Take-Two Interactive Software recently announced that Dan Houser, vice president of creative at Rockstar Games, will soon be leaving the company. 

According to the announcement, Houser took an extended break starting in the spring of 2019, but his last official day at the studio will be on March 11 of this year. 

We reached out to Take-Two for a statement, which confirmed that "Sam Houser’s role with Rockstar Games, which he founded in 1998, remains unchanged." Sam Houser is Dan's brother.

Dan Houser is one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games and was instrumental in its success developing franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. Only time will tell if this change affects the future of Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive. 

[Source: StreetInsider]

Hey everyone! These are the results of last year's Community GOTY voting results - the results of which (resultingly) have been resulted below. This year, 3462 of you submitted a top ten list, for a total of 27791 (not everyone always puts in ten games, which is fine) on 828 different games.

(You'll note that these numbers are somewhat smaller than last year - unfortunately I think I did a poor job of promoting the links to the voting story during GOTY. That's my bad and I'll try to be better about it next year! If you missed your opportunity to vote, my apologies!)

It was one year ago today when Respawn shadow dropped its take on the battle royale and changed the space forever. To celebrate, Leo Vader, Jeff Cork, and I are dropping into Apex Legends Season 4 and testing out the game's new playable character, map, and weaponry. We may even mess around and play some Titanfall 2, who knows?

We went live earlier, but if you want to catch up on the stream, be sure to watch the archive above. Enjoying the streams? You can subscribe over on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, or Facebook to get notified when we go live in the future! Thanks for watching!

Fallout 76 continues to truck along, and Bethesda isn't wavering in its support. Since launching on November 14, 2018, Fallout 76 has received a number of big updates; some have been welcomed with open arms, others have not.

On April 7, players who are still wandering Appalachia's wilds can look forward to Wastelanders, the largest free update to date. Rolling out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC (including Steam), this update brings NPCs to the mix. If you felt that Appalachia was a little too barren, or just didn't like talking with other players, you can now converse with the NPCs who will be littered across the world. Many of these fully voiced denizens are tied to a new questline that leads to new enemies and weapons.

As you get to know Appalachia's residents, dialogue trees will determine what happens next. Yes, choice is coming back to Fallout. The decisions you make in these conversations will affect your standing with specific factions.

While the core Wastelanders update is free, Bethesda is also offering two Faction-themed content bundles that hold exclusive C.A.M.P. items and cosmetics – one for Raiders and another for Settlers. No price has been given for these bundles just yet. You can find out out more details on Bethesda's official blog.

Nvidia may be looking to compete with Google Stadia and Microsoft’s Project xCloud. The company just announced that its video game streaming service, GeForce Now, is exiting beta and is free for all users – with a few caveats.

If you’re not familiar with GeForce Now, this streaming service allows users to stream PC games to laptops, Macs, Nvidia Shields, and other Android devices. Over 1,000 games are already on the service, including Fortnite, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Users can also migrate their pre-existing purchases over to Nvidia’s service – meaning if you bought a game through another online store such as Steam, and that game is also on GeForce Now, you’ll be able to stream that game without an additional purchase.

Users can stream with GeForce Now starting today for free, but free users will only be able to play for one hour before having to log off and start a new session. You can start as many sessions a day as you like, but you have to log off and log back in after an hour. Nvidia says this is necessary for providing the best service for paid users.

The launch of Warcraft III: Reforged hasn't been a smooth one, with myriad issues ranging from animations, assets, lighting, bugs, multiplayer features, and more. According to a Reddit thread, users are able to apply for an immediate refund on the title, with some refunds being processed almost instantly. We've reached out to Blizzard regarding refund availability and will update this post should we get a response.

Update 11:00 AM CT: A Blizzard representative has confirmed that refunds are available.

Blizzard has also responded to the launch in general with a post in the official forums, which you can check out here.

If you're unhappy with any issues with the game, you can try using this link to get a refund. Our review for the title should be hitting within the next few days.

During an investor discussion in Japan, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said Switch will remain the company's focus for years to come, even with new competition in the market. This news comes from a question and answer session that was translated by Video Games Chronicle (VGC).

