While there's a certain amount of unavoidable uncertainty when something atypical like the Bungie-Activision split happens, Destiny 2 fans needn't worry, at least about the immediate future of the game. The company insists it isn't abandoning the plans it's already outlined for Destiny 2, which will see new content continue to be released in the months ahead."Today is a big news day for Bungie. Change is afoot for us," wrote Bungie's David Dague on Twitter. "Our plans for Destiny are unchanged. All of these game updates are still on the calendar." The tweet included the image below that outlines Destiny 2's roadmap new content between now and the end of August. That includes both free and paid additions, the latter of which will be available to those who have purchased Destiny 2's Annual Pass. Among other things, the game will add another new Raid, Exotics, seasonal events, a "Gambit experience," and much more.Bungie's weekly blog post, This Week at Bungie, has been on hiatus recently due to the holidays. It was scheduled to resume today, but likely due to the big news, it's been pushed until Friday, January 11, Dague confirmed on Twitter. It will feature "the latest details on the Destiny player experience," he said, but don't expect it to offer up any further specifics regarding the split from Activision. "We don't have more news to report on the business of the franchise," he said.Despite Bungie taking control of Destiny, Destiny 2 will remain on Blizzard Battle.net, the Activision Blizzard-owned gaming platform. The announcement of the split comes amid apparent tension between the two companies. Last year, following Forsaken's release, Activision said it had been a commercial disappointment. This prompted Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith to respond, saying, "We are not disappointed with Forsaken."We are not disappointed with Forsaken. We set out to build a game that Destiny players would love, and at Bungie, we love it too. Building Destiny for players who love it is and will remain our focus going forward. — Luke Smith (@thislukesmith) November 10, 2018Regarding Bungie assuming control of the Destiny series, the studio said, "The planned transition process is already underway in its early stages, with Bungie and Activision both committed to making sure the handoff is as seamless as possible.With Forsaken, we've learned, and listened, and leaned in to what we believe our players want from a great Destiny experience. Rest assured there is more of that on the way. We'll continue to deliver on the existing Destiny roadmap, and we're looking forward to releasing more seasonal experiences in the coming months, as well as surprising our community with some exciting announcements about what lies beyond."Thank you so much for your continued support. Our success is owed in no small part to the incredible community of players who have graced our worlds with light and life. We know self-publishing won't be easy; there's still much for us to learn as we grow as an independent, global studio, but we see unbounded opportunities and potential in Destiny. We know that new adventures await us all on new worlds filled with mystery, adventure, and hope. We hope you'll join us there."This week was a big one for Destiny, as the last piece of big content from the Black Armory expansion was released. This was marked by the start of a complex new puzzle for players--specifically, the most hardcore fans and streamers--to crack. Their success would open the fourth and final Black Armory forge activity. However, after more than a day only resulted in a partial completion, Bungie decided to go ahead and unlock the Bergusia Forge for all players.Info from Gamespot.com

The upcoming Community Day isn't the only event Pokemon Go players have to look forward to this month. Niantic has announced it is also hosting a new type of Limited Research event next weekend, and it'll give users a chance to encounter a new Shiny Pokemon.The Limited Research event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 19. Much like a Community Day, it will only run for three hours, during which time you'll be able to receive special Limited Research tasks by spinning the Photo Disc at PokeStops. You can find the event hours for each region below.Each Limited Research task you complete will reward you with an encounter with a Feebas, the base form of the majestic Water-type Pokemon Milotic. Moreover, Niantic says players will have their first chance to encounter a Shiny Feebas as part of the event. The Limited Research tasks will only be available during the three-hour window, but players will be able to complete them at any time once they've been received.In the meantime, players still have a few more days to take advantage of the ongoing Adventure Sync Hatchathon. The event is scheduled to end on January 15--the same day that Heatran leaves Raid Battles--and offers double the usual amount of Stardust and Candy for hatching Pokemon Eggs.This month's Community Day, meanwhile, takes place on January 12. The featured Pokemon this time is the Gen 2 starter Totodile; if you evolve it into its final form, Feraligatr, up to an hour after the event ends, it'll also learn the powerful Water attack Hydro Cannon.Pokemon Go Limited Research Event ScheduleThe Americas and Greenland11 AM - 2 PM PT2 PM - 5 PM ETEurope, Middle East, and Africa10 AM - 1 PM UTCAsia-Pacific12 PM - 3 PM JST (January 20)Info from Gamespot.com

