Author: Trafficblast

There’s no better time to sign up for Xbox Game Pass–not only are six new games expected to be announced for the service tomorrow, but Amazon has been running a deal where you can buy a three-month Xbox Game Pass and get three months free. Now, an even better deal is on the horizon: starting Thursday, Microsoft will offer new and inactive subscribers three months of Xbox Game Pass for just $1.

While the deal hasn’t been promoted by Microsoft yet, you can find the details buried toward the bottom of the Xbox Game Pass sign-up page under Description. The offer will go live this Thursday, April 11, at 9 PM PT / Friday, April 12 at 12 AM ET and be available until May 13 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET. You can’t combine this offer with other promotions, and you can claim it only one time per account. After the three months are over, you’ll be charged the full monthly price unless you cancel.

Details of the promotion

Xbox Game Pass generally costs $10 per month, so this is a great opportunity to get three months for over 96% off. New subscribers can already sign up and get their first month for $1, so this deal is basically an extension of that one.

Xbox Game Pass gives subscribers unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, which they can download, play, and keep as long as they remain members. New games are regularly added to the service, while others are replaced. Minecraft was the latest addition to Game Pass; other games currently included are Fallout 4, Halo 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Doom, Just Cause 4, and more.

Sign up for Xbox Game Pass »

A new update is rolling out for Fortnite very soon. Downtime for this week’s 8.30 patch is scheduled to begin at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET / 9 AM GMT tomorrow, April 10, developer Epic Games confirmed on Twitter, and it’s slated to introduce a game-changing new feature to the hit battle royale title.

Arriving as part of the 8.30 update are Reboot Vans. Much like the respawn stations found in Apex Legends, these vehicles will allow you to revive any fallen teammates during a match. Once a teammate is eliminated, they will drop a Reboot Card, which can be taken to a Reboot Van and used to bring them back into the fray.

“After a squadmate has been eliminated, grab their dropped Reboot Card and any surviving squadmates can activate it at a van,” Epic Games community manager Nathan Mooney explained in a recent Dev Update video. “Once activated, you’ll definitely know, as a beacon and audio cue will be set off, informing nearby players to the reboot in progress and how many players will be arriving. Your squad will appear, one by one, on top of the van–ready to jump back into the match.”

The Reboot Van is only the latest addition to Fortnite this season. Epic has been introducing new weapons and features to the game on a near-weekly basis. Last week’s 8.20 content update, for instance, added the Boom Bow, a new kind of bow whose arrows are lined with shotgun shells, causing them to explode on contact. The prior week introduced several new foraged consumables and made adjustments to various other items like the Baller vehicle.

There are a few weeks remaining in Season 8 of Fortnite. Week 7’s challenges are slated to arrive on April 11, but in the meantime, you can still complete any outstanding missions you have and get one step closer to unlock the Legendary Ruin skin in Week 8. You can find tips and guides for this season’s tricker missions in our full Fortnite Season 8 challenges roundup.

Rockstar has announced the latest update for Red Dead Online, the online multiplayer portion for Red Dead Redemption 2, is now live. Despite the several pieces of new content included in the update, Red Dead Online remains in beta.

The update adds a new Showdown mode, called Plunder. This mode sees two teams face off in a race to gather supplies from a central location to outfit their respective bases. You can also sneak into your enemy’s base and steal their supplies. However, all other players can more easily spot you when you’re holding supplies, so if you’re going to steal from the enemy, it might be best to bring along a friend or two to watch your back.

New cosmetic items also come included in the latest update. After logging in to Red Dead Online, you’ll be able to find the new Owanjila Hat, Porter Jacket, and Concho Pants being sold from outfitters. Additionally, until April 15, all rank 40 coats, holsters, boots, and gloves will become available for all players, regardless of in-game rank. The Turkoman, Missouri Fox Trotter, and Arabian horses are all being lowered to rank 40 as well, with the Volatile Dynamite, Incendiary Buckshot, Explosive Slug, Express Explosive, and Dynamite Arrow pamphlets going down to rank 60.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is not only one of our favorite games from last year, it’s our game of the year for 2018. In our Red Dead Redemption 2 review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 9/10, writing, “Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it’s also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it’s a world that is hard to leave when it’s done.” However, our follow-up review for the Red Dead Online beta was not as positive, though Kallie did point out “there’s a lot of potential for Rockstar to iterate upon and expand…both in the amount of content available and the nature of that content.”

There’s more horror to be found in the Warren’s vault.

