Cloud gaming is poised to potentially be the Next Big Thing for gaming, and one of the companies that stands to benefit the most is Activision Blizzard, according to CEO Robert Kotick. In an earnings call, Kotick said new platforms like Google Stadia are good for gaming to help grow the market, but these platforms can’t succeed without content.
Activision Blizzard owns and controls decades worth of content, and that positions the company uniquely, Kotick said. “When you own 30 years of IP like we do, there’s probably never been a better time to be in the games business,” Kotick said. “When these big, well-funded companies are building out platforms where they have limited amounts of content to actually serve up to customers, I’d say there’s a great opportunity for a company like ours.”
“For starters, they will all try to broaden the audience for gaming and make big investments and commitments to doing so and that’s just helpful for growing the market,” Kotick added. “But in each case, none of these platforms can succeed without great content. Truthfully, they really don’t know how to make it. So when you think about what will be required, it will be support from us [and other game publishers] to allow them to actually build an audience. We have a better audience than most to capitalise on all these new platforms.”
Google Stadia‘s announcement in March was light on content partners, leading some to shrug the service off. Stadia boss Phil Harrison teased that more details will be announced in June, so it could be soon that we learn more about who Google is partnering with. Stadia has also created an internal game development team, Stadia Games led by industry veteran Jade Raymond, that will create games for Stadia.
Microsoft is working on its own game-streaming service, xCloud, and it’s not a stretch to imagine that the company will tap into its long list of owned studios to make new content for the platform. Sony, too, has its PlayStation Now streaming service that will likely continue to leverage first-party studios in an addition to third-parties to build out its content catalog as Xbox is expected to do.
Outside of those companies that are directly tied to game development, Amazon, Verizon, and Wal-Mart are among the non-gaming companies that are confirmed or rumoured to be building cloud gaming platforms. Those companies will need game content to build out their services.
Going back to Kotick, he said distribution models are always evolving and changing for games, and he expects this to continue with cloud gaming. In the next 5-10 years, Kotick said there will be “more ways and places to engage players [and] that serves us better than almost any other company.” Kotick added that, beyond partnering with the new cloud gaming services, Activision has a unique opportunity to connect directly with its massive network of 345 million monthly active players across its catalog of games.
Kotick is not the first gaming executive to discuss the issue of cloud gaming companies and a potential struggle to get compelling content. Xbox boss Mike Nichols said about Stadia, “They don’t have the content.”
What do you think about cloud gaming? Let us know in the comments below! You can also read GameSpot’s cloud gaming primer to find out everything you need to know.
First-party Nintendo Switch games are notorious for not budging in price, while other games see price drops are early as release day (we’re looking at you, Mortal Kombat 11). However, we’ve recently seen quite a few Nintendo Switch games on sale at places like Amazon, where you can currently find many titles discounted by $10, $15, or even more. Now, Best Buy is getting in on the deals action with a fantastic offer for anyone looking to pick up Nintendo’s latest console. For a limited time, the retailer is giving away a free Switch game of your choice when you buy a Nintendo Switch console. Previous deals have bundled the console with a handful of game options for 50% off, so this offer is one of the best Switch bundle options we’ve seen to date.
Just choose your console and an eligible game, add them both to your cart, and you’ll see the discount applied at checkout. Visit the official offer page to get started:
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has undergone several delays, but now it’s just around the corner. A new trailer drops a release date for the Castlevania homage, but also makes a point of showing just how far it’s come during its long development cycle.
The trailer (below) gives a release date of June 18 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and one week later, June 25, for Nintendo Switch. But most of the time is spent showing internet naysayers mocking the early graphics, and juxtaposing that old “poop” look with the game as it will release in a little more than a month. Yes, the trailer actually does call the old graphics “poop.”
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Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night – Release Date Trailer
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It doesn’t shed much light on the reason for the Switch version following a week after the others. This follows an announcement, from a Nintendo Direct in fact, that all of the versions will be coming this summer.
The Kickstarter for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night promised a game in the style of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the most famous work from Bloodstained creator Koji Igarashi. That crowdfunding concluded almost four years ago, so it’s spent quite a bit of time in development–so long, in fact, that the target platforms have changed over time. It was originally targeting PlayStation Vita and Wii U, and development started before the Nintendo Switch was even announced, so those plans have shuffled to the new platform. The studio also recently canceled the Mac and Linux versions.
Our recent hands-on showed a game that’s right up the alley of classic Metroidvania-style adventures, with some minor trade-offs from taking it 3D. A notably clever 8-bit style prequel is already available on all platforms as well.
It’s been a busy week for news out of the Epic Games Store, as it was recently announced that Rocket League developer Psyonix will be acquired by Epic and the vehicular soccer game will be coming to the service later this year. In addition, Epic continues to challenge Steam with its biweekly free game offerings, with past freebies including acclaimed titles like The Witness, Oxenfree, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Subnautica.
