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The new year brings new offerings for your streaming pleasure on Netflix. The weather outside is getting chillier across most of the US, making it the perfect time to stay indoors and watch new streaming shows and movies till your heart’s content.

This week the service adds a few highly anticipated series, most releasing on Friday. Season 2 of The Punisher will arrive on January 18, alongside Netflix’s original take on Carmen Sandiego as a Robin Hood-style noble thief. We’ll also be seeing more Grace & Frankie, the cartoon Trolls: The Beat Goes On, and the reality series The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes.

This week also marks your last chance to see some films as well. On January 18, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will exit the service, but you can still watch Solo: A Star Wars Story since it became available on January 9. This slow shuffling out of Disney properties has also included cancellation announcements for the Marvel shows, so we expect to see one for Punisher sometime soon.

Make sure to check out our full wrap-up of the month for more details, and read up on our recommendations if you need a little more direction.

Avail. 1/15/19

• Revenger– NETFLIX FILM
• Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry– NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Avail. 1/16/19

• American Gangster

Avail. 1/17/19

• American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Avail. 1/18/19

• Carmen Sandiego– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Close– NETFLIX FILM
• FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• GIRL– NETFLIX FILM
• Grace and Frankie: Season 5– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• IO– NETFLIX FILM
• Soni– NETFLIX FILM
• The Punisher: Season 2– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2 Part B– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Trigger Warning with Killer Mike– NETFLIX ORIGINAL
• Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 5– NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Whenever Dwayne Johnson stars in a movie, you can be sure that he’s going to take every opportunity to publicize it. Johnson is set to reprise his role as Agent Luke Hobbs in the upcoming Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw and has now released another image from the movie.

This latest picture seems to be taken in the same location as the one released in December. It shows Johnson alongside co-star Jason Statham as mercenary-for-hire Owen Shaw, and Idris Elba as the movie’s villain, Brixton. In his Instagram post, Johnson describes Elba’s character as “the baddest bad guy the Fast & Furious franchise has ever had.” Check it out below:

Hobbs & Shaw is directed by Deadpool 2’s David Leitch, and also stars Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible: Fallout), Eiza González (Baby Driver), and Eddie Marsan (Deadpool 2). It releases on August 2, 2019.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, Johnson spoke about what will set Hobbs & Shaw apart from the insane, over-the-top action of the main Fast & Furious movies. “The main thing that we can do and focus on is how can we evolve,” he said. “So instead of thinking of whatever the biggest explosions are with the biggest vehicles and let’s drop them from the moon, this is where finding the perfect director comes in with a very unique point of view and perspective, and someone who understands not only action but understands stylistic action mixed in with story and character.”

“David Leitch just did the new Deadpool and John Wick and Atomic Blonde,” Johnson continued. “So you can see the stylistic approach that he has, and he really just stepped up to the plate and took great ownership of this spin-off. He’s really been delivering, and if his past movies are an example of what he’s been doing, wait until you see this one.”

In terms of the main series, the currently untitled Fast & Furious 9 is currently scheduled for an April 2020 release. The decision to delay the movie by a year to make way for Hobbs & Shaw caused some controversy in 2017, when co-star Tyreese suggested that if Johnson were to appear, he would not. This follows the reported on-set feud between Johnson and star/producer Vin Diesel during the production of 2017’s The Fate of the Furious.

Celeste was one of 2018’s best games, and it’s getting free DLC on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch soon. The game’s creator, Matt Thorson, has shared details of the update on Twitter, and it sounds promising.

The expansion will consist of a new chapter containing some of the most difficult levels in the game. The added stages feature new items and mechanics, but no collectible strawberries, unlike the main game. No release date was mentioned for the DLC, only that it will be after the game’s one-year anniversary on January 25.

We awarded the platformer a 9/10 in our Celeste review. “It’s a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I’d been on the same journey as Madeline,” we said. “Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain.”

Celeste is free thanks to Xbox One’s Games With Gold program right now. Hurry though, it will go back to full price on January 31, while you have even less time to grab the month’s other free games.

There are always more games on the horizon, and now Microsoft has teased what’s coming next for its portfolio. In a blog post, Microsoft offered what it called a “hot tease” of what fans can expect in the time ahead.

Starting with 2019 games, Xbox fans have titles like Crackdown 3, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Gears 5, and Minecraft: Dungeons to look forward to. Of note, all of these games–and all future first-party titles from Microsoft–are included with the price of an Xbox Game Pass membership.

“2019 is shaping up nicely for Xbox, PC and mobile gamers alike,” Microsoft said.

Also in 2019 Microsoft will release a significant new update for Sea of Thieves, called The Arena, which adds a competitive mode.

In addition to all of these games and the new Sea of Thieves expansion, Microsoft teased future releases from its studios around the world. Microsoft said delivering “new Microsoft technologies” is one part of the company’s ambition going forward.

“And we can’t wait to show you what all the Microsoft Studios development teams are working on. We’re focused on implementing new Microsoft technologies, delivering content for new platforms and services like Xbox Game Pass, and creating exclusive games that turn players into loyal Xbox fans,” Microsoft said. “We are committed to expanding the Microsoft Studios franchises players already love and investing in new, exclusive content for every type of gamer. We’re excited to see the teams maximize their potential at Microsoft and can’t wait for what the future has in store.”

Last year, Microsoft invested in its future by acquiring six studios and creating an all-new one. At E3, Microsoft announced that it acquired Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Compulsion Games (We Happy Few), Ninja Theory (Hellblade), and Undead Labs (State of Decay). At Microsoft’s X018 event in Mexico City, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas) and inXile Entertainment (Wasteland 3). As for new studio, The Initiative is based in the Los Angeles area, and it’s staffed by Red Dead Redemption’s writer/designer and many other big names.

Outside of games, Microsoft is working on a game-streaming service that will let you play console-level Halo on your phone, while the company is also making a Halo TV show and a Gears of War movie. Additionally, Microsoft is working on multiple new Xbox consoles.

What games and technologies are you hoping to see from Microsoft in 2019? Let us know in the comments below!

Nintendo has revealed the most-played Nintendo Switch games of 2018 in Europe, and the title at the top of the list probably will not surprise you.

The news feed on the console in Europe reveals the most-played Switch game of the past year was Epic’s free-to-play battle royale game, Fortnite. Rounding out the top five were all Nintendo-made games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The only reason Super Smash Bros. Ultimate isn’t near the top is probably because it only just launched in December. Nintendo didn’t share any numbers about specific play-time hours, so we don’t know the gaps between the different games.

Still, it’s not all that surprising that Fortnite is No. 1 given the game’s immense global popularity. As mentioned, this chart is only for Europe. It doesn’t appear that Nintendo published similar most-played lists in the US or other parts of the world.

NintendoEverything first reported this news. The top 20 most-played games for Nintendo Switch in Europe can be seen at the bottom of this post.

NPD analyst Mat Piscatella responded to the news, saying he expects Fortnite’s massive success to have an impact on the wider industry in 2019. Specifically, he said the way in which the game’s massive success propelled gains for hardware and microtransaction spending in 2018 may be hard to replicate, especially in the first half of 2019.

Most-Played Switch Games Of 2018 In Europe

1. Fortnite
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. Splatoon 2
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. FIFA 18
7. Minecraft
8. Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu
9. Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee
10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. Rocket League
13. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
14. Pokemon Quest
15. Stardew Valley
16. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
17. Octopath Traveler
18. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
19. Paladins
20. Super Mario Party