One way Microsoft is distinguishing the Xbox One from other consoles is by embracing keyboard and mouse support. Peripheral maker Razer is trying to make a splash by offering its own set with the Turret keyboard and mouse combo built specifically for Xbox One, and we got our hands on it at CES 2019. It has plenty of ideal features we'd expect from high-end PC-gaming setups, though a few design choices may hold it back from being the best solution for the Xbox One.To put it broadly, Razer Turret is a wireless lapboard intended to bring PC controls to the console while being comfortable to use in a couch or living room setting. Certain design decisions have made the Turret a sensible piece of hardware, like the tenkeyless layout--it seems you won't be missing much functionality on the Xbox One by omitting the number pad. At roughly four pounds (or 1,800 grams), the unit itself doesn't weigh much, helping avoid the feeling of something pressing upon your lap. To top it off, the wireless mouse that comes packaged closely resembles the Deathadder, Razer's flagship mouse, which fits like a glove for right-handed folk. Both the keyboard and mouse conveniently connect through a single 2.4Ghz dongle, only occupying one USB port.An important feature of the Turret is the use of Razer's own green mechanical switch, which has that distinct clicky, tactile feel (similar to the Cherry MX Blue switch). For the uninitiated, mechanical switches offer a more tactile feel to keystrokes since each key operates on its own distinct switch--it makes for consistent, responsive inputs as opposed to the squishy feel of standard membrane keyboards. It also wouldn't be a Razer product if it didn't have RGB lighting; both the mouse and keyboard have full-range, 16.8 million colors for backlighting via the company's Chroma system.The Razer Turret is a keyboard with Chroma lights and built-in mousepad, plus a wireless mouse and will cost a hefty $250. https://t.co/wKy6wcEhtb #CES2019 pic.twitter.com/k6gJXGLvUU — CNET (@CNET) January 8, 2019There's also a dedicated Xbox dashboard key where the right CTRL key would be for easy access. One aspect you might expect is mouse cursor navigation in the dashboard, but getting through menus is relegated to directional keys, unfortunately. This isn't any fault of Razer's, just a current limitation a limitation on the Xbox One.Where it falls short is in the built-in mouse pad. The surface itself is slick, similar to a good hard-surface mouse pad, and easily slides in and out of the right side of the keyboard. However, the surface and mouse are magnetic, and the push and pull of the magnets makes for an unnatural feel that can compromise the precision expected from PC-based controls. The magnetism helps keep the mouse in place when you take your hands off of it, and the top right corner of the pad is magnetized so strongly that it'll hold the mouse even when the whole set is sitting vertically. But as as a result, you sacrifice the free flow of swiping and lifting the mouse (which you'll do often since the mouse pad is on the smaller side) due to the resistance. Of course, you don't have to use the built-in mouse pad, but it's your only realistic option when the Turret is used as a lapboard in a living room-type setting.Though we can't speak to battery life ourselves, Razer states that the keyboard can last up to 43 hours without backlighting and 11 hours with the default backlight setting. The mouse is said to run for 50 hours without lighting, and 30 hours with it on, after a full charge. A USB-C port resides on the top right of the keyboard for charging.As for parity in competitive games, the onus is on developers in how they want to implement keyboard and mouse controls. Some games could filter matchmaking based on control scheme, but can very well give players the option to match with anyone if they desire. As great as it is to have precision control and perhaps gain a slight advantage in games like Fortnite, Warframe, and would fit well for upcoming games such as Gears 5, the Turret's price of $250 may be a tough sell. Pre-orders are open on the Microsoft Store and units are expected to be available on or around March 31 this year.For more on CES 2019, be sure to check out our stories on everything gaming related from the show like AMD's Radeon VII announcement, Nvidia's RTX 2060 reveal, or Xbox boss Phil Spencer's comments at AMD's press conference--or go to our sister site CNET for wider CES coverage.Info from Gamespot.com

As CES 2019 comes to an end, we're looking back at all the announcements and new pieces of tech shown off during the event. A bunch of laptops and PCs were displayed at this year's CES, and GameSpot's sister site, CNET, compiled a list. We've gone ahead and narrowed it down to ones best for playing video games.If you're looking to invest in a new gaming machine, then you'll want to check out the Acer Nitro 5, Zotac Mek 1, or Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop. The latter two are PCs, while the Acer is a laptop. The Acer Nitro 5 has a 15.6-inch screen and is powered by AMD, with a Radeon RX560 GPU and Ryzen CPU. The price for the laptop isn't all that bad, with a starting price of $800 USD getting you a 512 gigabyte SSD hard drive.You're getting a lot more bang with the Zotac Mek 1, but it's going to cost you a lot more bucks. The desktop will have a starting price between $1200 and $1400, but you get a machine with a seventh generation Intel processor and Nvidia GeForce 1070Ti CPU. The Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop falls between the two in terms of performance and