Avengers: Endgame’s First Deleted Scene Revealed

Though Avengers: Endgame may be jam packed with Easter Eggs and references, and feature not one, not two, but three whole endings over the course of its three hour runtime, it turns out there were still scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor.

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that they cut the role of Katherine Langford (Love, Simon, 13 Reasons Why) from the finished film while simultaneously confirming she had been cast to play an older version of Morgan Stark, Tony’s five-year-old daughter.

The scene, the Russos explained, was supposed to mirror the moment back in Infinity War where Thanos was confronted by baby Gamora after he first snapped his fingers. The directors called the place where this scene took place a “metaphysical waystation,” rather than the Soul World like some fans had theorized the space to represent. Apparently, Langford and Robert Downey Jr. recorded a scene together in which an adult Morgan Stark forgives her father for leaving her behind as he sacrifices him with with the Infinity Stones. However, after being shown to test audiences, who found the moment confusing, the scene was cut entirely.

“What we realized about it was we didn’t feel an emotional association with the adult version of his daughter. It wasn’t resonating with us on an emotional level, which is why we moved away [from] it,” The Russos said. “The intention was that his future daughter forgave him, and gave him peace to go. And the idea felt resonant, but there were just too many ideas in an overly complicated movie.”

Avengers: Endgame stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Karen Gillan, and Josh Brolin. It is is rapidly closing in on the record currently held by James’ Cameron’s Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all time.

100 Riot Employees Set To Walk Out In Protest Today, According To Report

Last year, five lawsuits were filed against Riot Games for the company’s violation of the California Equal Pay Act, citing how in-house sexism was affecting the workplace and creating a “bro culture.” According to Kotaku, this past April, Riot filed a forced arbitration for two of them. In response, Riot Games’ employees are preparing for the first of several planned walkouts.

An estimated number of 100 employees are set to participate in the walkout today. To Kotaku, one employee said, “I’m walking out as a symbolic action to signal to leadership that I care about this issue. I hope leadership takes the time to seriously listen to the issues.”

In response to the walkout, a Riot representative told Kotaku, “While we will not make a change to our policies while in active litigation, last Thursday we announced that we’ve made the call to pivot our approach. As soon as active litigation is resolved, we will give all new Rioters the choice to opt-out of mandatory arbitration for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. At that time, we will also commit to have a firm answer on potentially expanding the scope and extending this opt-out to all Rioters. We are working diligently to resolve all active litigation so that we can quickly take steps toward a solution. As we have been for the past week, we will continue to listen to Rioters regarding their thoughts on arbitration and we’re thankful for everyone that has taken the time to meet with leadership about this issue.”

“It’s been eight months since the original [Kotaku] article was released and so far I haven’t seen a single outcome of our diversity and inclusion efforts at Riot,” one Riot employee told Kotaku. “I haven’t seen a single metric or number to indicate things have improved and I haven’t seen a single project get finished.”

Another employee told Kotaku, “I think having executives get up for two hours and do the classic, roundabout series of denials helped other Rioters wake up to the fact that this is actually happening here. The impression most Rioters got is that [the executives] do care about it, a bit. They care about being publicly humiliated.”

This walkout is the first major protest seen in the game industry since the bulk of Crytek USA quit for being underpaid back in 2014. The gaming landscape of today is very different from previous years, as talk of studio employees unionizing has become a larger focus amongst the many reports of crunch and other poor working conditions within the industry. The shift has put many studios under the microscope, including big names like Fortnite‘s Epic Games and Mortal Kombat 11‘s NeatherRealm. In response, numerous teams, such as Apex Legends‘ Respawn, are sticking to certain development practices in regards to updating their games in order to avoid putting their employees through crunch.

New Ghost Recon Game Reveal Teased For This Week

Ubisoft is getting ready to pull back the curtain on something new for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon. The publisher announced it is hosting a Ghost Recon World Premiere event this Thursday, May 9, beginning at 11:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM BST, which will give fans around the globe their first glimpse at what’s next for the series.

Beyond the date and time of the event, Ubisoft hasn’t shared any other details about its Ghost Recon stream, so it remains to be seen what it’ll reveal. The fact that the publisher isn’t linking the event to 2017’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, which it has supported since launch, indicates the reveal could be something entirely new. Curiously, the link associated with the upcoming stream leads to a Skell Technology website, which fans will recognize is the recurring tech company that has appeared in various Ubisoft games, including the aforementioned Wildlands.

The Ghost Recon World Premiere announcement arrives on the heels of Wildlands’ latest expansion, Operation Oracle. That content update notably added two new missions to the tactical shooter, which involve extracting a Skell Tech engineer who was arrested by Unidad–potentially tying it to this week’s upcoming Ghost Recon event, although that remains unconfirmed.

In addition to the two new missions, Operation Oracle introduced a new Ghost Team Leader, Major Cole D. Walker. Players who complete the operation will also earn two new rewards: Walker’s Bracelet (which equips a new CQC Finisher) and Walker’s Tattoo for your arm. You can find the full patch notes for Operation Oracle on the official Ghost Recon Wildlands website.

Ghost Recon Wildlands is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. GameSpot called it “a squad based Tom Clancy game that plays by the numbers” and gave it a 7/10 in our original Wildlands review, writing, “While its main strength is its mission diversity, it doesn’t take long to lose the motivation after reaching El Sueno’s doorstep. Even with a foursome of highly trained friends, Wildlands eventually reveals its diminishing returns.”

Fortnite Event Season 9 “Unvaulting” Messed Up, But You Can Rewatch It

Fortnite is known for its big in-world seasonal changeover events, but the one this weekend didn’t quite go as expected. While many players got to see the event unfold just as Epic intended, some players were unable to attend and participate in a community vote for a new item.

