December last year we heard about a Marvel writer joining Netflix's Witcher TV series project, now that writer Lauren S. Hissrich has taken to Twitter to answer some questions about the upcoming series.

Hissrich reveals and confirms that the first season of the show will only be featuring 8 episodes, this could be worrisome for some fans as they know how rich and in depth the world Andrzej Sapkowski created in his novels. Hissrich backs up the decision of only making the first season 8 episodes by saying "EIGHT EPISODES. Yes! I know, I know, it may not seem like enough for you, but creatively, it's the right call. The episodes can be tight, action-packed, rich in character and story, without lagging in the middle of the season. Sounds good to me, sound good to you?"

The head writer doesn't stop there either, she is asked by a fan when can we expect the series to debut and she says "2020. Who knows?! We're moving quickly ahead with everything -- like, my head is spinning around Exorcist-style, except with enthusiasm, not evil possession -- but one thing is certain: quality comes before speed. You'll get it as soon as humanly possible, and it'll be good." Hissrich finishes up her Twitter spree by saying that there still isn't a cast chosen yet, as well as the script for the other episodes besides the pilot are not even in existence. She does say that other writers will be joining her soon on this endeavor.

This is one of the most exciting applications for blockchain tech and is a huge win for you, me and the online media companies we interact with! The ad-blocking browser Brave has partnered with Dow Jones Media Group. Why would they do that you ask? Especially when media groups detest ad-blocking software.

Brave, while people love it for its ad-blocking capabilities, never intended to completely block ads, they want to do it better. They want to deliver more privacy and security, a faster browser experience, fewer middlemen and reward users and content creators.

This is where the blockchain comes in! Brave Software have created the Basic Attention Token (BAT) which will allow for blockchain based digital advertising to value user attention securely and accurately. Brendan Eich, the creator of Javascript and co-founder of Mozilla and Firefox is the CEO of Brave Software and the founder of BAT, wants to help protect users while also making sure content is rewarded appropriately.

I've been on holiday for the past week and didn't cover the purported specs on the GeForce GTX 1180 from WCCFTech, something I wanted to have the time to properly sit down and think about and then, write about... so here we go.

The site says "latest leaks, rumors and information provided" to them, without any names or proof, so this is all in the air. The site says the GeForce GTX 1180 will pack the unannounced Turing GPU architecture with the GT104 variant powering the GTX 1180, at up to 400mm2.

NVIDIA will pack an insane 3584 CUDA cores into the purported GeForce GTX 1180, with 8-16GB GDDR6 models on a 256-bit memory bus with the GDDR6 clocked at 16Gbps, blowing GDDR5X and HBM2 out of the water. This will provide the purported GTX 1180 with 512GB/sec of memory bandwidth up from the 320GB/sec offered on the GTX 1080 with its 8GB of GDDR5X at 10Gbps.

The largest shift for Battlegrounds is about to occur, with developer PUBG Corp. has announced the world's first global tournament for Battlegrounds, inviting 20 of the best PUBG teams in the world to compete in Berlin in July for a prize pool of $2 million.

PUBG Corp. boss Chang Han Kim announced: "The team at PUBG Corp. is working tirelessly to ensure that the PUBG Global International exemplifies the pinnacle of PUBG competition and brings to life all of the excitement, tension, and exhilaration of the highest level of PUBG play, not only to the fans attending the PGI 2018, but also those watching at home".

The company will choose 20 qualifying teams in the beginning of July, after a bunch of regional qualifying tournaments are held in the US, Europe, and Asia. PUBG players will fight in 4-player squad battles in both third-person and first-person modes, with the third-person qualifying rounds taking place July 25-26, and first-person between July 28-29.

PUBG is beyond a phenomenon in China and now Fortnite is going to join the fray, all thanks to a partnership between Epic Games and Chinese gaming giant Tencent.

Tencent has a 40% stake in Epic Games, with the company to distribute and publish Fortnite in China. Tencent also controls PUBG in China, so they will be doubling down with both Fortnite and PUBG in China which is a big, big deal. On top of that, Tencent will spend $15 million on marketing Fortnite in China, marketing the Battle Royale smash hit to Chinese gamers while stopping piracy and taking down illegal clones of the game which is a big problem for Battlegrounds in China.