price, costing a little over $800 with an eight generation Intel processor and Nvidia GeForce 1070 CPU.If you just need a new laptop and don't want to use it for gaming, but still need the processing power to render and edit videos or photos, then ideally all the aforementioned computers should work. However, you can also look at a few other options that are primarily designed for business people and artists. The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 and HP Spectre x360 are the powerhouses of the non-gaming laptops shown off at CES, but they will each set you back at least $1300. Both the Asus Zenbook Flip 14 and HP Envy x2 are the new kids on the block--neither are out or priced yet--but they boast very impressive specs as well. The Flip 14 includes a Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU, eight generation Intel CPU, and a 512 gigabyte SSD. The Envy x2 is basically a souped up version of HP's laptop from last year, with a seventh generation Intel processor increasing the speed of the machine's performance.Plenty of other pieces of tech were announced at CES this year. There wasn't much specifically geared towards gaming, but a few things hinted at a change in the industry landscape. Also, some products were just really weird.Info from Gamespot.com

One of the biggest gaming news stories so far in 2019 broke today when Activision and Bungie confirmed they are ending their publishing deal for Destiny. Going forward, Bungie will take on development and publishing duties for Destiny, while Activision will focus on its own franchises, like Call of Duty.Research firm Cowen & Company shared its thoughts on the news in a note to investors today, and one prediction the company made was that Bungie will release Destiny 3 in 2020. This is not an altogether surprising revelation, as the Destiny series normally releases new mainline entries every three years.Destiny 1 launched in 2014, with Destiny 2 coming in 2017. According to Cowen & Company, the initial deal between Activision and Bungie called for new Destiny games every two years, but this shifted to one new game every three years. This slip might have contributed to what Cowen & Company called a "growing divergence" between Activision and Bungie's respective visions for where the Destiny franchise should go.While Destiny and Destiny 2 might have been commercially successful on a unit basis, the games did not achievement the kind of "recurring revenue stream" that Activision wanted, Cowen & Company said. Indeed, Activision management recently said Destiny 2: Forsaken failed to meet its commercial expectations, and as a result, the company was looking at ways to bring more microtransactions to the game. Whether or not that's still the case now that Bungie operates Destiny 2 by itself remains to be seen.According to Cowen, Bungie's attempts to broaden the Destiny player community with a more casual friendly Destiny 2 didn't work out, and while Destiny 2: Forsaken was praised by critics and fans, it didn't do a good enough job at bringing back lapsed players.Cowen estimates that Activision severed ties with Bungie and Activision to focus on strengthening its own fully owned franchises like Call of Duty, even if it meant taking a financial hit in the short term. The upside of investing in its own franchises was greater than continuing to sink resources into an under-performing series like Destiny, Cowen said.Also in the report, Cowen said Bungie likely paid Activision a fee to reclaim the Destiny publishing rights, but the figure is not likely "enormously significant," it said.Losing Destiny will hurt Activision Blizzard's bottom line, Cowen said, estimating that the company will announce lowered financial guidance when it reports earnings next in February."Ultimately, we think this decision is probably for the best for Destiny as a franchise, as we think having two head cooks in the kitchen with somewhat divergent views created some issues with the development process and led the game down some blind alleys," Cowen said. "Destiny was a worthwhile attempt by Activision to build another cornerstone franchise, one that just didn't quite pan out as they had hoped (underlining once again the high difficulty of creating and managing a successful live service game business), in our view."There continue to be unanswered questions about the Bungie/Activision breakup, including what it means for Destiny support studios High Moon and Vicarious Visions. Those studios, which are owned by Activision, might shift to other Activision projects, but no official announcements have been made at this point.For more on the big Destiny news, check out the stories linked below.Bungie Splits From Activision, And It's Keeping DestinyDestiny Split: Industry Reacts To Bungie Breaking Up With ActivisionDestiny 2 Will Stay On Battle.Net After Bungie's Split From ActivisionBungie's Destiny 2 Plans "Unchanged," New Update Details Coming FridayActivision Blizzard Stock Nosedives After Bungie/Destiny SplitInfo from Gamespot.com

Andrew Fleming, the drummer of Islander and maker of excellent drum cover videos of video game songs, is back with his latest--and it's all about Overwatch. Fleming takes Overwatch's mostly serene, piano-filled "Hollywood" track and dials up the intensity with double-bass, fills galore, and open hi-hat. It's quite great. The video caught the attention of Overwatch developer Blizzard. The official Overwatch Twitter account re-tweeted Fleming's video and congratulated him with a nice animated GIF of J.K. Simmons from the music movie Whiplash.Fleming has posted many video game drum covers in the past. Before this, he crushed the Pokemon Red/Blue music and the "Battle Theme" from 2001's Final Fantasy X. In 2016, he performed a rippin' Sonic "Green Hill Zone" drum cover, and before that he nailed the awesome Destiny drum cover.You can watch all of Fleming's videos on his AF Drums YouTube page.Info from Gamespot.com

