During an earnings call on September 10, GameStop shared more details on what it called the "GameStop Reboot" initiative. The overall aim of this is to "improve the financial performance of the business and implement a series of initiatives that will support the long-term success of the business and value creation for stakeholders."

"We are committed to acting with a sense of urgency to address the areas of the business that are critical to achieving long-term success and value creation for all our stakeholders," GameStop CEO George Sherman said in a statement. "We will set GameStop on the correct strategic path and fully leverage our unique position and brand in the video game industry. Our strategic plan is anchored on four tenets which include, optimizing the core business by driving efficiency and effectiveness, creating the social and cultural hub of gaming within each GameStop, building compelling digital capabilities, and transforming our vendor and partner relationships for an evolving video game industry.

"This is a compelling new strategic vision for the company, and we've already started to execute against all four pillars. We also remain committed to returning capital to shareholders and balancing that opportunity against the need to maintain a strong balance sheet to properly run our business and invest in responsible growth."

The four main pillars of GameStop's Reboot initiative include the following (descriptions written by GameStop):

• Optimize the Core: Optimize the core business by improving efficiency and effectiveness across the organization, including cost restructuring, inventory management optimization, adding and growing high margin product categories, and rationalizing the global store base.
• Become the Social / Cultural Hub for Gaming: Create the social and cultural hub of gaming across the GameStop platform by testing and improving existing core assets including the store experience, knowledgeable associates and the PowerUp Rewards loyalty program.
• Build Digital Platform: Build compelling digital capabilities, including the recent relaunch of GameStop.com, to reach customers more broadly across the omni-channel platform and give them the full spectrum of content and access to products they desire.
• Transform Vendor Partnerships: Transform our vendor and partner relationships to unlock additional high-margin revenue streams and optimize the lifetime value of every customer.

Sherman spoke at length about each of the pillars during the earnings call; you can listen to the webcast here to hear everything that Sherman had to say.

GameStop is already moving on its plan to right the ship. Just recently, the company re-launched its website (now with ThinkGeek incorporated), featuring a more streamlined shopping experience that aims to allow customers to find what they want and buy it more smoothly. Additionally, GameStop is testing new pilot stores in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some of the store concepts are focused on competitive gaming and "home-grown e-leagues." While other concept stores will exclusively sell retro games and hardware.

Another part of GameStop's plan to turn things around is to scale down. The retailer confirmed on the earnings call that it plans to close 180-200 "underperforming" stores by the end of the company's current fiscal year (ending February 2020). The store has 5,700 stores worldwide, so the impending closures--if they reach 200 stores--amount to around 3.5 percent of its total store base. The company added that it expects a "much larger tranche of closures" to follow in the coming 12 to 24 months, though a specific number wasn't provided.

Management added that it is "rapidly developing a point of view" on how many more stores it will close in the future. The company is taking a "very specific approach" to looking into specific store closures, the company said. Specifically, the company might look to "de-densify" its store base, which means stores with overlapping trade areas might close. GameStop also pointed out that its average store land lease is two years, so the company isn't generally financially committed to any particular area for an extended period of time.

Don't expect GameStop to turn things around overnight, however. Sherman said on the call, "This transition will take time."

As for GameStop's latest earnings, for the quarter ended August 3, the company saw its total global sales fall 14.3 percent to $1.3 billion. GameStop posted a net loss of $415.3 million for the quarter, which is far worse than the $24.9 million that the company lost during the same period last year.

Every category except Collectibles saw sales decrease year-over-year.

New hardware sales fell a massive 41.1 percent, a downturn that GameStop attributed to the announcement of next-generation consoles coming in 2020. New game sales fell 5.3 percent overall; Nintendo Switch game sales grew, but it wasn't enough to offset the "weaker title launches" across all systems relative to the same period last year. Accessory sales, meanwhile, fell 9.5 percent, while pre-owned sales fell 17.5 percent. Digital sales fell 11.2 percent "due to weaker title launches." Collectible sales, however, jumped by 21.2 percent, proving to be the only big bright spot for the retailer.

