Video game unionization has been increasingly talked-about in light of recent events, and now the idea has received a high-profile endorsement from US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The Vermont Senator is currently running to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, and expressed support for game unionization on Twitter.The tweet referenced the size of the multi-billion dollar industry and praised the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and Game Workers Unite for organizing workers. He also linked to an article from Time, summarizing recent developments in the industry that have led to calls for unionization.The video game industry made $43 billion in revenue last year. The workers responsible for that profit deserve to collectively bargain as part of a union. I'm glad to see unions like @IATSE and the broader @GameWorkers movement organizing such workers. https://t.co/Ia5gMG2v0w — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 18, 2019Sanders is a self-described Democratic Socialist, and has often spoken on unionization and workers rights issues. He is one of almost two dozen Democratic candidates vying for the nomination.Unionization has been an especially pertinent topic in recent months following reports of heavy crunch at several high-profile studios. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently expressed his thoughts about crunch, but expressed willingness to engage in collective bargaining. Some studios have made a point to respond directly to crunch, and Nintendo recently suggested its delay to Animal Crossing: New Horizons was to promote a healthy work-life balance. The crunch periods have spurred on calls from outside groups, including an open letter from the AFL-CIO.Info from Gamespot.com

Every Tuesday, online and physical retailers release a slew of new movies onto the world. Most of these movies won't hit streaming services like Netflix or Hulu for months--and some not at all--so if you want to check them out, you'll have to pony up some cash. This week's release list is light, but one is a must have for horror fans.There are a few movies that are being released digitally and physically simultaneously. Hotel Mumbai--which is also available to rent digitally--arrives this week, and you can pick it up in stores in addition to places like iTunes or Google Play. The movie follows the real life story of the 2008 terrorist siege of the Taj Hotel. Additionally, an extended cut of A Star Is Born came out, as well as the movie Beach Bum, a Matthew McConaughey film about a beach bum named Moondog. That brief description is reminiscent of the actor's movie Surfer, Dude, which is unintentionally hilarious. For anime fans, there is a two-part One Piece story called Adventure of Nebulandia coming to Blu-ray as well.However, the pick of the week is none other than the 4K and Blu-ray release of Jordan Peele's horror film Us. And while the digital version came out a few weeks ago, the special features for that release were just ok. However, the physical release's extra features are fantastic. At first glance, it contains the traditional featurette faire; however, what makes this such a fantastic release is Peele's willingness to go in-depth in the meanings behind the film, like explaining what the movie is truly about, or the actors discussing how they shot the movie--when they're playing two different parts. Additionally, there are deleted scenes, and while no audio commentary is a bit of a bummer, Peele discusses the movie so in-depth during the featurettes, that you don't really need commentary for the movie.Below, you'll find the highlighted releases for this week.Digital ReleasesBeach Bum (Buy on Vudu)Captive State (Buy on Vudu)Hotel Mumbai (Buy on Vudu)The Aftermath (Buy on Vudu)A Star Is Born: Extended Cut (Buy on Vudu)Physical ReleasesUs (4K on Amazon / 4K Steelbook on Best Buy)Hotel Mumbai (Blu-ray on Amazon)Crypto (Blu-ray on Amazon)Beach Bum (Blu-ray on Amazon)One Piece: Adventure of Nebulandia (Blu-ray on Best Buy)Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales. Info from Gamespot.com

For as long as there have been computers, people have made stories about them destroying all of mankind. This usually happens either because the machines see humans as a threat to their existence, or because they see us as obsolete and want to take over by killing us (and honestly, who can blame them?). Netflix's newest sci-fi movie, I Am Mother, tries to go a different route.I Am Mother follow a girl referred to as Daughter (Clara Rugaard) who is being raised in an abandoned post-apocalyptic bunker by an artificial intelligence named Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne). Mother isn't programmed to kill humans, or even to raise them, but we see her learning how to take care of Daughter through trial and error, trying new things every day. The movie dares to ask: What if the machines really did want to help future generations of humans?GameSpot had the chance to meet with director Grant Sputore and star Hilary Swank, who plays the mysterious Woman, after the film's world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Now that I Am Mother is out on Netflix, this feels like the perfect time to discuss it.As it turns out, Sputore based his take on the post-apocalyptic on something that is very real. "One of the huge turning points in artificial intelligence development these days is that it is not programmed," Sputore told us. "From what I