Minecraft Reaches An Incredible New Milestone

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Around a decade after its original release, Minecraft continues to grow and reach astonishing new player records. According to Business Insider, the game reached a new monthly player milestone.

As of this week, the open-ended sandbox game has more than 112 million monthly players. This is up substantially from the 91 million monthly players that Microsoft announced in October 2018. The numbers count players on all platforms: console, PC, mobile, and others.

To put Minecraft’s popularity in context, Epic announced in August 2018 that Fortnite had 78.3 million monthly players. Meanwhile, the MMO creation game Roblox reached 100 million monthly active users in August 2019.

Minecraft still receives regular updates, while the game was added to Xbox Game Pass in April 2019; this no doubt helped expand the footprint of the popular game even further.

Minecraft boss Helen Chiang told Business Insider that Minecraft is a game that people enjoy coming back to again and again. “It may not always be the one that’s in the forefront, because there are a lot of great games that continue to come out, but it’s one that they love to return to,” Chiang said.

Microsoft acquired the Minecraft franchise and developer Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Series creator Markus “Notch” Persson is no longer involved with the franchise. He spent $70 million on a Beverly Hills mansion, outbidding Beyonce and Jay-Z for the home.

Looking ahead, a Minecraft movie is on the way. Writer Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures, Frozen 2) was hired to pen the latest draft of the screenplay The Minecraft movie is scheduled for release in theatres on March 4, 2022. There is no word yet on if it will be animation or live action, or a hybrid, nor do we know who may star in it. At one point, Steve Carell was apparently connected to the project, though it’s unclear if that’s still the case.

The next new Minecraft game is the AR title Minecraft Earth, which is scheduled to release later this year.

Orlando Bloom Reveals How Much He Was Paid For Lord Of The Rings

Actor Orlando Bloom’s very first major movie role was none other than Legolas in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He’s now revealed how much he was paid for the 2001 fantasy film, and it might be lower than you would think. He appeared on The Howard Stern Show recently where he said he was paid $175,000 for the first movie.

“Nothing, I got nothing. 175 grand . . . Listen, greatest gift of my life. Are you kidding me? I’d do it again for half the money,” he said, as reported by Metro UK.

Bloom, who originally auditioned for a smaller role, Faramir, added that he re-negotiated for more money for The Two Towers and The Return of the King. “I was in a good spot. They negotiated pretty well for me to buy a couple of houses; it was that kind of money,” he said, according to The Playlist.

Bloom went on to play Legolas again in The Hobbit trilogy, and presumably he was able to negotiate for a good sum. Bloom currently stars in the Amazon show Carnival Row alongside Cara Delevingne.

No new Lord of the Rings movies have been announced, but a biopic about author J.R.R. Tolkien starring Nicolas Hoult in the title role hit theatres in May this year.

Borderlands 3’s PC Version, An Epic Store Exclusive, Is A Massive Success Already

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Borderlands 3 launched on PC as an Epic Games Store exclusive, a decision that generated some amount of controversy. Now, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has revealed that the PC version of Borderlands 3 is off to a tremendous start.

The executive said the number of peak concurrent players–that is, the highest number of people playing at the same time–is around double the all-time peak concurrent player record set by Borderlands 2. “WoW! You guys are great!” Pitchford exclaimed.

The launch-day peak concurrent user milestone didn’t stand for long, as Borderlands 3 grew even larger in the days after release, Pitchford said.

“This greatly exceeds expectations, and our systems seem to be holding strong!” Pitchford said about the record-breaking numbers.

Borderlands 3 is exclusive on PC to the Epic Games Store until April 2020, at which time it may launch on Steam and other digital storefronts.

There is no word on how the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Borderlands 3 are performing from a user perspective, but more information should become available in due course.

For more on Borderlands 3, check out GameSpot’s Borderlands 3 review and extended coverage in the feature below: Borderlands 3: How Long Is It, Review, Guides, Endgame, And More

Top New Games Releasing On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week — September 15-21, 2019

It’s a good week to be a Nintendo Switch owner. This episode of New Releases takes a look at The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake, Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns, and Castle Crashers Remastered–all coming to the handheld console. Those aren’t the only remasters either; Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is also launching this week. Finally, the zany indie Untitled Goose Game is also on the way.

Castle Crashers Remastered — September 17

Available on: Switch

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The 2008 Xbox Live Arcade classic is out now on Xbox One, and this week Switch owners can enjoy the beat-’em-up action in four-player co-op or take each other on in the arena. This remaster includes the original game, plus all of its DLC, all running at 60 FPS. There’s also a new mini-game called Back Off Barbarian.

More Coverage:

Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns — September 19

Available on: Switch

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For the uninitiated, Puzzle Quest is an RPG where you battle foes by playing a match-three puzzle game. Once you choose a class, you can cast spells and make attacks based on combinations of colored gems as you clear the board. The Legend Returns includes the original game and all previous expansions, plus a brand-new one titled Attack of the Golem Lord.

