NBA Live is not a flagship EA Sports title in the way that heavy-hitters like FIFA and Madden are, and it has a tumultuous history at the company. However, the strides that last year's NBA Live 19 made in a positive direction gave fans some hope that the series was back on track again. Now, it appears something might be amiss or changing with the pro basketball franchise.EA announced today that NBA Live 20 is still coming, but it's been delayed to EA's FY20 Q3, which means the game is now scheduled to release between October 1 and December 31, 2019.A spokesperson for EA Sports told GameSpot that NBA Live will feature a "different approach," but it's not clear if this is the reason for the delay."We're planning a different approach to NBA Live this year, and will have more to share in the quarter ahead," the spokesperson said.In an earnings call today, EA CEO Andrew Wilson says EA as a company remains committed to making basketball games, and he remarked that the NBA Live series is getting better with each new instalment. He also acknowledged the rumours that NBA Live 20 will be a free-to-play title, but he didn't confirm or deny anything.This delay for NBA Live 20 is a big deal because it means the game will launch a while after competitor NBA 2K20, which arrives on September 6. In 2019, both NBA Live 19 and NBA 2K19 launched in the same week.EA signalled that something might be changing with NBA Live this year when it released a roster update for NBA Live 19 to bring the game in line with all the wild off-season trades. Many wondered if this meant NBA Live 20 would be canceled, with players instead given the accurate rosters for the previous game. It seems EA still plans to release NBA Live 20, but it seems it will indeed be a non-traditional release.EA Sports' next big release is Madden NFL 20, which arrives on August 2 (though you can start playing right now if you pay extra). After that, FIFA 20 and NHL 20 are set to launch in September.Info from Gamespot.com

From front to back, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is very much the same game on the Nintendo Switch as it is on other consoles and PC. You'll get the bombastic combat scenarios where you'll tear through Nazi trash as the charismatic, dynamic duo of Jess and Soph Blazkowicz, twin daughters of series hero BJ Blazkowicz. And you have the opportunity to play it all alongside a friend. The portable nature of the Nintendo Switch makes this an even more enticing prospect, but the platform's limited hardware hurts the game's best parts; low frame rates and muddy visuals make the action harder to enjoy. While these issues are not prohibitive, they do make the Switch version the weakest of the bunch.Youngblood is a bite-sized spin-off that jumps ahead in Wolfenstein's timeline by taking you to the 1980s, almost 20 years after the events of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. You see an older Anya and BJ teaching their twin daughters Jess and Soph the means of survival, just before BJ goes missing. With the help of Abby, daughter of Grace Walker from The New Colossus, you're able to track him down in Nazi-occupied France, particularly Neu-Paris.Not long after the introductory mission do you see how Youngblood breaks off from the traditional Wolfenstein structure; Neu-Paris acts as a group of separate hub areas where most of the action takes place. Many of the side quests and random events in these areas feel more like filler and will eventually have you running through familiar areas frequently. If anything, it's at least a means of familiarizing yourself with the intricacies of the Dishonored-influenced districts. Main missions branch off from the hub areas, and in these missions are where you'll find the relentless, challenging firefights that keep up a satisfying momentum. This is where Youngblood truly shines on the PC version, however, due to the Switch's technical limitations, it doesn't quite hit the same highs. [Read our PC review for our full thoughts.]Overall, technical performance hampers some of the great FPS action as it makes aiming, movement, and reacting a bit more difficult.Light RPG elements are new to the Wolfenstein franchise, and they don't shake up the formula too much, but make for some enjoyable twists. You'll earn XP and level up to drop points into a skill tree that grants new abilities or buffs to make you more effective in combat. You can upgrade weapons to fire with even more impact or change the way they function altogether. There's also an armor-type element to strong enemies that'll have you juggling between certain weapons to lay down the most damage. All these small changes serve to bring a slightly more dynamic edge to a solid FPS foundation.Youngblood is wrapped in the idea of cooperative play, which is a blast. Friends (or randoms) can jump into your session easily and the game-state will remain untouched--the AI simply gets taken over by the player, and vice-versa when they leave. Pep signals are core to the co-op experience; these are cooldowns that grant useful buffs or clutch armor/health recharges. The revive system is another key to teamwork that sort of comes in place of traditional checkpoints. Outside of pep signals though, there feels like a lack of synergetic co-op gameplay features, like tag-team attacks or teamwork-centric capabilities, and it feels like a missed opportunity. It's worth noting that you will need to have a Nintendo Switch Online account to do any sort of co-op play, however.When it comes to the Switch version specifically, the question on many minds is: how well does it run? To that, I would say: not great. The frame rate is the most noticeable shortcoming as the game generally runs at sub-30 FPS and chugs when the action gets intense in both docked and undocked modes. There's also heavy use of motion blur to help smooth over the low frame rate. Overall, technical performance hampers some of the