Author: trafficblast

From E.T. to Predator to The Thing, these are the ’80s nods that make Stranger Things so fun to watch.

More than 6,000 games have been released on Steam so far this year–and there is still more than a month left before 2017 is out. This number comes from industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, who works for Niko Partners.

As Ahmad points out, 6,000 is nearly equal to the total number of games released on Steam in the decade between 2005 and 2015. It’s up from more than 4,200 games released on Steam in 2016 (via GI.biz). Here is the dramatic-looking chart that Ahmad put together to highlight the dramatic rise in Steam releases.

No doubt a big portion of the new releases this year have come through Steam Direct, which replaced Steam Greenlight earlier this year. Since its launch earlier this year, more than 1,000 games have been released, according to Kotaku.

The flood of new releases is lucrative for Valve, as the company gets a cut of every game sale, while also taking the $100 fee for every Steam Direct application.

In 2014, Valve released the “Steam Discovery” update to help users find what they’re looking for amid the onslaught of new releases. The update added new personalised recommendations based on your gameplay, as well as new search and discovery tools.

Every Sunday we take a look at some of the biggest releases dropping that week, and it’s finally time to travel to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars Battlefront II. You can also jump between universes in Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 or revisit the islands of Alola with Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Meanwhile, L.A. Noire is getting a re-release of its own for the current console generation, while Skyrim gets new ways to play in VR and on Nintendo Switch.

Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 — November 14

Tuesday is home to the latest Lego game for the whole family, and this Marvel sequel ups the ante by mashing together all sorts of different universes and characters from the comics. You’ll have plenty of heroes to build and bricks to collect with this one.

Further Reading:

• New Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 Trailer Confirms Release Date, Reveals Big Bad Villain
• Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 Officially Announced With New Teaser

L.A. Noire — November 14

The lie-detecting, crime solving game is making its way to new consoles. All versions include the base game and every DLC case, while the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X versions also offer 4K support. As for the Nintendo Switch port, that version has special motion and touch controls.

Further Reading:

• L.A. Noire On Switch And VR Offers A More Personal Detective Game
• Rockstar’s LA Noire Releasing For PS4, Xbox One With Some Improvements

Star Wars Battlefront II — November 17

No matter which era of Star Wars you grew up with, Battlefront II has something for you. Maps and heroes borrow from every trilogy, and the sequel finally brings something fans clamored for from the start: a proper single-player campaign with original characters.

Further Reading:

• Star Wars Battlefront 2 Microtransactions Are A Real Problem; Here’s What $100 Does To Progression
• Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Last Jedi DLC Release Date And Details Revealed

Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon — November 17

If you’re ready to return to Alola, these souped-up versions of Sun and Moon are for you. New Z-Moves and Ultra Beasts await you, and you can actually travel through wormholes to find the Beasts on their home turf. New photo options and surfing routes between the islands are here too.

Further Reading:

• Pokemon Ultra Sun And Moon: What Is Different In Each Version?
• Pokemon Ultra Sun And Moon Starter Trainer’s Pack Announced, Here’s What It Includes

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — November 17

If you haven’t picked up one of the many versions of Skyrim yet, you get two new chances this week. The Nintendo Switch version has special Zelda-themed gear and motion controls via the Joy-Cons, while the PlayStation VR version offers new motion controls of its own. Both versions include the full game and all of its expansions.

Further Reading:

• PS4’s Skyrim VR Headlines A New PSVR Bundle
• Skyrim On Nintendo Switch Release Date Announced

Pokemon Go developer Niantic Labs recently announced a new Pokemon AR game called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Some wondered what this might mean for the ongoing development and support of Pokemon Go. Now, Niantic has pledged that it is staying “100 percent committed” to Pokemon Go, with more “amazing features” coming soon.

“We are 100% committed to creating an ever-changing and growing game that gets our players exploring, meeting each other, and deepening their connection to the Pokemon universe,” Niantic explained in a blog post (via DualShockers). “We’re actively expanding the Pokemon GO development team to build many more amazing features in 2018.”

Niantic plans to start talking about “upcoming improvements to certain features” in Pokemon Go this week, so keep checking back for more.

