Author: Trafficblast

May is almost upon us and Microsoft has announced a new slate of Xbox Game Pass titles joining the subscription line-up over the course of the month. As usual this initial burst of announcements covers the first half of May, with more announcements likely to come later and fill out the remaining days.

First, on May 2, Game Pass subscribers will get access to Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. The first-person shooter inserts you deep into Nazi-occupied America with a cast of colorful characters at your side. That same day the service will also add Wargroove, the retro turn-based strategy game reminiscent of Advance Wars.

On May 9, the service will add the resource management sim Surviving Mars and Tacoma, the sci-fi narrative adventure game from the makers of Gone Home, along with the MMORPG Black Desert. The strategy RPG For the King is being added as well, and while it officially launches on May 10, Game Pass subscribers get it three days early on May 7.

Finally, on May 16, Game Pass will add tough sci-fi Souls-like The Surge along with the notably more family-friendly Lego Batman 3.

This month will also get a little bonus benefit outside of the slate of included games. Rocket League, which is already included in Game Pass, is launching an Xbox Customization Pack with in mid-July. Game Pass members get the pack early, and free.

Xbox Game Pass is an all-you-can-eat subscription service for $10 / £7.99 / AUD $10.95 per month, offering full game downloads. This is separate from Xbox Live Gold, which just outlined its own free games for the month of May. The two also recently got an “Ultimate” bundle that packages them together. If you haven’t tried out Game Pass yet, you can sample it for cheap for a limited time. The offer gives you 3 months for just one buck.

Xbox Game Pass Games For May

• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (May 2)
• Wargroove (May 2)
• For the King (May 7)
• Surviving Mars (May 9)
• Tacoma (May 9)
• Black Desert (May 9)
• The Surge (May 16)
• Lego Batman 3 (May 16)

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who recently won an Oscar for Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, have signed a new deal with Sony that’s reportedly worth $100 million or more.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lord and Miller will work on a lot of new and different projects as part of the nine-figure overall deal. This includes creating and producing new comedy and drama projects of their own and supervising others. They will also work on a number of TV shows based on Sony’s Marvel characters, including Spider-Man and related villains, as well as Venom, Morbius, Black Cat, and Silver Sable. All of the characters from Into the Spider-Verse may also get their own spinoffs that Lord and Miller may work on.

“This is a significant milestone for our television business, having the opportunity to work with two of the most creative forces in the industry in both our film and television businesses,” Sony Pictures Television chairman Mike Hopkins said in a statement. “Building on our strong IP and creating new franchises has been a key focus for SPE, and the best way to do that is to invest in remarkable storytellers like Phil and Chris.”

Lord and Miller already had an extensive working relationship with Sony, as the pair directed Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, and The Lego Movie, before producing Into the Spider-Verse.

Outside of Sony, Lord and Miller were announced as the directors of the Star Wars spinoff Solo, but Lucasfilm fired them and brought in Ron Howard.

“Together we aim to make groundbreaking work of the highest quality and integrity, and to place that work in convenient proximity to your eyeballs and earholes, wherever you may be,” Lord and Miller said in their own statement.

Avengers: Endgame is finally in theatres, and it brings about an end to storylines and narrative arcs that started a decade ago.

One major storyline has been the Infinity Gauntlet narrative that’s been the driving force of the interconnected stories thus far with the evil Thanos . Jim Starlin, who created Thanos (and Gamora and Drax) and also wrote the Infinity Gauntlet comic, has now shared his thoughts on Avengers: Endgame and Thanos’s fate.

SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME FOLLOW BELOW

Speaking to IGN, Starlin said he was “amazed” and “flabbergasted” by the events of Endgame. “The up and downs that you have on it. There’s some really heartbreaking moments mixed in with a lot of really funny little instances here and there,” he explained.

Thanos is killed twice in Endgame; once by Thor, who lops his head off, and a second time–for good–when Tony Stark wields the Gauntlet and snaps Thanos out of existence. Starlin remarked that he was particularly impressed by the way actor Josh Brolin performed Thanos’s final moments, when he accepted his fate and sat silently, awaiting his doom.

