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Alas, poor Charles Entertainment Cheese. Better known to his friends (as well as beleaguered parents and disaffected teens who have to go somewhere to play House of the Dead and Dance Dance Revolution now that regular arcades are so hard to come by) as Chuck E. Cheese, the animatronic, pizza-slinging rat and his crew of similarly horrifying buddies have found themselves in a bit of financial hot water thanks to the COVID-19 quarantine. After 43 years of business, the arcade-restaurant where “kids can be kids” has filed for bankruptcy according to The Boston Globe.

This doesn’t necessarily mean every one of Charles’s 734 restaurants around the globe will be shutting down for good. CEO David McKillips has stated that “The Chapter 11 process will allow us to strengthen our financial structure as we recover from what has undoubtedly been the most challenging event in our company’s history.”

The COVID-19 related shutdowns have been so challenging, in fact, that some Chuck E. Cheese storefronts began trying to offer delivery via GrubHub and other delivery apps under an alias–Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings. Pasqually being, of course, Pasqually P. Pieplate, one of the many mascot characters part of the extended Chuck E. Cheese universe (he’s just a pizza chef and a drummer, not one of the anthropomorphic animals).

With any luck we’ll continue to see such creative measures being taken by the company to ensure its survival. After all, horror-adjacent animatronics are still very much en vogue thanks to the massively popular Five Nights At Freddy’s franchise–who knows, maybe the future of child-friendly pizza-arcades lies in the haunted house industry. “Where a kid can be absolutely terrified” may not be as catchy as “where a kid can be a kid” but it’s certainly got a ring to it.

Amid growing concerns of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and a recent surge in cases in Texas, entertainment conglomerate Rooster Teeth has canceled the in-person RTX Austin 2020 event that was scheduled to take place in September.

“Despite all our wishes and best efforts to bring us together in person this year, due to citywide restrictions on large scale events, RTX Austin 2020 has officially been canceled,” Rooster Teeth said. “We wish nothing more than to be able to see all of you in person as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

Though RTX Austin 2020 has been canceled, Rooster said it will host a virtual event instead. Details about this RTX replacement have yet to be revealed, but it’s planned to take place later this year.

Badge holders can request to refund or postpone their RTX Austin 2020 ticket. Should you choose to postpone, you have until August 9 to register your ticket for RTX Austin 2021. Otherwise, you will be issued a full refund, with them being processed in “as little as 30 days after August 9.” You can visit the RTX 2020 site to postpone your badge.

RTX Austin 2020 was originally intended to take place from July 3-5 but was pushed to early September due to coronavirus concerns. Despite the disruptions it’s caused, a number of video game companies have been hosting livestreams to deliver new announcements in the wake of E3’s cancellation. For example, in a similar fashion as Rooster Teeth, Blizzard has canceled this year’s BlizzCon, with plans to hold a virtual event next year. And other digital showcases, like Tennocon and Ubisoft Forward, will go live in the coming months.

We’re still in the midst of Play For All, GameSpot’s celebration of all things gaming, where you can check out the hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos of upcoming games.

This week on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s professional wrestling podcast, Chris E. Hayner and Mat Elfring have a very serious discussion. Of course, when it comes to this show, very serious discussions are usually pretty silly. We also cover a few different topics, and check in on our favorite Attitude Era WWE superstar.

First up, a very serious debate erupts between Mat and Chris as they decide who the real GOAT–greatest of all time–is in professional wrestling. Neither of them have actually prepared their arguments or even chosen who they will champion, but surely this should be taken as the final word in the matter.

Next, it’s nostalgia machine time as we head back to the latter days of WCW and its attempt to cash in on pop culture. Did you know Chucky, the murdering doll from the Child’s Play movies, once appeared on WCW programming? He did, and it was truly awful. You’ll learn all about it in this episode, including how he promised Scott Steiner a leading role in a movie and never followed through.

Then, we open the gimmick junk drawer and look back on a character that didn’t last long during WWE’s Ruthless Aggression era. Mordecai was sort of like a photo negative of The Undertaker. He attempted to remove sinners from the WWE, including the biggest sinner of all–Scotty 2 Hotty.

