Atari will start accepting pre-sales for its retro-inspired--and still largely mysterious--Atari VCS console on May 30. The company announced today that pre-sales will be handled through Indiegogo, and customers will be able to pre-order both the black Onyx version and the limited wood-front Collector's Edition. The Onyx will start at $200 for a limited time, but no price was given for the CE. Those who sign up for email alerts through the official site by May 24 will get some bonus offers during the pre-sale. Shipments are planned to begin in Spring 2019.
The VCS features some retro throwback functionality, with both an updated version of the joystick and an included vault of more than 100 classic games. However, Atari is careful to note it isn't strictly a "retro-box" and says that it will also feature functionality for a more modern controller, and the box itself will play more modern games and streaming content.
This comes after Atari pushed back the planned launch of the Indiegogo pre-sale from December, saying that a "key element" was still missing. The new announcement doesn't detail just what that was, but it seems the company is ready to proceed now.
"We continue moving forward on the Atari VCS project and are excited to see this pre-sale kickoff and to share more updates with our fans as we look toward the first shipments," said COO Michael Arzt. "We are building outstanding teams and forging alliances that will make this product great and truly worthy of the Atari VCS name. Expert hardware partners are helping make this project possible and we couldn't be more pleased with their contributions."
There was a lot of information packed into the second episode of Westworld Season 2, "Reunion." Whether it was the revelation that Dolores has been outside of the park before or Logan and William's first introduction to the possibilities the technology used to bring Westworld to life held, there was plenty to be learned throughout this installment. However, there was also one very interesting resolution to a Season 1 mystery you may have missed.
It was halfway through the pilot episode of Westworld when Peter Abernathy, the father of Dolores, found a photo of a woman in modern-day Times Square buried in the dirt on his ranch. That discovery, which wasn't explained beyond this episode, threw Peter out of his loop and eventually led to him being replaced. Now, well over a year later, the series has revisited the mystery woman.
As it turns out, the person in question is none other than William's wife, who was introduced for the first time in "Reunion." That's a very interesting development, given that the photo used was a stock photograph from Getty Images. The model in the photo, America's Next Top Model alum Claire Unabia, told The Huffington Post in 2016 that she was surprised to find out her image was used on the series: "Someone did ask if my picture may have been used for a TV show but I did not know what they were talking about so I just said it was possible," she said at the time.
However, now Unabia has returned as William's wife Juliet. It begs the question of whether this was all a set up from the beginning. While it's possible the show decided to bring her back after the pilot was filmed and aired, Westworld is also seemingly a show that knows exactly where it's going. It is unlikely that the photo was used with no intention of revisiting that particular piece of the story again.
The photographer behind the piece, Erik Von Weber, has well over a thousand photos on Getty Images, featuring a wide range of subjects. In some, he's actually taken pictures of a man in a samurai costume with a helmet practically identical to one seen in in the quick glimpses of Shogunworld.
Whatever the case, solving the mystery of who is in that Times Square photo of opens the door to several more questions: How did it get there? While it's possible the Man in Black dropped it on one of his dastardly Sweetwater adventures, how did it end up in the particular spot, and why was it now that Peter's loop allowed for him to find it? And why could he see it when Dolores couldn't?
This is exactly why fans tune into Westworld, so it's good to know the show hasn't lost its way.
Bandai Namco has inadvertently revealed the next DLC character for Dragon Ball FighterZ. Shortly after the publisher officially announced Fused Zamasu, the official Bandai Namco Taiwan Facebook page (via Siliconera) shared a trailer for another fused warrior who will be joining the roster: Vegito.
The trailer, which you can watch below, has since been removed from Bandai Namco's Facebook page, but not before fans could upload copies of it to YouTube. Vegito is the resulting fusion of Goku and Vegeta, and he naturally boasts characteristics of the two Saiyans. Like Vegeta, he's a brash and confident warrior, which comes across in his moveset; in the trailer, you can see him throwing kicks while his arms are casually crossed.
Just as in the Dragon Ball Super series, Vegito battles in his Super Saiyan Blue form. He can also use some of Goku and Vegeta's moves. The trailer ends with a brief glimpse at his special, the Final Kamehameha--a combination of Vegeta's Final Flash and Goku's signature attack.
Bandai Namco hasn't announced pricing and release details for Vegito yet, but as was the case with the first two Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC characters, he'll presumably be released alongside Fused Zamasu. The latter was officially unveiled last week and is the fused form of Goku Black and Zamasu, the evil Supreme Kai from Universe 10. Bandai Namco recently showcased Fused Zamasu in his own trailer.
Vegito will be included as part of the Dragon Ball FighterZ season pass, which runs for $35 US / £22 / $40.95 AU and gives players access to a total of eight DLC characters upon their release. The first two, Broly and Bardock, arrived back in March and could also be purchased individually for $5 US / £4 / $7.55 AU each.
We're in Golden Week right now, a week when a number of Japanese holidays just happen to be bunched together on the calendar. To celebrate, Square Enix has dropped prices on a number of PC games, notably on many entries in the Final Fantasy series. (Sony is doing a Golden Week PS4 sale as well). Below are the standouts from Square Enix's sale, but you can find the full list here.
To start with, you can get Mini Ninjas for free. To take advantage of this offer, just add it to your cart and use promo code MINININJAS at checkout. From GameSpot's Mini Ninjas review: "This action adventure is low on gruesome assassinations and high on lighthearted fun, but that doesn't mean fans of stealth-kill simulators, or anyone else for that matter, should skip over it."
