The Pokemon Company has canceled this year's Pokemon World Championships. In a statement on the official Pokemon website, the company explained that the competition will be moved back to 2022 in accordance with public health guidance, while all sanctioned Play Pokemon events will remain suspended this year:"After careful review and pursuant to guidance set forth by local, regional, and national health authorities, as well as the World Health Organization, Public Health England, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have made the difficult decision to move out the next Pokemon World Championships to 2022. This event is planned to take place in London."With the continued suspension of the Play! Pokemon event series, all sanctioned Play! Pokemon events including League Challenge, League Cup, Premier Challenge, and Midseason Showdown will remain suspended until further notice. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of all our competitors at an expanded 2022 Pokemon World Championships in London."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

HBO Max has renewed the satirical dark comedy thriller series Search Party for a fifth season, according to a release. The announcement does not indicate whether this upcoming batch of episodes will finish out the series, but just the fact that this season will exist comes as a bit of a shock (in a good way) since the last finale, which aired on January 28, could have worked as a satisfying series finale.The release also announced that Search Party showrunners and co-creators Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers will enter into a two-year overall deal to develop new programming for the streamer."We are thrilled that HBO Max has not only given the world a fifth season of Search Party, but also shown this much faith in our partnership with them as we develop new projects for the platform," said Bliss and Rogers. "Potential titles for upcoming shows include Monkeys Love Manhattan and The Pineapple Predicament. Those aren't actual shows we would ever pitch but it exhibits that we can make up titles if we need to."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In January, former Riot executive assistant Sharon O'Donnell filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Riot CEO Nicolas Laurent of creating a hostile work environment. The allegations in the suit range from unwanted sexual advances to demeaning remarks about O'Donnell's femininity and tone. Additionally, the filing alleges that O'Donnell was stripped of work duties and eventually terminated in 2020 after reporting Laurent because she didn't reciprocate his advances.Riot denied the nature of O'Donnell's termination in a statement to the Washington Post: "The plaintiff was dismissed from the company over seven months ago based on multiple well-documented complaints from a variety of people. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false." The statement also says that Riot has a special committee of its board of directors conducting an investigation with the help of an outside law firm to ensure impartiality and transparency.In a January 7 filing obtained by the Washington Post, O'Donnell alleges that Laurent invited her to travel and work from home alone with him and directed several sexual comments at her, including one about how his underwear fit. According to the filing, Laurent asked O'Donnell if she could "handle him when they were alone at his house."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Australian animation and visual effects digital studio Animal Logic has been tapped by Warner Bros. to produce Toto, a musical adaptation of the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz according to The Hollywood Reporter. No release date has yet been announced.The film, based on the 2017 children's book of the same name from author Michael Morpurgo, retells the classic The Wizard of Oz story but from the dog Toto's perspective. This being a musical, it's safe to assume that the film will not subscribe to the widely held belief that dogs cannot understand English but only tones.This version comes from writer John August (the recent live-action Aladdin, the 2010 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie adaptation), and will be directed by Alex Timbers (Mozart in the Jungle). Animal Logic has worked on animated features including The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, and Happy Feet.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It's kind of hard to believe, but somehow Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock have never worked together, despite all the times they probably shared movie theater marquees and "highest grossing" lists. That's set to change in the upcoming film Bullet Train, as Sandra Bullock joins Brad Pitt for the film according to Deadline.Bullet Train is based on the best-selling Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. The story, described by the publisher as a dark, satirical thriller, centers on a comically luckless assassin named Nanao who is tasked with getting a suitcase off a train. Once onboard, though, he discovers that other assassins, including a baby-faced sadist and a pair of twins named after fruit, are after the same piece of luggage. The English-language translation of the book is scheduled to hit shelves in August 2021.Bullock and Pitt will share the screen with Bryan Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2, Atlanta), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Masi Oka (Heroes), Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Logan Lerman (the Percy Jackson films), and Andrew Koji (Warrior). David Leitch, who directed Deadpool 2 and produced John Wick, will direct. Zak Olkewicz will write the film.