We also answer your questions in this episode and check in on noted vampire warrior professional wrestler Gangrel with the latest installment of Gangrel Watch. New episodes of Wrestle Buddies are released every Thursday. You can check it out on Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

This July, NBC Universal’s streaming service Peacock will have a nationwide launch–as the service has already been available to some for over a month. Now, Peacock has released trailers for all its Day One original content to check out.

There is a wide-variety of original programming, from movies to series to reality all ranging from comedy to drama to kids and more. The most high-profile of the originals is none other than Brave New World, based on the Aldous Huxley novel of the same name, which follows characters in a utopian society who find a rebellion brewing outside of the city of New London. The new series is executive produced by David Wiener (Homecoming) and Grant Morrison (DC Comics legendary writer). Director Owen Harris, who has worked on Netflix’s Black Mirror, will direct the first two episodes.

The USA show Psych is getting a second feature film on opening day for Peacock. The original series followed two friends who work for the police, solving crimes, because one of them claims to be a psychic–he isn’t. Now, the buds are back and trying to help their friend Lassie–no, not the dog–who is seeing ghosts.

Finally, if you have kids or you’re a kid-at-heart, there is a new Where’s Waldo series coming to Peacock–that’s Where’s Willy for our friends in the UK. In the series, Waldo and his friend Wenda travel the globe and solve problems. And more than likely, Waldo will get lost behind a pile of red and white-striped scarves.

Peacock is a tiered streaming service. And while there is a free tier for Peacock, in order to watch the original content, you’ll have to pay either $5 or $10 a month. Check out what each tier offers below.

Peacock tiers and cost:

• Free: 7,500 hours of ad-supported programming. Includes current seasons of TV shows, movies, TV classics, news and sports, Hispanic, streaming channels, and more.
• $5 a month: 15,000 hours of ad-supported programming. Includes everything in previous tier, plus original series, 4K/UHD viewing, premium moves, full tent-pole series, and more.
• $10 a month: Everything in previous tiers, without ads.

Below, you’ll find all the trailers, along with the official synopsis for all the Peacock original series launching on Day One for the streaming service, July 15.

Brave New World

Synopsis: Based on Aldous Huxley’s groundbreaking novel, Brave New World imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself. As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd, Game of Thrones) and Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey) embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich, Solo: A Star Wars Story), who escapes with them back to New London. John’s arrival in the New World soon threatens to disrupt its utopian harmony, leaving Bernard and Lenina to grapple with the repercussions.

The Capture

Synopsis: The Capture is a conspiracy thriller that looks at a troubling world of fake news and the extraordinary capabilities of the intelligence services. When soldier Shaun Emery’s (Callum Turner, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun’s life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again. Detective Inspector Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger, Strike) is drafted to investigate Shaun’s case, but she quickly learns that the truth can sometimes be a matter of perspective.

Intelligence

Synopsis: Intelligence is a workplace comedy set in the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters–a kind of weedier, geekier, more bureaucratic version of MI5 and MI6, where they tackle international and domestic Cyber Crime from a desktop. When a pompous maverick NSA agent Jerry Bernstein (David Schwimmer, Friends) comes over from the U.S. to join the team, he enlists an inept and tactless computer analyst Joseph (Nick Mohammed, The Martian) in a power grab that threatens to disrupt the team’s ability to combat cyber terrorism.

Lost Speedways With Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Synopsis: Created and hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., this series is an exploratory look at great racing cathedrals of the past. Dale Jr. and co-host Matthew Dillner tell the stories of speedways that have been forgotten, abandoned, and overtaken by nature. Racing legends join as guests throughout the series.

Where’s Waldo?

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Waldo (Joshua Rush) and his best friend Wenda (Haley Tju) are members of the Worldwide Wanderer Society–the international order of curious travelers who circle the globe celebrating cultures and solving problems through observation. Their mentor–Wizard Whitebeard (Thomas Lennon, Reno 911), a seasoned wanderer–sends these inquisitive young adventurers on international travel missions so they can earn their stripes and someday become wizard-level wanderers too. But standing in Waldo and Wenda’s way is their rival Odlulu (Eva Carlton, Little), who can’t help but cause trouble wherever she goes.