Just about every Final Fantasy game available on PC right now is currently available for half off. Core installments III - VI are $8, while the later games range from $6 to $10 each. Those are great prices on some of the best RPGs in history--even if you don't prefer the art style changes Square Enix made to some of the games.
In non-Final Fantasy news, Dragon Quest Heroes and its sequel are also on sale for between $20 and $30, and a handful of other more niche titles are on sale as well.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 3 is coming to an end. Epic Games announced Season 4 will start Tuesday, May 1, and that means today, April 30, is Battle Pass owners' last chance to complete Season 3 challenges and reap the rewards.
Season 3 was made up of 10 weeks of challenges, ranging from blowing up opponents to finding llamas and hidden gnomes. While new challenges were revealed every seven days, you can still go back and complete previous weeks' challenges, meaning there are tons of opportunities and rewards available right now that will disappear tomorrow. In order to play, you need a Battle Pass, which can be bought in-game for 950 V-Bucks.
Of course, with Season 3 ending it means Season 4's surprises are right around the corner. Season 4 is set to begin on May 1, and presumably, we'll learn all about the game's Battle Pass and its latest skins available then. Epic Games has been teasing on Twitter that Season 4 may be superhero-themed and related to the small meteors that have been hitting the island. The latest Twitter tease features the words "brace for impact," suggesting the big meteor strike could hit and bring these superhero characters with it.
If you're hoping to make the most of the last few hours of Season 3, which is set to end at 12:30 AM PT / 3:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM BST on May 1, be sure to check out our full guide to its challenges and rewards. If you're new Fortnite, you'll want to begin by reading our 13 useful tips for starting players. For the latest news and updates on Season 4 as soon as it goes live, follow GameSpot's full Fortnite coverage.
Update: Somehow, Avengers: Infinity War smashed its own record. Though it was previously believed to have the biggest opening weekend of all time with an estimated $250 million dollars domestically, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe venture actually made considerably more. According to Entertainment Weekly, Infinity War actually grossed an estimated $258.2 million over the weekend. Adding that to the $282.7 million in ticket sales internationally puts the film at $640.9 million in its first few days alone--well over halfway to a billion dollars. There's clearly no stopping Thanos and the Avengers. Original story continues below.
Avengers: Infinity War is the new record-holder at the domestic box office. The movie is expected to make $250 million by the end of Sunday in the US and Canada, which would be a new first-weekend record, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million). It's made $380 million from overseas markets for a total of $630 million worldwide. That's the biggest global first-weekend in the history of film.
Previously, The Fate of the Furious held the record with $541.9 million. According to EW, Infinity War cost around $300 million to make.
Infinity War's box office performance stands to improve further still, as the superhero movie has not yet opened in China--the world's second-largest area for movies.
One other staggering number made possible by Infinity War is $15.4 billion. That's how much money the 19 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have made since 2008's Iron Man.
GameSpot's Infinity War review said, "Marvel has accomplished something truly incredible here, although at this point it's no more than the absurdly high-quality bar Marvel fans have come to expect. It's been a long road getting here, but it was worth it."
Rounding out the top five at the domestic box office this weekend were A Quiet Place, I Feel Pretty, Rampage, and Black Panther. You can see the full projections for the April 27-29 weekend below, as rounded up and compiled by EW.
May is right around the corner, which makes today the last opportunity to grab April's free PlayStation Plus games while they're still available. PS Plus subscribers have a few more hours to download this month's batch of free titles for PS4, PS3, and Vita before they return to their regular prices and are replaced by a new round of freebies.
As usual, April's PS Plus lineup consists of six games spread across all three of Sony's platforms. Headlining PS4's offerings is the arcade racer TrackMania Turbo, which is also compatible with PSVR. It's joined by Mad Max, an open-world car combat game based on the film series of the same name.
On PS3, subscribers can still download the colorful racer Toy Home and the top-down twin-stick shooter In Space We Brawl. Vita owners, meanwhile, can grab the side-scrolling brawler 99Vidas and the Q-Bert: Rebooted. The latter three titles are also available on PS4 via Cross Buy, giving PS4 owners a total of five potential freebies to claim this month. You can find the full list of April's free PS Plus titles below.
Any free PS Plus titles you've download will remain playable as long as you have an active subscription. However, this will be the last year that Sony offers PS3 and Vita titles as part of the service. Beginning March 8, 2019, each new monthly batch of PS Plus games will only consist of two titles for PS4.
The Xbox One X is the most powerful game console on the market right now. It can push 4K graphics, run games at impressive frame rates, and play 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. But all that power comes at a price--$500, to be exact. Thanks to a promotion running today only at Best Buy, you can get more than just an Xbox One X for your $500--you can also get three games for free.
Two of the games come with the deal automatically, so you don't get to choose them. They're Destiny 2 and Madden NFL 18, both of which are Xbox One X-enhanced and received high marks in their GameSpot reviews. Fortunately, you do get to pick the third game from a selection of other Xbox One X-enhanced games.
To take advantage of the deal, first visit the sale page and click "Add to Cart" on the 1TB Xbox One X console. That puts the console in your cart, along with a physical copy of Destiny 2 and a download code for Madden NFL 18. Next, select your choice of game from the list. You can choose from recent hits like Sea of Thieves, Monster Hunter World, and Far Cry 5, or any qualifying Xbox One X-enhanced game.
