The Mandalorian is all the rage these days, as season two continues to delight Star Wars fans of all ages. Fans of the Disney+ show can now preorder a Nerf replica of the Mandalorian’s Amban phase-pulse sniper rifle. It’s part of the premium Nerf LMTD line, which helps explain its $119.99 MSRP. It’s available to preorder now at a number of retailers, with an estimated ship date of October 1, 2021.
The main thing to know about this Nerf blaster is that it’s over four feet long, making it the longest Nerf blaster yet, according to Hasbro. It comes fully assembled, so you don’t need to do anything other than take it out of the packaging and start blasting away.
The weapon’s design is based on the one used in the show, including the wood-textured stock and inlaid bracket, gold colored detailing, and even a weathering look to show the battle wear.
Pop a pair of AAA batteries into it, and you’ll be treated to blaster sounds that are accurate to the Mandalorian TV show. It also sports an electronic scope with an illuminated lens. Accompanying the blaster are 10 foam Nerf darts you can use to take out your enemies or scare your cat.
It’s one of the coolest Nerf blasters we’ve seen, so lock in your preorder if you want one.
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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and bonafide deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
The release of CD Projekt Red’s highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only attention-grabber happening on December 10. The Game Awards goes live on the same day and is all-virtual this time around as the world continues to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There are 30 categories to get through, including the coveted Game of the Year award that games like Hades and The Last of Us Part II are competing for. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s The Game Awards, including start time, where to watch, and what to expect.
The Game Awards Start Time
This year’s The Game Awards goes live earlier than usual. Instead of typically occurring in the evening, the livestream kicks off on Thursday, December 10 with a pre-show that starts at 3:30 PM PT / 6:30 PM ET. The main event takes place just 30 minutes later.
US West Coast: 4 PM PT
US East Coast: 7 PM ET
UK: 12 AM GMT (December 11)
Sydney, Australia: 11 AM AET (December 11)
Where To Watch The Game Awards
The Game Awards will be livestreamed on all the usual places, including the company’s official Twitch and YouTube channels. The award ceremony can also be viewed on Facebook Live, Oculus Venues, and Twitter. We here at GameSpot will stream The Game Awards through the livestream above and on YouTube.
The Game Awards is expected to feature a plethora of big-name guests, including A-list Hollywood celebrities some might not expect. Familiar faces, like Reggie Fils-Aime and Troy Baker, will show up. But others alongside them include Christopher Nolan and Nolan North.
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With a new generation of consoles just launched at the tail end of 2020, the future looks bright for the PlayStation and Xbox platforms. But, as always, PC remains its own unique gaming platform that can provide experiences you might not be able to find on consoles while also offering a place to play multiplatform games at their best. PC’s seemingly infinite backlog of games makes it a beast of a platform, but there’s just as much to look forward to in 2021 and beyond.
It is exciting that PC gamers have options for even more powerful video cards with Nvidia’s RTX 30-series and AMD’s RX 6000-series (if you can find them), providing more graphical horsepower than ever before and new features like ray tracing and AI-driven supersampling. But while PC pushes innovation in graphics and performance, what matters most is the games. And if you need a cheat sheet for what’s in your PC gaming future, and details on why you should be excited for each of these upcoming titles, we have you covered.
One of the games that developer Obsidian Entertainment has up its sleeve is Avowed, and it’s intriguing considering the studio’s track record (Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds). Avowed looks to be the first big RPG from Obsidian under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, but all we know so far comes from the short teaser trailer shown off during the Xbox showcase from July 2020, which revealed it as a new first-person fantasy RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe.
Deathloop
Arkane Studios has an impressive history with the likes of Dishonored and Prey, and it looks to be taking many of those concepts into something brand new with Deathloop. It’s a first-person action/shooter game with a slick art style, wild abilities to seek and assassinate targets, and a mind-bending concept of being stuck in time loops. Deathloop is set to launch on PS5 and PC in May.
Dying Light 2
It seems like Dying Light 2 has been in conversations about anticipated games each year since its reveal at E3 2018, and after a few delays that pushed it out of its 2020 release window, here we are again. While it’s still intended to bring that first-person action and parkour experience from the previous game, Dying Light 2 is also said to have a bigger narrative focus that will dynamically impact the state of the game’s world and cast of supporting characters therin.
Elden Ring
Folks keep asking, “Where is Elden Ring?” But nobody stops to ask, “How is Elden Ring?” Hi, From Software, may we please get a crumb of the ring of eld? If you don’t know, Elden Ring is the upcoming action-RPG from the Soulsborne creators but it’s set in an original fantasy world co-created by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin–what a wild collaboration.