"While we experienced sales declines across a number of our categories during the quarter, these trends are consistent with what we have historically observed towards the end of a hardware cycle," GameStop CFO Jim Bell said. "We will continue to manage the underlying businesses to produce meaningful cash returns, while maintaining a strong balance sheet and investing responsibly in our strategic initiatives."

Looking ahead, Bell said GameStop expects total sales to continue to be down in multiple consecutive quarters to come, as the industry awaits the launch of next-generation consoles in Holiday 2020. He pointed out that both Xbox Scarlett and the PS5 were announced, at least partially, earlier than in the past. This hurt GameStop, he said, because consumers may hold out on buying systems if they know a new one is coming later, while game releases might slow, too, as developers wait to release titles on the new systems.

Rare sent a message on Twitter to let people know. "What's the saying? Never work with children or animals?... We'd do it again. #Antonio. We'd also like to assure you all that Antonio is fine!," the studio said.

The developers clarified that Antonio is not sick. Rather, he got food stuck in his throat and needed to barf it up. He disappears from the stream for a bit after the vomit situation and returns with an appetite and appearing to be in good spirits. The throw up and poop part of the Sea of Thieves livestream begins at around 27:48 in the video embedded below, in case you're interested in watching that. Alternatively, you can watch the sequence play out in the animated gifs below.

Rare's Joe Neate provided a statement on the story to IGN, which first reported the news.

"On Monday’s livestream where we provided details on our upcoming Pirate Emporium, we welcomed a squirrel monkey named Antonio to join in the fun," Neate said. "We can confirm Antonio is doing well and we'd welcome the chance to have him at the studio again anytime."

Pets come to Sea of Thieves through an update for Xbox One and PC on September 11. Two types of pets are available at launch, including monkeys and parrots. The pets respond to things that happen in the game; for example, your monkey might run for cover during a battle.

Additionally, the new Sea of Thieves update introduces a new premium currency called Ancient Coins, which are a form of microtransactions. These can be spent in the Pirate Emporium to pick up new emotes and various cosmetics, as well as the aforementioned pets.

In the new installment, titled "Xaman-Ek," EZ (JD Pardo) and Angel (Clayton Cardenas) are on a road trip when encounter a strange motorcycle club neither have heard of before. Two members of the club try to intimidate the Mayans, proclaiming the bikers are on their turf. Showing that the Mayans aren't to be messed with, Angel pulled a gun and chastised the duo that didn't know any better.

"You poser f***ing douchebags. You guys watch some bulls*** TV show and think a vest and two wheels makes you a club," he mocked, clearly making reference to those who saw Sons of Anarchy and decided starting a biker gang was easy to do. "Hmm. I'm guessing Brad and Todd here got all their totally awesome gym bros filling up their table."

"Jesus, man, you guys are an embarrassment," he concluded before himself and EZ rode away.

That wasn't the end of that particular plot, though. The Reyes brothers later ran into the small-time gang again, this time with their entire membership. Again, Angel went for his gun and fired off a couple of shots to attract the attention of police, before leading the low-level club on a chase through town. When law enforcement tracks them down, the elder Reyes points out to the rival gang the credo of "patches over badges," meaning even clubs at war will ceasefire when it comes to getting away from the law.

At that point, the "poser douchebags" broke off from the Mayans, claiming this quarrel wasn't over. While it likely will come back to bite EZ and Angel in the future, it was a clear victory for the titular club over the fanboys. Angel, a tried and true outlaw biker, knew the bullets he fired would draw in the police and would force the local gang to take off. While EZ may be considered the genius in his family, it's Angel that is smart to the ways of the MC world--and protective of it to those who think they can just claim their stake in it.

This is a moment that serves as a public service announcement to fans of Sons of Anarchy that may have taken their love for the show far enough to hope on a bike and throw on a kutte. The world of outlaw motorcycle clubs is very real and very serious. Those who inhabit it may not take kindly to those playing biker and infringing on something they hold dear.