great FPS action as it makes aiming, movement, and reacting a bit more difficult.While not as important, the downgrade in visual quality is readily apparent. The game runs at 540p handheld and 720p docked, but uses some sort of dynamic resolution for assets and character models to help keep the frame rate in check. This turns things into blocky messes in certain combat scenarios that take place in large environments. And the low resolution and a gray foggy haze slightly obscures objects and enemies in the distance, making them difficult to identify.Youngblood suffers as a result of the Switch's relatively underpowered hardware, but for all its technical shortcomings, the game still delivers intense, momentous, and challenging combat. Everything features-wise remains intact, and you'll get to enjoy taking a shotgun (or fully charged laser beam) to the heads of Nazi scum. The Blazkowicz sisters, Jess and Soph, bring their own unique swagger to the Wolfenstein franchise, too. So if the Switch version is your only way of playing Youngblood, you can be confident it's still one hell of a ride.Info from Gamespot.com

Nintendo will reveal more details on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's new DLC fighter, Hero of Dragon Quest fame, in a new livestream. The publisher says it will reveal the character's release date and other "new details" in the stream, which will premiere on July 30 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET / 2 PM BST / 11 PM AET.Nintendo has also confirmed Smash's new update, version 4.0, will launch "within seven days" of today, July 29. It's not clear if Hero will arrive at the same time as the 4.0 update. The company also warned this forthcoming update will erase any replays saved from previous versions; if you've replays you'd like to keep, you should convert them to videos and save them to the system from within the in-game vault.We could be seeing the Hero released before the end of the month. A video published by the company recently indicated that the character was among the new games and content being released for Switch in July. That reference to July was later amended, suggesting it might not be quite that soon (or that more information was shared than intended).#SmashBrosUltimate replays created in versions before 3.1.0 are not compatible with 4.0.0, which releases within 7 days. If you have replays you want to keep, you'll need to convert them by going to Vault -> Replays -> Replay Data -> Convert to Video before updating the software. — Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) July 29, 2019Nintendo has released additional DLC fighters since launch to further expand Ultimate's already extensive roster. The first was Piranha Plant, one of Mario's most memorable enemies. It was followed up with Joker, the main protagonist of Persona 5. Dragon Quest's Hero will be the third of the six DLC fighters scheduled for the game, while the next will be Banjo-Kazooie. The characters are available individually for $6 / £5.39 or together in the game's season pass, which costs $25 / £22.49.In our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review, Edmond Tran wrote: "An inconsistent online mode and situational downers don't stop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from shining as a flexible multiplayer game that can be as freewheeling or as firm as you want it to be. Its entertaining single-player content helps keep the game rich with interesting things to do, as well as bolstering its spirit of loving homage to the games that have graced Nintendo consoles. Ultimate's diverse content is compelling, its strong mechanics are refined, and the encompassing collection is simply superb." He awarded the game an 9/10.Info from Gamespot.com

Development on a John Wick spin-off TV show was first reported back in 2017, but it's been well over a year since there was any further news about the show, titled The Continental. However, following the recent box office success of the third movie in the action series, it seems that the project is still moving forward.The Continental is being made by Starz, and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch recently commented on its progress at the Television Critics Association tour. Hirsch revealed that the series will be set before the movies, and would explore the origins of the titular hotel chain. He also stated it would be unlikely to appear before John Wick Chapter 4, which is scheduled for a 2021 release."My sense is that where we are today, the movie date has been set but we're still in early development on the series so [it will air] most likely after," he said, via Deadline.The other big question is whether Keanu Reeves, who plays Wick in the movies will appear in The Continental, as was initially rumoured. Unfortunately, Hirsch couldn't commit to this. "That's a really good question that I'm not going to answer. No answer is as good a tease you're going to get," he said. "It's a great franchise, we're excited about bringing that show to the network."John Wick: Chapter 4 hits theaters on May 21, 2021. In keeping with the theme of the movie, the date was announced via a text message to fans and media a few days after John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum hit theaters. Parabellum has grossed nearly $319 million at the US box office, almost double what Chapter 2 made in 2017. For more, check out GameSpot's guide to every action scene in the John Wick series. Info from Gamespot.com

Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption publisher Rockstar Games has been accused of tax avoidance in a new report. Investigative thinktank Tax Watch UK states in its report that Rockstar's combined companies paid zero corporation tax in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2018, despite lifetime sales of Grand Theft Auto V totaling an estimated US $6 billion.Further, Tax Watch claims Rockstar North, the Edinburgh, Scotland-based studio that led development of GTA V, claimed £70m of tax credits from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs over a 10-year period. Rockstar, which is owned by US company Take-Two, apparently achieved this by listing its profits outside the UK, instead declaring a net loss in the UK for the decade ending 2018.The thinktank said: "This report also raises questions as to whether an appropriate amount of profit has been allocated to the UK companies involved in the game's development. Seven active companies based in the UK using the Take-Two and Rockstar names declared a total profit before tax of £47.3m in the UK between 2013 and 2018. However, over the same period we estimated the operating profit of games published by Rockstar to be in the region of $5 billion."It continued: "It is our opinion that a more appropriate allocation of profit between the US and UK would have resulted in substantially more profit being allocated to the UK. This would have meant that Rockstar North would not be eligible for a payable tax credit. Instead, Take-Two and the Rockstar companies should have had a substantial tax liability in the UK."Grand Theft Auto V had sold nearly 110m copies as of May 2019 and is widely believed to be the most commercially successful entertainment product ever.The UK government's video game tax relief scheme allows developers to reduce their tax bill if they meet certain criteria, such as being developed in the UK or involving British characters, locations, themes, or issues. The body in charge of judging games on these criteria is the British Film Institute, which deemed GTA V as being sufficiently "culturally British" to qualify for the relief.Tax Watch argues the only justification for GTA V being "culturally British" is its development being led from Edinburgh, but that this means the company should have paid more tax than it has.The thinktank continued: "The situation is absurd. The large amounts of subsidy that Rockstar North has been able to claim from the UK government demonstrates that the video games tax credit system is not working as intended. The government should hold an immediate review into its effectiveness."It concluded: "We do not believe that this division of profits can be justified under the so-called 'arm's length' standard found in international tax law. There is no evidence that HMRC has challenged this set-up or that Take-Two ... has acted illegally. However, it is open for HMRC to challenge the allocation of profit under the transfer pricing system and we urge them to investigate this case urgently."HMRC, for its part, told GamesIndustry that around half of large UK businesses are under investigation for tax reasons but that it couldn't comment on a specific case.Rockstar is not the only large company accused of avoiding paying corporation tax in the UK. Multinational groups such as Amazon, Starbucks, Vodafone, and Google have come under fire in recent years for registering much of their profits overseas to dodge UK corporation tax.GameSpot has contacted Rockstar for comment.Info from Gamespot.com

It's the last week of July, and Netflix is still pumping out new content for its subscribers. The month of August has a ton of great things headed your way, like a new season of Mindhunter and the Dark Crystal prequel. Now that August kicks off this week, Netflix is offering up plenty of movies you'll want to check out.On Thursday, August 1, Netflix is dropping plenty of classic movies you'll want to watch again and again. You, too, can say, "Happy birthday, Paulie" along with a robot in the classic boxing movie, Rocky IV. In fact, Rocky I-V will be released that day, so you can get your fair share of people getting punched in the face.If you feel like you're stuck in a vicious cycle where every day is the same, then you probably have a lot in common with Phil, Phil Connors. Obviously, we're talking about the 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. The movie follows a jaded weatherman who relives the same day over and over again.Below, you'll find everything coming to Netflix this week, but make sure to see what's coming out the rest of August on Netflix, and it's a big month--later on--for original shows. For more on August streaming releases, make sure to check out what's coming to Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Shudder.New To Netflix This WeekMonday, July 29The CroodsTuesday, July 30Whitney Cummings: Can I Touch It? -- NETFLIX ORIGINALWednesday, July 31Kengan Ashura: Part l -- NETFLIX ANIMEThe Letdown: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINALThe Red Sea Diving Resort -- NETFLIX FILMWentworth: Season 7Thursday, August 1Are We Done Yet?Boyka: UndisputedFour Weddings and a FuneralGroundhog DayHornsJackie BrownJupiter AscendingNow and ThenPanic RoomRockyRocky IIRocky IIIRocky IVRocky VSex and the City: The MovieSomething's Gotta GiveThe Bank JobThe House BunnyThe Sinner: JulianTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarWhy Do Fools Fall in LoveFriday, August 2Ask the StoryBots: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILYBasketball or Nothing -- NETFLIX ORIGINALDear White People: Volume 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINALDerry Girls: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINALOtherhood -- NETFLIX FILMShe-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY Info from Gamespot.com

