The management behind the Entertainment Software Associate--the group behind E3--has gotten a sudden shake-up. Michael Gallagher, who has served as president and CEO, is stepping down after 11 years. The reasons behind the shuffling are unclear, CNET notes.Stanley Pierre-Louis, the former senior VP and general counsel, will step in as interim CEO in Gallagher's stead. The group didn't give a reason behind the change. In a statement, Gallagher praised the organization's "unbroken string of victories in the states, on Capitol Hill, and before the U.S. Supreme Court.""Mike has been an exceptional leader and important voice for the video game industry for more than a decade," said ESA chairman Robert Altman, in a statement. "Under Mike's leadership, ESA has developed a strong reputation with policy makers for vigorously defending the industry during watershed moments, including the industry's victory on First Amendment principles before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike was also instrumental in revitalizing E3 into the most prominent and important industry show produced today. We want to thank Mike for his many contributions and wish him well as he pursues new opportunities."GameSpot has contacted the ESA for comment and will update as more information becomes available.The ESA has represented the industry's interests in many high-profile proceedings. Gallagher himself was one of the industry representatives who met with President Trump during a summit on video game violence, following a tragic shooting in Parkland, FL. Under Gallagher's leadership the company has chimed in on politics that tangentially relate to video games, from criticizing comments that developers found insulting to applauding STEM programs. It also organizes the annual E3 gaming convention, which recently opened its doors to the public.Most recently, the ESA stepped forward to publicly disagree with a meta-analysis study that concluded video games resulted in increased aggression and fights among school age children between 9 and 19. The study itself cited increased visits to the principal's office for fights at school among gamers, while the ESA's rebuttal cited a reduction in violent crime over the same period.Info from Gamespot.com

As is customary for the game, Destiny 2 players know Tuesday is the big day of the week. That's when the weekly reset takes place, refreshing a variety of timed challenges and bounties, and changing what tasks are laid out in front of you. This week is no different at a basic level, although you should be aware before diving in that there isn't a major new piece of content that's been introduced, as in recent weeks. That said, if you didn't speed through Forsaken, there may be something new for you, as the weekly missions offered by Petra in the Dreaming City have started over again. Here's everything you need to know about the Dreaming City, Nightfall, Ascendant Challenge, and more for the current week.Ascendant ChallengeFor players who have advanced far enough in Forsaken, you may be ready for a high-end activity. The Ascendant Challenge is just the ticket, providing a difficult mission of sorts to take part in for some Powerful gear--provided you can find where to go. This time, you'll enter the challenge through a portal located in the Bay of Drowne. This takes you to the Agonarch Abyss, where you'll be platforming (probably to your death at least a few times).Before starting, you'll need to pick up the bounty from Petra and to secure a Tincture of Queensfoil, a consumable item that provides the Ascendant buff that allows you to see and travel through a Taken portal to enter the Ascendant Plane.Spider Bounty -- Wanted: Gravetide SummonerThe set of bounties available from Spider have rotated yet again. One of these in particular is worth grabbing, though you'll need five Ghost Fragments to purchase it. Completing the bounty, Wanted: Gravetide Summoner, will reward you with Powerful gear. Yes, this is a repeat of last week, but it's found in a slightly different spot, meaning you're doing a different Lost Sector.As always, this provides you with an Adventure to do. This one is located on Titan, right next to the Siren's Watch landing zone (rather than The Rig last week).NightfallAnother avenue to Powerful gear is the Nightfall Strike. Taking part in the Nightfall allows you to pick from three different Strikes; this week's choices include Lake of Shadows, Tree of Probabilities, and The Arms Dealer. The corresponding bounties for Powerful gear, as usual, ask you to complete a Nightfall and to complete one with a score above 100,000.EververseTess at Eververse has new weekly bounties, the most expensive of which is Crucible Crux, but it also rewards you with the most Bright Dust based on what you spend on the bounty. This requires you to complete matches in the Crucible, with wins netting you extra progress.Tess has also cycled in a new wave of items to get your hands on. Most important to grab is the Rise to the Challenge bounty. This only asks you to complete a challenge to receive a Prismatic Facet. This item allows you to activate the Prismatic Matrix, which is just an overly complex term for what is basically a chest with 10 cosmetic rewards inside. The Matrix's items rotate each week; here's what's available right now:Sanctified Vigilance Shell (Exotic Ghost shell)Transcendent Geometry (Exotic Warlock ornament for Vesper of Radius)Aim to Misbehave (Exotic ornament for Malfeasance)Dragonfly Regalia Grasps (Legendary Hunter gauntlets)Dragonfly Regalia Greaves (Legendary Titan leg armor)Smooth Dance (Legendary emote)Where Stars Collide (Legendary ship)Endymion Cavalcade (Legendary vehicle)Mappa Mundarum (Legendary vehicle)Jeweled Projection (Legendary Ghost projection)PetraPetra is the most important vendor and NPC in Forsaken, providing you with bounties in the Dreaming City. She continues to move around the area and this week can be found back in The Strand. She has multiple bounties