The 22nd annual D.I.C.E. Awards have announced the full list of nominees for this year, and Sony's God of War leads the way with 12 total nominations, including a nod for overall Game of the Year. The other Game of the Year nominees are Red Dead Redemption 2, Into the Breach, Spider-Man, and Return of the Obra Dinn.God of War already won the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards back in December. It is also nominated for a top writing award at the Writers Guild Awards.Fifty-six games in all received nominations this year. As mentioned, God of War led the way with 12 nominations, while Spider-Man picked up 11. Red Dead Redemption 2 grabbed eight nominations, while Return of the Obra Dinn picked up six.The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony in Las Vegas on February 13, starting at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET. Also during the event, Halo boss Bonnie Ross will be honoured as this year's Hall of Fame recipient.Last year, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home the overall Game of the Year award at the D.I.C.E. Awards. The event has nothing to do with DICE, the developer of the Battlefield and Star Wars: Battlefront franchises. D.I.C.E. stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain.2018 D.I.C.E. Awards NomineesOutstanding Achievement in AnimationGod of WarGRISMarvel's Spider-ManMossRed Dead Redemption 2Outstanding Achievement in Art DirectionDetroit: Become HumanGod of WarGRISMarvel's Spider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Outstanding Achievement in CharacterAssassin's Creed Odyssey (Kassandra)God of War (Atreus)God of War (Kratos)Marvel's Spider-Man (Peter Parker/Spider-Man)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Arthur Morgan)Outstanding Achievement in Original Music CompositionDetroit: Become HumanForgotton AnneGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManTetris EffectOutstanding Achievement in Sound DesignBattlefield VDetroit: Become HumanGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManMossOutstanding Achievement in StoryAssassin's Creed OdysseyFlorenceGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManReturn of the Obra DinnOutstanding Technical AchievementAstro Bot Rescue MissionBattlefield VGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Action Game of the YearCall of Duty: Black Ops 4CelesteDestiny 2: ForsakenFar Cry 5Shadow of the Tomb RaiderAdventure Game of the YearDetroit: Become HumanGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnFamily Game of the YearAstro Bot Rescue MissionKirby Star AlliesLego DC Super-VillainsStarlink: Battle for AtlasUnravel TwoFighting Game of the YearBlazBlue: Cross Tag BattleDragon Ball FighterZSoulCalibur VISuper Smash Bros. UltimateRacing Game of the YearForza Horizon 4F1 2018WreckfestRole-Playing Game of the YearAssassin's Creed OdysseyDragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive AgeMonster Hunter WorldNi no Kuni II: Revenant KingdomPillars of Eternity II: DeadfireSports Game of the YearFIFA 19Mario Tennis AcesMLB The Show 18Strategy/Simulation Game of the YearBad NorthFrostpunkInto the BreachNorthgardRimWorldImmersive Reality Technical AchievementAstro Bot Rescue MissionBeat SaberDr. Grordbort's InvadersTónandiTornImmersive Reality Game of the YearAstro Bot Rescue MissionBeat SaberMossSprint VectorTransferenceOutstanding Achievement for an Independent GameCelesteFlorenceInto the BreachMinitReturn of the Obra DinnPortable Game of the YearDandaraDonut CountyDragalia LostFlorenceOddmarOnline Game of the YearFortniteDestiny 2: ForsakenLaser LeagueRed Dead Redemption 2Sea of ThievesOutstanding Achievement in Game DesignGod of WarInto the BreachMarvel's Spider-ManReturn of the Obra DinnSubnauticaOutstanding Achievement in Game DirectionFlorenceGod of WarMarvel's Spider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnGame of the YearGod of WarInto the BreachMarvel's Spider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnInfo from Gamespot.com

Looking for something new to play this weekend and don't want to spend any money? Microsoft has announced that Halo 5: Guardians is completely free to download and play starting now and running through the end of the weekend.It's free on Xbox One as part of Microsoft's Free Play Days promotion which sees games drop to the low, low price of $0.00 for periods of time, usually on weekends. The one catch, if you can call it that, is that you need to have Xbox Live Gold.Xbox Live Gold members can play Halo 5 for free today through Sunday as part of @Xbox Free Play Days. Jump in and join the Master Chief for an action-packed weekend! pic.twitter.com/PHAOxHWnKp — Halo (@Halo) January 10, 2019To sweeten the deal, Halo 5 is offering double XP for the duration of the free play weekend, while the fun-time playlists Holiday Fiesta and Castle Wars are in rotation. The Holiday Fiesta playlist is aimed at celebrating the holidays, of course, and it features "snow-themed" variants of Halo 5 arena maps. Castle Wars, meanwhile, is a large-scale capture-the-flag mode that supports 16 players.Halo 5 still has a very active player population, so you should have no trouble at all finding multiplayer matches. The game is also free with Xbox Game Pass, which further helps the game reach even more players. The next mainline Halo game is Halo Infinite, which is in development for Xbox One and PC. We still don't know a whole lot about it, but Halo boss Frank O'Connor recently talked about how the game's multiplayer is tons of fun. Info from Gamespot.com