found in my research, the new kind of software creation system called Machine Learning allows the machine to program itself via trial and error and almost natural selection. It tries stuff and sees if it works, and then adapts, essentially. The biggest dilemma is how you get the machine to appreciate a human life, so you don't end up like most dystopian sci-fi movies.""It sounds like what a mother does," Swank chimed in. "Mother is faster and smarter, but she's grappling with the same sorts of questions mothers do, like defining right and wrong and teaching their children to value life."Indeed, without going into spoilers, the character of Mother is like few other AI characters in movies. She seemingly cares for the human she's raising, and even doubts her own actions when it comes to raising Daughter, the only living human in a bunker with a large supply of human embryos. Though initially a happy relationship, things start going south when Daughter starts getting curious about the outside world, and Mother tries to steer her away from the subject. That all changes once Woman (Hilary Swank) somehow enters the bunker and starts giving Daughter a different version of history than she was taught. I Am Mother feels like a big-budget movie with a giant scope, despite there being only three characters the entire movie, which was very much intentional. "That's the way to make this as a first film," Sputore said. "Sci-fi isn't really the type of film you normally do as a debut feature, but I've always loved sci-fi films, so I had to do it. The film had to be as contained as possible while still sneaking in as much scale and big ideas as possible. We just happened to make the space feel really slick and stylish, and the cool robot helped a lot."That robot is the titular Mother, which is voiced by Rose Byrne but played physically by Luke Hawker inside a practical suit, which was made by Weta Workshop (Lord of the Rings)."From the outset, I wanted to do Mother practically," Sputore told us. "The robot is one of the leads in the movie; I didn't want to risk going CG when it can take the audience out of the film. We were lucky enough that we just sent an email to the people at Weta Workshop and they were interested in the script. Having them on board was a huge relief." Though we are meant to sympathize with Mother, at least from the outset, Hilary Swank's character, Woman, constantly clashes with Mother in how to raise Daughter and what to tell her about the world. And Swank is in full Terminator 2 Linda Hamilton mode for most of the film. "It is a story of survival," she explained. "Where Daughter and Mother are in a confined sci-fi thriller, my character is in full post-apocalyptical mode. We don't know what she's gone through, but you know she's seen some awful things, and doesn't really trust Mother--or anyone, really."When we think of great sci-fi movies featuring artificial intelligence, they're usually trying to kill all humans. But what we see in I Am Mother is different. Grant Sputore thinks that's because the relationship between humans and machines has changed from what we imagined in the '80s."The machines usually have animosity towards their creators and see them as a threat," Sputore told us. "Today we have a much more symbiotic relationship with technology, where we are interwoven with and rely on technology. When artificial intelligence emerges, we hope that it'll be a collaborative and beneficial experience for both parties. That's what I think is fresh about this movie--that we have an AI that does respect and love humanity, even if it's a complicated relationship that we explore onscreen."I Am Mother is out now on Netflix. Info from Gamespot.com

The Monster Hunter movie is about a year off, but the project has added another name to its production. Along with some big name actors in Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil series, Hellboy) and Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Pacific Rim), German producer Martin Moszkowicz (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Tarzan 3D) announced that Chinese distributor and producer Tencent Pictures is now attached.Moszkowicz delivered the news via an Instagram post, writing, "Tencent announces [a] partnership with Constantin Film and Toho on [the] Monster Hunter movie for 2020." He followed the news up with another post, saying, "Constantin Film is proud to partner with Tencent and Toho [in] bringing [the] Monster Hunter movie to the screens of the world." Moszkowicz serves as the chairman on Constantin Film's executive board.Tencent will serve as an additional producer alongside Moszkowicz's own Constantin Film and indie film production company Impact Pictures. The Chinese producer has been busy in the film world, making a big splash in 2016 with Warcraft. Tencent also helped with Bumblebee, Kong: Skull Island, Wonder Woman, and Venom. Most recently, the Chinese distributor was attached to Men in Black: International. Immediately following this, Tencent will lend a hand with Terminator: Dark Fate, which is set to debut on November 1.The Monster Hunter movie stars Clifford "T.I." Joseph Harris Jr. (Ant-Man, Entourage), Diego Boneta (Before I Fall, Rock of Ages), Jin "MC Jin" Au-Yeung (2 Fast 2 Furious, The Man with the Iron Fists), Josh Helman (Jack Reacher, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Meagan Good (Don Jon, Shazam!), and Tony Jaa (Furious 7, XXX: Return of Xander Cage).Monster Hunter is scheduled to debut in theatres on September 4, 2020.Info from Gamespot.com