“His final moments in the movie I think are just priceless,” Starlin said. “His demeanor once he realizes what’s happening, I think that’s just one of those little moments in film that everyone is gonna remember. It’s like acceptance and taking it like a man, you know? I thought that was perfectly played.”

Also in the interview, Starlin said the character Gamora in the Marvel movies is above all the closest representation of what he created in the comics.

You can watch the full interview here at IGN.

Read next: Chris Pratt Shares “Illegal” Avengers Endgame Video From Film Set

Actor Chris Pratt has shared an “illegal” video from the set of Avengers: Endgame, and it’s quite a treat. The behind-the-scenes video, which contains what could be considered spoilery material, showcases a moment on set when the Avengers assembled.

In the single video we can see Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Dave Bautista, Jeremy Renner, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Evans, among other huge names. It appears that Pratt shot the video secretly–sort of. As you’ll see, Chris Evans catches him in the act and jokes that Pratt is going to get in trouble for filming what Pratt called a “really illegal video.” The video has since gone viral, racking up more than 14.6 million views.

Pratt’s caption reads: “I remember being blown away in this moment on the Avengers set. Nobody was allowed to film anything on their phones. I said screw it. No rule was going to stop me from seizing this once in a lifetime opportunity to capture this collection of stars, a groupthat likely will never be in the same room again. We are so blessed.”

Endgame released last week and shattered box office records with $1.2 billion over its first five days worldwide.

Read next: Avengers: Endgame Could Have Been Much Different, Here’s How

Epic’s popular free-to-play battle royale game Fortnite has added another Marvel skin. Joining the Black Widow skin is the new Star-Lord Outfit based on Chris Pratt’s appearance as the Guardians of the Galaxy superhero.

The Star-Lord outfit and related Back Bling are sold together in a bundle for 1,500 V-Bucks. There is also the Dance Off emote (500 V-Bucks), the Guardian Axe (500 V-Bucks), and the Milano glider (1,200 V-Bucks) that are also available to buy. Here’s a video of the outfit and the dance, while you can see more in the image gallery below.

In other Marvel/Fortnite news, Fortnite has a new “Endgame” mode available now where players can side with Thanos and his Chitauri Invaders or the Heroes trying to stop them. There is also a set of Fortnite Endgame challenges to complete, which will unlock more Avengers-inspired cosmetics.

Additionally, Season 8, Week 9’s challenges are available now, which means the current season is likely coming to an end soon. If you need any help, we’ve rounded up tips for the trickier tasks in our complete Season 8 challenges guide.

Star-Lord Outfit Set

Game developer Markus “Notch” Persson, who created the Minecraft franchise and sold it to Microsoft for $2.5 billion USD, will not be involved with the franchise’s upcoming 10th anniversary celebration event. A spokesperson for Microsoft told Variety that they are excluding him due to his “comments and opinions.”

“His comments and opinions do not reflect those of Microsoft or Mojang and are not representative of Minecraft,” a representative told the site.

As part of Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft and developer Mojang, Persson stepped away from the series. The Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that this remains the case; he hasn’t worked on the franchise since he sold it to Microsoft years ago.

Microsoft did not point to any specific comments or opinions from Persson that led to his exclusion from the event, but a number of his tweets and comments on a variety of subjects have garnered criticism.

Persson reportedly owned 70 percent of Mojang, so he could have made more than $1.5 billion in the Microsoft buyout between cash and shares. He spent $70 million on a Beverly Hills mansion that Beyonce and Jay-Z were also eyeing.

Persson’s exclusion from the May 17 Minecraft celebration event in Stockholm is not the first instance of Microsoft distancing itself from Persson. In March, an update to Minecraft removed a reference to Persson, though he is still listed as the game’s creator in the credits.

As for the upcoming Minecraft event, it aims to give fans a look at the “past, present, and exciting future of the decade-old franchise.”

Minecraft remains one of the most popular games ever. Available on basically every platform that plays games, Minecraft has 91 million monthly players as of October 2018, which is many millions more than Fortnite has.