Blizzard has announced it's making a few big changes to competitive Overwatch--specifically to the hero pools and map pools systems that it introduced over the last several months. Hero pools will undergo some major changes, while map pools will be going away entirely.First, the hero pools for competitive play and Overwatch League will be unified into a single pool starting on April 13. Any heroes with a play rate above a certain amount in competitive matches will be eligible for removal, and the higher the play rate the more likely they are to be removed. Based on that data, the pools will remove one Tank, one Support, and two Damage characters. Regardless of the data, heroes won't be removed two weeks in a row. New rotations will be announced at the end of Overwatch League matches on Sunday, or on Monday morning when OWL is out of season."We've... heard that some aspects of the [hero pool] system are confusing or unclear, including why certain heroes or roles are rotated each week, or why the exact number of heroes available is inconsistent from week to week," Blizzard said in the announcement. "In addition, having separate Hero Pools for Competitive Play and the Overwatch League in the same week led to a confusing or disjointed experience for players who follow the League."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Disney+ has become the online home of The Simpsons, with 30 seasons of the much-loved animated comedy available on the service. Those hundreds of episodes are about to be joined by a new Simpsons short film, which releases tomorrow, April 10.The short film is titled Maggie Simpson in 'Playdate with Destiny'. It was released theatrically in February with the Pixar movie Onward, which has itself already arrived on Disney+. Simpsons creator Matt Groening announced the arrival of the new Simpsons film on Instagram. Read his post below, and check out the poster at the end of this story. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It feels like we know so much about Matt Reeves' upcoming Batman film, while also knowing so little. From looks at both the Bat Suit and the Batmobile to its star-studded cast, details were hitting fast and furious for a while there--but now, thanks to the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the subsequent production shutdowns happening all across the entertainment industry, the news has slowed down considerably. Thankfully, however, that doesn't mean Reeves doesn't have more to say. In an interview with Nerdist to support his new Amazon Prime TV show, Tales From The Loop, Reeves broke down a few key details about his portrayal of the Dark Knight."I wanted to do not an origin tale, but a tale that would still acknowledge his origins, in that it formed who he is. Like this guy, he’s majorly struggling, and this is how he’s trying to rise above that struggle," Reeves said. "But that doesn’t mean that he even fully understands, you know. It’s that whole idea of the shadow self and what’s driving you, and how much of that you can incorporate, and how much of it you’re doing that you’re unaware of."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Switch's big Spring Sale on the Nintendo Eshop is filled with plenty of great deals, but you won't find very many Switch exclusives for discounted prices, especially first-party Nintendo games. In a rare move, Amazon is selling digital codes for three AAA Switch games for $40 each: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Splatoon 2, and Kirby Star Allies.More Spring game salesPlayStation StoreXbox StoreEpic Games StoreGameStopEach game is regularly $60 despite being years-old at this point, which shouldn't come as a surprise for anyone who owns a Nintendo console. The $40 price is likely the best you'll see anytime soon, and we can't recall the last time any of the three were available for less than $40.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

NBC's long-running sketch comedy Saturday Night Live went on a production hiatus like much of the entertainment industry during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, meaning that fans have been going without new weekly episodes for some time. That's about to change, however, as the SNL gang plans for a remote comeback special airing this Saturday, April 11 at 11:30 PM ET, THR reports.The episode will feature segments the cast have filmed remotely, like the popular "Weekend Update," but will obviously deviate from the traditional SNL format. There will be no host. Originally, SNL was scheduled to return to the air on March 28 with host John Krasinski and musical guest Dua Lipa.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer id Software has dropped a brand-new Doom Eternal update for the first-person shooter's asymmetrical multiplayer experience, Battlemode. We've compiled the full patch notes below.The update only targets PS4 and Xbox One Battlemode players, where id Software saw a disparity between the PC and console experience. According to the studio, the new patch should "bring the challenge for Console-Slayers more within reach and the overall feel of the match will be more consistent now between all platforms." It's available now and doesn't require a download to install.Id Software made some adjustments to Battlemode by decreasing the demon respawn timer to 20 seconds, tweaking the way team heal and healing zones work, and balancing some of the demons' abilities. The studio is also aware of an inconsistency between the team heal ability and its description, though it's unclear when id Software will resolve this.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