We're deep into Destiny 2's latest content expansion, the Season of Opulence, meaning we're back on the grind to reach the new 750 Power level cap. The good news is, there are plenty of opportunities to gather more Powerful gear. As always, a reliable way to get the gear you need fast is with the weekly Ascendant Challenge, which takes you into the strange recesses of the Dreaming City. This is the end of the six-week cycle of challenges, and this one, the Cimmerian Garrison, is one of the spookiest and most involved. Here's where to find the Taken portal and what to do once you're inside.As always, the first step is to pick up the Ascendant Challenge from Petra--this is what nets you a piece of Powerful gear for completing it. Once that's done, make sure you have a Tincture of Queensfoil. With that in hand, you'll enter the Lost Sector in Rheasilvia, the Chamber of Starlight. You'll need to make your way through the entire thing, as the portal is located just behind the chest that unlocks after killing the boss. While optional, you might as well complete the Lost Sector to make things easier on yourself. With that out of the way, use the Tincture to gain the Ascendance buff, which allows you to see the Taken portal. The exact location can be seen in the video above and map below.Jump through the portal to head to Cimmerian Garrison, located in the Ascendant Plane. Here, you'll be faced with what amounts to a gauntlet--you'll need to make your way through and kill an enemy at the end. Once you go inside, you'll be chased by three knights. As you progress, you'll have to deal with various enemies, including hobgoblins, shriekers, and thrall with yellow health bars. Take them out as you go, and you'll reach a point where you have to platform across some rocks (because it wouldn't be an Ascendant Challenge without some first-person platforming). Along the way, be mindful of the Taken corruption that will periodically explode with a blast of energy, which can send you falling you to your death if you aren't careful.Once you're done platforming, you'll have to kill a knight to finish things out, but beware the shrieker that spawns nearby. With the knight dead, open the chest to complete the Ascendant Challenge. There may not be any special rewards inside there, but you'll get a piece of Powerful gear for turning in the associated bounty. There are plenty of other ways to find good gear for Iron Banner in Jokers Wild, including the hunt to find the Exotic hand cannon Thorn. You should also be delving into the Gambit Prime and Reckoning activities, and pledging your allegiance to the Drifter or to the Vanguard--each of which offers different rewards.Info from Gamespot.com

As June gives way to July, the spring anime season transitions into summer. Once again, we're compiling a full list of every series and movie that's making its debut this season--specifically in US theaters or on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, Prime Video, Netflix, or Hulu. Below, we've listed every new show that's currently been announced for this summer and outlined where you can watch them. We'll continue to update said list as more titles get revealed.To keep things manageable, we're not including anime that are continuing their season from spring, such as Fruits Basket and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Which isn't to say you should stop watching those anime--we didn't include series like those two on our best anime of Spring 2019 guide for no reason. But they've had their moment. This article is designed to highlight what's new.Summer usually sees a rather bizarre assortment of genres and storylines when it comes to anime, as a realization sets in that a lot of viewers aren't staying indoors and watching a bunch of new shows. They're out and about on vacation (or attending some of the dozens of anime conventions that occur every summer), making it more difficult to stay on top of multiple series. To gain popularity in the summer, a show needs to stand out. As a result, you usually get some very experimental (but very fun) stuff between July and September. This year looks to be no different. We're waiting for a few more shows to be officially announced before publishing our recommendations, so stay tuned for our in-depth thoughts.Table of Contents [hide]Action & Adventure AnimeComedy & Slice Of Life AnimeRomance & Drama AnimeHarem & Ecchi AnimeThriller & Supernatural AnimeSports & Music AnimeScience Fiction & Fantasy AnimeAction & Adventure AnimeAre You Lost? -- CrunchyrollFour high school girls find themselves stranded on a deserted island and, save for one who's been lost in a hopeless situation like this before, none of them know standard survival skills. Whether it's scavenging for food or battling sharks, they'll have to learn as they go.Dr. Stone -- Crunchyroll, Funimation3000 years after every person is turned to stone, best friends Taiju and Senku finally free themselves and use science to free the physically fit Tsukasa and kindhearted Yuzuriha. Though Tsukasa does initially protect the others, he ultimately reveals he wants to abuse this opportunity to smash and kill all adults. As more people are freed, a Lord of the Flies rivalry develops between the Kingdom of Science and Empire of Might.Fire Force -- Crunchyroll, FunimationFrom the mind that brought you Soul Eater, Fire Force follows a young man who can ignite his feet. He joins a unique fire fighting unit that specializes in killing people who are dangerously close to spontaneously combusting.Kengan Ashura -- NetflixTokita "Ashura" Ohma is a gladiator in an underground tournament ring overseen by the wealthy Japanese elite. His sheer will and overwhelming strength capture the attention of one very ambitious CEO, and Ashura's life is never the same.Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya -- NetflixA new anime adaption of the 1980s manga premieres this summer, retelling the origin of Seiya and his fellow Knights. Each one is sworn to protect the reincarnated goddess Athena, and they'll have to take on the other Greek gods to ensure no harm befalls her.Comedy & Slice Of Life AnimeHakata Mentai! Pirikaraki-Chan -- CrunchyrollThis adorable anime follows the lives of several food fairies, all of which live in a shopping district. One such fairy, Pirikarako-chan, is responsible for all the others, doing all she can every day to make sure everyone is okay.Romance & Drama Anime[None announced so far.]Harem & Ecchi AnimeHensuki: Are You Willing To Fall In Love With A Pervert, As Long As She's A Cutie? -- FunimationAfter finding an unsigned love letter addressed to him, Keiki's only clue to his admirer's identity is the pair of panties found next to the note. In a bizarre twist on the Cinderella story, Keiki must find his true love--the one person who perfectly fits the lost underwear.Magical Sempai -- CrunchyrollAfter joining his school's magicians club, one boy realizes the president is terrible at magic. She suffers from stage fright and is incredibly clumsy. That won't stop her from striving towards being the next world-class magician, though.Thriller & Supernatural Anime[None announced so far.]Sports & Music AnimeHow Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift? -- FunimationAfter growing worried that she's eating too much junk food, Hibiki decides to hit the gym to lose weight. Initially intimidated by all the bodybuilders, Hibiki receives support from a personal trainer and several workout buddies and decides to train at her own pace.Science Fiction & Fantasy AnimeThe Ones Within -- FunimationAkatsuki is a popular "Let's Play" livestreamer who winds up trapped in a popular MMORPG with seven other YouTubers and streamers. Now, the eight must compete for views or suffer deadly consequences.To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts -- CrunchyrollA country's civil war leads to the creation of mutant soldiers that can transform into monstrous Beasts. Years later, a woman travels in search of the truth behind her father, who never returned from a mission to hunt and kill his former Beast comrades.Info from Gamespot.com

Overwatch is kicking off another limited-time event, this time centering around the latest addition to the roster, Baptiste. You can earn some special cosmetics including a new Epic skin for Baptiste, and the event goes hand-in-hand with a short story featuring the character.From June 18 through July 1, notch wins in Quick Play, Competitive, or Arcade to win the new cosmetic items. Three wins will grant you a player icon, six will give you two new sprays, and nine will give you the Battle Medic Baptiste skin. You can also earn extra sprays by watching up to six hours of participating Overwatch streamers on Twitch.The update kicking off the Baptiste event also introduces the new Replays feature. This will let you watch previous matches with flexible controls over aspects like camera and playback speed. You can check out the official site for more info including keyboard shortcuts.Baptiste was added to the game in March, and he marked the game's 30th Hero. Overwatch has had more frequent, smaller events recently in addition to its big holiday-themed ones, including dabbling with free-to-play and introducing a new Workshop feature.Info from Gamespot.com

While most mainline Pokemon games to date have allowed you to carry your monsters over from previous titles, we learned at E3 2019 that the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield for Switch will be bucking this trend. During a Treehouse Live segment, producer Junichi Masuda revealed that players can't transfer every old Pokemon to the games--only those that already appear in the Galar Pokedex. And it seems Sword and Shield may not be the last Pokemon titles with this restriction.In an interview with Famitsu (via Eurogamer), Masuda reiterates that the reason behind this controversial limitation is due to the amount of time it would take to balance every Pokemon and improve them visually thanks to the sheer size of the series' Pokedex, which now encompasses more than 1,000 Pokemon including alternate forms. "As a result, it has become extremely difficult to make Pokemon with a new personality play an active part and to balance their compatibility," Masuda said. "That is the reason for this decision, and we have decided that it is difficult to make all Pokemon appear in future works."Masuda's response suggests that future Pokemon games may likewise not include every monster in the series, although it doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility that more could be added in to the titles down the line. Famitsu asked if that would be the case with Sword and Shield, but Masuda said that was still "undecided" at this point.To transfer previous monsters over to Sword and Shield, you'll first need to bring them over to Pokemon Home, a new Pokemon Bank-like cloud service launching for Nintendo Switch and