Entertainment

The iconic trio of motor enthusiasts are back for a new ‘The Grand Tour’ special dubbed ‘Lochdown’. The featured special is now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video included with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Jeremy Clarkson revealed in the final episode of Season 3 of the hit show that they will no longer be producing regular episodes with a live audience, and instead will revert to making featured length specials for the foreseeable future.

The show diverged from its traditional four wheel adventures in a previous special, called ‘Seamen’, where the infamous three (Clarkson, May and Hammond) swapped supercars for boats in an attempt to traverse the waters of Cambodia and Vietnam.

The new Lochdown special sees the three drive across the stunning landscapes of Scotland in 1970s American cars – Clarkson armed with a Lincoln Continental, May with a Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Hammond sporting a Buick Riviera. They seek to investigate why these 1970s cars never became popular in Britain, as well as evaluating their pros and cons as usual. The trio face many challenges and mishaps in their journey across the Scottish countryside, and prepare to expect the occasional prank or insult thrown in there too.

Clarkson, May and Hammond endeavour to get to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, where Mr Wilman has built a town for American car enthusiasts.

The new special has been met with criticism from popular newspapers such as The Guardian and The Times, with The Guardian dubbing the show a ‘spike in support for Scottish independence’.

Tune into the new special exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

New ‘The Grand Tour’ special arrives on Amazon Prime Video

After much positive feedback and reviews, the brand new hit show Clarkson’s Farm has been renewed for a second season, with Jeremy Clarkson confirming the programme will return on his social media pages.

Clarkson’s Farm follows the beloved Grand Tour host as he swaps four wheels and an engine for the much quieter rural countryside to run his own brand new farm in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England.

However, Clarkson has little to no experience with running a farm or doing farmwork, and as such enlists the help of fellow farmers such as Kaleb Cooper and Gerald, to aid Clarkson in his farming efforts. As expected, sometimes Clarkson’s attempts to run the farm don’t exactly go to plan – which ensues into the chaos and comedy that comes with Clarkson’s household name.

Season 1 of Clarkson’s Farm was certainly a challenge, with one of the worst farming weather periods seen in decades as well as the unprecedented arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. The farming industry has been one of the worst-hit over the last 18 months, with strong demand for British produce due to supply issues abroad, as well as panic buying occurring at the start of the pandemic. Clarkson certainly has been thrown into the deep end with his farming venture.

Season 1 consists of eight episodes, with each episode dedicated to a farming activity that Clarkson attempts to carry out. With Clarkson’s lack of farming experience, many mishaps follow which makes for great comedy and entertainment. He quickly realises that he will need to rely on his farming experts helping him, as well as his finance manager which he dubs ‘Cheerful Charlie’.

In one of the episodes, Clarkson builds a new farm shop, named ‘Diddly Squat Farm Shop’, which is open to the public in Chipping Norton. The shop sells produce made from the farm, including potatoes, honey and vegetables, and visitors may sometimes catch a glimpse of Kaleb, Gerald or even Clarkson himself. The programme shows how the shop was built, the challenges they had to face, and overall how difficult it is to make a living out of farming. The show is excellent at keeping viewers entertained, and it is a must-watch for those who are fans of Clarkson and his other shows.

Expect more shenanigans and hilarious failures from Clarkson in Season 2. A release date has not yet been given, with Clarkson himself stating on Twitter that since the programme takes around a year to film (due to the farming cycle), viewers have to wait just a while longer for the second season to arrive.

You can watch Season 1 of Clarkson’s Farm exclusively on Amazon Prime Video with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Clarkson’s Farm has been renewed for a second season

The fourth season of Netflix’s critically acclaimed sci-fi show is coming soon in 2022 after a second teaser was released recently onto the show’s social media pages. It is the second of supposedly four trailers/teasers, indicated by the ‘002/004’ in the Instagram bio of the show’s account, unless the numbers are a different cryptic clue to Season 4’s plot.

The teaser was a very brief 30 second clip of what is to come in Season 4, with the first half of the teaser highlighting key moments and scenes from the three previous seasons, including Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in the sensory deprivation tank from the first season and the events of July 4 that occurred in the third season.

The second half of the teaser showed new content that will be linked to Season 4. A tall grandfather clock was shown, but it is not yet clear what this is hinting at. Snapshots of Eleven from Season 4 was also shown, with her being restrained by two men. This may have pointed to Elevens’ new school life, since she moved out of Hawkins with the Byers family after Hopper (David Harbour)’s mysterious disappearance at the conclusion of Season 3.

Season 3 also made Billy (Dacre Montgomery, brother of Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink) an antagonist, as it was shown early in the season that he was captured by The Mind Flayer and was made a host, like Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was in Season 2 of the show.

The third season ended with the gang defeating the Mind Flayer by closing ‘The Gate’ in the eighth episode, titled ‘The Battle of Starcourt’.  The season also focussed on involvement by the Russians, with the main human antagonist Grigori (Andrey Ivchenko) coming face to face with Hopper in the season finale showdown. During their encounter, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) turned the switches to shut off the Russian laser that was powering The Gate, and The Mind Flayers’ physical presence. The laser then exploded and Hopper disappeared, with many fans of the show speculating that he had perished, since the rest of the characters mourned his death. One of the final scenes in the third season also showed that Eleven somehow ‘lost’ her telekinetic abilities, which could have been due to her gruelling battle with The Mind Flayer.

