Margot Robbie is set to star in a woman-led Pirates of the Caribbean film from the Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the new film is separate from both the Johnny Depp led film series and the new reboot series already being developed by the Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.The Pirates of Caribbean franchise has been incredibly successful, grossing $4.5 billion across the five films. The most recent release, 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales, had the second lowest gross of the series at $795 million, with the only film making less than the original Curse of the Black Pearl.Hodson recently worked with Robbie on Birds of Prey and has already been tapped to write for the upcoming Flash (which might feature Michael Keaton returning as Batman) and Batgirl movies, after previously writing for the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. Robbie's other recent films have been Bombshell and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and she'e set to appear in the upcoming The Suicide Squad from James Gunn.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Last of Us Part II is now out and it contains plenty of callbacks to the first game and references to other pieces of pop culture. In the following article, we're going to focus on that latter group--so here's every single Easter egg we've found in The Last of Us Part II. We're going to be talking about several moments throughout the game, so turn back now if you want to avoid spoilers.If you want to know about all the callbacks to the first game, we've got you covered there as well. In the video embedded below, Evan Langer and Jake Dekker detail all of the Easter eggs, callbacks, and references in Part II--which includes all of the items, scenes, and dialogue that are in reference to The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Left Behind.So right at the beginning of the game, Joel plays the guitar and sings for Ellie. The song is real--it's Pearl Jam's "Future Days," which was officially released on October 11, 2013. Of course, with Outbreak Day occurring on September 26, 2013, the song was never actually released in the world of The Last of Us. Joel likely heard Pearl Jam perform "Future Days" live (it was first performed in July of that year) and managed to memorize the song or happened upon a CD that was locked away in some warehouse somewhere just waiting to be distributed.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

French indie studio Focus Home Interactive has announced the acquisition of Deck13 Interactive, the studio behind Soulslikes such as Lords of the Fallen and The Surge franchise.Deck13 is the first studio Focus Home has bought, according to a recent financial report. "Focus Home Interactive has acquired 100% of Deck13 Interactive's share capital shares for a total price of €7.1 million [$8 million] (of which €6.5 million [$7.2 million] in cash from the new bank financing and €0.6 million [or $673,000] in shares held in treasury) and a long-term incentive plan for the managers," the report said. "Deck13 Interactive is a leading German game development studio and long-time partner of Focus Home Interactive."Over the last years we forged a strong bond with Focus. Today we're happy to announce that this friendship evolved to the next level. Deck13 is now part of the Focus family! 🧡 https://t.co/GXdO9FsL0w — Deck13 (@Deck13_de) June 25, 2020Deck13 is most known for The Surge series, releasing a sequel to the 2017 Soulslike in 2019. The Surge 2 received a mixed reception from critics and fans, with our The Surge 2 review scoring it an 8/10. The studio is also a publisher, bringing the retro-inspired RPG CrossCode to life on PC in 2018 through its spotlight program. CrossCode will make the jump to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on July 8.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Square Enix will announce multiple games individually throughout July and August in lieu of having a press conference, Gematsu reports. During a shareholder meeting it was asked how the company would announce new video games since it did not have an E3 press conference due to the entire event being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Square Enix responded that it would be announcing games (plural) "individually as the timing permits."The company followed up saying that several will debut around July to August, but nothing more specific was said. Square Enix recently announced Project Athia at the PS5 reveal event, a new action-adventure game designed exclusively for PS5.Its most recent release was Final Fantasy VII Remake. GameSpot awarded it a 10/10 in our Final Fantasy VII Remake review, with critic Tamoor Hussain writing, "Final Fantasy VII Remake's narrative and characterization achievements are facilitated by gameplay that feels modern but is crystallized around the classic's role-playing fundamentals. In many ways, its gameplay model feels like the culmination of the franchise's evolutions, with ideas from throughout the series brought together in a composite that is fresh but familiar. This is the first time that the action-focused style of modern-era Final Fantasy games doesn't feel like it comes at the expense of the methodical nature of the series' roots."