Author: Trafficblast

The immensely popular battle royale game Fortnite is finally out on Android, but its release on the platform is anything from traditional. Developer Epic Games decided to bypass the official Google Play store and instead offer the game exclusively through its website.

According to a report from SensorTower, Google is missing out on $50 million or more in fees as a result of this decision. Fortnite for iOS launched back in March and has made more than $180 million so far, according to the data company. Apple gets 30 percent of in-app purchases, which means the company has made around $54 million off the game.

SensorTower expects Fortnite’s Android revenue performance to be similar, which is how the company arrived at the $50 million-plus figure. There are some concerns that the unconventional method by which Android users have to get the game may hurt downloads and in turn revenue, but SensorTower says that won’t be “to a large enough degree as to affect its revenue potential in the long run.”

You can go to Epic’s website and download the game for Android. However, if you’re hoping to play the game on Android, you’ll need to have a newer handset, as Epic says the game requires a “recent high-end Android smartphone.”

The App Store for iOS is a more closed ecosystem, so Epic was not able to circumvent it in the way that it has been able to with Android.

For lots more on Fortnite, check out GameSpot’s new feature, “The Fortnite Spray And Pray Meta Is A Problem” in which Richard Wakeling talks about how shooting has changed in the game and why it’s not ideal.

The new Star Trek movie may not feature two big names from the previous entries. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s sources, Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth could not come to terms on a deal for the new sci-fi film, so they won’t appear in it.

Pine played the iconic role of Captain Kirk in the three new Star Trek films, while Hemsworth played Kirk’s father. The fourth film apparently would have featured more of Kirk’s father through some kind of time travel mechanic.

According to THR’s sources, the negotiations broke down over issues about money. Pine apparently had a deal for a fourth Star Trek movie after signing on for 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, but Hemsworth’s contract status has not been immediately clear. Sources told THR that Pine and Hemsworth believe Paramount was forcing them to take pay cuts for the fourth film. Why? The last film, Beyond, made only $343 million worldwide against a reported budget of $190 million; one source said Beyond lost money when all was said and done.

Additionally, while Pine and Hemsworth have always been in-demand, they are even bigger names now. Pine starred in the blockbuster juggernaut Wonder Woman, while Hemsworth plays Thor in the Marvel films.

The 2009 Star Trek reboot made $385 million worldwide, while 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness pulled in $467 million globally. 2016’s Beyond was the worst performer of the bunch, bringing in $343 million worldwide as mentioned above.

As THR explains, Kirk and his father could be recast for the next movie or Pine and Hemsworth could return to the bargaining table to hammer out new deals. The film “remains a priority” and has not been delayed amid the contract discussions, THR says.

While Pine and Hemsworth might be out of Star Trek 4, Paramount is expected to have the other main cast members like Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and John Cho to sign contract deals for the movie, according to THR.

The fourth Star Trek movie will be directed by Orange is the New Black and Jessica Jones veteran S.J. Clarkson. There has also been talk of Quentin Taratino directing a Star Trek movie, but it remains to be seen if that’s ever going to happen.

A sequel to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie and another Family Guy film are being planned, according to a new report. Ben Fritz of the Wall Street Journal cites sources as saying that in addition to those films, Fox is planning a Bob’s Burgers movie.

It’s not immediately clear how far along in production these films may be, but it’s safe to say none of them are coming soon. Intriguingly, Fritz reported that the Family Guy film would combine live-action with animation, just like the Sonic the Hedgehog movie will.

A sequel to The Simpsons Movie is no surprise, as the first movie was generally well-received, made a lot of money, and ended with Maggie saying during the end credits, “Sequel?” Last year, The Simpsons Movie director David Silverman said there were discussions happening about a sequel but nothing had been locked in yet. Producer Al Jean told Variety that a sequel to The Simpsons Movie probably won’t happen until The Simpsons TV show goes off the air.

“The movie was such a time-intensive operation, it pulled a lot away from the show. I would rather end the show whenever that happens before doing another movie,” he said. “It’s unlikely there’ll be another Simpsons feature while the show is being produced.”

Making the first Simpsons movie while producing the TV show at the same time “knocked the stuffing out” of the production team, Silverman said. Given that there is no end in sight for The Simpsons as a TV show, the next movie probably won’t be out anytime soon.

As for the Family Guy movie, creator Seth McFarlane said back in 2015 that fans could expect news about the film “soon,” but that never happened. The first Family Guy movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, saw a straight-to-DVD release in 2005. It was later split into three episodes that aired on TV the following year.

And regarding the Bob’s Burgers movie, Fox actually announced this film back in 2017. At the time, the company said the movie will be released in July 2020. “We’re thrilled to be invited to bring Bob’s Burgers to the big screen,” creator Loren Bouchard said, according to Deadline. “We know the movie has to scratch every itch the fans of the show have ever had, but it also has to work for all the good people who’ve never seen the show. We also know it has to fill every inch of the screen with the colors and the sounds and the ever so slightly greasy texture of the world of Bob’s–but most of all it has to take our characters on an epic adventure. In other words, it has to be the best movie ever made. But no pressure, right?!”

Fox is in the midst of having most of its assets acquired by Disney as part of a blockbuster buyout from the House of Mouse. For lots more, check out the full WSJ story here.