Mayans MC airs Tuesdays on FX.

"No, definitely not," he told Variety when asked about the possibility of the two iconic DC characters coming together.

At the Toronto International Film Festival this week, Phillips shared more insight. He reiterated that he does not think Phoenix's Joker exists in the same DC Universe as Pattinson's Batman.

"I don't see [Joker] connecting to anything in the future," he said. "This is just a movie."

Joker is a standalone origin story for the character, telling the story of how Arthur Fleck became the villainous Joker. Looking ahead, Phillips said his version of Joker is just one of the possibilities of storytelling for the famed bad guy. "In the states, comic books are our Shakespeare it seems, and you can do many many versions of Hamlet," Phillips told Variety. "There will be many more Jokers, I'm sure, in the future."

Also in the Variety interview, Phoenix revealed that he was initially apprehensive about playing Joker. But in the end, it turned out to be a career highlight for the three-time Oscar nominated actor.

"I mean honestly, it wasn’t an easy decision at first," Phoenix said. "I didn't f**king know. I didn't. But then there was something that was drawing me toward it. It just evolved as we worked together. It started becoming something more than I anticipated. It was one of the greatest experiences of my career."

Joker premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was shown again at the Toronto International Film Festival this week; it premieres in theatres on October 4. As for Pattinson's Batman movie, the Matt Reeves-directed film is scheduled to come to cinemas in 2021.

GameSpot's Joker review scored the comic book movie a 10/10. "It might make you uncomfortable, and it will no doubt stay with you long after the curtains close; great movies often do," reviewer Michael Rougeau said.

GameSpot recently had the opportunity to interview Borderlands 3 composer Jesper Kyd, who spoke to us about many different topics. Having already worked on Borderlands 1 and 2, as well as the Pre-Sequel and Claptastic Voyage, Kyd expanded on the challenges of making new music in a series he's familiar with, as well as what it was like working with Gearbox, how the music ties together with Borderlands 3, bringing players to multiple planets outside of Pandora this time around.

Kyd also told us more about how Borderlands 3 makes use of a "deep interactive music system" that, through some backend wizardry and randomness, allows the game's music to sound slightly different each time you play. Additionally, he explained that, at a high level, he wanted to try new things and break from some of the series tradition, while he also described the score as the "most varied" one he's ever made for the Borderlands series.

"I knew right away the last thing I wanted to do was add the predictable swampy slide guitar on all the music. It just felt too pedestrian for Borderlands 3, it wasn't out-there enough," he said.

You can see the full review below. Kyd also composed the music for games in the Hitman, Assassin's Creed, Darksiders, and State of Decay franchises.

For lots more on the upcoming Borderlands 3 launch, check out GameSpot's roundup that covers the pre-load details, region unlock times, PC specs, and more. If you're looking to pick up the game, you can check out GameSpot's extended pre-order guide to learn more about what's available.

GameSpot's Borderlands 3 review scored the looter-shooter an 8/10. "Borderlands 3 has a few stumbling blocks when it comes to bosses, but these fights are overshadowed by the game's rewarding gunplay and over-the-top humor," reviewer Jordan Ramee said.

Having worked on previous Borderlands games in the past, can you talk about the challenge of coming up with new ideas for a series you're already familiar with?

After working on Borderlands 1 and 2, the last Borderlands games I scored were The Pre-Sequel and Claptastic Voyage, which were both science fiction-inspired scores mixed with the distinct feel of Borderlands. With Borderlands 3 we are back to Pandora as well as visiting new worlds such as the Eden-6 planet, which is the planet I scored. Scoring a brand-new addition to the Borderlands universe has been very exciting to work on. Eden-6 is a planet covered in swamplands and thick vegetation, so it was a very different writing experience from scoring the previous four Borderlands games I worked on. It is also the most varied Borderlands score I have written.

