2023-01

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Last week, The Last of Us' premiere scored HBO's second largest debut for an original series since 2010. And now, Episode 2 of The Last of Us, "Infected," has broken another HBO record. "Infected" brought in 5.7 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max streams, marking a 22% increase over last week's 4.7-million premiere. That increase is the largest audience increase from a first episode to a second episode for an original drama series on HBO in the network's history, as first reported by Variety. HBO calls it the "largest week 2 audience growth for an HBO Original drama series in the history of the network," which speaks further to the wide success of The Last of Us.  Weirdly enough, even though HBO is usually quick to capitalize on series success with an announcement of a second or sequel season, it has not...

EA Motive's remake of Dead Space is out later this week, but if you need your fix of Isaac Clarke now, you can purchase the Strange Transmissions Quest Pack in Fortnite today.  Isaac Clarke joins Fortnite's Gaming Legends Series and he can join your locker roster via the new quest pack for $11.99. Strange Transmissions is available now in the Fortnite Item Shop and it allows you to collect the Issac Clarke Outfit and earn up to 1500 V-Bucks, which is essentially how much the pack costs (if you convert V-Bucks into real-world dollars). The pack also includes the RIG Back Bling, the USG Ishimura Back Bling, the Plasma Cutter Pickaxe, and the Bench Upgrade Emote, which is built-in to the Plasma Cutter Pickaxe.  For more Isaac Clarke, watch this extended Dead Space gameplay walkthrough that runs down the remake's new...

Thunderful has announced its next SteamWorld game and it's a city-builder.  Revealed yesterday during a Thunderful stream, SteamWorld Build is a new city-builder set in the SteamWorld universe due out sometime this year on consoles and PC. In it, your goal is to escape a dying planet and the only way to do this is by building a mining town to dig up "vital long-lost technology." You'll need to manage your city as the needs of it, and the citizens living there, grow, and you'll have to defend your creation from the deadly creatures that lurk below.  Check out the SteamWorld Build announcement trailer below:  "There's an abandoned mine sitting under your town, and it's rumored to be filled with anicent tech that holds the key to escaping the impending doom," the game's Steam page reads. "Use the natural resources...

When Pokémon Go launched in 2016, it immediately became one of the biggest phenomenons in gaming history. Niantic, the studio behind the still-running Pokémon Go, has officially launched its latest project, NBA All-World. Much like Pokémon Go's core concept, NBA All-World lets you search your real-world location for some of the biggest names in the NBA in order to challenge them and recruit them to your team.  As players explore their surroundings with this free-to-play mobile title, they encounter various NBA players. In these moments, you can take them on in a variety of challenges with the goal of recruiting them to your team. Once these players are recruited to your team, you can level up their skills, deck them out in your favorite apparel and gear, and compete in hopes of becoming the ruler of your local courts....

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The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR has been delayed.  PlayStation revealed 11 new PlayStation VR2 games back in November, including a new entry in Supermassive Games' The Dark Pictures anthology series called Switchback VR. Supermassive released Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, a PlayStation VR rail shooter, in 2016, and Switchback VR is its spiritual successor. When Switchback VR was revealed late last year, there wasn't an official release date attached to it – PlayStation just referred to it as a PSVR2 launch window title.  Nonetheless, Supermassive Games will release Switchback VR later than expected, as it has been delayed to March 16. It's a short delay, given that PSVR2 launches on February 22, and any game in its launch window was likely due around then. As for why, Supermassive Games says it needs more time to polish the rail shooter.  "Switchback VR is Supermassive...

Life Is Strange 2 is coming to Switch in just a couple of weeks.  The 2019 episodic adventure game will arrive in its entirety on February 2. The five-part saga sees brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz on the run from the law after the latter’s awakened supernatural power results in the loss of a loved one.  This news also means the entire Life Is Strange franchise will be available on Switch. 2021’s True Colors arrived a few months after its launch, and Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection, which bundles the first title and the Before the Storm prequel, hit the hybrid console last September. In our review, former editor Joe Juba scored Life Is Strange 2 an 8.5 out of 10, writing that "Life is Strange 2 has been quietly weaving a powerful and sincere narrative experience that admirably carries on the series’ legacy."...

Despite rumors claiming otherwise, 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo games following Halo Infinite.  Microsoft laid off 10,000 people last week amidst the company's ongoing $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The same day, Halo Infinite creative director Joseph Staten, who joined the studio in 2020 to help bring the game across the finish line, revealed that he was departing 343 Industries to rejoin Xbox Publishing. Some saw this as a final blow of sorts to Halo Infinite and 343 Industries, but there's no official indication that Halo Infinite's course is changing following these layoffs.  Still, rumors on the back of a report claimed that 343 Industries would no longer be developing Halo games, as other developers would do that in the future, while the studio served more as an overseer to the franchise. However, 343 Industries studio head Pierre...

WWE 2K23 has been unveiled, and for some strange reason, 2K decided the cover art will feature a blank picture instead of a wrestler. I kid, of course. This year’s cover superstar is the 16-time World Champion and master of implied invisibility, John Cena. As for features, so far, the biggest new addition is WarGames match type (WWE's version). The dual-ring, double cage match can be played 3v3 or 4v4 single-player or online. 2K also teases a “unique new take” on the documentary style 2K Showcase mode, which of course, highlights Cena's career. MyGM returns in an expanded form, MyFaction is getting online multiplayer, and the story-driven MyRise, Universe, and Creation modes are back. For the Creation Suite, custom arenas are now playable online, and entrances have more customization options. Another railer, which will share more information and gameplay, will premiere during tonight's...