However, fans had many theories about Hopper’s fate, with some speculating that he had passed through ‘The Gate’, ended up in Russia and was captured by the Russian soldiers. A previous Season 4 trailer, released on Valentines Day 2020, confirmed that Hopper was indeed alive, but had his hair shaved in what looked like him working in Russian territory.

The most recent trailer also showed Hopper with a flamethrower in what is supposedly set in Russia, and the season looks to coincide with the growing tensions in the Cold War.

Fans will have to wait a while longer to uncover the mysterious truth about Hopper, and what adventures await for the gang in the fourth season of the hit show. Meanwhile, be sure to rewatch the first three seasons of Stranger Things exclusively on Netflix and the new teaser trailer on the official Stranger Things social media pages.

Stranger Things Season 4 is seemingly around the corner

There is no doubt that as of now gaming on customer-owned hardware is still the go-to way to play games – be it consoles or PC’s – however with the rise of 5G and faster internet connections and many new game streaming services, the question has to be asked, will game streaming become the go-to way to game in the future?

While is it possible on some platforms to stream remotely from your own devices, such as Steam Link, Xbox Remote Play and PlayStation Remote Play, these services aren’t exactly new. However, a new revolution known as cloud streaming is aiming to be  this is where the game you are playing is running on servers in data centres, not your own hardware.

## The platforms offering cloud game streaming

Most major platforms now have to stream games via their platform from the cloud in some way. The major contenders are Xbox (xCloud), PS Now, GeForce Now (using Steam games) and Stadia.

Almost all of these platforms work in a similar way, but some do stand out and some work better than others. Here is the detail on each platform:

For all of the tests carried out to get to the conclusions below, the same network conditions were used for each test, this includes:

- Ethernet connection used with average download speed of 63Mbps.
- Web browser used for Stadia: Chrome (on macOS and Windows).
- Web browser used for Xbox Cloud Gaming: Safari (on macOS).
- Windows device was used for PS Now application.
GeForce now devices and browser used: Chrome (on macOS) and official application on Windows.

Testing conditions for each service were as close to each other as possible.

Most services reccomend similar speed requirements. We can list the reccomendation from Stadia which is generally inline with the other services:

- Stadia recomends 10Mbps speeds or faster at minimum. For Stadia Pro 4K streaming a connection speed of 35Mbps or higher is recommended.

Almost all of these platforms work in a similar way, but some do stand out and some work better than others. Here is the detail on each platform:

### Xbox

Recently Xbox has been rolling out their cloud gaming service (formerly known as Project xCloud). Like PlayStation, Xbox gets a slight head start here since they already an established platform (unlike Stadia): anyone who wishes to use Xbox cloud gaming just needs to be a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber. Therefore, it is quite possible the offering from Xbox has the easiest entry to cloud gaming.

#### What games are available

While we cannot list every game here (because there are so many and the list keeps changing), Xbox has an impressive offering, with the intention for all Game Pass games to be available to stream from the cloud. Unfortunately as of now, it is not possible to stream games you purchase separately from the Microsoft store. Since Microsoft has acquired Bethesda, it is clear they are on a huge push to gain many more games, further making Xbox Game Pass even more valuable.

#### Where you can use Xbox cloud gaming

Xbox allows users to stream cloud games from pretty much anywhere. This is down to the fact that they offer the service via a web browser (xbox.com/play), so really there aren’t many limits as to where you can use it Xbox cloud gaming. On platforms such as Android streaming can be done via an app, but on iOS and iPadOS, it must be done via the web app.

![Xbox Cloud Gaming web UI](https://assets.linktorial.com/Xbox_Cloud_Gaming_web_UI_42af336dbe.png)

#### Inputs supported

Currently, Xbox cloud streaming-only allows input via a controller. However, Microsoft have confirmed that they are working on the ability to stream Game Pass PC games, which would support mouse and keyboard. Also, it is possible Xbox will eventually allow keyboard and mouse on console game streaming too, since many Xbox games already support keyboard and mouse.

#### The servers

As of now, Xbox Cloud Gaming sessions run on Xbox One S consoles in Microsoft data centres. It is confirmed Microsoft is working on upgrading these to Xbox Series X consoles at some point in the near future.

Microsoft is also experimenting with PC servers to allow game streaming of PC games, although we don’t know when this will become available.

#### Pricing

Xbox Cloud Gaming is available with any Xbox Game Pass ultimate subscription. You also get access to Xbox Live Gold and you can install Game Pass games locally on Xbox and PC, as well as stream them.

#### Performance

During the time I have used Xbox Cloud Gaming, there have been no issues experienced. However, prior to Xbox rolling out the new Xbox Series X servers there was a noticeable input delay. Since the rollout of the new servers, performance has been excellent on Xbox Cloud Gaming: the input delay is barely noticeable and there was no stuttering or loss of connection either (providing your internet connection is stable enough).

### PS Now

The offering from Sony’s PlayStation differs slightly from other streaming services. Like Xbox Game Pass, you can also download games as well as stream them. However, PS Now is one of the older streaming services and it does not always stack up to be as good as other services, but it does appear to be improving.

