PUBG: New State, the futuristic counterpart to PUBG Mobile, is getting a second alpha test for iOS and Android. The second alpha test takes place August 27 through August 29 in Asia, the Middle East, Turkey, and Egypt.Set in 2051, PUBG: New State is a free-to-play battle royale game, meant to bring a near future experience to mobile devices. The alpha takes place on the game's only announced map, the 8x8 rundown Troi. PUBG: New State includes some features not currently in PUBG Mobile, like the ability to customize weapons during a match. It will also include multiple new futuristic vehicles.While the game does not have a set release date just yet, it is supposed to launch before the end of the year. Developer Krafton has announced that the game has over 25 million pre-registrations on the Google Play Store and that it will be available for pre-registration on the Apple App Store before the end of August.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Valve shared news of how it generated sales from their successful digital event with a reminder to developers and publishers to register their games since October's Steam Next Fest is upon us.With the absence of in-person game demos and events in 2020, Valve created the Steam Next Fest to offer multitudes of game demos for fans to download. Several developers used it as an opportunity to talk about their games via livestreams during the event. The Next Fest garnered hefty player participation that led to increased engagement and profit, according to Valve's data.Last year, "The median game saw daily wishlist additions jump 421% during the fest, compared to the two weeks leading up to the event," Valve explained. About a month after Next Fest, the rate of daily wishlist additions was still 15% higher than it was two weeks before the event.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sony has announced that after months of negotiations, the acquisition of anime streaming service Crunchyroll is complete. The service joins fellow anime entertainment company Funimation as an official subsidiary of Sony.The buyout is worth a whopping $1.175 billion, according to a press release. With its newfound resources, Crunchyroll can broaden its reach by distributing its content through various Sony channels like PlayStation. Similarly, Funimation will also take advantage of Sony's deep resource bag. It remains unclear when the two anime streaming networks will ever merge.Chairman, president, and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, Kenichiro Yoshida, said the company is excited to welcome Crunchyroll to Sony.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

For those that enjoyed the chaos of Henry DuBois' life and his adventure throughout the fictional city of Martinaise, Studio ZA/UM has something special in-store. The developer has partnered with iam8bit to release a collector's edition of its unique, mystery-filled point-and-click adventure. Disco Elysium - The Final Cut Collector's Edition is currently available for preorder and will set customers back $250.The collector's edition, which currently does not have a release date, includes some knick-knacks and art from the game. The entire package comes in a "Layers of the Id" premium box and includes a hardcover book that features unreleased art and stories from the game, along with an illustrated fabric map of the game's setting, the town of Martinaise. See at iam8bit Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Forza Horizon 5 developers have shown new gameplay footage, including a brand new car and a full map reveal for the game. In a 30-minute livestream creative director Mike Brown and associate art director Conor Cross showed off some gameplay of some of the biomes in Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 and announced the 2020 Toyota Supra GR.After showing off the real version of the 2020 Toyota Supra GR, Brown gave a quick overview of some of the body modifications players can make to the car, which he said will be given to players very early on in the game. After that, the developers took the Toyota Supra on a spin through a selection of Forza Horizon 5's 11 biomes, showing off the Rocky Coast, Sandy Desert, and Living Desert all during the stormy Autumn season.The team also showed off one of Forza Horizon 5's races, the Mulegé Town Scramble, which has racers weaving in and out of buildings on dirt roads in a small, vibrant town. This race is part of the Wilds festival, one of six Horizon festivals in the game, focused on off-road, dirt racing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

If you don't know the name Yahya Abdul-Mateen II yet, you will before too long--he's one of the busiest working actors around and he's just signed on for a new action thriller called By All, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The story followed Abdul-Mateen as Donte, a man on the run from the law in "a world without police, where justice is crowd-sourced," THR says. The timely subject matter reportedly attracted both the actor and studio to the project.Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier wrote the script and original short story for the film, and Steve Caple Jr., who directed Creed II, will direct.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The second and final part of Fantasian, the recent JRPG by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, releases on Apple Arcade this Friday, Apple has announced. The JRPG arrives on the service on August 13 alongside a new puzzle game, Wurdweb, with two more titles--Zen Pinball Party and Zookeeper World--on the way in the near future.Developed by Sakaguchi's studio Mistwalker, Fantasian is a classic-style JRPG that blends CGI characters with handmade dioramas. According to Sakaguchi, Part 2 wraps up the saga and features "a more quest-driven style of gameplay," offering approximately 40-60 hours of content."The release of Part 2 of Fantasian marks the completion of the saga. It ended up being, rather unexpectedly, about twice the volume of Part 1 and is more quest-driven, giving players the ability to progress through the world at their own pace," Sakaguchi said in a press release.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Wednesday has found her parents. The upcoming Tim Burton-directed reboot of the Addams Family will feature Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman as Morticia and Gomez Addams, Netflix announced today.Our Addams family is expanding! Catherine Zeta-Jones will step into the iconic silhouette of Morticia Addams while Luis Guzmán will bring to life the debonair Gomez Addams in the upcoming TV series Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and directed by Tim Burton. pic.twitter.com/MiofyWIbwy — Netflix (@netflix) August 9, 2021"Catherine Zeta-Jones will step into the iconic silhouette of Morticia Addams while Luis Guzman will bring to life the debonair Gomez Addams in the upcoming TV series Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and directed by Tim Burton," read the tweet from Netflix announcing the casting.We reported last fall that Burton was developing a new live-action Addams Family television series with plans to produce and direct the series as his television debut, and Netflix announced the series formally in February.