For years, there has been a debate online as to whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It is, and everyone who disagrees is wrong. End of discussion. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, 20th Century Fox is releasing a holiday-themed edition of the movie for the holiday season, and the studio recut the trailer to prove, once and for all, Die Hard is a Christmas movie.John McClaine was just a simple man who wanted to spend some time with his family at Christmas, but he gets stuck at his wife's Christmas party after Hans Gruber and all his big bully friends hold everyone at the party captive. Now, John has to find a way home and stop Hans. You can check out the new trailer for the movie above.Aside from the 30th anniversary edition of the film, which is available on Blu-ray and comes with four exclusive holiday cards, all five movies in the Die Hard franchise are available digitally on Google Play, Vudu, iTunes, and Movies Anywhere in Blu-ray.As of this writing, the HD collection costs $25 on most of the services. iTunes is selling the 4K version of Die Hard for $10, but Google currently has it for $8. However, Google Play doesn't seem to have the special features that are offered with all the other services, but if you use Movies Anywhere and connect all your accounts, you should be able to access them, regardless of where you originally bought it.Info from Gamespot.com

Sony's enormous holiday sale continues this week on the PlayStation Store. But apparently not content with the 1,200+ games, expansions, and in-game items that were already on sale, over 100 more have been added--and many of them are major titles available at big discounts. So check out the new additions below, then take a look at the best games for $5 or less and a selection of discounted games chosen by our editors and producers.This week's new discounts include new games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey for $30 and Battlefield V for $36. If you haven't swung between the high-rises of New York yet, you can do it in Spider-Man for $40. And Game of the Year award winner God of War is already available for $26.Beyond that, the retro collection Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood is on sale for $10, and the PSVR hit Moss is down to $22.50. Speaking of VR, you can get up close and personal with demons in Doom VFR for $15.Anyone who's curious about Fortnite's "Save the World" campaign can grab Fortnite - Standard Founder's Pack for half price at $20 or the Deluxe Founder's Pack for $40; both come with the campaign and a variety of in-game goodies. Plenty of older titles are available for low prices as well, including Fallout 4 for $15, The Last of Us Remastered or Ratchet & Clank for $16 each, and The Sims 4 for $10. You'll find more games on sale below.Assassin's Creed Origins -- $24Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $30Banner Saga Trilogy -- $30Battlefield V -- $36Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood -- $10The Crew 2 -- $20Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection -- $42Disgaea 5 Complete Bundle -- $28Dishonored 2 -- $13Doom VFR -- $15Fallout 4 -- $15Fortnite - Standard Founder's Pack -- $20Fortnite - Deluxe Founder's Pack -- $40God of War -- $26LA Noire -- $20The Last of Us Remastered -- $16Madden NFL 19 -- $30Metal Gear Survive -- $15Moss -- $22.50Overwatch Legendary Edition -- $30Prey -- $18Ratchet & Clank -- $16The Sims 4 -- $10South Park: The Fractured But Whole -- $18Spider-Man -- $40Star Wars Battlefront II -- $7.50Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection -- $16Uncharted 4: A Thief's End -- $16Until Dawn -- $16Wolfenstein: The New Order -- $10Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus -- $20Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana -- $42Info from Gamespot.com

Die-hard Destiny 2 players who log in for today's weekly reset, and to chase down the new Izanami Forge, will have something nice waiting for them: a batch of in-game items called the Veteran of the Hunt bundle. It's Bungie's way of saying thank you to early adopters of the Forsaken expansion, something the developer announced back in October.The Veteran of the Hunt bundle is free to everyone who played Forsaken between its launch on September 4 and October 16. The bundle includes two Exotic emotes--one which mimics Petra Venj's knife-throwing animation, and another in which you do the Drifter's coin-flip move. It also has an unique Veteran of the Hunt emblem (which has changed since Bungie first announced it), and a handful of consumables, including Fireteam Medallions, Finest Matterweaves (which cause Enhancement Cores to drop from bosses), and Crucible and Vanguard Boons.Bungie announced back in October that it was grouping Forsaken with Destiny 2's two previous expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind. Some players struggled after returning to Destiny 2 for Forsaken, but having skipped the previous two smaller DLC offerings. That meant those players weren't able to play the new content they'd paid for, since Forsaken requires the previous two installments as well.As Bungie mentioned in its blog post, the Veteran of the Hunt bundle was a thank you to players who'd picked up Forsaken in that first month before Bungie made the change to how it sold its expansions. It took two months, but that thank you is finally here. If you're eligible for the Veteran bundle, logging into Destiny 2 will give you a notification that Zavala has a gift for you.The most recent weekly reset brings the third new Forge activity, which is part of Destiny 2's latest expansion, The Black Armory. It also marks the second week of The Dawning, Destiny's holiday event, which this year requires baking cookies and giving them as gifts to the game's various characters. Check out our guide to cooking all the cookies and unlocking Dawning Cheer, a unique holiday-themed sparrow.Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite's 7.10 update is now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. While it doesn't include the previously teased Driftboard vehicle, it does make an assortment of weapon and balance tweaks. The highlight of this week's update, however, is 14 Days of Fortnite, a new limited-time event that features new and returning LTMs, challenges, and more.14 Days of Fortnite kicks off on December 19. As its name suggests, the event will run for two weeks, during which time players will be able to participate in new and returning limited-time modes. Epic says that "large team modes" will rotate every 48 hours, while "small team modes" will change every 24.In addition to the LTMs, Epic will offer new challenges to complete during the 14 Days of Fortnite event, along with new rewards to unlock. The developer hasn't announced what these rewards are just yet, but we'll have guides on how to complete the challenges once they're live.On top of the 14 Days of Fortnite event, the 7.10 update made tweaks and adjustments to various weapons, most notably the Heavy Assault Rifle, which is now less accurate and generally more difficult to use when not aiming down sights. Additionally, Epic has tweaked balloon controls, as well as the glider redeploy mechanic in the modes in which it's still available. You can find the full patch notes on Epic's website.Epic also intended to release the Driftboard--a new snowboard-like vehicle--as part of this week's Fortnite update. However, just prior to the patch, the developer announced that it will be delaying the Driftboard in order to further fine-tune and polish the vehicle before setting it live in the game.Info from Gamespot.com

Recently, Tencent Games, developers of battle royale game, Ring of Elysium have released teaser trailers for an upcoming new game mode. The new mode titled From Dusk Till Dawn is aimed to kick up the “arctic survival” aspect of Ring of Elysium with the addition of the body temperature system, which will task players with keeping up their body temperature throughout the match. From Dusk Till Dawn will have players battling it out in the dead of night.In a standard Ring of Elysium match, up to four players are counted as being winners if they succeed in making it to the rescue helicopter. In the upcoming From Dusk Till Dawn mode, the rescue helicopter has left and won’t be back until morning, leaving players to survive a night during Dione’s worst season and harshest weather conditions. In order to survive, players will have to fight it out for valuable resources such as food, heat and of course, weapons. Much like a standard match, From Dusk Till Dawn will also have multiple winners, however, this time, any players that survive the night cycle and make it until morning will be counted as winners in the match. This means that players queuing up in a group will be able to share the glory and may want to pool their resources rather than keeping them all to themselves in order to achieve survival. Each day, the new game mode will be available to players for a limited time.From Dusk Till Dawn will be hitting Ring of Elysium on December 22nd, here’s a peek at what players can expect to contend with if they intend on taking on a night on Dione.Variety of WeatherRing of Elysium already includes a dynamic weather system that shifts throughout each match, which includes things like avalanches and extreme freezing conditions causing players to be inflicted with hypothermia or worse—completely wiped out by an oncoming avalanche! Weather will play an even bigger part in From Dusk Till Dawn, as players face a full cycle of varying thermal conditions. Throughout a Dusk Till Dawn match, players will have to contend with light snow, heavy snow and extreme cold. The latter two, especially extreme cold, will affect players the most doing high amounts of damage to their body temperature as well as HP.Body Temperature SystemThe new body temperature system will function separately but alongside a player’s HP. While standard items to regain HP such as bandages and medical cases will still remain, players will have to keep up their body temperature if they want to survive the match without freezing or bleeding out. The lower a player’s body temperature the faster the blood loss.In order to stave off the cold, players can create a bonfire which they’ll be able to do only once per match. Fuel such as additional firewood can be added to really get the fire roaring, but as Dione is a veritable frozen tundra you can guess it’ll be a pretty limited (and valuable) resource. Using fuel also extends the life of the fire making it last longer