All the Marvel Characters Disney Will Get From Fox
For even more on the Disney Fox Deal, be sure to check out all the movie and TV show properties Disney is getting from Fox. Or catch up on the X-Men projects that are on hold due to the merger, and what Disney taking over Fox could mean for the TV landscape.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect the most recent developments regarding the Fox/Disney deal.
Marvel’s The Punisher: Season 2 Announced by Netflix
Frank Castle will return to fight some more thugs in another season of Marvel's The Punisher.
Netflix has announced The Punisher has officially been renewed for a second season. However, a release date for Season 2 hasn't been revealed yet. You can check out the brief announcement teaser below.
The Punisher premiered on Netflix on November 17. We scored Season 1 a 8.5, saying the show "sets itself apart from the rest of the Marvel Netflix series with a great first season." The show stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, along with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ben Barnes, and Amber Rose Revah.
How 2018 Hearthstone Esports Will Be Its Biggest Year Yet
Hearthstone Esports in 2017 saw non-stop improvement as the team at Blizzard continued to iron out hiccups and lasered in on the competitive integrity of the wildly successful digital card game. In 2018 it's going to be even better.
I sat down with Che Chou — the Franchise Lead for Hearthstone Esports, who was in town for the Sydney Innvitational — and he gave me an exclusive run-through of how competitive Hearthstone will work in 2018.
You'll Love My New Recipe
The 2018 Roadmap for HCT
The Last Jedi Projected to Make $440M in Worldwide Debut
Based on current industry projections, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is on track to make between $424 million and $440 million in its worldwide debut.
As reported by Deadline, industry sources expect the Rian Johnson-directed Star Wars movie to open internationally between $223 million and $240 million, and prior reports put The Last Jedi's domestic debut in the ballpark of $200 million. Comparatively, Star Wars: The Force Awakens made $281 million internationally in its opening weekend and had a $537.96 million global debut.
Doki Doki Literature Club May Get a Mobile Version
Doki Doki Literature Club developer Team Salvato is "exploring the possibility of developing an official mobile port of DDLC."
Writing on the Team Salvato blog, studio founder Dan Salvato said the potential mobile version of Doki Doki Literature Club "may have some differences from the desktop version," adding he'd like to make "some updates and bug fixes" before bringing it to mobile. "In other words, I’m not comfortable with the game being ported to mobile as-is," he wrote.
While there currently isn't an official mobile version available, several unofficial ports are floating around digital storefronts such as the Google Play Store. In an effort to combat this, Salvato said he has "updated the Fan Content Guidelines to disallow DDLC fan games, or games using official DDLC assets, to be uploaded to public app stores."
One Piece: World Seeker Game Announced
A new One Piece game has been announced, One Piece: World Seeker.
Bandai Namco announced the return of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates on Twitter, confirming the game will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC next year.
While a release date has not yet been announced, Bandai Namco did say One Piece: World Seeker is an open-ended action adventure that represents a "brand new chapter" in the epic saga.
The One Piece series follows the exploits of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who gained a rubbery body after eating a Devil Fruit. He and his crew of Straw Hat Pirates go on adventures as they search the world for the great treasure known as One Piece.
Disney, Fox Deal Could Reportedly Close This Week
Disney could reportedly complete its purchase of 21st Century Fox’s movie and television production operations as soon as this week.
CNBC reports the deal is moving closer to being finalized, with a possible announcement coming this Thursday. Comcast reportedly dropped its bid for Fox on Monday, with Disney now being the sole suitor. The deal is said to be worth over $60 billion, but the exact amount is still not known.
Reports last week suggested Disney is closing in on a deal to buy most of Fox, with both companies said to be interested in the acquisition. Disney will acquire all of Fox's TV and movie assets, as well as its regional sports networks and its 30 percent stake in Hulu, among plenty of other properties.
The Overwatch League Preseason Results Are In
Overwatch League preseason matches concluded last Saturday, December 9, and the final results for all 11 teams are in.
As previously reported, originally 12 teams were slated to participate in the preseason, but Philadelphia representative Philadelphia Fusion dropped out "due to player logistics issues." The team will return when official League matches begin on January 10, 2018.
Here's a day-by-day breakdown of the preseason match results:
Wednesday, December 6
Ni no Kuni 2 Delayed
The release of Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom has been delayed by two weeks.
Bandai Namco and LEVEL-5 have announced Ni no Kuni II will now see a worldwide release on March 23, 2018.
Akihiro Hino, President and CEO of LEVEL-5, said the delay will give the team "a bit more time to make sure the entire Ni no Kuni II experience meets our highest quality standards." He noted Revenant Kingdom is "coming along very nicely" and the developer has included new modes, including Skirmish and Kingdom Modes.
"With innovation and new ideas comes the need to ensure everything works together in a fun and cohesive way," Hino said, going on to "ask for everyone's patience" as the team works to finish the game.
TLOZ: Breath of the Wild: The Champions’ Ballad DLC Review
If The Champions’ Ballad is indeed the last new content we see for Breath of the Wild, it doesn’t feel like much of a send-off. This web of new overworld trials and Shrines is strung together by some fairly throwaway backstory, and its rewards are minimal. And yet, as it came to a close, it was what I'd played, not the story I'd been told, that shone through. I'd just been given 8 more stellar hours of one of the best games ever made. This isn't a goodbye from Hyrule, it's a nudge to return there.
While it’s teed up as story-focused DLC, The Champions’ Ballad feels much more akin to the first DLC pack, The Master Trials, in structure. It’s definitively endgame material, focused on challenging players who think they’ve mastered Breath of the Wild’s beautifully tessellated systems.