smartphones in early 2020. Pokemon Home allows you to store any monster from Pokemon Bank on 3DS, as well as Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, Sword and Shield, and Pokemon Go, then bring those into Sword and Shield (provided they're in the Galar Pokedex). Unlike Pokemon Bank, you can also trade Pokemon with other players directly from Pokemon Home. The Pokemon Company hasn't shared any pricing details for the service yet, but Pokemon Bank requires players to have a subscription, which cost $5 per year.Pokemon Sword and Shield launch for Switch on November 15. Nintendo revealed a ton of new details about the games during a special Pokemon Direct ahead of E3. Among other things, we learned about the games' new Dynamax battle mechanic, which allows Pokemon to temporarily grow into the size of a building during battle. We also got a look at the open-world Wild Area that stretches between towns in the Galar region, as well as the multiplayer Max Raid Battles. You can read more about the games in our Pokemon Sword and Shield pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

On Sunday, June 23, the next WWE event, Stomping Grounds, is coming to PPV and the WWE Network. It's a bit of a summer-lull right now, coming out of a Saudi Arabia show, and the event formerly known as Backlash got a name change--probably because WWE didn't want a PPV named "Backlash" after all of the backlash they got for the Saudi show.The next WWE show takes place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. If you're in the Seattle/Tacoma area, there are still plenty of tickets available, even ringside, for as cheap as a little more than $100. Even more interesting is that Stomping Grounds is offering "two for one" tickets to the event, so you and a friend can go to the show for the price of one ticket.Date & TimesAs previously mentioned, Stomping Grounds takes place on Sunday, June 23. Depending on where you live on this planet, the time will be different. Check out the times for Stomping Grounds below. Keep in mind, that the Kickoff Show starts one prior to the main card.4 PM PT6 PM C7 PM ET12 AM BST (June 24)9 AM AET (June 24)How To WatchIf you're planning to watch the event, there are a couple different ways to see it. You can get it through your cable or satellite provider, but that comes at a price. However, you can watch it on the WWE Network for $10 a month, and the first month is free if you're a new subscriber. You're under no obligation to continue your subscription, so you could cancel right after your trial is over.Stomping Grounds Match CardAs of this writing, there are only seven matches on the card, but there is still an episode of Smackdown to air tonight, and more than likely, more matches will be added. There are five title matches on this card, and one of them is a steel cage match. Check out the full match card below, and we'll be updating it as more is added.Seth Rollins (c) vs. Baron Corbin (Universal Championship)Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship)Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans (Raw Women's Championship)Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss (Smackdown Women's Championship)Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyreSamoa Joe (c) vs. Ricochet (United States Championship)Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Kevin Owens & Sami ZaynMake sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, June 23 for live coverage and a review of the show.Info from Gamespot.com

The appearance of the next game from Ninja Theory, Bleeding Edge, was something of a surprise during Microsoft's press conference at E3 2019. It's a competitive game in the vein of something like Overwatch or Apex Legends, pitting teams of four players against each other as they try to capture objectives while wailing on each other. That's pretty far removed from the studio's past games--third-person narrative action titles such as Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and DmC: Devil May Cry.Bleeding Edge is looking to marry online competitive games with the kind of combat experiences you might expect from Ninja Theory. It's principally a sort of competitive brawler--the majority of the characters specialize in melee combat. Think Overwatch, but fewer guns and more combos.That's the kind of game creative director Rahni Tucker wanted to play, so that's the one she and her team made, she told GameSpot at E3."For me, combat is my interest, that's what I love to make," Tucker said. "At home, I play competitive team multiplayer games. So, it just seemed like a natural synergy. Like, an 'Ah!' moment. I was like, 'Where's third-person action combat meets competitive team multiplayer? I feel like this game doesn't exist and I would play it, so why don't we make that? It's just the game that I love basically, my passion project."Close-Range CombatIn Bleeding Edge, most characters are melee fighters, although there are different roles among the cast. Some are support class fighters with ranged attacks, meant to stay out of the fray to heal or buff teammates, while others are tank-like and designed to get in close and wreck people. All 10 characters have a variety of abilities, which we tried out in a match we played at the Microsoft Showcase. Melee DPS fighter Daemon, for instance, carries a samurai sword, can briefly turn himself invisible, and uses a dash move to close gaps and land quick hits. The witchy Maeve can cage opponents in place and siphon