Author - Jerry Paxton

Universal Studios Hollywood Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Coaster Opens in 2026

Universal Studios Hollywood announces its first-ever, high-speed outdoor roller coaster “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” will join the theme park family in 2026.

The dynamic new thrill ride, themed to Universal Pictures’ blockbuster film saga, Fast & Furious, will elevate the guest experience with innovative and technological achievements never previously employed in a roller coaster.

The state-of-the-art ride system is being uniquely designed to immerse guests within the high-speed Fast & Furious universe. Highlights will include groundbreaking 360-degree rotation of the individual ride vehicles as they rocket along an elaborate track meticulously constructed with sound reduction technology for a breathtaking, superior experience. These attributions will create a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at furiously fast speeds.

“As a premier entertainment theme park destination with a rich history in immersing guests in incredible rides based on today’s most inspiring movie, television and gaming properties, we are excited to introduce our very first, high-speed outdoor roller coaster,” said Scott Strobl, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Universal Studios Hollywood. “As Universal Studios Hollywood continues to evolve, the arrival of ‘Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift’ will be a powerful game changer that will infuse a new level of thrill into our already dynamic theme park, and we look forward to welcoming guests when it races onto the scene in 2026.”

“Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” will be located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood. Guests will queue up within a large, red brick, garage-style structure before settling into the ride vehicles, modeled after several authentic cars featured in the films, and catapulting along an aerial track that winds its way over parts of the theme park.

The “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” roller coaster will benefit from Universal Destinations & Experiences’ decades-long expertise in revolutionizing the development of the contemporary roller coaster across its global theme parks.

The ride will join Universal Studios Hollywood’s slate of unprecedented groundbreaking attractions, including the interactive land, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™, featuring the critically-acclaimed “Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge” ride; “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™” highly immersive land that features Hogsmeade™ village, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™” and “Flight of the Hippogriff™ rides; “Jurassic World—The Ride”; Illumination’s award-winning “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” and “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem”; Springfield, U.S.A. and “The Simpsons Ride™”; “TRANSFORMERS™:  The Ride-3D” and “Revenge of the Mummy—The Ride.”

The new roller coaster will become a marquee ride alongside the theme park’s signature Studio Tour attraction, which commemorates 60-years of moviemaking magic this year. Since 1964, the Studio Tour has offered guests a front row seat to filmmaking magic on an authentic movie and television production studio backlot for an exclusive peek at original film sets that include Jupiter’s Claim from Jordan Peele’s NOPE and Courthouse Square from the Back to the Future films, as well as such experiential attractions as “King Kong 360-3D,” and the eerily realistic “Earthquake—The Big One” simulated natural disaster attraction.

The Fast & Furious film saga is a phenomenon. For more than twenty years, the franchise has stoked passion in an ever-expanding audience and has earned more than $7 billion at the worldwide box office. Universal Pictures’ record-smashing, homegrown Fast & Furious films have become the studio’s most-profitable and longest-running franchise. Across social media platforms, the fan following for the movies and cast has grown into the biggest of any active franchise.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball Release Date Trailer

Put on the mask and rev the chainsaw – Leatherface returns to slaughter in pinball form with Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball, coming to Pinball M on June 6! Aim your shots and use all your skills to take out your victims in one of the most brutal pinball tables ever created.

Play as Leatherface and terrorize new arrivals who dare come into your town. Following the harrowing events of the hit 2022 film, you can rev the chainsaw and have a bloodbath on the bus, or sneak up on your unsuspecting victims by shooting the correct targets. Maim and massacre all survivors and reach the Wizard Mode – let no one escape!

“The brutal and unnerving legacy of Leatherface comes to life once again in pinball form,” said Mel Kirk, COO of Zen Studios. “Designer Zoltan Vari did not hold back at all. Players can expect a brutal, bloody, and maniacal table worthy of joining Pinball M.”

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball will stalk Pinball M starting June 6 for Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as PlayStation 5|4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

For more information and updates, visit zenstudios.com.

Undead Inc. Official Launch Trailer

Rightsized Games and Team17 Digital have today launched rogue-like resource management sim Undead Inc. on PC. Stepping into the role of managing director of their very own Endswell Medical franchise, players will be tasked with growing the business, stuffing the coffers, and meeting the demands of an increasingly hungry board of directors, all while keeping their reputation in check, the money flowing, and the bodies buried.

As the public-facing arm of Endswell Medical keeps things running above ground (and above board) its nefarious underbelly is where the real transformative and lucrative magic happens. Players will research and develop bioweapons, questionable pharmaceuticals, and dangerous technology to put up for sale to the highest bidder, all while turning a blind eye to any… situations that may arise.

Of course, eventually the truth will out, and to continue Endswell Medical’s ambitious growth strategy, players will have to uproot their operation, grabbing armfuls of money, equipment, and other unmentionables on the way out – enough to help establish a brand-new corporation in a new location – and start the cycle anew.

