One of 2020’s most anticipated games, Cyberpunk 2077, will be shown publicly for the first time in Australia at PAX Australia later this month in Melbourne.
Attendees can watch live presentations of the much-anticipated role-playing game each day of the show–October 11, 12, and 13. The presentations run for 45 minutes each. The first two presentations take place in the Main Theatre, while the third is being held at GameSpot’s own theatre on Sunday, October 13 at 12:30 PM local time.
Here is the schedule of presentations for Cyberpunk 2077 at PAX Aus:
Friday, October 11 — 1 PM | Main Theatre
Saturday, October 12 — 3 PM | Main Theatre
Sunday, October 13 — 12:30 PM | GameSpot Theatre
In addition to the live presentations, Cyberpunk 2077 will have a place at the Xbox booth featuring more video presentations along with a cosplay competition. Fans can dress up in their favorite Cyberpunk cosplay for a shot at winning a $5000 prize.
Cyberpunk 2077 posters and t-shirts will also be available at the Xbox booth, along with signing opportunities.
Destiny 2 will be offline on October 3 as developer Bungie performs maintenance on the multiplayer game’s servers. The downtime will commence at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM GMT, and during this time the game will be unplayable, while some functionality on Destiny’s connected experiences across web, mobile, and third-party apps may be interrupted.
The downtime is expected to run for 30 minutes, wrapping up at 8:30 AM PT / 11:30 AM ET / 3:30 PM GMT. While the servers are expected to be back online at that time, players might experience a server queue. This is nothing out of the ordinary, as many online games implement server queues at various times to help ease the strain of server load.
Destiny 2’s big new expansion, Shadowkeep, and the New Light free-to-play version of the game, released on October 1. The rollout wasn’t entirely smooth, as Bungie was forced to bring down the game’s servers for several hours to perform “emergency maintenance.”
Despite the hiccups, Destiny 2 was able to reach more than 200,000 peak concurrent players on launch day. The game continues to be extremely popular. Steam’s public statistics page shows the game reached 226,000 concurrent players on October 2, making it one of the most popular games on the whole of Steam.
For lots more on Destiny 2, check out GameSpot’s recent stories below:
The Switch is pretty sweet as-is, but add in some accessories like a second Nintendo Switch dock, a screen protector, and a Switch Pro Controller makes it even better.
Warner Bros. is reportedly looking for two actors to portray younger versions of Neo and Morpheus in the next instalment of the iconic sci-fi series, The Matrix.
Variety reporter Justin Kroll, who originally broke the news about Matrix 4, recently appeared as a guest on an episode of Robbie Fox’s My Mom’s Basement podcast, in which he stated that casting announcements for these characters could be coming in the next couple of weeks.
“Now I think within the next week or two we’ll have Young Morpheus and Young Neo news coming up,” he shared. “Because I know Lana’s meeting with people quite aggressively because they want to shoot that in February.”
The Bloodborne community is organising a month-long Halloween event where players must dress in costume, head to Yharnam, and invade as much as possible.
The unofficial “Official Return to Yharnam” party runs from midnight on October 5 to November 5, and the rules are taking shape based on which suggestions get upvoted the most on the Bloodborne subreddit.
So far the rules include: Create a new character, dress from a list of costumes (like the Grim Reaper – made from a crow hunter outfit with the foreigner hood and burial blade), and invade as often as you’re able.
Australia is home to a lot of things. Cute mammals. Deadly insects. Good coffee. It also has the honor of being the only country outside of the USA to host a PAX. This year, PAX Aus is happening again in Melbourne, Victoria from October 11-13. And, for the fourth year running, GameSpot’s Australian team (with some help from our friends at CNET) are hosting the GameSpot Theatre!
GameSpot Theatre at PAX Aus 2019 will be full of weird and wonderful stuff. This year, we have the fine folks from CD Projekt RED stopping by to show off Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the team from Sledgehammer Games giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The GameSpot staff will appear to argue about very important things like which Bioware love interest is the best (with Dragon Age Lead Writer David Gaider!), and which Fire Emblem: Three Houses character would survive a battle royale, and which Pokemon we would “Pet”, Marry, or Kill.