offering Powerful gear, as well as Gateway Between Worlds, which rewards you with an Offering to the Oracle (which is now an easy ticket to a Seed of Light and third subclass tree).Additionally, she's again offering a bounty to do the mission Broken Courier; this marks the first reset of the rotation of Dreaming City missions she has. If your Power level wasn't high enough to try this out in September, here's your opportunity to do what you missed. Petra actually has some dialogue to acknowledge that things are back to the way they were three weeks ago.Clan BountiesAt the Tower, head over to Hawthorne to grab your daily and weekly clan bounties. On the weekly side, this week has you doing the following with clanmates: complete Blind Well at Tier 3 or higher; clear three waves of Escalation Protocol; and do three Heroic Adventures. As per usual, completing enough clan bounties before the weekly reset will net you some Powerful gear, as will completing the standard weekly clan objectives. The weekly Raid challenge has you complete the Which Witch challenge for Powerful gear.Vanguard StrikesFor standard Strikes, the weekly challenge is to complete three while using the same Light element as a team member. The modifiers for Strikes have rotated, and here's what you can expect to encounter right now:Arc Singe -- Arc damage increasedGrounded -- Damage taken while airborne increasedGrenadier -- Grenades deal more damage and recharge fasterDaily Heroic Story MissionsFive story missions have been swapped in for you to tackle as part of the daily Heroic story missions activity. Complete your choice of three before the next weekly reset to net a piece of Powerful gear. The modifiers are the same as Strikes, as outlined above. Here are the mission options:Fury -- 280 Power levelChosen -- 280 Power levelThe Gateway -- 310 Power levelLast Call -- 500 Power levelHigh Plains Blues -- 500 Power levelGambitGambit was already one of Forsaken's best additions, and it took on greater importance last week as it became a mandatory step in the questline to obtain the Exotic hand cannon Malfeasance. You'll sometimes encounter a special boss in place of the Primeval; defeat that to get an item called Seething Heart that will set you on the difficult path toward unlocking the gun.For this week, The Drifter is offering a weekly bounty, On the Grind, that asks you to earn points in Gambit. Points are earned by defeating enemies and guardians, and by banking Motes. The reward is a piece of Powerful gear.FlashpointThe Flashpoint is not tied directly to the weekly reset, but it has nonetheless been shuffled. At the time of this writing, it can be found on Mercury. Complete Public Events, Lost Sectors, and Heroic Adventures in the zone to fill a meter and earn a piece of Powerful gear.Where Is Xur?Xur will arrive once again on Friday, October 5, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST. There's been no word about changes to him, so you can expect the usual Fated Engram (guaranteeing a Year One Exotic you don't own) along with one Exotic weapon and one piece of armor for each class.Info from Gamespot.com

The weekly reset in Destiny 2 has taken place. For this week, we aren't seeing the introduction of a bunch of new content, as has been the case recently. But notably, the missions offered by Petra in the Dreaming City have restarted, meaning we're back to the start of a three-week cycle for the first time--something she acknowledges in her dialogue when you first speak with her. She also has the typical bounty for the Ascendant Challenge, and that is one activity that is completely new for this week. Here's what you need to do and where to go to find the portal that can net you some Powerful gear.Like in past weeks, the Ascendant Challenge involves using a specific item (a Tincture of Queensfoil) to receive the Ascendance buff. This allows you to see a Taken portal that sends you to the Ascendant Plane to do a mission of sorts. But the portal's location and your objective has been different each week, and that's true for Week 5. Before starting, though, be sure to grab the corresponding bounty from Petra, as that's the key to earning a piece of Powerful gear.This week's portal is found inside a Lost Sector (Bay of Drowned Wishes) located right near Dreaming City's landing zone in Divalian Mists. You'll move to the midway point of the Lost Sector, killing things until a little before you reach a door that's locked. (You can skip the enemies, but killing them will likely be easier.) If you've used your Tincture of Queensfoil, you'll see the portal and can jump through to reach the Ascendant Plane location, Agonarch Abyss.Unfortunately, there's a good deal of platforming involved here. You'll make your way down to a temple where a large tree is. Blight balls spawn in that slow your movement, and you'll have to deal with a pair of wizards who spawn in additional Thrall enemies. Take out the wizards and you're all done. You can see this all in our video guide.The chest that you can then open is, as always, nothing special. But finishing the Ascendant Challenge completes the bounty from Petra, which nets you a piece of Powerful gear.When you speak to Petra, you'll notice she acknowledges that things have returned to the way they were three weeks ago. She's again offering the first of the three story missions where you rescue her associates. Meanwhile, Bungie has announced there are changes coming for Exotics, Masterwork Cores, and Iron Banner. Info from Gamespot.com