In GameSpot's Xbox One X review, Jimmy Thang wrote, "While the Xbox One X is an expensive box, from a hardware standpoint, you're getting a very powerful and capable machine. You'll be hard pressed to build a comparably powerful PC for $500. On top of that, you get a 4K HDR Blu-ray player, which can cost several hundred dollars on its own."
And if you need some help deciding which model of Xbox One is right for you, the review offers various scenarios and advice.
"Should you get an Xbox One X? That answer should largely depend on whether you'd be happy with the console's library of games. You can check out a list of all the Xbox One X-enhanced games here. If you're happy with the lineup and are thinking about jumping in, allow me to outline three different scenarios for you. If you game on a 1080p TV and don't have any plans to upgrade to a 4K one, the Xbox One S is going to be a better fit for you. While you will get some graphical enhancements with the X, you don't really get your money's worth if you don't have a 4K HDR TV. But what if you already own a 4K HDR TV and an Xbox One? In this case, I'd only recommend getting the X if you have the disposable cash to spare for the increased visual fidelity and performance benefits. If you have a 4K HDR TV, don't have a current gen console, and are looking to purchase one, however, the Xbox One X is a great choice."
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
The men's football World Cup starts this June, and fans of the beautiful game now have an official video game to get themselves warmed up for the biggest sporting tournament in the world. EA has revealed its World Cup expansion for FIFA 18, and it's coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on May 29.
For the first time, EA has opted to not release a standalone World Cup game and will instead release a free update for its most recent yearly soccer game, FIFA 18. The expansion includes all 32 teams competing in the tournament this summer, along with all 12 Russian host stadiums, official team kits and badges, and more.
Online Friendlies and Tournaments will be playable within the World Cup expansion, while Custom Tournaments will allow you to create fantasy versions of the finals where other teams qualify--helpful if you want to imagine teams such as Italy, the Netherlands, and USA did manage to get to Russia after all.
Ultimate Team, meanwhile, will receive special World Cup cards--including World Cup Icons--and a revamp to Chemistry that sees players benefit from playing alongside players from the same nation or confederation. FIFA Mobile will also get a limited-time World Cup update from June 6, though EA hasn't said much else about the smartphone version as yet.
Being an expansion, the update is built upon the core of the FIFA 18 base game. We awarded that game a 7/10 in our FIFA 18 review. "It's off the pitch that EA excels," we said. "From the variety of game modes on offer and how everything's presented, to the constant updates in FUT's Team of the Week, Daily Objectives, and discussion of real-world happenings in commentary, FIFA 18 captures the world of football and confidently translates it into a video game. On the pitch, however, EA's soccer series is still lagging far behind PES 2018's more fluid, satisfying football. This year's improvements are welcome, but more needs to be done in the coming years if FIFA is to be a world-beater once again."
Season 3 of Fortnite: Battle Royale wraps up this week, and it'll be followed immediately after by the start of Season 4. Epic Games has teased that it might be superhero-themed and tied to the ongoing meteor happenings, but it appears to be finally set to reveal the full details on Tuesday, May 1, alongside its launch.
Recent days have seen Epic continue to update a single piece of Season 4 artwork to feature additional superhero-looking characters. There are now a total of four who we've gotten a look at, while a newer piece of art (below) showcases the silhouettes of all four. Like Epic's other teases, it features the words "brace for impact," and the image suggests the long-awaited meteor crash will happen and bring with it these characters.
Small meteors recently began to hit the island, although nothing of any significance has come of that yet. It looks as if the big meteor was meant as a setup for Season 4, which is expected to bring another Battle Pass, complete with weekly challenges and new skins and other cosmetic rewards.
Epic still has provided very little official information about what to expect from Season 4, including what the Battle Pass will cost. Prior ones have only been purchasable for 950 V-Bucks, a premium in-game currency. Plans to sell Season 3's Battle Pass directly for real-world money were scrapped just before it debuted. That was viewed as less than ideal because it meant you could have to purchase more V-Bucks than are needed for the Battle Pass. On the bright side, you could use the small number of V-Bucks that can be earned by playing to put toward the Battle Pass's cost.
With Tuesday marking the end of Season 3, that makes this your last opportunity to complete Season 3's weekly challenges. If you own the Battle Pass, you'll want to crank out as many as you can to earn this season's rewards while they're still available.
Texas Frightmare Weekend is one of the most popular horror movie events on the calendar, and this year's convention will be the biggest one yet. The event is now in its thirteenth year, and fans attending the convention in Dallas-Fort Worth can enjoy two big classic horror movie cast reunions, as well as buy some fantastic new posters from poster specialists Mondo.
The casts of the '80s favorites Hellraiser and Child's Play will be getting together to introduce and discuss those much-loved movies. In addition, the new Mondo posters feature such classic films as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Big Trouble in Little China, A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Nightbreed, and Child's Play 2. They will be available exclusively when doors of Texas Frightmare officially open at 6 PM on Friday, May 4, and any remaining posters will go on sale online after the convention. Check all the posters out exclusively below, with full details of the artists and how many will be available at the end of this story.
These two special screenings will kick off Texas Frightmare on Thursday, May 3. The Child's Play 30th anniversary screening includes actors Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, and Catherine Hicks, plus VFX expert Kevin Yagher, in person for a special post-movie Q&A. Hellraiser, meanwhile, screens later that night and will feature the reunion of the actors who play the movie's terrifying Cenobites, namely Doug Bradley, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince, and Barbie Wilde. Get your tickets for Child's Play here and Hellraiser here.