Below you can find the PAX Aus schedule for GameSpot Theatre. If you’re in Melbourne, come on down! If you’re not in Melbourne, bookmark the heck out of this page and come back to check out our livestream! All the panels will also be published separately when PAX Aus ends.
Developers from Sledgehammer Games will be giving us a behind-the-scenes look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on October 11
Friday, October 11
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Super Mario Maker 2: The Speed Fun Run
Nintendo has built an exclusive PAX Aus 2019 Super Mario Maker 2 course to test out your skills! Come along and watch the GameSpot crew succeed (or not) and then give it a go for yourself!
Featuring Jess McDonell [GameSpot] and Dan Crowd [Formerly of GameSpot, but we’re bringing him back for this one]
From taking down the mighty Golden Gate Bridge and drop podding into Seoul in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare to recreating Operations Neptune and Cobra in Call of Duty: WWII, creating the signature “Big Moments” in a video game is no easy task. Join the Art Direction leadership of Sledgehammer Games to take a deep dive into the planning and execution of some of their biggest game moments from concept art and storyboarding, to lighting vfx and polish.
Featuring Joseph Salud [Art Director, Sledgehammer Games], Sandy Lin-Chiang [Associate Art Director, Sledgehammer Games], Gareth Richards [VFX Art Lead, Sledgehammer Games], Josh Caratelli [Software Engineer, Sledgehammer Games]
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Fire Emblem Three Houses Battle Royale: There Can Only Be One Teacher’s Pet
There are a lot of students at Garreg Mach Monastery, and not all of them are going to make it out of this time jump alive. With your help, we’re going to pit individual students from Fire Emblem: Three Houses against each other in a battle to argue over who, in fact, is the actual best boy or girl. It’s going to be an unpredictable battle, and a lot of feelings are going to be hurt. But one thing’s for sure: Lorenz ain’t going to win.
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Behind the Scenes of Call of Duty with Sledgehammer Audio
How do you go about reinventing the audio experience for a well-established game like Call of Duty? How do you make the audio sound fresh, next-gen and state of the art in the 14th installment of a franchise? Members of the Sledgehammer Games Audio Team will take attendees behind the scenes of Call of Duty to discuss and challenge proven, yet potentially outdated, development practices. Attendees will walk away with innovative, but more importantly, replicable development techniques for field recording, room calibration, audio production, and mixing designed to benefit both the big-budget AAA franchises and the small indie teams alike.
Featuring David Swenson [Sr. Audio Director, Sledgehammer Games – Activision], Michael Caisley [Expert Sound Designer, Sledgehammer Games – Activision]
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Horse Beats Train: The Great Legend Of Zelda Debate
The Legend of Zelda series is over 30 years old, and in that time we’ve seen some wild stuff. Demon trains. Hats that look like birds. Tingle. If you ask me all of these things are great, but we all know that Zelda fans can never agree on anything. Join us as we argue over the series’ best and worst weapons, outfits, sidekicks, antagonists, powers, and more—and get ready to tell us how wrong we are.
Featuring Edmond Tran [GameSpot], Mark Serrels [CNET], Shona Johnson [Zelda Universe], Ginny Woo [Prima Games], Olivia Haines [Game Developer and Artist]
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Wrestlevania 2K20: Giving Wrestlers The Power Rating They Deserve
You know how in every wrestling game, each wrestler has a power rating? Well, they’re all wrong. It’s time to give wrestlers the correct power ratings they deserve.
Featuring Daniel Van Boom [CNET], Mark Serrels [CNET], Jackson Ryan [CNET], Joab Gilroy [Red Bull]
On October 12, we argue over the best Bioware love interests with Dragon Age Origins lead writer David Gaider, which won’t be awkward at all
Saturday, October 12
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Peeking Behind the Curtain with Summerfall Studios
Join Summerfall Studios’ David Gaider and Liam Esler as they explore their rich history with narrative games and what that have in store in their future.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | Are We The Baddies?
