Pokemon Go Made Nearly $800 Million In 2018 – Report

Thanks to developer Niantic’s steady rollout of new content, 2018 turned out to be a big year for Pokemon Go. Not only was the title selected by GameSpot as one of the year’s best evolving multiplayer games, it also saw an impressive jump in revenue.

According to mobile tracker Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go generated an estimated $795 million in revenue worldwide in 2018–a 35% increase over 2017. US players sunk the most money into the game last year, spending an estimated $262 million in 2018, although Japanese players weren’t far behind, spending approximately $239 million.

Daily spending in Pokemon Go was up as well last year. The game generated an average of about $2.2 million per day in 2018. Players also spent more than $75 million on the game in the month of December alone between Google Play and the App Store, up from $57.2 million spent during the same month in 2017.

These impressive figures can likely be attributed in part to the regular stream of new Pokemon, events, and features that Niantic introduced to Pokemon Go throughout 2018. Early in the year, the developer kicked off a new monthly series of events called Community Days, which give players around the world a chance to catch rare Pokemon and learn exclusive moves for one day every month.

On top of that, Niantic implemented a host of new features in the game. Last summer saw the long-awaited arrival of friends list and trading, while PvP trainer battles finally arrived in December. Niantic also introduced Adventure Sync, a feature that allows Pokemon Go to track your distance walked even when idle, making it easier to hatch Eggs.

Pokemon Go’s latest in-game event, the Adventure Sync Hatchathon, is currently underway. The event runs until January 15, during which time you’ll earn twice the normal amount of Candy and Stardust for hatching Eggs. Meanwhile, the next Community Day is scheduled to take place on January 12 and will feature the Gen 2 starter Totodile.

Beyond Pokemon Go, Niantic is also co-developing a Harry Potter mobile game with Warner Bros. titled Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The game was originally slated to launch in 2018, but it will now arrive sometime this year. The studio also recently launched an enhanced version of its original mobile game titled Ingress Prime.

The Walking Dead Is Crossing Over With Fear The Walking Dead Again – Report

The line between The Walking Dead and its companion series Fear the Walking Dead is about to get a little more blurry. At the beginning of Fear’s fourth season, Morgan (Lennie James) was moved to the series from the original, creating the first crossover between the two shows. Now, based on reports, it looks like he’s getting some company.

ComicBook.com is reporting that Austin Amelio, who appeared in Seasons 6-8 of The Walking Dead as Negan’s right-hand man Dwight, is set to pop up on Fear. The character was last seen in the Season 8 finale of The Walking Dead when he was banned from ever returning to the Alexandria safe zone.

While it remains unclear exactly how major this crossover will be, Entertainment Weekly notes that co-showrunner Ian Goldberg previously revealed that new characters would come into play during Fear’s fifth season. Should Dwight be one of those, he could serve as a very interesting ally to Morgan.

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The addition of Amelio takes Fear even further from its origins. At this point, only one of the show’s original cast members–Alycia Debnam-Carey–remains. The first half of Season 4 saw the characters played by Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane killed off. Meanwhile, new cast Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt, and Jenna Elfman were added this year to round out the show.

As for future crossovers, that might become tricky. Early in Season 9 of The Walking Dead, following the departure of Andrew Lincoln, the series jumped ahead 6 years. Unless Fear were to match that at some point, chances are it’ll be a while before another character moves from one show to the other.

Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season later this year. The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres on February 10 on AMC.

Bethesda Settles Lawsuit Over Westworld Game It Claimed Was A Ripoff Of Fallout Shelter

The lawsuit that Bethesda brought against developer Behaviour and media giant Warner Bros. over a Westworld video game has come to an end, it seems.

Bethesda and Behaviour announced that they have reached an amicable settlement, though no terms were disclosed. Bethesda initially said Behaviour’s Westworld mobile video game was a “blatant ripoff” of Fallout Shelter.

Behaviour worked on Fallout Shelter, and Bethesda further alleged that Behaviour “illegally” used the same copyrighted source code from Fallout Shelter to developer the Westworld game. Not only that, but Bethesda claimed Behaviour “copied Fallout Shelter’s game design, art, animations, gameplay features, and other elements.

Bethesda was suing Behaviour and Warner Bros. for “copyright infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of [Bethesda’s] intellectual property.”

Filings with the United States District Court in Maryland, where Bethesda is located, show that Bethesda and Behaviour came to terms on a settlement in principle back in November 2018. A notice dated December 12 confirms that Bethesda and Behaviour “resolved their dispute.” Bethesda, Behaviour, and Warner Bros. each will bear their own costs, including attorney’s fees; however no other terms of the settlement were disclosed. It is not uncommon for settlement details to remain under wraps.

The Westworld game, which is free and supported by microtransactions just like Fallout Shelter, remains available to download on iOS and Android.

Jumanji Sequel In Talks With Awkwafina

The upcoming sequel to 2017’s popular Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle may see its cast grow and include the rapper-turned-actress Awkwafina. According to Variety, Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, is in talks to appear in the sequel.

Awkwafina had a big year in 2018, having appeared in popular movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8.

All the major stars of the 2017 Jumanji movie–Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan–are all expected to come back for the sequel. What’s more, director Jake Kasdan, who is the son of legendary Star Wars writer Lawrence Kasdan, is returning as well.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle made $962 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2017, and a sure candidate for a sequel. In June 2018, The Rock confirmed that the sequel was officially underway. He said at the time, perhaps jokingly, that Kevin Hart’s character will die in the first 15 seconds.

Plot details are under wraps for the Jumanji sequel, but The Rock teased that Kasdan gave a “dynamite pitch” for the plot. The film hits theatres in December 2019.

The Rock and Kasdan are also working together on a new Netflix movie called John Henry and the Statesman.

Gotham: Final Season Premiere Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the Gotham: Season 5 premiere follow…

Gotham kicks off its shortened final season with one hell of a tease: a fateful day, over a year from the start of this “No Man’s Land” arc, where Riddler, Penguin, Jim, and Harvey – the heroes and villains – team up to take on an attacking army. It’s a pretty awesome opening beat and one that definitely helps shape the show’s last run (even though the final final episode will take place 10 years in the future).

We’ve got a lot of interesting things coming. Bane will pop up at some point. Jeremiah will return. Everything will wrap up with a massive firefight. Unfortunately, none of that’s happening yet and “Year Zero” feels sort of flat as a premiere. Granted, it contains a lot of set up and catch up, but even once the story elements kick in, nothing grabs hold the way it should.

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