MotoGP 24 Official Launch Trailer

Milestone and MotoGP™ are thrilled to announce the release of MotoGP™24. The newest chapter of the official MotoGP™ videogame is now available for PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™, and Steam.

Marking a turning point in the history of the franchise, MotoGP™24 features the Riders Market for the first time, meeting one of the longest-awaited requests by its community. Starting this year, riders of all categories have the opportunity to change teams, including promotion between classes. This way, players will see roster updates in every in-game season, thus finding new exciting challenges and scenarios to experience every year. The possibilities are endless, as both the AI and players might be proposed to change teams based on their performance on track. Moreover, replicating the dynamics of actual negotiations, the choices of AI-controlled riders will not only be determined by the current values of the other bikes on the grid, but future perspectives will count as well. For instance, if a mid-table team obtains steadily convincing performances proving to be on the upswing, it might be able to sign a top rider despite not being an immediate contender for the title. Importantly, the Riders Market adds to the turning points, rivalries, and the fictional social network introduced last year to create a journey revolving around the performances and choices of each player. The Riders Market will follow and accentuate such a philosophy; the evolution of rivalries as well as likes and replies on the fictional social network will indeed fuel rumors about possible future transfers, which players will be able to monitor through a dedicated menu of the career mode.

Bringing the gaming experience to blur with real-life racing even more, MotoGP™24 also introduces the MotoGP™ Stewards. Throughout the weekend, they will supervise the race and any timed sessions, disciplining riders and AI equally for their actions on the circuit. Players and AI alike will face consequences for breaking the rules, ranging from Warnings to Long Lap or Time Penalties, as well as Let Pass orders in the event of unfair overtaking up to canceled qualifying times. Interestingly, careless riding will further fuel the rivalries with other riders.

In addition to a refinement of the Neural Aids introduced last year, Milestone has developed a new Adaptive Difficulty system that will greatly help every player, from novices to experts. This brand-new solution takes into account a set of factors and measurements made in real time to calibrate the level of the opponents based on the performances of players over the course of races and sessions. This way, it provides a tailored gaming experience ensuring the race pace between contenders is always reasonable and consistent.

The Adaptive Difficulty will give all fans the chance to fully appreciate the AI and physics improvements implemented by the Milan-based team. The AI has been refined to replicate the real riders’ approach to racing. Established champions will wait for the perfect moment to strike the winning attack, whereas Rookies will try to demonstrate their worth right away. Regarding the game physics, the management of both the corner entry and exit phases has been revised to design a much more forgiving gameplay compared to the previous installments. Thanks to a smoother power delivery system, players can now reach the edge of physics possibilities in a more controlled way, having more opportunities to show their gaming skills while enjoying the highest realism. Tyre management has also changed to guarantee that all compounds perform on each track while maintaining a distinct feel for each type.

On the multiplayer side, the LiveGP* Championships enhances the MotoGP™24 online experience. It’s a new multiplayer mode created for the most competitive players who are called to climb the overall Championship leaderboard by scoring points at dedicated events. Also, Cross-play** allows fans to challenge each other regardless of their platform and console generation, right from day one. Offline, the 2-player local split-screen is available for PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam versions.

Finally, MotoGP™24 unleashes players’ creativity through four powerful editors for helmets, stickers, racing numbers, and butt patches, with the possibility to share creations online across different platforms***.

Featuring all the official riders and tracks of the 2024 season for the MotoGP™, Moto2™, and Moto3™ categories, as well as the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship, MotoGP™24 is now available for PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™, and Steam.

Logitech G Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Iconic G502 Gaming Mouse

Today, Logitech G, a brand of Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the legendary G502 gaming mouse. In its first decade, the G502 became beloved by the gaming community for delivering unrivaled performance, innovative technologies, and unparalleled design breakthroughs for maximum comfort and incredible responsiveness, becoming the world’s best-selling gaming mouse1, with more than 21 million mice sold since its launch.

“The G502 has been my go-to mouse for years, and it’s the perfect balance for me when it comes to getting some extra buttons while not overwhelming me. This mouse is extremely comfortable to use for extended periods of time. The G502 has a sleek and cool-looking design. It has always been an incredible go-to for gamers who want a couple of extra, easy-to-reach buttons and a smooth experience that allows them to game without interruption!” said Meg Kaylee, a popular gaming streamer and producer who has been using a G502 since 2019.

From the start, G502’s design has prioritized gamers’ needs. With each update, Logitech G’s team of engineers and designers quantified what factors influence gameplay and brought those insights to life with the original G502 and every model since.

