Fortnite Could Get Around Apple And Google’s Payment Systems, If Proposed Arizona Bill Is Passed

A proposed bill before the Arizona House of Representatives could have big implications for Epic Games’ legal battle against Apple and Google over Fortnite. If it is ultimately passed into law, it could create another facet for the ongoing litigation between the software giants.

The Verge reports that an amendment to Arizona’s HB2005 prevents app stores in the state from forcing developers to use their preferred payment system. In practice, that would mean that Apple and Google can’t require Epic Games or other software developers to go through their own proprietary payment systems for in-app purchases.

The legislation places the restriction on stores exceeding 1 million downloads, which would include Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store, and bars those companies from retaliating against developers who use third-party payment systems. It also applies to state residents, keeping them from being required to use exclusive payment methods. It carves out an exemption for game consoles and other “special-purpose devices.”

The amendment made its way through the Arizona House Appropriations Committee last week before going to a full House vote this week. Arizona Democrats have argued that the state legislature shouldn’t insert itself into the middle of a legal battle between the software companies. Now that it has passed the House, it will go to the state senate and then, if passed there, to Governor Doug Ducey.

If successfully passed into law, it will represent another wrinkle in the legal feud between Apple and Google. It could very well impact both companies’ business in the state, though it may also lead to further legal action.

The bill was endorsed by the Coalition for App Fairness, an industry group started by Epic Games and other tech companies impacted by Apple and Google’s practices.

“The Coalition for App Fairness is pleased to see the House passage of HB 2005, which will encourage business innovation in Arizona and protect consumer choice,” the CAF said in a statement. “While this is cause for celebration, it is only a first step toward achieving a truly level playing field for all.” We look forward to working with the Arizona State Senate to move a solution forward that builds on this momentum to provide consumer freedom, lower costs, and increase developers’ ability to thrive and innovate.”

Other similar bills have been proposed in Georgia, Hawaii, and Minnesota, due to lobbying from the CAF. One such proposed bill failed to pass in North Dakota.

The legal battle began when Epic Games updated its Fortnite app on mobile devices in such a way that circumvented Apple and Google’s in-app payment systems, with a discount offered for using the alternative method. The app was quickly pulled, and Epic responded with an apparently ready-to-go PR blitz featuring in-game Fortnite events and a short film. The Epic vs Apple trial is set to begin on May 3.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

American Horror Stories Spinoff Predictions: Scream Queens Crossover, Rubberman

AHS Season 10 is coming in the near future, but we’re also getting a spinoff show called American Horror Stories. According to Ryan Murphy there will be 16 one-hour standalone episodes delving into horror myths, legends and lore, adding that many of the episodes will feature AHS stars that we know and love.

In Part One of our AHS spinoff predictions, Ryan and Greg break down what we absolutely need to see in this new spinoff series, giving you nine theories about possible storylines, including aliens, a Scream Queens crossover, and the return of Rubberman.

Oculus Quest 2 And More Deals Available At Newegg Right Now

Newegg has just kicked off two new sales, one called Home Court Madness and another 72-hour flash sale. The Home Court Madness sale discounts a number of 4K TVs, gaming laptops, and PC components, while the 72-hour sale has deals on gaming peripherals and other products. Home Court Madness lasts until Sunday, March 7, while the 72-hour sale runs through Friday, March 5. One of the most notable deals is for the 256GB Oculus Quest 2, which comes with a $20 gift card. While that’s not exactly a discount, this is the first deal we’ve seen for new VR headset.

We’ve selected some of the best deals and compiled them below. In addition to keyboards, mice, and controllers, there are also a number of discounts on PC gaming components, such as cooling systems, processors, and SSDs.

$399

Ends March 5

The Oculus Quest 2 is the best VR headset you can buy right now, and while you’re not saving any money on this particular deal (and you have to buy the more expensive 256GB model), you do get a $20 gift card with purchase. On top of that, 256GB is enough space that you’re unlikely to run out any time soon, making it a great option for those who like to play a large number of VR games and experiences.

$200 (was $230)

Ends March 5

The K100 is Corsair’s best gaming keyboard thanks to its excellent key switches, wrist rest, and dial. It’s completely customizable with the company’s iCUE software, allowing you to set macros, tweak the RGB lighting, and assign the dial to different actions, such as scrolling, controlling volume, or even scrubbing through videos.

$60 (was $83)

Ends March 5

If you’re a fan of MMOs, MOBAs, or RTS games, the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse is worth checking out. It features 17 programmable buttons, an adjustable 18K DPI optical sensor, and customizable RGB lighting.

$159 w/ code 35ACFLHSL34

Ends March 5

Thanks to the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator, flight sticks and controllers were hard to find last year, but now many are back in stock. Newegg has a nice little deal that takes $10 off the Logitech G Saitek Pro flight yoke system with promo code 35ACFLHSL34. It features a stainless steel yoke shaft and two-position clamp as well as 14 buttons and a three-position mode switch.

