Mojang is testing out features that will be introduced in Minecraft's 1.21 update. The latest patch introduces Wind Charges, which allow players to channel their inner Air Bender, and Vaults, which reward them with items.

Thanks to a Minecraft blog post, we know that Wind Charges can be used in various ways. Players can use them as offensive items to launch items as projectiles at enemies at enemies and send nearby mobs flying. But it can also be used as a means of transportation, and players can use this to charge their jump. Unfortunately, Wind Charges cannot be crafted. The only way to get one is by killing Breezes.

But if players want to find Vaults, they must explore Trial Chambers. Unlike random chests found in caves, they'll have items for every player regardless of whether they've been looted. All they need to do is get a Trial Key, and after completing the Trials, they'll be guaranteed loot from the Vault. But it's worth mentioning the Trial Key can only be used once.

Dozens of physical games are on clearance at Best Buy right now, dropping prices on select Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch titles by up to 50%.

One of the best deals is for the limited-edition Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection for Xbox Series X, which you can grab for just $76 (normally $150). This version includes unique box art and tons of collectible goodies like an acrylic diorama, enamel pin set, trading cards, cloth poster, and 180-page art book. This is an amazing deal for any TMNT fan, even if you don't own an Xbox and just want the collectibles.

The Steam Deck rules, but anyone who's spent time with Valve's handheld gaming PC knows the battery can drain in just a couple hours when playing graphically intensive games. Luckily, there are third-party devices out there like the Baseus portable charger that can extend your playtime. Usually, the USB power bank costs $100, but you can grab it for just $56 at Amazon right now.

The Baseus Portable Charger features a 30,000mAh power bank and 65W battery, which can add several more hours of battery life to your devices. To charge your Steam Deck while playing, you need a 45W battery pack (at minimum), so this particular charger has no problem with that.

Microsoft's recent announcement of 1,900 layoffs within its Xbox division, including Activision Blizzard employees who joined Microsoft with the buyout, has prompted the United States government to call Microsoft out. The US' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a memo (via The Verge) that the layoff plan "contradicts" how Microsoft represented itself in its proceedings to get the deal done in the first place.

Microsoft's $74.5 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard is already done, but the FTC said it is trying to temporarily pause the buyout pending the FTC's judgment of it on antitrust merits.

"Microsoft's recently reported plan to eliminate 1,900 jobs in its video game division, including in its newly acquired Activision unit, contradicts the foregoing representations it made to this court," FTC counsel Imad D. Abyad said.

Fortnite's JokeNite is bringing comedians together for players to vote and watch on an exclusive island. JokeNite--a new comedy show within the game--is produced by Trevor Noah. Noah has written, hosted, and produced more than 1,000 episodes of The Daily Show among different comedy standup specials for more than a decade.

At the start of the show, the audience will vote on who among four comedians they want to see, but if nobody votes, there will be a Mega-Medley that will show a small portion of each comedian's set. JokeNite starts today and will feature small sets from Matthew Broussard, Scott Seiss, Marcia Belsky, and Preacher Lawson.

You can also turn on the JokeNite's TV Mode, which will recreate the visual stylings of a standup comedy special. To access JokeNite, you will need to enter the Island Code: 6296-7829-6524, or find the island in Epic's Picks section on the Discover tab.

To mark 1.5 million early access players, you can now suggest and boost features for Enshrouded via an official forum. Developer Keen Games has released a tips-and-tricks video for those getting started on their journey into Embervale.

On the Enshrouded feedback board, you can suggest features and fixes, discuss ideas, and upvote the things you want to see in the game. Ranking on the board does not equate to development or priority, but Keen Games promises to be paying attention.

As for the video, some of the tips are fairly obvious: Enemies grant XP, bosses grant more XP, you can level up various attributes, and you can always reset your progress to try new builds. Upgrading your equipment is essential to exploration, but you'll need to find specific NPCs to upgrade your class' gear.

Season 2 of the Halo TV series premieres on February 8, and if you're a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you might be able to watch the first few episodes for free.

Game Pass Ultimate subscribers who have never had a Paramount+ subscription before can now get a 30-day free trial to the subscription service. If this sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft offered the same deal for Season 1 in 2022.

If you fit the criteria, you can grab the free trial through the Perks tab on your Xbox console, through the Xbox app on Windows PC, or via the Game Pass mobile app on iOS and Android.

Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is live, but the update doesn't include any new content for Zombies mode, and now a popular Zombies content creator announced Treyarch doesn't plan to add any new perks or enemies types.

MrDalekJD, who is widely known for Zombies content, has revealed that Treyarch confirmed in a Season 2 creator call that the studio doesn't have any plans to add new enemy types or additional perks to Zombies.