life from them, while saw-wielding tank Buttercup has a Roadhog-style chain move that can pull enemies to her. All those abilities have cooldown timers, and every character also has an ultimate move that charges up over time; Daemon's ultimate turned him into a fast-slashing killing machine against anyone who stumbled into a certain radius around him. Each character has two ultimates for you to pick from at the start of a match.I was like, 'Where's third-person action combat meets competitive team multiplayer?'"The round we played took place on an industrial map with a train track running through the center--and happening to cross over its three control points. Capturing those spots earns your team points (as does landing kills), but the trains that occasionally run through the map are a hazard to be either avoided or used against the other team. The map also had jump pads that made it possible to reach higher levels, adding some verticality, and health drops scattered around that were key to keeping alive.It's all the sort of thing you'd expect from other character-based competitive games. Bleeding Edge stands out with its combat, though; it all feels much more MOBA-like as two teams converge and start wailing away at each other. As soon as you get into a fight, the action-adventure pedigree of the Ninja Theory team asserts itself. Hitting an enemy with a series of melee strikes can stun them, and linking regular attacks with your special abilities can extend a combo and let you hammer away opponents. You've also got a dodge move that helps you break free of a combo executed by someone else, but it has limited charges, requiring you to think about how best to use your moves to control the fight and avoid getting locked down."The main thing, I think, is the design sensibilities that go into making the combat feel right because the game, to play, is very different, as you know," Tucker said. "Single-player hack-and-slash games, you can run in versus 50 guys and own them all in the face, and do a 50-hit combo where they don't get to do anything. But playing against that is not very fun. [Bleeding Edge] is definitely a team game and that was a big thing that I wanted it to be, because I like playing support and you can't play support if it's not a team game. That was important to me as well. I think that's one of the things people struggle a little bit when they see third-person action, is they go, 'Oh, cool, I'm just gonna run in and kill everything!' And it's like, well, yeah, but so are they. You can't run in versus four people and just kill everything because they're as powerful as you are."The thing that I'm bringing, I think, from DmC into this is the design sensibility. So making the combat feel good, making the hits feel like they're connecting, the animation slick, it feels right in your hand, got good response control."It might not feel exactly like DmC, but Bleeding Edge does capture that responsive, strategic feeling of fighting--while amping it up with the frantic unpredictability inherent in taking on other players.Modding Your HeroesBleeding Edge also separates itself in the ways you can customize your characters. The premise of the title, as Tucker explained, is a friendly competition between cyborgs set some 50 or so years in the future. The characters are all at the "bleeding edge" of cybernetic body modification, using technology to do all sorts of weird things to themselves, and beating and blowing each other up are how they try out their latest enhancements.Customization is part of the underlying premise, so in addition to picking different characters with a variety of abilities (and switching between them mid-match to adjust your strategy), you can also unlock "mods" to install on your characters, which change the way their abilities work. Each character gets three mod slots, and you can unlock more character-specific mods over time as you play (there are about 20 for each), which allow to you build different loadouts of each character that fit your playstyle and the strategies of a match.The thing that I'm bringing, I think, from DmC into this is the design sensibility.""Using Daemon as an example, his default mod set is base attack/damage, a bit of extra health and more range for his shooting but if you wanted to you could go fully into, say, stealth and you can have a mod that makes stealth last forever, you have a mod that makes him move faster under stealth and there's a mod, say, that does extra damage coming out of stealth. You can equip those three into a build and call it the Stealth Build, and then if you're playing on a team where you don't really need to care about survivability and you just want to get around the back and kill [support character] Zero Cool time and time again, then you might take that build."It all sounds like a potent recipe for a competitive game, and Bleeding Edge created some fun, chaotic moments as all eight players wailed on each other in an attempt to take control points in our match. It's tough to gauge after just one battle, of course, but there's a depth to Bleeding Edge's melee combat that should entice fans of MOBAs and other competitive games, with a bright, easygoing art style and accessibility that make it easy to pick up. The question is whether Bleeding Edge can make a dent in a crowded competitive game market--but at the very least, it has the potential to scratch a combat itch no other games of this type are addressing.Though there's no price point or release date for Bleeding Edge yet, Tucker said Ninja Theory intends to support the game after launch with additional characters (there are 10 at launch and Ninja Theory is already teasing two more) and maps (beyond the three that'll be available at release). Tucker also said she wants to work on a more robust spectator mode for the game as well. Microsoft and Ninja Theory are also running a technical alpha on June 27, which you can sign up for on the Bleeding Edge website.Info from Gamespot.com

It took longer than usual for some of Take-Two Interactive's most recent successes--Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2--to hit the market. While the publisher is likely pleased with the results of such ambitious games, CEO Strauss Zelnick is convinced the development gap between releases will shorten thanks in part to post-launch content.In a GamesIndustry.Biz interview during E3 2019, Zelnick envisions the trend of extensive time between game releases coming to an end. "I don't see it expanding further. In fact, I would expect in many instances it may compress," Zelnick said. "We find that intersection between the time it takes our creators to do the best work in the industry on the one hand, and what the consumer wants, recognizing that building anticipation is a good thing." Zelnick cements his argument by saying "eight years is probably too long," likely referring to the development time between Red Dead Redemption and its direct sequel.Post-launch content might be the force that causes the pendulum to swing, according to Zelnick. "It's possible that the ability to deliver content on an ongoing basis for a long time after an initial release," he said. "Would mean that perhaps that initial release wouldn't be as long in terms of [the] number of hours of gameplay as previously had been demanded in a world where that was all you were getting."He suggests the development could shorten because teams would be primarily focused on finishing a product first and delivering further content once the game is released. While Zelnick doesn't predict a change in the way AAA publishers shoot for less ambitious titles, he does find the idea of post-launch content shortening development to be "a fewer, bigger, better strategy."Take-Two is the parent company of developers like 2K--and its properties 2K Play, 2K Games, and 2K Sports--and Rockstar Games. The big-name publisher has some games launching throughout the rest of the year. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is set to launch on August 27 for PC and sometime in December for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Borderlands 3 will launch on September 13 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and November 14 for Google Stadia. The Outer Worlds is scheduled to release on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.Info from Gamespot.com

With E3 2019 behind us, Twitter has revealed its top trending moments and game announcements from the annual event.The Hollywood Reporter reports that the biggest moment overall was Nintendo's annual Direct presentation on Tuesday morning, which encompassed all of its games lineup including a surprise peek at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Keanu Reeves' appearance at the Xbox conference came in second place, and Square's dual showings of the Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel's Avengers during its press conference came in third.Nintendo was also the most tweeted-about of any publisher, which makes sense given that its press conference was also the most tweeted moment. It was followed by Xbox, Sony, Square Enix, and Bethesda. Every publisher that held a press event, including Electronic Arts' EA Play presentation on Saturday, gained the top spot on Twitter's trending topics.The top new games this year were FF7, Cyberpunk 2077, Breath of the Wild 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Avengers. Overall, the top games and franchises were Pokemon (due to Sword and Shield), Fortnite, Splatoon and Super Smash Bros Ultimate due to their tournaments, and Apex Legends.Info from Gamespot.com

After it was announced in April that the showrunners for FX's adaptation of the Y: The Last Man comic book series were leaving the project, it wasn't clear if the series would be delayed or was even moving forward at all. It's alive and well, though, with a new showrunner at the helm.In a press release, FX announced that The Killing and Animal Kingdom alum Eliza Clark would take over the duties on the show as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. "Eliza Clark is an enormously talented writer and producer whose ambitious vision for Y will only enhance the mystique and allure of this powerful story," one of the network's presidents of original programming, Nick Grad, said in a statement. She will partner with fellow executive producers Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brian K. Vaughan, and Melina Matsoukas to bring the series to life.In a statement of her own, Clark said, "A decade ago I devoured the complete Y: The Last Man series cover to cover, imagining how it might take shape on screen. It introduced me to the amazing work of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra and the complex, fascinating world of Y. I'm thrilled to tell this story and to be working with this immensely talented cast."Y, as the TV adaptation has been titled, is set in a world where all men--save for one guy and his pet monkey Ampersand--are dead. According to FX, the series revolves around a "new world order of women" that "will explore gender, race, class, and survival."Diane Lane will star on the series as Senator Jennifer Brown, with a supporting cast that includes Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, and Amber Tamblyn. Barry Keoghan plays Yorick Brown, the last living man on the planet.A release date has not been announced yet but Y is expected to debut on FX in 2020.Info from Gamespot.com