$300 (was $320)

Ends March 5

The Gigabyte G27QC monitor is an excellent gaming display, boasting a 165Hz refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and 1ms response time. It also features support for HDR, FreeSync Premium, and G-Sync compatibility.

$648 (was $700)

Ends March 7

The Samsung Q60T is a great budget 4K TV that features a QLED panel, HDR10+ support, and various smart features. It comes with three HDMI inputs, so you have plenty of room for multiple consoles and a streaming box.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Bonaparte Movie Eyeing Jodie Comer For Josephine

The Napoleon Bonaparte movie from director Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix is close to signing another star. Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer is the top pick to play Josephine, Bonaparte’s wife, according to Deadline’s sources.

The site’s sources said it’s still “early” in the process, so Comer hasn’t officially signed on yet. However, Deadline said Comer is Scott’s top choice and “all signs point to it coming together.”

The movie is called Kitbag and it’s being made for Apple TV+. It probably won’t release anytime soon, as Scott is currently working on the MGM crime movie House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga, moving on to Kitbag after that.

Scott and Comer have worked together before, as he directed her in the period movie The Last Duel, which also stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver. “Insiders say Scott was blown away by her work during production of the film, which wrapped at the end of last year,” the report said.

Kitbag–which is a reference to the line, “There is a general’s staff hidden in every soldier’s kitbag”–is just the latest big get for Apple Studios. In 2020, Apple signed the new movie Emancipation from Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith, as well as Killers of the Flower Moon from Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

As for Comer, she’s expected to film Killing Eve season 4 this year, while she is set to appear in the Ryan Reynolds video game movie Free Guy later in 2021.

Yakuza Creator Hints At Trying Something New

The creator of the Yakuza series says it may be time for the development team to try something entirely new, after so many years devoted to the franchise. In an interview, Ryu Ga Gotoku director Toshihiro Nagoshi talks about his hope that he can allow his team to stretch their development muscles.

“The Ryu Ga Gotoku team members, they’ve only really worked on the Yakuza series,” Nagoshi told Game Informer. “But I think it would be a waste if these really talented team members that we have aren’t able to use all of their skills to their full potential. That might be challenging themselves, creating something of a whole different genre and a different style. We don’t know that yet, but that’s something that we’re really taking into consideration right now for the growth of our team as a whole.”

Ryu Ga Gotoku has dabbled in new genres within the Yakuza universe–it explored the other side of crime dramas with Judgment, and turned its latest Yakuza game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, into a turn-based RPG. But it does sound like the team may want to venture even further from its comfort zone.

The Yakuza series has been in development for more than 15 years, and only gained more mainstream success in the West relatively recently. Most of the series focuses on the life of yakuza Kazuma Kiryu, while Like a Dragon introduced an entirely new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga. Like a Dragon scored a 9/10 in GameSpot’s review.

Now Playing: Yakuza: Like A Dragon Video Review

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Take-Two Boss On Remasters: “We Don’t Just Port Titles Over”

Take-Two’s top executive has spoken about remasters, saying what separates his company’s games from the competition is a focus on quality and making sure the remaster feels like it’s taking advantage of the new hardware instead of standing as a simple port.

During a Morgan Stanley speaking event, Strauss Zelnick said remasters have always been a part of Take-Two’s strategy, and this is expected to continue.

“I’m not sure they’ll be a bigger part of the strategy. Remastering has always been a part of the strategy. What we’ve done differently than the competition is we don’t just port titles over,” he said (via VGC). “We actually take the time to do the very best job we can making the title different for the new release for the new technology that we’re launching it on.”

Take-Two’s new major remaster is Grand Theft Auto V for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, which launches in the second half of 2021. The Rockstar-developed game will have a series of upgrades on the new machines, and Zelnick believes Take-Two’s commitment to quality is “why I think our remastered titles typically do so well.”

Zelnick specifically praised the Mafia remasters from 2K Games, while he also remarked that GTA V is now heading into its third console generation, which demonstrates a massive level of success for the game. Zelnick said he feels “confident Rockstar is going to deliver a great experience but you can’t do that if you’re just doing a simple port.”

In February, Zelnick was asked directly of Rockstar would consider remastering some of its older GTA games. Zelnick opted to let Rockstar speak for itself, but the executive did say he believes it’s a “great and encouraging question” to think about.

GTA V has already sold 140 million copies, and it’s poised to grow even bigger with the launch on next-gen consoles. Despite the game’s success, Zelnick said there might be a saturation point for GTA V, which is why the company is launching a standalone edition of GTA Online.

“As you sell that many units, you at some point will arrive at the conclusion that you’ve saturated the market for purchasing the title,” Zelnick said. “At that point you’re willing to experiment with the possibility that maybe there is another way to bring people into the online experience. Make it super-low friction. Low price point. Sure, you don’t have access to the original single-player experience, but you do have access to an online world. Our view is perhaps that’s a different market and that’s a way to expand the player base.”

