Xbox April Update Available Starting Today for Some Users
The April Xbox update officially begins rolling out for all Xbox One owners starting today, bringing with it a number of changes to the service.
The update adds several new video and display options, additional ease of use settings, new functionality for Mixer users, and more. A complete rundown of all the added features and updates is available on the Xbox Wire.
The April Update adds Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) for Xbox One, which will notify compatible displays when players jump into a game, causing the screen to switch to low latency video mode, sometimes called game mode.
For players using AMD Radeon FreeSync and FreeSync 2 compatible displays, an option to allow variable refresh rate outputs is also included, which can help reduce input latency and minimize display stuttering.
16 Hot New Battle Royale Games Coming Out in 2018
Battle royale became a huge hit with the launch of PUBG and Fortnite last year – so huge, that several studios started working on battle royale modes and spin-offs for their existing games (the genesis of Fortnite Battle Royale, in fact) or brand new games with battle royale in mind. It's a phenomenon that's spanned fanmade mods, indie games, mobile, and even has its hooks in big AAA franchises like the next Call of Duty and Battlefield installments.
Splatoon 2 Update This Week Adds X Rank, New Gear
Splatoon 2 is getting a massive update this week complete which will add new gear, music, weapons, and stages, a new rank, and more!
On April 25 the previously announced Splatoon 2 Version 3.0.0 update will be available for all players, and it brings the introduction of the X Rank, which will challenge the top players in Ranked Battle.
Players who are S+10 in the current Splatoon 2 rankings will automatically be registered as X Rank after the update. X Rank players will fight for an X Power level, and will be matched with other X Rank players with similar Power levels.
Fortnite Season 4 Might Start Next Week
Fortnite Season 4 may begin as soon as next week.
Although no official release date has been announced by Epic Games, some players are beginning to suspect Season 4 is right around the corner.
In the top left corner of the image below, taken from the Battle Pass page on the game's official website, April 30 is shown as the end date for the Season 3 Battle Pass, leading some to speculate the new season may begin as soon as the following day.
Microsoft Is Bringing Discord Support to Xbox Live
Microsoft has announced support for Discord, the free voice and text chat service, for Xbox Live users is on the way.
In a post on the Xbox Wire, Xbox Live General Manager Daniel McCulloch confirmed that in response to player feedback, Xbox owners will soon have the option to link their Discord and Xbox accounts. Players will then be able to see what friends are doing, whether they are spending time on PC, mobile devices, or their Xbox consoles via Discord on Xbox.
Xbox Insiders will soon have the option to link Xbox Live and Discord accounts from their Xbox One consoles, though the Account Settings menu. In the coming weeks PC and mobile Discord app users will also be able to link accounts through the Connections tab under User Settings, though no exact date has been revealed
Xbox Exec Says Goodbye to Microsoft After 18 Years
Albert Penello, the senior director of Xbox console marketing at Microsoft, is leaving the company after 18 years.
"Well today is a crazy day," Penello wrote on Twitter. "I've made the decision after 18 years to leave Microsoft. To say it's been a 'once in a lifetime' experience is an understatement. The team at Xbox has meant so much to me and I'll be cheering them on - there is so much great stuff still to come."
In a follow-up tweet, Penello thanked Xbox fans for their years of support and feedback. "It's been awesome meeting and talking with so many of you," he wrote. "The FANS are the energy that keeps the team going so keep it up!!"
The 30 Most WTF Venom Moments in Marvel History
It's been 30 years since Venom debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #300. He may not be quite as old as classic villains like Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, but he's become every bit as popular and iconic.
That's not to say Venom hasn't has his share of head-scratching moments over the years. From his penchant for human flesh to that time he dressed as Santa Claus, here are the 30 weirdest and most WTF-worthy moments in Venom's 30-year career.
It's shaping up to be a huge year for Venom and his human host, Eddie Brock. Marvel is set to relaunch the ongoing Venom comic as part of the Fresh Start initiative this summer. And this fall, Brock and his darker side will be returning to the big screen in the Venom movie, which stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed.
Tacoma Coming to PlayStation 4
Tacoma, the latest game from Gone Home developer Fullbright, is coming to PlayStation 4.
Per PlayStation Blog, the title will be released on Sony's console on May 8. The PS4 version will come with a new Developer Commentary mode featuring two hours of commentary from the team. The mode will provide insight into how the project came to be, including the backstories behind some of the characters from the game.
Tacoma has players explore the titular abandoned space station to find out what went on there. You'll be using an augmented reality device to view recorded conversations from different angles, as well as scrub through different times to solve puzzles.
New to Netflix in May: Pixar’s Coco, Kimmy Schmidt, The Flash, Arrow, and More
Though Netflix might be losing a bunch of Disney properties in May (check out the Last Call list for May here), its current deal with Disney, which gets Disney films on the site six months after their theatrical release, is still in place. At least for a little while longer. Which means we get to stream the Oscar-winning Pixar film Coco at the end of May!
The rest of the month is filled with films like Red Dragon, Hellboy II, Scream 2, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wanted, and the most recently completed seasons of CW shows Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural, and Riverdale.
And, as always, there's an avalanche of Netflix Originals to sift through. From the fourth season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (which will only air the first half of the season, saving the rest for later in the year) to a pandemic thriller staring Martin Freeman called Cargo to a pandemic thriller starring...some Danish people, called The Rain, to a sci-fi adventure from Gattaca's Andrew Niccol featuring Clive Owen as detective investigating a serial assassin.
Leaving Netflix in May: The Jungle Book, GoodFellas, and More
This May, Netflix will be ditching some classic films like Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas, Ocean's Eleven, and Field of Dreams along with creep-fests Silent Hill and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Most notably though, the purging of Disney products has begun. With Disney launching its own streaming service in 2019, Netflix is starting to lose Disney properties in large clumps, as you can see here with the loss of Jon Favreau's live-action Jungle Book film and a bunch of TV catalogues - like Camp Rock, Cheetah Girls, High School Musical, Phineas and Ferb, and more.