and also has the benefit of cooking food at a faster rate.Food plays an important role in Dusk Till Dawn as players will need it to keep up their body temperature and recover health. New food items are being added such as energy bars which will provide small, temporary amounts of body temperature but the most valuable and useful items will be cooked food. Eating cooked meats will give players the biggest boost in body temp and functions similar to a large health potion. So, expect to do some cooking if you want to see the sunrise, especially during heavy snow and extreme cold weather cycles.Resource LocationsIn order to help players plan out how they want to survive in the match, all resource locations will be shown on the map. What’s more is that the location of players will be revealed during certain times throughout the match, which creates the opportunity for some strategic gameplay. Camping resource locations with a group and keeping an eye out on the map for a reveal of the competition may be a good way to gain some additional supplies while taking out the competition. Winning CriteriaEach match of From Dusk Till Dawn will last for a set amount of time. As previously mentioned getting through the match without freezing to death or bleeding out will lead to victory and anyone who manages to do so will get to see a new sunrise animation and be able to claim victory over the night of Dione and any players you took out along the way.Whether you plan to team up and pool resources or go it alone, From Dusk Till Dawn will definitely create some new challenges and really bring the feel of “arctic survival”. Looking forward to From Dusk Till Dawn? You’ll be able to take on a frozen night on Dione beginning December 22nd. If you haven’t picked up Ring of Elysium yet, it’s available on Steam and is free to play.Info from Gamespot.com

Everyone with a gaming PC and an appreciation for 4X and real-time strategy games should head to Steam now. That's because you can download Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion for free, with no strings attached, between now and December 19. It's a great deal, considering the game normally sells for $40. Get your copy here.Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is a standalone expansion that originally launched in 2012. In it, you control a growing number of galactic civilizations. Your job is to assemble battle fleets and sail through space, colonizing planets and asteroids, collecting resources, and either making nice or going to war with alien species.In GameSpot's 8.5/10 Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion review, Brett Todd wrote, "Rebellion puts a nice capper on the Sins of a Solar Empire franchise. While this is an excellent game, with loads of new options and an incredible amount of tactical depth, it does show the age of the series. It's hard to imagine the Sins games progressing without a more serious overhaul to move the next release into full-blown sequel territory. Until that game launches, however, you can get your space-empire fix from this outstanding stand-alone expansion, which contains enough ways to conquer a galaxy to tide you over for a very long time."The reason for the giveaway is the release of the DLC expansion Minor Factions, which adds 15 (you guessed it) minor factions to the game, each of which has unique abilities and advantages. With these enabled, publisher Stardock Entertainment says, the "game will place a number of minor factions onto the map to expand your strategic and tactical options."If it sounds like something worth trying, make sure you grab the game before it goes back to full price on December 19.Info from Gamespot.com

Story has never been the strong suit of the Destiny games, but things have gotten pretty interesting with Forsaken, Destiny 2's big expansion for its second year. Rather than drop everything in one big story campaign players ran through, Bungie has slowly been dropping new story tidbits with each week. Many of these specifically relate to the Dreaming City, Forsaken's big endgame area and the home of the race known as the Awoken, and the Curse, a strange phenomenon that's keeping the place in a three-week time loop.This week saw a new cutscene that suggests a very big twist for the story--one that likely has serious implications for Destiny 2's story going forward. The trouble is, it's in a weird place and is easy to miss. Here's where to find the new story cutscene in the Dreaming City, and what it all means. You can also watch it above.Warning: Spoilers beyond this point!The cutscene is located in Awoken Queen Mara Sov's court, which you can only access by completing Petra's weekly bounty for the Blind Well. As usual, you'll take the offering you receive from the bounty to the Observatory, where you can make contact with Mara Sov. Since this is the third week of the cycle, when the curse is strongest, you'll be able to jump through the Oracle Engine's portal and visit Mara's court, where usually, you can talk to her in person.This week, however, Mara's missing. Things have changed slightly here as well--on the left side of the court, where a purple hologram sits. This week, it shows a gazebo like those that are found around the Dreaming City, and maybe more notably, in the Ascendant Realm. If you approach