Activision has released some details on just how massive the Call of Duty franchise is, saying in a news release that the series has surpassed $3 billion in sales over the past 12 months. Additionally, the number of people playing Call of Duty and the hours spent in the games is breaking records. The milestones come after the launch of Black Ops Cold War, which one analyst believes is not selling as well as 2019's extremely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.Activision's numbers state that Call of Duty sales, or "net bookings" in the company's parlance, are up 80% year-to-date, with units sold through up by more than 40%. The press release did not provide any further granularity on what the "units" is referring to.The press release also mentioned that more than 200 million people have played a Call of Duty game in 2020, across all instalments. For console and PC specifically, the Call of Duty franchise has reached the "highest number of players in recorded history" in 2020. What's more, November 2020 was the "biggest" November on record for the Call of Duty franchise in terms of monthly players and hours played.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Gaming giant Activision is taking Netflix to court over what the Call of Duty company says is a pattern of unethical and illegal behaviour on the streaming company's part for poaching executives. This is all related to Spencer Neumann, the former Activision CFO who left the gaming company in 2018 to join Netflix as its top finance executive.In its lawsuit, which was obtained by Deadline, Activision said, "Netflix unapologetically recruits talent without regard to its ethical and legal obligations. To shape its workforce to its desires, Netflix not only ruthlessly fires its own employees that it deems 'adequate,' but is engaged in a years-long campaign of unlawfully poaching executives from Netflix's competitors regardless of their contractual obligations."Activision claims Netflix is disregarding California law, including the Labor Code, with its actions. According to Activision, Netflix "knowingly induced Neumann to breach his employment contract with Activision." Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Actor Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film series, has revealed that Peter Jackson filmed another scene with Aragorn and Arwen (Liv Tyler) that aimed to show more of their young love, but it was ultimately cut.Asked by NME if there was any part of Aragorn's story that he would have liked to explore more, Mortensen referenced a flashback scene with Aragorn and Arwen. Aragorn was dressed like an elf in this scene, he he was clean-shaven and "prettied up" for the flashback sequence."There was a scene that we shot as a sort of memory flashback. It was from the courtship days when he first met Arwen--and we shot it just before we were taking a break so I was clean-shaven and prettied up," he said. "They'd tried to make me look as young as possible. I had different hair and I was dressed like an elf."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Xbox is gearing up for the next step in its "#PowerYourDreams" marketing campaign, which has been used throughout the launch of the Xbox Series X and S. The next ad, which is due to drop on December 7, looks like it's going to feature Master Chief in some capacity.With Halo Infinite due in 2021, any new Xbox ad that features Master Chief is likely to draw speculation and whip up excitement. Here's a teaser for what's to come, posted by the official Xbox Twitter account.This will be one of those dreams you don’t forget... #PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/pdFMbJDdph — Xbox (@Xbox) December 6, 2020Following this tweet, Xbox senior marketing manager John Munsee hinted at the bigger reveal on the way, promising a "full reveal" soon. Whether this means we'll actually receive new Halo Infinite news or not remains to be seen, but the game is likely to be a big part of Microsoft's marketing push for 2021.However, Halo Infinite being part of their marketing does not mean you should expect major news--Halo Infinite will be skipping the Game Awards this week, which would have been a major platform to debut important details.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red's next big game, Cyberpunk 2077, releases on December 10, but that's just the start. The game will be playable on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S through backwards compatibility, but the true next-gen editions aren't releasing for some time longer.When Does Cyberpunk 2077 Release For PS5 And Xbox Series X|S?The bespoke editions of Cyberpunk 2077 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are penciled in for 2021 at the soonest. Business development boss Michal Nowakowski said of the new-gen editions, "When it comes to a proper, full-blown next-gen version, that's going to come later."People playing Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will see some improvements due to the power of those machines, however. "It will look better on next-generation consoles," CDPR has said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In November, a major Super Smash Bros. online tournament was canceled after a cease and desist from Nintendo, which took issue with the tournament's use of the "Slippi" mod to play Super Smash Bros. Melee--a game released for the GameCube in 2001, and never re-released--online. Now, the controversy over that decision has spilled over into the competitive Splatoon 2 scene.Heading into the December 5-7 weekend, Nintendo was advertising the upcoming Splatoon 2 North American Open on its Twitter channels, and promising a livestream. However, on the day, the stream was canceled, with a Discord announcement (screenshotted in this Reddit thread) not providing many details for what was happening.Fans and players are pretty sure they know what happened, though. As commentator Slimy points out, about 30% of players in the competition had "FreeMelee", or similar, in their usernames. It's likely, although unconfirmed, that Nintendo canceled the livestream because of this.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984. The 60-second spot features a heartfelt voiceover heralding Diana's journey in the sequel.Director Patty Jenkins debuted the new trailer at the CCXP Worlds 2020 event today.After multiple delays related to COVID-19, Warner Bros. made a major change for Wonder Woman 1984 when it announced the film will play on HBO Max and in theatres on Christmas Day. After this announcement, Warner Bros. announced that its entire 2021 movie slate would be available on HBO Max and in theatres where they are open.