Author: Trafficblast

If the established rotation for which developer is responsible for each Call of Duty game continues into 2019, then it’s Infinity Ward’s turn next. And a recent tweet of a skull by the company’s senior communication manager Ashton Williams may confirm that it is Infinity Ward that’s at the helm and also hint at what the next Call of Duty title might be. Although there was no accompanying text, the skull itself could imply that Infinity Ward is working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

Since Infinity Ward is the developer behind Call of Duty: Ghosts, many first suspected the tweet was teasing Ghosts 2. However, Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has since claimed in a forum post that isn’t the case. Prior to Ghosts and Infinite Warfare, Infinity Ward was responsible for the widely popular Modern Warfare series. Fans may recall that one of the major characters from Modern Warfare 2, Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley, wore a skull-patterned balaclava. Williams’ tweet may be in reference to that, which could mean there’s a Modern Warfare sequel starring the character scheduled for 2019.

However, considering the popularity of Modern Warfare Remastered, Williams tweet could instead just as easily be a hint that a remaster for Modern Warfare 2 is in the works as well. Infinity Ward released Modern Warfare Remastered alongside Infinite Warfare, so the developer could be planning to do something similar with whatever new game is planned. This is all conjecture though, and the tweet could just as easily be a tease for a brand-new Call of Duty series that has nothing to do with Modern Warfare.

Treyarch’s 2018 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was the first game in the franchise to not feature a traditional single-player campaign. Instead, Black Ops 4 included the franchise’s first battle royale mode, titled Blackout. There hasn’t been an announcement of whether 2019’s Call of Duty will implement either of these changes.

Pokemon Go‘s first in-game event of the new year is now underway. Developer Niantic has kicked off the Adventure Sync Hatchathon, which is scheduled to run until January 15 and will reward players with extra Candy and Stardust for hatching Eggs.

During the event, you’ll be able to earn twice the normal amount of Stardust and Candy for each Pokemon Egg you hatch. On top of that, Niantic says you will have a higher likelihood of receiving 5 and 10 km Eggs–which can hatch into Pokemon like Elekid, Magby, and Chansey–by spinning the Photo Disc at PokeStops and Gyms.

Adventure Sync is one of the many new features Niantic introduced to Pokemon Go in 2018. When enabled in the settings menu, it allows the game to keep track of the distance you’ve walked even when it’s idle, making it much easier–and much less taxing on your phone’s battery–to hatch Eggs.

Before the Hatchathon ends, Niantic will host Pokemon Go’s first Community Day of 2019. That event takes place on Saturday, January 12, and features increased spawns of the Gen 2 starter Totodile. Moreover, you’ll be hatch Eggs at a quarter of their typical required distance during the Community Day, which means you’ll potentially be able to earn a ton of Stardust and Candy thanks to the ongoing Hatchathon bonuses.

With January’s arrival, Niantic rolled out a new set of Field Research tasks for Pokemon Go. As in December, completing enough of these to achieve a Research Breakthrough can lead to an encounter with one of several Legendary Pokemon, including two new possibilities: Ho-Oh and Lugia. Meanwhile, the game’s latest Legendary, Heatran, will remain available in Raid Battles until January 15.

Actor Jack Black has launched a YouTube channel dedicated in part to gaming, and it’s proving to be wildly popular before he’s even uploaded any kind of substantial content. Black launched his new channel, Jablinski Games, on December 21, and it took just a week for it to reach 1 million subscribers. After 10 days, the channel is up to more than 2.5 million subscribers, so it’s definitely off to a very good start.

Probably jokingly, Black said Jablinski Games will be bigger than Ninja and PewDiePie. He plans to upload new videos every Friday, and in addition to games, Black’s videos will focus on food and life. His second video, released on December 25, was posted in celebration of Jablinski Games reaching 1 billion errrr 1 million subscribers.

It remains to be seen what form Black’s videos will take or if he’ll have guests. Whatever the case, the videos will surely be wacky, given the tone and direction of the two teasers we’ve seen so far.

Black is of course no stranger to video games. He starred as Eddie Riggs in Double Fine’s 2009 action game Brutal Legend. He also voiced a character in Double Fine’s crowdfunded game Broken Age.

Outside of games, Black, 49, is a major film star whose credits include School of Rock, King Kong, the Kung Fu Panda series, and most recently Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He’s also an accomplished musician; he sings and plays guitar in the band Tenacious D with Kyle Gass.

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The new Sandra Bullock Netflix movie Bird Box has proven to be incredibly popular, but now the streaming giant has issued a warning to viewers about it.

In the film, Bullock and others wear blindfolds so they can’t see the horrors in the world that cause people to kill themselves. In real life, people are blindfolding themselves and doing regular stuff in what’s been labeled the BirdBoxChallenge.

As you’d expect, wearing a blindfold while walking down the street or through the woods can be problematic. There are already countless videos of people getting physically hurt partaking in the challenge, and now Netflix has urged people to be careful. “Can’t believe I have to say this, but: PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE,” Netflix said in a statement on Twitter.

“We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes.”

Birdbox was released on Netflix at the end of December, and it quickly became the platform’s most-watched movie in its first seven days.

In other Netflix news, here’s a roundup of all the new TV shows and movies landing on the platform in January.

With 2018 officially behind us, Amazon has revealed its 100 best-selling video game items of the past year. As usual, the list encompasses all of the gaming-related products the online retailer sold in 2018, from peripherals and accessories to gift cards and subscriptions, but the most popular game item in any category was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Nintendo’s new mascot brawler was both Amazon’s best-selling video game and the retailer’s overall best-selling game product in 2018–a distinction that is all the more impressive considering the title launched less than a month ago. The fighting game has been a major commercial success for Nintendo, setting new sales records for the series around the world shortly after its release. GameSpot also selected it as one of our 10 best video games of 2018.

The remainder of the top 10 games list is almost evenly divided between Switch and PS4 titles. The PS4 version of Rockstar’s critically acclaimed open-world western, Red Dead Redemption 2, was Amazon’s second-best-selling game of 2018, while Super Mario Party rounded out the top three. Two of 2018’s biggest PS4 exclusives, Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War, were No. 4 and No. 9, respectively, while Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 were No. 7 and No. 8.

Some of 2017’s biggest Switch exclusives also reappeared on 2018’s best-sellers list. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey were Amazon’s No. 5 and 6 best-selling games of the past year, respectively, while the Switch launch game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild closed out the top 10.

The list of overall game products was dominated by gift cards and accessories. You can see Amazon’s top 10 best-selling games below. The complete list of the retailer’s 100 best-selling game products can be found here.

Amazon’s Top 10 Best-Selling Video Games Of 2018

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
3. Super Mario Party
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Super Mario Odyssey
7. Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4)
9. God of War
10. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Amazon’s Top 10 Best-Selling Game Products Of 2018

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2. $10 PlayStation Store Gift Card
3. $20 PlayStation Store Gift Card
4. AmFilm Glass Nintendo Switch Screen Protector
5. 12-Month PlayStation Plus Membership
6. Nintendo Switch w/Neon Joy-Cons
7. $50 PlayStation Store Gift Card
8. Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
9. $10 Xbox Gift Card
10. $25 Xbox Gift Card