Starting in 2014, Logitech G introduced the first G502, with deep personalization, unparalleled tracking performance and responsiveness, and maximum comfort, followed by the G502 Proteus Spectrum in 2016, providing gamers with up to 16.8 million customizable lighting color options. From there, 2018 witnessed the launch of the G502 HERO mouse, designed with Logitech G’s HERO 25K sensor—the highest-performing sensor at the time. In 2019, the G502 was upgraded with LIGHTSPEED wireless technology for incredible responsiveness and reliability and POWERPLAY wireless charging; and in 2022, the G502 was upgraded to G502 X, G502 X LIGHTSPEED, and G502 X PLUS with LIGHTFORCE hybrid optical-mechanical switches.

“At Logitech G, we take great pride in what we have accomplished over the last decade,” said Ujesh Desai, general manager of Logitech G. “What sets G502 apart—cutting-edge technology and innovative design—has become the gold standard for gaming mice across the board.”

In designing G502, the team of designers and engineers had to quantify what factors most influenced gameplay while delivering a mouse that provided an abundance of superior features. The original G502 mouse featured a powerful, highly accurate, precise sensor that could be tuned to a gamer’s mousing surface for superior tracking and optimal sensor performance. By leveraging technologies like heat mapping and experimentation with surface geometry, the team created a mouse that delivered deep comfort, featured a new visual design, and performed like an extension of the gamer’s hand.

“The G502 design optimizes every part of the hand, tailoring itself to every desired gaming need and over delivering in button placement, which maximizes our gaming experience. Tools like this are true extensions of ourselves and enhance our abilities tenfold,” said Jeremy “Squatingdog” Pedron, creator and gamer.

Join the Celebration!

  • Starting today, if gamers buy a G502 mouse, they will also receive a free mousepad. Additionally, continuing throughout the year, Logitech G will have special activations, giveaways, and celebrations highlighting the G502, which include:
  • Beginning May 2, Logitech G is partnering with KRAFTON’s PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS to feature a global duo, a multi-stage tournament with tons of product and cash prizes, including the chance to win limited edition G502 X PLUS mice and G640 mousepads. The tournament will be live-streamed on PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS’ official Twitch channel. To sign up, please visit Logitech G’s official Discord channel.

Starting on May 2nd, gamers can visit the Logitech G website to participate in a digital search-and-find game that will include Easter eggs of the G502 mouse and memorable gaming launches from the last decade. Winners will be entered to win special edition mouse mats and a custom G502 mouse.

For more information on how to participate in these activities, please visit Logitech G’s Discord channel or follow @LogitechG.

The Forever Winter Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Today, Fun Dog Studios, an independent game developer formed by industry veterans behind iconic titles like Horizon: Zero DawnDOOM EternalKillzoneHawken, and Mass Effect, unveiled the first look at gameplay for their debut game, The Forever WinterThe Forever Winter is a squad-based, tactical looter-shooter with rogue-like elements, where you fight to survive against gigantic war machines. Wishlist on Steam today.

In The Forever Winter, players enter a maze of relentless PvEvE conflict, with various ever-present enemy factions fighting to achieve their own objectives. Squads of up to four players (or AI-driven squadmates) face off against (or sneak by) hordes of colossal enemies and loot the fallen in a desperate race to secure what’s left of Earth’s dwindling resources. Scavenge what you need, then be ready to run like hell or face an inevitably bloody demise. Building your arsenal over multiple play-throughs gives you a fighting chance against bigger and badder enemies… but you’ll never stop the war. You’ll never “win.” In The Forever Winter, winning is staying alive and returning home with supplies for your crew.

“Our work on The Forever Winter started out with one simple truth: war is hell. There’s a time and a place for the power fantasy of being a super soldier, but frankly, it’s been done time and time again,” said Miles Williams, CEO and Creative Director of Fun Dog Studios. “With The Forever Winter, we wanted to redefine victory as survival – ensuring that every battle is hard fought, and every defeat is a lesson learned. You’ll be rewarded for fighting smarter, not harder, and maintaining situational awareness in a world we designed to be as unforgiving as it is unforgettable. While your power will grow, you’ll always be a mouse in a maze, to survive, you’ll have to work together.”

Key Features Include: 

  • PvEvE: Enemies have their own goals and agendas, operate in coordinated groups as part of a combat ecosystem, and undertake full-scale battles both against you and other NPCs—and each faction will intelligently react to your actions in different ways.
  • Gear Up to Survive: Customize your loadout and get your squad ready to enter the maze. Upgrade your weapons and gear to suit your playstyle with scavenged resources and increase your (small) chances of survival against relentless enemies.
  • Prioritize Stealth and Teamwork: Stealth and teamwork are crucial elements for survival. Coordinate with your squad to outsmart enemies and avoid detection to gain the upper hand, or tactically plan battles and ambushes to win guerilla engagements. Just don’t take the enemy head-on. You won’t live to tell the tale.
  • Death is Just the Beginning (Again): If your squad dies, the run’s over. And death is unforgiving. If you fall in battle, you’ll lose everything in your inventory and have to start over from scratch. Build up a stash back at base to keep the upper hand in the future.

