When Blizzard outlined its Hearthstone Madness at the Darkmoon Fair expansion, the studio mentioned that it plans to release mini-expansions regularly. It has now unveiled the first of these planned expansions, and it's already right around the corner.The mini-expansion is called The Darkmoon Races, and it will introduce 35 new cards when it launches on January 21. As this is considered part of the Darkmoon Faire expansion, you'll have a chance of opening up the new cards with any regular Darkmoon Faire packs you open. But if you want to bypass all that, you can purchase the full mini-expansion set for $15 or 2,000 gold.With a very short reveal window, Blizzard is showing off new cards every hour through Twitter. The reveals have already included some high-powered Legendary cards, along with more Dual-Class and Spellburst cards, which were both introduced in the previous expansion, Scholomance Academy.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who starred on Game of Thrones as Jaime Lannister is working with Netflix for his next film. Coster-Waldau will star in a new survival movie alongside Joe Cole from Peaky Blinders. The movie is called Against The Ice, and it's an adaptation of the Danish novel Two Against The Ice.According to Deadline, which broke the news, the movie is a passion project for Coster-Waldau. He wrote the script alongside Joe Derrick, adapting the 1955 book.The movie will be made in English and it will be produced by the Iceland-based company Kormákur’s RVK Studios, which previously worked with Netflix on the show Katla.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Though the next Steam sale may be on the horizon, you don't have to wait until February to snag some great game deals for PC. Fanatical, a store that sells licensed PC game keys, just kicked off its big January Savers sale, slashing up to 90% off PC games like Persona 5 Strikers, Rainbow Six Siege, and Civilization VI. The vast majority of the games on sale are for Steam, but be sure to note the launcher before buying--some are for other platforms like Uplay.The sale notably includes discounts on Persona 5 Strikers, which releases February 23 if you opt for the standard edition. The base game is on sale for $49.19, down from $60. The Deluxe edition, however, releases February 19, so you'll be able to dive in four days early if you pick that version up. On sale for $57.39 (down from $70), Persona 5 Strikers Deluxe edition gets you a digital art book, digital soundtrack, behind-the-scenes video, and a pair of in-game content packs, in addition to early access. (See our Persona 5 Strikers preorder guide for more details on each edition and other bonuses.) It's worth noting each version is currently full price on Steam, so you're better off taking advantage of Fanatical's deals if you plan to play on that platform.The sale includes a mix of newer games, such as Devil May Cry 5, Control: Ultimate Edition, and last year's Resident Evil 3 remake, as well as older titles like Torchlight II and Civilization VI. This is a good opportunity to snag pricier editions of games for cheap on PC, like Frostpunk: Game of the Year edition for $26 (normally $55), Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Ultimate edition for $26 (was $120), and Devil May Cry: Deluxe edition for $23 (discounted from $35).Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Playing the daughter of Thanos in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Karen Gillan has cemented herself as Nebula, and she is coming back for more. In a recent Instagram post, Gillan confirmed she'll be shooting as the character again very soon, out in Sydney, Australia, but for what project?In her Instagram Story post, which DigitalSpy also posted, Gillan said, "This is my hair. I cut it the other day in preparation for Nebula, so we don't have to get so much hair into the bald cap because I have so much hair. It's unbelievable. It's just so thick."However, this most likely isn't for Guardians of he Galaxy Vol. 3, as director James Gunn is in Vancover, British Columbia filming the first season of HBO Max's Peacemaker series--a spin-off of the upcoming Suicide Squad movie.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A new patent filed by Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive suggests that the studio is looking into new gameplay systems to increase the situational awareness of its NPCs.The patent, titled "System And Method For Virtual Navigation In A Gaming Environment," outlines tech aimed at creating a "realistic experience" in video games by making AI smarter at detecting their environment. Specifically, the patent is targeting NPC vehicle driving behaviors.Currently in video games, NPCs can only sense a few objects in their immediate vicinity. This level of detection is typically relegated to other cars almost exclusively, which is why NPC drivers tend to not only run into each other but also into the objects found within the world. Through this new patent, though, Rockstar is looking to give NPCs a distinct driving profile.