Major Twitch Streamer Banned Following CS:GO Gambling Accusations

James "PhantomL0rd" Varga has had his Twitch channel closed down as part of the recent Counter Strike: Global Offensive gambling controversy.

According to Eurogamer, Varga faces accusations he rigged CS:GO rolls on a website called CSGO Shuffle. Over the weekend, YouTuber Richard Lewis uncovered Skype logs which suggest Varga part-owns the website, and was fed information by the co-owner while he was betting.

It's a similar story to the recent scandal involving YouTubers ProSyndicate and TmarTn. These two have not been formally accused of cheating, and are continuing to make videos on their respective channels unhindered.

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Microsoft Imagines Its Own Games as Pokemon Go Clones

The Donphan in room is simply too large to ignore, and now even Nintendo's rivals are getting in on the Pokemon Go phenomenon.

Case in point: Xbox UK today tweeted an image re-imagining its own games - Forza, Crackdown and Halo - as Pokemon Go clones (on Pokemon Go-lacking Windows Phones no less).

The notional Forza Go, Crackdown Go and Halo Go. The notional Forza Go, Crackdown Go and Halo Go.

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Star Wars Rebels: Season 3’s Big Clone Wars Connection

There was a lot to absorb in the big Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 trailer released this past weekend, between the reveal of Grand Admiral Thrawn making his introduction into canon, Wedge Antilles showing up as an Imperial cadet and Sabine holding the Darksaber. But one other notable moment came when we saw the Rebels crew fighting… a bunch of Battle Droids?

Star Wars Rebels co-creator/executive producer Dave Filoni worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars alongside George Lucas for years before the current animated series and when I spoke to him about the Battle Droids at Star Wars Celebration in London, where the trailer debuted, he noted, “There's several funny things about the Battle Droids. They first is they’re actually way better than the ones I had in Clone Wars."

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Life Is Strange Episode 1, “Chrysalis” Now Free

Square Enix has made the first episode of teen-themed time travel adventure, Life Is Strange - titled "Chrysalis" - free indefinitely.

The offer applies across all available formats (that's *deep breath* PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Mac and PC) and begins tomorrow, July 21.

“Although our team set out to create an award-winning narrative we still cannot believe the response we’ve had from players of Life is Strange” said CEO of developer Dontnod, Oskar Guilbert in a statement. “We’re really glad that Square Enix have decided to give the first episode away for free so more players can begin their journey and see why people have fallen in love with the game for themselves”.

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Animal Crossing: New Leaf Getting Amiibo Support

Nintendo is finally bringing Amiibo support to its main Animal Crossing game—Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

The free update will come in November, according to Kotaku's translation from the Japanese Animal Crossing website. Animal Crossing Amiibo figures will unlock new content in New Leaf; and it looks like Amiibos from other games will be supported, too. Images on the Animal Crossing website show a collection of items from Nintendo's Splatoon.

amiibo via Animal Crossing's Japanese website

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Blizzard Teases What’s Next For Hearthstone

Details about the next Hearthstone instalment will be revealed via a live stream on July 28, 2016, and it seems to be a new Adventure.

Via an invitation circulated earlier today, Blizzard invites us to a "once-in-a-lifetime event that will be full of magic and celebration". Crucially, it promises an "unforgettable adventure" - seemingly pointing to a outing for Hearthstone's single-player mode.

unnamed

Rumours are already circulating, with some hoping the feather motif may refer to Medivh, the last Guardian of Tirisfal, who resided in World of Warcraft's Karazhan location. Could the new Adventure be set in Karazhan, and the "old friend" mentioned be former tower steward Moroes?

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Daily Deals: Rise of the Tomb Raider – 20 Year Celebration, Pokémon GO Battery Life Problem Solution

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Pokémon GO Killing Your Battery?

You're in the wilderness looking for the rarest legendary Pokémons known, get into the second hour of your session and suddenly your phone's battery dies. Possibly the most frustrating thing that has happened to you in the past week right? Well you can easily avoid frustration with this Anker PowerCore 20,100mAh Ultra High Capacity Portable Power Bank that Amazon have for just £29.99 (Save £70). 

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Kirby Cafes and Official Shops to Open in Japan for Limited Time

Official Kirby cafes and shops will be opening across  locations in Japan ahead of the 25th anniversary of Nintendo's character.

We first learned about the possibility of a Kirby-cafe opening earlier this month, but now we have some images and more information on the locations. Check out the gallery below to see some of the food and items on offer.

Tokyo and Osaka will both receive a cafe and shop, with each branch carrying a menu unique to that location. The concept behind the cafe? Imagine if Kirby was the chef in the kitchen and was filling everyone's stomach with refreshing seasonal ingredients to beat the summer heat (that's a rough translation from the Japanese press release – thanks IGN Japan).

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The Japanese Collectible Card Game That May Surprise You

There’s a lot going on in the digital collectible card game space right now. Everywhere you turn, there’s a game doing something unique and interesting. In the last couple of months alone, I’ve commanded Old Gods in Hearthstone, controlled resource points in Faeria, created my own adventures in Chronicle: Runescape Legends and taken on quests in Fable Fortune. My latest obsession, however, is Shadowverse, a card game with a richly detailed anime aesthetic that’s currently available on Android and iOS.

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