Everwild
Everwild is a brand-new IP from Rare, and looks to be an adventurous game set in an expansive outdoors with a stunning art style. While we don’t know exactly what to expect from Everwild, it seems like a marriage between the natural and supernatural world with interactions revolving around wildlife and your party of four, which is teased in its reveal trailer.
Fable
There is very little we know about the new Fable right now, but at least we know it’s real. Its reveal concluded the Xbox Showcase back in July 2020 and confirmed that developer Playground Games is behind the project. Fable is an RPG series known for its take on choice and consequence, and how they affect the way your character looks, grows, and is perceived in the game world. It’s exciting to think about what Fable could be in this new generation.
Far Cry 6
Ubisoft’s marquee open-world FPS series is going to the fictional island of Yara, which closely resembles Cuba during a revolutionary part of its history. Far Cry 6 is said to emphasize guerilla warfare as you try to overthrow a tyrannical government led by main villain Anton Castillo (played by actor Giancarlo Esposito). After a delay, it’s now set to launch on all major platforms sometime in mid-2021.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Next Expansion
Square Enix’s top-tier MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV keeps getting better and better with each expansion and update. And the team behind FFXIV has been on schedule for one expansion every two years. December’s 5.4 update sows the seeds for what’s next in the story, too. With a special event scheduled for February 2021, it’s likely that the new expansion will be revealed then, and if the past is any indication, it could launch by the end of 2021.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a bit different from what we’ve come to expect from developer Shinji Mikami and Tango Gameworks. After two entries in The Evil Within, it seems the studio is still going for a supernatural concept, but now in a first-person game with a more stylized action focus. Spirits haunt Tokyo and you’ll have to fight them with what’s described as “karate meets magic.”
Gotham Knights
Who’s going to protect Gotham City without Batman around? Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin, of course. And in an open-world action RPG called Gotham Knights, no less. The game can be played solo or in two-player co-op with what’s said to be a seamless drop-in-and-out system. The story will be separate from the existing Batman: Arkham series, though. Gotham Knights’ main story will be about the rise of the Bat family following Batman’s apparent death, and their conflict with the Gotham City’s rogues’ gallery, which includes the infamous Court of Owls.
Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear never ceases to impress from a visual and art direction standpoint, especially with its stunning take on 2D anime-inspired art pressed against 3D environments and camera cuts in Guilty Gear Xrd. Somehow, Guilty Gear Strive pushes it forward with refined art, stages, and transitions. But it’s also a return for the rad fighting game series with new and familiar characters. We’ve had hands-on time with it in preview form and it’s the fighting game you’ll want to look out for in 2021.
Halo: Infinite
Halo: Infinite is, of course, one of the most anticipated games of 2021, considering Halo’s status as Microsoft’s marquee franchise. But this upcoming entry has been through a few ups and downs. It was originally slated as an Xbox Series X|S launch game (simultaneously releasing on Xbox One and PC), but was pushed into 2021 shortly after its first full gameplay reveal. It’s taking on a more open structure with its campaign, with a multiplayer component that’ll be free-to-play. Notably, it will be the first-ever core Halo game to launch for PC on day one.
Hitman 3
Soon, we’ll be back in the world of assassination for the third entry in the Hitman reboot series. The two previous entries set a new standard for the franchise by focusing on the stealth-action and spying within expertly designed sandbox levels. Hitman 3 is said to be darker and more serious in tone this time around. There will also be PSVR compatibility, which is wild to think about for a Hitman game. For PC specifically, IO has outlined how it’s optimizing for the platform.
Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy is the much-anticipated action RPG set in the Harry Potter universe, but in this adventure in the Wizarding World, we don’t need Harry. The story takes place in the late 1800s, but all the things you know and love about the franchise are still here: spells, potions, magical beasts, and the house rivalries of Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling isn’t directly involved in the project–take that for what you will.
Humankind
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One of the few high-profile PC exclusives coming in 2021 is Humankind, which is a 4X strategy game similar to the Civilization franchise. Humankind is being developed by Amplitude Studios, which did the Endless Space series, and seems to be trying different things compared to Civ. It introduces different victory conditions and an emphasis on how civilizations develop over the ages, rather than a specific end-goal.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Kena: Bridge of Spirits looks to be a whimsical action-adventure game starring a young girl who can guide spirits and use magical abilities in a world influenced by East and Southeast Asian locations. You might get the impression of Pixar-esque art style in Kena, but it’s developed by a Vietnamese studio called Sparx. It was revealed during a PS5 showcase but is coming to PC, too.