The horror genre in the mid-'90s was marked by the popularity of teen slasher movies inspired by the success of Wes Craven's Scream. Inevitably, some of these films are now being remade--we've already had a Scream TV show, and it has now been reported than a series based on I Know What You Did Last Summer is now on the way.The plans were revealed by Deadline, who revealed that the show would be a "YA horror series" and would be written by Shay Hatten, who most recently co-wrote John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. Most excitingly is the news that James Wan is attached to direct the show. Wan's biggest hits include Aquaman and Fast 7, but he has an impressive career in horror with The Conjuring, Insidious, and the original Saw among his credits.No further details about the show has been revealed so far. But horror on TV remains big business, with series such as The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and The Haunting of Hill House among the biggest and most talked-about series of recent years.The original I Know What you Did Last Summer hit theaters in 1997, and starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. The movie focused on a group of teenagers who cover up the accidental killing of a man in a road accident and find themselves stalked by a hook-handed killer one year later. It was followed by a direct sequel in 1998, and a belated direct-to-DVD follow-up in 2006.In related news, Wan is also set to a produce the new Mortal Kombat movie. The film is currently in pre-production and will be directed by Simon McQuoid. It was recently reported that The Raid star Joe Taslim will play Sub-Zero. Info from Gamespot.com

July is wrapping up, which mean it's time for New Releases to tackle a fresh month of video games. Speaking of tackling, Madden NFL 20 releases for everyone at the start of the month. Later on you'll be able to sling bullets and psychic powers in Control and revisit the early days of the world's biggest MMO with World of Warcraft Classic. August wraps up with the action-packed Astral Chain and the terrifying Blair Witch.Madden NFL 20 -- August 2Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PCSome of you might already have early access to Madden 20, but its public launch kicks off the new month. This year's game includes new features like Face of the Franchise, a campaign that takes a player from a college career up to the NFL proper. Some pros can also use special abilities during games thanks to new Superstar X-Factors.More Coverage:Madden NFL 20 Early Access Is Now Live, Here's How To Get InMadden NFL 20 Ratings Revealed For Every Player And TeamControl -- August 27Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PCThe latest game from Alan Wake and Quantum Break developer Remedy gets its name from the Federal Bureau of Control, a fictional government agency that handles cases where the laws of physics just don't add up. Enter protagonist Jesse Faden, who can fling bad guys and float around using her psychic powers. She's infiltrated the FBC to find her missing brother, and she'll have to shoot her way through a few men in black to find him.More Coverage:Control PC Specs Outlined, First Of Which Is An Epic Store AccountHow Remedy's Control Will Trust Players To Figure Out Its Unreal StoryWorld of Warcraft Classic -- August 27Available on: PCIf you've been yearning to return to an older version of WoW, Classic is exactly what you've been waiting for. Classic looks and plays the way WoW did during version 1.12 (the Drums of War update), a time before The Burning Crusade even launched. WoW subscribers get access to Classic at no additional cost.More Coverage:World Of Warcraft Classic Release Date Announced, Beta BeginsWoW Classic Will Have Australia And New Zealand ServersAstral Chain -- August 30Available on: SwitchIf you know Platinum Games' portfolio of titles like Bayonetta and Vanquish, then you know what to expect from Astral Chain. Your police offer protagonist is chained to a living weapon known as a Legion, and the two of you can swing around the battlefield to battle monsters in stylish combat. As you might be able to guess from the name, you can even travel to the Astral Plane to discover where the monsters originate.More Coverage:Astral Chain Hands-On: Two Characters Make Combat A Fast-Paced BlastPlatinum Games On Making A New Kind Action Experience With Astral ChainBlair Witch -- August 30Available on: Xbox One, PCLayers of Fear developer Bloober Team is revisiting the cult classic movie franchise with this canon game, featuring the studio's signature psychological horror flavor. You play as a cop looking for a missing boy in the famously haunted Black Hills Forest. At least you have your canine companion Bullet to help sniff out any witches.More Coverage:E3 2019: Blair Witch Game Announced During Xbox Press ConferenceThe Blair Witch Game Is Canon (And You Can Pet The Dog) | E3 2019August is creeping up, and the next episode of New Releases will look at more new games the month is bringing along. You have a chance to revisit some previously released titles with the Guacamelee One-Two Punch Collection and Metal Wolf Chaos XD.Info from Gamespot.com

Season 10 of Fortnite is almost upon us. The next season of Epic's popular battle royale game officially kicks off on all platforms this Thursday, August 1, and as the developer traditionally does before each seasonal changeover, it has begun dropping a few teaser images, which seem to hint at some kind of time warp theme for the new season.The first teaser, which you can see below, was shared ahead of the finals of the Fortnite World Cup. The tweet simply reads, "Think Back," and features an image of Dusty Depot, which was famously destroyed by a giant meteor and became Dusty Divot all the way back in Season 4. This seems to suggest the beloved area could be making a return in Season 10.Think Back. 8.1.2019 pic.twitter.com/StlbA42Cwj — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 28, 2019The second teaser image, which dropped earlier today, features what appears to be some kind of new mech that's coming to the game. "Look Forward," the tweet reads, which again hints at some kind of space-time disruption taking place in the new season. You can take a look at the second teaser below. What might be more notable than the mech are the symbols on the sides. The one on the left matches a symbol adorned on The Visitor, a skin from back in Season 4. This subtle reference might suggest the skin or character is making a comeback in some capacity.Look Forward. 