#### What games are available

The library of games is always changing, but generally the games avaliable are mostly older – you wont usually find the latest games on PS Now, as you would do with Xbox Game Pass. The games avaliable do go all the way back to the PS2 and as new as PS4 games. Therefore, the selection of games are more suited to those who enjoy classic PlayStation games.

#### Where you can use PS Now

PS Now cannot be accessed via a browser like most other streaming services, which is for sure a huge setback. It is only avaliable via PlayStation consoles or via a Windows application. As of now there is no way to stream to mobile or Mac. You can stream games from your PlayStation console to mobile and Mac, but that is not the PS Now service.

![PSNow](https://assets.linktorial.com/PS_Now_4e99bdd0c3.png)

#### Inputs supported

PS Now only supports controller input. It is unlikely to support keyboard and mouse in the future either.

#### The servers

PlayStation do not disclose the server specs, however they do allow streaming up to 4K on some devices, such as the PS5.

#### Pricing

This service is perhaps the cheapest and best deal of all streaming services.

The most cost effective plan is the 12 month offering, which comes in at only £49.99, or you can pay monthly for £8.99 (£22.99 for 3 months is also avaliable).

You may get less for the price, but if there are games you want to play currently on the service or you only game using a PlayStation, then it is a good choice.

#### Performance

The performance of PS Now does seem to have varying results. Since it is one of the oldest streaming services, most of the major issues have been ironed out and generally it does seem to work well. However there are occasisional disconnects and frequent stuttering. Overall it works fine, but it certainly does not perform as well as services such as Stadia.

### GeForce Now

This service stands out as the most different since it is not actually a gaming platform as such, as it uses your existing Steam library. This makes GeForce Now quite unique compared to other streaming services.

#### What games are available

A lot. Since GeForce Now just uses your Steam library, it is possible to access almost all of your games. Some game developers have disallowed their games to be streamed using GeForce Now, but for the most part it is possible to access many more games via this service than any other mentioned in this article.

#### Where you can use GeForce Now

You can access GeForce Now via any browser or application (on some platforms). Again like Stadia and Xbox, this service is widely available and anyone can access it, simply because it supports browser streaming.

![GeForce Now](https://assets.linktorial.com/Ge_Force_Now_d244542ca1.png)

#### Inputs supported

GeForce Now supports both controller and keyboard and mouse input. This is great because it allows you to play games in the way you prefer. In this way it is much like Stadia, but any game which has built in controller support will work with GeForce Now, not just a select few (like with Stadia).

#### The servers

It is not exactly clear what the server specs are for this service. However, GeForce Now only allows streaming up to 1080p and in 60fps, which is a lower resolution than some other streaming services.

#### Pricing

GeForce Now pricing does appear to change sometimes and has done in the past. Currently there is a free version with queues to access the service and a limited play time. There is also a Priority plan for £8.99 per month, which gives you priority access to servers (over those on the free plan), extended gaming sessions and RTX support.

The plans offered by GeForce Now is not very good in our opinion. Limiting session times and making users queue for server access is something no other streaming service does and for good reason. It also kind of defeats the purpose of game streaming, the idea that someone can go onto any device and instantly launch into any game they wish, with the convenience of knowing its possible to quickly get into a game. This is not the reality with GeForce Now.

#### Performance

In addition to our issues with the plan system for GeForce Now (with queues and limited time game sessions), the performance of the service does not quite hold up as well either.

Sometimes GeForce Now does perform well and this may be true for some slow paced single player games. But when it comes to multiplayer games (or anything competitive), GeForce Now is not so great. It frequently has bad input delay (something other services mentioned in this article do not suffer from), occasional disconnects and also lower resolution streaming.

Overall GeForce Now needs some work to keep up with the other streaming services currently available.

### Stadia

Stadia is the game streaming offering from Google. It has been met with much criticism since its launch, mainly over the lack of games available and whether Google will keep the service operational, as Google is notorious for killing projects off unexpectedly.

#### What games are available

Stadia may not have as many games available as other platforms, but it is worth noting that Stadia is one of the newest platforms mentioned in this article and has not had the same length of time to build up its library as rivals such as Xbox has.  However, the Stadia library has been growing slowly, with Ubisoft, for example, being one of the strong supporters for having their games on Stadia.

#### Where you can use Stadia

Like Xbox, Stadia can be used from basically every device. This is because all you need is a browser and Stadia is all good to go. On Android, they have their own app to stream from, but on Apple devices you cannot stream from the Stadia app due to App Store rules. You can, however, stream via Apple’s browser, Safari.

![Stadia Home](https://assets.linktorial.com/Stadia_Home_b16ea9caec.png)

#### Inputs supported

Stadia may be a streaming-only platform, but it is the closest to having a physical gaming PC. This is because Stadia supports both keyboard and mouse, yet also controller input. Some games support both, while some only support one input. PUBG for example originally did support keyboard and mouse alongside controller input at launch, but since keyboard and mouse support has been dropped, and the reason for dropping support does not make much sense.

#### The servers

Stadia’s cloud hardware uses custom Intel processors, custom AMD GPU’s, SSD’s, fast network connections (thanks to Google Cloud) and plenty of RAM. The servers run from a modified Linux, which may be the reason for games taking a long time to reach Stadia (since they require porting).