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It feels like this year has only just started, but it's already time to start setting sights and plans for appointment watching in February. Hulu has announced the full set of content for next month--here's what you can expect to watch on Hulu in February 2021.If you missed The Shape of Water back when it came out in 2017, there's no time like the present--starting on February 15--to catch director Guillermo del Toro's moving and out there love story between a humanoid amphibian creature and a mute cleaning woman who works in the high-security government laboratory housing it. The movie doesn't just have an unusual story working for it--the visuals, production design, and writing all fire on all cylinders throughout, making for a wild experience that will stay with you. Watching it will help you understand how it won four Oscars, but also have you wondering why it didn't net more. You can read our review here.For something similarly potentially horrifying, the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog Movie lands on Hulu on February 18. Video-game movie adaptations are always a mixed bag, but it might change people's minds to give it a try if we just mention that, sincerely, this movie tries (and at times, kinda succeeds) at being something more grounded and even vulnerable. Yes, Sonic still goes fast. Yes, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik is even more cartoony than the digital characters he interacts with. But if you miss out on the first movie, you'll be that much further behind for the upcoming sequel.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

February is cold and much of the world is frozen solid right now, but Disney+ is still moving forward. WandaVision headlines throughout the month, but there are a bunch of other shows and movies sneaking in that you'll want to keep an eye on as winter wears on.Marvel's Behind The Mask hits Disney+ on February 12 and will "explore the power of identity behind the world's most iconic Super Heroes," with interviews from writers and artists behind characters like Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, the X-Men, and others. The classic Muppet Show arrives the next week on February 19th. This includes not just the first three seasons, but also the fourth and fifth, which aren't available on disc anywhere.Also premiering that weekend is the live-action adaptation of Flora and Ulysses, the children's novel by Kate DiCamillo. The movie, which stars Ben Schwartz, Alyson Hannigan, and Matilda Lawler as the titular Flora, tells the story of "10-year-old Flora, an avid comic book fan and a self-avowed cynic, whose parents have recently separated. After rescuing a squirrel she names Ulysses, Flora is amazed to discover he possesses unique superhero powers which take them on an adventure of humorous complications that ultimately change Flora's life--and her outlook--forever."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Since it rebooted its Hitman franchise in 2016, IO Interactive has been putting on a level design masterclass. Each of the missions the developer rolled out in what it calls its World of Assassination series has contained a huge, intricate collection of scripted and free-form systems that create harrowing moments, presented elaborate puzzles to solve, and allowed the player to orchestrate ludicrous and often hilarious situations. Levels are designed to be played over and over so you can explore, understand, and eventually master all their moving parts, and it's impossible to see everything one has to offer in a single playthrough (or in most cases, even two or three).At first blush, Hitman 3 appears to be more of the same. It makes no drastic changes to the underlying formula, instead adding a few graphical upgrades and quality-of-life improvements to the existing Hitman framework. But Hitman 3 improves on the World of Assassination through consistently excellent level design--which is saying something, given how strong all the previous missions are. Hitman 3 is full of fun and fascinating ideas, many of which play with the concepts underpinning the last four years of Hitman levels.Presumably knowing that players have spent all sorts of time mastering its many settings and systems, IO throws in some brilliant curve balls that require you to use your assassin skills and knowledge in clever, challenging new ways.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The upcoming monster movie Godzilla vs Kong will be released earlier than expected. The film was due to hit theaters and HBO Max simultaneously in May, but it will now arrive in March instead.As reported by Deadline, Godzilla vs Kong hits theaters internationally and on HBO Max in the US on March 26. The film was originally set for release in November last year, but was pushed to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The new date for Godzilla vs Kong follows several weeks of negotiations between distributors Warner and Legendary, who financed the majority of the movie. In November, Warner reportedly blocked a $200 million deal for Legendary to sell the film to Netflix, only to announce it was putting it straight onto HBO Max, its own service, along with every other Warner movie in 2021. Legendary threatened legal action over this decision, but have now reached an agreement with Warner, which includes the earlier release date.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A lawsuit filed in 2019 by Niantic Inc has reached a settlement, with hacking group Global++ agreeing to pay out $5 million to the Pokemon Go developer. As reported by Polygon, the rogue developers created and sold hacked versions of Pokémon Go, Ingress, and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite that gave players the ability to spoof their GPS locations and use features like "auto-walk."After ignoring a number of cease and desist letters, Global++ had a lawsuit filed against it in mid-2019, after which a number of its social media and online presences went dark. In the original filing, Niantic alleged that the hacker group had made millions by selling "hundreds of thousands of subscriptions" to apps based on Niantic's original code.In the settlement details, Global++ was found to have accessed and used Niantic's map data, and profited from the process by selling access to its programs through a subscription model. The defendants admitted to a number of breaches of federal law, including copyright infringement and violations of California's Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