Kerbal Space Program 2
The original game was a wild space flight and aerospace engineering simulation with many daunting systems and mechanics and a lighthearted concept of sending Kerbals to space. Kerbal Space Program 2 is said to emphasize tutorialization to help players get into its intricate gameplay. It was recently announced that the game was being pushed to 2022, however.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Lego Star Wars games always seem to hit a nice spot of lighthearted fun while retelling the events of the Star Wars universe. However, The Skywalker Saga will capture the events from all nine mainline movies, which seems wildly ambitious, especially because this isn’t a remaster of the previous Lego Star Wars games that covered Episodes I through VI. It’s set to launch in Spring 2021 on all major platforms.
Little Nightmares 2
This sequel to the horror puzzle-platformer Little Nightmares picks up right where the story left off, but now with two characters in the mix: the returning main protagonist Six and newcomer Mono, a boy with a paper bag for a head. However, Six will be an AI-controlled character who guides Mono along the way. You can read more in our hands-on Little Nightmares II preview.
Oddworld: Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm marks a return for the long-running series and sticks to its roots as a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer. But it has a modern-day look thanks to detailed 3D environments as a backdrop to main character Abe’s new adventure. It’s set for release sometime in 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4|5, and Switch.
Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
With the success and critical acclaim of Nier: Automata, it’s likely that it made a ton of new fans who haven’t played the original Nier from 2010. Thankfully, we’ll get to experience that game in a full-on remake with Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… and we’re in for a wild Yoko Taro trip. It’ll feature a revamped combat system, new music, and new art while retelling the original Nier story.
Persona 5 Strikers
Persona 5 Strikers (the western version of Persona 5 Scramble) was revealed to launch in February 2021. What’s more surprising is that it’s also coming to PC via Steam. This game is a continuation of the events after the original Persona 5 featuring the main cast of the Phantom Thieves and a few new faces, but with an action combat system similar to what we’ve seen in Dynasty Warriors and Hyrule Warriors. Many elements of the Persona games are woven into the combat gameplay, and the social simulation aspects are a part of the experience, too.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time first came out in 2003 and turned the series into a 3D action platformer. In a way, it also established the framework for parkour gameplay elements we’ve seen throughout Ubisoft’s games since then. The remake was shown in action through its reveal trailer and is said to launch in January.
Psychonauts 2
It feels like Psychonauts 2 has been talked about for a very long time, given its announcement in 2015 and crowdfunding run in 2016. But after a number of delays, 2021 is likely the year we’ll see it release. We saw it in action during E3 2019 with a live gameplay demo that showed off Raz’s new story and combat abilities, and the types of puzzles and trippy environments we’ll navigate.
Project Athia (Working Title)
Little is known about Project Athia, but it is a brand-new action-adventure IP out of Square Enix. Judging from its reveal trailer, the main character seems to be in a foreign fantasy world that features vast mountain ranges in the sky and a broken world below. She has traversal and supernatural abilities to fight monsters, and a dragon shows up. Wild.
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is picking up where Resident Evil 7 left off, not just in terms of narrative, but also in gameplay concept. The franchise’s shift to first-person survival horror and action was met with critical acclaim, and with two solid remakes since then, it’s exciting to see Capcom build on what Resident Evil 7 started.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is a single-player turn-based RPG that’s also a narrative-focused take on the League of Legends universe. In the reveal trailer, you see several well-known Champions from League of Legends in a new context for the game world of Runeterra.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has been slowly teased, at first in 2018 with just a website that had “2021” below the title, and most recently with a cinematic trailer during the Xbox Showcase. Much like the rest of the series, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 takes place in the Nuclear Exclusion Zone (or “The Zone”) in radiated Chernobyl, but supernatural elements lurk about to create a horror-like atmosphere. It’s said to have one of the biggest open worlds ever in games, which sounds pretty daunting to explore and ambitious for the first-person action franchise.
Scorn
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Scorn is an Xbox Series X|S and PC exclusive and looks like a grotesque horror FPS. We got to see gameplay of Scorn, and its environments are like a mix of gothic structures inside of a monster’s body with mutant flesh hanging on the walls and creatures used as tools for environmental puzzles. Big H.R. Giger vibes.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II continues the harrowing journey of the titular protagonist that started in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Although we don’t know much about the next of this sequel, it was revealed alongside the Xbox Series X in 2019 with a cinematic trailer, and it’s one of the major upcoming games from Ninja Theory, which is now under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.