#### Pricing

Stadia is free to use: you just buy the games you wish to play. However, you can get a Stadia Pro subscription for £8.99 per month, which comes with many free games included, with new games added every month. Stadia Pro also provides subscribers with discounts on selected games and allows users to stream up to 4K with 5.1 surround sound.

#### Performance

Stadia has proved to be the gold standard of game streaming from my experience. Since its launch, it has been flawless most of the time. Some of the only occasional issues I have experienced include small stutters but these have been quite rare. For the most part, Stadia has worked as expected, with largely unnoticeable input delay. Stadia’s smooth experience almost makes you forget you are streaming the game rather than running it locally on a PC.

Overall game streaming has come quite far in recent times. There are now a handful of fully operational game streaming services (none of which are in beta anymore) – these being Xbox Cloud Gaming, PS Now, GeForce Now and Stadia. Other services are also upcoming and in earlier stages, such as Luna from Amazon. There seems to be no slowing down in the push to make game streaming more mainstream and for the most part it works well. However there still is some time to go before game streaming will be fully adopted by gamers, due to different network conditions people will have. While it is easy to say some may be able to use game streaming without issue (like me), some others may have constant issues and find it unusable.

Luckily in the current time, 5G is rolling out fast in many countries and connectivity is generally improving. As long as platforms continue to push and develop their streaming offerings then there will be no doubt that it will slowly become the norm.

The future of game streaming

The hit Netflix show will return on Friday, September 17 for a third season after the second season ended on a cliffhanger back in January 2020.

The third season will see regular characters such as Otis and Maeve return, with a handful of new characters such as a fresh new headmistress of Moordale High, the school which is the main setting of the show’s plot.

Production of the hit show came to a halt after Coronavirus restrictions were brought in around the world, making the wait between the second and upcoming third season of the show longer than anticipated.

Asa Butterfield, who plays the main character, Otis Milburn, said that the third season will not immediately pick up where the second season left off. At the end of the second season, Otis finally declared his love for his school friend Maeve in a voicemail that he left to her, only for the message to be played and then later deleted by Isaac, much to fans’ despair.

Asa told The Guardian:


>“Otis is back at school but he’s got different things on his plate. He’s grown up a bit and become slightly more sassy. It’s been fun to portray his newfound charisma. Don’t worry, though, he’s still tragically awkward too.”

Season 2 of Sex Education tackled many prevalent issues within society, such as Aimee’s trauma due to a sexual assault she experienced, as well as gender identity issues portrayed by Ola’s character arc and sexual identities.

Several characters, including Otis (Asa Butterfield), Maeve (Emma Mackay), Jean (Otis’ Mum, Gillian Anderson), Otis’ friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Aimee (Aimee Wood), Adam (Connor Swindells), Ola (Patricia Allison), Ola’s dad Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt) as well as Season 2’s headmaster Mr Groff (Alistair Petrie) will all feature in Season 3.

Sex Education Season 3 is now only a week away and premieres September 17 exclusively on Netflix.

Sex Education Season 3 premieres September 17

The third season of the incredibly popular Netflix show Sex Education was released on Friday, September 17. The show sees main characters such as Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackay) return for their final year at Moordale Secondary under the new leadership of Hope Haddon (Jemima Kirke). Hope aims to transform the school after it was shamed by the local press, granting it the nickname ‘Sex School’ after rumours surfaced in Season 2 that Moordale was subject to an outbreak of chlamydia.

Sex Education is renowned for tackling many topical sexual health issues through many of the characters storylines, and the third season seems to continue this trend. Several of these issues include myths surrounding sex, sexual orientation and sexual identities.

Season 3 includes a storyline between Adam (Connor Swindells) and Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) which deals with people feeling shame around their sexual orientation. In several of the Season 3 scenes, Adam is embarrassed about his relationship with Eric when fellow classmates laugh at him when he walks into the changing room holding Eric’s hand. Throughout the season, Adam is reluctant to tell his mother that Eric is not only his friend but that they are dating, but he realises towards the end of the season that he can no longer keep it from her and he is no longer ashamed of who he is. This issue of shame is also shown through Lily (Tanya Reynolds) and Ola’s (Patricia Allison) storyline, as Lily becomes ashamed of her sexual fantasies involving aliens and wants to change who she is.

This is an important issue within not only the LGBTQ+ community but also for the wider society. Sex Education tackles this issue well within Adam and Eric’s storyline, as Adam comes to terms with his emotions and sexual preferences. It is great to see modern television shows tackle issues such as these since shows in the previous decades did not dare to tread into this territory.

This season also continues Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood)’s incredibly important storyline surrounding her sexual assault in the second season. In this season, Aimee is trying to cope with the post-trauma of the events of the last term, as she admits that she has a fear of intimacy with her boyfriend Steve (Chris Jenks) and no longer loves her body. Sex Education aims to show that victims of sexual assault are not alone and that professional help is always available. Aimee seeks the help of Otis’ mum Dr Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson). Jean helps Aimee comes to terms with the traumatic event she experienced and what she can do to finally heal herself and move on with her life.