Now, the latest free PC game from Epic is available: World of Goo replaces Transistor as the newest giveaway. From now until May 16, you can download the game, and it’ll be yours to keep. If you don’t already have an Epic account, all you have to do is create one (which is free). It’s worth the 30 seconds it’ll take you to sign up, as Epic has already established a track record of offering some great games at no cost.
World of Goo is an award-winning, physics-based puzzle game that involves building bridges, towers, and other structures to navigate various levels. Your building tools are balls of goo, and there are several different types of goo with their own unique abilities. The game also includes a multiplayer sandbox area where players around the world can compete to build the tallest towers of goo and complete other challenges. World of Goo initially launched on PC back in 2008 but just received its first update in 10 years (likely to prepare for this Epic giveaway). The update includes a full remaster of the game, including improved frame rate, HD resolution, and 16:9 aspect ratio. So there’s truly no better time to snag this classic (and very silly) game.
If World of Goo isn’t your thing, hang tight, because another freebie will drop later this month. Stories Untold, which includes a genre-mixing anthology of mysterious and innovative story-driven games, will be Epic’s next PC giveaway. Look for it in the Epic Store starting May 16.
Weeelcoooome to NVC, IGN’s Nintendo podcast! This week, we discuss how it’s looking pretty peachy for our favorite gaming company after looking over Nintendo’s recent financial report. However, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in Labo VR is, well, not great. We compare our nauseating experience with the new way to play Zelda to Mario Odyssey’s somewhat better VR modes.
NVC is also once again hit with our late news curse, as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s release date trailer launched the day after we recorded! However, we spliced in a segment from the future(tm) to make good on our transgressions. Plus, with so many video games being turned into movies and TV shows, the crew discusses which movie or show they’d want to see as a video game for this week’s Question Block question.
We’ve finally reached the end of Fortnite Season 8, but there’s still one more set of weekly challenges to complete before Season 9 officially begins. Week 10’s challenges are now live across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, which means this is your last chance to level your Battle Pass up and unlock any remaining Season 8 skins and rewards.
As has been the case this whole season, there’s an added bonus for completing as many challenges as you can. If you finish all of the tasks from a given week, you’ll complete one of Season 8’s Discovery challenges, which in turn will unlock a special loading screen. These screens all feature some cool artwork, but the real reason you want to unlock them is because each one contains a subtle clue that points you to a free Battle Star–which levels your Battle Pass up by one tier–or a Banner–which can be used as a profile icon–hidden somewhere around the game’s map.
If you’ve finished all 10 weeks’ worth of Season 8 challenges, you’ll be able to pick up one final Banner before the season ends. To find it, though, you’ll need to look carefully at the loading screen below, which is your reward for completing the tenth Discovery challenge. This screen depicts a group of characters gazing at the mysterious alien vault beneath Loot Lake, which will presumably play a pivotal role in the seasonal changeover as Season 9 begins.
Among the things you can spot in the loading screen is someone in the Peely banana skin and, more importantly, the hidden banner. It’s located just near the perimeter of the hole, in the northwest corner.
You can see the Banner’s exact location on the map below. We also walk you through where to find it in the video at the top of this guide. However, the usual caveats will apply. This particular Banner won’t appear in the game unless you’ve completed all 10 weeks’ sets of challenges and unlocked the above loading screen, so you won’t be able to simply go to the right area and collect it unless you’ve done all the necessary work.
You only have a few more days to complete any outstanding Season 8 challenges and unlock all of this season’s Battle Pass rewards. If you need help mopping up some remaining missions, be sure to check out all of the tips we’ve put together in our complete Fortnite Season 8 challenges guide. You also still have a little more time to take part in Fortnite’s Avengers: Endgame crossover event and unlock the new Avengers-inspired rewards.
Fortnite’s final update of Season 8, patch 8.51, arrived on May 2. Along with the usual assortment of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, the update introduced the recently teased Shadow Bomb item, which gives players the ability to turn invisible temporarily and gain additional movement speed and abilities. You can read the full Fortnite 8.51 update patch notes here.
Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors behind the wildly successful Avengers: Endgame, have set an official date for when the spoiler ban lifts on this MCU epic.
Posted by the Russo Brothers Twitter account, the “official” spoiler ban will be removed on Monday, May 6. The account posted this morning, “If you haven’t seen Endgame yet, see it this weekend. The spoiler ban lifts on Monday!”
Game of Thrones’ “Long Night” is over, for better or worse, and with the White Walkers defeated, what remains is what’s always been there: the battle for the Iron Throne.
But before Jon or Dany (or Jaime or Tyrion or Arya or basically every other character on the show) can shove a knife through Cersei’s stupid face and plant a more deserving butt in that seat, Game of Thrones has to do something it’s been building toward for many years: Cleganebowl, the battle between the Hound, Sandor Clegane, and the Mountain, Gregor Clegane.