The Forever Winter will initially be released on PC with potential platform expansion based on the game’s success and community feedback.

Commandos: Origins Gameplay Teaser

Kalypso Media and Claymore Game Studios have partnered with Microsoft and IGN to unveil a glimpse into the fan-favorite real-time stealth tactics game Commandos: Origins for the ID@Xbox Showcase with a brand-new gameplay video. The Closed Beta is set to launch this summer.

Join the front lines with iconic characters Jack O’Hara (The Green Beret) and Thomas Hancock (The Sapper) to guide the Commandos team through authentic historical locations during World War II. The new gameplay teaser showcases some of the best uses of the Commandos’ unique abilities: Infiltrate enemy facilities and hit them where it hurts before disappearing into the shadows.

Players who enlist for playtests earlier this year will receive automatic consideration for the Closed Beta.

“The alpha playtest of Commandos: Origins already generated incredibly valuable feedback from our players, which is now being processed and implemented into our game. Seeing the enthusiasm from the community serves as a huge motivator for us. We take their feedback seriously and are working hard to enhance the player’s experience further. The upcoming Closed Beta will help us even more to deliver an immersive and captivating Commandos experience,” said Juergen Reusswig, Studio Director at Claymore Game Studios.

Commandos: Origins is gearing up for a 2024 release and will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass for console and PC and on Xbox Series X|S, Windows 11 PC, and PlayStation®5.

The Simpsons to Celebrate Mother’s Day in “May the 12th Be With You”

Today, Disney+ announced “May the 12th Be With You,’” a new promotional short from “The Simpsons,”’ will launch May 10th, exclusively on Disney+. In the upcoming short, it’s Mother’s Day and Marge Simpson joins the moms of Disney+ on a special holiday outing that turns into an epic galactic adventure filled with heroes, villains and a surprising old friend. New key art for the upcoming short can be downloaded here.

“May the 12th Be With You” is the latest in a collection of shorts from “The Simpsons” created exclusively for Disney+. The previously released shorts “Maggie Simpson in ‘Rogue Not Quite One’” (2024 Webby Winner), “The Simpsons meet the Bocellis in ‘Feliz Navidad,’” “Welcome to the Club,” “When Billie Met Lisa” (Emmy® nominated), “Maggie Simpson in ‘The Force Awakens from Its Nap’” (Emmy® nominated), “The Good, The Bart, and The Loki” and “The Simpsons in Plusaversary” are currently available on Disney+. All of these and more can be found in “The Simpsons” collection on the streaming service here: https://www.disneyplus.com/franchise/the-simpsons

FOUNDRY Early Access Release Trailer

Today, Paradox Interactive and Channel 3 announced that FOUNDRY, the 3D voxel-based factory builder, is now available in Early Access on Steam for $29.99 / €29.99 / £26.99. This Early Access phase is an opportunity to implement additional content and updates outlined in the roadmap, such as new technologies, world updates, UI/UX enhancements, blue prints, new decor items, advanced power plants, among others. Primarily, it will allow the development team to gather feedback from players and adjust the current roadmap based on community input.

FOUNDRY is a first-person, factory-building and automation sandbox set in a beautiful, procedurally-generated voxel open world. Starting from humble beginnings of manually mining and processing resources, crafting machinery, and developing technologies, players can advance to automating the entire production line to their precise creative plans and vision. They will face different logistic challenges such as planning and managing pipe networks and power systems while working to optimize their constantly growing production lines as they create their own gigantic, automated, and self-sustaining factory. Played solo or with friends, FOUNDRY is the perfect mix between grid-based construction games and factory building simulations.

More information will come later on FOUNDRY. All the latest information on the game can be found here: https://paradoxinteractive.com/games/foundry.

The Political Machine 2024 Launch Trailer

Stardock Entertainment released The Political Machine™ 2024, the newest edition of its popular political strategy game series today. The game allows players to step into the shoes of presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Dean Phillips, Nikki Haley and countless other candidates from history, or create their own.

“The Political Machine 2024 presents itself as a game but has proven to be an accurate representation of players’ political leanings,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment. “Previous versions of the game have accurately predicted the outcome of past elections, such as the fact that Ohio would be the key state in 2004 and Trump’s victory in 2016.”

New to The Political Machine 2024 is the inclusion of the primaries in which several candidates compete for their party’s nomination. Presidential debates have also been added to allow players to test their knowledge of current events and how to gain favor with their political base.

While the game’s singleplayer AI plays with great savvy, Stardock has made sure that the game also remains a strong multiplayer game as well.

“In previous editions, players could play against each other one-on-one to win the White House,” said Wardell. “With the inclusion of primaries, several players of the same party can go at it. It’s a touch of mayhem.”