Epic Games has released update 6.01 for Fortnite and, alongside it, the full patch notes detailing everything new and everything that has been changed. While not as significant as the last patch, which kicked off Season 6, this content update does add in a new item for Battle Royale called the Chiller."Don't get cold feet! Freeze your foes and slide around for a quick getaway," reads the official description. The Chiller is a large trap that encases an enemy player's feet in ice on contact, causing them to slide around. Check out the video below to see it in action.[Update: Shortly after the update went live, Epic reported it was aware of and working on partying issues. It's now taken a step toward fixing it by disabling Goalbound skins temporarily. If you have one equipped, Epic says you might need to change it to avoid encountering issues while it's disabled.]Epic also resolved an issue that caused the Soaring 50s limited-time mode to be temporarily unavailable. It's set to be replaced by another new mode soon that centers around dancing, but we don't yet have an exact launch time for that as of yet. There's also no word on the Halloween skins that leaked.The other big addition in this update is custom Playground options which allow you to tweak settings such as health, time of day, gravity, and more. Take a look at the full patch notes below, which details the new additions, as well as the other tweaks to gameplay and performance. You can also see how the patch changes Fortnite's Save The World mode here--the major addition is that of a new weapon.Limited Time Mode: PlaygroundPlayground Custom OptionsAdded more options to Playground. Allowing you to change settings such as starting health, time of day, gravity, and more!Weapons + ItemsChiller added. Common Trap.Can be placed on floors, walls, or ceilings.Drops in stacks of 3 in Treasure Chests, Supply Drops, Vending Machines, Supply Llamas, and floor loot.Applies icy feet to friends or foes, causing them to slide around with low friction.Bug FixesFixed an issue that could cause vehicles to become uncontrollable.GameplayMade improvements to the motion controls for the Switch to make it feel more accurate and responsive.Bug FixesPets are now hidden along with your character when the camera is too close to you.Toys now respect the streamer mode setting for player names in minigame messages.Slightly increased the hitbox size on the Fancy Tomato to match its visual size.AudioThe following adjustments have been made to Glider audio tells: Muffled the audio if there isn’t a clear line of sight between you other gliding players.Bug FixesFixed an issue where incorrect audio would play when a teammate was eliminated.UIBug FixesAdded star ratings to the UI elements of all trap items.MobileBug FixesFixed an issue where players occasionally couldn’t interact with items.Fortnite Season 6 began on September 27 and, at the same time, the floating island that rose from Loot Lake began moving around the map. It is leaving strange craters in its wake and, as of yet, we're not sure what this means, though fans are speculating it could be building up to a new event. Epic also added new cosmetics to unlock, which you can see in our Fortnite Season 6 Battle Pass rewards gallery. You can also find tips for all the latest challenges in our Season 6 challenge roundup.Info from Gamespot.com

Mike Morhaime has officially stepped down from his position as president of Blizzard. The position will be filled by J. Allen Brack, now the former executive producer for World of Warcraft."Thanks to Mike Morhaime's wonderful stewardship and masterful job of building a truly extraordinary team, epic games and a global community of beloved players, Blizzard is one of the very best game companies in the world," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. Kotick followed the announcement with another that Allen Adham, Blizzard's founder, and Ray Gresko, Blizzard's chief development officer, would be joining Blizzard's executive leadership team.Following his announcement that he'd be stepping down, Morhaime posted a blog post on Blizzard's website. "After many years of working with some of the industry’s most talented people to create games and worlds for you to play in, I've decided it's time for someone else to lead Blizzard Entertainment. I will now serve as an advisor to the company I so love and admire," Morhaime wrote."J. is an inspiring leader who has shown unwavering commitment to Blizzard's community in his 12 years with the company," Mohaime continued. "His leadership on World of Warcraft leveraged his vision, creativity, and commitment to quality, and together with the rest of the dev team helped deliver an experience that is unprecedented in our industry. I couldn't be happier for J. and know that Blizzard will continue to make great games with him at the helm."Morhaime is one of the three original co-founders of Blizzard, back when it was still called Silicon & Synapse, and has been a part of the company these past 27 years. Under his leadership, the company has risen to become a video game development giant responsible for creating critically acclaimed franchises like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.Info from Gamespot.com

So much has already been said about Assassin's Creed Odyssey leading up to its release on October 5 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. But here, we have all the bases covered on the series' latest entry in one place. We'll run down many of Odyssey's broader features and go through the basics of what you should know before jumping in. Everything from story to combat tips are outlined below, along with links to more detailed guides if you wish to dig deeper. Note that there are no major story spoilers in this article.When And Where Is Odyssey Set?You're probably aware that Assassin's Creed Odyssey takes place in Ancient Greece, but it specifically covers the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta. The game opens with a 300-esque battle scene where you take control of King Leonidas of Sparta during the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, then transitions to the start of the main protagonist's story almost 50 years later in 431 BCE.Greece makes for some breathtaking views.If you've followed Odyssey since it was first revealed at E3 2018, then you'll know that you can choose between taking on the role of a female or male lead; Kassandra and Alexios are two