Why does this matter? We’ll get to that. But there’s more than just the history of Game of Thrones to look at; the show’s most recent events, including the Hound’s visions in the flames and adventures with Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion, may give us some new insight into how Cleganebowl might play out.
Let’s get that context out of the way first, though.
What Is Cleganebowl?
“Cleganebowl” is the name Game of Thrones fans (and fans of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire before them) have given to the theorized clash between the Hound, Sandor Clegane, and his brother, the Mountain, Gregor Clegane.
This theory was born long ago for those who read the novels, and the reasoning behind it is the same in the show as it was in the books. But since the last book came out almost a decade ago and as far as the books are concerned, the Hound has retired to a religious commune and is out of the running, the most egregious and tantalizing foreshadowing for this fight has taken place in the show’s recent seasons.
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Admittedly, it’s a pretty simple story: As Sandor has discussed at various points throughout both versions of Game of Thrones, his brother Gregor is a total dick. When they were kids, Gregor bullied Sandor incessantly, even burning the Hound’s face in a hot brazier as they fought over a toy. That gave Sandor the distinctive scars on his face, an all-encompassing cynicism for the world in general, the fear of fire that has influenced the Hound’s participation in at least two battles, and a burning hatred for his brother that’s lasted their entire lives.
For his part, Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane has lumbered here and there throughout the books and the show, wreaking havoc and despair everywhere he went. He brutalized a horse at the tourney in Season 1, and he terrorized Arya during Season 2. In Season 4, he smashed Oberyn Martell’s face even while succumbing to the Red Viper’s deadly poison, and was later revived as an apparently unthinking, mute zombie to lead Cersei’s personal Queensguard. He also has a history of being super terrible in the past; When Daenerys’s father, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, was overthrown, the Mountain reportedly raped and murdered Elia Martel, the wife of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, and killed her children–including an infant. Just about everyone has a score to settle with the guy.
When Sandor and Gregor finally came face to face again for the first time since Season 1, it was in the show’s Season 7 finale, during The Fateful Meeting of Named Characters in the dragon pit outside King’s Landing. “Remember me? Yeah, you do,” the Hound told his brother. “You’re even uglier than I am now. What did they do to you? Doesn’t matter. That’s not how it ends for you, brother. You know who’s coming for you. You’ve always known.”
In other words, Sandor doesn’t give a flying chicken whether his brother is a brainless zombie or there’s still a glimmer of the old rotten son-of-a-gun in there somewhere behind those purple eyes. The Hound is going to kill the Mountain in the end, and we couldn’t be more excited for their final throwdown.
How Could The Lord of Light, R’hllor, Fit In?
After Arya Stark casually slipped a dagger into the Night King’s exposed belly fat like so many joking Reddit commenters and fandom s***-posters had accidentally correctly guessed she would over the years, a question arose: Is the story of R’hllor, the Lord of Light, the God of Flame and Shadow who the Red Priests worship, now finished?
Melisandre is dead, her mission to gently suggest that Arya do what Arya does complete. Beric is also dead, having protected Arya so she could reach said pep talk. Thoros died last season after getting mauled by a zombie bear, then being fine, then dying later for no reason. And the Red Priestess Kinvara, who you probably don’t remember because she appeared in a single scene back in Meereen two seasons ago, might as well be dead, because there’s no way she’s ever appearing on this show again.
But R’hllor might have one follower left on the continent of Westeros: Sandor Clegane. With every other R’hllor-loving character dead, the Hound may be next to take up the Lord of Light’s cause.
The narrative set-up is all there. The Hound witnessed Thoros bring Beric back to life many seasons ago (after being the one to land the killing blow, in fact), and seemed shaken. He saw visions in the fire that inspired his group of misfits to head north to the Edifice Formerly Known As The Wall, where they helped Jon on his extremely stupid mission to kidnap a zombie. He’s been hanging around with these characters for seasons on end, and despite his projected cynicism, Sandor has seen the signs himself.
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And there’s plenty of thematic pay-off to be had in Sandow Clegane embracing the God of Fire. Fire is the tool his brother used to scar him for life, both physically and emotionally; fire is the source of Sandor’s cynicism, and his greatest fear, producing a primal response in him that we’ve seen over and over, whether at the Battle of the Blackwater, his duel with Beric long ago, or the recent Battle of Winterfell. Fire is the Hound’s greatest weakness, and overcoming that weakness could represent the growth of his character if he finally abandons his cynicism and finds inner calm.
Plus, Red Priests get to light their swords on fire. There’s poetic justice in the idea of the Hound bashing his undead brother’s big, stupid head in with a flaming blade, and more importantly–the reason I think the show may actually follow through on this one–it would look awesome.
There are three episodes left to go in Game of Thrones’ final season, and more than anything else, Cleganebowl happening is just shy of certain. Here’s hoping the show manages to do it in a way that has actual narrative and thematic pay-off, and looks cool too.