Everyone loves a hero. They are good, they are brave, and they ALWAYS triumph over evil. But do we only believe this because history is written by the victors? What if the good guys were actually the bad guys? Their time is over- we see through their do-gooder facade. It’s time to find the Worst Good Guy.
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Dolphin Tub: Pitch Us Your Excellent/Terrible Game Ideas!
Think you have a great idea for a video game? Come pitch it to a panel of professional critics, developers, and marketing people to see whether you need to drop everything you’re doing in your life immediately to run off with the video game circus.
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Fakin’ It Part II: The Reviewerning
Your favorite panel from PAX Aus 2017 is back, with a twist! Professional game reviewers attempt to trash universally beloved, and here’s the twist: one of the panelists actually hates it. Can you pick which panelist is a godforsaken heathen? 10/10 games, 10/10 hilarity (review-in-progress score).
Featuring Jess McDonell [GameSpot], Joab Gilroy [Red Bull], Dan Van Boom [CNET], Nic Healey [ABC Radio], Angharad Yeo [Good Game: Spawn Point]
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Falling For Bioware: Love Interest Battle Royale
Ship up or shape out! Or something! Everybody who has ever played a Mass Effect or Dragon Age game will undoubtedly have their favorite romance option, but what happens when you can only pick one? We pit Thedas heartthrobs directly against lovers from outer space in a bangin’ bracket to determine the singular best Bioware love interest of all time.
Featuring Jess McDonell [GameSpot], Nicole Archer [CNET], Ginny Woo [Prima Games], Nic Healey [ABC Radio], David Gaider [Summerfall Studios]
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Extra Life: Games as a Service And What Keeps Them Growing
With the launch of Overwatch on the Switch, we try to unpack what kind of magic brings people back to persistent games. Between community, expansion packs, and special events, what is the key to giving games like Overwatch, Final Fantasy XIV, Destiny 2, Monster Hunter World, and Fortnite longevity?
Featuring Edmond Tran [GameSpot], Rich Lambert [Zenimax Online Studios], Dean Woodward [League of Geeks], Domino Jack [Overwatch Streamer/Caster], Tamsin Wood [Destiny Content Creator]
CD Projekt RED are giving us a look at Cyberpunk 2077 on the last day of PAX Aus. We can’t wait.
Sunday, October 12
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | “Pet”, Marry, Kill: Pokémon Edition
There’s one thing we can all agree on—there are too many damn Pokémon. You know it, we know it, Nintendo and Game Freak know it. So what better way to spend an hour of PAX killing off a good chunk of the 800+ strong Pokédex and making sure we celebrate our favourites in our own, uh, special way?
Featuring Daniel Van Boom [CNET], Edmond Tran [GameSpot], Nicole Archer [CNET], Leah Williams [Kotaku Australia], Jackson Ryan [CNET], Dan Crowd [Professional Petter]
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | CD Projekt Red Presents Cyberpunk 2077
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2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | We Rate Video Game Dogs, Again
How do scientists use games as a laboratory for human behavior? Do video games really cause addiction? What if the way we play and develop video games could fight global inequality, or even climate change! We live in a scary, post-truth world and games often provide a safe space for us to escape to. But can games be a powerful tool to fight the tide of “alternative facts”.
Featuring Tim Young [Astrophysicist, Guerrilla Astronomy], Megan Pusey [PhD Candidate, Murdoch University], Phill English [Resource Scientist, [redacted]]
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | GameSpot’s Infamous Trivia Hour Mark III
Answer questions about games! Win cool stuff! It’s just that easy! Come hang out with us for an hour of video game trivia intended to get cool merch directly into your paws.
Featuring Jess McDonell [GameSpot], Eddie Makuch [GameSpot], Nicole Archer [CNET]
The new comic book movie Joker is one of the most talked-about films of 2019, and it is expected to enjoy a massive opening at the box office around the world.
According to Deadline, Joker–which stars Joaquin Phoenix in the title role–is tracking to make $155 million worldwide for its opening frame. That would make it the second-best October release in the history of movies, only behind 2018’s Venom ($207.4 million).