sides of the same coin and play exactly the same--the main differences are, of course, the voice acting and character model. Your choice also affects the narrative slightly; whoever you choose to play as is made to be the older sibling of the two. You come from Spartan lineage, but the game doesn't force you into aligning with either side of the war since you're a mercenary trying uncover the truth of your family's disappearance.Prominent Greek figures like Socrates and Hippocrates make appearances throughout Odyssey, and you can interact with them as they offer side quests of their own. While historical fiction has always been the foundation of Assassin's Creed lore, it's never been afraid to incorporate the supernatural. Odyssey takes it a step further by pitting you against mythology itself; one example is a fight against Medusa where you try to avoid getting turned into stone.Catch Up On Assassin's Creed LoreThis is a long-running franchise, but Odyssey can be a good point to jump into the series. Knowledge of previous events isn't necessarily required to enjoy the new game. However, if you need a refresher on the everything that have taken place up to this point, be sure to read our Assassin's Creed story summary.How Long Is Odyssey?It shouldn't come as a surprise that Assassin's Creed Odyssey is huge--its open world is about twice as big as Origins. That may not seem as daunting when you consider the fact that the Mediterranean Sea makes up a large portion of the map and that you'll spend plenty of time sailing the high seas. Regardless, there's still a great deal of ground to cover throughout Greece's mainland and several islands.As for game length, it's difficult to get an accurate range since every player will engage in a varying number of optional quests and activities along the way. Estimates have been around 50 hours to complete the main story and a decent chunk of side activities. GameSpot editor Alessandro Fillari spent 60 hours with the game for the purposes of his review, and there remain more optional content for him to take part in.New to the franchise is Exploration Mode. Instead of having waypoints and objective markers littered on screen in the traditional Guided Mode, Exploration Mode puts the onus on you to figure out where to go to complete quests. This means you'll have to pay closer attention to NPC dialogue and investigate the environment more closely.This is especially true if you take on the optional quest to hunt down a cultist organization. They're a web of mysterious figures with hidden identities scattered throughout Greece and you'll need to do investigative work to locate and assassinate them. Sometimes, you'll happen to take them down in the midst of a side mission that they're involved in, but you'll often have to dig for clues on their whereabouts whether or not you've activated Exploration mode.Fighting With StyleOdyssey builds off of Origins' combat system, but it introduces some key changes. Shields are no longer an option, which naturally pushes fights towards a faster pace. The skill tree remains divided in three categories attributed to specific playstyles (Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin), but it features some neat new abilities. You may think the Spartan Kick is in the game just for kicks and giggles until you realize that it's super effective for booting enemies off cliffs or creating space in fights. Another setting-appropriate ability is the Rush Assassination that lets you put the Spear of Leonidas to use during long-distance stealth kills.The skill tree includes several abilities that allow you to tinker with different character builds.In addition to multiple types of melee weapons (like polearms, swords, and maces), you have a bow that's both useful for attacking long-range and inflicting status effects on enemies. The Arrow Master skill unlocks arrows that can poison, paralyze, or explode on impact, opening up numerous possibilities in combat; combine that with Devastating Shot and your projectiles will be even stronger. The skill tree can be overwhelming at first, but we have a few tips on some good abilities to pick up early and how to use them in clever ways.Don't worry about min-maxing in the skill tree; you can respec at any time for small cost. This affords you the opportunity to experiment with different combat approaches and character builds.Setting Sail In The MediterraneanWith multiple islands scattered across Greece, great emphasis is placed on sailing and ship combat in Odyssey, essentially taking a page out of Black Flag's book. Engaging with hostile ships will have you firing arrow barrages, tossing waves of javelins, or using the naval ram to inflict damage. Once an enemy ship's health is depleted, you can either sink it for a small reward or board it with your crew to get better loot. If you board the ship, you'll have to get your hands dirty and fight the opposing crew.Enemy ships vary in size, health, and strength, so be sure to know what you're up against before engaging. Throughout Odyssey, you'll upgrade your ship and recruit shipmates from quests or smooth dialogue interactions. Different crew members offer specific bonuses and attributes for your ship.Play Your PartOdyssey doubles down on RPG elements. There's leveling up, skill trees, gear scores, and numerous optional quests, which was implemented in Origins, but the series dips its toes into branching story threads for the first time. Dialogue trees permeate character interactions and you'll face consequences for your actions whether they be good or bad. The way you decide to complete some quests will affect the resulting narrative and can also spill into the details of other quest-lines; don't be surprised if there are unforeseen consequences and collateral damage.With branching dialogue comes romance options. You're free to romance as many of the available characters as you want, and the circumstances for which you can romance them may change based on other