USB connectors are the universal standard not just for computer peripherals, but for charging most phones, tablets, and small devices. It's hard to remember a world without USB, which debuted almost exactly 25 years ago, on January 15, 1996.The reminder comes courtesy of How-To Geek, which has published an in-depth feature on the history of the USB and its development. It's a reminder of how complicated, difficult to set up, and even expensive computer ports could be before the USB, or Universal Series Bus, became the standard for connecting a mouse, keyboard, game controller, or any number of computer peripherals that adopted the technology.USB was a truly universal effort, emerging as a collaboration between multiple big tech names: Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Compaq, Digital Equipment Corporation, NEC, and Northern Telecom. Adoption of the tech wasn't immediate, and many attribute its eventual success to Apple's release of the iMac in 1998, which was the first PC to ditch legacy ports and only support USB.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

After a messy launch and more than its fair share of bugs, developers at CD Projekt Red have been hard at work issuing patches to address the game's most glaring issue. Yet hotfix 1.06, an important patch that launched just before Christmas for consoles and PC, has only just arrived for Stadia players, many of whom were counting the extra days they had to wait for the fix.In a CDPR forum thread about the hotfix, disgruntled Stadia players counted the days since the hotfix launched on other platforms, with one commenter still suffering from the missing Dum Dum glitch that the hotfix addresses.The hotfix has a number of extra bug fixes on Stadia, which may have been why the patch was so delayed on Google's game streaming platform. The Stadia-specific patch notes are as follows:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Actor Tessa Thompson (Westworld, Avengers: Endgame) will be moving into production work with her new company, Viva Maude. According to Deadline, the production company has partnered with HBO and HBO Max on a two-year, first-look deal that will first be taking on adaptations of the books Who Fears Death and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies."I'm beyond thrilled to officially launch my production company, Viva Maude, which has been a real passion project and labor of love over the last few years," said Thompson, via Deadline. "I'm elated to begin this partnership and to bring entertaining and impactful television projects to my friends and collaborators at HBO and HBO Max. Together we are committed to developing interesting and inclusive stories with inventive creators and to discover new voices and visionaries."Who Fears Death is an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's 2010 book of the same name, and has reportedly been in the pipeline with HBO since 2017--with Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin as one of the executive producers. Aïda Mashaka Croal, a writer on Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. The book is set in post-apocalyptic Africa, where one of the few survivors, Onyesonwu, is made an outcast. According to the book's jacket text, Onyesonwu comes to terms with her newfound magic abilities and fights against "someone powerful… trying to kill her."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem officially starts February 2, and it brings a ton of new content to Respawn's battle royale. Per usual, players can expect a brand-new character, and the season is adding a new weapon and map changes as well. Season 8's new character is Fuse, a laid-back man with an enthusiasm for explosives. As seen in a brand-new animated trailer, Fuse has had a tumultuous life leading up to his addition to the Apex Games. Fuse--whose real name is Wally--grew up on Salvo, fighting for his planet's freedom alongside his best friend all through their childhood, teenage years, and young adult lives.However, Wally grew disillusioned with their cause, instead finding his true passion in the pursuit of battling it out in the Bone Cage, creating a rift between the two friends. Eventually, Wally's prestige in the arena won him a ticket off-world to join the Apex Games. He hoped to patch things up with his friend, but she angrily blew him off--quite literally, like with an actual grenade that blew off his arm. The two parted on poor terms, with Wally asking her to throw out his old arm for him before walking out to, assumedly, get medical attention and a prosthetic.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Amazon warehouse workers from the company's Bessemer, Alabama site will soon vote on whether or not they want to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, NPR reports. The vote will take place by mail due to concerns around COVID-19, the National Labor Relations Board decided, and will run from February 8 to March 29.The scheduled vote follows a hearing where Amazon and the retail workers union decided who in the company should be eligible to have a say in the unionization effort. Both parties unanimously agreed that the company's many seasonal workers should also be able to vote.Unions are common within Amazon's European operations, but no unionization efforts in the US have yet succeeded. The company is known for its aggressively anti-union stance, and earlier this year was called out for posting two job listings that described union-busting roles.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com