8.1.2019 pic.twitter.com/NSKq5diQrN — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 29, 2019Each seasonal changeover in Fortnite is typically preceded by some world-changing event, and earlier this month, a giant robot did battle with the monster that was formerly frozen beneath Polar Peak. The mech was ultimately able to defeat the monster by impaling it with a giant sword hidden beneath Neo Tilted, but the Vault in Loot Lake was damaged during the confrontation and is becoming increasingly unstable, which may be the catalyst for whatever time-related event leads to Season 10.With Season 10 only a couple of days away, time is quickly running out to complete Fortnite's Season 9 challenges. If you need help mopping up any remaining tasks, you can find tips and guides for all the trickier ones in our complete Season 9 challenges roundup. Fortnite's second birthday event is also underway until July 31, and it has its own set of challenges to complete and rewards to unlock. Most are fairly straightforward, but the only one that may pose a problem asks you to dance in front of 10 different birthday cakes. Be sure to check out our birthday cake locations guide.Info from Gamespot.com

Of all the many Stephen King adaptation that have been released over the past few years, the biggest box office winner was 2017's It. The adaptation of King's classic 1987 novel made $327 million worldwide, and expectations are high for the sequel, which arrives in September. The running time for It: Chapter 2 has now been revealed--and it's long.In an interview with Digital Spy, director Andy Muschietti revealed that the film will run for a whopping 2 hours and 45 minutes. That's a full 30 minutes longer than its predecessor. Nevertheless, Muschietti seemed confident that fans will enjoy the extended running time."At the beginning, when you're writing and building the beats of the story, everything that you put in there seems very essential to the story," Muschietti said. "However, when you have the movie finally edited and it's 4 hours long, you realise that some of the events and some of the beats can be easily lifted but the essence of the story remains intact."You cannot deliver a 4-hour movie because people will start to feel uncomfortable--no matter what they see--but we ended up having a movie that is 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the pacing is very good. Nobody who's seen the movie has had any complaint."Stephen King fans will know that It is a very long book, and there's still a lot of story left to tell. It: Chapter 2 features the adult versions of the Loser's Club, the kids from the first movie, and is set 30 years later. It stars James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough, Jessica Chastain as Beverly, Bill Hader as Richie, James Ransone as Eddie, Andy Bean as Stan, and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike. Bill Skarsgård also returns as Pennywise, one of the guises of the terrifying interdimensional entity of the title.The latest trailer for It: Chapter 2 was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this month, as well as three new clips from the movie. Check out GameSpot's breakdown of the trailer here. It: Chapter 2 releases on September 9.Info from Gamespot.com

Fire Emblem: Three Houses has finished at the top of the UK all-format physical sales chart, beating the multiplatform shooter Wolfenstein: Youngblood in the two games' debut week.Sales monitor Chart-Track says the Switch exclusive was the best-selling boxed game in the UK for the week ending July 27. With Wolfenstein finishing at No.2, it means last week's No.1, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, falls to No.3. Besides the top two, the only other new game this week was Kill La Kill: If, which enters the chart at No.40.We enjoyed all three of the new games here at GameSpot, and you can read our verdicts on them via the links below.Wolfenstein: Youngblood reviewFire Emblem: Three Houses reviewKill La Kill: If reviewYou can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.Fire Emblem: Three HousesWolfenstein: YoungbloodCrash Team Racing: Nitro-FueledSuper Mario Maker 2FIFA 19Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black OrderGrand Theft Auto VMario Kart 8 DeluxeF1 2019Red Dead Redemption 2Info from Gamespot.com

IO Interactive, the Danish developer responsible for the Hitman franchise, opened a new studio in January 2019. This new studio was established to "strengthen IOI's commitment to [delivering] exceptional content to the Hitman franchise." It’s been around seven months since then, and it seems that commitment may manifest in a new Hitman title.In a documentary from NoClip, IOI talks about the challenges and triumphs of developing the Hitman games. Toward the end of the 40-minute video, host O'Dwyer said the team is "working on new Hitman content, and looking ahead to the third Hitman game,” indicating a third entry in the series could be on the table. He later added that the majority of IOI is "working on something secret, and rather excitingly, something new”—though this may not necissarily be Hitman 3.IOI CEO Hakan Abrak said when "the World of Assassination [is complete], it's gonna be one game with all the locations starting from Paris in Hitman 1 to the last location in Hitman 3, where it's 20-plus locations." Though he didn't confirm or deny whether Hitman 3 is in development, Abrak did say IOI is "looking into the future with new things and potentially new IPs that we might be working on."IOI has said that Hitman will have three seasons, with lead writer Michael Vogt saying in October 2016 that "Season 1 is the first act in a feature film." If a new Hitman game is in the works, Hakan said it "may once-again go episodic."Hitman 2 arrived on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in November 2018. Much like Hitman 1, Hitman 2 offers you a variety of distinct locations--like Miami and New Zealand--to live out your assassination fantasies. With Vermont being a location in the game, we recommended Senator Bernie Sanders stream the game on his newly-established Twitch channel.Info from Gamespot.com

During Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference, developer Bloober Team announced Blair Witch, a first-person survival horror video game based on the 20-year-old movie franchise headed to PC and Xbox One. Details have been kept close to the chest since then, but we've now gotten a quick look at some gameplay ahead of the game's August 30 release.The gameplay footage features the protagonist Ellis talking to someone named Jess about the "missing person case" he's investigating. You can walk around the environments, look at stuff, use cameras and flashlights to illuminate your path, and more--all with pretty unnerving apparitions terrorizing your psyche. It all looks in line with the developer's previous titles like Layers of Fear and Observer. Check out the gameplay video below. And yes, you can pet Bullet the bestest dog.Though very little is known about the upcoming game, we do know it's set in 1996, three years before directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's The Blair Witch Project hit theatres. According to the game's Steam page, you will "navigate your way through a cursed forest that warps and distorts both time and space," with Bullet watching closely as Ellis slips ever further into madness.Pre-orders are available now. If you're a subscriber to either Xbox Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate, you'll have immediate access to Blair Witch once it launches this August.Info from Gamespot.com

A new map is coming to Battlefield V very soon. Marita, the next free map to arrive as part of the game's Chapter 4: Defying the Odds expansion, will roll out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow, July 30. The map will go live on all platforms alongside the game's 4.2.1 update at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET / 11 AM BST / 12 PM CEST.Set in Greece, Marita emphasizes verticality and firefights, making for an intense addition to the rotation. As developer DICE describes: "Deploy on a sloping mountain ridge and within the tight streets of a rural town on this infantry-focused map. Tanks and aircraft will stand aside for intense gunfights and sneaky flanks in the cobbled streets."The 4.2.1 update will weigh in at 500 MB on Xbox One and 300 MB on PC; the PS4 file size will be announced ahead of the update's rollout tomorrow. Once Marita is live, a Marita-only playlist will also be available. As DICE explains on Reddit, this playlist will rotate between one round of Conquest and two rounds of Breakthrough. A new Marita playlist will follow on August 8; this one will be for 32-player modes and will switch between Domination, Frontlines, and Team Deathmatch.Marita isn't the only piece of new content coming to Battlefield V this week. Also arriving tomorrow are two new Elite skins: Norman Kingsley and Ilse Schattenwolf. Both will be available for purchase from Battlefield V's in-game store shortly after Marita goes live. You can read more about the new Elites on the Battlefield V website.Next month, DICE will introduce two new close-quarters maps to the game: Provence and Lofoten Islands. Then in October, the game will receive its Operation Underground map, which takes place in an underground subway system, with a new Iwo Jima map set to follow later in the year.Info from Gamespot.com

Developer Dontnod's choice-focused, narrative Life is Strange games have come to occupy a specific niche on the video game industry landscape. Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 tell stories about coming of age and growing up, and while both seasons of the franchise also include kids with fantastic supernatural powers, they also try to focus on getting at subjects that are relatable in everyday life. Life is Strange 2 is particularly interesting for its setting in the current US political climate, taking place right before the 2016 presidential election and including a lot of the issues and rhetoric surrounding it.Life is Strange 2 director Raoul Barbet and lead writer Jean-Luc Cano took part in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, where they discussed some of the ins and outs of working on the Life is Strange franchise and creating the young characters who make up its world. Ahead of the panel, Barbet and Cano sat down with GameSpot to talk about the burgeoning Life is Strange "universe," which now spans Life is Strange, its prequel Before the Storm, Life is Strange 2, and The Adventures of Captain Spirit, a free episode that functions as an add-on story for Life is Strange 2.While the franchise seems to be expanding to include a variety of different stories, neither Barbet and Cano were sure where the franchise might be headed after the conclusion of Life is Strange 2's last two episodes, the next of which is due out in August. Regardless of whether Life is Strange continues, though, the formula of narrative game it embodies is something both developers said Dontnod will pursue.GameSpot: As you think about the Life is Strange "universe," what is it that makes a Life is Strange game?Raoul Barbet: As you may know it's Square Enix, the publisher, that owns the brand of Life is Strange. So after the first Life is Strange, we were discussing with them if they were interested in creating a new season. That was the case and we were asking ourselves what really was the DNA of those games, and those style of games. So for the first Life is Strange, we didn't want to create, like, a universe or something like that, it was more about creating a game--a good game, I