Memories are notoriously unreliable. We frequently forget things that have happened or embellish our experiences with new details that never actually occurred. The conceit of The Eternal Castle is that it's a remaster of a long-lost classic from the late 1980s. The developers claim, with a nod and a wink, that they wished to preserve the "feel" of the original and keep its memory alive. When I first heard about it there was a moment when I thought, "This looks vaguely familiar. I think maybe I played it on my old 286?"I should have known better than to trust my memory. The Eternal Castle isn't a remaster at all. There was no game with that name released in 1987--nor, indeed, in any other year of the late '80s and early '90s. Instead, The Eternal Castle, as a brand new game in 2019, is a retro throwback that's at once deeply indebted to the likes of Flashback and Another World while at the same time recognizant of how much game design has evolved over the past 30 years. The result is a cinematic platformer that doesn't quite play as those games actually did but rather feels like our hazy, unreliable memory of them. Cinematic platformers have come a long way since the '80s, but the genre's core tenets of prioritizing animation over input (that is, when you commit to pressing the jump button you have to wait for the complete jump animation to play out before you input another action) and populating its levels with novel set-pieces can be seen running through games as otherwise diverse as the original Prince of Persia in 1989 right up to Limbo, Deadlight and Inside.The Eternal Castle sees you play as the pilot of a crashlanded spacecraft, exploring a strange planet to recover the items required to fix your ship. The three levels that comprise the meat of the game--there's a fourth and final level unlocked later--transition through some remarkably varied scenarios. One moment you'll be sneaking past horrible creatures in a cemetery as flashes of lightning illuminate the night, the next you'll be climbing up and down the tattered framework of a bombed-out skyscraper. Each of the three levels has a broad theme linking one area to the next, but they don't rigidly adhere to any one setting. Indeed, one of the drawcards is the thrill of discovering what outlandish or perhaps utterly mundane (which I usually found even more memorable) situation you encounter next.On a mechanical level, these stages are distinguished in terms of the type of experience they offer. One promises "low ammo" while another warns of "poor visibility," thus giving you some idea of what to expect and, crucially, what gear you might need to take with you. You can only carry two weapons at once, ammo is scarce, and clips can't be refilled. Deplete the six-bullet clip on your pistol and you'll have to swap it out for the next weapon you find, and if that's a shotgun with two shells then that's going to have to do the job. Every bullet counts.This isn't a run-and-gun shooter, but in its weaker moments it can turn into a bit of a mash-heavy brawler. Some areas, and at least one boss fight, favor use of close-range melee weapons like the club, hand-axe or sword. Your moves are limited to a regular attack, block and charge and further constrained by a stamina meter, thus theoretically offering some sort of considered nuance to the combat. But in any instance where I was fighting more than one enemy I found it easiest to simply mash attack until everyone was dead.However, there were the odd occasions where my progress was blocked by a particularly tricky section, always combat-related whether it was being outnumbered by a group of thugs in a nightclub or being mowed down by some persistent gunners as I attempted to charge across the no man's land of a battlefield. Here I took advantage of the game's structure and backed out of the level to return to the hub and try one of the other two levels. This is effective because throughout the three levels are permanent gear upgrades--a backpack, for example, that allows you to carry more ammo or a bandana that somehow increases your strength and ups melee damage--so you may well find the assistance you need is in another castle.Indeed, the game's structure is a good example of how this is very much a modern cinematic platformer. Not only can you choose which level to play, thus reducing the likelihood of getting stuck, but your loadout carries over from level to level and any major items you collect stay with you regardless of how many times you die or restart. Of course, if you return to a previously visited level you do have to start from its beginning, but there are convenient checkpoints throughout and you'll rarely lose more than a couple of screens' progress when you die as long as you stay in the level. Similar games of the '80s and '90s could be extremely punitive, forcing you to replay entire levels over and over until you nailed the perfect run. All of that frustration is completely alleviated here, thankfully, and if you're after a stern challenge then the New Game+ mode will provide it in spades.Part of the reason for my