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There are so many Star Wars movies and TV shows on the way, from more than one spin-off of The Mandalorian to Taika Waititi's standalone film that we, honestly, don't know too much about. One of the more intriguing projects in the works, though, reached back into the past of the Star Wars franchise. Andor is a Disney+ original series focused on Cassian Andor, the character played by Diego Luna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.The series is still quite a ways off from actually debuting on the streaming service. In fact, before it premieres we will see The Book of Boba Fett, a spin-off of The Mandalorian. We could also see the third season of The Mandalorian, for that matter.Still, while there's a long time before the new original series premieres, we know quite a bit about it--including casting and plot details, as well as the creative team. Take a look below at everything we've learned about Andor thus far.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The 10.3 patch for Player Unknown's Battlegrounds is live now for PC players. This patch is expanding Season 10 with new features including a new Weapons Sound Selection System, lighting improvements for Karakin, and team emotes, alongside additional performance upgrades.Now players can choose between the original and remastered versions of certain weapons with the new Weapons Sound Selection System, including the M249, M416, Kar98k, and SKS. You can set this to your preference in the Settings menu under the Audio tab.The overall quality of the lighting for Karakin has been improved with a lighting pass. Each area has had its lighting enhanced to give it its own distinctive vibe. Other bugs have also been fixed, improving player experience.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It's always nice to see your friends again, even if your time together doesn't always live up to the highest highs you've experienced in the past. Persona 5 Strikers is a lot like that--it comes with some special moments that foster a deeper appreciation for what Persona 5 is and what it represents. From the wild action-RPG combat to the summer road-trip premise, characters we know and love get to show off how much they've grown and prove they can still kick ass in style. Strikers does trip over a few clumsy tropes along the way, and sometimes tries a little too hard to recapture Persona 5's magic, but when it's all said and done, I'm glad this reunion happened to begin with.It's the summer after the events of the original game, and the Phantom Thieves have a little free time. With Joker being back in town, why not enjoy the break? Before they can even make plans, they're caught in another round of beating down the metaphysical evils of the Metaverse and changing hearts. This time, the phenomenon is happening all across Japan. Although you follow similar patterns established in Persona 5--fighting through surreal dungeons and living life in the real world--the context is quite different both narratively and gameplay-wise.What's Worth Fighting ForYour first few targets have been manipulating people's desires in order to feed their ambitions for fame and fortune, but there's a bigger mystery as to how and why there's strange behavior en masse. You begin to unveil that tragic pasts have led them down a dark path of exploiting the Metaverse. The broader message isn't to excuse behavior or to say that trauma will surely corrupt its victims--rather, that our circumstances and the people around us (or lack thereof) have significant influence over how we internalize and process pain, and eventually who we become.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Epic Games has announced a spring showcase that will accompany a sale on the Epic Games Store this week. The showcase will air on Epic's Twitch channel, and the company promises new announcements and extended looks at upcoming games.The showcase will begin on February 11 at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. Epic didn't give word on what it might include, but it did tease some of the deals we can expect when the Showcase Sale begins at 11 AM ET the same day. Those include 40% off Star Wars: Squadrons, 20% off Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Hades, and 10% off Cyberpunk 2077.As a bonus, those who own Star Wars Battlefront 2 through EGS can also claim extra discounts on other Star Wars games. Those include 55% off Jedi Fallen Order and 50% off Star Wars Squadrons. Battlefront 2 recently got a big player boost from the Epic Games Store.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, Treyarch has announced a new update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War that mixes up the familiar Kill Confirmed mode with a lovey-dovey twist.The mode replaces the dog tags in the Kill Confirmed mode with the candy hearts that people give out to their crushes for Valentine's Day. The special Kiss Confirmed mode will be available February 11-18 in multiplayer.D'awwwwTreyarch has also announced that there will be a double weapon XP promo running in Black Ops Cold War and the battle royale game Warzone from February 12-15. Additionally, Battle Pass tiers are discounted from 150 CP to 100 CP from February 12-15 to celebrate Valentine's Day, I guess.