The convention itself takes place at the Hyatt Regency DFW Airport, but these cast reunion screenings are happening at the Alamo Drafthouse Las Colinas, which is the latest addition to the Drafthouse family of theaters. The specific location of the theater has an extra horror link too, as it is located on John Carpenter Freeway. Although the road is named after a Texas businessman, rather than the revered horror director, the theater's creative team realized that this was too good an opportunity to pass up.
As a result, the theater has an interchangeable photo opp wall that features various homages to some of Carpenter's most iconic films, such as Halloween and The Thing. There's also a complete Carpenter-themed Mondo poster gallery lining the various hallways of the theater. Check out the image below:
It is the final day of April, and that means now is your very last chance to pick up some of the month's free Games With Gold titles on Xbox One and Xbox 360. Today is the final day to grab Braid creator Jonathan Blow's intriguing and beautiful puzzle game The Witness for the low, low price of $0.
On Xbox 360, this is your last chance to pay nothing for Dead Space 2, which plays on Xbox One through backwards compatibility. Ubisoft's stealthy stabby game Assassin's Creed Syndicate will stay free on Xbox One through May 15, but you might as well grab it now so you don't forget to.
Starting on May 1, a new set of Games With Gold freebies will become available, including Super Mega Baseball 2 for Xbox One and Streets of Rage on Xbox 360. What's notable about Super Mega Baseball 2 is that May 1 is the game's release date, so it's launching for free. Additionally, Streets of Rage appears to already be free, and you can get it right here.
Today only, Best Buy is running a flash sale on all kinds of gaming and electronic items. There are some great deals in this promotion, so check it out to see if you can save money on something you've had your eye on.
If you've been planning to pick up an Xbox One X, now is a good time, because you can get three free games with the $500 purchase. Destiny 2 and Madden NFL 18 are the first two, but you can select the third from a long list of recent big games like Far Cry 5, Call of Duty: WWII, and Sea of Thieves.
Perhaps you'd rather get on board with Nintendo's latest console. In that case, if you buy a Nintendo Switch and a memory card, you'll get $50 off the memory card, plus a free copy of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. And if that's not enough, they're even throwing in a travel dock and a Super Mario Odyssey skin and protector for your Switch (valued at $60). That's a lot of savings.
And if you're more into the PC gaming world, you may be on the lookout for a new graphics card. Best Buy has a selection of graphics cards on sale today only for up to $200 off. But not everyone feels comfortable tinkering with their PC's insides. In that case, you can get a 15.6" Dell Inspiron gaming laptop for $600. It comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card and plenty of hard drive space. Or you can buy a gaming-ready desktop PC with this Dell Inspiron for $850.
Apple products of all kinds are also on sale today at Best Buy. The latest 128GB iPad is on sale for $330, or $100 off its sticker price. You can also save $40 on an Apple Watch. If you're in the market for a MacBook, now's a good time to buy, because you can save up to $500. And if you're a student, you get an extra $50 off. If you don't need the portability of a MacBook, you can save $200 on an iMac.
May is coming, and Microsoft has let slip the Games with Gold offerings for the month a bit early this time. As always, next month will bring four new games free for Xbox Live Gold members--two on Xbox One and two on Xbox 360. The first will be coming on Tuesday, May 1.
First on Xbox One, you can ring in America's past-time with Super Mega Baseball 2. That will be free throughout the entire month. Then, starting on May 16, Xbox One will also receive Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, the last game in the series helmed by creator Hideo Kojima.
The first half of May will also deliver Streets of Rage as part of the Sega Vintage collection. In the second half, it will be swapped out for Vanquish, the fast-action sliding cover shooter. Both of these can be claimed on Xbox One, where they're playable through backwards compatibility.
Make sure you pick up April's offerings before they get rotated out as well. Those include The Witness, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Dead Space 2. Check out the schedule of May's releases below.
May 2018 Games With Gold
Xbox One
Super Mega Baseball 2 (May 1-31)
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (May 16-June 15)
Amazon and Twitch are on a role these days, giving away tons of digital goodies to Twitch users with Amazon Prime memberships. Not only do you get five free games this month and free Fortnite goodies, but you can also grab some free Heroes of the Storm loot as well.
Each month between now and July 2, Twitch Prime members will receive free in-game rewards. Available from now until May 1, Twitch Prime members can grab one Legendary Loot Chest that's guaranteed to contain at least one Legendary item. During the month of May, the giveaway is a new Glitch-steed mount and five Rare Loot Chests, which are guaranteed to contain at least one Rare item. And from May 31 to July 2, players will receive five Rare Loot Chests.
Loot Chests in Heroes of the Storm contain things like heroes, sprays, skins, voice lines, banners, and announcers. These freebies for Twitch Prime members sound like a great way to build up a stockpile of digital loot without paying a cent.
To snag the free items each month, first make sure to link your Amazon Prime account with your Twitch account. Then link your Twitch account to your Blizzard account. Once you've jumped through those hoops, it's time to claim your rewards. Head to Twitch and click the crown-shaped Prime Loot icon next to the search bar. There, you'll find your items waiting for you.
