Author: Trafficblast

Last year, Square Enix made the dramatic announcement that it would narrow its focus down to its key franchises and studios. This meant that developer IO Interactive and the Hitman franchise were put up for sale. Hitman 2 was already in development when this announcement came down, which put the future of the studio and the Hitman franchise in question. IO Interactive was ultimately successful in becoming an independent company, and it was able to retain the Hitman rights. Eventually, IO partnered with Warner Bros. on the soon-to-launch Hitman 2.

In an interview with GameSpot, associate director Eskil Mohl reflected on this challenging time for IO Interactive. IO had to make a number of layoffs as part of the deal. While this was difficult, Mohl said it helped the team that remained become further unified and driven to make Hitman 2 better.

“It’s sort of a miracle that we’re here today,” Mohl said. “We’re super happy and excited about that because of course it’s been a rough time. It took a long time to find Warner as well.”

Mohl said when Square Enix dropped IO and the Hitman franchise, the situation felt dire. He said he remembers thinking, “Oh sh*t, we’re flying over the Atlantic and we don’t have enough gas to get there. So what the hell do we do?”

As mentioned, one part of coming to a solution was cutting jobs–and this was difficult.

“We had to let a lot of people go. But that made the team that was left really come together [and say] ‘Let’s do this, we believe in the product.’ We were already working on Hitman 2 and then this thing happened,” he said. “It sort of unified us in a way. Yeah, it’s been super hard, but its always a lot of work, but it’s fun work. It really made us go, ‘Yeahhh we can do it!.'”

And regarding IO’s new partnership with Warner Bros., Mohl said it’s been smooth sailing. Similarly, Square Enix was pleasant during the breakup, he said.

“I can only say super positive things,” Mohl said. “We’re super happy with Warner Bros. And they seem to be happy with us, right? [looks at PR person in the room]. I have to say, after Square left us, they’ve been extremely nice to us. They had to focus on other stuff, so that was fair.”

Hitman 2 launches on November 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The actor Sean Bean, who typically portrays characters who die, is the first Elusive Target in the sequel. You can watch a trailer for this in the video embed above.

The dinosaur survival game Ark: Survival Evolved will launch for Nintendo Switch on November 30, developer Studio Wildcard has confirmed. The Switch edition was worked on by Abstraction Games in Netherlands; that studio also co-developed some of the game’s other console editions.

In a press release, main developer Studio Wildcard said the Nintendo Switch version of Ark: Survival Evolved contains “all the content and features of the original award-winning game.” Specifically, this includes the entire island featuring more than 100 combined dinosaurs and other creatures.

A trailer for the Nintendo Switch edition has also been released, showing off the game’s visuals in handheld mode. There is no word as of yet if Switch owners will also get Ark’s previously released paid DLC, Aberration and Scorched Earth, or the upcoming Extinction add-on. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

Ark became a major success story after it launched on Steam Early Access in mid-2015 for PC. The game has since been released in full across PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

A free-to-play mobile version of Ark was released by the studio behind mobile adaptation of Rockstar games like GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA: San Andreas.

The Kickoff Show for Evolution is over, and there were no matches during the pre-show. This is WWE’s first-ever all-women’s PPV, and it is now under way. Check out the results live, posted below as they happen.

WWE is about to make history, as the sports entertainment company will be hosting its very first all-women’s PPV today, Evolution. The monumental show will take place at NYCB Live in Uniondale, New York, and it will feature superstars from the past and present.

Evolution’s main card begins at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, with a Kickoff Show starting one hour prior. There has not been a bout announced for the Kickoff Show, but there’s a good chance one will be added last minute. Renee Young, Paige, and Beth Phoenix will host the pre-show, and then Young and Phoenix will join Michael Cole for commentary during the main card.

There is a lot on the line for this major event. The Raw, Smackdown, and NXT women’s titles are all on the line, and Evolution will host the finals of the Mae Young Classic, as Toni Storm takes on Io Shirai. Additionally, there is a battle royal with more than 20 superstars, and the winner of that match will get a future title shot. In total, there are seven matches on the main card for Evolution, which you can watch on the WWE Network.

For more on Evolution, check out our predictions, the history of the women’s revolution, every woman on the roster ranked, and the best women’s matches of all time.

The matches for Evolution, below, may not happen in the order listed. In case you’re not caught up, don’t worry; we put the final results in spoiler blocks.

Evolution Match Card:

• Battle Royal
• Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs. The Riott Squad
• Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai (Mae Young Classic 2018 Finals)
• Kairi Sane (c) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Championship)
• Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James
• Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Championship)
• Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Nikki Bella (Raw Championship)

Entrants in the Battle Royal:

• Asuka
• Naomi
• Carmella
• Nia Jax
• Ember Moon
• Alicia Fox
• Dana Brooke
• Lana
• Billie Kay
• Peyton Royce
• Mandy Rose
• Sonya Deville
• Tamina
• Torrie Wilson.
• Michelle McCool
• Alundra Blayze
• Ivory
• Molly Holly
• Kelly Kelly
• Maria Kanellis
• Zelina Vega

Main Card Start Times (Kickoff begins one hour prior)

• 10 AM AEDT (Oct. 29)
• 11 PM GMT
• 7 PM ET
• 6 PM C
• 4 PM PT

Kickoff Show

No matches during the Kickoff Show.

Main Card

Updating…

It was over 35 years ago that John Carpenter had what he thought would be his final word on the Halloween franchise. After directing the original film, co-writing the first two, and co-producing Halloween II and III, he was ready to move on with his life. And he did, directing films like Christine, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from LA, and Village of the Damned.

Yet, somehow, 40 years after the first film, John Carpenter is right back where he started in the fictional town of Haddonfield, once again haunted by the ghost of Michael Myers. It might be a place he never expected to be, but it’s one that probably wouldn’t exist without him in 2018.

Speaking to GameSpot, producer Jason Blum said he wasn’t interested in making a new Halloween movie without Carpenter. “When we went to Miramax and said they wanted us to do the movie, I did not want to make the movie unless John was going to be involved,” he admitted.

According to Blum, Miramax thought it would be impossible to get the original film’s director interested. “They said to me, ‘We’ve asked John, and he’s not interested,'” he recalled.

In the end, though, Carpenter became interested, and it was all due to a simple conversation. “I went to his office, and I sat with him, and I made my pitch, and he politely listened,” Blum explained. “And I said ‘Well, let me put it another way. They’re gonna make it with or without us… because if you don’t do it, I’m not gonna do it, so why don’t we join them and see if we can make it well and make something that we’re proud of.'”

As the story goes, that’s all it took to convince John to return to the one property his career is most synonymous with. And fans should be glad that’s how it all played out. As Blum told GameSpot during the film’s junket, without him it’s possible Jamie Lee Curtis might not have returned as Laurie Strode.

Without Carpenter and Curtis, it’s impossible to imagine this movie turning out as great as it did. Now, thanks to them–and everyone involved–Halloween looks ready to rule the box office once again. The new Halloween film is in theaters on October 19.

Before you see the film, make sure to check out our definitive ranking of every Halloween movie, as well as our review of the newest installment. Then, if you want to jump back in time, we’ve also gathered the franchise’s most brutal kills.