Summer Game Fest: ‘Batman: Arkham Shadow,’ ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ Trailers, Blumhouse Reveals 6 Titles and Tim Robinson Teases EA’s ‘Skate’

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Microsoft Gaming is taking a victory lap after an impressive Xbox Games Showcase presentation at the David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles on June 9, which was anchored by the reveal of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” followed by major announcements across all of Xbox’s studios, including Bethesda, Activision and Blizzard, as well as collaborations with third-party developers. Xbox president of gaming content and studios Matt Booty sat down with Jennifer Maas, Variety senior business writer of TV and video games, to discuss highlights from this year’s presentation, the inner workings of Xbox post-Activision Blizzard, and more for Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast.

Bruised Callum McGregor has admitted to feeling ‘embarrassed’ and ‘angered’ by Scotland’s feeble showing during the mauling in Munich, writes Keith Jackson in Germany.

Shonda Rhimes will be on hand for a right royal London Stock Exchange opening tomorrow morning as Netflix reveals a major UK Bridgerton spending landmark.

Hailey Bieber recently took to Instagram Stories to share an update on her pregnancy. She gave her followers a glimpse of her growing baby bump and candidly revealed a common pregnancy symptom.“So who was gonna tell me about the lower back pain?” the 27-year-old captioned her selfie, adding a dizzy emoji to emphasize the discomfort.

How does someone survive Rome’s most cruel spectacle? The new series “Those About To Die” is set among the gladiatorial events and political intrigue that shaped an empire. “Saving Private Ryan” screenwriter Robert Rodat created the project and wrote several episodes. And, of course, it has a big name in it with two-time Academy Award-winner Anthony Hopkins (“Silence of the Lambs,” “The Father”).

Prince Harry has revealed a heart-wrenching moment when his brother, Prince William, stood by him during a difficult time. The Duke of Sussex shared an incident that left him struggling emotionally and how he sought support from his elder sibling.

Jordan Moreau After releasing his two-part “Rebel Moon” sci-fi epic on Netflix, Zack Snyder‘s director’s cut is nearly here — and it will have two new titles. The “sexier, bloodier” versions of his Netflix saga will drop on August 2, with two newly titled chapters instead of two parts.

The family of a subpostmistress who was falsely accused of embezzling Post Office funds have won a fight to clear her name, 15 years after she was convicted. Caren Lorimer pleaded guilty at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in 2009 to one charge of embezzlement from the town’s New Farm Loch Post Office, where she had worked for 17 years.

Microsoft is making gamers very happy!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Xbox Games Showcase kicked offSunday with the reveal “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6″ will launch Oct. 25, and be available Day 1 via the service’s paid Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Meghan Markle's reaction to being given a new "title" during her tour of Nigeria with Prince Harry has left royal fans in two minds.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Games has dropped the first trailer for its next video game in the Wizarding World universe: “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.” The studio released the footage out of Summer Game Fest on Friday, where it also revealed the launch date for the followup to the massively successful “Hogwarts Legacy” will release on Sept. 3.

Famous horror film and TV studio Blumhouse, which has released a slew of cult hits such as Paranormal Activity, The Black Phone, M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s, is finally ready to stake its claim in the video game space after the studio’s announcement of its new games division last year.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Insecure” and “The First Purge” star Y’lan Noel will be the voice star of Xbox‘s eagerly anticipated “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.” Details about Noel’s unnamed character and the storyline of the game are being kept under wraps until formally unveiled by Activision at the Xbox Games Showcase event in Los Angeles Sunday, but Activision marketing chief Tyler Bahl teased to Variety Noel is playing “a new character” that is featured in the key art above. “He’s never worked in gaming before, but we really were impressed by his voice tapes.

Alex Ritman Feathers McGraw is back! The dastardly penguin supervillain is following in the stop-motion footsteps of fellow animation antagonist Mrs. Tweedy and making a grand return to screens, this time in the latest “Wallace and Gromit” feature.

Just hours after author Suzanne Collins announced her new Hunger Games prequel book “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Lionsgate has announced a film version is coming, too!

Lexi Carson Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled its second wave of titles, which includes Ant Timpson’s “Bookworm” as the opening night film. This year’s edition, the 28th for the festival, will run from July 18 to August 4.

Production is underway on the upcoming eighth and final season of Outlander!

Meghan Markle has spoken out after she was bestowed new 'title' – and royal fans are divided.The Duchess of Sussex, 42, was given a traditional Yoruba name, "Adetokunbo," during her recent trip to Nigeria with husband Prince Harry. In a letter, the mum-of-two has now said she will "treasure" the title and branded Nigeria her "home." She said: "Thank you for your warm welcome to Nigeria. I am deeply humbled by your blessing of the traditional Yoruba name, Adetokunbo.

Summer Games Done Quick, the annual speedrunning marathon that raises money for charity, has announced a strong mix of classics and newer hits for its summer schedule.Summer Games Done Quick will be running from June 30 to July 6, and every day will feature several speedruns. A classic that many Xbox fans will enjoy is a four-player, co-op, legendary difficulty speedrun of Halo 3.