Cleopatra in Space

Synopsis: Cleopatra in Space​ is a comedic adventure focusing on the untold story of Cleopatra’s teenage years. Viewers can follow Cleo (Lilimar Hernandez) as she is transported 30,000 years into the future, to an Egyptian-themed planet that is ruled by talking cats and where she discovers she is the prophesied savior of the future world. In order to prepare for her role and mission, Cleo is sent to an elite academy where she has to train to take on the bad guys, figure out how to eventually get herself back home to Egypt, as well as tackling the highs and lows of being a teenager in high school.

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home

Synopsis: Santa Barbara Police Chief Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, This Is Us) is ambushed on the job and left for dead. In a vintage Psych-style Hitchcockian nod, he begins to see impossible happenings around his recovery clinic. Shawn (James Roday, A Million Little Things) and Gus (Dulé Hill, Suits) return to Lassie’s side in Santa Barbara and are forced to navigate the personal, the professional, and possibly the supernatural. Separated from their new lives in San Francisco, our heroes find themselves unwelcome in their old stomping grounds as they secretly untangle a twisted case without the benefit of the police, their loved ones, or the quality sourdough bakeries of the Bay Area. What they uncover will change the course of their relationships forever. Psych 2 is a full-length film.

In Deep With Ryan Lochte

Synopsis: At the 2016 Rio Olympics Ryan Lochte was at the center of a scandal that has since overshadowed a decorated swimming career that includes 12 Olympic medals. Now a 35-year-old husband and father of two young children, Lochte is hoping for one more chance to make Team USA and prove he’s not the same man he was four years ago.

Curious George

Synopsis: First introduced to the world of children’s literacy over 75 years ago, Curious George was created by Margret and H.A. Rey in 1941 and remains one of the most beloved children’s classics of all-time. The animated series targets preschool viewers and follows the adventures of everyone’s favorite monkey and his insatiable curiosity to bring delightful antics, gentle humor and heartfelt emotion to each fun-filled episode. With a focus on education, the Emmy award-winning program incorporates early concepts in math, science, technology and engineering and encourages children to use their imagination and expand their own investigations of the world.

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Parent company WarnerMedia Entertainment has announced an extension to some of HBO Max‘s popular DC films, which will now stay on the streaming platform until December 2020.

The list includes recent films such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman. It also features classics like the 1980’s Superman franchise, consisting of Superman: The Movie, Superman 2, 3, and 4: The Quest for Peace. Two other films–Superman: Unbound and Watchmen–are being added to HBO Max on July 1 and will remain on the platform until December.

Full List of DC Films Staying On HBO Max

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016
• Justice League, 2017
• Suicide Squad, 2016
• Superman: The Movie, 1978
• Superman II, 1980
• Superman III, 1983
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, 1987
• Superman: Unbound, 2013
• Watchmen (Movie), 2009
• Wonder Woman, 2017

Many of these films–particularly Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and others–were scheduled to leave HBO Max in July, not long after the streaming service launched. They will now sit alongside other DC films like Green Lantern, Joker, and Shazam for at least a little while longer.

Several other films are also being added to HBO Max in July alongside Superman: Unbound and Watchmen. The Blade trilogy will be streaming on the platform, as well as Space Jam, Tenacious D, and others. Additionally, South Park is also streaming on HBO Max, though five episodes of the series have been cut.

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With July right around the corner, we’ll be hearing about the new lineups of free games for PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold subscribers any day now. In the meantime, Twitch Prime has revealed its next batch of freebies that will be available to claim in July. Twitch Prime comes with any Amazon Prime subscription, so if you’re paying for fast and free shipping from Amazon, you should also be snagging free PC games every month.

Five games will be free to claim starting July 1: Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Dear Esther, Grip: Combat Racing, Kunai, and Dark Devotion. To claim them, you simply need to link your Twitch account to your Amazon Prime account.

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is a classic first-person shooter that originally released on Nintendo 64 in 1998. While it’s certainly dated now, Turok 2 was a beloved FPS of the era, so you may be interested in checking out a relic from the past.