Starfield
One of the big hitters in development at Bethesda is Starfield, which seems to be sci-fi space-themed take on the studio’s RPGs. Not much, if anything, is known about Starfield gameplay-wise other than it’s said to have a major game engine overhaul. Todd Howard has spoken about it in vague terms, too, and mentioned we’ll see it before The Elder Scrolls VI.
The Elder Scrolls VI
All we know about The Elder Scrolls VI is that it’s real and it’s being worked on. We got a short teaser trailer with a title, and that’s it. Here we are patiently waiting. Maybe we’ll get another Skyrim remaster for new-gen consoles and PC in the meantime.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
Listen, I’m not sure who wanted a Lord of the Rings game starring Gollum, but we’ll give it a chance, of course. If you check the Steam page, the release date is marked as “Lurking until the time is right.” We respect that.
The Medium
Bloober Team is known for its horror-themed games such as Layers of Fear, Observer, and most recently The Blair Witch. And it seems that its latest, The Medium, is an ambitious Xbox and PC title that follows an investigator who can instantly switch between realms to solve puzzles and mysteries.
Unknown 9: Awakening was revealed at Gamescom 2020 with a trailer that showed kids in what looked to be a South Asian setting and a girl being bullied, before she uses her time-stopping powers to fend off others. And that seems to be just one piece of a larger supernatural story, as there are other characters shown before the trailer concluded. It’s coming to PC and new-gen consoles but no release date has been set.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is such a fascinating concept considering the cult status of the original games from 2000 and 2004. It’s a first-person RPG set in the same World of Darkness universe as its tabletop RPG source material, but in a modern-day Seattle, and it looks to build on what the Bloodlines did in 2004.
HBO’s reliably excellent Documentary Films unit has announced that in 2021 it will be airing Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street on HBO and HBO Max. The new documentary explores links between the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and frames the popular children’s television series as a “revolutionary experiment to harness the burgeoning power of television and create an educational, impactful, and entertaining show.”
Street Gang will chronicle the show’s first 20 years, starting in the late 1960s, when socially conscious media executive Joan Ganz Cooney and Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett teamed with visionary Muppets creator Jim Henson and acclaimed children’s television writer and director Jon Stone to craft the iconic and uplifting world of Sesame Street.
Rather than portraying the show as one that belonged to a particular audience or social movement, the documentary will “take audiences inside the minds and hearts of the Sesame Street creators, artists, writers and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children’s programs in television history.”
Street Gang is directed by documentarian Marilyn Agrelo (The Electric Company, Moscow Cat Theater). The film’s co-producers include Trevor Crafts (Manson Family Vacation), Ellen Scherer Crafts (Lantern City), Lisa Diamond (Explained), and Brian O’Shea (Young Ones).
Developer Moon Studios has announced a partnership with iam8bit and Skybound Games to send money directly to a nonprofit organization aimed at preserving the tropical rainforests.
From now until December 13, five percent of Ori and the Will of the Wisps sales on Nintendo Switch will go to the charity Rainforest Trust, a US-based environmental organization focused on purchasing and protecting tropical rainforests and the endangered wildlife inhabiting them. In addition to the small-scale contribution, iam8bit is also donating $25,000 to the nonprofit.
“iam8bit’s very first game as a publisher is Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch. As a publisher, we considered how best to spend the game’s marketing budget, and decided to shake things up to try and make a positive difference with that money,” iam8bit co-owners Jon M. Gibson and Amanda White said in a press release. “As we’ve worked with Moon Studios to publish the Ori series on Nintendo Switch, we’ve been struck by their dedication to expressing nature as a living, breathing entity worthy of protection. Following their lead, we wanted to do our part to preserve nature, and are excited to work with the wonderful and dedicated people at Rainforest Trust to do just that.”
iam8bit shared a brief video announcing the partnership, which started by saying that about 31,000 square miles of rainforests are destroyed every year. Check out the video below.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps hit Nintendo Switch on September 17. We scored the game a 9/10 in our Ori and the Will of the Wisps review (which has been updated to include comments about Xbox Series S and Series X), saying, “Will of the Wisps was always an impressive visual showpiece, despite the technical flaws that initially held it back.”
As if Black Friday wasn’t enough, Best Buy has just kicked off a new buy two, get one free promotion that can net you some huge savings on next-gen games for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War feature upgraded next-gen versions, though there are also a number of titles that will work great via backwards compatibility. This includes the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. There’s currently no end date for this promotion, though supplies are limited. If you’re interested in snagging some new games on the cheap, then you’ll want to act sooner rather than later.
