire to play Geralt, apparently based on his love for The Witcher 3.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey already borrowed some mythical beasts and other iconography for the main campaign, but it's preparing to double down with much more with the release of its second major story expansion. The Fate of Atlantis DLC will come in three parts, and the first one is set to drop on April 23. The second and third episodes, called Torment of Hades and Judgement of Atlantis respectively, are both due in mid-2019.
This first episode is titled Fields of Elysium, and will take place in the Greek afterlife. You'll journey to Elysium itself, interact with Greek gods, and battle mythical beasts. The trailer even shows a glimpse of Cerberus. Notably, the advanced beings who have been steering major events in the Assassin's Creed series have shared names with the Greek gods, so this could shed more light on the larger story running throughout the series. Plus, of course, you can get new pieces of legendary loot.
The Fate of Atlantis will also introduce new Ability enhancements, letting you modify your existing abilities for a more customized playstyle. This first episode will start with Ares Bull Charge, Might of Artemis, Kronos Time Warp, and Ares Madness--all abilities named after the pantheon of gods.
If you've already played the main game, you'll need to have completed the Between New Worlds and the Heir of Memories quest lines, with a character at level 28 or above, to access the DLC. If you'd rather just skip straight to the new story, you can use a shortcut to Fate of Atlantis and start at level 52 with preset Abilities. But if you use that option, you won't be able to carry your progress to the main game or obtain achievements.
This trilogy of episodes is the second large-scale expansion for Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The first one, Legacy of the First Blade, caused some controversy, prompting an apology and some changes from Ubisoft. Alongside Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered and Liberation Remastered, these two episodes compose the full season pass, which is available for $40. The Fate of Atlantis story arc by itself can be purchased for $25.
The expansive post-launch support for Odyssey is part of Ubisoft's plan to make the series act more like its live games, with long tails and regularly updated events. That means no new Assassin's Creed is planned for 2019, but the next game reportedly set during the Viking Age is likely aiming for 2020. That one is said to be code-named Assassin's Creed Kingdom, which may not be the final title.
Overwatch is currently free-to-play to celebrate the start of its latest limited-time Archives event, Storm Rising. If you don't already own the shooter, you can try it for free on PC, PS4, or Xbox One from now through April 23.
The free trial includes every hero, including the new medic character Baptiste, along with all 27 maps. Blizzard says you'll be able to "level up, earn Loot Boxes, unlock a variety of different customization options for their heroes, and keep any progress made during the trial when they then purchase the game on the same Blizzard or console account."
Conveniently, the full version is on sale until April 29. From the Blizzard Shop you can grab Overwatch's standard PC edition for 24% off or the legendary PC edition for 51% off. Alternatively you can upgrade your standard edition to a legendary edition, which includes some bonus skins, for 78% off the usual price. For console players, the Xbox and PlayStation Stores are discounting the legendary edition to around $20 / £17 / AU $33, while participating retailers have also cut the price of Overwatch's game of the year edition.
This is all to tie in with Storm Rising, Overwatch's latest PvE event. Blizzard's description of the mode states: "The clock is ticking as Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba to head off a stormfront and chase down the Omnic Talon boss Maximilien in the all-new Overwatch Archives replayable mission, Storm Rising."
In addition, the Archives event's previous modes, Uprising and Retribution, are back for a limited time, while more than 160 new cosmetics are available in total. The pair of modes, along with Storm Rising, are available until May 6.
Overwatch's Archives event has returned with a new mode named Storm Rising. The PvE mode sees Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba, and it's live now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Blizzard's description of the mode states: "The clock is ticking as Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy travel to Cuba to head off a stormfront and chase down the Omnic Talon boss Maximilien in the all-new Overwatch Archives replayable mission, Storm Rising."
In addition, the Archives event's previous modes, Uprising and Retribution, are back for a limited time, while more than 160 new cosmetics are available in total. The pair of modes, along with Storm Rising, are available until May 6.