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Isle of Armor--the setting of Pokemon Sword and Shield's first expansion--is home to more than 100 returning Pokemon not found in mainland Galar. When you first arrive, you'll be given a separate, island-specific Pokedex with which to catalog all of the newly added monsters, and some nice rewards await if you can catch 'em all. Here's what you get for completing the Pokedex. Isle of Armor spoilers follow.Isle Of Armor Pokedex RewardsAfter you catalog all 210 Pokemon in the Isle of Armor Pokedex, you'll need to return to the Armor Station in the Fields of Honor and speak with the scientist who first gave it to you. Show her the completed Pokedex and you'll receive a certificate commemorating your achievement, along with a couple of neat rewards.First is the Replica Gold Crown, which your trainer will be able to wear in place of a hat. On top of that, you'll receive the Mark Charm. This increases the likelihood that you'll encounter marked Pokemon. These marks are displayed alongside Ribbons on the Pokemon's summary screen and give that monster a special title when you send it out into battle. You can take a look at the rewards below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Following an internal corporate investigation, Ubisoft has suspended vice presidents Tommy François and Maxime Béland--the two were responsible for overseeing worldwide development of the studio's games. According to Bloomberg, both men face at least three claims of misconduct.In a statement to GameSpot, a Ubisoft spokesperson wrote, "These [men] are under investigation so we are not commenting further at this time."Ubisoft has come under scrutiny in the past week, following a string of victims coming forward to report misconduct at the hands of the studio's employees. Ubisoft product and brand marketing manager Andrien Gbinigie was accused of sexual assault earlier this week on June 22, which Gbinigie denied in a now-removed Medium post. This was followed by Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail leaving Ubisoft on June 24 in the wake of accusations of infidelity.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Paramount has delayed Tom Clancy's Without Remorse to February 26, 2021. The new release date allows it to avoid Wonder Woman 1984, which was delayed to the film's original release date of October 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Deadline reports.This is the latest in a number of film delays, including Paramount's own Tenet (which was delayed to August 12) and Disney's Mulan (which was delayed to August 21). However, those films were delayed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and Without Remorse was delayed in an attempt to have less box-office competition.The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and directed by Stefano Sollima, follows a Navy SEAL as he attempts to avenge his wife's murder and is caught up in a large conspiracy. Tom Clancy's Without Remorse now competes with action thriller Nobody from director Ilya Naishuller, starring Bob Odenkirk.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Disney has officially delayed Mulan from July 25 to August 21, Deadline reports. This puts the film slightly more than a week after Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which was delayed to August 12.The delay is because the reopening of movie theaters in the U.S. has become more uncertain due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks."While the pandemic has changed our release plans for 'Mulan' and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance. Director Niki Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that's where we believe it belongs--on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together," said Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer, and Alan Bergman, co-chairman of The Walt Disney Studios in a statement.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't feature an established protagonist like developer CD Projekt Red's The Witcher series--instead, you build main character V from the ground up by choosing their appearance and shaping their personality. This agency extends to V's backstory, of which there are three to choose from."We wanted to give the players freedom of creating their own character, but at the same time establish some kind of connection with V on a narrative level," Cyberpunk 2077 lead story writer Tomasz Marchewka said. "The three origin stories share a common motivation, but give the character different roots which will have consequences throughout the whole game."Much like BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, the backstory you choose will have significant ramifications on your story (though it will likely hit hardest in the side missions instead of the campaign), starting with the opening prologue. Your prologue will take place in different locations and see you encounter different people depending on which backstory you choose, ultimately shaping how your V perceives the world and other people for the rest of the game.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming first-person RPG from CD Projekt Red is currently in the spotlight after their recent Night City Wire broadcast revealing some new information about the game, as well as a bunch of previews cropping up after the studio allowed select media to play a hands-on demo of the game.At GameSpot, three of us were fortunate enough to experience what it's like to play the opening hours of Cyberpunk 2077--we've got a video feature that details our three different experiences. This allowed us to see each of the three different prologue sequences of the game that introduce the protagonist V, and portray V's growing relationship with her partner Jackie in different ways. The three different scenes corresponding to the three "Life Paths" that game allows you to choose: Street Kid, Nomad, and Corporate. We've got an article describing what happens in each prologue if you'd like to know more.I was the one who chose to play the Corporate path, where V begins the game as a counter-intelligence operative for the Japanese firm Arasaka. V is given a treasonous order by her conniving, garbage boss (who weirdly uses the c-word twice in the space of 30 seconds so you know he's bad), and you're introduced the cutthroat world of corporate espionage that helps to define a lot of cyberpunk fiction. It's all very exciting, so naturally, the first thing I set off to do was to poke around the corners of the Arasaka office to look at trashcans, vending machines, and the workspaces of employees.