Bethesda has spoken up to share its side of the story after its lawyers threatened legal action against someone trying to see a secondhand copy of The Evil Within 2 on Amazon’s Marketplace. But first, some context: A person from Philadelphia, Ryan Hupp, told Polygon that they bought a new copy of The Evil Within 2, never unsealed it, and tried to sell it on Amazon’s Marketplace. Bethesda’s legal team, Vorys, reached out to Hupp to say what Hupp was doing was unlawful in part because Hupp used the word “new” to describe the game. Hupp complied with Bethesda’s request but told Bethesda’s team that the sale was protected by the First Sale Doctrine in the US that allows people to re-sell copyrighted material. However, Bethesda reportedly said this doesn’t apply because the game is lacking the warranty that would have come with the game initially to make up its original form.

In a statement to Polygon, Bethesda said it went after Hupp because he was attempting to sell The Evil Within 2 as a “new” game. “We do not allow non-authorized resellers to represent what they sell as ‘new’ because we can’t verify that the game hasn’t been opened and repackaged,” Bethesda said. “This is how we help protect buyers from fraud and ensure our customers always receive authentic new product, with all enclosed materials and warranty intact.”

Bethesda said it would not have threatened action against Hupp had the listing been presented as “pre-owned.”

Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines chimed in with some further context and clarification around the situation. Asked why Bethesda even cares what some other person does, Hines said, “Because it’s our customer. Does it have the extras that came in the box? It is it missing stuff? Is the disc now scratched and need to be replaced by us?”

He added: “People who buy our games are out customers no matter where they buy it. It’s our product. It’s our responsibility.” Further still, Hines pointed out that Bethesda wouldn’t have made any extra money. It took action because, “It’s simply about new being truly new.”

And as Hines points out, one of the video game industry’s biggest reseller of games–GameStop–has a policy that states it cannot accept sealed copies for resale. “You have to open it. They will not sell it again as new. Cause they can’t be sure either,” he said.

While this lawsuit might not move forward, ZeniMax–which owns Bethesda–is currently suing Warner Bros. over claims that the movie and TV giant’s Westworld mobile game is a ripoff of Fallout Shelter.

Fallout 76 brings back the franchise’s Perk system, but this time the Perks will be acquired and represented through “Perk Cards.” Immediately after this was announced at QuakeCon, fans began to wonder if they would be able to purchase these card packs with real money.

Bethesda has now confirmed that Perks Card Packs can only be acquired through gameplay. A tweet from the Fallout account explains that Perk Card Packs are earned “solely” by levelling up, which may put some fans’ minds at ease about the matter. Bethesda’s Pete Hines also commented, saying to a fan, “You just get them when you level up.”

For lots and lots more on Fallout 76’s Perks system, check out GameSpot’s in-depth coverage here and in the video embedded above. In short, Perks are back but in a new way.

While you can’t buy Fallout 76’s Perk Card Packs with real money, the game will have a microtransaction store where you can buy cosmetic items, according to the NoClip documentary about the game. However, pricing and other key details are under wraps.

Fallout 76–which unlike past games is an online multiplayer game–launches for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on November 14. The Fallout 76 beta will be available on Xbox One first, followed by other platforms. For more on Fallout 76, check out GameSpot’s recent news stories below.

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If there’s one thing that the debut gameplay for Doom Eternal showed, it’s that there’s still plenty of different ways to brutalize and dismember the demons of hell. Unveiled at E3 2018, the sequel plans to increase the action by putting more focus on movement, utilizing new, ridiculously overpowered weapons, and upping the stakes by bringing the action to Earth. Though the game plans to keep much of the pacing and brutal violence from its predecessor intact, there are some things that will see a major overhaul. In an interview with GameSpot, executive producer Marty Stratton discussed some of the changes coming to Doom Eternal’s content, and how the previous game’s content creation tool, SnapMap, won’t be seeing a return.

“We’ve kind of moved away from SnapMap at this point,” said Stratton. “We loved it, it was great, but it didn’t quite scratch the additional content itch for people in the way that we had hoped it would, in a broad sense. I know there’s some unbelievable SnapMap content out there, but we’ve chosen to reassign those resources and the time spent on that into things like the Invasions. Also, to a new PvP component that, in addition to the invasion, is also very Doom and very connected with what you experience in the game. And as [creative director, Hugo Martin] says, we just want to make the Doom-dance social. That’s one of our big goals.

“We’re going to do a lot with the Invasions, along with the PvP component which we’ll talk about more down the road, and we’re also developing that internally. We’re doubling down on things to make sure they’re done exactly how we want them to be done, and to make sure that they’re connected with the campaign.”

Developed by the team formerly known as Escalation Studios–now known as Bethesda Game Studios Dallas–Doom’s SnapMap mode was a custom content creator that allowed players to piece together new levels and encounters using the game’s existing assets. Coupled with content from the core development team, the SnapMap was ostensibly used to create a steady flow of new content post-launch. But as the core team behind Doom Eternal stated during QuakeCon, they felt that a change was needed in order to ensure that Doom Eternal’s game modes and post-launch content has more of their touch.

“One of the big things people wanted was to include some additional post-launch content in the campaign,” he continued. “Unfortunately, SnapMap wasn’t filling that gap for [players]. We’re already putting plans in place to have post-launch content for a long time after that people can continue to play, which we’ll talk about more once the game is closer to launch. It’s really about taking all those resources and time spent on SnapMap, and instead reinvesting it in our team and the content we’re delivering and the types of things people want to play. More social, connected experiences and more post-launch content.”

While Doom Eternal will launch on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch, there isn’t a release date set at this time. But from the looks of the gameplay demo, along with our discussion with Marty Stratton and creative director Hugo Martin, the game seems to be much further along than many expect. For more info on Doom Eternal, and along with the character creation systems of Fallout 76, be sure to check out our current coverage of all things QuakeCon 2018 down below.

QuakeCon 2018