"Eden-6 is a planet covered in swamplands and thick vegetation, so it was a very different writing experience from scoring the previous four Borderlands games I worked on." -- Jesper Kyd

What kind of notes did Gearbox give you as it relates to the music they wanted?

They were looking for the music to help make Eden-6 sound unique from the other planets, yet at the same time help define this new unexplored world as a location that belongs in the Borderlands universe. I remember writing one of the cues that opens with a slow atmospheric guitar solo, a la Pink Floyd, and when I talked about this to the Gearbox audio director Raison Varner he mentioned the team was 100% on board with such ideas. The score I wrote doesn't draw inspiration from any film or game soundtracks, the direction goes much further than that. Naturally the score also needed to support areas such as marshlands and wetlands and this is often mixed up with a high-tech mood, since advanced technology is ever-present.

How much collaboration was there between yourself and the team at Gearbox?

I worked closely with the audio department at Gearbox, specifically Raison Varner. We talked a lot about the different worlds I was working on and he really encouraged me to bring a lot of creativity to the writing. Borderlands is a perfect playground for me to let loose musically and after working on all the previous games and helping to establish the Borderlands sound, I was able to use a lot of my knowledge of the universe and creative energy to help push things much further this time around. That's the great thing about returning to franchises; since you have already established the sound you can now invest time in pushing that sound further into new territories.

"Adding lots of melodies to the exploration music is something I felt would fit very well with this gameplay type. This is what I feel ties all my music together." -- Jesper Kyd

Borderlands 3 is such a sprawling game with so many different locations, characters, and moments--is there a connective tissue of a kind that ties your music together?

That's a great observation. I feel my main menu music is a good example of the dynamic type of music I wrote for Borderlands 3. I really focused on adding a lot of melody to my writing. When playing games myself, my favorite musical moments are often those based on melody and this is something I talked a lot to Gearbox about and they loved that idea. Borderlands is such a high-octane experience, even when just exploring the maps, there is a ton of variation and entertainment throughout. So adding lots of melodies to the exploration music is something I felt would fit very well with this gameplay type. This is what I feel ties all my music together.

When you set out to make the music for Borderlands 3, what themes and tones did you want to highlight or accentuate? What kind of instrumentation were you looking to use?

I knew right away the last thing I wanted to do was add the predictable swampy slide guitar on all the music. It just felt too pedestrian for Borderlands 3, it wasn't out-there enough. We are on an alien planet after all! So I pursued other ideas. There is a track called "Exploring The Dormant Ship" where I play a big Russian zither as well as some really warped pianos through a space echo; this really helped us realize that we could move way beyond just slide guitars and other more traditional bayou instrumentations. I then recorded a lot of vocal parts for the action part of this cue, which helps give the world a more immersive depth and richness of life.

I recently had the opportunity to play Borderlands 3 during a preview session. That dub-step boss was a musical treat; can you talk about how that all came together and what you were setting out to do with it? The way it uses music is so fascinating.

Great! I love that you noticed that. I wrote 10 minutes of end boss music to make all that come together like that. I had this idea of making the end boss music for Eden-6 something that really stands out with an atmosphere that lifts you up. I am a huge fan of boss battles and I'm fascinated with how games use boss music; Japanese games perform these types of gameplay moments especially well. Gearbox was onboard with this approach but when we put it in the game we all realized that we needed something different to set it up before we could give people this crazy melodic lift in spirits.

To make that transition work I wrote a track for the boss battle that's really heavy and bombastic before introducing such a shift in uplifting mood. So if you ace this epic boss battle right away you'll move on faster and the game will take you to the next world. But if you take longer in battle the game rewards you with a new level of atmosphere which gives you a feel of rising hope, that you can overcome this challenge. On the album, that track is called “Tranquility Achieved”.

"Borderlands 3 features a really deep interactive music system with many layers and modular pieces that are randomly put together in-game, so the music sounds a bit different every time you play the game." -- Jesper Kyd

I've read that you're challenging yourself to experiment with new sounds for Borderlands 3. What does this mean?