The new season also continues Maeve’s storyline involving her rocky relationship with her Mum (Anne-Marie Duff) after her sister Elsie was placed into foster care. In the second season, Maeve called the police on her Mum after she suspected she was consuming drugs around Elsie, in which social services took Elsie into care.

All questions are also answered regarding Isaac deleting Otis’ voicemail to Maeve, confessing his feelings to her.

The third season of Sex Education is certainly on par with the first two seasons, as teenagers deal with complicated issues such as sex, relationships and trauma. All three seasons of Sex Education are available to stream exclusively on Netflix.

Sex Education Season 3 Review

A second season of the hit documentary series Tiger King is coming, Netflix has announced.

Apart from that, there isnt much information about the second season. Not what it will entail, where it will pick up from, or a hint of when it may be released – although The Verge suspects that it will be released later this year.

**Update: season 2 will be released on the 17th of November 2021.**

The end of the first season saw animal aficionado Joe Exotic being thrown into federal prison, after being charged for conspiracy to murder a woman named Carole Baskin. Baskin pursued legal action after things got seriously heated between the two animal caring rivals, culminating with a plot by Exotic to murder Baskin. It will be interesting to see how the second season continues with Exotic in prison and with little hope of being granted an appeal in the immediate future.

The first season of the show was the boredom release of many around the world as COVID-19 had just turned into a pandemic, with many countries placing harsh restrictions on the freedom of its citizens.

In the meantime, you can watch (or rewatch) season 1 of Tiger King, streaming exclusively on Netflix.

Tiger King Season 2 has been announced

Nintendo has just wrapped up its latest direct for the Switch. Here are all the announcements and updates that were made in the 40 minute presentation.

## Main Headlines

**Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (scheduled Summer 2022)**

Nintendo opened the direct by showing a trailer for Monster Hunter Rise’s Massive Expansion DLC, called ‘Sunbreak’. Capcom, the producers of the Monster Hunter series, says that new elements will be added into the DLC to enhance the base game, including additional story plots, quest ranks, and of course, monsters. The full version of Monster Hunter Rise will be required to use this paid DLC.

**Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass Wave 2 – Guardian of Remembrance (Releasing October 29, 2021)**

Nintendo also showed off a trailer for the second upcoming DLC of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The second wave of the DLC will include two new characters, one being Purah and Robbie and another character not yet revealed. The DLC will feature two brand new story missions taking place in Kakariko Village and Goponga Village, as well as new challenges. The DLC also adds actions for existing characters. The DLC is part of the Age of Calamity Expansion Pass, and please note that the full version of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is required to use any DLC.

**Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Pass Vol 2 (Release Date TBC)**

Nintendo did not reveal any additional information about the final Vol 2 fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in this direct. Nintendo announced that Mr Sakurai, the game’s director, will be hosting a presentation that will unveil who the fighter is and their moves on October 5th, at 3pm BST/10am EDT.

**Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Releasing Spring 2022)**

A trailer for a brand new Kirby game, titled ‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’ was shown in this direct. The game will see players using traditional Kirby moves as well as various transformations to investigate a world abandoned by a past civilisation. Kirby will have to traverse through various hazards and enemies to figure out the mysteries that are to be found throughout. The trailer shows Kirby washed up ashore and sets out to find clues about this long lost city.

**Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update (Release Date TBC)**

Nintendo also announced a content update was coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo has scheduled a special New Horizons direct that will unveil more details on upcoming new content, airing in October. The new content update will be released in November and it will be free for all players.

**Metroid Dread (Releasing October 8, 2021)**

A new trailer for Metroid Dread was also shown indicating the variety of Samus’ moves, as well as the various hazards and enemies that she will encounter. The trailer also mentioned the Metroid Dread Volume Reports that you can read which give more details about various aspects of the game. You can read those reports here. You can pre-order the game now, and it releases in the next coming weeks.

**Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack (Releasing Late October 2021)**

Nintendo also announced a brand new membership plan to Nintendo Switch Online. The new plan will include classic N64 titles for subscribers to play, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart 64. Nintendo also plans to include more titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and F-Zero X. Also are included are a selection of games from the Sega Mega Drive such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2. A new Nintendo 64 controller and Sega Mega Drive Control Pad will also be available to buy for those who wish to play the games with traditional controls. They can both be used wirelessly and are available to buy for £39.99 each. Only Nintendo Switch Online members (any plan) can purchase the controllers.

**Mario Movie (Releasing Holiday 2022)**

Shigeru Miyamoto was brought into the Direct to announce that the Mario Movie, being produced in collaboration with Illumination (the studio behind Despicable Me) will come to cinemas next year (Dec 21st in North America, release dates for rest of the world TBC). The movie will star Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya-Taylor Joy as Peach, Jack Black as Bowser and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.

**Splatoon 3 (Releasing 2022)**

Nintendo also showed a new trailer for the highly anticipated Splatoon 3, featuring new stages, moves, weapons and characters. The trailer also gave a glimpse at Splatoon 3’s story mode, titled ‘Return of the Mammalians’, showing various squids that can be transformed into humanoid forms. The Direct showed that the game will take place in a city called ‘Splatsville’ which is surrounded by places known as ‘Splatlands’, where various sea creatures reside. Turf War is featured in this game, returning from previous iterations of the Splatoon series.

