After what felt like an untenable wait, Adult Swim has announced that Rick and Morty will be returning for Season 5 on June 20 at 11 PM. The announcement was made with a trailer uploaded to YouTube, captioned with the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that fans “can start asking us about Season 6.” Check out the trailer below.
Beyond the excitement above, the show also last year shared an animatic of a Season 5 scene, which together can hopefully help tide you over until June.
Season 4 began airing way back in November 2019, which of course means the show’s subsequent production–just like everyone and everything else on the planet–had to adapt to the pandemic. Even though it’s been a lengthy delay to this point, last fall, the show’s co-creator Dan Harmon said during a virtual panel that, “We’re more on schedule than we’ve ever been… It kind of makes you have to focus on the whole process when you don’t have this office environment anymore.” Harmon wasn’t kidding–he also added that the show’s team is “very late into the process of writing Season 6.”
In fact, Harmon has been so prolific that he also has another animated show coming to Fox sometime in 2022. The untitled series will reportedly be set in ancient Greece and be centered on “a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.” Harmon has also been keeping the dream alive for a Community movie.
Microsoft has announced a partnership with the high-end headphone company Bang & Olufsen for a new “designed-for-Xbox” headset that carries a premium price tag. The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal wireless headphone set is the first product in the new “Designed for Xbox Limited Series” program and costs as much as the Xbox Series X: $500 USD.
The headphones are available in Black Anthracite, Grey Mist, and Navy Brass. The black pair released today, March 30, while the Grey Mist and Navy Brass are up for preorder.
The headphones will work with any audio input, but they also have a range of gaming-specific features. The headphones let you customize the game/chat audio balance, and you can also mute and change the volume directly on the headphones or through the Bang & Olufsen app.
The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal headset costs $500 USD and is available from the Microsoft Store. The Black Anthracite color is available to purchase today (though we’ve seen it go in and out of stock already), and you can preorder the Grey Mist and Navy Brass versions. Those colors will ship in May.
The headphones have built-in wireless connectivity to sync up to your Xbox or any other device with Bluetooth 5.1. The headphones have 12 hours of battery life on a full charge when using Xbox Wireless, Bluetooth, and active noise-cancellation, and 24 hours when you’re only using Bluetooth and active noise-cancellation.
The headset also includes a “virtual boom arm” for a microphone that uses the magic of technology to replicate the audio experience of a real, physical microphone.
“An array of directional, beamforming microphones isolate and amplify your voice while cancelling out background noise for crystal clear conversations,” reads a line from its description.
As for the dedicated mobile app, this lets you create a number of pre-sets to tailor the experience to what you’re playing and the type of audio experience you want. The app also lets you adjust the active noise-cancellation, mic monitoring, game/chat balance, and mic tone.
Regarding the design itself, it’s described as “contemporary.” The headset has aluminum earcups featuring “gradient anodization.” The ear cushions are made of lambskin, while they also have built-in jaw support. The exterior headband is made of calfskin leather, with bamboo fiber textile on the side. The headset weighs 9.9 ounces.
You can buy the headsets from the Microsoft Store or from Bang & Olufsen direct. Other retailers will sell the headsets as well. The Black Anthracite headset is available now, though we’ve seen it go in and out of stock at the Microsoft Store already today. The Grey Mist and Navy Brass headsets, meanwhile, can be preordered now, but they don’t ship until May.
A set of Marvel’s Avengers costumes inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe will only be obtainable by purchasing them in the marketplace using credits. The game’s social media clarified how you’ll obtain the digital goods after a vaguely-worded tweet led some fans to believe that the new costumes would be freebies.
The initial post promised “rewards like animated nameplates, outfits inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a deadly HARM Room hacked by Yelena Belova,” as part of the Red Room Takeover event. That event will be free, and the animated nameplates will be free rewards, so some fans read that to mean the outfits would be free rewards too. The social media account replied to the tweet to clarify.
To clarify, the outfits inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be available exclusively in the Marketplace for purchase with credits.
We haven’t seen the MCU-inspired outfits yet, but they’ll likely be among the most sought-after cosmetics yet given their ties to a multi-billion dollar film franchise. In fact, when Square Enix first debuted Marvel’s Avengers, much of the feedback revolved around the characters looking not-quite-like their film counterparts.