the hologram, you'll be prompted to "lean closer," which triggers a cutscene.In the video, we see a lone Ghost floating through the Dreaming City, before it happens across a body covered in a white sheet. A second later, the Ghost revives the body, revealing it to be Prince Uldren, Mara Sov's brother. The scene mimics the first thing we ever saw in Destiny, when Ghost first discovered and revived the player character. It seems Uldren is going to be a Guardian, just like the rest of us.Uldren's resurrection is a pretty loaded twist for the story of Forsaken. The expansion began with Uldren murdering Cayde-6, one of the game's major characters, and the first half of the expansion was all about hunting Uldren down and getting revenge. Players were aided by Petra Venj, the queen's regent, in stopping and killing Uldren. But it turned out that Uldren was being manipulated by the Taken and maybe wasn't fully in control of himself. In fact, the Taken used Uldren to open the way to the Dreaming City and start the Curse to begin with.So Uldren coming back could be big for dealing with the Curse, and Mara's absence from the throne room suggests she might have had something to do with it. Each visit to Mara has suggested she's working on a plan to stop the Taken and the Curse, but she's not really willing to explain it to anyone yet. Her brother coming back to life seems pretty significant, though.A big lingering question is how this is going to affect the characters of Destiny 2. It sure looked like Petra was the one who pulled the trigger on Uldren, and Mara has always seemed a little weird about her brother's possession and death. We also know that Guardians don't remember their past lives, so will Uldren be a completely different person now? Will he still be the bitter jerk we knew briefly in Destiny 1 and in Forsaken? Will he remember how he wound up where he is in the first place?Apparently, we'll need to keep waiting to see what changes Uldren's resurrection will have on Destiny 2's week-to-week story. Between live content like The Dawning, Destiny 2's holiday event, and the new Forge activities of The Black Armory, there's plenty going on in Bungie's shared-world shooter. Hopefully the story Bungie is telling lives up to the effort players are putting into discovering it.Info from Gamespot.com

A new Legendary Pokemon has arrived in Pokemon Go. Heatran, another rare monster originally from the series' fourth-generation titles, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, has begun appearing in Raid Battles around the world following Cresselia's departure, and it'll remain as a Raid boss until January 15.As usual, in order to catch Heatran, you'll first need to visit a Gym where a Heatran Raid is taking place, then team up with other players to battle the Legendary Pokemon. Once Heatran has been defeated, you'll be rewarded with a handful of Premiere Balls along with an opportunity to capture the Legendary.Heatran is unique in that it is the only Fire- and Steel-type Pokemon in the entire series. This type combination gives it a resistance to Dragon and Psychic attacks, but it also makes the Pokemon very susceptible to Ground-types like Rhyperior and Groudon. Water and Fighting Pokemon such as Kyogre, Swampert, and Machamp will also be effective against the Legendary.In addition to Heatran, a handful of new Gen 4 Pokemon have also begun appearing in Go. In addition to the previously teased Snover and Munchlax, Pokemon fansite Serebii is reporting that Skorupi, Bronzor, and a handful of other Sinnoh Pokemon have been added to the game.Heatran's arrival also coincides with the start of Pokemon Go's third annual holiday event. From now until January 2, Ice-type Pokemon will spawn more frequently in the wild, and players will have another chance to catch Delibird and Santa hat Pikachu. Niantic is also offering different bonuses every few days throughout the event; from now until December 22, for instance, players will receive twice the usual amount of Stardust for catching Pokemon.Info from Gamespot.com

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced that Bonnie Ross, a 24-year Microsoft veteran perhaps best known for her work on Halo, will be inducted into the group's Hall of Fame. She joins an esteemed group of game developers, including 2017's recipient, Bethesda's Todd Howard, along with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Metal Gear designer Hideo Kojima, and Valve founder Gabe Newell, among others. Ross will be the first woman in the AIAS Hall of Fame."It is thanks to Bonnie's vision and drive for combining art and technology that has allowed the Halo universe to flourish within so many different mediums and platforms," AIAS president Meggan Scavio said in a statement. "That along with her deep passion to expand diversity in gaming and encourage STEM education amongst women as well as all young people is truly inspirational. Her positive legacy and leadership have helped advance interactive entertainment and will impact game makers and aspiring game makers for generations to come."Xbox boss Phil Spencer will present Ross with the Hall of Fame award at the 22nd DICE Awards ceremony on February 13, 2019 in Las Vegas.In his own statement, Spencer said it's been a privilege to work with Ross for more than 20 