Separate to the limited-time event, Overwatch is currently free-to-play through April 23. The game's "full roster of 30 heroes is playable," Blizzard states, and that includes the latest character, Baptiste. You'll keep your progress if you then decide to purchase the full game, which is on sale for up to 51% off until Monday, April 29.
Fortnite updates continue to arrive, and the latest one, v8.40, adds a new dogfighting Battle Royale mode named Air Royale. You can read more about the new LTM in the patch notes below.
Developer Epic's tease for the mode states: "Pilot the X-4 Stormwing in this Limited-Time Mode as you fight to become the last plane flying! Complete free Challenges to unlock brand new Wraps as you rule the skies." It's a Duos-only mode in which each plane starts with three lives. Touching the ground will take one life from you, but you can gain more by hijacking other players' jets. In an interesting twist, the storm slowly closes in from above, meaning you'll need to keep an eye on your altitude as battles progress.
A second LTM is also introduced in this update. It's a variant of an old mode, Food Fight, this time dubbed Deep Fried, which features higher restaurant bases, meaning teams must build up to them to protect their mascots.
Elsewhere in the 8.40 update, the infantry rifle has gained new Epic and Legendary rarities, which each deal 42/44 damage and can be found in floor loot, chests, supply drops, and vending machines. Finally, in the update's most important change, you can now pet the dog. Good boy.
Epic Games continues to expand its battle royale phenomenon, with another big update coming just last week. That 8.30 patch brought Apex Legends-style Reboot Vans and nerfed The Baller, much to every hamster's dismay. You can read the full list of battle royale patch notes for version 8.40 below, via Epic Games, or read the changes for the Save the World and Creative modes on the developer's website.
Climb aboard a plane and take to the skies in this fast-paced mode where players fight to be the last one flying!
Mode Details
Air Royale is lifting off as a Duos-only mode.
Each plane has 3 lives, players will respawn until they lose their plane's last life.
Touching the ground will instantly eliminate players.
Parking a plane on the ground for more than a few seconds will cause it to explode - stay airborne!
Hijacking another team's plane will add that plane to your existing number of plane lives (and cost the team who lost the plane a life).
The storm has a ceiling that gradually lowers during the match. Be careful not to fly too high late in the match!
Loot chests of five different rarities will fall from the sky, allowing players to upgrade the guns they are carrying as well as boosting their plane's weapons for a short time.
To receive the contents of a Chest, simply fly through it.
If players receive loot from a Chest containing a weapon they already have that's of the same or worse quality, they'll receive additional ammo.
Chests with higher quality guns will automatically replace the lower quality weapon that's being carried.
Floating repair kits can also be found, these heal damaged planes and grant health & shields to players.
LTM: Food Fight--Deep Fried
Summary
Two teams on either side of the map. A huge barrier down the middle. Lava steadily rising up from below. Build a fort to protect your restaurant mascot. When the Barrier lowers, destroy the enemy's mascot and then eliminate the remaining enemies to win the match!
Mode Details
An impassable barrier will be spawned along the center of the map for the first several minutes. Lava starts rising from beneath the map a few minutes into the match.
Each team will have an under-construction restaurant near the center of the map. Inside is a giant mascot head representing that team.
If the mascot head is destroyed, that team loses the ability to respawn when eliminated.
Players should use the time that the barrier is up to construct a defensive fortress around their restaurant.
As soon as the barrier lowers, fight to take out their mascot before they destroy yours!
Special red supply drops spawn at match start. These hold a handful of weapons, ammo, consumables, traps and a few hundred metal building materials.
Players will respawn when eliminated, keeping their inventory & dropping some ammo and resources.
100 percent extra resources are gained from farming.
Building resources found on the ground increased from 30 to 50 per instance.
No explosive weapons or items are in this mode.
A small amount of free building materials are granted to each player every second.
The restaurants are now much higher, requiring players to build up to them.
May the best food win!
Weapons And Items
Egg Launcher
Everyone's favorite egg-themed Grenade Launcher skin is back!
This is a visual only change for the Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Rifle
Added Epic and Legendary Infantry Rifle variants.
Deals 42/44 damage.
Can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops and Vending Machines.
Uses Medium Ammo.