Heroes of the Storm is a popular free-to-play MOBA that pits two teams of five Blizzard heroes against each another. Your primary goal during each relatively short match is to destroy your opponent's base. In GameSpot's Heroes of the Storm review, Tyler Hicks gave the game a 9/10, calling it "a must-play for both MOBA players and Blizzard enthusiasts... [It's] a fantastic casual-competitive game that offers untold hours of enjoyment."
You can now dress up like everyone's favorite paranormal mercenary thanks to a new Monster Hunter World event. The latest in Capcom's cross-promotional quests lets you play as Dante, if you're able to grind out enough materials from a relatively tough battle on PS4 and Xbox One.
The official Twitter account announced the new events. Dante is tied to the "Code: Red" event, a rank 14 Arena quest that has you slaying Anjanath, Odogaron, Rathalos, Teostra. Beating them all will net you Red Orbs, a special material used to craft Dante's equipment. Each individual piece of armor needs one Red Orb, and his signature Devil Sword needs two, so you'll need seven in all to get the full look. The full armor set is called Dante α, and his sword is a Charge Blade. The event quest will be available until May 10 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET.
A new Fortnite challenges update has arrived, unlocking Week 10 objectives for Battle Pass owners on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile. This is the final week of Season 3, and it introduces a new element--floating rings to skydive through--along with a search for an object between a stone circle, wooden bridge, and red RV that may prove difficult for some.
As always, there is a total of seven challenges in all. Some of these are things you'd do anyway; one of the hard objectives is to eliminate 10 opponents. You may be best off doing that in the Solo playlist, where you don't have to worry about revives or teammates taking your kills. You may want to head to Pleasant Park to do that, as another hard objective asks for three eliminations in Pleasant Park; complete each of those for 10 Battle Stars.
The trickiest of Week 10's challenges is the aforementioned "search between" one. Like those in the past, this simply requires you to reach a location between three vaguely described objects and pick up an item. Unless you're especially familiar with the map, you may not know the location based on he name--the game tells you to search between a Stone Circle, Wooden Bridge, and a Red RV. This is just southeast of Tomato Town, near the southwestern edge of Wailing Woods (in the H4 section, as seen in the map below). You'll find a circle of stones with a log in the middle, and the Battle Star to collect will be hovering over that.
As for the objective telling you to skydive through floating rings, you'll see these as soon as the Battle Bus begins making its way across the island. There are purple ones at higher elevations and blue ones closer to the ground. You'll need to go through a total of 10, and both the purple and blue rings count for one. This will take multiple matches to complete, as you'll want to try to hit at least two as you jump from the Battle Bus. Despite what the challenge says, you don't specifically have to be skydiving--you can gently make your way through with the glider equipped to ensure you don't miss a ring.
The remainder of the challenges mostly involve spending time in the right places. You'll need to search chests in Fatal Fields, as well as search chests in different named locations. For the latter, just bring up the map and keep track of each place you open a chest. The Fatal Fields chest will count for one, and from there you can make your way to any other area with a name to find a chest. Finally, you'll need to deal a total of 250 headshot damage to enemies. If you're a good sniper, that's going to be your best bet for handling this quickly, but any gun will do.
You can see the full list of Week 10 challenges below, or consult our full list of Season 3 challenges. Week 10 is the final leg of Season 3, and it looks as if things may be coming to a head with Fortnite's meteor and alien theories. But you still have some time to complete these objectives and any you haven't already done--that'll help you to level up your Battle Pass more quickly and earn the skins and rewards currently up for grabs.
Fortnite Week 10 Challenges
Search Chests in Fatal Fields (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal Headshot Damage to opponents (250) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search a Chest in different Named Locations (12) -- 5 Battle Stars
Skydive through floating Rings (10) -- 5 Battle Stars
Hard: Search between a Stone Circle, Wooden Bridge, and a Red RV -- 10 Battle Stars
Hard: Eliminate Opponents (10) -- 10 Battle Stars
Hard: Eliminate Opponents in Pleasant Park (3) -- 10 Battle Stars
With end of the month in sight, Sony has announced the next batch of free games coming for PlayStation Plus members. May will offer up the usual total of six games spread across PS4, PS3, and Vita. Thanks to Cross-Buy, you'll get up to three games on each platform.
As always, the most notably of the bunch come on PS4. With Detroit: Become Human's release approaching, developer Quantic Dream's previous game, Beyond: Two Souls, will be available for free. This was originally developed for PS3 before later being ported to PS4. Alongside it, Ubisoft's gorgeous platformer Rayman Legends will be playable for free.
PS3 owners will also have two games to claim: co-op action arcade game Eat Them and action RPG Risen 3: Titan Lords. Vita rounds out the list with two puzzle games: Furmins and King Oddball. The latter supports Cross Buy on both PS3 and PS4, so both of those consoles will have three games in all to grab.
If you haven't already done so, it's not too late to still claim April's free PS Plus games. Those include Mad Max and Trackmania Turbo on PS4. Adding them to your library will allow you to continue playing for as long as you're a Plus member. They'll be available to grab until Tuesday, May 1, when this new slate of games will replace it.
Frostpunk is a striking game, with a beautiful and haunting aesthetic and a novel premise. The post-apocalyptic city-builder has consequently launched to critical acclaim and, as it turns out, pretty great sales numbers. In less than three full days, Frostpunk has already crossed the 250,000 copies sold milestone.
In an email, developer 11-bit Studios revealed that after only 66 hours, a quarter of a million people purchased the game. These are good first-week numbers for most games, and they are fantastic for a medium-sized independent studio like 11-bit. The developer has already covered development and marketing costs for the game as a result of this early success.
