The Hitman game franchise has seen some tumultuous times lately: Square Enix tried to offload its developer, IO Interactive, prompting the studio to buy its independence. While that gave IO more control, it also left the company more vulnerable if sales fell short. Not to fear, however: IO has signed a Hitman publishing deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The agreement should provide some stability, and even gives fans a re-release in the short term.

Heart pounding, hands shaking, head packed with static. The absolute inability to process what anyone is saying, let alone respond to it. Sitting alone at home -- lights off because you've been inside all day and the sun set hours ago, but your legs have been glued to the chair for just as long -- computer screen glowing. Wanting to be outside but unable to deal with the idea of people, conversation, smiling, pretending. Feeling worthless.

Spider-Man swings to PlayStation 4 on September 7th this year. Of course, developer Insomniac Games' web-head adventure comes in three flavors: standard ($60), digital deluxe ($80) and collector's edition ($150). The digital deluxe and collector's edition are identical in terms of bonus features, aside from the collector's edition coming with an art book, a steelbook case, the game on a Blu-ray and a pretty cool statue. According to the PlayStation Blog, pre-ordering the digital deluxe version will net you a custom pin Both have special cosmetic items like alternate Spider-Man suits and add-on missions. The trio of post-launch narratives will feature new villains, characters and suits as well. For a sneak peek of the game in action, check out the brand new video embedded below.

Interested in watching the first-ever NBA 2K League draft? Then tune into NBA TV or Twitch today at 1PM from the Hulu Theater at New York's Madison Square Garden. Each team in the league will pick six players. Pre-show coverage including a press conference with commissioner Adam Silver, Brendan Donohue from 2K League and Take-Two Interactive (2K's publisher) CEO Strauss Zelnick will live on NBA TV as well, with the NBA's website and 2K League's Twitter account doling out additional updates. However, only the first round will be broadcast on NBA TV -- you'll have to peep Twitch for the rest.

I've never liked rushing through video games. I prefer to take my time, strolling aimlessly through the digital brush and marveling at each beautifully-realized world. There's just one problem: I don't have 100 hours to spend on Monster Hunter World or Assassin's Creed: Origins. Still, when I dive into a game I want to immerse myself and move at a speed that respects the time and effort put in by the developers.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang flaunted a Gigabyte Aero 15X at CES as to show how Max-Q tech can make laptops both light and powerful. With the updated 2018 Aero 15X, Gigabyte has shown it's not just about the graphics. It features an all-new eighth-generation Intel 6-core CPU and with a new 144Hz display, addresses the last model's biggest shortfall for gamers. At the same time, it retains the clever design, NVIDIA GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics and huge battery, making the Aero 15X the best lightweight gaming laptop you can buy. That said, there are a host of similar laptops coming soon, so Gigabyte might not retain its crown for long.

Dan Smith was only 18 when he won the BAFTA Young Game Designers Award in 2016 for the prototype of his first-person puzzler. Now, his creation is almost ready to hit your consoles: video game publisher Ripstone Games is releasing The Spectrum Retreat on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC sometime this year. The game puts you in an unsettlingly pristine art deco hotel called The Penrose, where you have to solve color-coded puzzles and take on physics challenges to unravel its secrets and solve the mystery surrounding your stay.

The backlash against heavy-handed in-game purchasing systems is starting to spread to those games that weren't directly caught up in the firestorm. Monolith is phasing out Middle-earth: Shadow of War's Gold currency over the next few months -- you'll lose the option of buying Gold on May 8th, while any existing Gold, the Market and War Chests will cease to exist on July 17th. If you still have leftover Gold on that last date, it'll be converted to in-game items. As Monolith describes it, the virtual currency was souring the experience of the game itself.

When Steven Spielberg introduced Ready Player One at SXSW this year, he made a surprising statement: "This is not a film that we've made, this is -- I promise you -- a movie." And really, there's no better way to put it. It's a pop culture-driven, nostalgia-inducing blockbuster that works best as a ride, but it falls apart the moment you think critically about it. It's not something that'll be taking any deep stances on VR, and it certainly doesn't have time for much social commentary (aside from some heavy-handed moralizing at the end).