Niantic also pointed out that it is working on Wizards Unite alongside the game development team at Harry Potter publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, so it’s sharing some of the workload. Additionally, support for Niantic’s earlier game, Ingress, continues. All three teams–Ingress, Pokemon Go, and Wizards Unite–are hiring right now.

Wizards Unite, which is due to launch in 2018 for mobile devices, lets players walk around the world world collecting power-ups, defending locations, and exploring their environment. You can read more about the game here in GameSpot’s previous coverage.

The game is being developed under the umbrella of Portkey Games, which is WB’s newly established Harry Potter games division. A new Harry Potter game for consoles is also in the works under the banner of Portkey Games.

Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games has announced on its website (via IGN) that two of its upcoming PlayStation VR games won’t make it out this year as scheduled.

The horror game The Inpatient, which is set in the world of Supermassive’s Until Dawn, is now launching on January 23, 2018 in the US and a day later in Europe and other international markets. The game takes place in the eerie Blackwood Sanatorium in the ’50s.

Supermassive’s other new PlayStation VR game, the first-person co-op shooter Bravo Team, has been delayed to March 6, 2016. It’s coming a day later in Europe and other international regions.

Supermassive announced The Inpatient, Bravo Team, and the crime game Hidden Agenda during Sony’s E3 2017 briefing back in June. Hidden Agenda launched at the end of October, and comes to Europe and other international markets on November 22.

PlayStation VR launched in October 2016, and just last month, Sony announced a new $400 model with minor but welcome changes. GameSpot’s Jimmy Thang said in his review of the launch model, “it trips up too many times to wholeheartedly recommend at this point.” You can read GameSpot’s full review here.

Microsoft has partnered jewellery company Helzberg Diamonds for a pretty bizarre promotion. Everyone who spends $1000 or more at Helzberg’s physical and online stores will get a free Xbox One S Starter Bundle.

This bundle includes a 500 GB Xbox One S and three-month memberships for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass. The Microsoft/Helzberg promotion, which was announced on the Xbox Wire, starts November 22 and runs through December 24.

Additionally, now through December 17, Helzberg shoppers can enter for a chance to win one of 100 Xbox One X systems in-store or through this sweepstakes page.

Earlier this year, Microsoft partnered with Taco Bell to give customers a chance to win an Xbox One X. The $500 US system finally launched on November 7–you can read our review here. Alternatively, you can check out our video review embedded above.

Thor: Ragnarok is still on top in US and Canadian theaters. Box office estimates supplied by Entertainment Weekly for the November 10-12 weekend show that Ragnarok is poised to make a $56.6 million during its second weekend, to hold to No. 1 by a wide margin.

That’s down 54 percent compared to its opening-weekend haul of $121 million, but a dropoff is expected. With this weekend’s figures accounted for, Ragnarok has now made $211.6 million in the US alone after just 10 days. Internationally, Ragnarok has now made $438.5 million after adding $75.9 million this weekend.

Ragnarok was praised by critics and fans, picking up a very strong A CinemaScore rating that surely helped the movie perform well in its second weekend.

Rounding out the top five films at US and Canadian theaters this weekend were Daddy’s Home 2 ($30 million), Murder on the Orient Express ($28.2 million), A Bad Moms Christmas ($11.5 million), and Jigsaw ($3.4 million).

Also of note is the new film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing Missouri, a dark comedy by In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. The film had a limited release this weekend, bringing in $320,000 from only four locations, for an average per-theater take of $80,000. The movie stars Frances McDormand as a mother who takes matters into her own hands after local police can’t make progress in finding her daughter’s murderer.

Below are the top 10 movies at the US and Canadian box office for November 10-12.

1. Thor: Ragnarok — $56.6 million
2. Daddy’s Home 2 — $30 million
3. Murder on the Orient Express — $28.2 million
4. A Bad Moms Christmas — $11.5 million
5. Jigsaw — $3.4 million
6. Boo 2: A Madea Halloween — $2.1 million
7. Geostorm — $1.5 million
8. Blade Runner 2049 — $1.4 million
9. Happy Death Day — $1.3 million
10. Lady Bird — $1.2 million