If you're looking forward to playing Final Fantasy 7 Remake this weekend, then you're going to need quite a bit of space on your PS4 to do so. That's where external hard drives come in handy. You plug them into your PS4 or Xbox One, format them, and then you'll have a lot more storage for all of your favourite games. Thankfully, you can snag a great external hard drive at a fantastic price.WD (or Western Digital) is my go-to brand for hard drives. They're reliable, fast, and good quality. Other external drives that are worth looking at include those from Seagate, Samsung, and Toshiba. As long as you take care of your external hard drive and make sure it's in a nice open space to avoid overheating (don't leave it behind your console), then any hard drive should last you quite some time.Every external hard drive included on this list is compatible with your PS4 and Xbox One. There are also two different kinds of external hard drives we'll include: portable and desktop. Portable is exactly what it sounds like: you can take them anywhere, plug them in, and they'll work. Desktop hard drives, on the other hand, require you to plug them into an outlet in addition to your console--this is usually the case for higher-capacity drives.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Millions of people in the US and across the world are currently under some kind of stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In most places, gyms are closed, and even running outside can feel a bit sketchy if you live in a densely populated area. For those stuck inside, at-home workouts have become a crucial way to maintain both physical and mental health, and fortunately, there are quite a few video games that serve this exact need.One of the biggest workout games in recent years, Ring Fit Adventure for Nintendo Switch, is currently sold out everywhere as interest around at-home workouts increases and many physical games face production issues. Nintendo's latest workout game is a fitness-themed RPG where you team up with a sentient pilates ring to track down and defeat an evil body-building dragon called Dragaux. Available only as a physical set, Ring Fit Adventure includes a Ring-Con used to perform its strength exercises as you fight enemies, row through rivers, zip-line through the sky, and more. You also get a nice cardio workout from jogging (in place) through its colorful landscapes.Ring Fit is a fantastic workout option for gamers stuck inside, working many different muscle groups, and if you can get your hands on a copy for a reasonable price (it normally sells for $80), it's absolutely worth it. However, if you didn't buy Ring Fit Adventure before the popular Switch game sold out everywhere, you're not out of luck. There are other video games that make for good indoor workouts, helping you get off the couch, stretch your legs, and take a break from that Netflix show you're currently binging. That's why we've rounded up some of the best games to help you exercise indoors while we're all social distancing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

When Gearbox issued a patch to buff Moze in Borderlands 3, it noted that it wasn't done tweaking the character and further changes would be incoming. That didn't take long, as now the company has issued another set of hotfix patch notes, again focused primarily on making Moze stronger. It also kicks off a few limited-time mini-events for the next week.The hotfix adjusts four of Moze's skills, all buffs to attributes like cooldown rate or damage output, and it also makes several adjustments to her Iron Bear ability. While Moze's adjustments are universally buffs, the tweaks to Iron Bear have a couple of nerfs as well. On the whole, though, the character is coming out much stronger.The hotfix also introduces two mini-events: Rare Chest Riches and Loot Monster Mayhem. Rare Chest Riches increases your odds of getting Legendary items from rare chests. Loot Monster Mayhem increases the chances of Loot enemies appearing in-game and also increases their chances to drop Legendary gear. Both events will last through April 16 at 9 AM PT.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fortnite Season 2's Week 8 challenges are now live on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, and mobile. This week brings the second set of Skye's Adventure challenges, and one of the more difficult ones asks you to search Skye's sword in a stone in high places. If you need help tracking those down, this guide will show you where you need to go.Where Are Skye's Sword Locations?There are several swords hidden around the map, and as the challenge teases, they're typically located in high places like mountaintops. You need to track down five swords to complete the challenge, but we've found at least nine of them across the island, giving you plenty of options. We've marked down the locations of all the swords we've found on below. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A lot has changed in real life since I first started playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the end of February, and even since I wrote my review in progress in the middle of March. Having such a wholesome game during an objectively bad time has been something of a blessing for a lot of people, myself included, and I'd be lying if I said it hasn't affected how I play New Horizons. I find myself turning to the game at night when I can't sleep, or during the day when I'm stressed and I need a break. More often than not, an adorable villager or even just a sense of accomplishment from finishing my chores will cheer me up.But that alone is not what defines New Horizons. The times I go to the game when I'm in a good mood are just as important as the times I'm seeking comfort. Even if I end the day anxious, I wake up excited to see what's new on my island. I can't wait to see who's visiting for the day, to check out the bridge I just built or the new flowers that might be growing or how my new decor looks in the daytime. And I look forward to playing with my friends, trading items and design ideas and hitting each other with nets. New Horizons inspires creative self-expression and embraces kindness and friendship, and that is really what makes it such a joy.Unlike in previous games, you're not moving to a lived-in town in New Horizons; the island is completely deserted when you and two animals arrive as part of Tom Nook's "getaway package," save for the tiny airport. There's no store or museum, all three of you live in tents, and Tom Nook himself operates out of a tent that he shares with his adorable nephews, Timmy and Tommy. Tom Nook clearly expected this whole thing to be a bit more glamorous (or at least popular), and in typical Tom Nook fashion, one of his first actions is to put you to work collecting tree branches and fruit to make a fire pit and drinks for a welcome party.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The wasp is a hostile bug in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It can be found all day, all year, for both Northern and Southern Hemisphere players, regardless of weather conditions. It's hard to avoid wasps altogether on your island--just like previous Animal Crossing games (back then, they were actually bees), the wasp is an aggressive insect that will chase and sting the player if provoked. In the case of New Horizons, that means knocking a wasp nest out of a tree--something you can't exactly predict you're going to do. Getting stung by a wasp doesn't have any serious consequences, but it can be annoying. Luckily, there are more ways to deal with wasps than just getting stung.Below we'll go over ways to avoid, catch, and scare away wasps, what price a wasp will sell for, what to do if you get stung by a wasp, and what to do with a wasp nest.For more on Animal Crossing: New Horizons' critters--including the similarly aggressive tarantula--check out our comprehensive bug guide and a list of April's new seasonal bugs and fish to catch.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With everyone stuck at home, it can be hard to tell when the week ends and the weekend begins. Thankfully, Microsoft has been holding a ton of free-play periods for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users to help us figure out when the heck Saturday and Sunday roll around. The latest features four games: Gears 5, Override: Mech City Brawl, The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, and Hitman: The Complete First Season. And if you want to keep playing the games after this weekend, you can buy them and keep them forever.Gear 5's Free Play Days event started earlier this week and continues through April 12. It features the latest update, Operation 3: Gridiron; a new Capture the Flag-style mode; and new maps and characters, including series favourites Augustus Cole and Clayton Carmine. Once the Free Play Days promotion ends, you can buy Gears 5 for $30 or upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at $1 for your first month to keep playing.Override: Mech City Brawl and Hitman are both free to play from now until April 13 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET. Override is a brawler where you pilot one of 12 mechs against other players online or in the single-player campaign. If you want to keep playing, you can snag Override: Mech City Brawl for only $4.49.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A brand-new game mode called Heatseeker is headed to the competitive car soccer title Rocket League on Thursday, April 16, developer Psyonix announced.Heatseeker is a 3v3 limited-time mode where the ball essentially becomes a homing missile. Once a player touches it, the ball "seeks" the opposing team's goal. The only way to redirect the ball is for it to either hit the backboard or get touched by another player. Be warned, though: each touch--whether by the backboard or another player--causes the ball to gain speed. Heatseeker will run from April 16-20, and you can check out the announcement trailer below.Psyonix also announced that anyone who logs into Rocket League when Heatseeker goes live on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next week will receive a free Hypnoteks player banner.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The first season of Pokemon Go's Go Battle League is underway, and soon you'll have a way to track how you and other players are performing. Developer Niantic has announced it is rolling out leaderboards for the Go Battle League on Friday, April 10.The leaderboard update will arrive after the Go Battle League changes formats from Ultra League to Master League. The leaderboard will display the top 500 players along with their teams, rankings, ratings, and total matches. Niantic says the leaderboard will update every day between 8 and 10 PM UTC, and standings will be based on the previous day's ratings.To celebrate the launch of leaderboards, Niantic is holding a special Marill event in Pokemon Go this weekend. The event takes place on April 12. You'll have better chances of encountering Marill the more Go Battle League matches you win between 11 AM and 2 PM local time on that day, and you're guaranteed to encounter the Aqua Mouse Pokemon as a Basic Reward after your first and third wins.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com