initial confusion over whether I had in fact played the "original" Eternal Castle is that this "remaster" apes the visual aesthetic of a late '80s PC game so well. Every scene is depicted in no more than four colors (black, white and just two others, typically a variation of blue and red) and each character or object within is composed of a collection of chunky pixels, mostly seen only in silhouette. It's not an exact match with the capabilities of CGA at the time--while plenty of games allowed you to boot up into one of the various four-colour modes I certainly don't recall any that switched palettes in-game and from scene-to-scene. And the quality of animation here is inarguably superior, in terms of the number of frames, than even something as revered as Prince of Persia. But the overall effect is uncanny. I felt like I had been transported back in time to a simpler, noticeably more cyan and magenta world.The Eternal Castle is more than a mere nostalgia trip for aging gamers still hanging on to their 5.25-inch floppy drives. In many ways, it's just as modern as it is retro and more than capable of holding its own against its more illustrious contemporary peers. Luckily it's just my memory that isn't as good as it used to be. Info from Gamespot.com

A few Kansas City fans were treated to the biggest game of Mario Kart you've ever seen. A sports reporter for local station KCTV5 was doing helicopter shots of the Kansas City Royals' Kauffman stadium when he noticed a massive game being played on the stadium's enormous screen.The reporter, Tom Martin, later updated by amplifying a reply from the Royals Charities account. That reply stated that it was part of an associates fundraiser, and teasing that a video game party could come as an auction sometime this year. In the video, you can clearly see Mario racing through Mario Kart Stadium, the first track in the Mushroom Cup of Mario Kart 8.we sent our helicopter out to get aerials of Arrowhead Stadium and on its way there it noticed a game of Mario Kart had broken out on the Crown Vision board at Kauffman Stadium?? 😂 pic.twitter.com/rOy0icieVi — Tom Martin (@TomKCTV5) January 8, 2019The high-definition scoreboard at Kauffman stadium is nicknamed "Crown Vision," and comes in at 84 feet wide by 105 feet tall. It is one of the largest HD LED displays in the world. Of course, those dimensions aren't exactly similar to that of your TV, so the game looks a little off in the footage.As for the choice of game, Mario Kart 8 is apropos. Not only does the footage show off a race inside a stadium, but the game itself is well-regarded and was one of the first Wii U ports to make the trip to Nintendo Switch. That Switch port received a positive review of its own, for some of its small tweaks to an already great foundation."Even if you didn't really care about Battle Mode, the smallest changes in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe refine an already great racing game," critic Kallie Plagge said in GameSpot's review. "But the huge overhaul to the original's afterthought of a Battle Mode is a chaotic, varied opportunity to play very differently than in Grand Prix mode and well worth reinvesting yourself in Mario Kart 8 on Switch."Info from Gamespot.com

The recently revealed Alien: Blackout mobile game has been given a release date. The iOS and Android title will launch on the App Store and Google Play on January 24.The game is seemingly a spin-off of Creative Assembly's 2014 title Alien: Isolation. In Blackout, Amanda Ripley once again faces a fight to survive aboard a Weyland-Yutani space station infested with aliens."The terror of Alien is brought to life in Alien: Blackout," reads co-developer D3 Go's website. "Try to stay alive while trapped aboard a crippled Weyland-Yutani space station carrying a deadly Xenomorph as it tirelessly hunts you and the crew."Outsmart the perfect hunter by making perilous choices. Players must rely on the damaged controls of the space station or risk sacrificing crew members to avoid deadly contact, permanently altering the outcome of the game."Players will be tasked with surviving seven levels by guiding Ripley's crew through "increasingly challenging tasks using only the station's emergency system." Contending with a limited power supply, survival will require players to effectively operate a holographic map, surveillance cameras, and motion trackers to stay hidden and out of the Xenomorph's clutches.In addition, more stories starring Amanda Ripley, the daughter of the original films' protagonist, Ellen Ripley, may be on the way soon. Amanda was the player character in Isolation, which took place 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film. In that game, Amanda went with a Weyland-Yutani team to Sevastopol Station, a distant space station in the process of being decommissioned, after the flight recorder was recovered from Ellen's destroyed ship, the Nostromo. While Amanda eventually got hold of the recorder, she also went through the same ordeal as her mother, when an alien began picking off the people of Sevastopol one by one. Alien: Blackout appears to pick up the story from there, with Amanda trying to fend off another alien in a place called Mendel Station while still pursuing answers about what happened to Ellen.The tweets from Alien Anthology teasing the new game use the hashtags #AmandaRipley and #ReadPlayWatch, suggesting there's more to do with Amanda's story than just play it. In fact, the latest tweet emphasizes the "watch" part of the hashtag with capitalized letters, unlike other messages from the same account.