decisions. Most often, these partners will become part of your ship's crew, which may be a bit of an unceremonious conclusion for love interests. However, these scenarios can play out strangely, and you can see for yourself how romance can feel awkward or forced.By nature of being an RPG that deals with choice and consequence, there are multiple endings in Assassin's Creed Odyssey; nine to be specific. Unfortunately, you'll be hard-pressed to see them all in one playthrough since key decisions early in the game will affect the possible endings open to you.You now have more agency in how the story plays out thanks to branching dialogue and quest decisions.Different Versions, Special Editions, And DLCAssassin's Creed Odyssey is out soon, but you can still snag the pre-order bonuses offered. Pre-ordering from the Ubisoft Store grants you access to the Blind King mission, Best Buy gifts you a $10 rewards certificate, and GameStop includes the Blind King mission and a Spartan helmet keychain. Aside from the standard edition of the game, there's a Deluxe edition ($80) that includes an XP and drachmae (in-game money) boost, the Kronos and Herald of Dusk gear pack, and the Capricornus naval pack. The Gold edition ($110) packs the DLC season pass, Secrets of Greece and Blind King bonus missions, and lets you start playing now. The Ultimate edition ($120) includes all the aforementioned content from both the Deluxe and Gold editions. There are few other special editions with collector's statues that you check out in our pre-order guide.PC Minimum And Recommended SpecsFor the PC players out there, make sure your system is powerful enough to run the game properly. If you're aiming for 4K resolution with High settings, Ubisoft recommends a system with at least an AMD Ryzen 1700X or Intel Core i7-7700 CPU, AMD Vega 64 or Nvidia GTX 1080 video card, and 16GB of RAM. For those not doing 4K, be sure to read up on the minimum and recommended PC specs to run AC Odyssey smoothly.ReviewYou can read or watch our review of Assassin's Creed Odyssey right now; editor Alessandro Fillari concluded: "Assassin's Creed Odyssey's ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead. While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting." For perspectives from other critics on the game, you can read through our review roundup.All Our Assassin's Creed Odyssey CoverageGuides And Reviews:Assassin's Creed Odyssey ReviewAssassin's Creed Odyssey Reviews Roundup11 Tips You Should Know Before StartingCombat Tips And The 12 Most Useful AbilitiesFeatures And News:How Long Does This Game Take To Finish?No New Assassin's Creed Game Coming For 2019AC Odyssey Was "Nearly Finished" A Year Ago, Annualization Not PlannedGame Director Talks Story And RPG InspirationsHow Assassin's Creed Odyssey Continues To Transform The SeriesRomance Feels Forced, But Some Of The Dialogue Options Are HilariousAC Odyssey Doesn't Have Multiplayer, But The Franchise Isn't Necessarily Done With ItUbisoft Wants Future Games To Feature Male And Female ProtagonistsAC Odyssey Releasing On Switch In Japan As A Streaming GameAC Odyssey For PC: System Requirements And Recommended SpecsAC Odyssey Is Playable Right Through Google Chrome, If You're ChosenInfo from Gamespot.com

The new trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse prominently features six alternate versions of the Spider-Men/Spider-Women that make up the vast web of the Spider-Verse. However, there are brief snippets of other notable Spidey timelines and stories, including an Easter egg to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man.If you pause the trailer at 1:39, you'll see display cases for certain spider suits in the background. Over Aunt May's shoulder, you'll spy the Advanced Suit that Peter Parker wears in Marvel's Spider-Man, marked with its trademark white spider design. It comes as no huge surprise to see a reference to Marvel's Spider-Man in the upcoming Into the Spider-Verse movie, as Insomniac's Spider-Man--confirmed to be a part of Earth 1048--is recruited by Superior Spider-Man to participate in Spider-Verse's sequel story, Spider-Geddon.Into the Spider-Verse's previous trailer already showcased one of the Peter Parkers (probably Earth 616, but it hasn't been confirmed) as well as Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man from Earth 1610, and Gwen Stacy's Spider-Ghost, the Spider-Woman of Earth-65. This new trailer introduced three more spiders: Earth-14512's SP//dr, Earth-90214's Spider-Man Noir, and Earth-8311's Spider-Ham.SP//dr is the superhero codename for Peni Parker, a nine-year-old girl who lets a radioactive spider bite her so she can bond with a spider-like mech suit her deceased father used to pilot, a responsibility her Uncle Ben and Aunt May inform her that only she can do. Spider-Man Noir is another Peter Parker, but from an alternate universe where the present day is 1933 during the Great Depression. Spider-Ham is the alias of Peter Porker, a spider who's bitten by his adoptive Aunt May Porker, a pig, after she's accidentally irradiated. He transforms into a pig as well, but discovers he retains all the abilities he had as a spider.Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales meeting several of the spiders from alternative dimensions, including Peter Parker who offers to train the fledgling Spider-Man. The web-slingers of the Spider-Verse must band together to stop their clashing dimensions from destroying Miles' reality, as well as return the members of their respective rogues gallery to the correct universes. The movie debuts in U.S. theaters on December 14.Info from Gamespot.com