**Bayonetta 3 (Releasing 2022)**

Nintendo closed its direct with one of its headline announcements: a new trailer for Bayonetta 3, announced back in 2017. The trailer showed off fierce enemies in a futuristic environment, with Bayonetta appearing and showing off new moves and abilities, including a various number of transformations. The trailer also included enemy battle gameplay from the actual game.

## Other Announcements and Updates

**Mario Party Superstars (Releasing October 29, 2021)**

Nintendo broadcasted a brand new trailer for the upcoming Mario Party game, revealing the last of the classic N64 Mario Party boards that will be featured – being Woody Woods, Yoshi’s Tropical Island and Horror Land. A previous trailer showed that Space Land and Peach’s Birthday Cake are the other two boards making its return. The new trailer also showed off ‘Mt. Minigames’, a mode which includes special boards which have minigames available to play in two different formats: Survival and Tag Match. Mt. Minigames will have seven courses available. Online play will be supported by Mt. Minigames. You can pre-order the game now digitally on Nintendo eShop or the physical version at several retailers.

**Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars (Releasing October 28, 2021)**

Voice of Cards was also announced, a strategy RPG game that surrounds slaying a dragon. The battles are card-turn based with moves that deal specific amounts of damage to enemies based on a die roll. Pre-orders and a free demo are available on the Nintendo eShop.

**Disco Elysium – The Final Cut (Digital Version releasing October 12, 2021; Physical Version releasing Early 2022)**

A trailer for Disco Elysium was also shown; a game that involves dialogue and action choices that determine what kind of detective players want to be. It is a role-playing game where the character becomes involved in a murder case, with many twists and turns along the way. Interrogate suspects, uncover clues and use your skills to solve the mystery. The choices you make directly impact how the story progresses. You can pre-order the digital version on the Nintendo eShop.

**Chocobo GP (Releasing exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2022)**

This game is a new racing game by Square Enix, involving numerous characters, tracks and items named Magicites to change the pace of a race. You can race as several characters from the Final Fantasy series, such as Chocobo himself. Several abilities and customisation options is available as well as local and online multiplayer. Bracket format tournaments can also be created to allow up to 64 people to compete for glory, in 8×8 races.

**Mario Golf: Super Rush Update (Releasing shortly after the Direct)**

The second free content update is coming to Mario Golf: Super Rush, including Koopa Troopa and Ninji as new playable characters and two new golf courses.

**Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition (Releasing December 2021)**

This game features typical Disney characters and environments for the player to explore.

**Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Releasing November 11, 2o21)**

This popular Star Wars game is now making its way to Nintendo Switch. Pre-orders are available on Nintendo eShop.

**Dying Light 2 Stay Human – Cloud Version (Releasing February 4, 2022)**

The popular undead zombie game is making its way to the Switch via cloud streaming technology, meaning the game will require a stable and persistent internet connection to play. Use several combat moves and skills to make your way through this open-world action adventure game and slow the resistance of the undead. You can also play with three other players in online multiplayer. The fact that this is a Cloud version of the game is stark evidence of the Nintendo Switch’s hardware limitations. Those with an unstable or unreliable internet connection may experience high amounts of latency, input delay, audio and graphical difficulties. A free launcher application is available for people to test the game on their connection before they purchase it.

**Triangle Strategy (Releasing March 4, 2022)**

A RPG game, first shown in a previous Nintendo Direct, is having its demo survey feedback changes implemented to streamline the experience. In this game, your actions will have consequences and directly impact how the story unfolds. The changes include difficulty adjusts, enhanced graphics and reduced loading times. Pre-orders on the Nintendo eShop are available shortly after the direct. There is also a special physical edition of the game, including a steelbook, collectible dices and collectible playing cards plus more, releasing on the same day as the digital version.

**Shadowrun Trilogy (Releasing 2022)**

A collection of three RPG games in one is coming to Nintendo Switch – where you play as a mercenary in a future where fantasies have become a reality.

**Castlevania Advance Collection (Releasing shortly after the Direct)**

A collection of four classic Castlevania games is coming to the Switch, with updated graphics, game saves and the ability to switch geographical game versions. A new gallery mode is also featured with unseen artwork from the Castlevania series.

**Actraiser Renaissance (Releasing shortly after the Direct)**

The classic NES game is being remastered for Nintendo Switch. You can navigate between the original and remastered soundtracks. There are also new stages and boss battles in this version.

**Deltarune Chapter 1+2 (Releasing shortly after the Direct)**

An additional free update to Deltarune Chapter 1.

**Hot Wheels Unleashed (Releasing September 30, 2021)**

A new car racing game is coming to Switch, with the ability to create your own racetracks.

**Surviving the Aftermath (Releasing Winter 2021)**

Build your own civilisation from scratch with buildings and other materials to fortify it from enemies in a post-apocalyptic world.

**Shin Megami Tensei V (Releasing November 12, 2021)**

Announced in a previous direct, Shin Megami Tensei V had a new trailer shown, and pre-orders will be available shortly after the direct.

**Wreckfest (Releasing Autumn 2021)**

Crash into opponents vehicles to cause maximum damage around a racetrack while avoiding various hazards in this car and truck wrecking game.