years. "I have continually been impressed not only by her passion for merging art and storytelling, but also her equal passion for creating teams and technical breakthroughs; solid foundations that will set the direction of Halo and Xbox for years to come," he said.Ross joined Microsoft in 1994 and some of her first work in games was on Microsoft's sports games for PC, beginning with NBA Full Court Press. She rose through the ranks and later held roles such as producer, lead producer, and executive producer, before becoming a general manager for Xbox where she oversaw pretty much everything from Microsoft Studios.In 2007, her work on Halo expanded when Halo creator Bungie and Microsoft split off. Ross founded Microsoft's new internal Halo team, 343 Industries, and today she holds the title of Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Head of 343 Industries.Outside of the Halo series, Ross co-founded Microsoft's Women in Gaming program that aims to help women get into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.Halo franchise manager Frank O'Connor wrote a nice blog post about Ross, and in it he talks about what makes Ross such a great person and professional colleague."To see Bonnie recognized for her career and her passion is gratifying, but even more so knowing that the recognition itself will inspire future creators, engineers and world-builder and continue the work and the mission she started on her first day at Microsoft," he said. "On Legendary difficulty, obviously."The next Halo game, Halo Infinite, is currently in development for Xbox One and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's first big content update, Operation Absolute Zero, has expanded to other platforms. Following its release on PS4 last week, the big update is now available on Xbox One and PC, bringing a new playable character, Blackout area, and more to the online shooter.Among the additions to the game is the new Specialist, Zero--a hacker who can use her skills to "disrupt and distract enemies." Players can unlock her by completing tier 1 of the newly revamped Black Market, which now features 100 "clearly defined" tiers to streamline progression. Treyarch has also added a new batch of weapons and "more diverse content" to unlock in the Black Market, including Reactive Camos, Epic Outfits, Reticles, and Mastercrafts.On top of the new Specialist, Operation Absolute Zero introduces a new area to Blackout mode: Hijacked, which is inspired by the fan-favorite Black Ops II map of the same name. It can be found in the northwest quadrant of the map. Additionally, a new armored vehicle--the ARAV--has been added to the battle royale mode as well.Players who've purchased the Battle Pass on Xbox One or PC can access additional content, including two new multiplayer maps: Elevation and Madagascar. Reaper from Black Ops 3 has also been added to Blackout mode for Battle Pass holders, as has a new Zombies chapter: Dead of the Night, which features a cast of big-name celebrities including Kiefer Sutherland and Helena Bonham Carter.Along with Operation Absolute Zero, Treyarch has rolled out some changes to all version of Black Ops 4. Among them, the developer has made some balance tweaks to the aforementioned new Specialist, Zero. Treyarch has also updated the featured playlist in multiplayer and introduced Custom games for Blackout mode, which let players start a private match and "explore the map at their own pace." You can find the full patch notes on Reddit.Info from Gamespot.com

Life Is Strange 2's second episode, "Rules," will launch on January 24, Square Enix and developer Dontnod Entertainment have announced. Episode 1, "Roads," was released at the end of September, so the wait will be around four months between episodes if the follow-up stays on schedule.In addition to announcing Episode 2's release date, Square Enix released a live-action trailer featuring Gonzalo Martin, who voices one of the main characters, Sean Diaz. The trailer references a pivotal, emotional scene from the first episode, so be aware of that if you're worried about spoilers. You can watch the trailer in the embed above.Additionally, Square Enix has released a plot synopsis for Episode 2, and it confirms that Captain Spirit from the free spinoff is in the game. You can find the full plot synopsis at the bottom of the page.Square Enix's Jon Brooke said in a statement that Episode 2 will be a turning point for the five-episode series. "Previous seasons have both had a point that was just, ‘that moment’, that captivated fans from all over the world, and we feel like this will be the one for Life isStrange 2."GameSpot's Life Is Strange 2: Episode 1 review scored the game a 9/10. "Life Is Strange 2: Episode 1 is a triumphant first chapter, featuring a narrative that fearlessly reflects the lives of two Latino brothers living in our politically-charged climate," reviewer Jess McDonell said.Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 "Roads" Plot Synopsis:"Sean and Daniel’s story continues in Episode 2. On the run from the police following a tragic incident in Seattle and the manifestation of a strange supernatural power, Sean and Daniel Diaz continue their journey into the winter months. As the two brothers struggle against the cold, Daniel gets increasingly ill. Sean decides that they must take the risk and make their way to their distant grandparent's house to recover and seek shelter.There, they encounter next-door neighbour Chris Eriksen, a young boy who believes he has powers eerily similar to Daniel's, and they come face to face with his superhero alter ego, Captain Spirit. As Daniel and Chris are becoming fast friends, it's up to Sean to make sure Daniel follows a set of rules they agreed on for his power: Never in public. Never talk about it. Run from danger.Can Daniel successfully hide the truth from the people around them, will the temptation to explore the immense power within him be too much, or will he break the rules in a time of need?"Info from Gamespot.com

