After a round of layoffs by Microsoft in early July,Candy CrushdeveloperKingand related teams atXboxhave been notified via an internal memo that their terminated positions will be filled by AI. Approximately 200 roles were affected by theMicrosoftlayoffs, and internal sources are now shedding light on the reasoning behind the cutbacks and the planned implementation of artificial intelligence to replace the axed workers. The video game industry has witnessed a seemingly relentless string of studio closures, game cancellations, andmassive layoffs at Microsoft, Embracer Group, Sony, and other top companies over the past two years....

Blending trivia and RPG mechanics was far from an easy task for the Jackbox Games team as they worked to developLegends of TriviaforJackbox Party Pack 11.An idea that had first been pitched forJackbox Party Pack 5, Legends of Triviais the third game revealed forJackbox Party Pack 11,which is scheduled to release in the fall of 2025. The ultimate result is a game that will be enjoyable forDungeons and Dragonsveterans but also approachable for newbies who have never played a TTRPG before....

Summary Julian McMahon, the Australian actor perhaps best known as Doctor Doom in twoFantastic Fourfilms and for headliningNip/Tuck, has passed away at age 56. McMahon had privately been battling cancer, and his death was confirmed through the officialNip/TuckFacebook page on Friday. McMahon amassed an impressive acting career that lasted for more than 35 years across numerous continents. Although most famousfor playing Doctor Doomfifteen years later,McMahoninitially broke through in 1990 on the popular Australian soap operaHome and Away....

This article contains spoilers from the One Piece anime. One Piece’sanime adaptation has increased in quality over the last few years, and fans have definitely enjoyed watching episodes of the highest level. One Piece’sanime returned from a long hiatus just a few months ago, but since then, it has been taking breaks more often. Now, it’s been confirmed that the anime has just decided to take yet another break at a very intense moment in the story....

Summary Quick Links One of the most well-known anime series of all time,Tokyo Ghoulis being talked about by the fans to this day. That is despite its fall from grace after its first anime season. The manga remains an iconic piece of media that fans cherish. While there hasn’t been much good news for fans of this series’ anime recently, it has been revealed that the anime is returning, but there’s a catch....

OneMarvel Rivalsplayer has shared unique artwork of a skin that shows the Strategist Cloak and Dagger donning a symbiote and wielding the power of the Phoenix Force at the same time. NetEase Games is currently preparing to release the hero Blade inMarvel Rivalsduring its major mid-season update, which is scheduled to release on August 8. Jean Grey was recently added toMarvel Rivalsas the Duelist Phoenix, showcasing a time when the popular mutant wielded the power of the Phoenix Force....

Summary TheHarry PotterHBO series promises to be a great way to revisit the franchise while also attracting a new generation of fans to the wizarding world. While the movie collection was a cultural phenomenon in its own right, it still had to cut down a lot of things from the source material to fit everything within a reasonable runtime. For the most part, the movies did a great job with this truncation....

Summary Quick Links My Hero Academiahas some of the most compelling characters that fans have seen in modern anime, and quite easily, one of the very best relationships thatthe story has depicted so far is that of Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya. Although the two could barely be called friends at the beginning of theMHAstory, largely due to Bakugo’s bullying behavior, the dynamics changed eventually, and they ended up forging what can be considered to be a wonderful friendship over the years....

This article contains spoilers for the Solo Leveling Series. Quick Links Solo Levelinghas proven to be a phenomenal anime series that has taken over the world. Fans hadn’t seen such a huge anime hit globally sinceDemon SlayerandJujutsu Kaisen. The series stands out quite a bit, largely due to the intense action that it features. Solo Levelingis so big that it is getting a new spin-off, and it is about to add some very important lore to the series....

Information revealed aboutBorderlands 4has proven that the game is not afraid to go against tradition. Though it remains true to theBorderlandsseries,Borderlands 4positions itself as a true evolution in the formula, cutting out the shortcomings of previous titles whilst elevating the many factors which made the franchise so beloved by many. As new information is slowly being revealed, players are able to learn 4’s new cast of playable Vault Hunters. Each of them seems to have character quirks that will be familiar to fans of the pastBorderlandsgames, but one seems to have much more in common with the recentTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsspin-off....

Summary In Chapter 1152 ofOne Piece, the unthinkable happened:Monkey D. Luffy askedLoki, a prince of Elbaf, to join his crew. Of course, he mainly did it so Hajrudin would let him help them out in the upcoming fight against the God’s Knights, but the idea of another person joining the Straw Hat Pirates has already caused a lot of excitement and intrigue among fans. It’s important to remember that Jinbe is the only character since the two-year time skip that Luffy has successfully recruited for his crew, so Loki would definitely be a unique and interesting addition, especially after many other popular figures (like Carrot, Yamato, or Bonney) failed to join....

Worldbuilding is one of the main building blocks of any great video game. But open-world games especially rely on it in order to make their extremely large worldspace worth exploring. One of the biggest complaints players often have about the open-world format is that more often than notthe world feels empty and lifeless. Massive open worlds impress nobody if there is nothing interesting about them. Some open-world games overcome their flaws by crafting a world so compelling, it draws players in regardless of outdated visuals or repetitive gameplay....

Summary Open-world gameshave wowed players with increasingly vast worlds where they could explore every nook and cranny, though whether they had anything worth finding was another matter. Not every street corner has a key collectible in it, nor every mountain a horde of gold or the like. Sometimes, it’s just a piece of scenery. It’s a common bugbear of the genre, where it feels like the tame spacing out random activities, items, etc....