Take-Two already experimented with a standalone multiplayer offering, as it released a standalone edition of Red Dead Online in 2020. The game was hugely successful in terms of driving people to the game, and he said there may be a scenario where people who buy the standalone game become intrigued in the single-player and decide to buy it.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Without Remorse Trailer Stars Michael B. Jordan As Future Rainbow Six Leader

The first trailer for Amazon’s Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse has been released. The movie stars Michael B. Jordan as vengeful CIA operative John Clark, and it hits Amazon Video on April 30.

The trailer sets up the basic plot, which sees Clark and his family attacked by highly trained assassins. Clark survives but his wife dies, so the angry operative goes rogue in an attempt to find whoever launched the assault. This being a Clancy story, there also lots of shadowy conspiracy thrills alongside the high-octane violence, a mix that diretor Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Gomorrah) has proven to be very skilled at in the past. Check the trailer below.

Without Remorse also stars Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Guy Pierce. It’s written by Taylor Sherdian, who wrote both Sicario movies. The novel Without Remorse was published in 1993 and was an origin story for John Clark, who had appeared as a supporting character in Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels. Clark has previously been played on screen by Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber.

Without Remorse is the latest big movie that was originally intended for a theatrical release but has moved to streaming instead. The film was produced by Paramount but was sold to Amazon last year, much like the comedy sequel Coming 2 America, which releases this week. Amazon has previously produced two seasons of the Jack Ryan show, starring John Krasinski.

In related news, Jordan is expected to return for the third Creed movie. The film doesn’t have a director or release date yet but last year it was reported that Zach Baylin had been hired to write it.

Disney’s Live-Action Pinocchio Movie Adds Joseph Gordon-Levitt As Jiminy Cricket

Disney’s upcoming live-action Pinocchio movie has cast more of its main roles, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Batman) lined up to voice Jiminy Cricket and Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) playing the Blue Fairy.

This news comes from Variety. The new cast members joins a cast that already includes Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Luke Evans as The Coachman. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Flora and Ulysses) will voice Pinocchio, while Keegan-Michael Key will voice Honest John. Goodfellas star Lorraine Bracco will voice Sofia the Seagull, a new character.

The film is being directed by Oscar-winner Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future) and is expected to begin production this month in the UK. The movie will blend live-action with visual effects.

Disney’s new Pinocchio movie is slated to come to Disney+, not theaters.

The fairy tale story of Pinocchio is in the public domain, and Disney is not the only company working on a new film. Guillermo del Toro is set to direct an animated version of Pinocchio for Netflix with a cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, and Ron Perlman, among others. In 2019, Italian film director Matteo Garrone released a well-received Pinocchio movie based on the classic tale.

Netflix’s Most Expensive Movie Ever Adds To Its Cast With Billy Bob Thornton And More

The new Netflix movie The Gray Man–which is the most expensive original Netflix movie in history in terms of its budget–has added new cast members. Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton will appear in the film, alongside Bridgerton actor Rege-Jean Page and Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard (Cross Creek, 12 Years a Slave), according to Deadline.

These new cast members join the previously announced cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Wagner Moura, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, and Julia Butters.

Avengers directors Joe and Anthony Russo are set to direct the film, which was originally set up at Sony before it went back into the market where Netflix bought it. According to Deadline, Netflix is eyeing The Gray Man to become a new franchise, and it’s spending more than $200 million to produce the film–that’s the highest budget ever for a Netflix original movie.

Production will begin in Los Angeles later this month. The movie is based on the 2009 Mark Greaney novel that follows a freelance assassins and former CIA operative named Court Gentry.

The Gray Man is written by Joe Russo with help from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the pair who wrote Captain America and the Avengers films.

WWE’s Shayna Baszler Is Ready For NXT Return To Demolish Tag Team Competition

After winning the inaugural women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, NXT superstars Dakota Kai and Raquel González were flying high on their way to a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match. Now, WWE’s Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax are looking to send them crashing back to Earth.

Speaking to GameSpot’s Wrestle Buddies podcast, Baszler admitted she and her co-champion aren’t sweating the competition. “They did a great job through that tournament,” she said. “They showed that they were the best tag team in that tournament. But, like we weren’t in that tournament because we don’t need to be.”

Baszler continued, “They’re flying high right now. But they’re going to learn [and] they’re going to learn real fast.”

This is more than a match. For Baszler, this NXT appearance is a homecoming. Baszler was NXT’s first-ever two-time Women’s Champion, with her second reign lasting over a year, cementing her as one of the brand’s top villains.

“I’m so glad that I got to experience that, even though they hated me most the time I was there,” she remembered. “I didn’t see it until actually I went to Raw. You know, you don’t know what you got [until] it’s gone. I think people were appreciating what I did for the title and the division and just the girls that were there during that time.”

Baszler and Jax will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on this week’s episode of NXT, which airs Wednesdays on USA.