Legendary costumes typically cost 1400 credits ($14). Credits can also be obtained by completing challenge cards. We aren’t sure which characters will get MCU-inspired duds, but so far six of the eight available characters have appeared in the films in some form. (Ms. Marvel and Kate Bishop have not yet, though they’re both on-track to join the MCU in upcoming Disney+ adaptations.)
The Red Room is part of the long-term roadmap that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics outlined in its latest stream. That will take place this spring along with Tachyon Missions and a Patrol Mode, followed by a Cosmic Cube event in the summer. Later this year the game will introduce Black Panther in a War for Wakanda event, which will be the third new hero added since launch. There’s still no word on when the PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man will show up.
GameStop is in the news again, as the video game retailer has announced the hiring of a former Amazon executive to become the “Chief Growth Officer” for the store. Elliott Wilke, who was most recently the director of Amazon Fresh Stores, is coming to GameStop with a start-date of April 5, 2021.
Wilke worked at Amazon for eight years, holding high-level positions at Amazon’s Fresh, Prime Pantry, and Worldwide Private Brands divisions. Before that, he worked at Proctor & Gamble for more than a decade, holding a number of marketing roles.
In his new gig at GameStop, Wilke will “oversee growth strategies and marketing, with a focus on increasing customer loyalty and growing the reach of Power Up Rewards and Game Informer.” Wilke will also help expand GameStop’s use of “customer insights and metrics” to help further expand the company’s marketing efforts.
GameStop also announced the hiring of two more executives. Andrea Wolfe is becoming the vice president of brand development. She started on March 29 and was previously the vice president of marketing at the pet food company Chewy; that’s the company founded by billionaire Ryan Cohen, whose investment in GameStop preceded the stock’s Reddit boom.
Additionally, GameStop hired Tom Petersen on March 29 to become the company’s vice president of merchandising. He is also a former Chewy executive, having worked at the company as the VP of merchandising.
GameStop’s share price jumped again after this news broke this morning. The company’s stock price has climbed by more than 8% to around $195, but it has since fallen back down to around $188 at press time. In its press release, GameStop said it’s making these new executive hires to support the company’s “transformation.”
Wall Street personality Jim Cramer reacted to the news on Twitter, saying GameStop is putting together a “dream team” to help turn the ship around. “They must have a plan that is not what we see now,” he remarked.
Gamestop putting together a dream team.. Really impressive.. They must have a plan that is not what we see now
The new trailer for Spiral: From the Book of Saw is here. The latest movie in the long-running Saw franchise hits theaters on May 14.
The film stars Chris Rock as Ezekiel Banks, a cop who is investigating a killer seemingly inspired by the notorious but very-dead trap-setting maniac Jigsaw. The new killer is leaving the distinctive spiral shape to mark his crimes–and Ezekiel’s former cop dad (Samuel L. Jackson) might be involved somehow. The trailer suggests the movie will combine the inventively nasty horror of the previous films with a Seven-style cop thriller–check it out below:
Spiral: From the Book of Saw also stars Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale), Zoie Palmer (Dark Matter), and Marisol Nichols (Riverdale). It’s directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who previously helmed Saw II, III, and IV.
This is the ninth movie in the series, which kicked off with James Wan’s Saw in 2001. In an interview with Horror Geek Life, Bousman suggested that Spiral would be very different from its predecessors. “It’s unlike any of the Saw films that have come before it,” he said. “This is the ninth version of the Saw movie and I think that, for me, the last few films, they kind of follow the same formula. They’re great, but they kind of follow the same formula. This does not. This is completely it’s own thing.”
Saw is one of several long-running horror franchises returning to screens over the next 12 months. The Forever Purge hits theatres in July, while Candyman and Halloween Kills arrive in September and October respectively. Beyond that, Scream releases in January 2022, and there’s also a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel expected soon.
The Pokemon Company has announced a new series of books aimed at teaching preschool-age children early learning concepts like the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors. Two of the “Pokemon Primers” are now available, with two more to come.
Starting today, you can find Pokemon Primers: ABC and Pokemon Primers: 123. The announcement includes a few sample pages, where kids can count four Pokemon or five Squirtles (which officially makes a squad). Each book promises more than 100 little flaps to open, because small children love little flaps. Each of the board books costs $13. Two more books, Pokemon Primers: Colors and Pokemon Primers: Shapes, are available to preorder as well.