In addition, the studio confirmed that full expansions to Frostpunk are now definitely happening. These will arrive alongside more frequent, free updates to the game. First, though, 11-bit will focus on improving the base game to iron out certain problems. "We plan to polish some rough edges of the original game--you're reporting some issues with difficulty balance, with minor bugs and such," it wrote on Steam. "We want to fix that! We also plan to add more modes and scenarios to the game."
Frostpunk received a 9/10 from GameSpot, with critic Daniel Starkey praising its look as well as the tough decisions it forces you to make. "Frostpunk is among the best overall takes on the survival city builder to date. Its theming and consistency create a powerful narrative through line that binds your actions around the struggle to hold onto humanity in uncertain times. Hope is a qualified good, but you may not always be strong enough (or clever enough) to shelter that flame from the cold."
Beyond a name and an earlier-than-usual release date, we don't know much about 2018's Call of Duty game as of yet. Black Ops 4 is the latest entry in Treyarch's popular sub-series, and based on a new tease, it might be bringing back an aspect of multiplayer that many missed in Call of Duty: WWII.
The Pick 10 system, which provides players with a great deal of control over how they create their class in multiplayer, was missing from last year's Call of Duty game. Without stating anything explicitly, Treyarch posted the tweet below out of the blue, which says it gives a fan post "10/10" along with an image that resembles what you'd expect to see on a Pick 10 screen.
While far from definitive, Treyarch even relates the tweet to its upcoming game, as it mentions that the studio is excited to talk more about Black Ops 4 during May 17's special event. These kinds of posts aren't usually off-the-cuff remarks, so it seems fair to assume that Treyarch is sending some sort of message here.
Pick 10 first showed up in an earlier Treyarch game, Black Ops II, before being included in several subsequent releases. It provides players with 10 points to allocate between various loadout elements--you can take an extra grenade or weapon attachment, but at the cost of a gadget or perk, for instance. It proved popular thanks to the flexibility it allowed for, though WWII abandoned it in favor of a setup centered around more clearly defined classes.
Treyarch and Activision confirmed Black Ops 4 as 2018's Call of Duty game back in March, but they're waiting until the aforementioned event on May 17 to formally share any details. We do know its release date is scheduled for October 12, which is several weeks earlier than new Call of Duty games typically hit.
Sony has released its earnings report for the most recent quarter, which ended on March 31, 2018. This provides us with an updated look at the PlayStation business, which saw another 2.5 million PS4 units sold worldwide during the quarter. That brings lifetime sales of the console to approximately 79 million units, which means the system has now nearly topped the sales total for the PS3, which passed 80 million back in 2013.
Sales for Sony's Game & Network Services division increased 18% to 1,943.8 billion yen for the quarter. The company attributed this in large part to an increase in PS4 software sales, which were up to 52 million units from 50.6 million during the same period last year. That included a major uptick in digital sales, as 43% of games sold were digital, as compared with 37% the year prior. For the full year, 32% of full games were sold digitally.
Sony also made note of an increase in PlayStation Plus subscribers. As of March 31, it has 34.2 million members, up from 26.4 million a year earlier and 20.8 million the year prior. The company announced recently that it will stop offering free monthly PS3 and Vita games as part of the subscription beginning next year.
Image source: Sony IR
For the current fiscal year, which runs through the end of March 2019, Sony said it expects sales for the division to drop about 2%. That's due primarily to a decrease in PS4 sales, which isn't a major surprise given that we're coming up on the console's five-year anniversary. In other words, these earnings provide no indication of an imminent launch for the PS5.
For the full fiscal year, Sony overall saw sales and operating revenue increase 12% year-over-year to 8,554 billion yen. Game & Network Services for the full year also saw an increase to 1,943.8 billion yen, up from 1,649.8 billion yen during the year that ended on March 31, 2017.
The second wave of this month's original Xbox games have arrived on Xbox One. Following this month's earlier additions to the backwards compatible library, 10 more classic Xbox titles are now playable on Microsoft's current-gen console, plus an additional one if you live in Europe.
As usual, if you still own the disc for any of the aforementioned games, you can now pop it into your Xbox One and begin playing. The titles are also available to purchase digitally from the Xbox Store. You can see the full list of this month's original Xbox BC games below.
Microsoft has rolled out the latest system update for Xbox One. This isn't a major one that transforms the basic look and functionality of the system's dashboard, but it does introduce some new features that will be welcomed by those who can take advantage of them.
Many of the additions were either announced previously or were available for those in the Xbox Insiders program, which allows users to test upcoming system features. For instance, AMD FreeSync support is officially implemented for those with compatible displays. This is available on all Xbox One systems, although only Xbox One S and Xbox One X can output HDR with FreeSync 2.
There's also a new Auto Low-Latency mode that can be enabled in the system settings. This lets your console send a message to your display (assuming it supports ALLM) to let it know to enable its Game mode, which will help to reduce input latency.
Xbox One S and Xbox One X gain video output support for 1440p, which should come in handy for those who play on PC monitors. That makes this especially useful for those with FreeSync displays that don't offer 4K.
Mixer streaming integration gets better with this update, as a new Share Controller option has been added. This allows people watching a Mixer stream to be able to take control of the action, either with a virtual controller or by plugging one into their computer. Other Mixer refinements include being able to start a broadcast from anywhere on the system, and better support (both for viewer and streamer) when switching games or viewing the dashboard.