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft's upcoming open-world action RPG, The Division 2, is coming to PC alongside the PS4 and Xbox One versions, and with its release approaching, the company has revealed the level of hardware you'll need to play it on computer. The PC specs cover a wide range of hardware depending on the type of experience you're shooting for.At the low end is the Minimum tier, which would have the game running at 1080p and 30 FPS. For that, you'll need either an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-6350 paired with 8 GB of RAM and either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon R9 270 with 2 GB of VRAM.Jumping up to the high end, the Elite tier--4K and 60 FPS--calls for much more expensive components, as you'd expect. You'll need a Core i9-7900X or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM, and a brand-new video card--an RTX 2080 Ti or Radeon VII with 11 GB of VRAM. You can get a rundown on four different sets of specs below.The trailer above showcases some of the PC-specific features that are available. Aside from the aforementioned 4K support, you can have an uncapped frame rate or use ultrawide monitors or multi-monitor setups.The Division 2's release date is set for March 15, and you can read more about its launch in our pre-order guide. Alongside news of the specs, we've just learned the PC version of The Division 2 will be skipping Steam in favor of launching through the Epic Games store. By pre-ordering this (or the console versions), you'll gain access to a private beta ahead of the game's release.The Division 2 Minimum Specs And RequirementsMinimum – 1080p | 30 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD FX-6350 | Intel Core I5-2500KRAM: 8 GBGPU: AMD Radeon R9 270 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 670VRAM: 2 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12Recommended – 1080p | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X | Intel Core I7-4790RAM: 8 GBGPU: AMD RX 480 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 970VRAM: 4 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12High – 1440p | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | Intel Core I7-6700KRAM: 16 GBGPU: AMD RX Vega 56 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070VRAM: 8 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12Elite – 4K | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Intel Core I9-7900XRAM: 16 GBGPU: AMD Radeon VII | Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 TIVRAM: 11 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12 Info from Gamespot.com

Less than one day after announcing its initial roster, All Elite Wrestling is creating some major waves in the world of professional wrestling, even causing some interesting changes within WWE. As GameSpot previously reported, former WWE superstar Chris Jericho signed with AEW, essentially making the new company his United States wrestling home.Almost immediately, WWE responded by moving the four-time World Champion's biography to the alumni section of its website. The most notable change came a couple hours later, though, when Smackdown Live went on the air. At the beginning of the broadcast, the WWE signature video package played, but Jericho's face was mysteriously absent.Jericho has appeared in numerous signature videos over the years and was still present when the short introductory clip that proclaims WWE is "then, now, and forever" the night before on Raw. However, as of the January 8 episode of Smackdown, he's been replaced by The Bar members Sheamus and Cesaro. The change was first noted by a Twitter user.The move makes sense on WWE's part, as this is the first time since his debut for the company in 1996 that he's signed to a group that could be seen as competition in the United States market. Thus far, his only real non-WWE wrestling appearances have been for New Japan Pro Wrestling and as part of his own Rock and Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise.Now that he's, in his own words, signed to AEW "for the long haul," WWE distancing themselves from him and instead promoting an act they have under contract is logical. However, it just goes to show how interesting professional wrestling is becoming.Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks, who launched AEW with Jacksonville Jaguars owners Tony Khan and Shahid Khan, have repeatedly said they want to change the world of professional wrestling. While overtaking WWE and becoming the biggest pro wrestling company on the planet might be impossible, with names like Jericho on the roster and the promise of an equal scale of pay for male and female performers, they're certainly giving it their all.What remains to be seen is how the product will be presented. While the first major show--Double of Nothing on May 25--has been announced, AEW has yet to mention whether they have any sort of deal in place to distribute regular programming. Of course, the company could always go the same route Cody and the Bucks have used in the past. Their All In pay-per-view was available via streaming, with a pre-show that aired on WGN America.