Of course, the books also aim to familiarize young readers (and their parents) with Pokemon as well. Along with the usual learning tools like letters and shapes, each book includes a pronunciation guide for every Pokemon cited. They are Pokemon Primers, after all.
These books are being published by Pikachu Press, the publishing imprint from the Pokemon Company. It has been publishing books since 2012, usually in the form of sticker and pop-up books.
“We are thrilled to deliver Pikachu Press’ first published Pokemon product for young Trainers with the new Pokemon Primers series,” said The Pokemon Company publishing director Heather Dalgleish, in the announcement. “With families spending more time together, these new books will give kids and parents a fun and engaging way to learn more about Pokemon while brushing up on their ABCs and 123s.”
IO Interactive has announced a new patch for Hitman 3, which prepares the game for its upcoming DLC campaign and fixes several bugs along the way. Measuring in at around 3.5 GB in size on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, no download is required for people playing the cloud version on Stadia and Nintendo Switch.
Version 3.20 of Hitman 3 invites players to Dubai to indulge in a new three-stage Escalation: The Greed Enumeration and unlock sin-themed rewards as part of the first act in the Seven Deadly Sins expansion. If taking part in greedy assassinations aren’t to your liking, you can dress Agent 47 up for a chocolate-coated chicken egg pursuit as part of the Berlin Egg Hunt seasonal event.
A new Elusive Target will be available to stalk in the Dartmoor level until April 9, and if you’re interested to see just how perfectly IO Interactive has executed its vision for the final chapter in Hitman’s world of assassination trilogy, then you can try a section of the game out for free in a starter pack. The Hitman 3 Starter Pack will unlock the opulent Dubai opening level for free, but it’ll only be available until April 5.
Other technical fixes and tweaks will see Hitman 3 made more stable, while a number of smaller bugs have been addressed such as textures not loading correctly and sound effects not playing when certain weapons were fired. Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X users can also toggle between an unlocked frame rate or they can lock the game’s visuals to 30 fps. On Xbox One X, Hitman 3 has run at a mostly smooth 60 fps in the unlocked mode.
Each location in Hitman 3 has received a number of minor tweaks as well. A bug in the Dartmoor level that would see bodies catapulted into the air instead of being dumped has been addressed, an issue that could cause 47 to get stuck inside a grape box in Mendoza has been resolved, and Carl Ingram will no longer often repeat a line of dialogue when using the dictaphone.
You can see all the changes, along with some cheeky commentary from IO Interactive, below. For more changes and known issues in the older Hitman games, you can visit the Hitman website for more details.
General Updates
Stability Improvements
We’ve resolved several issues that could cause the game to crash or, in rare cases, cause endless loading.
Requiem
The Requiem Pack is back, and included in the H1 GOTY Access Pass. Any HITMAN 3 owners who have installed the H1 GOTY Access Pass will also have access to the three items included in the Requiem Pack.
Trophies/Achievements
We’ve resolved several issues that could prevent players from unlocking the following trophies; Shortcut Killer, Dune Rider (Dubai), Full House (Dartmoor), Rich Harvest (Mendoza), Future Shock (Chongqing), Pure Poetry (Hantu Port).
Additionally, fixes for the following challenges that are required to unlock some trophies/achievements have also been implemented: Discover Dubai, Discover Mendoza.
Players that have been affected should unlock the relevant trophies/achievements when they launch the game after installing the 3.20 patch. We know some players are also having issues with other trophies/achievements. We’re tracking and working on updates for those.
Framerate Unlocked
Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X users can now toggle between a locked/ 30fps or unlocked framerate. Locked is the default option. In testing, we’ve hit a very consistent 60 fps on Xbox One X across all three games in the trilogy, with only occasional dips.
Trinity Guns
We’ve resolved an issue where a white, floating attachment could be seen on the weapons in the Trinity Pack (pre-order bonus)
Leaderboards
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause players to see erratic leaderboard positions after completing a mission. In some cases, this would show players that they performed worse than the entire leaderboard, i.e 501/500.
Default Disguise
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause 47 to start in a suit, even when a starting location with a forced disguise was selected. This could cause him to be immediately suspicious in some circumstances.