**Arcade Archives PAC-MAN/Arcade Archives XEVIOUS (Releasing shortly after the Direct)**

Classic games such as PAC-MAN and XEVIOUS arrive on Nintendo Switch.

**Rune Factory 5 (Releasing March 25, 2022)**

Battle fierce dragons and other enemies and plant crops in this game arriving on Nintendo Switch next year.

Everything from the latest Nintendo Direct (September 2021)

With The Witcher Season 2? premiering on the 17th of December 2021, Netflix have now also confirmed the show will return for a third season.

There has been no annoucement as to when the third season will be released, but this is expected as season two has not even been released yet. Netflix also announced The Witcher will get another anime film and a show aimed at families.

Alongside the announcement for a third season, Netflix has released more trailers for season two of the show. You can see all the trailers and new looks at the show here:

- [Road to Season 2 Trailer | The Witcher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAKa612bd0I)
- [The Witcher: Season 2 Teaser Trailer | Netflix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aMVzFlApa0)
- [Season 2 First Look Clip: Nivellen | The Witcher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Cba56yIbA)
- [Season 2 First Look Clip: Geralt & Ciri | The Witcher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JgqgwdylB8)

The Witcher Season Three has been confirmed by Netflix

The third season of Stranger Things released in July 2019 but due to the pandemic causing delays the fourth season will be arriving a few years after the third.

Netflix has said the fourth season will be released in summer 2022, but no exact date has been set.

You can view the new season 4 trailer here.

Season 4 will have nine episodes which are titled:

- Episode 1 – The Hellfire Club
- Episode 2 – Vecna’s Curse
- Episode 3 – The Monster and The Superhero
- Episode 4 – Dear Billy
- Episode 5 – The Nina Project
- Episode 6 – The Dive
- Episode 7 – The Massacre At Hawkins Lab
- Episode 8 – Papa
- Episode 9 – The Piggyback

Stranger Things Season 4 announces release date of Summer 2022

Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has confirmed that Squid Game will be returning onto Netflix for a second season, after the show broke Netflix records and became the most watched original Netflix show in the company’s history.

Netflix estimated that Squid Game all in all will bring in around $900 million for the company, and Season 2 may prove to be just as big.

Hwang told the Associated Press at a Los Angeles event:

>“There’s been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season, so I almost feel like you leave us with no choice! But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently. But I do think it’s too early to say when and how that’s going to happen.”

Hwang also confirmed the return of the main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, in Season 2. He said that Gi-hun ‘will do something for the world’, suggesting that once again he will play a pivotal role in the plot of the second season.

As of yet, there has been no release date for Season 2, but you can watch Season 1 of the show exclusively on Netflix.

Creator of Netflix show ‘Squid Game’ confirms Season 2 is coming

The Steam Deck from Valve was due to launch in December 2021 (for customers who reserved it early enough), however, Valve has now sent an email out to all customers who reserved a Steam Deck to inform them that the launch is now delayed by two months. Those who reserved the Steam Deck for December 2021 will now receive it in February 2022.

You can read more about the Steam Deck in our article here.

It appears the delay has occurred due to global supply chain shortages, which is causing issues for many compnaies not only Valve. The company said in the email sent out:


>“we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates.”

All customers who had reserved a Steam Deck will have their reservation estimate pushed back by two months.

![Steam Deck Delay Email](https://assets.linktorial.com/Steam_Deck_Delay_Email_6338f01dc6.png)

You can see your new delivery estimation or seeavailability for new orders on the Steam Deck store page [here](https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck).

Valve has delayed the launch of the Steam Deck by two months

Xbox has recently just reached its 20 year anniversary, with the original Xbox console being released in the US on November 15th 2001.

As part of its 20 year anniversary, Xbox has announced some new additions to the platform, starting with new games as part of the Xbox backward compatibility program and also FPS Boosts to games on the Xbox Series X / S and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

## Backward Compatible Games

As part of Xbox’s celebration of its 20th anniversary, over 70 Xbox 360 and Original Xbox games have been added to the platform as part of the Xbox backward compatibility program and will be available on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S.

All of the backward compatible games which have been added this time include support for Auto HDR (where supported on displays) and Original Xbox games will receive a resolution increase on Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S consoles (on supported displays).

The following games have been added:

- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Aces of the Galaxy
- Advent Rising
- Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth
- Bankshot Billiards 2
- Beautiful Katamari
- Binary Domain
- Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
- Cloning Clyde
- Conan
- Darwinia+
- Dead or Alive Ultimate
- Dead or Alive 3
- Dead or Alive 4
- Death by Cube
- Disney Universe
- Disney’s Chicken Little
- Elements of Destruction
- F.E.A.R.
- F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
- F.E.A.R. 3
- F.E.A.R. Files
- The First Templar
- Gladius
- Gunvalkyrie
- Islands of Wakfu
- Lego The Lord of the Rings
- Manhunt
- Max Payne
- Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
- Max Payne 3
- Mini Ninjas
- Mortal Kombat
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
- MX vs. ATV Alive
- MX vs. ATV Untamed
- NIER
- Novadrome
- Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
- Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
- Otogi: Myth of Demons
- Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
- The Outfit
- Outpost Kaloki X
- Quake Arena Arcade
- R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
- Red Dead Revolver
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
- Ridge Racer 6
- Rio
- sen
- isen 2: Dark Waters
- Rock of Ages
- Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
- Scramble
- Screwjumper!
- Secret Weapons Over Normandy
- Skate 2
- SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
- SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
- Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Switchball
- Thrillville
- Thrillville: Off the Rails
- Time Pilot
- TimeSplitters 2
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
- Toy Story Mania!
- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
- Viva Piñata: Party Animals
- Warlords