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After years of development and multiple delays, CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is finally releasing on December 10. But launch is just the beginning. In addition to the expansions to the single-player campaign, which will be revealed later, CD Projekt Red has another team working on a standalone multiplayer game set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe.But when is it releasing? CDPR has not locked in a date yet, but it probably won't be soon. In terms of a release date for Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer game, CDPR says you should expect it to release in 2022 at the soonest.CDPR executive Adam Kicinski recently spoke about the game during an earnings briefing. He said it's not right to call it just a "mode" for Cyberpunk 2077.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Game Awards will air on December 10, 2020, and voting for the Player's Choice game of the year is still open. Separate from the full nominee list, voted on by press and industry, the third and final round of the Player's Choice vote has whittled the entries down to five games, with one a clear frontrunner.The five titles, in order of votes right now, are as follows:The Last of Us Part IIGhost of TsushimaHadesDoom EternalMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles MoralesYou can vote for your favorite right here.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With Christmas coming and global stock shortages continuing, those of us without a PS5 have to face facts--there probably won't be a new console beneath the Christmas tree this year. In the latest episode of SNL--hosted by Jason Bateman--the long-running sketch show included a filmed segment about wanting a PS5 for Christmas--and it's also a parody of Eminem's 2000 hit Stan.This version is called Stu, and features Pete Davidson doing his best Slim Shady impression (which is, honestly, pretty good). He's reaching out to Santa (Bateman) because there's just one thing he wants for Christmas this year--a PlayStation 5. While SNL can be very difficult to access outside of the US, the Twitter video of Stu is currently not geoblocked--you can watch it below. We won't spoil how they handle the Dido section from the original song, suffice to say that it's pretty funny. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen has shared his thoughts on Amazon's new Middle-earth TV show, which is currently filming in New Zealand with a big cast. Speaking to NME, Mortensen responded to the interviewer's suggestion that Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show might be more adult-themed, not unlike Game of Thrones. Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Jackson's movies, said he's not over the moon about the idea of a Lord of the Rings TV show adding "arbitrary violence."But overall, Mortensen said he's optimistic about the series because of the talent behind the camera, including director J.A. Bayona, along with the fact that it's filming in the closest thing we have to Middle-earth: New Zealand.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Crown, Netflix's hit show about the still on-going reign of Queen Elizabeth II, is based on true events, but is dramatized in many ways--the show's creators don't have unfettered access to over 50 years of royal life, after all. Because of this, there has been some call for Netflix to put a disclaimer at the start of the show, but the streaming giant has stated definitively that it has no plans to do so. In a statement to Variety, Netflix has stated that there's no need for such a thing. "We have always presented ‘The Crown’ as a drama--and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events," a spokesperson said. Thus, Netflix can "see no need" to explain that the show is fictionalized in places. The UK Culture Secretary has previously claimed in an interview with The Daily Mail that Netflix should implement a disclaimer, and has contacted Netflix privately about his concerns.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Persona 5 Strikers, the Dynasty Warriors-style spin-off of the acclaimed JRPG, is launching in the West nearly a full year after the game’s Japanese debut, according to a leaked trailer.The gameplay trailer, which was posted and quickly taken down by developer Atlus, reveals that the musou action title will launch on February 23. Atlus acknowledged the leak on its Twitter account and website, promising more information would be released on December 8. The publisher said "all will be revealed" that day. Our communications have been intercepted by the Phantom Thieves.All will be revealed December 8: https://t.co/OM8cCvLnwt pic.twitter.com/hdeYBaDDY4 — Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) December 4, 2020Strikers had already been announced for PS4 and Nintendo Switch, but the trailer also reveals that the game will be coming to Steam at launch, too. Atlus previously launched Persona 4 Golden on Steam earlier this year.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go players will soon have a chance to get their hands on another Shiny Mythical Pokemon. To celebrate the upcoming Western release of the series' latest animated film, Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, Niantic is introducing Shiny Celebi to the mobile game later this month.Beginning Monday, December 14, players will be able to take part in a new Special Research story inspired by the Pokemon film. This Research line will only be available in the game for a limited time and culminates in an encounter with Shiny Celebi.A collaboration event with Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle will start on December 14! Encounter Shiny Celebi in a limited-time Special Research story, and Jessie and James return to #PokemonGO. #PokemonMoviehttps://t.co/DiLPVo8pr9 pic.twitter.com/gtfsQ9DR3n — Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 3, 2020 Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Epic Games is taking no chances with players' health and safety due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For the entirety of 2021, all competitive Fortnite events will take place online, and it's unclear when or if the events will go back to the in-person format."Our intent is to eventually hold in-person tournaments again, but our priority for any such event is the health and safety of our players and staff," Epic Games said in a blog post. "With so much unknown about what is practical and safe, we do not plan to hold in-person events in 2021, including a Fortnite World Cup."Epic Games added that more updates would come later about plans for traditional events to return, but the future still remains murky because of the pandemic. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna appear to be very effective based on trials, but it could be several more months before they're widely available to the public.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com