hope. And even after the first episode, we didn't know if we'd continue to create the other episodes. We were in luck because it works quite well and we were happy, so we were able to finish the first season and create the new one.So I'd say that because it was really an independent game and a full story that works by itself, we wanted to do the same thing with Life is Strange 2, so it's a new story, new characters, but of course, the DNA of the game is still there. So it'll be the artistic direction, it will be that we want to create, first, believable characters and a good story, and that tackles some actual subjects of society's problems and that kind of stuff, and puts the player in some interesting situations. And in the end, you've got the supernatural element, so in the first season, it was the ability to rewind, linked to the story of Max and the coming of age story. And this one involves Daniel and the education subject, and the fact we wanted to talk about, what does it take to educate someone and take care of someone else?What are you guys thinking about as this world keeps getting bigger, and what do you want to do with it?Jean-Luc Cano: We don't really know if we're going to do another Life is Strange game, but with Captain Spirit, Life is Strange 2 was already written, and we were thinking about how to present it to the players, to the community, to the fans, the new flavor of Life is Strange 2. That's why we made Captain Spirit, to introduce in a smart way Sean and Daniel, not by making them the heroes of Captain Spirit, but by making them the guests at the end. When you see Sean and Daniel at the end, nobody knew that they would be the heroes of the new season. Then we released the first trailer for Life is Strange 2, people were like, oh man, it's the two guys from the end of Captain Spirit.For the future, we don't know if we're going to make Life is Strange 3 or expand the universe. We haven't been thinking about it in this kind of way. Actually, we're working on Episode 4 and Episode 5, and we're really dedicated to these last two episodes because it's a lot of work. We don't know what we're going to do next.Barbet: The fact is that Square Enix owns the brand, so it's their decision to expand the universe. Even if we have created the first season and the characters, and for this one and the characters. They own the brand. So I don't think we're going to continue, but if we continue as creators, game creators, we'll continue to create narrative games like this. And I think Captain Spirit was a great experience for us because it was very different. It's a small game some would say, it's a shorter game, but I think we managed to create very quickly our universe and believable characters, and it was quite a challenge at this time, but we would be able to continue to create small games like this. So it might not be in the Life is Strange universe but we don't know. We're game directors, so we don't know what we'll be working on, and I don't know what Square Enix wants.As you were focusing on Episode 4 and 5, was the whole story written ahead of time or is it evolving as you're making it?Cano: The whole story was written from the beginning. So our process is to write and imagine the story with Michelle and Raoul, we three imagine the story, then I write the first big [take on the] story. And then after that, the story's cut into five episodes. We're working from the top, the main story, and then we divide it into sequences, and then from sequences into small scenes, and then from scenes into dialogues. So we know from the beginning where we're going to, but because of the game itself, the episodic approach, we're able to change stuff in production. But basically, the main story is written from the beginning.Have there been any changes like that, any responses to how maybe how players are experiencing the game or their feedback?Cano: Yes, the fact that we have four months between two episodes and at the end of every episode we have the statistics, we can shape the experience of the new episode we are in production on. So we've made a few adjustments regarding player choices, and also from a production point of view, sometimes the episode is too big to be done, so we have to cut some sequences. Our job is to say, okay, if we cut all these sequences, what we're saying in these sequences has to be said somewhere else. So we have to reshape the episode from this point of view.The game is very much set in this specific current political climate. It's reacting to things that are happening in our real world, like with its mention of Donald Trump's wall on the Mexico-US border. That situation is, even now, evolving every day--is what's going on in the real world filtering down to you as you make each new episode, and are you responding to what's happening in our world?Barbet: I don't think we want to make statements, for sure. It's not the purpose of our game. It's more about putting the players in interesting situations where they can think about all those subjects. The idea is not to make political statements or to say this is good or this is bad, it's more to see the situation, live this moment, and to think about it. ...But I think it's not evolving so much in the beginning of the game, because by the time we had written the story, all those subjects were already there, and I think even like a hundred years ago. It's the same in Europe and in other countries. Our game is taking place in the US so we talk about it here, but in France it's the same. We wanted to talk about those subjects because of the story and the sequences we wanted to create for the players. Like you say, it's evolving very fast, but we're not changing the story for that, I think it was already there from the beginning.Creating believable kids is a big part of what you're talking about on your panel, and it seems like a big challenge. What's it like trying to build those