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has announced the PC version of The Division 2 will release solely on the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store. So, unlike the original The Division, Ubisoft's upcoming third-person shooter is skipping out on releasing on Steam.This won't be the only Ubisoft title that Epic steals away from Steam either. In a blog post, Epic revealed that it is partnering with Ubisoft "on additional select titles." Those games have not yet been announced, but Epic did tease that information would come out "during the coming year." Epic and Ubisoft's partnership might set a new precedent for major developers picking one PC game store over others, changing the PC gaming landscape to more closely reflect the scramble for first-party exclusives seen on consoles.Ubisoft previously released the system requirements for the PC version of The Division 2, revealing the different specifications you'll need to run the game at bare minimum, recommended, high, and elite performance. Each performance type requirement is listed below.The Division 2 PC System RequirementsMinimum – 1080p | 30 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD FX-6350 | Intel Core I5-2500KRAM: 8 GMGPU: AMD Radeon R9 270 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 670VRAM: 2 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12Recommended – 1080p | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X | Intel Core I7-4790RAM: 8 GBGPU: AMD RX 480 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 970VRAM: 4 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12High – 1440p | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | Intel Core I7-6700KRAM: 16 GBGPU: AMD RX Vega 56 | Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070VRAM: 8 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12Elite – 4K | 60 FPSOS: Windows 7 | 8 | 10CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Intel Core I9-7900XRAM: 16 GBGPU: AMD Radeon VII | Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 TIVRAM: 11 GBDIRECT X: DirectX 11 | 12In late 2018, Fortnite creator Epic announced a new PC game store that undercut Steam by offering developers a better deal for launching their game on the new platform--especially if the title is made with Unreal Engine. Epic also secured several exclusives right out of the gate, such as Hades and the PC version of Journey, and then went on to nab other PC games expected to launch on Steam, like the latter half of The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Discord has also announced its store will offer developers a more lucrative cut of their games' profits in comparison to both Steam and Epic, and is working on securing additional exclusive titles of its own as well.The Division 2 also releases for Xbox One and PS4, and is scheduled to launch on March 15.Info from Gamespot.com

Ever since its inception, Xbox Game Pass has been a simple, money-saving way to play a wide selection of Xbox One and backwards-compatible titles. Now, with a new promotion Microsoft has just kicked off, you can earn Microsoft Rewards points by playing any Xbox Game Pass games of your choice. You can then spend those points in a variety of ways, including purchasing games and DLC, and renewing your membership.It's all part of Xbox Game Pass quests, which let you earn up to 2,100 Microsoft Rewards points between now and February 3. To start earning, go into the Xbox Game Pass membership area on your Xbox One and click on quests to see what's available. This is also where you can go to track your progress on the quests.New quests will be available each month, with the next set going live on February 4. Here are January's quests, as listed on Xbox Wire:Extraction Expert: Complete two specific extraction achievements in Tom Clancy’s The Division to get up to 200 points. You earn points with each achievement. Complete this before January 31.Metro Redux: Play Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux to complete four specific achievements and get up to 200 points. You earn points with each achievement.Adventurer: Bring out your inner adventurer and get up to 200 points when you complete two specific achievements in Strange Brigade. You earn points with each achievement.Achievement Hunter: Get points with your first achievement and continue to complete up to 21 achievements in any combination of Xbox Game Pass games to get a maximum of 600 points.Genre Explorer: Get 300 points when you complete an achievement in three games from different genres.Play something new: Complete an achievement in a Xbox Game Pass title that was added in December to get 100 points.Quest Master: Complete all Xbox Game Pass quests to get an additional 500 points.Microsoft Reward points can be redeemed for all kinds of things, including Xbox subscriptions and gift cards, as well as entering sweepstakes for a chance to win valuable prizes. Microsoft says 5,000 Reward points are roughly equal to $5, so you'll have to complete a number of quests over the months to earn a substantial amount of value from them. Still, quests could be a fun way to get more from your Xbox Game Pass subscription.Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service that grants members access to a library of over 100 games that are playable on Xbox One--though Xbox head Phil Spencer would eventually like the service to come to "every device."The games available include many first-party titles, like the Gears of War series, Sea of Thieves, and Forza Horizon 4, plus day-one access to all upcoming games published by Microsoft, including Crackdown 3. It also has a collection of third-party titles, with new games being added each month. You can find the full list here. Subscriptions cost $1 for your first month, and $10 for each additional month.Info from Gamespot.com