Grip: Combat Racing is a fast-paced combat racer that takes cues from Wipeout and Star Wars podracing games. It features 30 unique vehicles and 29 tracks scattered across four locales. In Kunai, you play as a sentient tablet with ninja skills who embarks on platforming quest to stop an evil A.I.

Dark Devotion is also a side-scroller, but, as the name suggests, it’s quite a bit darker. A cross between roguelikes and Metroidvanias, Dark Devotion is a challenging action game with a gorgeous art style. And in Dear Esther, you explore a deserted island while listening to letters written by a widower.

The July freebies will join the classic SNK games that are up for grabs until the end of year. More than 20 SNK games will eventually be free on Twitch Prime, but as of now you can grab seven, including Fatal Fury Special, The King of Fighters 2000, and Pulstar.

In addition to free games, Twitch Prime members also get free loot for a wide variety of games. In July, new loot drops are arriving for games such as Apex Legends, Black Desert Online, and Legends of Runeterra.

You can see the full Twitch Prime schedule for July below. If you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber and are interested in signing up, an annual membership costs $119/year, or you can go month-by-month for $13. New Prime members can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, too.

July 2020 free Twitch Prime games

Available from July 1 to July 31 unless otherwise stated

• Turok 2: Bad Seed
• Dark Devotion
• Kunai
• Grip: Combat Racing
• Dear Esther
• Dream Daddy – ends July 3
• PictoQuest – ends July 10
• Mad Tracks – ends July 17

Free SNK games with Twitch Prime

Available through December 31

• Art of Fighting 2
• Blazing Star
• Fatal Fury Special
• Pulstar
• Samurai Shodown II.
• The King of Fighters 2000
• The King of Fighters 2002

Free in-game loot for July

• July 3 – Mafia City
• July 6 – Words with Friends 2
• July 7 – Black Desert Mobile
• July 7 – The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross
• July 9 – Yahtzee with Buddies
• July 13 – Apex Legends
• July 13 – Big Farm
• July 14 – RuneScape
• July 29 – Legends of Runeterra

With the Xbox Series X, Microsoft is going to be making very clear which games on its platform are making the most of its hardware with the “Optimized for Series X” label. What that means is support for features like ray-tracing, frame rates up to 120 FPS, and near-instant loading times, as explained in the latest Xbox blog post.

These three pillars make up the principle direction of optimization for the new Xbox, some of which stem off of the DirectX 12 Ultimate support. Having been released for PC hardware recently, DirectX 12 Ultimate further enhances the ability to deliver better visual fidelity, as well as better supported for hardware-powered ray-tracing. These enable developers to create more physically accurate worlds, especially when it comes to lighting.

With more powerful hardware also comes the possibility to produce games that support higher frame rates, something which has been a talking point during this current generation. Although it will also rely on the ability of your display to support it, Series X optimized games can support up to 120 FPS, with Dirt 5 being one of the first to confirm support for it specifically.

One facet that won’t require any other hardware to shine is the speed afforded to games by the new SSD in the Xbox Series X, as well as technology Xbox is calling its Velocity Architecture. With a custom SSD and custom hardware supporting it, Series X optimized games will be able to stream assets in much faster than before, allowing for more instantaneous transitions between in-game worlds and a large reduction in loading times.

The benefit here is that with Microsoft’s commitment to backwards compatibility and free upgrades to older titles, Series X Optimized labels won’t just be appearing on Xbox Series X targeted games like Halo Infinite. Xbox One titles such as Gears 5, will also see improvements without any additional purchases necessary. You can see the full list of currently announced Series X Optimized games below, and see some in action in the trailer above.

Optimized For Xbox Series X Games

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Bright Memory Infinite
• Call of the Sea
• Chivalry 2
• Chorus
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Destiny 2
• DiRT 5
• FIFA 21
• Gears 5
• Halo Infinite
• Hitman 3
• Madden NFL 21
• Marvel’s Avengers
• Outriders
• Scarlet Nexus
• Scorn
• Second Extinction
• The Ascent
• The Medium
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon