Apex Legends has been teasing something big coming to the game, and now it appears to have arrived. Players have reported hearing and seeing dragons roaming about the map, potentially laying the groundwork for a world event to come with Season 2.The flying beasts can be spotted in the game or on screens posted to the Apex Legends subreddit. The community has taken to calling them "Flyers" and if you bring one down you can get some loot. In a potentially related development, the Leviathan that wanders in the waters outside the map has moved significantly as well.The trailer for Season 2 that debuted at EA Play, just before E3 2019, showed a giant lizard-like eyeball as a teaser at the very end. These creatures are significantly smaller than the one that implied, so they could be harbingers of some larger event to come.Apex Legends' battle royale competition Fortnite has become known for big world-changing events that accompany each season, and so far Apex hasn't followed suit. Respawn has suggested that it is comfortable with a slower pace for its content drops so as to not burn out the team, but that was as compared to weekly and monthly updates. A new season could still bring big changes, so we'll have to see if a giant dragon is among them.Info from Gamespot.com

They say the demons come out at night, and so does Miriam the demon slayer. Famed auteur Koji Igarashi's spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, is out now--but you might not have realized it after some delays and the recent E3 hubbub.Ritual of the Night recently underwent a huge graphics overhaul and made a brief appearance at E3 2019, but the buzz surrounding the game has been relatively quiet. Very few reviews have been published so far, with our own coming soon.Iga released an announcement trailer, below, declaring Ritual of the Night will receive 13 pieces of DLC for free post-launch. The trailer goes through a variety of the game's mechanics, including accessorizing, crafting, fighting, and posing. Zangetsu, the katana-wielding protagonist of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, is one of three playable characters. The retro-style spin-off Curse of the Moon launched in 2018 as one of the original Kickstarter's stretch goals. Yacht Club's Shovel Knight will also make an appearance and may be another of the three playable characters, based on what's seen in the launch trailer.In a feature following a PAX East demo, we said the game is close to but not quite Castlevania. "On the whole, though, the classic sensation of quick, piston-tight platforming and combat has made the transition [to 3D]. Miriam's variety of weapons feel alternately light and swift or heavy and thumping. The level design pitched a good balance of graceful platforming, tough combat, and occasionally a blend of both."Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The Nintendo Switch version will launch next week on Tuesday, June 25.Info from Gamespot.com

July is almost here, and that means various streaming services will be adding new content for the month. Hulu has revealed what's coming to it service in the upcoming month and what's leaving as well. And there is plenty to check out starting July 1.There is a plethora of new content to binge on from TV shows to movies. Some of the highlights this day are the 1980 comedy Airplane, a parody of that era's disaster movies. And if you want more parodies in your life, the 1987 Star Wars parody Spaceballs also arrives that day. If you're looking for something more dramatic that will probably make you cry, you can watch the 2003 Tim Burton movie Big Fish, also releasing that day.Celebrate the United States of America's Independence Day on July 4 with a movie that screams "American," Rocky IV. Rocky I-V will all be released on July 1, but you'll want to wait three days before streaming Rocky IV. In the 1985 film, boxer Rocky Balboa heads to Russia to take on the country's best fighter, Drago. Additionally, the movie has a robot giving Rocky's friend a birthday cake, a performance from James Brown, and Rocky running up a mountain. It is an amazing film.Sadly, not everything that's on Hulu will be staying on the service. On July 31, Hulu is pulling a bunch of content, so there are a few things you may want to check out before they leave. The 1975 sci-fi movie Rollerball and its 2002 remake leave the service at the end of July. It is recommended you watch both of them, but keep in mind that the 2002 version has almost nothing to do with the original, and it doesn't have one moment of James Caan being confused--something the 1975 film has a lot of. But the 2002 version does have cameos of WWE's Paul Heyman and Shane McMahon.Below, you'll find everything coming and leaving Hulu next month, and make sure to come back to GameSpot to see what's headed to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in July when that information is released.Coming To Hulu In JulyAvailable July 1Forged in Fire: Complete Season 5 (History Channel)Forged in Fire: Knife or Death: Complete Season 2 (History Channel)Grace vs. Abrams: Complete Season 1 (A&E)Hoarders: Complete Season 6 (A&E)Killer in Plain Sight: Complete Season 1 (Content Media)Married at First Sight: Complete Season 7 (Lifetime)Mountain Men: Complete Season 2 (History Channel)Nightwatch Nation: Complete Season 1 (A&E)Project Runway: Complete Season 12 (Lifetime)The Universe: Complete Seasons 4-6 (History Channel)Veronica Mars: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Warner Bros)What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage: Series Premiere (FOX)88 Minutes (2007)A Little Princess (1995)A Year Ago in Winter (2008)Accomplices (2010)Airplane! (1980)Airplanes II: The Sequel (1982)American Gun (2005)An American Werewolf in London (1981)The Amityville Horror (2005)Antiviral (2013)The Appeared (2009)Apres Lui (2008)Arbitrage (2012)Are We Done Yet? (2007)Are We There Yet? (2005)Astro Boy (2009)Bad Lieutenant (1992)Bad Santa (2003)The Benchwarmers (2006)Beyond the Gates (of Hell) (2016)Big Fish (2003)Brotherhood of Justice (1986)Bull Durham (1988)Bunny and the Bull (2010)The Chateau (2001)The Childhood of a Leader (2016)Child’s Play (1988)Coffin Rock (2009)Con Air (1997)Cooties (2014)CSA: Confederate States of America (2005)Curse of the Zodiac (2007)Dans Paris (2006)Death Bell (2009)Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)Endless Love (1981)Errors of the Human Body (2013)Evolution (2015)Fainheart (2008)Fighter (2007)The First Wives Club (1996)Gangster No. 1 (2000)The Girl Under the Waves (2001)Good Luck Chuck (2007)Good Time Max (2008)Hard Candy (2006)Hellions (2015)Hero (“Ying Xiong”) (2002)Home of the Brave (2006)Honey 2 (20111)The Housemaid (2011)The Human Stain (2003)I Remember You (2017)The Imperialists are Still Alive (2011)Into The Blue (2005)Into The Blue 2: The Reef (2009)Johnny Mad Dog (2010)Killing them Safely (2015)King Kong (2005)The Last Days (2014)Leaving (2010)Letters to Juliet (2010)Man About Town (2006)Man in the Moon (1991)Manglehorn (2015)Married to the Mob (1988)Minority Report (2002)Mission: Impossible III (2006)My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)Myth of the American Sleepover (2011)No One Knows about Persian Cats (2010)Open Water (2004)Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)Operation Condor (1991)Operation Condor II: The Armour of the Gods (1991)The Overbrook Brothers (2010)Paper Covers Rock (2009)Paranoid Park (2008)The Panic in Needle Park (1971)The Polar Express (2004)The Princess of Montpensier (2011)Primal (2011)Prime (2005)Proof (2005)Pumpkin (2002)Puzzle (2011)The Quiet American (2002)Quigley Down Under (1990)Rain (2009)Reservoir Dogs (1992)Revenge of the Nerds (1984)Rocky (1976)Rocky II (1979)Rocky III (1982)Rocky IV (1985)Rocky V (1990)Rules of Attraction (2002)Rules of Engagement (2000)Running Scared (1986)Sangre de mi Sangre (2008)Shanghai Surprise (1986)Sleepy Hollow (1999)Sling Blade (1996)Someone Else (2009)Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary (2010)Spaceballs (1987)Species (1995)Species II (1998)Species III (2004)Species: The Awakening (2007)Stalked By My Patients (2018)Stigmata (1999)Stung (2015)Superbad (2007)Swimfan (2002)Swingers (1996)The Silence of the Lambs (1991)The Sum of all Fears (2002)Terror in the Woods (2018)The Time that Remains (2011)The Uninvited (2009)The Wraith (1987)Thomas in Love (2001)Traitor (2008)Turtles Can Fly (2004)Unmade Beds (2009)Uptown Girls (2003)Vampires (2011)Vincere (2010)Walk Away Renee (2012)We Are What We Are (2011)White Night Wedding (2008)With a Friend like Harry (2000)Women of Brewster Place (1989)Available July 2The Last Word (2017)Available July 3Phoenix (1998)Available July 4Into The Dark: Culture Shock: Episode 10 Premiere (Hulu Original)The Brink (2019)Woman at War (2018)Available July 5Amazing World of Gumball: Complete Season 6 (Cartoon Network)It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Complete Season 13 (FX)The Venture Bros.: Complete Season 7 (Adult Swim)Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)Available July 7The Real Housewives of Orange County: Complete Season 13 (Bravo)Available July 10Bring the Funny: Series Premiere (NBC)Harlots: Season 3 Premiere (Hulu Original)Witness Protection (2008)Available July 12Hollywood Game Night: Season 6 Premiere (NBC)Gone Baby Gone (2007)Available July 13Clique: Complete Season 2 (All3 Media)Available July 1590 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days: Complete Season 2 (TLC)Beachfront Bargain Hunt: Complete Seasons 17-18 (HGTV)Caribbean Life: Complete Seasons 6-7 (HGTV)Chopped: Complete Seasons 30-31 (Food Network)Cold Valley: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)Deadly Women: Complete Seasons 11-12 (IDTV)Food Paradise: Complete Season 11 (Food Network)Homicide Hunter: Complete Season 8 (IDTV)How The Universe Works: Complete Seasons 3-6 (Discovery Channel)Kids BBQ Championship: Complete Season 2 (Food Network)Killer Unknown: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)Love It or List It: Complete Seasons 12-13 (HGTV)Mythbusters: Complete Season 20 (Discovery Channel)Mythbusters Jr: Complete Season 1 (Discovery Channel)NASA’s Unexplained Files: Complete Seasons 1-5 (Science Channel)Say Yes to the Dress: Complete Seasons 15-16 (TLC)Secret Space Escapes: Complete Season 1 (Science Channel)Shark week 2017: Complete Season 1 (Discovery Channel)The 1990’s: The Deadliest Decade: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)Your Worst Nightmare: Complete Seasons 4-5 (IDTV)Available July 18The Last Man (2019)Available July 19Tokyo Ghoul: Complete Season 3A (DUBBED) (Funimation)Available July 20Apollo 11 (2019)Available July 21The Wave (2015)Available July 22Time Freak (2019)Available July 23Planet 51 (2009)Available July 26Light as a Feather: Complete Season 2 Premiere (Hulu Original)Power: Complete Season 5 (Starz)Veronica Mars: Complete Season 4 Premiere (Hulu Original)I Trapped the Devil (2019)The Field Guide to Evil (2019)Available July 29After Darkness (2018)Available July 30Bachelor in Paradise: Season 6 Premiere (ABC)Available July 31Four Weddings and a Funeral: Series Premiere (Hulu Original)Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018)Dior and I (2015) Leaving Hulu In JulyJuly 31A Conspiracy to Rule: The Illuminati (2017)The Art of the Game (2018)Bait Shop (2008)Billboard Dad (1998)Black Rain (1989)Bluefin (2016)Bully (2001)Capote (2005)Chocolat (2000)Fatal Attraction (1987)Flashdance (1983)Ground Control (1998)Harsh Times (2006)Hoodlum (1997)Imagine Me and You (2005)Ironweed (1987)Kindergarten Cop (1990)Larger than Life (1996)Le Divorce (2002)Made (2001)Major League (1989)Mermaids (1990)My Five Wives (2000)Nick of Time (1995)Patriot Games (1992)Passport to Paris (1999)Possums (1998)Rollerball (2002)Rollerball (1975)The Sicilian (1987)Star Kid (1998)Switching Goals (1999)The Time Machine (2002)Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at HerInfo from Gamespot.com

The Child's Play reboot movie filmed in late 2018, though at that point, nobody was signed on to give a voice to the maniacal Chucky doll. Instead, it was revealed at WonderCon in March that Star Wars and Batman: The Animated Series alum Mark Hamill was taking on the role.It presented an intriguing situation for both Hamill and director Lars Klevberg, as the physical embodiment of Chucky and the way he moves and acts was already set in stone. Still, as Klevberg told GameSpot during a recent interview, the iconic actor was able to help shape the character in ways even he didn't expect."I think that I had a clear idea of what I would like to have on this. But I said to [Mark], 'I want to be open,' and so we together we could find the perfect spot of creating this character," the director explained. "And he was just amazing; it's just super professional. But what had struck me the most is--I knew he could deliver all of that. It's not like you're hiring Mark Hamill and, 'Oh, can he deliver?' Like, you knew that immediately. But the way he was feeling and presenting these small bits, like the nuance in between takes. I can give him a line, and he presents three lines... It's words, beats, like milliseconds that he waited, so it was just, he's just amazing. And voice acting is difficult because you just have your voice. it's just internal; you're putting it on a piece of canvas like a painting."That nuance helped to establish Hamill's view of the character, whose origin story is much different from the original film. While the 1988 Child's Play saw a Chucky doll being possessed by the soul of a serial killer, the reboot instead presents Chucky as a smart toy with malfunctioning artificial intelligence.Instead of being murderous right out of the gate, Hamill explained in a press conference for the film that this new Chucky "was really like an innocent child, just learning from what goes on around him." And in that, he was determined to protect his best friend Andy (Gabriel Bateman)."For this movie, you understand Chucky's motivation, you understand he is going to be Andy's best friend, he's going to protect Andy and going to be his friend until the end," Klevberg said. "But he's self-aware. And self-aware entities, [the] first question is, 'What is my purpose in life? What am I here?' And that's cool with this one because Chucky kind of figures out, 'Okay, I have to be Andy's best friend and I'm going to protect him from whatever makes him sad,' but he doesn't have his experience, or skill set, or analytical gifts to understand what that means."What that leaves the movie with is a thinking toy that reasons the only way to protect the child it has imprinted on is by killing and maiming anything it perceives as a threat. Of course, if you've seen a trailer for the new Child's Play movie, everything and everyone is a threat Chucky needs to take care of. What else would you expect from a friend until the end?Child's Play is in theaters on June 21.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has rolled out another update for Tom Clancy's The Division 2. Title Update 4 is now live on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, bringing a new specialization to the loot shooter: the Gunner, which comes with a new skill and its own unique weapon, the minigun.To unlock the Gunner specialization, you'll need to complete the Special Field Research--five stages of challenges that each boast their own objectives and rewards. Once you've completed all five stages, you'll earn access to the Gunner.Those who've purchased the Year One Pass, meanwhile, will unlock the Gunner immediately. However, you can still take on the Special Field Research challenges to unlock an assortment of exclusive cosmetics, including the following:Fisticuffs and Front Flex emotesCharcoal and Detritus gear dyesRosethorn and Pineapple weapon skinsGunner mask and Gunner specialization uniformAs previously mentioned, the Gunner wields the minigun, a rapid-fire weapon that Ubisoft says can dish out "massive damage in short periods of time on the enemy while sustaining incoming damage thanks to its bonus armor." Gunners can also throw Riot Foam Grenades, which will cover enemies in foam and prevent them from moving. The Banshee signature skill, meanwhile, can confuse targets.Ubisoft has a lot more content lined up for The Division 2. The game will receive three DLC episodes as part of its year-one roadmap, the first of which--DC Outskirts - Expeditions--is arriving this summer. At E3 2019, Ubisoft shared more details about these new Expeditions, which are free events that let players travel to unexplored locations to discover new narrative and gameplay opportunities.The Division 2 launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC this part March. It earned a 9/10 in our Division 2 review. Critic Edmond Tran wrote, "The range of enemy types continues to keep combat encounters challenging, the equipment I earn and pick up continues to feel different, valuable, and asks me to consider new ways of play. The ravaged environments continue to intrigue, and sometimes they're so stunning I find myself needing to take screenshots before I move on. It might not have much to say, but The Division 2 is a perpetual cycle of tension, relief, and reward that's difficult to stay away from."Info from Gamespot.com

The NPD Group has released its monthly report for May 2019, revealing which games and consoles sold the best in the United States during the month.Beginning with game sales, NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game in the US for the month, repeating its top performance from April when it was released. Mortal Kombat 11 now becomes the best-selling game of 2019 so far. Its second month was a strong one, as the NPD said month-two sales nearly doubled comparable sales of any other Mortal Kombat game in history for its second month.The No. 2 overall best-selling game of May 2019 in the US was PlayStation 4 exclusive Days Gone. Also notable for May was that Minecraft re-appeared in the top ten list, coming in at No. 9.Overall, game sales in the United States reached $262 million in May, which is down 13 percent year-over-year. It was a particularly tough month, as May 2019 sales were the lowest for a May month since May 2013 when total game sales reached $222 million. In terms of new releases specifically, May 2019 is the lowest for a May month since May 1998, the NPD added.On a year-to-date basis, however, total game sales have now reached $2.2 billion, which is up 2 percent year-over-year. Sales of Nintendo Switch games are growing, but the uptick in Switch software sales was offset by lower sales on every other platform that the NPD tracks.Moving to hardware, the Nintendo Switch was the best-seller of May 2019. It's also the No. 1 best-performing console of 2019 across unit sales and dollar revenue.For May 2019 specifically, spending on all video game consoles dropped 20 percent to $149 million year-over-year. The Switch grew, but all other systems dropped. Looking at year-to-date, total hardware spending is now $1.1 billion, which is down 17 percent.Looking at the full picture--covering games, hardware, and accessories--total US video game spending reached $641 million, which is down 11 percent. Year-to-date sales are also down, falling 3 percent to $4.7 billion. May 2019 Best-Selling GamesAll Platforms May 2019Mortal Kombat 11Days GoneTotal War: Three KingdomsRage 2*Grand Theft Auto VSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate*Red Dead Redemption IIMLB The Show 19Minecraft#NBA 2K19All Platforms Year-To-Date 2019Mortal Kombat 11Kingdom Hearts IIIThe Division 2^Anthem^Resident Evil 2Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Red Dead Redemption IIDays GoneMLB The Show 19Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceAll Platforms 12 Months Ended May 2019Red Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^NBA 2K19Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Madden NFL 19^Spider-ManAssassin's Creed OdysseyMortal Kombat 11FIFA 19^Kingdom Hearts IIIMay 2019 Xbox OneMortal Kombat 11Rage 2*Red Dead Redemption IIThe Division 2Grand Theft Auto VNBA 2K19MinecraftForza Horizon 4Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Rainbow Six SiegeMay 2019 PS4Mortal Kombat 11Days GoneMLB The Show 19Rage 2*Grand Theft Auto VSpider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black O ps 4NBA 2K19The Division 2May 2019 Nintendo SwitchSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate*Mario Kart 8*New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*Mortal Kombat 11Yoshi's Crafted World*Super Mario Party*Super Mario Odyssey*Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu*Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee*May 2019 3DSPokemon: Ultra Sun*Pokemon: Ultra Moon*Detective Pikachu*The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D*Super Mario Maker*Mario Kart 7*Super Smash Bros.*Kirby's Epic Yarn*Luigi's Mansion*Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey* * Digital sales not included ^ PC digital sales not included# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One includedInfo from Gamespot.com

A new Legendary Pokemon has arrived in Pokemon Go. Following Cresselia's departure, the Legendary Water-type Kyogre is making an encore appearance in Raid Battles for the next few days--and this time, you'll have a chance to encounter its Shiny form.Kyogre will appear in Raids from now until June 27. As before, you'll first need to team up with other players in-person and battle the Legendary Pokemon before you can have an opportunity to capture it. Kyogre is a pure Water-type, which makes it susceptible to Grass- and Electric-type Pokemon. Your best bet for success is to bring along monsters such as Roserade, Leafeon, Manectric, and Magnezone when challenging it.Kyogre is the second of three Legendary Pokemon developer Niantic is bringing back to Go. After it leaves on June 27, its counterpart from Pokemon Ruby, Groudon, will take its place until July 10. Just as was the case with Kyogre and Cresselia, you'll also have a chance to encounter a Shiny Groudon when it returns to Raids. You can read more details on the official Pokemon Go website.Kyogre's return comes on the heels of the annual Pokemon Go Fest, which took place in Chicago this past weekend. As a reward for completing enough Global Challenges during the event, Niantic is giving players twice the usual amount of Candy for capturing and hatching Pokemon until June 25. Eggs will also hatch at half of their normal distance until then, and you're guaranteed to earn one Rare Candy per Raid.On top of those bonuses, Niantic is bringing one of the three Legendary dogs, Raikou, back for a special Raid day. The Legendary Electric-type will return to Raid Battles on Saturday, June 29, from 4-7 PM local time. During the event, you'll be able to receive up to five free Raid Passes from Gyms, and you may even encounter a Shiny Raikou.Info from Gamespot.com

One of the Game of Thrones prequels has begun filming, according to Entertainment Weekly. The report states that the show starring Noami Watts is filming in Northern Ireland, which is where the mainline HBO show shot frequently.Importantly, HBO is only filming a pilot episode for the Game of Thrones prequel. If the pilot is successful, HBO might decide to make it an entire series, but for now it's just the pilot.As fans may recall, the pilot for Game of Thrones was something of a trainwreck. It required extensive re-shoots, while cast members were replaced. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the pilot, but she was re-cast and replaced by Emilia Clarke. Jennifer Ehle played Catelyn Stark in the pilot, and she was replaced by Michelle Fairley in the re-shoots.A spokesperson for HBO told GameSpot sister site CNET that it has "not confirmed production" of the Game of Thrones prequel. The network said EW is "speculating based on other reports."X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass writer Jane Goldman is the showrunner of the new Game of Thrones prequel, while George R.R. Martin is producing. Jessica Jones veteran S.J. Clarkson is directing the pilot.The untitled prequel is set thousands of years before the events of the main show, which ended its eight-season run in May, so you shouldn't expect to see any characters from that show. Info from Gamespot.com

One of Nintendo's biggest surprises at E3 2019 was the reveal of a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Now, series producer Eiji Aonuma has revealed some new insight into why Nintendo is making a Breath of the Wild sequel instead of something entirely new.Speaking to Kotaku, Aonuma said the development team had "too many ideas" for new DLC for the original Breath of the Wild, so the studio elected to make a sequel."When we released the DLC for Breath of the Wild, we realized that this is a great way to add more elements to the same world. But when it comes down to technical things, DLC is pretty much data--you're adding data to a preexisting title," Aonuma added. "And so when we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that’s why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit."Initially we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, 'This is too many ideas, let's just make one new game and start from scratch.'"The full interview touches on a number of other interesting subjects, including how overtime and crunch is handled on the Zelda development team. Read the full interview at Kotaku.Earlier, Aonuma spoke to Game Informer about why the team wanted to make Breath of the Wild 2."One of the reasons we wanted to create a continuation was because I wanted to revisit that Hyrule again and use that world again, while incorporating new gameplay and new story," Aonuma said.In addition to Aonuma, Breath of the Wild game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi will serve as the director on the Breath of the Wild sequel.A lot of the details on the Breath of the Wild sequel are being kept under wraps for now, but the first teaser trailer gave us a lot to think about. Check out GameSpot's breakdown of the Breath of the Wild sequel trailer breakdown here to learn more.Info from Gamespot.com

People have a lot of things to say about Adam Sandler and his movies, but they are consistently very popular. His latest film, Murder Mystery on Netflix, was also a runaway success.Netflix has announced that Murder Mystery, which also stars Jennifer Aniston, enjoyed the "biggest opening weekend ever" for a Netflix movie. According to Netflix, 30.87 million accounts watched the film in its first three days. This includes 13.4 million Netflix accounts in the US/Canada and 17.5 million Netflix accounts from other parts of the world. If a viewer watches at least 70 percent of a movie, that counts as a view, according to Netflix. 🚨ADAM SANDLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON BREAKING NEWS ALERT🚨30,869,863 accounts watched Murder Mystery in its first 3 days - the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix Film. 13,374,914 accounts in the US and Canada, and 17,494,949 more worldwide. — Netflix Is A Joke (@NetflixIsAJoke) June 18, 2019In March 2017, Netflix announced that it extended its deal with Sandler for four more movies, bringing his total output for the streaming service to eight films. Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos says Sander is "one of the leading comedians in the film world."Sandler's first Netflix movie was 2015's The Ridiculous 6, which was followed up by The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler, the Meyerowitz Stories, and The Week Of. His next movie for Netflix is Uncut Gems. His deal with Netflix spans at least eight movies, so even more are coming. Murder Mystery stars Sander and his wife (Aniston) solving a murder on-board a billionaire's yacht. Luke Evans, Gemma Arterton, and Terrence Stamp also star in the film that was directed by Kyle Newacheck. Info from Gamespot.com

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the Pokemon Go-style AR game from Niantic set in the fantastical world of Harry Potter, is launching very soon. It was confirmed today during a presentation in Los Angeles that the game will launch on June 21.Wizards Unite is already out in parts of the world, including Australia and New Zealand, where the game is in beta. The game's launch trailer was also released today; check it out below. Wizards Unite is a free-to-play game supported by microtransactions. You can spend money to buy Gold, which can be spent on numerous different time-savers and more. For more on the game's microtransactions, check out GameSpot's breakdown here.Wizards Unite was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 before being delayed into this year. You can read more about the title in our hands-on impressions, and Android users can pre-register for it on Google Play. Info from Gamespot.com

The latest grand strategy game from the genre's current leading light, Paradox Interactive, puts you at the helm of one of the great powers of the late 4th century B.C. and asks you to conquer the world from western Europe to southern Asia. At the same time, it can also leave you in charge of one of the region's meekest tribes and ask you to accomplish little more than its survival. Regardless of your chosen nation, Imperator: Rome is a stubbornly single-minded strategy experience that borrows freely from its Paradox stablemates (Europa Univeralis, Hearts of Iron, and Crusader Kings), culls much of their personality and complexity, and marches into battle with a steely-eyed focus on military conquest. At heart, Imperator: Rome is a game about building armies and marching them into foreign lands. You recruit troops, secure the strategic resources necessary to recruit upgraded troops, assign generals, point them towards the target, and let them loose. There are technologies to research, civic matters to pursue, and religious concerns, but these are secondary factors, each just another gear in the military machine.Combat is intuitive and uncomplicated. Armies are routed when their morale breaks, while strict supply costs in each territory work well to prevent amassing units in ludicrous "stacks of doom." Meanwhile, the need to lay siege to an enemy fort for up to several in-game months at a time helps to put the brakes on any notion of steamrolling. You can holler the occasional tactical instruction, but when it comes down to it, the winner in battle will be whoever has the greater numbers. And if your opponent has the terrain advantage then you're going to need an even greater numerical advantage to overcome it.While I definitely prefer a strategic game that offers varied paths to victory, there is a simple pleasure in Imperator: Rome's rigid insistence that all you have to do is paint the map the same colour. You don't have to play as Rome, of course, but it does make things more straightforward. Your choice of nation is a de facto difficulty slider, with Rome (situated among compliant vassals and easily overrun neutral states) offering a gentle introduction and Phrygia (larger than Rome but riven with internal division and despised by its neighbors) tossing you right in at the deep end. There are hundreds of nations from which to select, spanning half the globe from Britain to North Africa to Scandinavia to Sri Lanka, and you can play as any of them. More than a difficulty setting, however, your choice of nation sets expectations.Rome is well-known, though not as well-known as Macedon or Egypt, and so the effects of its actions will be felt further and wider, rippling out in diplomatic waves over the Mediterranean and drawing condemnation or perhaps congratulations from its rivals. As a major power, you've got weight to throw around, but other powers take notice and react, adding their own weight to the scale. The result is a world that feels dynamic and connected, at least to the extent that you can appreciate territories on the political map flipping back and forth between your own nation's color and those of your enemies. When playing as a smaller nation, though, you have no weight at all. You control very little territory, you've got a tiny army, and your choices are extremely limited. The world most likely doesn't even realize you exist. If they do, it's probably because they just noticed you have something they want, or worse, you're merely a slight speedbump on the way to what they want. Played in this way, Imperator: Rome feels oddly timid, an unsatisfying waiting game momentarily brought to life through tentative forays into expansion while you hope no one important notices.The asymmetry of the starting positions, and the resulting diplomatic relations maintained by each nation at the outset, lend variety to the early stages of each new game. Beyond that, though, the heavy focus on military conquest and lack of options in both empire management and international relations place severe limits on the breadth and depth of strategic tinkering available to the player.A major problem is the implementation of Paradox's "mana" system, as it is colloquially known. These are the pools of resources--military power, research, oratory power, and religion--you accumulate over the course of the game and which fund many of the decisions you make. Mana increases as you play, based almost entirely on the randomly rolled stats of your leader and those you have appointed to your government. When you have saved enough, you can spend it on extra discipline for your troops, a small income boost, or any number of so-called technologies. The pacing is all over the place, though. You can hit pause, buy up a bunch of diverse tech, and unpause--and in an instant, your empire is improving its diplomatic relations or collecting more tax. It feels backwards, like you're not planning toward something by investing in a particular resource to work toward a strategic objective, but rather slapping band-aids on immediate problems. It's not even that Imperator wants you to focus on short-term issues, it's more that the game is quite content to let you snap your fingers to magically make problems disappear.Religious power is the most undernourished of the mana resources. Aside from a very minor buff you can apply every five in-game years, the chief use of religious power is to preserve the stability of your empire--itself a nebulous status that imparts positive or negative modifiers to your loyalty, popularity, and so on--by making a sacrifice to the gods. This dramatic-sounding gesture involves clicking a button to convert a variable amount of religious power into one stability point. That's it. And suddenly the empire is stable again.Indeed, there's a lot that can simply be flipped on a dime. On the surface, the diplomatic game looks sophisticated. You can send gifts and insults to other empires, form alliances or undermine a rival's current regime by supporting rebels, and more. Managing diplomatic ties across dozens of relations should require balancing a host of competing interests, and at times the systems here do allow for such finesse. But at other times you can flip a switch, spend some oratory power, and now Armenia doesn't mind that you've fabricated a claim on Albania. It's all very "Friendship ended with Scythia, now Carthage is my best friend!" Elsewhere, lots of small choices add up to very little. When establishing that trade route, do you want to secure access to fish and the 0.02% population growth bonus? Or would you prefer to import precious metals and gain 0.01 loyalty in your provinces? It's difficult to look at such numbers and understand how a particular choice might benefit your overall strategy. So you pick one, cross your fingers, and, in all likelihood, forget about it for the rest of the game. Rulers ought to feel the weight of their decisions, and few such choices here hit heavily.Imperator: Rome feels undercooked. As it stands, it's a strange mish-mash of several of Paradox's existing (and, let's be honest, superior) games without much to distinguish or recommend it. Paradox recently outlined a "One Year Plan" for the title in an effort to reassure players that they are aware of its shortcomings and intend to address them. That roadmap appears insubstantial to my eyes, but we'll see when we get there. For now, Imperator: Rome remains a decidedly modest strategy game. Info from Gamespot.com

The most surprising thing about Cadence of Hyrule, despite being so unusual, is how much it immediately feels like a Zelda game. Aesthetically, it sits somewhere between A Link to the Past and the cartoonier Four Swords games, but its Zelda roots run much deeper than that; This is not just Crypt of the NecroDancer reskinned. Much like The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on 3DS, Cadence is a shorter, smaller riff on the classic 2D Zelda template with a unique twist, a game that will strike a chord with long-time fans but also feels fresh and exciting.In the game's opening, Cadence (the protagonist of Crypt of the NecroDancer) is dropped into Hyrule by a mysterious vortex and must choose whether to awaken either Link or Zelda. From there, the game is pretty open--you explore a randomized overworld map in search of classic Zelda items and the four dungeons that need to be completed before you can storm Hyrule Castle, which has fallen to the game's big bad, the villainous musician Octavo. You'll eventually unlock both characters (and, potentially, two others), but being able to play as Zelda from the outset is wonderful and feels like a long-overdue correction of the series' namesake frequently being sidelined.The game doesn't tell you exactly where to go at first, but thankfully the initial hour or two of simply moving between screens, uncovering your map and figuring out how your procedurally generated version of Hyrule fits together, is exhilarating. If there are monsters on the screen, you'll need to move in time with the beat of the game's music, indicated by marker at the bottom of your UI, timing your movements in four directions to avoid and attack enemies ripped from the Zelda universe. Each enemy has its own attack pattern and most have a clear "tell"--if a wolf looks like it's about to pounce, for instance, you'll want to make sure that you're not on the square in front of it on the next beat, whereas bigger enemies might have larger attack areas that will be marked on the ground one beat ahead of their assault. It's a system that the game frames as a "dance" between you and your enemies, and this is apt, as I would nearly always find myself bopping and tapping my foot alongside my movements.Learning the rhythmic patterns of enemies, and reaching the point where you figure out how to best attack them so that you can properly counter-attack or defend yourself, is a consistent pleasure. When you slip into the zone and feel like your movements and steps are perfectly in sync with the rhythm and movements of your enemies, it's extremely satisfying, especially as you find new areas and monsters throughout the game and slowly conquer them. Coming back to an area you found intimidating early in the game and handily slaughtering all of the enemies, which causes the music to calm and loot to drop, feels fantastic.Attacks and interactions are automatic depending on where you're standing, with each screen being divided into grid-based titles that you move between. There's an emphasis on being mindful of your movements and your surroundings on a beat-by-beat basis throughout the entire game, so it's handy that every song follows the same tempo--once you're tapped into it, your ability to move through the game is dependent on your ability to read the many different enemy animations and quickly plot out your movements on the fly. The only exceptions are certain hazards in the game world that slow or speed up the beat, and one inspired puzzle which asks you to step to the beat of a familiar piece of Zelda music. The entire soundtrack is made up of beautifully reworked pieces from the Zelda series, with a number of tunes featuring as speedier, upbeat variations. They're all wonderful remixes of tracks that many players will already feel a strong attachment to, and the mostly consistent beat throughout the game keeps things manageable since you only really need to learn and become accustomed to one rhythm. There are plenty of fun aural Easter eggs for long-time Zelda fans, too. It's worth noting that there is also an accommodating accessibility option called "fixed beat" mode which stops enemies from moving unless you're moving, removing the need to follow the rhythm.Cadence of Hyrule also has light roguelike elements, but it's a very generous system that encourages you to use your consumable items rather than stockpiling them. When you die, you lose any keys you've collected, all rupees, your shovel, your torch, and any stat-boosting items you've picked up. Your vital gear stays with you, though, as do all the weapons you've found. You won't need to do anything as drastic as finding your best sword or the hookshot again, which mitigates any frustration and keeps you focused on pushing forward.Many of these classic Zelda items are hidden away in the overworld, but none of them are actually necessary to progress through the game. In fact, it's entirely possible to simply make a determined beeline towards each dungeon, and the game's timed leaderboards will likely entice many a speedrunner. For the rest of us, though, making the effort to find and use all the classic Zelda items will make the challenge easier, and going to the lengths to locate the items strewn throughout Hyrule is a hunt worth taking because simply playing the game is a joy in itself. Cadence of Hyrule understands how much the pleasure of playing a Zelda game comes from the feeling that you're rising to the challenge of your environment, and after hours of learning and internalizing the rhythms of various enemy attacks, finding yourself less intimidated by all the creatures the game throws at you is a great feeling. Some items do end up feeling quite superfluous by virtue of not being necessary, however--I never once effectively used the boomerang, for instance, and even the bow (which can be equipped with numerous different types of arrows) feels inconsequential.The dungeons are fun but short, requiring you to venture through randomly generated floors full of monsters and, eventually, combat musically-themed takes on classic Zelda bosses. These bosses all have wonderful designs that merge old favorites with new instrument-based powers, complete with genuinely funny pun names. There are very few puzzles in the game; the dungeons are entirely focused on combat and exploration. I found that the last two of the initial four in the overworld were extremely easy, as my version of Zelda had become quite powerful (I was on a long undying streak, equipped with some very useful buffs). But Cadence of Hyrule more than makes up for it with the challenge of the final trek through Hyrule Castle, which makes the extremely fun final boss battle, and the credits that roll after, feel well earned.Once you're done, there are plenty of enticing reasons to come back, too. Hunting down every piece of treasure is a fun reason to spend more time exploring and fighting, and if you've found the right items the map will tell you exactly where unclaimed treasures are lying and let you warp around at your leisure, allowing you easily mop up any that you've missed. If you start again, the fact that the map randomizes each time means that you'll have a different experience, as areas will look different or have altered layouts. There are also daily challenges, which plop you down at the beginning as either Link or Zelda and let you compete on a leaderboard to see how far you can get on a single life, as well as a permadeath mode. These modes are really just there for more avid players looking to master the game, but it's good to have the option. You can also play through the entire game in co-op, with one player taking control of Cadence while the other plays as Link or Zelda, which is a great addition. If one player dies you both go down, and if one of you moves to the next screen the other player will be warped there too, so working together to line up on the beat is important. The game works better as a single-player experience, but it's a nice choice to have.Cadence of Hyrule is a fantastic Zelda game in its own right, even though it adopts the gameplay mechanics of another series. Beyond the aesthetics, it nails the satisfying sense of exploration and increasing power, and it revels in the joy of discovery, as all the best Zelda games do. It's an extremely successful melding of two great game series and an experience that makes you feel eager for Nintendo to do more interesting things with their major licenses. Info from Gamespot.com

The sun beats down on the battlefield as the war cries of my fellow soldiers ring out. Catapults pelt us from a distance and the giant boulders explode onto the ground around us with a great thud, thinning our numbers before we can reach the contested checkpoint. Those who make it through are greeted by a line of enemies hastily building a blockade, but we tear through them like a hot knife through butter and take the checkpoint in a flurry of steel and blood. As I stand over the decapitated body of a downed enemy, a spear flies out from behind a barrier and catches me unawares, putting me down on the spot with a sickening, meaty crash, before I respawn back at the camp I'd just come from.This is the bloody brutality of Mordhau, a strategic, punishing and ultimately satisfying first-person multiplayer medieval combat game. You need patience and perseverance to overcome the steep learning curve of its melee mechanics. Far from being a simple hack-and-slasher, Mordhau focuses largely on learning and executing the finer points of melee combat, from footwork and positioning through to timing numerous attack and defensive maneuvers. It feels clunky at first, but once it clicks, it's brilliant. Timing a riposte--a parry followed up by a quick counter-attack--feels great, and even better if it causes heads to roll. But there are several hours of less-thrilling learning to do first, and despite its attempts at onboarding, the game could do more to help new players get up to speed. A 15-minute tutorial will run you through the basics, asking you to prove you can perform a series of slashes, parries, and other moves. Helpful to a point, these lessons fail to provide the feedback needed to work towards more sophisticated techniques. Some, like chambering--a complex maneuver where you counter an attack with an attack of your own from the same angle, executed at the exact moment you're about to get hit--require pinpoint timing and are difficult to execute successfully. The lack of visual feedback makes learning when to strike a process of trial and error, which, in the relatively safe confines of the tutorial, means taking a few extra swings at your NPC trainer until you get it right. But during a match it's a slow, merciless grind of death after death, waiting to respawn then charging back to the action against the might of more experienced players.Because of this, the first five or so hours online feel like a gauntlet in the worst way. You will be cut down time after time and not really understand why, and it's here that most players will bounce off Mordhau. Annoyingly, you also don't earn any progress when playing against AI offline, and they aren't effective training dummies either--they mostly follow each other in long lines and clash in groups, slashing and stabbing wildly. So you're essentially forced to head into the online meat grinder to progress.Weapons mastery aside, progress comes in the form of gold, which is used to purchase items, armor, and weapons, as well as XP, with which you can unlock new gear to then buy with gold. As the hours tick over, not only does your character level grow, but you slowly become better at the game, and suddenly what seemed at the start like an impossible hill to climb begins to feel a lot less intimidating. The subtle windup of enemy attacks begins to stand out more, making parries and ripostes far simpler. You start to carefully change the timing of attacks by leaning in or out of each swing, and it's once you start to grasp these more detailed nuances that Mordhau truly begins to shine and the real potential of its wonderfully intricate combat begins to show itself. Opening up an opponent after a successful parry, taking aim at their exposed points and landing the killing blow only takes a couple of seconds but requires the utmost control to execute, making every kill feel earned, and the open combat is more enjoyable and expressive than simple hacking and slashing.There are three main game types to choose from--Frontlines, Battle Royale, and Horde--though you can also privately set up your own deathmatch or team deathmatch servers. Frontlines is the main mode, with two teams of 32 fighting to secure and hold each checkpoint until one either dominates the map and completes the objective or eliminates the opposition by clearing their respawn tickets. Battle Royale is a solo, winner-takes-all round where everyone starts with nothing and has to scavenge for weapons and armor in order to survive, while Horde lets up to six players run together in wave-based, PvE combat. As you clear each wave, you earn more gold that can be used to purchase items and weapons during the round at different points across the map.Frontlines feels the best of these thanks to its objective-based gameplay, letting those less skilled with the weapons make an active contribution--though if the spectacle of battle does nothing for you, charging into the fray with your screaming teammates certainly will. It can be simultaneously chilling and empowering. As a single death ends the round in both Battle Royale and Horde, they're far less forgiving compared to Frontlines and feel more geared towards experienced players. Once you know how to wield your weapon they can be just as rewarding, though, if a little slower in terms of action.You can choose several loadouts with varying styles of armor and weaponry from the outset of each match. With less armor, you're lighter and can move faster but are more susceptible to sword attacks, whereas heavily armored characters offer more protection against swords but are slower all around and can be more easily bested with blunt weapons. Each weapon type fits into varying play styles that all feel effective in their own right, but each has a more functional role depending on where you are on the map. Longer weapons will naturally have a longer reach but can't be swung side-to-side in tight spaces as they'll catch on the walls and obstacles, so they can only be thrust or swung overhead instead. Spears and other one-handed weapons can be thrown if need be, while larger weapons can use an alternative grip to better knock off opponents' armor. There are always options for whatever situation you find yourself in, adding to the already excellent fighting experience by offering solid alternatives, provided you've got the right loadout. The maps themselves are large, ranging from a snowy mountain castle to a wide-open battlefield with fortress encampments at either end of a rolling valley, but the game could still do with a bit more variety. There are seven maps in all, though some are limited to certain game types. They're also a little static--you don't have to worry about weather or adverse conditions--but they still look the part, especially when bathed in the bloody aftermath of combat. Battles can look spectacular from afar, but never quite as good as they do up close, where the raw energy is palpable and intimidating. Ragdolled bodies are stretched across the ground and blood washes over the landscape as the battle rages, leaving a trail of brutality in its wake as the fight moves from checkpoint to checkpoint.Mordhau is tough, violent, beautiful, and doesn't pull its punches. Despite an intense learning curve that could be better alleviated with more tutorials or better practice tools, its supreme swordplay and combat mechanics eventually outshine any initial frustration. The scale of battle is overwhelming and chaotic, but there's a definite sense to all the nonsense that, once you uncover it, gives you an incredible rush every time you go toe-to-toe with the enemy--even if you don't come out the other side intact. Info from Gamespot.com

Sarah Needleman's new profile of Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney for The Wall Street Journal covers a wide variety of topic about the Fortnite boss's life and career. Among those are how Epic convinced Sony to finally allow cross-play, how much the man is reportedly worth, how much money Fortnite makes from microtransactions, what food he likes best, and lots more. The full report is well worth a read, and we're highlighting a few of the big points.Starting with cross-play, WSJ reports that Sweeney spent six months in 2018 calling and emailing the leadership at PlayStation and Xbox to try to convince them to unlock cross-play. The conversations were intense, it seems."An effort in international diplomacy," Sweeney said. "Given the long-term rivalries, it was a series of contentious discussions."Microsoft and Nintendo started allowing cross-play in Fortnite and other titles beginning in June 2018, but Sony held out.After cross-play support went live between Xbox One and Nintendo Switch for Fortnite, WSJ reports that Sweeney shared data with Sony that apparently demonstrated that cross-play "dramatically" increased engagement. This might have been part of what contributed to Sony eventually unlocking cross-play.In September 2018, Sony finally agreed to cross-play, beginning with Fortnite. "It was one of the greatest moments in Epic's history," Sweeney said. "I was pleased and tired."Moving on, the piece also reveals that Fortnite has generated $3.9 billion in revenue from microtransactions, according to numbers from research firm SuperData. Sweeney himself is worth $7 billion, according to the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.He's been wealthy for a long time; by the age of 30 he owned a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. People who didn't know him thought he was a drug dealer, he told WSJ.He's now 48, and he says he lives a "fairly simple life," noting that he is single, unmarried, and has no kids. He enjoys spending his down time hiking. Related to that, he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying up land (more than 45,000 acres so far!) in his home state of North Carolina for conservation efforts.Also in the piece, Sweeney says his favorite food is fried chicken from Bojangles because "it strikes the perfect balance between tasty food and time commitment." He also said he enjoys the fact that Epic Games is in North Carolina because it's far away from the influence of "Silicon Valley groupthink," according to WSJ.Read the full WSJ report here.Fortnite almost didn't exist. Epic's former director of production, Rod Ferugsson, said recently that he would have canceled Fortnite had he stayed at Epic. Info from Gamespot.com