Month: April 2020

GameStop has closed all of its stores in Massachusetts, including any curbside service, according to The Boston Globe. The closure also comes after a report that GameStop leadership instructed employees to wrap their hands in plastic or wear gloves while handing off orders to customers.

The state of Massachusetts ordered all nonessential businesses to close on March 24. GameStop pushed back against the closure order by saying it provided an essential service, a statement that appeared to apply to GameStop stores across the U.S.

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After keeping stores operational despite the state government’s order, the inspectional services department for the City of Boston ordered GameStop’s Dorchester location to close. The Boston Globe reports that no fine was issued to GameStop, but a nuisance order was issued, and the inspector followed up by visiting the store location on Wednesday to ensure the store had actually closed.

GameStop confirmed to Boston Globe it had closed all Massachusetts stores on Thursday.

It’s unclear If GameStop has fully shut down stores in other states, except for California, where GameStop eventually relented and followed the governor’s shutdown order. IGN has reached out to GameStop for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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Facing increasing pressure and criticism last month, GameStop finally relented and closed the physical storefronts of all U.S. locations on March 23, announcing the decision in a press release. Despite the announcement, many stores continued to offer curbside pickup for customer orders. According to Boston Globe, this included employees being instructed to either wear gloves or wrap their hands in plastic shopping bags while handing orders to customers through the crack in a door.

According to Boston Globe, In a company email, GameStop employees were specifically instructed to “lightly (you want to be able to get it off easily) tape a Game Stop plastic bag over your hand and arm. Do not open the door all the way — keep the glass between you and the guest’s face — just reach out your arm.”

GameStop still has some pretty lofty plans to save itself as a company, but like a lot of businesses throughout America, it’s coming under increasing strain to remain afloat.

GameStop is set to permanently close 300 stores this year after more financial struggles.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Your weekly Grand Theft Auto V Online rewards update is here, and as usual, that means certain activities have double to triple rewards attached. From now until April 8, you can get triple cash rewards and RP in the Arena War Series. For those starting to dabble in Arena Wars, Rockstar is also offering a 50% off discount on the Arena Workshop, a place to store players’ equipment obtained from the in-game ArenaWar.tv website.

If you’re looking to fill a spot in your Arena Workshop, all three different designs of the Arena Sasquatch are 60% off. They come in a “visionary Future Shock look, the ominous Apocalypse design, or the intimidating Nightmare variation.”

If players beat the par time for the Sawmill time trial and La Fuente Blanca RC time trial, they’ll receive triple cash and RP rewards too. Double rewards will be offered for Simeon’s Premium Deluxe Repo Work mission.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

With just about every movie and TV show being delayed, and production on future projects being halted, here’s news of a series actually debuting earlier than originally scheduled. TNT has bumped up its Snowpiercer series.

Previously slated to premiere on Sunday, May 31, Snowpiercer — which is based on French graphic novel Le Transperceneige (that spawned the 2013 Bong Joon-ho film adaptation) — will now arrive two weeks sooner, on Sunday, May 17.

The story involves a future world that has become a frozen wasteland. The remnants of humanity — who struggle with class warfare, social injustice and politics — inhabit a perpetually moving train, with 1001 cars, that circles the globe.

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“Snowpiercer is one of the most anticipated original series of 2020 and in this climate, viewers are craving thrilling, engaging, edge-of-your-seat content that speaks to them on a deeper level,” said Brett Weitz, general manager for TNT, TBS and truTV.

“It is extremely important that we continue with our promise to meet audiences where they are, and to that effect, we are moving up Snowpiercer’s premiere so that fans can enjoy this futuristic series even earlier.”

Snowpiercer, which has already been renewed for a second season, stars Tony-winner Daveed Diggs, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, Emmy-nominee Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, and Tony Award-winner and Grammy-nominee Lena Hall.

For more Snowpiercer, check out these posters drawn by popular artists, and a sneak-peek clip that we saw at New York Comic Con back in 2019.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Fortnite creator Epic Games and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Games have teamed up to release a mobile game for iOS and Android called Spyjinx, a game long in the works.

In 2015, J.J. Abrams and Epic Games announced that Spyjinx was in development and a closed beta would be available in 2016. Obviously, that didn’t happen and now, four years later, the dev team has released more details and is finally inching the game closer to launch.

From the limited information currently available, Spyjinx appears to be about secret agents and espionage schemes. Game objectives such as creating and protecting your own hideout and infiltrating other players’ hideouts looks like a major component of the gameplay. Spyjinx is a mix of “action-strategy gameplay, RPG character development, and head-to-head multiplayer,” according to the game’s description.

Continue Reading at GameSpot