This Trick Saves You Up to $360 on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

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Check this out: Right now, you can get up to three years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for much cheaper than usual. All you need to do is have three years of Xbox Live Gold on your account, then try Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is on sale for just $1 between now and July 4.

As if by magic, this upgrades up to 36 months of existing Gold membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for no additional cost. That saves you about $10 for every month you have banked. Do it for the full 36-month limit, and you’ll save $360. Holy cow.

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Fortnite 9.30 Content Update Now Live, Here Are The Patch Notes

Fortnite‘s 9.30 content update is now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. As developer Epic’s patch notes detail, this week’s update not only marks the start of the 14 Days of Summer event, it also introduces yet another new gun to the game and makes some balance adjustments to a handful of existing weapons and items.

Fortnite has received some unique weapons over the past few seasons, but this week’s addition to the arsenal is a classic: the Revolver, which Epic describes as “simple, reliable, [and] powerful.” It comes in Epic and Legendary variants and can be found as floor loot or in chests, vending machines, supply drops, or Loot Carriers.

To make room for the Revolver, Epic has vaulted a handful of older weapons, namely the Impulse Grenades, Rift-to-Go, Pirate Cannon, and rare Tactical Assault Rifle. The developer has also slightly reduced the availability of the Flint Knock Pistol and the Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle, while a few other weapons have gotten balance adjustments. The Drum Gun’s fire rate was reduced from 9 to 8, while the Heavy Assault Rifle’s damage was slightly increased. Supply Llamas have also been adjusted; there will now be five per match rather than three, and they now hold 350 of each material rather than 200.

Epic has also unvaulted a few weapons as part of the aforementioned 14 Days of Fortnite event. The uncommon and rare Pump Shotguns are now back, as are Shockwave Grenades and the Suppressed SMG. Epic has said it will unvault a different weapon for 24 hours every day of the 14 Days of Summer event. You can find the patch notes for Battle Royale mode below, while the full patch notes are available on Epic’s website.

Epic is offering lots of other daily content during the 14 Days of Summer event. Players will have a new challenge to complete and reward to unlock every day, and there will be a new outfit and other items for purchase from Fortnite’s in-game shop. Finally, a new limited-time mode will be featured every day, and they and include the John Wick crossover LTM, Wick’s Bounty, as well as a handful of new modes like Splashdown Squads, which has players trying to eliminate each other with water balloons.

Fortnite: Battle Royale 9.30 Content Update Patch Notes

Weapons & Items

  • Revolver
    • Available in Epic and Legendary variants.
    • Fires Medium Ammo.
    • Holds 6 rounds.
    • 63 / 66 damage per shot.
    • Headshot multiplier of 2.
    • Available from Floor loot, Chests, Vending Machines, Supply Drops, and Loot Carriers.
  • Vaulted
    • Rare Tactical Assault Rifle
      • With the unvaulting of the Suppressed Submachine Gun, we wanted to make sure loot distribution in this class of item was well distributed.
    • Impulse Grenades
    • Rift-To-Go
    • Pirate Cannon
  • Unvaulted
    • Uncommon and Rare Pump Shotgun
      • Available in floor loot and Vending Machines
      • There’s been a lot of feedback around the Tactical Shotgun and Combat Shotgun effectiveness, and so we’re experimenting with a world where the Pump Shotgun joins the current shotgun lineup.
    • Shockwave Grenade
    • Suppressed SMG
      • We feel the Suppressed Submachine Gun can fill a complementary role to the Burst Submachine Gun as a viable alternative.
    • Common, Uncommon, and Rare Revolver
  • Tactical Shotgun
    • Availability from floor loot reduced from 8.19% to 5.4%
    • Headshot Multiplier increased from 2 to 2.25
  • Burst SMG
    • Availability adjustments
      • Availability from floor loot reduced from 5.03% to 3.1%
      • Availability from chests reduced from 18.66% to 10.32%
    • Balance adjustments
      • Base accuracy increased by 13.6%
      • Jumping accuracy penalty reduced from 15% to 5%
      • Sprinting accuracy penalty reduced from 30% to 20%
      • Base damage increased from 23/24/25 to 24/25/26
    • The Burst SMG was dropping a bit too frequently for the role it was intended to fill. Additionally, it was underperforming when compared to similar items.
  • SemiAuto Sniper Rifle
    • Availability from floor loot reduced from 0.65% to 0.44%
    • Availability from chests reduced from 5.1% to 3.4%
  • FlintKnock Pistol
    • Availability from floor loot reduced from 1.97% to 1.32%
  • Infantry Rifle
    • Increased the Epic and Legendary Infantry Rifle clip size from 8 to 10
  • Minigun
    • Increased player damage from 18/19 to 20/21
  • DrumGun
    • Reduced clip size from 50 to 40
    • Reduced fire rate from 9 to 8
    • Since the unvaulting, the Drum Gun has outperformed in unintended areas. This adjustment should help create more counterplay in combat.
  • Heavy Assault Rifle
    • Increased damage from 36/38/40 to 38/40/42
    • The Heavy Assault Rifle usage rates aren’t quite where we’d like. This adjustment to Damage is intended to offset some of the downsides of the weapon.

Gameplay

Supply Llama

  • Increased the material count from 200 of each to 350 of each
  • Increased the total number of Llamas per match from 3 to 5

First Bond 25 Footage Revealed

Bond 25 might have suffered a somewhat troubled production so far, but filming is well and truly underway. While we’re yet to receive a proper trailer or even a final title, production company Eon has now released a behind-the-scenes video for the new film.

The teaser, which you can watch below, gives us a first glimpse at Daniel Craig’s fifth (and likely final) adventure as James Bond. Alongside Craig in the trailer is director Cary Fukunaga, Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter), and Lashana Lynch (Nomi).