Of the Conjuring Universe’s many spin-offs, Annabelle–a horrific porcelain doll that honestly would be nightmare inducing even if it weren’t a demonic conduit–is the most developed. Sure, she may owe her big-screen existence to The Conjuring proper, but she’s the first in the shared universe to have three films of her very own. Or, at least, she will be with the release of Annabelle Comes Home, the ominously titled follow-up to 2014’s Annabelle and 2017’s Annabelle: Creation.

But this time, Annabelle isn’t alone. This movie features a full-scale catastrophe at the Warrens’ home, thanks to their horror-filled paranormal object vault, and Annabelle herself is only the ringleader. During a set visit in Burbank, California, we got a look at just who, and what, else will be joining her for the fun–and what that means for the hapless humans trapped in there with her.

The actual premise of Annabelle Comes Home shakes out like this. The Warren’s young daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace), is left alone with her babysitter, the mild mannered Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), while the Warrens are out of town. Mary Ellen is a bit less-than-enthusiastic about the Warrens’ line of work, but Daniela (Katie Sarife), Mary Ellen’s friend who sneaks over while mom and dad are gone, more than makes up for it.

Three kids left alone in a house full of cursed artifacts–what could possibly go wrong?

Surprise: literally so much, as we learned watching the scenes progress on set.

After a few days of teases, Blizzard has further detailed its upcoming Storm Rising event for Overwatch. As expected, this story segment will be the latest rotation of the Overwatch Archives seasonal event, starring a few fan-favorite characters in their younger days for a four-player co-op PvE mission.

You’ll play as Tracer, Genji, Winston, or Mercy as they go after a Talon operative, the Omnic Maximilien. Max is hiding out in Cuba while a storm presses down on the island, and the four heroes need to track him down before he can using the cover of bad weather to escape yet again. Storm Rising will be playable alongside the two returning Archives missions, Uprising and Retribution.

Of course it’s not an Overwatch event without additional cosmetics, and you’ll be able to earn more than 160 spiffy new ones during the event. Storm Rising will run from April 16-May 6, so we’re likely to see some of them teased in the meantime. A video (above) shows off the environment and your target.

The previous teasers already suggested the four-player team would be going after Maximilien, a well-known member of Doomfist’s organization. Today’s announcement doesn’t shed any further light on Sojourn, the mysterious figure who chewed out Commander Morrison (Soldier 76) and authorized the Storm Rising mission. Blizzard appears to be setting up another important story character who may become playable someday, or otherwise factor into the story.

Blizzard has been known to drop hints well in advance of actually introducing new characters, though. Maximilien has already been known in the lore, and Doomfist was mentioned in the very first teaser-trailer for Overwatch, years before he was added to the game. The trailer that accompanied the announcement of Ashe also introduced another upcoming character, Echo. Blizzard says it already has six characters planned out which amounts to “years” of releases. One of those was the recently released Baptiste, so counting Echo that leaves four others still a mystery.

Those keeping their eyes on the PlayStation Classic’s ever-dropping price will be interested to know Sony’s mini retro console is now cheaper than ever. Right now, you can pick up the PS Classic for just $34 at Rakuten. It’s currently listed for $40, but if you use the code SAVE15, you’ll get $6 off. Note that you’ll have to create a free Rakuten account to use the coupon code; the site doesn’t allow guest accounts to redeem them.

Buy the PlayStation Classic at Rakuten — $34 with code SAVE15

The PS Classic’s price has dropped consistently since it released December 3, 2018 with a launch price of $100. Since then, its price has fallen to $60, then $40, and now $34. When compared to Nintendo’s NES and SNES Classics, which quickly sold out following their release, the PlayStation Classic has not garnered nearly as much hype, with many fans (including GameSpot’s Peter Brown) feeling it doesn’t match the quality of competing mini retro consoles or do justice to the original PlayStation system, especially for $100.

“The PS Classic doesn’t feel like a celebration of PlayStation’s formative years the way Nintendo’s systems do,” Brown wrote in our PlayStation Classic review. “Nor is it a smart adaptation of a capable emulator working behind the scenes.”

That said, the console is now nearly 70% cheaper than it was at launch, and $34 may be enough to entice fans with fond memories of the PlayStation to give this mini model a try. As to whether the price will drop again? Only time will tell.

PlayStation Classic Full Game List

• Battle Arena Toshinden
• Cool Boarders 2
• Destruction Derby
• Final Fantasy VII
• Grand Theft Auto
• Intelligent Qube
• Jumping Flash
• Metal Gear Solid
• Mr Driller
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Rayman
• Resident Evil Director’s Cut
• Revelations: Persona
• Ridge Racer Type 4
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
• Syphon Filter
• Tekken 3
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
• Twisted Metal
• Wild Arms