Silenced Guns
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause the sound effects of the Bartoli 12G and the Shashka A33 to not play when they are fired by NPC’s.
Wallpop
We’ve resolved an issue where the ‘Piercing’ perk was not properly displayed on the ICA Bartoli Woodsman Hunting Rifle Covert.
Interaction Font Size
We’ve added more options for the size of interaction prompts, allowing players to choose from font size 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35. Choosing a larger font size may cause text to overlap in crowded instances, where multiple prompts are on the screen.
Visual Fidelity
We’ve resolved several issues across multiple locations that could cause textures to ‘disappear’ at certain angles, where items would appear to be ‘floating’ or where positioning the camera in a certain position could cause Agent 47 to disappear.
Silenced Weapons
We’ve ironed out a few inconsistencies with several silenced weapons.
The HKW21 Pale Homemade Silencer, ICA DTI Stealth, ICA Tactical Shotgun Covert, DAK Gold Covert and DAK Black Covert were all missing the ‘suppressor’ tag in their inventory description.
Also, the ICA Tactical Shotgun Covert was not being treated as a silenced weapon by NPCs. That’s changed as well now.
Holster Audio
We’ve resolved an issue that was preventing the ‘holster’ sound effect from triggering.
Normal vs Medium
We’ve adjusted the text on some of our ‘graphics settings’ descriptions so that they’re consistent between the game and the launcher. Medium is the new normal.
Version ID
We’ve added an extra line to the settings menu to also display the current version ID of the game. This will help us when troubleshooting issues in development and with players.
Where It’s Due, 3.20
We have updated the HITMAN 3 credits to reflect the work that has been done since we submitted the game for release. We also correct a few errors and included new members of the team.
Location Changes: Dubai, UAE
Drop The Body
We’ve resolved an issue where it was not possible to dump bodies off some ledges of the building in Dubai.
Wait, what water?
We’ve resolved an issue where overflowing the sink in one of the bathrooms in Dubai wouldn’t attract anyone.
Hold Up
We’ve tweaked the setup of the guard at the VIP balcony in Dubai so that he will enforce trespassing rules. Previously, he would allow 47 to trespass all too easily without consequence.
Repetitive Repetition
We identified an issue where Carl Ingram would often repeat a line of dialogue when using the dictaphone, so we’ve resolved the issue where Carl Ingram would often repeat a line of dialogue when using the dictaphone.
Location Changes: Dartmoor, England
Safe Space
We’ve resolved an issue where 47 could be spotted by guards that were outside, when he was inside the greenhouse in Dartmoor.
Body Container
We’ve resolved an issue with some containers in Dartmoor where a prompt on the side of the container would allow 47 to ‘dump’ the body. He wasn’t supposed to be allowed to do it though, so the body would be launched into the air. We’ve removed the prompt.
Location Changes: Berlin, Germany
Inaccurate Weaponry
We’ve resolved an issue where the description of the weapons carried by targets in Berlin was not accurate.
UI_CONTRACT_FOX
We’ve resolved an issue where debug text would appear as an objective after performing specific actions in Berlin.
Unidentified Target
We’ve resolved an issue that could prevent a target from being displayed in Instinct and their details being added to the Intel menu.
Location Changes: Chongqing, China
This was the Silenced Version
We’d like to award Reddit user u/StealthyBastard94 the prize for ‘Most Entertaining HITMAN 3 Bug Report’ for March. We’ve now changed the description so that it no longer says that the gun is silenced.
Chongqing Shortcuts
We’ve resolved an issue where unlocking a shortcut in Chongqing could prevent players from unlocking the associated challenges with all shortcuts.
Chongqing Controller
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause inconsistencies in the ‘Controller’ Mission Story.
Cover Up
We’ve removed a piece of cover in Chongqing that was floating.
The Phoenix Discourse
We’ve resolved an issue where 47 could ‘hack’ a laptop in Chongqing despite not having the proper clearance. We know that’s the whole point of hacking, but it makes sense if you play the game.
Location Changes: Mendoza, Argentina
Security Door
We’ve resolved an issue in Mendoza where an erroneous objective would appear in the menu after interacting with the security door terminal.
Mendoza Contracts
We’ve fixed an issue where Contracts created on Mendoza would sometimes fail to load, depending on when they were created.