Well, I am always looking at new ways to break the mold of what is expected and then take things further or go in a totally different unexpected direction that really rewards the gamers as well as fitting the game perfectly. There are so many interesting things that can only be done in the games medium and following the path of scoring games more traditionally is a lost opportunity, since I feel we have an opportunity to create something unique or surprising.

For example, once you finally make it to the end part of Eden-6, the music track “Treasures Of The Vault” starts with a set of upbeat motivational combat cues, to get the fun factor going out in full force. It's like a reward for the game player while at the same time reminding you that you are finally here, that this is what you have been looking for, now fight and go claim your reward. These types of ideas are important to me as a gamer and I always think like a gamer when scoring video games. I really have to give credit to Gearbox and Raison Varner for allowing my creativity to run wild during the making of this score.

What else should people know about the soundtrack for Borderlands 3?

Borderlands 3 features a really deep interactive music system with many layers and modular pieces that are randomly put together in-game, so the music sounds a bit different every time you play the game. In addition to a more unique playing experience, this results in some really interesting soundtrack versions of the music. For example, there are exploration tracks on the soundtrack such as “Enter Floodmoor Basin” which are over nine minutes in duration as well as action music tracks such as “Treasures Of The Vault” which is an eight-minute piece. And these pieces of music never repeat any parts or themes but keep moving forward and developing. So it’s progressive in structure. The soundtrack, which also features music by co-composers Michael McCann, Finishing Move and Raison Varner, is almost six hours long and there’s a vinyl release on the way as well!

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta test kicks off this week and we partnered with Activision to give away 500 codes to our readers. The winners will get a sneak peak of the new collection of maps and modes before the official release on Oct. 25.

To enter, read our official rules, accept our terms and conditions and fill out the form below. Get additional entries by following us on social media to increase your chances of winning!

If you are having trouble viewing the entry form please click here.

Remember to check your email on Monday Sept. 16th because we will be sending the codes to all winners around 10 a.m. PT. The beta of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Multiplayer will be available for PS4, Xbox One and PC from Sept. 19 through 20 only.

Head to our comments and let us know what is your favorite mode and why. Good luck!

The site reports that different Disney executives, including direct-to-consumer boss Kevin Mayer, considered keeping FoxNext. However, Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly shut that down, and it was ultimately decided to sell FoxNext. Officially, Disney had no comment.

FoxNext was founded in 2017 with the aim of handling Fox's video game, virtual reality, augmented reality, and theme park endeavors. In 2018, FoxNext announced it was working on a new Alien shooter with a team made up of people who worked on BioShock, Borderlands, and Star Trek: Online.

In terms of games that FoxNext has already released, the company worked with Aftershock Studios on the mobile game Marvel Strike Force; it was released in March 2018. Earlier in 2019, FoxNext announced it created an program to fund the development of indie games; the first of these was the gravity-based puzzle game Etherborn.

If Disney does decide to sell FoxNext, that would be little surprise given that the House of Mouse has been moving away from internal game development for a long time already. In 2016, Disney shut down the Disney Infinity toys-to-life series and closed developer Avalanche Software in the process.

Before that, Disney closed down Tron Evolution studio Propaganda Games, which was working on Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned before its cancellation. Disney also owned the game developer Black Rock Studios that made the excellent racing games Pure and Split/Second before it shut down that studio, too. Disney also developed the Epic Mickey video games with Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios, but the company ended the franchise and closed the developer in 2013.

Bungie founder Alex Seropian was heading up Disney's gaming business before he left to form a mobile game studio called Industrial Toys that EA later acquired.

During an earnings call earlier this year, Iger talked about Disney's rocky history with game development and publishing.

"Over the years we've tried our hand in self-publishing, we've bought companies, we've sold companies, we've bought developers, we've closed developers. And we've found over the years that we haven't been particularly good at the self-publishing side, but we've been great at the licensing side which obviously doesn't require that much allocation of capital," Iger said.