Filming of Bond 25 hit a snag earlier in June when a controlled explosion went wrong on set, injuring one person. Craig also needed about two weeks of downtime to recover from an ankle injury and surgery sustained while filming in Jamaica. Despite that, the production team said at the time that the movie will not be delayed.

James Bond 25, or whatever it ends up being called, hits theatres in April 2020. In addition to Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Lea Seydoux will all reprise their roles for the 25th James Bond movie. Wright and Ben Whishaw also return, while Rami Malek has joined the movie as the villain.

Bond 25’s story begins with Bond no longer on active service but instead enjoying himself in Jamaica. “His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help,” reads a line from the film’s official description. “The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.”

The movie was initially going to be directed by Danny Boyle, but he left due to “creative differences.” True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga replaced Boyle before the film was delayed first from October 2019 to February 2020 and then again to April 3, 2020.

Wii U Just Got An Update, And Yes It’s 2019

The Wii U has been a dormant part of the Nintendo hardware lineup, in favor of the newer and much more successful Nintendo Switch. But it isn’t entirely dead and gone yet, as the company still issues occasional firmware updates. Like one this week, in the year 2019.

The Nintendo Support site doesn’t list the update yet, but Nintendo Everything reports that the firmware update brings the system up to version 5.5.4. The update doesn’t mention what exactly it does, but it likely adds “improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.” That has been the trend for Wii U updates since the last major feature addition in 2014. The last system update came in September 2018.

It’s unsurprising that Nintendo hasn’t paid much attention to the Wii U since the Nintendo Switch launched. Two years into the Switch, the newer system has already almost tripled the hardware sales of the Wii U, and nearly doubled its software sales. Nintendo has made a habit of re-releasing overlooked Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Third parties have moved on as well. Though curiously, the still-massive 100-million install base for the Wii means it still gets some attention where the Wii U doesn’t. Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2020, for example, is slated for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Wii.

Amazon Prime Day 2019 Dates Announced: Get Ready For Major Gaming Deals

Brace yourselves, gamers: The biggest shopping event of the summer is going down in just a few weeks. Amazon has officially announced the dates and times for Prime Day 2019, its annual sitewide sale akin to Black Friday. Prime Day 2019 will begin July 15 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET / 8 AM BST / 5 PM AET and run for exactly 48 hours, ending on July 17 at midnight PT. Last year’s sale ran for 36 hours, so this year’s Prime Day will be the longest-running yet. And that doesn’t even account for all the pre-Prime Day deals that are likely to pop up between now and July 15.

First of all, to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day 2019, you’ll have to be a Prime member. Amazon’s annual premium membership comes with a one-month free trial; after that, it costs $119 a year (or $13 per month). If you’re a currently enrolled student, you can take advantage of Prime Student, which has a six-month free trial and afterward costs only $59 a year (or $6.49 per month). Besides access to Prime Day deals, Prime membership has plenty of benefits year-round, including free two-day (or faster) shipping, unlimited Prime Video access, automatic Twitch Prime membership (which offers free monthly PC games and in-game loot), music streaming, and more. If you’re not ready to commit to the full package, you can still sign up for a free one-month trial to participate in Prime Day–just make sure to cancel after.

Unlike most everyday sales, Prime Day includes a few different types of deals to be aware of before the event rolls around. Besides the Prime Day-exclusive deals that will be available during the entire 48 hours (or until they go out of stock), there will also be Early Access deals available in the days leading up to Prime Day to get people excited. These deals will most likely showcase Amazon devices such as the Echo Show and Fire TV Stick. Spotlight Deals will run for 24 hours, and Lightning Deals, which tend to be the best, are available for only a short time and have a limited stock–sometimes, they’ll sell out within minutes. We’ll keep you updated on the best Lightning Deals via GameSpot Deals on Twitter, so be sure to give that a follow and check back often during Prime Day.

Even though you can’t see lines out the door and people shoving their way through crowds to fill their cart, Prime Day is as hectic as Black Friday, which can cause the site to crash and products to sell out faster than you can blink. While we can’t predict how Amazon’s servers will hold up during Prime Day 2019, we can make your shopping experience a bit easier by curating the best game and console deals so you’re aware of all the options. We’ll be covering the best PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC game and console deals, as well as discounts on VR hardware, tabletop games, Funko Pops, and more, right here at GameSpot. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or getting in some early holiday shopping, Prime Day 2019 will be an excellent chance to grab anything that’s been sitting on your wishlist.

Thor Ragnarok Director Taiki Waititi Is Working On An Animated Flash Gordon Movie

New Zealand director Taiki Waititi is one of the most in-demand filmmakers currently working. Following the success of Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi has produced the TV spin-off from his vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, directed the soon-to-be-released World War II satire Jojo Rabbit, and is also set to helm the long-awaited live-action movie version of Akira. It’s now been reported that he’s involved with a new animated Flash Gordon film.

According to Deadline, Waititi has been brought on board to “crack” a new version of Flash Gordon. The site states that Waititi won’t necessarily direct or write the movie, but is involved in the early development stages. A new Flash Gordon movie has been in the works for several years, with both Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman) and Julius Avery (Overlord) attached a various stages.

Flash Gordon is an intergalactic adventurer who first appeared in comic strips in 1934. There were TV adaptations in 1954 and 2007, and a Hollywood movie in 1980. Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, it has since become a cult favorite.

Waititi was first announced as the director of Akira in 2017, and the movie was given an official release date last month. The adaptation will hit theaters on May 21, 2021. Waititi has previously explained that he won’t be making a direct adaptation of the 1990 anime movie, but would instead be going back to original manga it was based on.