BREAKING: @Treyarch have confirmed in a Season 2 Creator Call that there are NO plans for any new enemy types or new perks to come to #MWZ at any point. pic.twitter.com/ISVG1JCU2f

Players also shouldn't expect to gain any additional storage for their perks and other acquisition items. When discussing a potential stash size increase to let players store more loot, MrDalekJD says, "They have heard the feedback and demand for more size, but the Stash was designed for you to make calculated decisions on the limited items you can store. No ETA on if any changes are coming to the stash size."

Ryan Gosling has opened up about his initial reluctance to take on the role of Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie in a new Variety profile. Despite the enthusiastic anticipation that built considerable momentum before the film's release in July 2023, Gosling found the process of preparing for the role--and accepting it in the first place--much more harrowing.

Gosling told Variety that Ken was "the hardest role I've ever had to play," and that he initially turned it down due to scheduling conflicts and "some trepidation about embodying what was a punchline in pop culture."

An additional challenge to the role was the lack of substantial material to draw from for Ken's character. But once he came around to the idea, Gosling said finding out who Ken was "was like a high-wire act--in tiny shorts and no shirt--with no net… I wanted to make sure if I was going to do it--I was like, 'I can't mess this up. I can't be the guy that messed up the Barbie movie. So if I'm going to do it, I have to do more than I know that I'm even capable of.'"

Three years into the current generation of gaming, consoles can still be an expensive investment. At $500, an Xbox Series X is an investment, but right now you can save almost $200 on this console at Woot. The retailer is selling refurbished units for $310 each, but available stock will likely sell out very quickly. Each customer can buy a maximum of two consoles.

Woot says that these are Grade-A Refurbished models, which means that they'll be in full working condition and show minimal signs of use, and you'll get a 90-day warranty on your purchase. If you've got a modern TV, the Xbox Series X provides a stunning 4K gaming experience, as the internal hardware offers 12 teraflops of raw graphic processing power that many games have taken advantage of over the years to look their best.

At the top of the graphical charts, there are even games capable of running at 120 frames-per-second on the Xbox Series X, but generally, you'll get a superb 4K output.

Blizzard has shared a trailer for Overwatch 2 Season 9: Champions, which includes a tease for a Cowboy Bebop crossover. Season 9 also brings an overhaul to the competitive mode, along with an eldritch horror-inspired battle pass.

Overwatch 2 Season 9: Champions arrives on February 13, bringing a complete overhaul to competitive mode, including a true rank reset for all players. The main changes come from the ranks themselves and how they are tracked match-to-match. You no longer need to hit certain milestones to see your rank change, instead getting an update after every match. There are also more ranks now, including a new highest tier, Champion. While the trailer doesn't mention it specifically, Season 9 is also when new gameplay changes will be introduced, including adding passive healing for tanks and damage heroes.

The new battle pass will feature eldritch horror inspired skins, like a Cthulhu Torbjörn and the Mythic Ancient Caller Moira skin. The trailer didn't show everything in the new battle pass, but there are typically between six to eight skins included in the premium version. The Cosmic Crisis event mode will also kick off on February 13.

Twenty-five years later, a remake of Final Fantasy 8 looks unlikely, but that hasn't stopped the game's director from suggesting a big change to one of its defining features if Square Enix ever decided to resurrect it.

Speaking to IGN, Yoshinori Kitase explained that he'd rework Final Fantasy 8's Junction system in a remake, as he believed that it was a "difficult system" for people to understand at the time.

"I think you may remember we had the Junction system in Final Fantasy 8," Kitase said. "And the thing about that system was the enemies leveled up in line with what the player’s level was. And obviously you had to then use the Junction system and how you customize that to overcome the challenge there. And I think it was a very difficult system for some people to get into. Depending on player skills, sometimes they just didn't work out the best way of doing it. So I think I'd want to return to that and really rework the battle system on [Final Fantasy 8] and make it something where that level of difficulty and approachability for some fans was a lot better balanced. So I think that's the thing I'd look at most if I was going to look at remaking it."

Dustin Henderson might be fighting against Vecna in Stranger Things, but actor Gaten Matarazzo sounds like an ally to the villain in real life. That's because he wants the show to "kill more people."

According to CBR, Matarazzo chatted with fans and his Stranger Things castmates Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) as well as Grace Van Dien (Chrissy Cunningham in Season 4) at MegaCon Orlando over the past weekend. It was there where Matarazzo was asked what he would change about the Netflix series.

"It might sound messed up, but we should kill more people," Matarazzo replied to a fan question. "This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like at any moment any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we're all too safe."

Counter-Strike 2 just received its most significant update yet, adding the ever-popular Gun Game (aka Arms Race) along with a whole host of new customization options.