All you have to do is add three games to your cart and check out. The discount will take affect once your items are in the cart, but be sure to double-check that the discount has applied before finalizing your order. Of the three items, the cheapest will be the one you get for free. That means if you buy two $60 games and one $30 game, you’ll get the $30 one for free–if your games are of equal value, you’ll still get one for free. If you’re interested in seeing some of the best options, check out our recommendations below.
There are a lot of fantastic games included in this promotion, but it’s hard to deny the appeal of Cyberpunk 2077 being featured. It releases December 10 and is one of the most anticipated games of 2020. GameSpot’s Cyberpunk 2077 review scored it a 7/10. Reviews editor Kallie Plagge praised the RPG flexibility, quickhacking combat, and Keanu Reeves’ role as Johnny Silverhand while criticizing its technical issues, handling of different cultures, and more.
The newly released Immortals: Fenyx Rising is also included in the Buy 2, Get 1 Free promotion, though if you’re only interested in that game, you can currently get it for $40 on Amazon. It received a 7/10 in GameSpot’s Immortal: Fenyx Rising review for its enjoyable side activities, excellent puzzle-filled vaults, and breezy yet involved combat.
As for some of the other games included, there are a number that will receive next-gen updates but haven’t yet. These include Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers, and Doom Eternal. If you’re interested in snagging these games for their future upgrades, now’s a great time to save some money and get ready for them as soon as they’re released.
December is officially underway, and it’s shaping up to be another busy month for Pokemon Go. Developer Niantic has a variety of December events and activities lined up for the game, including a big Community Day weekend celebration. Of course, a new month also means new Field Research tasks, and another batch of those is now live along with a new Research Breakthrough encounter.
This time around, you’ll be able to encounter one of two Pokemon each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in December 2020: Lapras or Unovan Darumaka. Both Pokemon will be available all month long. You’ll also earn bonus XP for catching either monster.
As a refresher, you’ll achieve a Research Breakthrough when you collect seven stamps. You’ll receive one stamp for the first Field Research task you complete each day. If you don’t manage to achieve a Research Breakthrough before the month ends, any stamps you’ve earned will carry over, so your progress will go toward next month’s Research Breakthrough.
Unlike Special Research tasks, Field Research is distributed at PokeStops. You’ll receive a task randomly drawn from an overall pool when you spin the Photo Disc at a Gym or PokeStop. You can see December’s Field Research tasks along with their potential rewards, as compiled by The Silph Road, below.
There’s a lot more happening in Pokemon Go this month. The Legendary Pokemon Kyurem has returned to five-star Raids, while Mega Abomasnow is appearing in Mega Raids. Shiny Celebi is also making its debut in the game this month, and Niantic is holding a two-day Community Day weekend celebration bringing back all the featured Pokemon from this year and last.
Pokemon Go December 2020 Field Research
Catching Tasks
Field Research Task
Rewards
Catch 5 Pokemon with Weather boost
Poliwag, Vulpix, or Snover encounter; 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls
Catch 10 Pokemon with Weather boost
500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls
Catch 5 different species of Ice-type Pokemon
2 Rare Candies
Catch 3 Fire-type Pokemon
Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, or Tepig encounter
Catch 10 Pokemon
Magikarp encounter
Catch 10 Normal-type Pokemon
500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls
Use 5 Berries to help catch Pokemon
Ponyta encounter; 500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls
The weirdly amazing news surrounding the upcoming third Spider-Man movie from Sony and Marvel Studios isn’t relenting. It’s just getting bigger and better. It’s already been reported that Jamie Foxx will once again play Electro–a character he first placed in 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2–for the upcoming film. That plus the knowledge that original Spider-Man trilogy star JK Simmons is back in the franchise as J Jonah Jameson after appearing in Spider-Man: Far From Home certainly leads us to believe that this next Spider-Man movie will be crossing all over the Spider-Verse. Now, another familiar face is returning.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alfred Molina will reprise the role of Otto Octavius, a part he first placed in 2004’s Spider-Man 2. It was first reported by GWW that Molina was spotted on the next Spider-Man movie’s set as Doc Ock, though it wasn’t clear if this was the same version from the 2004 film.
With all of these Spider-Man villains, though, what about the various web-slingers themselves? While the next MCU Spider-Man movie certainly seems to be tying together the character’s various franchises, it remains to be seen if Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who both played the role before Tom Holland was cast for the current series of films, will wear the mask again. What’s more, if Marvel Studios and Sony are really crossing the franchise streams, here’s hoping they find some kind of way to include characters from the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film.