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer id Software has announced that Update 2 for Doom Eternal is now live on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One. The lengthy patch notes show a bevy of additions and changes made to Doom Eternal.The most notable is the brand-new Battle Mode map, Torrent. Once occupied by UAC and now home to eternal prisoners, Torrent is a marsh-covered location that features long hallways and various platforms.I wonder what's on the other side of these hallways...In addition to the new map, Battle Mode has been given some quality-of-life improvements to enhance stability. This includes latency adjustments to ensure smoother matches, adding keybinding support for each individual demon, fixing various other issues like missing audio, and more.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 has a deep level of customization that allows you to craft your ideal V and assortment of skills. And although CD Projekt Red's upcoming RPG is not an immersive sim, the nature of its world allows you to take advantage of the many levels of customization to interact with it in unique ways."It especially blew my mind to see playtesters use offensive combat abilities to solve stealth situations," Cyberpunk 2077 senior level designer Miles Tost said. "Previously, I had thought of our reflex-enhancing cyberware, like Kerenzikov, or its more advanced form, Sandevistan, as purely useful in combat situations, since it allows your character to temporarily enter a bullet time-like state, making you move at superhuman speeds. But I was very surprised to see when our playtesters were using bullet time to bypass security cameras and enemy patrols, pulling off complex stealth maneuvers…or to simply catch a green traffic light at a pedestrian crossing."When it comes to unlocking new abilities, there are several different ways. At the start of the game, you'll be able to allocate a number of skill points into Body, Reflex, Intelligence, Technical Ability, and Cool to give your V a starting baseline of abilities to specialize in. As you play, you'll level up and unlock perk points to further develop these baseline abilities. However, you'll also unlock special skills by how you play--for example, kill lots of enemies with guns and you'll naturally increase your proficiency as a Gunslinger, which makes you even more deadly with a firearm.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

NBA 2K20 is getting players from the NBA 2020 draft class far earlier than normal. Players from the 2020 draft, like LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu, are coming to the MyTeam mode as part of the Next collection of card packs and boxes.Normally, NBA rookies wouldn't be available until the next game in the series is released after the draft, which in this case would be NBA 2K21. The NBA 2020 draft is currently scheduled to take place on October 16 after being delayed from June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.NBA 2K20's New 2020-21 RookiesLaMelo BallJames WisemanAnthony EdwardsR.J. HamptonCole AnthonyOnyeka OkongwuThe collection is available through July 3 and players can earn a Galaxy Opal Zion Williamson card for completing the collection. Williamson was the number one draft pick in 2019. NBA 2K also announced that it would be announcing three NBA 2K21 cover athletes on TikTok next week.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Summer is always a busy time for deals, and while huge sales from Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation have already ended, one of the season's biggest gaming sales just launched. Every June, Steam users look forward to an absolute truckload of PC games going on sale as part of the platform's annual Summer Sale, and the time has finally come: Steam Summer Sale 2020 is live now, as predicted by a developer at SteamDB back in May. The sale includes major discounts on a ton of great games, from Rainbow Six Siege and Disco Elysium to Skyrim, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Grand Theft Auto V, and Terraria.Steam Summer Sale 2020 dates and timesSteam Summer Sale 2020 kicked off today, June 25, and will run until July 9, ending at 10 PM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST.Steam Summer Sale 2020's best dealsAs usual, literally thousands of games are seeing major markdowns across nearly every genre, from first-person shooters and action-adventure games to city-building games, horror games, and more. See our full roundup of Steam Summer Sale 2020's best game deals for our recommendations on what to grab.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go Fest 2020 takes place on July 25 and 26, but there will be plenty to do in the game before the big event. In addition to a couple of summer events, Niantic will hold several weeks' worth of limited time challenges in the leadup to Go Fest 2020, and completing these will unlock additional bonuses and Pokemon during Go Fest weekend. Here's the rundown.Week 1 ChallengesJuly 3 (8 AM local) - July 8 (10 PM local)The first weekly set of challenges will coincide with Pokemon Go's fourth anniversary event, and the theme of this set is skill. Week 1's challenges will revolve around catching Pokemon, so you'll need to throw your Poke Balls precisely to clear the tasks.If you complete all three sets of Week 1 challenges, you'll earn encounters with Ducklett and Flying Pikachu, the latter of which will be appearing as part of the fourth anniversary event. You'll also earn a Star Piece and other items for completing the challenges. Depending on how many players from each team complete Week 1's set, you'll unlock the following Pokemon during Go Fest weekend as well:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com