Arms Race has officially made its return in Counter-Strike 2, having been temporarily absent after Valve converted Counter-Strike: Global Offensive into the FPS sequel in September 2023. It's Gun Game as all shooter fans have come to love and expect: Race to get kills with each of the game's weapons, with the final game-winning kill forcing players to use a knife, or now, the Zeus stun gun.

Speaking of the Zeus, the weapon has finally received some love as of the Call to Arms update. The weapon now has a 30-second recharge in all game modes, received its first skin as part of the update's Kilowatt Case, and now supports custom tags and sticker placement. In regards to sticker placement, all weapons now support custom placement, meaning stickers are no longer limited to a few preset positions on each weapon. Each weapon additionally can support up to five stickers now, giving players more customization options than ever before.

Insomniac Games has announced that the next update for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will arrive on March 7. In addition to its highly-requested New Game Plus mode, the update will also add new suits and features.

The studio said on Twitter that it would reveal a more complete list of changes and new features that comes with the update as March 7 gets closer. The update was initially set to come out in 2023, but back in December, Insomniac Games announced that it delay the update to early 2024. This included features such as audio descriptions, changing the time of day, and mission replay. Now, we have an actual date.

Despite not winning any awards at The Game Awards 2023, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is leading at the 2024 Dice Awards with nine nominations. The ceremony is set to take place on February 15.

Activision has announced the next free trial event for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and it's coming up soon. The timing of the event is not random, as it appears to be tied to the February 7 launch of the game's Season 2 update.

During the free trial period, players can try out nine multiplayer maps--including one of the new ones, Stash House--as well as the multiplayer modes Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Team Gun Game. The entire Modern Warfare Zombies mode is included with the free trial. For Call of Duty: Warzone fans, that game is free already so players can jump in now and check out the return of Fortune's Keep and more.

You can see everything included in the free trial weekend in the graphic below, as shared by Activison on its website.

Season 2 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone arrives today, bringing a fresh battle pass to level up, new DLC weapons, more multiplayer maps, and the return of Fortune's Keep to Warzone. Activision reveals the full patch notes for the big update, which includes health changes, weapon balancing, quality-of-life updates, and more.

The launch of Season 2 brings a crossover with The Walking Dead, with Rick Grimes as an operator in the paid battle pass. Modern Warfare's Kate Laswell is also included as a new operator. The free tiers of the pass include weapon unlocks for the new BP50 assault rifle and RAM-9 submachine gun. You can find the full details for maps and modes arriving with our highlighted Season 2 announcements.

On the Warzone side, the patch notes include some adjustments to audio. Players should be able to hear nearby enemies better when they use ascenders or their parachutes, as the audible distance and volume is increased for both. Players will also now hear the intended audio cue when enemies are landing in their vicinity after using a redeploy drone.

2K Games has laid off an unknown number of developers at Visual Concepts, the studio behind games such as NBA 2K and Lego 2K Drive.

"Well... the games industry bloodletting continues. Today Visual Concepts Austin laid off myself and a group of very talented developers," said former art manager Brad Bowling on LinkedIn. "I have had a great time over the past couple of years working with some of the finest game devs in the industry. Over the past 23 years of making game art, I have seen some downturns but nothing like this."

This is the latest round of layoffs Visual Concepts conducted in less than a year. Back in September 2023, Visual Concepts laid off several developers from its production, design, and quality assurance departments, including executive producer Joseph Cowan.

It's been 10 years since Edge of Tomorrow--also known as Live. Die. Repeat.--hit theaters and despite the so-so box office return, fans have been curious about a sequel to the sci-fi action movie for a while now. The Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt film has become a cult classic and Blunt recently gave an update on a potential sequel.

Blunt received her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, and got the news in an interesting way. Talking to Josh Horowitz for a conversation at 92NY, the actress broke down some iconic roles in films like The Devil Wears Prada and Edge of Tomorrow. When asked if there's any update for a sequel to the latter, Blunt said it's still a possibility.

"I think when we were first talking about the sequel, it was right before I was about to do Mary Poppins, so it was quite a while," Blunt said (via THR). "And then I think if we're going to do one, we would have to reimagine what the sequel will look like."

A new update has arrived for Palworld, adding several tweaks to the Pokemon-inspired survival-crafting game on both PC and Xbox Series X|S. One of the major fixes is focused on save data, as the previous update introduced an issue where saves remained in a broken state and were impossible to load.

This should now be rectified once Palworld has been updated, and if you happen to have over 7,000 Pals in your collection, another issue where the game would always crash and save data would be corrupted has also been fixed.

The other thing worth mentioning in this patch is developer Pocketpair's focus on cheats and exploits. The studio has regularly tackled cheats in the game since it launched in early access, and a few more countermeasures have been introduced. Finally, any Pals who have been sleeping for roughly forever should be getting a wake-up call in this update.