It's not just Xbox One consoles that are on sale right now. Amazon has launched a very good deal on the Xbox Game Pass membership. Right now you can get three months for $20 USD (normally $30 USD) or 12 months for $70 USD (normally $120). Go to Amazon's Xbox Game Pass product page here to learn more and place an order.And if you haven't signed up for Xbox Game Pass yet, you can get your first month for only $1 as part of a special introductory offer. The Xbox Game Pass deals come in the midst of a big month for the subscription service. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Mortal Kombat X, Pro Evolution Soccer 19, and Spintires: Mudrunner arrived earlier this month, while Ori and the Blind Forest (December 20) and Shadow Warrior 2 (December 20) are coming later this month. Additionally, the brand-new games Ashen and Below launched into Xbox Game Pass earlier this month.All first-party Xbox games launch into Xbox Game Pass, which means subscribers will get Gears 5, Halo Infinite, and all other exclusives in the time to come at no extra cost.There are currently more than 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games in the Xbox Game Pass library. The service has been referred to by some as the "Netflix of games," but Xbox Game Pass titles are downloaded, not streamed. Microsoft is working on a game-streaming service of its own, but right now it's not incorporated into Xbox Game Pass.Xbox Game Pass is currently only available on Xbox One, but Microsoft is bringing it to PC in the future. On a longer timeline, the company wants to have Xbox Game Pass on "every device."Info from Gamespot.com

While Bethesda hasn't made any announcements about how well the controversial multiplayer-focused Fallout 76 did commercially, a report from the NPD Group contains some clues.The NPD Group's report for US game sales in November show that Fallout 76 was the fourth best-selling game of November, only behind Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Red Dead Redemption 2. While the NPD Group's reports now contain digital sales numbers, this only applies to some publishers. Bethesda doesn't share digital game sales, so Fallout 76 ranking fourth with only physical sales accounted for is a more impressive achievement.Fallout 76's physical sales in the US in November amounted to the third highest launch-month sales in the history of the Fallout series, only behind Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas.Critics generally did not enjoy Fallout 76, and GameSpot's review scored it a 4/10. While Bethesda hasn't announced any specific sales numbers for Fallout 76, the company said last month that "millions" of people have played the game.Fallout 76 will be supported with new updates for a long time to come, according to Bethesda. Marketing boss Pete Hines says he believes the game's servers will stay online until the sun burns out and humankind is left in ashes.While Fallout 76 might have had a good start sales-wise in November, it did not crack the top 10 list for best-selling games of 2018 so far. Grand Theft Auto V, a game originally released in 2013, has sold better than Fallout 76 this year.Some of the other game sales highlights for November in the US include:Red Dead Redemption 2 sales after just two months exceed the lifetime sales of Red Dead Redemption 1 by almost 40 percent.Black Ops 4 continues to be the best-selling game of 2018. It is also the second fastest-selling game on PS4 and Xbox One ever, only behind Call of Duty: WWII.Launch-month sales for Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee were the second-highest in Pokemon history, only behind 2000 Pokemon Stadium.Spyro Reignited Trilogy's launch-month dollar sales were more than 30 percent higher than the launch-month sales of all other Spyro games ever combined, except Skylanders.Hitman 2 didn't make it into the Top 20 list of best-sellers.Total software sales for the US in November amounted to $1 billion, which is down 15 percent compared to last year. NPD said Black Ops 4's shift from November to October this year is to blame for the downturn.On the hardware side, the Nintendo Switch was the top platform during November based on dollar sales, while the PS4 continues to be the leader year-to-date in terms of hardware dollar sales. Another notable takeaway is that, for the first time ever, three console systems sold more than 1 million units each in a November month; the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One each sold more than 1.3 million units during the month. In November 2010, the DS, Wii, and Xbox 360 each