Month: March 2019

The Transformers film franchise is in a bit of a predicament now. In the five straight movies about the giant robots that transform into various things led by Michael Bay and his eye for explosions, the movies have grossed millions upon millions of dollars, but critical and audience opinions have gotten worse with nearly every installment. However, Travis Knight’s Bumblebee blew expectations away and gave the franchise its first certified fresh rating. The problem? While Bumblebee was well-liked, the film failed to impress at the box office, ending up as the least grossing film in the series.

Yet Paramount still wants to move forward with more Autobots and Decepticons, and it was reported earlier this week that the studio is moving ahead with sequels to both Bumblebee and the main Transformers series. We spoke with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about the new Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary at SXSW, and he revealed that the new film in the main Transformers series will be a little different than expected.

“The main Transformers movie we are working on is a reboot, and I will say that the Bumblebee sequel will be more directly linked to the timeline that we set up,” Di Bonaventura told GameSpot.

While it may come as a surprise to most fans, the timeline for the Transformers franchise has been all over the place, especially after Transformers: The Last Knight, which introduced an order of humans protecting the secret of Transformers who’ve lived among us for centuries, as well as a Transformer the size of the Earth.

While Bumblebee didn’t really connect to the other Transformers movies, it basically served as a prequel to the franchise. Thus, it complicated things further when Optimus Prime appears on Earth decades before his supposed first trip here in the very first Transformers movie.

So what is the release plan? Di Bonaventura doesn’t seem to know, and he prefers it that way. “I think Paramount should just pick the best script and release that first,” the producer said. “I don’t think there is a plan in terms of what movie comes out first, and I always think you should just go with the best script first instead of planning a franchise based on release dates.”

He went on to say that the Bumblebee sequel will be bigger than the previous one, despite the spin-off having had the smallest budget in the franchise. “It is going to bring Bumblebee into a bigger adventure,” Di Bonaventura said. “What was fun about the first one was that we didn’t have to be beholden to the other Transformers movies.”

Check out GameSpot’s full Bumblebee review here.

Respawn is kicking off the first season of its new battle royale game, Apex Legends, tomorrow on March 19 with the release of the Season 1 Battle Pass. That’s also the day when the game’s newest playable Legend, Octane, will arrive–but you’ll need to purchase him separately if you’re hoping to try him out.

Despite being promoted heavily alongside Apex Legends’ Season 1 Battle Pass, Respawn has confirmed that Octane will not be included as part of it. Rather, like Mirage and Caustic, he’ll be sold through the in-game store for 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins. The former currency can be earned through gameplay, while the latter is purchased using real-world money. However, you can get some free Apex Coins by signing up for EA/Origin Access.

Ahead of Octane’s release, Respawn has shared some more details about the new Legend on the PlayStation Blog. Outfitted with metal legs after blowing his off during a “record-breaking gauntlet speed-run,” Octane is a thrill-seeker who uses “death-defying moves.” With his Adrenaline Junkie ability, Octane is able to exchange health for speed, and his Ultimate–Launch Pad–can send the squad flying through the air.

While this marks the first time Octane has officially been confirmed, players have known about him for several weeks now. The character’s existence had been previously been leaked, most credibly when an image of him appeared on the Origin website. Respawn also teased his impending arrival by placing his jump pads in the game near Market.

Like Fortnite‘s Battle Pass, the Apex Legends Season 1 Pass costs 950 Apex Coins (roughly $10). Through it, players will be able to unlock 100 tiers of cosmetic rewards, including character and weapon skins, banner frames, and more. You’ll also be able to earn enough Apex Coins to pay for Season 2’s Battle Pass. You can read more about how the Apex Legends Battle Pass works here.

Google is preparing to make its way into the world of video games with a special presentation at the Game Developers Conference. The presentation will take place on March 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 5 PM GMT, and Google promises it will reveal its “vision for the future of gaming.”

Google will be streaming the entire presentation through its own YouTube video platform, so you can come right back here at showtime to see it all firsthand.

The company released a teaser video that showed vignettes of different common game genres, suggesting big plans for its own platform. Whatever it is, we’ll be rounding up all the Google gaming news in one place for you.

The announcement may be related to Project Stream, a cloud gaming platform from Google. It partnered with Ubisoft last year to offer Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to play through Chrome browsers for free to testers. Google has been rumored to be working on a “Project Yeti,” which is thought to be its equivalent of a console. The company also recently hired former Ubisoft and EA studio head Jade Raymond, suggesting she could be playing a role in the company’s gaming plans.

To learn more about cloud gaming ahead of Google’s announcement, check out GameSpot’s primer on how cloud gaming works and what it could mean for the future and some of the companies investing most heavily in the tech.

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Since its release in early February, Apex Legends has already exploded in popularity with player counts in the millions, and the free-to-play battle royale game from Respawn is about to hit its next milestone: the release of its first season and optional battle pass. Season 1: Wild Frontier will release March 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and you’ll be able to pick up its battle pass immediately. Everyone who plays during the first season will also be able to unlock the Wild Frontier skin, five Apex packs, and 18 Wild Frontier stat trackers for free.

The standard battle pass will cost you 950 Apex Coins. There’s also a battle pass bundle available for 2,800 Apex coins, which instantly unlocks your next 25 levels of rewards. However, if the regular battle pass is enough for you, there’s a way to get it for way cheaper: by signing up for one month of EA Access (Xbox One) or Origin Basic Access (PC), which each cost only $5 per month. There’s currently no equivalent option for PS4.

These gaming subscription services give you unlimited access to growing collections of games, discounts on purchases, and early trial access to upcoming games. And if you’re a member who plays Apex Legends between now and June 30, you’ll also receive a few extra perks: an exclusive Flatline Epic weapon skin, a special Banner Badge, and 1,000 Apex coins (roughly $10). You can probably see where we’re going with this: A one-month membership to either service essentially gets you 1,000 Apex Coins for the price of $5, which is a 50% discount. Once you sign up for the one-month membership (which normally costs around $10), you’ll automatically have enough Apex Coins to purchase the standard battle pass (with 50 coins to spare).

At that point, you can decide whether or not you want to continue with the service, but you’ll be able to dive into Apex Legends’ new season and start earning rewards with your battle pass immediately.

Respawn’s year 1 roadmap revealed Apex Legends will have four seasons this year, and in addition to a few free rewards, each season’s battle pass includes new weapons, exclusive loot (like weapon skins), and at least one new playable character. The battle passes work the same way as Fortnite’s: Every time you level up, you’ll unlock more rewards, which you’ll permanently keep even after the season is over. Each battle pass has roughly 100 rewards as well as 1,000 Apex Coins you can earn in total. And yes, that in-game currency can be used to buy Season 2’s battle pass when it releases this summer.