Fortnite in China will be a big success due in part to Tencent spending time and money on the eSports scene in China for Fortnite, with the company reportedly building a dedicated app that will help gamers learn about Fortnite, watch live games, and more.

There are various theories about what Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's multiplayer is going to be like, with the latest tease that it will be similar to Overwatch from Blizzard, which falls under the Activision umbrella like Call of Duty.

Charlie Intel is reporting that Black Ops 4 will feature multiplayer that is inspired by Overwatch and even LawBreakers, with another mention that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will indeed not feature a single-player story. The report starts off with "New Multiplayer information has been confirmed by more than one source so I can now talk about that more publicly. As of two days ago Multiplayer was in the worst state you have ever seen a Call of Duty multiplayer mode".

It continues: "Sources who have play-tested the mode claim that it is less like a call of duty mode and more like a Call of Duty Overwatch or a Call of Duty Lawbreakers. The Lawbreakers reference is incredibly apt considering what he told me next. Remember how I said the game was simultaneously boots on the ground and advanced movement? Well I can elaborate on that a little more too".

AMD is fighting the good fight with gamers with a new surprise bundle that is called Combat Crate. What is the new Combat Crate exactly? Well, there are two different Combat Crates so far, the first with a Ryzen 5 1600 and the other with a Ryzen 7 1700.

Both of the Combat Crates come with an MSI B350 Tomahawk motherboard and MSI RX 580 Armor OC graphics card. This is a perfect combo for playing games at 1080p or even 1440p, and packing some hefty CPU power for a bundled price of just $599.

If you purchased these parts separately, it would cost $585 cheaper than the Combat Crate. But, the MSI RX 580 Armor OC graphics card is discounted from its original $379.99 price to $327.67, so if it was not discounted the bundle would be $35 cheaper or so.

About a month before its official release, Detroit: Become Human has gone gold and will get a nice demo for PlayStation 4 users to play.

Although David Cage's cinematic games from Quantic Dream often polarize gamers, I was quite piqued in the drama shown in Detroit: Become Human's E3 2017 showcase--it seemed gritty, raw, and emotional, and represented just one small part of the game itself. Now that the game has been finalized on a master disc the android dilemma simulator is ready for manufacturing...but we'll get an early taste of the QTE-fest a lot sooner than May.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog Quantic Dream co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere confirmed a Detroit: Become Human demo is launching tomorrow. "To celebrate this milestone, and to help you pass the time as you hold on just a little while longer for the game's release on May 25th, I am extremely happy to announce that the very first scene of the game, Hostage, will be available for download on the PS Store starting tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24 at 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time," he said.

Despite strong pushback from consumers and enthusiast gamers and even legislative action, one analyst firm predicts the lootbox and cosmetic skin gambling sectors' earnings could rise to $50 billion across the next four years.

While the lootbox market has been disrupted with big events like the Battlefront II controversy, key publishers like Activision, EA, Take-Two Interactive and Ubisoft continue to make billions from microtransactions every year--and this year should be no different. According to a new report from analyst firm Juniper Research, lootbox and skin gambling revenues will continue surging across the next four years to reach a total spend of $50 billion by 2022--about a 67% increase from this 2018's forecast.

"A new study from Juniper Research forecasts that loot boxes and skins gambling, two emerging gaming growth sectors, will reach a total spend of $50 billion by 2022, up from under $30 billion this year," the report synopsis states. "Loot boxes are in-game packs which contain a random selection of items; while skins are in-game cosmetics which change the appearance of weapons or characters."

On the heels of Yakuza's long-running success, SEGA's internal first-party studio responsible for the series is branching out to a new unannounced series.

Like most games-makers SEGA is keen on continuing the linage of key franchises for as long as possible, but as time goes by it's extremely important to balance content out with new IPs. While SEGA's Yakuza dev team is indeed working on a new game in the series--Shin Yakuza--they're also making something brand new.

In an interview with Famitsu, SEGA Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi confirmed the Yakuza studio is laying the groundwork for a new IP for home consoles. SEGA has made quite a strong push for a more broad presence across mobiles, PC, and consoles. With initiatives like the SEGA Ages rollout on the Switch and the free-to-play SEGA Forever program on mobiles, the Japanese games-maker continues making good on its promise to resurrect classic IPs across today's gaming platforms.