The new update also lets you share screenshots and video clips directly to Twitter from the Guide and switch between light and dark dashboard themes based on the current time. The Narrator feature has been enhanced, and there are new audio balance settings when streaming music while playing games.
A full list of changes can be seen on the official Xbox website. If the update doesn't automatically install for you, you can manually trigger it from the System area of the Settings menu. The update weighs in at about 792 MB.
Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service for Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, is set to enjoy another big month in May. Alongside the standard additions we've come to expect, two different titles will be available through Game Pass on the same day they're released for sale. The company is also offering new subscriptions for just $1.
One of the two new releases is State of Decay 2, which is among Xbox One's bigger exclusives of the year so far. The open-world survival game looks to build on its predecessor with, among other things, new co-op multiplayer. The game will be available on both Xbox One and PC for Game Pass subscribers, and it actually supports cross-platform multiplayer between the two for up to four players. It launches on May 22.
The other game making its debut on Game Pass on its release day is Laser League. It's a new arcade-style multiplayer shooter from Roll7, the developer of the excellent OlliOlli skateboarding games. It's been available in early access on Steam since last year, but it leaves that state and arrives on consoles (both Xbox One and PS4) on May 10. It'll be available for Game Pass owners on Xbox One on that day.
The last of the bunch is a bit of an unusual one--PES 2018, the Pro Evolution Soccer series' most recent entry, will also join the lineup on May 1. Whereas it's understood that third-party Game Pass games aren't necessarily in the library forever, we know exactly when PES 2018 leaves: August 31. That's roughly a few weeks before we'd expect PES 2019 to arrive.
You can check out the full lineup of May additions below, or see what was added in April. While we don't know what the future will bring, we do know that Microsoft's first-party titles will continue to release through Game Pass right on release day, including this year's Crackdown 3.
With the Spring Blossom Fest in the rear view mirror, a major new update for Monster Hunter World has arrived. PS4 and Xbox One players can now take on a new Elder Dragon, Kulve Taroth, and that means there's new gear to get your hands on. Here's how to get the newly added armor and weapons (which are known as Relics).
In order to take on Kulve Taroth, you'll need to be at least Hunter Rank 16. While exploring the world, you'll begin to find new tracks, which belong to Kulve. Find enough, and you can take part in a new type of limited-time quest called a Siege. Everyone in a single game session--up to 16 players--can join together to deal with Kulve. These players are split into groups of four to gather tracks and attack the Elder Dragon, specifically with the aim of breaking off parts. Breaking parts and gathering tracks add to a progress meter for the Siege. The more progress, the better the rewards; Capcom specifically encourages players to try this in a multiplayer session.
As per usual when fighting a monster, this will unlock two new High Rank armor sets at the smithy: Kulve Taroth α and Kulve Taroth β. (There's also a matching Palico armor set and weapon.) Crafting them primarily requires materials you'll obtain through this fight, though you'll also need gems from other Elder Dragons, too. Here are the skills you'll earn by equipping each piece:
Helm: Free Element/Ammo Up and Agitator
Chest: Stun Res and Crit Boost
Arms: Free Element/Ammo Up and Power Prolonger
Waist: Free Element/Ammo Up and Handicraft
Boots: Wide Range and Peak Performance
While the armor and Palico gear side of all this is very simple, weapons are much different. They're handled unlike anything else in the game to date, as you'll receive them as drops at the end of a Siege. The quality depends on your Reward Level, which is dictated by the contributions made by you and your teammates (though you'll receive more from your squadmates). These are referred to as Relics and have randomized stats but otherwise operate as standard weapons, using the models for existing ones.
This first instance of the Kulve Taroth Siege is available from now until May 3 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET (1 AM BST / 10 AM AEST on May 4). The Siege was added as part of a broader 3.0 update, which you can read about in the full 3.0 patch notes.
Earth Day took place on April 22, and Pokemon Go developer Niantic held a special Clean Up event on the holiday to encourage players to go out and pick up refuse around their community. Now that the event is over, Niantic has announced a special bonus that players can get in the game for a limited time. [Update: It's the final day to take advantage of Pokemon Go's Earth Day bonuses, meaning players only have a few more hours to earn triple the usual amount of Stardust for capturing certain types of Pokemon.]
One of the incentives for participating in the Pokemon Go Clean Up event was to unlock bonuses in the game. Depending on how many players took part in the event, the developer would offer a different amount of Stardust for capturing certain types of Pokemon. If 1,500 trainers participated, everyone would get double the usual amount of Stardust; if 3,000 participated, everyone would get triple.
Now that the event has concluded, Niantic has revealed that more than 4,000 players took part in the Clean Up event. As a result, players will earn triple the normal amount of Stardust for capturing Ground-, Water-, and Grass-type Pokemon for the next few days. The bonus was originally slated to last for 48 hours, but since so many players participated in the Clean Up event, Niantic is extending the bonuses until April 30.
The next real-world event scheduled for Pokemon Go is May's Community Day. That takes place during a three-hour window of time on Saturday, May 19, and it likewise offers triple Stardust for capturing Pokemon. Niantic has yet to reveal what exclusive move players will be able to get during the event, but the featured Pokemon this time will be the popular Red and Blue starter Charmander.