Halloween Terror is returning to Overwatch for the third year in a row. Blizzard is still keeping the exact details about this year's Halloween-themed event under wraps, but the developer has provided a hint in the form of a cryptic riddle. [Update: Blizzard has now revealed the first new Halloween skin, which gives Doomfist a new look.]This year's Halloween Terror starts on October 9 and continues through to October 31. Once the event ends, you'll have to wait until 2019 to unlock Overwatch's Halloween-themed content. The only clue we have as to what this year's Halloween Terror will include and where Junkenstein's Revenge's story will go next is a poem and short cinematic included in one of Overwatch's tweets.There’s a rumor among explorersAbout a monolithic lairHome to terrifying horrorsHeroes, how will you prepare? pic.twitter.com/XK7W7e0SKA — Overwatch (@OverwatchEU) October 1, 2018Every year, Halloween Terror offers new Legendary skins for players to unlock--each priced at 3000 credits--that feature Overwatch's heroes dressed up in costumes, such as Dragon Symmetra. Skins from previous Halloween Terror events are also offered at a discounted price. Several of the maps receive Halloween-themed updates as well, becoming decorated with spider webs and jack-o-lanterns.Halloween Terror also lets players participate in Junkenstein's Revenge, a PvE mode where four adventurers assemble to stop the combined forces of Dr. Junkenstein and the Witch of the Wilds--alternate reality versions of Junkrat and Mercy--from taking over the fictional kingdom of Adlersbrunn. In 2016, you and three others played as The Alchemist (Ana), the Gunslinger (McCree), the Archer (Hanzo), and the Soldier (Solder 76). In 2017, the story continued and added The Countess (Widowmaker), the Swordsman (Genji), the Monk (Zenyatta), and the Viking (Torbjorn).Overwatch is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the largest game in the franchise to date. The overall map in Odyssey is over twice the size of the one in Assassin's Creed Origins, and it's filled with a branching main storyline and hundreds of side quests. Simply playing through the game's campaign only scratches the surface of how much you can do.For our Assassin's Creed Odyssey review, editor Alessandro Fillari completed the game's main story in just over 50 hours. And that's without hitting every single island and side mission available. There's a broad array of optional content to tackle outside the main campaign, including additional islands to explore and mythological creatures to slay.Assassin's Creed Odyssey also has nine different endings. Not every ending is dependent solely on late-game decisions either, so you won't be able to save near the story's end to quickly see what you missed. For some of the endings, you'll need to make key choices early on--even as early as the game's opening two hours--and then make dialogue decisions or take certain actions throughout the campaign. You'll have to play through the entire game numerous times just to see everything, so if you're looking to see all the game has to offer, Assassin's Creed Odyssey will probably take you hundreds of hours to fully complete. That's not counting the two episodic post-launch expansions--Legacy of the First Blade and The Fate of Atlantis--that continue Kassandra and Alexios' story.In our review, Alessandro gave Odyssey an 8/10, and described the game's ambition as "admirable" while also complimenting "its rich attention to detail" and "multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead." Unfortunately, its massive campaign was occasionally "tiresome" so going for all nine of Odyssey's endings will be a daunting, time-consuming task. With no Assassin's Creed game scheduled for 2019, it's clear Ubisoft wants you to be playing Odyssey for a very long time.Assassin's Creed Odyssey launches on October 5 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

Venom and Spider-Man are linked inseparably in fans' minds, and for good reason. In the comic books, Venom's entire characterization, from its motivations to its appearance, revolves around Spidey. So making the new Venom movie without any reference to Spider-Man seems like a gargantuan task--a fact Venom director Ruben Fleischer is well aware of.The most glaring representation of Spider-Man's absence in Venom is easily the lack of the Symbiote's iconic white spider logo that's normally emblazoned across its chest, which Fleischer addressed at Comic-Con. As he rightfully points out, giving Venom a spider logo in this movie "makes no sense." And as he told GameSpot during a recent interview, figuring out how to make up for Spidey's absence in the movie was "the most challenging part" of production."That was the only real thing that was a limitation, was the fact that we couldn't feature Spider-Man at all in the movie," he said. "If there's no Spider-Man, then there wouldn't be any reason to have a spider on his chest. And so it did take a lot of time to figure out what to put in its place, and we ended up with that veiny white pattern, which I think looks super cool. But yeah, we did a ton of iterations of different designs for what the chest would ultimately look like."That was the most challenging part, because you have something that's so iconic, and anything you put in its place just doesn't look right. So it took a lot of time to find something that was distinctive and subtle."Naturally, Venom's look wasn't the only aspect of the character that had to be altered for this movie. There's also the question of the Symbiote's motivation--why does it ally itself with Eddie Brock, if not for their mutual hatred of Spider-Man?"Yeah, we had to manufacture that, because obviously in the comics they bond over the fact that they both hate Spider-Man," Fleischer said. "Since we didn't have that as something for them to connect over, we went with the idea that they're kindred spirits, and that Venom sees in Eddie somebody like himself who--on his planet, maybe Venom's a bit of a loser too, and then on our planet he decides he can be a big fish in a small pond. "In all honesty, I think we had to ground the relationship in something to justify Venom's betrayal of his own race. And we tried to make it that there was just a real connection between Eddie and Venom, because of their common