If you’re wondering how all of this happens, the answer is that it seems Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is dipping heavily into the multiverse. The upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision will explore the idea of multiple universes, and is followed by the next Doctor Strange film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s also been reported that Benedict Cumberbatch will appear in the next Spider-Man movie as Doctor Strange, pointing to the very distinct possibility that the multiverse will loom large over any number of upcoming MCU movies.
Of course, the upcoming third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie is only one of several Spider-centric movies and TV shows in the works. From movies about Venom and Morbius, to a TV show about Silk, a Korean-American female superhero with spider powers, there are plenty of projects in various stages of development and production. For a full rundown of all the Spider-Adjacent projects in the works, check out our full breakdown.
The third film in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man franchise is in production now with an expected release date of December 17, 2021.
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On November 12, Hearthstone released a new seasonal rewards track and a paid battle pass called the Tavern Pass. It was met with anger from the community after Blizzard promised this pass wouldn’t reduce gold rewards, and it proceeded to do exactly that. Blizzard altered the pass to fix this, but that altered other in-game rewards. Blizzard is now taking another swing at revising this pass, posting an update on its site going through all the changes the pass will have implemented soon in response to fan feedback.
One of the primary issues being addressed quests that players have expressed are too difficult to complete. Some of these are just being tweaked or removed in general as they’re harder than expected or not worthwhile. Others are getting very specific changes. Quests that require Legendary cards and Arena runs are all being removed from the battle pass. Additionally, one of the weekly quests is being altered so instead of having to win 7 ranked matches, they will only have to win 5. All daily quests that had been rewarding 800XP will now be rewarding 900XP, and Tavern Brawls and Battlegrounds will contribute to quest progress.
Another huge focus of this revamp is reducing how much XP players need to reach certain milestones in the rewards track. Originally, the Hearthstone devs had taken event reward XP into account when calculating the cadence for leveling up in the battle pass. But now players should be able to advance without event XP thanks to how the track is going to be revised. The XP requirements for the rewards track will be reduced by 37,000 XP, which is almost 20%. The devs hope that this will make the mid-to-late levels of the pass more accessible and that it will fix the event XP miscalculations. Players’ earned XP totals will remain the same after these changes, so you may find you have more progress than last time you logged in once these changes go live.
Finally, the new version of the rewards track is taking on gold. Levels twenty seven and thirty of the pass are getting an additional 50 gold each in an effort to make their rewards feel less underwhelming. Gold is also being split between all of the bonus levels players can access after completing the first fifty Tavern Pass levels so it won’t take as long to earn gold between play sessions.
Other changes have the potential to arise in the future as fans check out the new tweaks, but for now, this is what players can expect while navigating the Tavern Pass in the near future.
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The saga of the release date for the Monster Hunter movie has yet another twist, just days after a controversy emerged over a particular line of dialogue. While the film recently had its release date changed to Christmas Day, you’ll now be able to see it in theaters even earlier.
Sony’s Monster Hunter will hit theaters domestically on December 18, GameSpot has learned. It’s unknown at this time as to why the studio decided on the new release date. That leaves Tom Hanks’ News of the World, Regina King’s One Night In Miami, and the dark comedy Promising Young Woman as the movies premiering on December 25.
This move comes a day after Monster Hunter was pulled from theaters in China after a line of dialogue spoken by Jin Au-Yeung’s character caused an outrage. Also going by the name MC Jin, the actor explained the scene for himself in an Instagram post, which you can see below.
“It’s a pun and the way I portrayed the character and the emotion of it is, this is a moment for him to proudly proclaim that he is a Chinese soldier, not just his knees, but his arms, his head, his heart,” he said in the video. And this has nothing to do with that stupid ‘Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees,’ whatever the heck that is, has nothing to do with it. If anything, why I’m so frustrated and it’s eating at my heart is that I felt this was a scene that was supposed to be a moment for Chinese people to be like, ‘Yes! There’s a Chinese soldier!’ That’s all. So for it to be flipped upside down like this, it really, really, really is eating at me. But I will say, at the same time, for anybody that misunderstood or thought that it was meant to be belittling, I sincerely apologize, I do.”
Monster Hunter follows Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her team as they are transported to an alien world, which is home to gigantic monsters. Together they will have to survive the experience in order to save their own world. The film hits theaters on December 18 in the United States.