Gameplay
You can now pet the dog... and other Pets!
The Battle Pass Friend XP Bonus has been upgraded!
Instead of giving a small XP boost to each friend in your party, you now get a larger XP boost for partying with one or more friends.
The overall total XP Bonus remains the same (120%) and will now be much easier to keep active
In short, play any match with any number of friends and you'll be getting the same amount of XP as someone who's been playing with a full squad of Battle-Pass-owning friends.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the Season 8 trailer wouldn't play in some cases.
Fixed an issue where the embers from environmental Campfires would linger if the floor they were attached to was destroyed.
Fixed issue where Coconuts could not be pinged.
Fixed an issue where turbo building could stop if you ran out of the current type of material you were using.
Fixed an issue with Traps being be placed inside walls, making them difficult to see.
Fixed an issue with Traps being placed inconsistently when auto-placed.
Fixed 'Emotes' not playing when bound to specific keys.
Fixed an issue when using 'Replay Last Emote' before using any other emote, so it now plays the emote in the default slot.
Competitive
New Tournament - April 20 & 21: Fortnite World Cup Online Open Week 2 ($1,000,000 total prize pool!)
Participation in this event requires both players to have reached Champion League in Arena.
Region Lock is in effect - players may only participate in the qualifier for a single server region each week of the Online Opens. The server region of the first match entered for that weekend's tournament will be the one the player will be locked into for that entire weekend.
Format:
April 20 - Round One: All Eligible Players.
April 21 - Round Two: Top 1500 Teams from Round One.
Added Fortnite World Cup Qualifier slots onto the prize breakout for Online Open tournaments.
Visual improvements for Lobby panel during Online Open tournaments.
Updated how Anonymous Mode works in tournaments to provide an improved experience for stream viewers while still protecting streamers.
When a player is eliminated, their name will be shown in the elimination feed.
When a player eliminates an opponent, their name will be shown to the eliminated player only.
Maximum Screen Aspect Ratio can no longer be greater than 16:9.
Performance
Resolved a performance regression occurring on PCs with less than quad-core CPUs.
If you're still experiencing performance issues on PC, try manually adding the "NoRHIThread" to the Epic Games Launcher settings for Fortnite.
Art And Animation
Increased the size and intensity of the Boom Bow explosion effects to better represent the damage radius.
Audio
Adjusted the attenuation of the Reboot Van cooldown and Reboot Chip ambient looping audio, so that it's not as loud.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that would cause the Shotgun equip sounds to occasionally not play.
UI
Mimic! When bringing up your emote wheel there's now an option that appears if you're looking at another player doing an emote you own, to allow you to play the same emote.
When hiding HUD elements in the options, some of them now collapse to free up the space they were taking up - the minimap for example.
There's now a HUD UI option to hide the vehicle control hints.
Bug Fixes
The Limited Time Mode Victory screen is no longer pushed out of place on mobile/Switch.
Replay
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where drone speed was not saved when scrubbing
Fixed an issue where scrubbing a replay while in Drone Attach mode would result in the camera being left behind.
Mobile
Updated the Baller controls on default and custom HUDs.
Baller controls are available to be adjusted in the HUD Layout Tool for custom HUD players.
Audiovisual shot indicators will no longer display for players in the same vehicle.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue with the Android app icon being incorrectly displayed.
Fixed an issue with Voice Chat while spectating
Push-To-Talk button is also no longer hidden while spectating
Fixed an issue where Auto-run would not activate in vehicles.
Fixed an issue where the Reboot Card description was missing.
Fixed an issue where the Arena overview panel was not displaying.
Fixed an issue with the FPS counter being shown twice.
Fixed an issue where the weapon icon would not display in inventory hot bar sometimes.
Fixed an issue where textures would appear stretched when on a Creative Island.
Fixed an issue that displayed a checkmark icon on certain commands of vehicles.
Fixed an issue where a second storm wall would appear in the desert biome during the first closing period.
Fixed an issue where some chests could not be opened.
Fixed issues where weak wifi halted gameplay and could cause some disconnects.
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