“We believe that the Nintendo Switch business is now in its fourth year and is just in the middle of its life cycle," Furukawa said. "Rather than just the next year, I think about things in terms of what to do the following year and the year after that." He also added, "We do not believe that the business trends of other companies will have a significant impact on our business."

He's referencing Sony introducing PlayStation 5, Microsoft its new Xbox, and perhaps even other players like Google with Stadia. The Switch has been red-hot since launch, finding success as a unique hybrid that allows players to game on a TV or on the go, and with strong software coming from Nintendo's first-party efforts and impressive third-party support.

3 Houses, 8 Characters, 10% of Smash – Full Circle Podcast #86 Read More »

Hello and welcome to yet another edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again happy to be your host this week as we look back at the best creative endeavors from the community! It's been a slow week as we hit the dregs of the post-Christmas "Winter Game Drought." I have to say, as someone who has been following games for as long as I could remember, this drought, as well as the "Summer Game Drought," has been an industry-wide issue since the dawn of time. Which is why I personally have to dismiss politely any notions that Giant Bomb's content is slowing down. THERE JUST AREN'T MANY NEW GAMES COMING OUT! That aside, the community has been as active as ever, and before we jump into that, let's address the handful of site-related items worth mentioning.

PlayStation 5 February Event Incoming? | Final Checkpoint Ep. 21 Read More »

Last Chance: January’s PlayStation Plus Games Read More »

Don’t Forget January 2020’s Games with Gold Read More »

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the wonderful works of the Giant Bomb Community from last week! I'm happy to say we have a real diverse showcase of some AWESOME user-created content. Whether it be reviews, blogs, or works of art; we have a little bit of everything represented on this edition of the Spotlight! So, without further ado, let's jump into the site-related housekeeping!

• Users that were unable to sign in or log in through Facebook should be relieved to know the issue has been resolved! If, however, are still having issues logging into Giant Bomb through Facebook,file a bug report using this link.
• A LOT of Giant Bomb users have been asking why Rorie's Saturday "surprise" streams are not uploaded to Giant Bomb. The reason is that he archives them on his personal YouTube. Subscribe to their channel to remain up to date on when he archives his streams!

Tweets Of The Week

What We’ve Been Watching: The Witcher Read More »

Delay Apocalypse 2020 | Final Checkpoint Ep. 20 Read More »

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the best creative offerings from the Giant Bomb community! With GOTY thoroughly behind us, we all can finally relax and enjoy the scenery. And by "scenery" I mean wonderful works of art and writing from users like you! I don't know about you, but it is finally starting to set-in that we are at the start of a new decade. The site, in general, has come a long way since its humble beginnings, but fingers crossed, I have a good feeling about the site's prospects in the 2020s. How could I not, what, with the busy community and wonderful staff that make each day a memory worth preserving! With that aside, let's jump into the site-related housekeeping!

CES 2020: Mobile Edge Debuts New Products For Gamers Read More »

Everybody Wants to be a Master – Full Circle Podcast #84 Read More »

First Annual Console Report Cards | Final Checkpoint Ep. 19 Read More »

CES 2020: JBL Tries Their Hand at Gaming with Their Quantum Lineup Read More »

Julian’s Top 5 Games of 2019 Read More »

[UPDATE: I've been hearing from a bunch of people who said they missed out on voting on this since it wasn't easy to find on the site during GOTY. So I'm reopening voting until 1/20! Get your votes in!]

2019: It's not quite over yet, but we're letting you put your voice in for the 2018 Community GOTY with this handy form! Hey, have a bunch of text I copy/pasted from last year's poll because I don't see much of a point in writing it all over again! I'm really leveraging my core competencies today.

Final Checkpoint’s Game of the Year 2019 | Final Checkpoint Ep. 18 Read More »

Auld Games Time – Full Circle Podcast #83 Read More »

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight, and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to your host this week! This week, Dan officially started his job at WWE, and the remaining staff returned to the regular swing of things. However, don't let that convince you the Giant Bomb community wasn't up to its old tricks in making some really cool and wonderful things this week! With that in mind, let's jump into the site-related housekeeping as there are some items worth mentioning.