In the US and Canada alone, Joker is expected to make more than $80 million to surpass venom ($80.25 million) to set a new record for best domestic October opening in cinema history. A previous estimate had Joker making $90 million in the US/Canada for its opening.
Joker was produced on budget of only $55 million, which is significantly below the budgets of other comic book movies. That was by design, as director Todd Phillips pitched Joker as something completely different than the standard comic book movie fare.
Phillips originally pitched Joker as a movie that exists inside a new label of standalone, more character-focused films. If Joker is a commercial success, you can imagine Warner Bros. looking to make more, though nothing is confirmed at this stage.
“The original idea when I went to Warners was not just about one movie but a label, a side-label to DC where you can do these kind of character study, low-rent, low-budget movies where you get a filmmaker to come in and do some deep dive into a character,” Phillips said.
Joker’s $55 million budget does not include marketing expenses. If you’ve existed in the real world or been on the internet, you have likely seen ads for Joker, suggesting the marketing spend on Joker has been not insignificant. Still, if Joker can make $155 million for its opening weekend that would presumably make it a commercially successful movie.
Joker has found itself in the middle of controversy, including concerns about real-world violence. Speaking at the New York Film Festival on Wednesday, director Todd Phillips said he continues to be surprised by the reaction to Joker. “To me, I thought, ‘Isn’t it a good thing to put real-world implications on violence? Isn’t it a good thing to take away the cartoon element of violence that we’ve become so immune to?'” Phillips said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Phillips said he doesn’t agree with how some people are saying he was “irresponsible” to make Joker, a movie that some are saying may inspire real-world violence. In fact, Phillips said, “It seems actually very responsible to make it feel real and make it have weight and implication.”
“I mean, it’s a complicated movie and I’ve said it before, I think it’s okay that it’s complicated,” Phillips added. “But I didn’t imagine the level of discourse that it’s sort of reached in the world, honestly. I think it’s interesting. I think it’s okay that it sparks conversations and that there are debates around it. My mantra’s always been the film is the statement. It’s great to talk about it, but it’s much more helpful if you’ve seen it.”
Adding on to that point, Phillips said a lot of the discussion surrounding Joker has come from people who haven’t seen the movie. “There’s been so much conversation around the movie by people who haven’t seen the movie,” he said.
Joker premieres on October 4. For more, check out GameSpot’s Joker review, which awarded the film a 10/10 rating.
After negotiations between Disney and Sony over the future of Spider-Man movies stalled, it was believed that Spider-Man would leave the MCU and the two companies head their separate ways. However, a new deal announced on September 27 confirmed that Marvel will produce a third Spider-Man film for Sony, with Spider-Man appearing in one Marvel movie (or more). Now, more details about the deal have emerged.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney will get 25 percent of the box office net gross for the third Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland, which comes to theatres in July 2021. The terms of the deal also reportedly specify that Disney will pay 25 percent of the movie’s budget.
According to sources, Disney originally wanted even more favorable terms. The House of Mouse reportedly asked for a 50-50 co-financing deal before the two sides agreed to 25-25.
The report states that Disney originally made the 50-50 offer in January, and Sony didn’t come back with a counter-offer for nearly six months. In June, Disney’s top movie boss, Alan Horn, “abruptly broke off negotiations” just before the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, according to the report.
So what helped the two sides finally come to terms? The report states that Spider-Man actor Tom Holland himself–who is only 23 years old–contacted Disney CEO Bob Iger and Sony film boss Tom Rothman multiple times to help encourage them to make a deal.
According to the report, Holland held some additional sway because he is attached to star in another major upcoming Sony movie, Uncharted. A potential partnership between Disney and Sony for a third Spider-Man movie was “100 percent dead” before Holland stepped in, according to the report.
The Hollywood Reporter’s sources said Disney earned a “nominal” producing fee of less than five percent of the box office grosses for the previous two movies, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. With the new terms giving Disney 25 percent of net grosses, the company is earning 400 percent more money in the new deal. Adding to this, Disney already owns the lucrative merchandising rights to Spider-Man.
Far From Home, which made more than $1 billion at the box office, ended on a massive cliffhanger. For more, check out GameSpot’s spoiler-filled video in the embed above.