The May 4 event had players gather for the Unvaulting, which finally opened the mysterious vault underneath Loot Lake. Players could then enter the vault and choose to “vote” on an item by striking it with a pickaxe. Once one item–a Tommy Gun–was freed, players were ejected and got to witness the smoldering volcano finally erupt and destroy Tilted Towers.

Players who were locked out of the event, however, saw none of that. They didn’t get to vote on the item that was eventually freed, and they didn’t get to see Tilted get wrecked. To make up for the error, Fortnite has set up an open folder with a replay file, and instructions in various languages for how to use it. Essentially it involves downloading the file, dropping it into the Replay menu, and then refreshing to view it.

As an extra freebie for your troubles, Epic is also giving away the Arcana Glider. If you’ve already bought the glider, you’ll get refunded the 1200 V-Bucks so you can use it on something else.

All of this was to set the stage for Season 9, which will kick off on May 9. The studio teased a theme as usual, with the tagline “The Future Is Unknown.” It also shows a new skin, presumably one you’ll be able to earn through the next season’s Battle Pass. The future would be a big departure from its current season, which is themed after pirates and treasure hunts, but there’s no telling just what it means until the update goes live.

Steam Giveaway: This PC Game Is Free To Claim Until Tomorrow

We love a good freebie, and here’s one Steam players won’t want to miss out on: point-and-click adventure Kathy Rain is currently free to own. Once you click “install game,” the title will be added to your account, and it’ll be yours forever. However, this flash deal won’t last long–the giveaway ends tomorrow, May 7, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

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Set in the ’90s, the game follows Kathy, a bold, sassy journalism major who’s investigating the mysterious death of her grandfather and uncovers the sinister secrets of her hometown in the process. Eerie and compelling, Kathy Rain features gorgeous pixel art graphics, hand-drawn environments, original music, and complete voice-acted dialogue. While GameSpot hasn’t reviewed the game, Kathy Rain has over 1,000 reviews and a “Very Positive” rating on Steam–and at the low, low price of $0, you might as well pick it up and dive in.

If you’re into story-driven indie games with dark themes, you might also consider picking up the Dark Dames in Adventure Games bundle, which is 20% off (now $40) and includes Kathy Rain and four other games.

Claim Kathy Rain for free at Steam »

Celebrate Detective Pikachu’s Release In Pokémon Go – GS News Update

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Universal Studios’ New Harry Potter Roller Coaster Gets Creepily Realistic Hagrid Robot

Universal Studios Orlando is preparing to launch the latest addition to its Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. The “immersive” roller coaster puts visitors on Hagrid’s motorcycle as they journey through the Forbidden Forest and come face-to-face with a number of magical creatures from the world of the Harry Potter books and films. The creatures aren’t all that’s in store, though.

Universal Orlando has unveiled its first look at the animatronic figure of Hagrid that will be seen in the coaster, and it’s scarily realistic. Like, a few steps removed from a Harry Potter-themed version of Westworld realistic.

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According to a press release, Hagrid’s face was sculpted by hand, while actor Robbie Coltrane’s mouth was scanned to recreate the character’s teeth. Coltrane also recorded new dialogue for the animatronic, while the character’s costume was designed by the team that dressed him in the films.

“Hagrid is such an iconic character and an integral part of the Harry Potter franchise, so we were excited to develop a truly innovative and authentic animated figure to bring him to life for this experience,” Universal Creative senior vice president Thierry Coup said in a statement. “We worked tirelessly to make sure Hagrid’s full essence was captured with the utmost attention to detail for our guests to feel completely immersed in this all-new adventure.”

You can see just how detailed the Hagrid animatronic is in the images above and in the trailer below. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure opens at Universal Orlando on June 19. Between this and the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom parks, it’s an exciting summer to be a theme park fan.

Pokemon Go Detective Pikachu Event Starts Tomorrow, Adds New Shiny

Warner Bros.’ live-action Detective Pikachu movie hits theaters later this week, and Niantic is celebrating its premier with a special event in Pokemon Go. Beginning tomorrow, May 7, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST (6 AM AEST on May 8), players will have a chance to capture Pokemon from the upcoming film–including a new Shiny Pokemon and Detective Pikachu itself.

From May 7-17, Pokemon that star in the Detective Pikachu movie, such as Bulbasaur, Snubble, Psyduck, Jigglypuff, and Aipom, will appear in the wild more frequently than normal. Some movie Pokemon will also appear as Raid bosses, and players will have a chance of coming across a Shiny Aipom. On top of that, a Pikachu wearing a detective’s hat may photobomb any Go Snapshots you take; if that happens, you’ll have a chance to catch it.

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Beyond the increased Pokemon spawns, you’ll earn twice the usual amount of XP for every Pokemon you capture during the Detective Pikachu event. Niantic is also distributing special Field Research tasks at Poke Stops, and there are Detective Pikachu-themed clothing items for purchase from the Style Shop, including a shirt featuring the film’s logo and a detective hat with Pikachu ears.

Detective Pikachu hits theaters on May 10. The movie is based loosely on the 3DS game of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds as the voice of the titular Pokemon. “Detective Pikachu should prove enjoyable for any and all Pokemon fans, young or old,” Michael Rougeau wrote in GameSpot’s Detective Pikachu review. “As the first official live-action trip to the world of Pokemon, Detective Pikachu presents characters I want to see again and a setting I’d like to return to.”

In other Pokemon Go news, the Legendary Lake trio–Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie–have started to appear in Raid Battles around the world following their unexpected appearance in the wild earlier this month. The game’s next Community Day event, meanwhile, is scheduled for Sunday, May 19. The featured Pokemon this time will be Torchic, the Fire-type starter from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.

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