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Amazon's upcoming Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse has been given a release date. The movie, which stars Michael B. Jordan, will hit the service on April 30.Without Remorse focuses on CIA operative John Clark, who is the second best known Clancy character after Jack Ryan. It's an adaptation of the 1993 novel of the same title and is an origin story for the character. The movie is directed by Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Gomorrah) and also stars Jamie Bell and Jodie Turner-Smith. It's written by Taylor Sherdian, who wrote both Sicario movies. A new poster has also been released, which you can see at the end of this story.Without Remorse is the latest big movie that was originally intended for a theatrical release but has moved streaming instead. The film was produced by Paramount but was sold to Amazon last year, much like the upcoming comedy sequel Coming 2 America. Amazon has previously produced two seasons of the Jack Ryan show, starring John Krasinski.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

If you're a James Bond fan or are still browsing for a Valentine's Day gift, Amazon's current deal on The James Bond Collection is worth checking out. The Blu-ray collection is currently on sale for $66.66 at Amazon, which is a significant discount from its $115 list price. As always with Amazon deals, there's no telling when it will go back up in price, so you may want to grab it soon.Amazon is listing The James Bond Collection at $77.40, but if you click the coupon button below the price, you'll save an additional $10.74 at checkout. Amazon Prime subscribers can get free two-day shipping, so it'll arrive with days to spare before Valentine's Day. The James Bond Collection $66.66 (was $115) See at Amazon Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

E3 might be going fully digital this year, according to new reports. The ESA, which organizes the massive game industry event every year, is reportedly planning a big three-day virtual event for E3 2021, with streamed game demos, panel showcases, keynote events, and more, all happening online. None of this is confirmed or concrete at this stage, but it appears there are major changes afoot for the 2021 edition of the show.The pitch for the show has been sent out to numerous publishers, with VGC obtaining a copy containing all the details. The event will take place between June 15-17 (which was confirmed after the show was cancelled in 2020) and be streamed live from 10 AM - 10 PM PST, with replays running outside of those hours for other regions. The ESA also makes mention of some "charity" events that will take place outside of the main exhibition hours.The plan for each day involves multiple two-hour keynote sessions focused on specific games or publishers, with the potential for Q&A sessions after each. The ESA also makes mention of a June 14 preview night, additional streams for smaller games, and showcases from a range of publishers, influencers, and media.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A piece of scenery in Japan's Super Nintendo World bears a strong resemblance to an original asset created for a Mario fangame. As spotted by Meatball132 on Twitter, a cactus used at the Nintendo-themed attraction looks a lot like the cactus used in Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is a mod of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.Wow. I actually think Super Nintendo World's designers used art from Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii (a NSMBW mod) as a reference for their cacti. They have a somewhat distinct shape, were made specifically for Newer, and show up when you Google "New Super Mario Bros. Wii cactus". pic.twitter.com/CWrHiXCsj3 — Meatball132 (@meatball_132) February 6, 2021If you look up "New Super Mario Bros. Wii Cactus" on Google Images, you'll get several results for Newer's desert levels, and I assume that's where this mistake must have come from. pic.twitter.com/AuGnTHZ8K7 — Meatball132 (@meatball_132) February 7, 2021A fan developer himself, Meatball132 is currently working on a remastered version of the mod. One of the artists on the team was the first to notice the similarity. Meatball132 goes further to say that errant Google results might have led to the mix-up, since the search string "New Super Mario Bros. Wii Cactus" produces images from Newer's desert levels.As Ars Technica notes, mistake or not, this occurrence is quite ironic, given that Nintendo is always quick to shut down fan projects and emulators. A fan-artist accused Nintendo of using his Mario render in official Nintendo World art, and some have suggested that the Virtual Console version of Super Mario Bros. contains a ROM that was originally modified from a version you can download illegally. Though Super Nintendo World was scheduled to open this February, it has been delayed to the ongoing pandemic. We've reached out to Nintendo for comment, and we'll update this piece if we hear anything back.Info from Gamespot.com

Hollywood continues to flock to the GameStop/Reddit stock price drama. The company that made the Hillary Clinton documentary for Hulu, Propagate, has announced it will produce a documentary about the drama alongside The Wall Street Journal.The documentary is called This Is Not Financial Advice and it will be directed by Hannah Olson (HBO's Baby God). According to Deadline, this documentary will look into the "stock market chaos" that kicked off with GameStop and its short squeeze triggered by day-traders on Reddit."It will examine the origins and inner workings of the digital and social investment communities that turned new investors into millionaires and drove a billion-dollar hedge fund and financial services company to seek capital," Deadline reported.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com