worldview."The Venom spin-off movie has been in the works since at least 2008, but it's unclear how much work from earlier versions was incorporated into the latest iteration. According to Fleischer, the version of the movie he's worked on--the draft penned by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner--never had Spider-Man in it. "So it's not like we had to extract him from it," Fleischer said. "It was always, from its inception, built as an origin story with a new approach. And I thought of it as an Ultimate version of Venom, like an Ultimate movie version of Venom."Given that they had to change so much about the character, Fleischer tried to stay true to the comics in as many other ways as possible, from the visuals to the writing. Lines of dialogue are ripped straight from the pages, while Fleischer used his favorite comics panels as inspiration for Venom's visual design."I think in that first closeup when you see him, when he first appears with Treece, and he's holding him by the throat, he just looks like he's actually there, which I'm really proud of," he said. "I really felt a responsibility, especially since we couldn't put the spider on his chest, that we make Venom be as true to the comics as possible despite that fact."Venom star Tom Hardy recently said that his favorite scenes from the movie didn't make it into the final cut, while Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane revealed how he would have changed the movie. Meanwhile, we ranked every Venom universe Symbiote based on how '90s Xtreme they are.Venom hits theaters Friday, October 5. Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft is once again exploring the possibility of adding multiplayer to Assassin's Creed. After 2010, several of the mainline Assassin's Creed games supported some form of a multiplayer mode, but the feature was cut after 2014's Assassin's Creed Unity.In an interview with Game Informer, Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hascoet said, "We have many technologies, so it's case by case, but Assassin's Creed has no multiplayer mode, and that is very important for the social aspect of gaming, so we are looking for that."Hascoet didn't share what form Assassin's Creed's future multiplayer might take, but he doesn't want to just copy what others are doing. "Now, everybody is talking about battle royale, but we think there are 15 different companies making those games, and like mobile, only two will be successful," Hascoet said. "Many will be killed along the way; I don't know which ones will survive. I am working with my team on what's next. It's important to understand why games like Fortnite are so successful, but it's not so we can copy it. It's to do something else, but with the same disruptive approach. So, we have plenty of ideas. We are testing a lot of ideas internally, and maybe only one will go to market. "In Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Revelations, III, and IV: Black Flag, Ubisoft implemented a multiplayer mode where you had to disguise yourself as an NPC while also trying to hunt down and kill other players. In Assassin's Creed Unity, Ubisoft changed multiplayer to be less competitive and more cooperative. You and up to three other players could tackle different side stories with your own custom Assassins, and also take on much larger Heists where completing the mission objective without being spotted would net your team massive in-game monetary rewards. Ubisoft cut multiplayer from Assassin's Creed Rogue, Syndicate, and Origins, and there are currently no plans to implement any multiplayer features in Odyssey.Odyssey will be the last Assassin's Creed game for a while, as Ubisoft is not releasing another entry in the franchise in 2019. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is one of the largest games in the series to date, and we're loving it. In our Assassin's Creed Odyssey review, editor Alessandro Fillari gave the game an 8/10, writing, "While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting."Info from Gamespot.com

One of the biggest changes added to Fortnite in Season 6 is the introduction of a new consumable called Shadow Stones. Using one allows you to transform into your Shadow Form, which gifts you with a couple of supernatural powers. [Update: Not long after they were added, Epic pulled Shadow Stones from the game entirely due to an unspecified bug. They were then re-introduced and pulled again. Now they're back again.]In Shadow Form, you won't be able to use weapons, but whenever you stand still, you'll go completely invisible. You'll still be slightly visible whenever you move in Shadow Form, and walking around leaves behind a Shadow Trail that people can easily follow. Running around isn't all that bad though, as you'll have increased movement speed and jump height, and you won't take fall damage.The true fun comes in your other supernatural ability, Phase. Using Phase propels in whichever direction you're facing. If there's something in your way, like a rock or a wall, you'll pass right through it. With Phase, you'll be able to easily escape anyone who discovers your Shadow Trail, or scare someone with your ghostly apparition in an ambush.Shadow Form only lasts up to 45 seconds--and can be ended early by holding down the Alt Fire button--so you'll have to figure out when's the best time to use a Shadow Stone after you've found one. Shadow Stones randomly spawn around the map, but can usually be discovered in corrupted areas.Fortnite Season 6 also puts Impulse Grenade, Suppressed Submachine Gun, Light Machine Gun, Bouncer, and Remote Explosives into the Vault. Grapplers have been updated so that connecting to a moving object incorporates its momentum into your launch force, and the charge for Grapplers has been reduced from 15 to 10.Fortnite is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.Info from Gamespot.com