In the meantime, players still have a little more time to catch Pokemon Go's current Legendary Pokemon, Latios and Latias. The twin Eon Pokemon are each available in a different region until May 8; Latios can be found in North America, South America, and Africa, while Latias is appearing across Europe and Asia. On May 8, the two Pokemon will trade regions, where they will remain until June 5.
If you're the type who combs through every episode of HBO's Westworld searching for clues to unlock its many mysteries, you'll probably be interested in this. You can download six free Westworld outfits for your Xbox Live avatar. And if you enjoyed Avengers: Infinity Wars after its recent release, you'll probably want to check out this free set of items as well.
Back in Westworld, you can download a technician suit like the ones the workers wear behind the scenes as they tweak the hosts' personalities and fix any damage done to them. You can also download outfits to dress your avatar like Dolores or Teddy, the robotic hosts that have more depth to them than their programming would suggest. Inexplicably, no Maeve or William/Man in Black costumes are available.
But the coolest costume will be instantly recognizable to anyone who's watching the second season. It's a host drone outfit, which means you can make your avatar look like those spooky skeletal wraiths we see in the hidden underground workshop in the season two premier. Dress your avatar in this costume, and you're likely to creep out your friends.
For superhero fans, Marvel is still giving away 12 free Xbox avatar outfits and pieces of gear. You can have your avatar dress as Black Panther or wear the Infinity Gauntlet like it's no big deal. Check those out if you're looking forward to seeing the movie.
We're still expecting an overhaul of the Xbox avatar system to launch sometime soon. A recent leaked video seemed to show new details about what the update will include. Microsoft first unveiled "Avatars 2.0" at E3 2017. The new system is said to offer many more customization options than the current system, which has remained unchanged since Microsoft introduced it on Xbox 360 in 2008.
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Rockstar will release a new Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer on May 2 at 11 AM ET / 8 AM PST / 4 PM GMT. The specific date was confirmed in a tweet from the official Rockstar Games account, which states the video will be available on the Rockstar Games website and YouTube channel. Of course, GameSpot will also have the video for you to watch.
This is the third trailer to be released, with the previous Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer arriving on September 29, 2017. That video teased the game's story, combat, and characters. We got another look at Arthur Morgan, the game's protagonist, as well as the Van der Linde gang. See our full Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer breakdown for more on them.
After multiple delays, Red Dead Redemption 2 will release on October 26, 2018. It will be available for PS4 and Xbox One. Take-Two, the parent company of developer Rockstar Games, has said it is "confident" that the game won't be delayed again.
"The entire focus of this organisation is on delivering the highest quality entertainment experiences of any kind," CEO Strauss Zelnick said during an earnings call held in February. "More often than not, we feel proud that we're able to do that. All of our labels are focused on releasing a title when they reach that apex of effort and perfection. And in this instance, Rockstar Games felt more polish was required, and naturally we are in favour of that decision [to delay Red Dead Redemption 2]. The date of October 26 is set, and I am confident that will be the release date. We are incredibly excited about it."
Fans of Rockstar's open-world western game were given a compelling reason to replay the first Red Dead Redemption when an update for the Xbox 360 version was released for Xbox One X. With this patch, Red Dead Redemption on Xbox One X runs at a higher resolution and features other visual improvements. It's currently the definitive way to play Red Dead Redemption.
Here's some good news for anyone who likes having joy and excitement in their life: Peggle is free to download for PC on Origin. It normally sells for $5, but right now, for a limited time, you can get it to keep and play every day forever. So hurry to the Origin Store to download your copy now.
What's the big deal about Peggle? If you haven't played this marvelous and highly addictive game, it's like a psychedelically-enhanced version of pachinko. You aim and shoot a ball from the top of the screen. The ball bounces and ricochets between colorful pegs on its way to the bottom. Each peg it touches disappears. Clear out all the orange pegs, and you can proceed to the next level.
It's a wonderfully simple setup that combines skill and luck in equal measure. Each new world has its own "teacher" who grants you a limited power that can help you clear pegs in all sorts of creative new ways. Throw in a bunch of optional challenges, and you have a game you can spend many pleasant hours trying to complete.
Whether you've played it before or not, Peggle is always worth a download when it's free. Head over to the Origin Store to add it to your collection before the price goes back up.
We're now well into the new month, and for PlayStation Plus members, that means there are free games to grab if you haven't already done so. While this month's offerings can't live up to last month's killer lineup, players will find plenty of free fun in April.
Leading the pack is the often-overlooked Mad Max, an open-world game about building a destructive car and taking out apocalyptic marauders. In GameSpot's Mad Max review, Peter Brown came away unsatisfied with the ground combat, but thoroughly enjoyed bashing up enemies while behind the wheel of his "Magnum Opus."
The second-biggest game in this month's PS Plus lineup is TrackMania Turbo, which also puts you behind the wheel of a car, but with very different goals from Mad Max. Your job in this arcade racer is to reach the finish line on gravity-defying tracks in as short a time as possible. It's also compatible with PSVR, in case you have a need for speed.
Thanks to PlayStation's Cross Buy functionality, three of the other games also run on PS4. First is In Space We Brawl, a multiplayer twin-stick shooter that also works on PS3. Next is the side-scrolling beat-'em-up 99Vidas, which plays on PS3 and PS Vita as well as PS4. Then there's Q*Bert: Rebooted, which is compatible with all three PlayStation platforms, but unfortunately isn't very good. Finally, PS3 owners get Toy Home, a charming, colorful racing game.
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