Monthly Archives: December 2019
A Note on Our People’s Choice Awards
Hello readers! Welcome to one of the most exciting times of the year, where we all reflect on the previous 12 months’ worth of games, movies, TV shows, memes, bad alcoholic seltzer beverages, abandoned unicorn food trends, and many other awesome artistic moments and regrettable culinary choices.
As is tradition, and as most of you reading this probably already know, we like to include an opportunity for our readers to voice their opinions alongside our staff-picked end-of-year awards. So even if you didn’t agree that 2018’s best game was God of War, you still got a chance to vote for Red Dead Redemption 2 instead. (But -- and totally not at all a reflection of my feelings on last year’s GOTY winner on both sides at all -- that’s not what happened.)
Bethesda Puts Elder Scrolls: Legends Card Game Development ‘On Hold’
Bethesda has announced that it is putting the development of its online card game, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, on hold for the foreseeable future. Bethesda didn’t offer a specific reason for the hiatus but explained that any new expansions or future content are no longer under “active development.”
The announcement was made in the Elder Scrolls: Legends subreddit today. An earlier content roadmap said there would be one more new card set releasing this year, but today’s update means this is no longer the case.
Bethesda says that players can still download and play Legends on all existing platforms and compete online. The developers will still support Legends with monthly reward cards, in-game events, and general maintenance.
The Game Awards 2019: When and Where to Watch the Livestream
The Game Awards 2019 takes place this year on Thursday, December 12, and you'll be able to watch the event and follow along with all the announcements live on IGN.
This year, The Game Awards consist of 29 categories that cover both AAA titles and indie games, along with an esports category. Death Stranding and Control hold the most nominations, followed by a diverse array of other games.
Along with recognizing the leading games of the year, The Game Awards makes numerous big reveals throughout the show. So far, founder and host Geoff Keighley said no announcements have leaked, and that despite rumors of Resident Evil 3 being at the show, there have been no plans for it. However, Keighley said, "10 new games/projects being revealed if you want to count the things that no one has heard about yet."
The Witcher 3 Switch Devs Detail Troubles of Initial Porting Process
When a Nintendo Switch port of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was announced earlier this year, many wondered just how the massive game would run on the less-powerful platform. It was obvious that some visual sacrifices would need to be made, and now developer Saber Interactive is opening up about the difficult process porting one of the biggest RPG experiences of the decade onto Nintendo's system.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Saber's CEO Matthew Karch explained the early difficulties the team faced.
Dr Disrespect Gets TV Development Deal with Walking Dead Creator’s Production Company
Guy "Dr Disrespect" Beahm finalized a deal with Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, the studio behind The Walking Dead, to create a series based on his infamous Twitch streamer persona.
Beahm recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, detailing his upcoming plans for the series. "We are pretty early in terms of the creative and the direction we want to take it," Beahm said, but mentions they've had "some early discussions around animation."
While the direction of the show hasn't been determined yet, Beahm notes, "The one thing I try to focus on is making sure everything stays consistent. You don’t want to lose the authenticity of the character."
These Were the Best PC Exclusives of 2019
The Best Puzzle Games of 2019
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Movie Sequel First Look Photos Revealed
The Ghostbusters movie sequel is confirmed to be called Ghostbusters: Afterlife and a new poster, more plot details, the first photos from the movie and the release date of the first trailer have also been released.
The new poster debuted on Ghostbusters social media pages with the announcement that the trailer is coming on Monday.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Poster
Netflix Says 26 Million People Watched Scorsese’s The Irishman
Update: According to a report from Variety, Netflix says that The Irishman was watched by 26 million people in its first week. Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos says those viewers reached "at least 70% completion" of the 209-minute movie.
Netflix also told Variety that it expects that viewer count to reach 40 million within its first 28 days of availability, with the same 70% completion. Neither Variety nor any other third party has been able to independently verify Netflix's numbers. The Irishman was released on November 27 on Netflix following a theatrical run.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency Preview: I, For One, Do NOT Welcome Our Robot Overlords
While VR continues to wait for its killer app (hello, Half-Life: Alyx...maybe?), the inherently immersive platform has hosted plenty of wonderful and underrated games. 2018’s Budget Cuts was one of the most wonderful and most underrated; it cleverly mixed Portal, Job Simulator, and the classic Mike Judge film Office Space into a genuinely funny and engaging puzzle-solving stealth adventure. Thus, I was thrilled to sit down (and stand up, and crouch down) with Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency. And after an hour or so of play, I was not disappointed.
The sequel starts on a train, following the office-robot-overlord-overthrowing events of the first game. Adorable, harmless robot citizens sit in various seats in a handful of cars. A passenger here, a bartender there – and you need to get to the front of the train to disable a bomb. Naturally, the same army of aggressive, six-shooter-armed security droids will shoot on sight if they spot you. So you can warp your way through the cars using your trusty teleporter gun, or you can portal yourself up to the roof of the train.