Grape Box
We’ve (apparently) resolved an issue that could cause 47 to get stuck inside a grape box in Mendoza.
Security Consistency
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause some inconsistencies with the locations of the Head of Security and the Sommelier in Mendoza.
Grape Pressure
We’ve resolved an issue where some bodies could not be contained within the grape presser.
Location Changes: Carpathian Mountains, Romania
Mountain Range
We’ve resolved an issue that could cause lighting issues in the environment, including the water.
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The full trailer of the Netflix fantasy series Shadow and Bone has been released. The eight-episode show is an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s novels and it releases on April 23.
The series focuses on a girl named Alina (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan in the war-torn land of Ravka, who possesses incredible powers. There are various factions who want to harness her abilities, including General Morozova (Westworld’s Ben Barnes), and the show looks like a visually spectacular addition to the ever-growing roster of small screen fantasy shows. Check it out below.
Shadow and Bone also stars Kit Young (Endeavour), Amita Suman (The Outpost), and Freddy Carter (Pennyworth) as members of the criminal Six of Crows gang. Shadow and Bone adapts two separate book series by Bardugo, known collectively as the Grishaverse–the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. Shadow and Bone was the first Grishaverse novel and it was published in 2012.
In a recent interview with Collider, showrunner Eric Heisserer spoke about the challenges of combining the two different book series. “[It was done] very carefully,” he said. “It required building some story, a prequel worth of story for most of the characters, so that we don’t break anything in Leigh Bardugo’s timeline. I had her on speed dial and there was a lot of me calling, ‘So what about this?’ She’s like, ‘No, because then so and so..’ Okay right!”
Shadow and Bone is one of many big fantasy shows on the way to streaming services. The second series of the Netflix hit The Witcher arrives later this year, and there’s also a prequel spin-off series titled The Witcher: Blood Origin in the works. Amazon has two highly-anticipated shows on the way too–the upcoming Lord of the Rings series and an adaptation of the classic Wheel of Time series of novels. there’s also the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon in production for HBO.
As we get closer to the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy, Warner Bros. has released a handful of new character posters, including our first look at Roadrunner and Speedy Gonzales in their spiffy new Toon Squad jerseys.
The new posters show star LeBron James along with key animated characters Bugs Bunny, Tweety, and the newly-redesigned Lola Bunny. Also included are their fellow toons Daffy Duck and Taz, as well as the previously-unseen Speedy Gonzales and Roadrunner.
While we know Porky Pig and Marvin the Martian will be appearing in the film, neither have gotten a poster this time around. Also missing is Pepé Le Pew, who originally had one scene in the movie that has since been cut by director Malcolm D. Lee.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is due out on July 16, 2021, and will release simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max.
On Sunday March 14, popular Twitch streamer Ludwig started a subathon on his channel with the promise to keep streaming as long as people kept subscribing. The stream has now been live for over two consecutive weeks, and while it’s slowing down a little, it’s still showing no sign of stopping.
Ludwig mainly games with friends on the stream, but it also features hours of the streamer sleeping in his distinctive bright red racecar bed. In the early days of the stream, Ludwig even became the most-watched streamer on Twitch while he was sleeping. While he rests, the channel’s mods take over and play videos requested by viewers, turning the 24-hour stream into what is essentially a community YouTube party.
Initially, every subscription to Ludwig’s channel added 20 seconds to a timer that dictated how long he would stay live for, but in the wake of huge numbers of subscriptions, that has since been lowered to 10 seconds. Ludwig has also added extra conditions to a stream that seemed to have endless momentum, such as limiting users to 100 gift subs each, and adding a hard cap of 31 days in case the stream doesn’t end naturally before that.
Now 15 days in, the counter on Ludwig’s stream has dwindled to around 4 hours at the time of writing. It’s dropped quite a bit after staying in the double digits for all of last week, though loyal viewers seem determined to keep it going. The subathon has been hugely successful for the streamer, who has become the most subscribed to streamer on the site, according to The Verge.
Ludwig took his first proper break from the stream over the weekend, handing it over to some friends for a day so he could rest. After just one day’s respite he was back online again and will continue to stay live for as long as the counter lasts–which could be just for another day or two, or for another 15.