sold more than 1 million units, but the DS is apparently not counted as a console platform.Total hardware sales in the US for November 2018 came to $1.18 billion, which is up 3 percent. Looking at games, hardware, and accessories combined, total US spending on games in November reached $2.7 billion.November Best-Selling Games All PlatformsRed Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^Battlefield V^Fallout 76*Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu*Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee*NBA 2K19Madden NFL 19^Spyro: Reignited TrilogyFIFA 19^Assassin's Creed: OdysseySuper Mario Party*Spider-ManMario Kart 8*WWE 2K19God of WarShadow of the Tomb RaiderJust Dance 2019Grand Theft Auto VForza Horizon 4All Platforms Year To DateCall of Duty: Black Ops 4^Red Dead Redemption 2NBA 2K19Far Cry 5Madden NFL 19^Spider-ManGod of WarMonster Hunter: WorldGrand Theft Auto VAssassin's Creed Odyssey12 Months Ended November 2018Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^Red Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: WWII^NBA 2K19Far Cry 5Madden NFL 19^Spider-ManGod of WarMonster Hunter: WorldSuper Mario Odyssey*November Xbox OneRed Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIIBattlefield VFallout 76*Madden NFL 19NBA 2K19Assassin's Creed OdysseyFIFA 19Spyro Reignited TrilogyForza Horizon 4November PS4Red Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Fallout 76*Battlefield VNBA 2K19Spyro Reignited TrilogyMadden NFL 19Spider-ManFIFA 19Assassin's Creed OdysseyNovember Nintendo SwitchPokemon: Let's Go PikachuPokemon: Let's Go EeveeSuper Mario PartyMario Kart 8Super Mario OdysseyThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildJust Dance 2019Crash Bandicoot N. Sane TrilogyMario & Rabbids: Kingdom BattleDonkey Kong Country: Tropical FreezeNovember 3DSLuigi's MansionPokemon: Ultra SunPokemon: Ultra MoonSuper Mario 3D LandMario Kart 7Super Smash Bros.MinecraftDetective PikachuDonkey Kong Country ReturnsThe Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds * Digital sales not included^ PC digital sales not includedInfo from Gamespot.com

Mortal Engines, the big-budget sci-fi movie from a series of Lord of the Rings veterans, is expected to be a major box office flop. Variety reports that the film is expected to lose more than $100 million when all is said and done. The film had a reported production budget of $100 million, with "tens of millions" more spent on marketing. As of December 16, Universal's Mortal Engines has made only $42 million worldwide."This is a true Christmas disaster and a lump of coal for Universal," Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock told Variety. "They took a big swing, and they struck out."Mortal Engines has yet to open in China, which is a massive market, but it currently has no release date for that country. The disappointing box office results come even though Mortal Engines has big names attached--it was written by LotR's Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. It was directed by Oscar winner Christian Rivers, who also worked on LotR.As we reported in the past, Mortal Engines takes place in the far future where modern technology as we know it has been destroyed and morphed into a steampunk-like world, where giant, moving cities traverse through Europe looking for other cities to eat, in order to use the eaten city's structures to power their gigantic machines to continue the hunt.That might be a visually stunning set-up, but the complicated plot was one of the reasons that Warner Bros. and Fox said no to the film because Universal picked it up, according to Variety. Universal reportedly only contributed 30 percent of the production costs, with Media Rights Capital putting up half of the money. Legendary and Perfect World also financed the movie.Jackson apparently at one point said he believed Mortal Engines could become another big franchise, but this box office performance suggests that may not happen. Info from Gamespot.com

The new Aquaman film from Warner Bros. is doing quite well already. The superhero origin movie has now exceeded $261 million from all international markets combined, an achievement that is especially notable given that the film hasn't premiered in the US yet.According to Variety, China is the biggest market for Aquaman so far, with box office receipts totalling $189.2 million there after two weekends. Other markets where Aquaman is performing well so far include Mexico ($7.9 million), Brazil ($7.7 million), Russia ($7.4 million), the UK ($6.5 million).Aquaman, which stars Jason Momoa in the title role, opens in the US on December 21. In addition to Momoa, the film stars Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, and Willem Dafoe. It was directed by James Wan, who previously made Saw, Insidious, and Fast & Furious 7.GameSpot's Aquaman review mostly praised the superhero film. "Aquaman isn't simply a bunch of remixed comics elements thrown together. It's a movie with its own over the top, tongue in cheek, inconsistent, massive, irreverent, CGI-soaked tone, aesthetic, and world," reviewer Michael Rougeau said. "And somehow, it works well enough that you'll be calling Arthur king by the end."For more on the critical reaction to Aquaman, check out this roundup of reviews.Info from Gamespot.com