characters, and what work are you doing maybe from a research perspective?Barbet: At the beginning, we were doing a lot of research about that, and about education in a general way, books and documentaries about psychologists and sociologists who talk about this. And after that, it's a lot of work with the writers and with the actors. For Daniel, it was a very young child, and the voice actors as well, so we discuss with them. Jean-Luc has a daughter, so there is a lot of his own story inside the story of Life is Strange 2. And after that, we research and talk about the scene with different people to be sure to be accurate. But having a believable young child is really difficult. It's dialogues and sentences, cues, but it's also acting, like in the animation, those little elements that give Daniel believability. It's a lot of small stuff like that during production.So you're bouncing lines off the actors and asking "Does this feel authentic to you?"Barbet: Yeah, even when we are shooting a scene, we're asking, "is it believable like this?" and they're saying, "no, it's not really believable to do that," et cetera. And the same for the voice actors, each time we record some lines, as we're French, we prefer to trust American people to tell us it sounds natural or to make sure it's not cliche or the French way of saying things.All the Life is Strange games, they don't back down from dealing with social issues and things that are real part of kids' lives and of growing up. What kind of issues would you say you're trying to tackle in Episodes Four and Five, thematically?Cano: To be honest, we can't really talk about what will happen in Episodes Four and Five, but the themes we are tackling in Four and Five are new themes that haven't been seen in the first three episodes of Life is Strange 2, or in the first season of Life is Strange. Sean and Daniel will face new scenes, new characters, new moods. So we really can't wait to see the reaction of the fans and the players and the community, because it's a new subject.You mentioned that a lot of the story is kind of yours, with your daughter. Can you tell me more about that?Cano: Yeah, when we were imagining what Life is Strange 2 could be with [co-director] Michel [Koch] and Raoul, I was just figuring out that, as a father, everything I was doing, everything I was saying, my little daughter took it as an example. For example, if I said to her, "You know, it's bad to say bad words," she'd say, "Yes, but when you're driving you say a lot of bad words." Okay, so, yeah, I figured out that everything I was doing or saying, I was an example for her, so I had to behave myself not for me to be a better person, but for her to learn to be a better one.So I think the beginning, the seed of Life is Strange 2 came from this, and when we imagined the story of Life is Strange 2, I told Michel and Raoul, we could have this thing where you shape a new character by your actions. So the fact would be in LIfe is Strange 2 every decision you make as Sean would have an impact not only on you and your story, but also on Daniel. So as a player it will be really interesting to see, oh my god, Daniel is growing up, but he's becoming a bad kid. But it's only because of me, and what I had done? I thought I was making good decision for him.Is it tough to balance the idea of consequences for your actions with giving the player a chance to fix things? I know after Episode 2 I was thinking, okay, how can I get Daniel back on track, how can I "win." How do you balance the push and pull of wanting consequences to flow forward with giving the player the ability to try to "fix" things?Barbet: I would say there's not a good or bad ending, or things to "fix." Because I think it's more, maybe you think you have made a mistake, or you think you could have done better with something that happens every day in your life, you know? You make decisions, you make choices with any of that. But you can't rewind. You can't go back in time. So the idea of this game is: be careful, you will be responsible for some consequences, but you will also be responsible for Daniel's whole life, maybe, because of this education aspect.So I really think it's strong as a basis for a game. It was really strong. And from a design point of view, I would say we find good moments for the player to be able to choose a bit, but we really, of course, stay on a storyline we have to tell. So you can have very different endings, like you have seen in Episode 2, but we have to go on and continue to tell the story. So we can't, I would say, have too many different scenes and different endings, for example in this episode, because we want to keep the characters believable, and we want the story to continue to work, even if Daniel is changing a lot. So you have to find the right balance between giving some freedom to the players and in the meantime, keep your story safe, or keep your story believable.Cano: And I think the main difference between the first season of Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 is that, in the first season of Life is Strange, when you make a decision with Max, you can see the consequence immediately. And you see, two or three sequences later, another consequence, but you knew it was because of this decision.In Life is Strange 2, you don't see immediately the consequences. You don't have your massive, big decisions. The behavior of Daniel is shaped by a lot of small details you don't notice at the time. Even if we have big, huge A or B choices, Daniel is not always shaped by only these big decision. He is shaped by a lot of little stuff, vital choices, action you've made, picking up some stuff. And it's all separate stuff, you know. So when you say, "Okay, what I've done wrong?" It's not one decision you have made. It's a lot of different small details that shape Daniel, but it's not right or wrong. It's only your experience.Info from Gamespot.com