More Coverage:

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening — September 20

Available on: Switch

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This is a full-on remake of Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy. While it offers the same story and dungeons across Koholint Island, there’s also a completely fresh art style, reimagined soundtrack, and even a special dungeon editor. Tap an Amiibo, and you can unlock extra mini-games and chambers for that dungeon-builder. Tap the Link’s Awakening Amiibo specifically, and you’ll summon Shadow Link.

More Coverage:

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered — September 20

Available on: PS4, PC

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Ni no Kuni’s Studio Ghibli-inspired visuals were already impressive when the original released in 2010–the beloved studio actually animated the game’s cinematic cut scenes–but the remaster somehow looks even better, running at 60 FPS. Otherwise it’s the same RPG from nearly a decade ago. Speaking of which, the original Ni no Kuni (not the remaster) is also headed to Nintendo Switch on September 20.

More Coverage:

Untitled Goose Game — September 20

Available on: PC, Switch

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As the name says, this game is about a goose, and that goose’s mission is to bother the citizens of a small village. You’ll do that by running around, flapping your wings, honking, grabbing items, and generally causing mischief. Oh, and this is a stealth game at its core. Why, what were you expecting?

More Coverage:

There’s still more games to come this month. Next week, New Releases will shine the spotlight on some soccer with FIFA 20 and turn up the action with Code Vein and The Surge 2.

WWE Clash Of Champions Final Results: The Fiend Returns At The PPV

WWE Clash of Champions: The Fiend Has the Last Laugh

As the weather starts to (hopefully) cool, the scent of pumpkin spice fills the air, and Halloween decorations flood grocery store shelves, it’s time for champions to clash!

Lock it in here all evening – and follow me over at @TheMattFowler for some live-tweeting – for fast and fun live match results from WWE’s Clash of Champions PPV. Becky Lynch will defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Bayley will try to save her SmackDown Women’s Championship from being nabbed by Charlotte Flair, and Kofi Kingston puts his WWE Championship up against Randy Orton.

For a sneak peek at what’s happening in the world of televised wrestling outside the WWE, check out our promo for AEW ahead of its TNT debut:

Continue reading…

Friends Star Lisa Kudrow Would Do A Reboot, But It’s Not Going To Happen

Friends is one of the most popular and beloved TV shows ever, but don’t expect NBC to bring the show back with a reboot or a reunion of any sort–though some of the cast would be up for it.

Speaking at the Tribeca TV Festival recently, Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman shot down any possibility of a revival. “We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot,” Kauffman said, as reported by Deadline. “The show was about that time in life when friends are your family.”

The other creator of Friends, David Crane, commented in agreement with Kauffman. “We did the show we wanted to do. We got it right, and we put a bow on it,” he said.

Given the immense popularity of Friends, the show’s stars have been asked numerous times over the years about a potential reboot or revival. The latest to weigh in was Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe. She said on Kevin Nealon’s hiking show that she would be interested in coming back for a new version of Friends, but it won’t happen.

“If everyone else was doing it, I would do it; yeah. But it’s not happening,” she said, adding that she’s heard Kauffman and Crane talk about how Friends will never come back.

In March this year, Kauffman talked about why bringing back Friends is a bad idea.

“One, the show is about a time in your life when your friends are your family. It’s not that time anymore. All we’d be doing is putting those six actors back together, but the heart of the show would be gone,” she told Rolling Stone. “Two, I don’t know what good it does us. The show is doing just fine, people love it. [A reunion] could only disappoint.”

The entire catalog of Friends is available on Netflix in the United States, and the streaming network reportedly paid $100 million to keep it there through the end of 2019. Starting in 2020, Friends will move to HBOMax.

As of 2015, the show was bringing in $1 billion every year from syndication, with stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry making $20 million a year from that based on their 2 percent share of syndication revenue, according to USA Today.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Passes Inglourious Basterds To Become Tarantino’s Second-Biggest Movie

Quentin Tarantino’s newest movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, will go down as one of his most successful at the box office. After another weekend in theatres, the movie has now made $136.9 million in the United States and Canada and $195.5 million from foreign markets. Globally, the period movie has now pulled in $329.4 million to become Tarantino’s second-biggest movie ever.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood passes 2009’s Inglourious Basterds ($321.5 million) to become Taraninto’s second-biggest movie, only behind Django Unchained ($425.4 million).

Tarantino’s ninth movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as an actor and his stunt double in 1969 Hollywood. Margot Robbie appears as Sharon Tate, while a long list of famous people have roles including Luke Perry, who passed away in March.

GameSpot’s 9/10 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood review said, “It succeeds immensely at being a fairy tale–a recounting of a time and place, an attempt to capture the essence of Hollywood’s golden age, one that came to an end in 1969–but, maybe for Tarantino, never really ended at all.”