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Seems like cross-progression support for Apex Legends is still a ways out at this point. Developer Respawn revealed that cross-progression is currently scheduled to go live in Apex Legends in 2022."Next year," Respawn director of communication Ryan Rigney wrote in a Reddit AMA, in response to when players can expect to see cross-progression. "Cross-progression is gnarly as hell in terms of being a problem to solve.""It's not only that you have to solve the technical challenge of merging existing accounts, but there are also legal and contractual issues to navigate with purchasing on other platforms. Different regions have different laws. It's a mess. But we're working on it, and we're committed to delivering it."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With our ever-growing reliance on the web, ransomware and hacking have become major threats, and not just to individuals; even major corporations and governments are heavily targeted. The silver lining in all of this is that the need for IT professionals, especifically those certified in cybersecurity, is on the rise.If you're looking to enter a high-paying field that provides meaning and excitement, why not join the war on cybercrime? However, you can't just land a job in the field straight out of college; professional certifications are a must to stand out from the sea of applicants. Getting an entry-level certification from a vendor like CompTIA can help, and this 12-course training bundle can help you prepare for your exams for just $45 .With over 100 hours of content, the All-Access CompTIA A+ & Network Certification Prep Bundle contains all the information you need to know in order to ace CompTIA's A+ and Network+ exams. These certs are the gold standard for beginner computer technicians and a necessity for anyone looking to break into the cybersecurity field. From maintaining network integrity and data encryption to more human security vulnerabilities like social media profiling and countering phishing schemes, this bundle has it all.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Jason Bischoff, formerly the director of global consumer products at Saban Brands and global franchise director at Hasbro, has revealed a pitch for an open-world AAA Power Rangers game that he was trying to successfully get off the ground around 2016. It was called Project Nomad. Bischoff tried to pitch the game to Saban's business development department as an ambitious, open-world co-op adventure that captured the energy, teamwork, lore, and history of the iconic Power Rangers franchise.He described it as basically the Power Rangers version of WB's upcoming Gotham Knights. The game's story would have taken place on Eltar, Zordon's home planet. With the planet under occupation, it was up to different Power Rangers scattered across the galaxy to to free it.Bischoff, along with some artists such as Jarold Sng, Carlos Dattoli and Lineage Studios, crafted the pitch further and even created some concept art for Project Nomad. This included individual reimagined portraits of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, as well as the Red and White Alien Rangers.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Not only does Amazon dominate the retail space; they're also a major player in web hosting. Amazon Web Services is one of the largest cloud networks in the world, and with the seemingly endless growth of the internet (and Amazon itself), there’s never going to be a shortage in demand for qualified AWS cloud engineers. Good thing, too, because AWS-certified engineers earn an average salary of $130,000.If you’re looking for an exciting, high-paying career with great job security, then the 2021 Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam Prep Bundle is the first step in that journey. Right now, this prep bundle is on a huge sale--you can enter the world of AWS for only $35 .This bundle has everything you need to pass your AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam. With over 70 information-packed hours spread over six lessons, the instructors will cover everything from the Management Console and the AWS Database to Cloud Services and much more. No matter what experience level you're at, this bundle will teach you something new.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Back 4 Blood's first beta launched this week on multiple platforms, and even with it being limited, the player count on PC managed to crack Steam's top 10 list of the most actively played games. According to SteamDB, Back 4 Blood peaked at 88,403 players, an impressive number considering the more limited rollout of codes for the game on its first day.Over on Twitch Back 4 Blood also dominated the video platform--and at the time of writing--it has over 171,000 people watching it. Part of that success comes from Twitch streamers being able to gift early access Back 4 Blood codes to fans, as watching an hour of gameplay will result in a Twitch drop containing the code and three invites for friends.Back 4 Blood's current beta will end on August 9 and will be open to everyone when it resumes from August 12-16. Both versions of the beta include a fairly substantial amount of content, such as every weapon in the game, two of the lengthy PvE missions, the very snackable PvP mode Swarm, and access to five of the eight playable survivors.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Writer and director JJ Abrams has worked on some of the biggest entertainment franchises of all time, including Mission Impossible, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Recently, he was asked about getting involved in such major franchises and how he feels about the pressure that comes along with it.Appearing on the SmartLess podcast, Abrams was asked what made him say yes to working on big projects like Star Trek and Star Wars when he knew it would come with a lot of scrutiny and criticism from some corners of the community. It is "hubris and stupidity" that fueled him to jump into these projects, Abrams said. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The opening sequence to Blade Runner: Black Lotus has been released. The animated spin-off from the classic Blade Runner movies hits Adult Swim and Crunchyroll this fall.The opening sequence is a stunningly animated and stylish sequence that starts with some dazzling shots of futuristic Los Angeles as a Spinner ship soars through the sky. There's a silhouetted shot of a Blade Runner walking through an alleyway, a brief shot of Elle, the replicant who is the show's main character, and a close-up of an eye being scanned. The sequence is soundtracked by the moody song 'Feel You Now,' by Alessia Cara. Check it out below:This video follows the Blade Runner: Black Lotus trailer, which was released during Comic-Con@Home last month. The show has 13 episodes and is directed by Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex). Acclaimed anime director Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) is a creative producer.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com