![Xbox 20th Anniversary New Games](https://assets.linktorial.com/Xbox_20th_Anniversary_New_Games_88b658394c.png)

Despite the additional 76 games which have now been added, this was the final addition to the Xbox backward compatibility library. Xbox has said:

>“This latest and final addition of 70+ titles to the backwards compatibility program was only possible through the passion and feedback from the community.”

FPS Boost
Not only did Xbox add 76 new backward compatible games, but also 37 games have received the FPS Boost feature and for the first time Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting the FPS Boost feature, starting with 33 games.

Some of the games receiving FPS Boost are games which have just been added as part of the 20th anniversary but the majority were already on the platform. The 37 games receiving FPS Boost are:

- Alan Wake
- Assassin’s Creed
- Binary Domain
- Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
- Darksiders
- Dead Space 2
- Dead Space 3
- Disney’s Chicken Little
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Dragon Age II
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- F.E.A.R.
- F.E.A.R. 3
- Fable Anniversary
- Fable III
- Fallout 3
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Far Cry 3
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
- Gears of War
- Gears of War 2
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War: Judgment
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
- Kameo: Elements of Power
- Lego The Lord of the Rings
- Medal of Honor: Airborne
- Mirror’s Edge
- Nier
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
- Rock of Ages
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
- Sonic Generations
- Sonic Unleashed
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

The first 33 games to receive FPS Boost on Xbox Cloud Gaming are:

- Battlefield 4
- Beholder Complete Edition
- Dishonored Definitive Edition
- Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Dragon Age: Origins
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- The Evil Within 2
- Fable Anniversary
- Fable III
- Fallout 3
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
- Fallout: New Vegas
- The Gardens Between
- Gears of War 2
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War 4
- Gears of War: Judgment
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
- Halo Wars 2
- Kameo: Elements of Power
- MotoGP 20
- My Friend Pedro
- My Time at Portia
- Prey
- ReCore
- Shadow Warrior 2
- Steep
- Titanfall 2
- Two Point Hospital
- Wasteland 3
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

## Halo Infinite Multiplayer and Elder Scrolls 6 announcements

Ahead of the December 8th 2021 release of Halo Infinite, 343 Industries have launched a free to play Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta with season 1. It is available to all players on Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Windows PC and also via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Since Microsoft completed its acquisition of Bethesda for $7.5 billion it has previously been expected that Elder Scrolls 6 may be exclusive to Xbox platforms. It has now been confirmed that the game will only be available on Xbox and Windows. Another Bethesda game titled ‘Starfield’ expected to launch next year has also been confirmed to be exclusive to Xbox and Windows.

Xbox 20th Anniversary announcements including backward compatible games, FPS Boost and updates on popular games

The Morning Show’s first season was released in 2019 alongside the launch of Apple TV+, since then the show has seen huge success and has won many awards.

The season two release date was announced in 2021 and the second season was released in September 2021, almost 2 years since the release of the first season. The reason for the longer wait between the first and second series appears to be due to COVID-19.

Season three of the show will be showrun and executive produced by Charlotte Stoudt, who has worked on shows such as ‘Homeland’ and ‘House of Cards’ and has now also signed a multi-year deal with Apple TV+. Kerry Ehrin served as showrunner on the first and second season, but will now continue as a consultant on the third season and will continue developing new series for Apple TV+. 

Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+ has said:

>“It has been thrilling to watch ‘The Morning Show’ go from strength to strength over the past two seasons, exploring topical storylines that have resonated with audiences around the world while also being incredibly addictive and entertaining,”

In 2020, Billy Crudup won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for his performance as Corey Ellison. The show also received other awards and many nominations. At the current time Apple TV+ shows, documentaries and movies have received 92 wins and 788 award nominations.

In the statement announcing the third season for the show, Apple said the following to describe season two:

>“Picking up after the explosive events of season one, season two found “The Morning Show” team emerging from the wreckage of Alex (Aniston) and Bradley’s (Witherspoon) actions, to a new UBA and a world in flux, where identity is everything and the chasm between who we present as and who we really are comes into play. Along with Aniston and Witherspoon, the star-studded cast includes Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar, Tom Irwin and Marcia Gay Harden, as well as new additions for season two Greta Lee, Ruairi O’Connor, Hasan Minhaj, Holland Taylor, Tara Karsian as news producer Gayle Burns, Valeria Golino and Julianna Margulies.”

It is currently not known when the third season of ‘The Morning Show’ will be released.

Apple TV+ is also home to other super popular shows and movies such as the also award winning show ‘Ted Lasso’. It is unknown how many subscribers Apple TV+ currently has, but it is known to be less than 20 million, however, according to Digital TV Research the service is expected to reach 36 million subscribers by 2026.