One of Disney's video game licensees is EA, which signed a 10-year deal with the company to make Star Wars games. Iger said these licensing arrangements have been a positive for EA on the video game side, and you can expect them to continue in the future.

There is no word as of yet regarding potential buyers for FoxNext, if Disney is indeed selling the company. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently $36 USD / $48 CAD / £36 for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Unfortunately, there is no discount for non-subscribers. Battlefield 5, on the other hand, is discounted to $19.80 USD / $26.40 CAD / £19.80 for everyone. The Resident Evil series' deals are also available to all. Resident Evil 2 leads with the discounted price of $36 USD / $48 CAD / £36.

• Red Dead Redemption 2 - $36 USD / $48 CAD / £36
• Battlefield 5 - $19.80 USD / $26.40 CAD / £19.80
• Resident Evil 0 - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil 2 - $36 USD / $48 CAD / £36
• Resident Evil 4 - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil 5 - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil 6 - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil 7 Biohazard - $15 USD / $20.25 CAD / £12
• Resident Evil Revelations - $8 USD / $10.40 CAD / £6.40
• Resident Evil Revelations 2 - $12 USD / $16 CAD / £10

Xbox is also holding a Double Discounts with Gold and Ultimate sale. All of the games included in this sale are discounted for regular Xbox users, but if you're subscribed to Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you'll be able to save up to 50% more until September 16. This includes games like Cuphead, Rocket League, and Overcooked. You can see all of our favourite deals in the list below. All of the prices shown include the extra discount for Gold members.

• Cuphead - $16 USD / $20.80 CAD / £13.40
• Rocket League - $12 USD / $16 CAD / £9.80
• Overcooked - $5.60 USD / $5.60 CAD / £4.20
• Gang Beasts - $15 USD / $15 CAD / £12
• Full Metal Furies - $6 USD / $7.80 CAD / £5
• Guacamelee! STCE - $3.75 USD / $3.75 CAD / £2.80
• Kingdom: Two Crowns - $14 USD / $14 CAD / £11.20
• Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime - $6 USD / $6 CAD / £4.80
• Nidhogg 2 - $7.50 USD / $7.50 CAD / £6
• Road Redemption - $10 USD / $10 CAD / £8
• Tricky Towers - $7.50 USD / $7.50 CAD / £6

The first Modern Warfare open beta session takes place on PS4 from September 14-16. However, if you've pre-ordered any edition of the game, you'll be able to access the beta early on September 12 and 13. If you pre-ordered the game digitally, you can now grab the beta client from the PlayStation Store and preload it ahead of the first session; if you reserved a physical copy, you'll receive a beta code via email. The client is a hefty download, weighing in at 27.52 GB.

The next Modern Warfare beta session begins on September 19. On that date, Xbox One and PC players who've pre-ordered the game (in addition to all PS4 players, whether or not you've pre-ordered it) will be able to participate in the beta. Finally, on September 21, the beta will expand to all PS4, Xbox One, and PC players until September 23.

The second beta session is notable because it gives players their first chance to try out cross-play in Modern Warfare. This year's Call of Duty game is one of a small (but growing) handful of titles that support the feature, allowing players to play with each other across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can read more details in our Modern Warfare beta roundup. You also have a chance to win a code for the beta in GameSpot's Modern Warfare beta giveaway.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches on October 25. Unlike last year's entry in the series, Black Ops 4, it will feature a traditional campaign; however, it probably won't have a battle royale mode. If you're interested in securing a copy, be sure to check out our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare pre-order guide.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Beta Details

PS4 Exclusive Beta Dates

• September 12-23 (Early Access, PS4)
• September 14-16 (Open beta, PS4)

Cross-Play Beta Dates

• September 19-20 (Early access, PC and Xbox One; open beta, PS4)
• September 21-23 (Open beta, PS4, Xbox One, and PC)