Brooklyn Nine Nine star Chelsea Peretti is dropping out of the series. She'll be in some episodes of the upcoming sixth season, but not all of them, it seems."I won't be doing a full season of Brooklyn Nine Nine in Season 6," she wrote on Twitter. "But that doesn't mean I won't ever be back..."B99 fans. Hiiiiiiiiiiii. Chelsea Peretti, here. I won't be doing a full season of Brooklyn Nine Nine in Season 6. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ever be back, winky face emoji, heart emoji. I want to thank you for the hours you spent watching Gina be Gina: — Chelsea Peretti (@chelseaperetti) October 3, 2018Co-creator Dan Goor also commented on Peretti's departure. He said in his own statement that he and Mike Schur eyed Peretti for her role as Gina from the very beginning. Regarding her final episode, the show is planning a storyline that explains her departure, and the unique challenge is writing it to reflect how Gina is "the human embodiment of the 100 emoji.""While it's sad to see a member of the family leave, we are so proud of Chelsea and exciting for what she does next," Goor added.Here's my statement about the incredibly amazing @chelseaperetti. pic.twitter.com/OZAuEU7DSc — Dan Goor (@djgoor) October 3, 2018Fox canceled Brooklyn Nine Nine earlier this year, and just days later NBC stepped up and announced it would pick up the show for a sixth season. Netflix and Hulu reportedly passed.Brooklyn Nine Nine, a police comedy/drama that stars SNL veteran Andy Samberg, premiered in 2013. According to Deadline, the show failed to find a substantial audience in part because it moved back and forth between Sunday and Tuesday. The show was created by Parks and Recreation creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur.Info from Gamespot.com

Square Enix has released a new trailer for The Quiet Man, an upcoming video game featuring a protagonist who's deaf. The trailer offers a more detailed look at how The Quiet Man's blend of live action cutscenes and animated gameplay meshes together, as well as reveal its release date..The Quiet Man's new trailer starts out live action, showcasing protagonist Dane interacting with several different characters. However, when he witnesses a songstress being kidnapped in the middle of her performance by a hooded man wearing a plague doctor mask, Dane's efforts to retrieve her transition the trailer into the CGI gameplay portion.We then see Dane's efforts lead him through a noiseless Manhattan. Where sound escapes Dane, sight does not, and we see him easily react to threats as if the world is moving in slow motion. Dane also appears to have a tremendous amount of strength, performing flip kicks and dishing out devastating beat downs on the thugs that get in his way. It's just enough to make you think there could be a supernatural element at play in this game, one that Dane will be able to tap into, but Square Enix hasn't confirmed The Quiet Man takes place in any type of fantastical setting.Square Enix has mostly remained silent in its marketing of The Quiet Man. Prior to this new trailer, the only information we had about the game came from The Quiet Man's announcement during E3 2018 and its showcasing at PAX West 2018. Square Enix has referred to the story as an "immersive story-driven cinematic action experience" that can be completed in one sitting.The Quiet Man releases on November 1 for PS4 and PC. The game will release as a digital-only title.Info from Gamespot.com

Blizzard, the gaming giant behind franchises like World of Warcraft and Diablo, has eliminated one of its lucrative employee bonus programs, and it's unclear why. Activision Blizzard's 2018 Proxy Statement reveals that the company has eliminated a program called the Blizzard Holiday Plan.The end-of-year bonus program appears to have been lucrative, at least for Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime, who just announced he's leaving the company. According to the proxy statement, Morhaime was eligible for a bonus of 37 percent of his base salary, which worked out to $369,219.Now that the plan is eliminated, Morhaime won't see this bonus in 2018. And as a result of the program's elimination, the salary that Morhaime and other Blizzard Holiday Plan participants received were adjusted to "reflect the inclusion of an amount equal to the payment" received for 2017. For Morhaime, that figure was $369,219, but it's unclear what other employees earned.The Blizzard Holiday Plan was in place before the Activision Blizzard merger. While the Blizzard Holiday Plan is no more, the company still has a program called the "Blizzard Profit Sharing Plan" that rewards employees with bonuses based on how profitable its games are.Additionally, there appears to be a profit-sharing plan specific to Morhaime himself, as the Activision Blizzard proxy statement mentions something called the "Morhaime Profit Sharing Plan." This bonus appears to be based on Blizzard's overall profits; and as such, it is likely a substantial figure.We have contacted Blizzard in an attempt to get more specifics about the Blizzard Holiday Plan, as well as information as to why it was terminated.Including his salary and bonuses, Morhaime was paid $12.3 million in 2017. Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick's total pay for last year $28.7 million, while CFO Spencer Neumann took home $9.5 million. Chief Corporate Officer Dennis Durkin made $5.8 million, while Activision Publishing boss Collister Johnson earned $11.2 million, with King CEO Riccardo Zacconi taking home $14.8 million.Profit-sharing programs are commonplace in the video game industry, and they are one of the methods that developers use to attract and retain talent. Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games has a scheme called "internal royalties" that pay employees bonuses based on the performance of their games; Electronic Arts has a bonus system as well. The topic of employee benefits is especially front of mind currently as Telltale Games recently closed down and paid its employees no severance. Info from Gamespot.com