• Issues with embedding videos into blog and forum posts should be fixed. If you are still having issues, please use this link to file a bug report.
• Voting for the 2019 Community GOTY is closed and you can expect the results soon-ish.
• Some users are reporting the hamburger menu is not appearing when using Giant Bomb on the iPad. If that's you, please file a report using this link!

User-Created GOTY 2019 Content!

Author's Note: This will be the last week where I have a dedicated GOTY section in the Spotlight. I'm more than happy to continue showcasing GOTY lists and blogs, especially "Game of the Decade" lists and blogs. However, those lists and blogs will exist in the standard format from before GOTY.

Trevor’s Top 5 Games of 2019 Read More »

Quirky Religious Game – Full Circle Podcast #82 Read More »

Hello and welcome to an incredibly GOTY-centric edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and as always I, @zombiepie, am honored to be your host! There's really no good way to get around it. 2020 is already off to a bummer of a start. As most of you already know, Dan is leaving the site to pursue a new employment opportunity producing podcasts for WWE. He's moving as a result and will be starting their new job on January 5th, 2020. I know the man has developed the reputation of being the "goofball" at Giant Bomb, but Dan certainly deserves credit where credit is deserved. He is a wildly creative mind and used each video feature he created as an opportunity to try out new ideas and concepts. He rarely, if ever, let his enthusiasm disappear on streams, especially if he was allowed to talk about the state of wrestling.

Joel’s Top 5 Games of 2019 Read More »

Buyer’s guides on Gizmodo are curated independently by editorial staff. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, G/O Media may earn a commission.

Read more...

Tyler’s Top 5 Games of 2019 Read More »

Our New Year’s Gaming Resolutions | Final Checkpoint Ep. 17 Read More »

The time has come! White smoke! After discussing over 100 amazing, or at the very least, interesting games we have arrived at our decision for game of the year 2019. Historically, the last year before new consoles has been a little scattershot, with a mix of huge sequels that show off everything a developer has learned over the course of the last generation and games that feel like they kinda have to be shoved out the door before the new consoles render them entirely obsolete. Ultimately, 2019 feels a little different that than typical scenario, with a wide variety of games across all platforms. We saw a lot of new things, games iterating successfully on the huge genre of the day, and games by teams both large and small that stood out above the competition. While we've seen some people try to write off 2019 as a weak year for games, we think that's off-base. Here are the games we've awarded in 2019.

Alex Navarro is an editor at Giant Bomb, a drummer for NYHC outfit None Above All, and the guy who accidentally made that one Nicolas Cage cameo clip go viral earlier this year. He's on Twitter @alex_navarro.

2019 was a weird year. Some of that strangeness was personal in nature. I made some moves this year that changed up the flow of my life a bit, a flow that hadn't really been disturbed in a long while. I started drumming more regularly, even going to the trouble of joining a band and playing shows. I started reaching out to a few folks I hadn't talked to in a while, maybe partially out of guilt for my lack of communicativeness, and also out of a desire to try to be more outgoing than I usually am. I tried to be a little less terminally Online, to varying degrees of success.

Austin Creed, AKA Xavier Woods, is one third of the seven-time championship winning tag team The New Day. When he's not touring the globe wrestling for thousands of fans, he's also the host of the video game YouTube channel UpUpDownDown. You can find him on Twitter @XavierWoodsPHD.

Kenny Omega is the current AAA Mega Champion, and one of the founding members of All Elite Wrestling, which made its debut in 2019. He's @KennyOmegaManX on Twitter.

Adam Conover is a comedian and the host of truTV's Adam Ruins Everything. In 2019 he launched a new podcast, Factually!, in which he interviews experts on a wide array of topics.

He's @adamconover on Twitter.

"Come on," I thought, "yet another simulation of a retro computer desktop? How interesting could this be?" When I finally played this in late December, I realized how stupid I was.