Sony's annual Days of Play sale, which ran during E3 2019 with steep discounts on games and consoles, is finally over. But a new week means new deals, and luckily, the PlayStation Store has some eye-catching bargains available now.Most notably, quite a few Persona games and DLC are currently scattered throughout the PSN deals section, including Persona 5, which is on sale for $16 (and only $14 if you have PS Plus). With well over 100 hours of content, this is a phenomenal deal on one of the console's best games. If you already own Persona 5, there's also a DLC bundle on sale with added Personas, which each bring unique battle skills to your team. That bundle is available for $14 ($12 with PS Plus). You can also get Persona 4 Golden on Vita for only $12 ($10 with PS Plus) and the Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection for $70 ($60 with PS Plus).With Shenmue III scheduled to release this August, fans of the classic, open-world adventure series might be interested in grabbing Shenmue I & II at a discount. You can get the bundle together for only $21 ($18 with PS Plus). Monster Hunter World is also still on sale for $20, and with the Iceborne expansion beta launching this weekend for PS Plus members, there's no better time to pick up the base game.See all the weekly game deals in the PlayStation Store, and check out more of our picks below!Circuits -- $3.34Destiny 2: Forsaken - Complete Collection -- $40Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom -- $34Monster Hunter World -- $20Moonlighter -- $10My Time At Portia -- $24Overcooked 2 -- $17.49Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight -- $42 / $36 on PS+Persona 4 Golden (Vita) -- $12 / $10 on PS+Persona 5 -- $16 / $14 on PS+Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight -- $42 / $36 on PS+Persona 5 DLC bundle -- $14 / $12 on PS+Persona 5 - Ultimate Edition -- $59.49 / $51 on PS+Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection -- $70 / $60 on PS+Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition -- $15 / $12.49 on PS+Shenmue I & II -- $21 / $18 on PS+Tom Clancy's The Division 2 -- $42Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth -- $18 / $15 on PS+Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception -- $18 / $15 on PS+Yoku's Island Express -- $10 Info from Gamespot.com

Now that the frenzy of E3 2019 is over, all those great game deals are no longer available, but while the big Xbox One game and console sale has ended, the Xbox Store is back on its regular schedule of offering new weekly game deals. The newest batch of Xbox One deals is available now, including a Sonic anniversary sale, discounted indie games, $10 off Xbox wireless controllers, and more.The spotlight is on everyone's favorite speedy hedgehog this week, as Sonic the Hedgehog debuted on the Sega Genesis in North America 28 years ago this month. To celebrate, Sonic's recent games on the Xbox One are marked down along with a collection of Xbox 360 games, many of which are backward-compatible with Xbox One. For the next week, you can get the newly released competitive racer Team Sonic Racing for $30, the gorgeous, retro-style Sonic Mania for $12, and 3D platformer Sonic Forces for $15. If you feel like taking a trip down memory lane, you can also save on classics like Sonic Adventure 2 for $5 and the original Sonic the Hedgehog for $2.49, both of which can be played on Xbox One.The Xbox Store is also highlighting discounts on games from independent developers, who can self-publish digital games on Xbox One and PC with the ID@Xbox program. Some of the best indie games to grab on sale this week include My Time At Portia for $24, The Witness for $20, Observer for $9, and The Gardens Between for $12.Plus, if you're in the market for a new Xbox wireless controller, this is a good week to pick one up, as many styles are marked down by $10 in the Xbox Store (excluding, sadly, the new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2). Both the Phantom White and Phantom Black special edition controllers are down to $60, and some older styles, like the pink Minecraft pig design and Armed Forces II special edition, are discounted to $55. However, consider checking Amazon first, where some wireless controllers are as cheap as $45 this week.Check out the full offering of deals at the Xbox Store and more of our picks below!Xbox One Aer: Memories of Old -- $6Anima: Gate of Memories -- $10Assemblance Collection -- $9.74Claire: Extended Cut -- $3.74Far: Lone Sails -- $11.24The First Tree -- $6The Gardens Between -- $12Hover -- $10Inner Space -- $5My Time At Portia -- $24Nevermind -- $5Observer -- $9Sonic Forces - Digital Standard Edition -- $15Sonic Mania -- $12Sonic Mania Encore DLC -- $2.49Team Sonic Racing -- $30The Witness -- $20Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles -- $19.49Xbox 360Sonic Adventure -- $2.49Sonic Adventure 2 -- $5Sonic CD -- $2.49Sonic Generations -- $10Sonic the Hedgehog -- $2.49Sonic the Hedgehog 2 -- $2.49Info from Gamespot.com