A new update for Madden NFL 17 released this week makes changes to the the game's ball-stripping mechanics that should overall lead to fewer fumbles in non-sack situations. Madden creative director Rex Dickson shared the news on Twitter. Today's tuning update: A reduction in the effectiveness of the strip ball mechanic. Should be less fumbles. Let us know what you think. — Rex Dickson (@Rex... more.

HBO has confirmed the first new role for Game of Thrones Season 7. Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent has signed up for the show's penultimate season, the network confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. There is no word yet on who Broadbent will play on Game of Thrones, but HBO confirmed to EW that his role is "significant." Broadbent is a veteran British actor who played Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter fi... more.

A new Nintendo Direct briefing kicks off very soon.As announced earlier this week, the event will focus on Nintendo 3DS games--there won't be any NX talk, Nintendo said. The briefing begins at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET, so there's not much longer to wait. You can watch the event right here in this post; we'll add a streaming embed as the event draws closer.There was no mention of the specific games Ninte... more.

In an expected move, Netflix announced today that it has renewed Stranger Things for a second season.It made the announcement in a video that lists off what appear to be episode titles. Some of them contain possible references to the events of Season 1, so be aware of that. Season 2 debuts in 2017.Developing...Powered by WPeMatico... more.

Squirrel Girl could be coming to a TV near you.TV Line reports that Marvel and ABC Studios are planning a New Warriors TV show that would focus on the superhero who has an affinity for squirrels. Marvel and ABC declined to comment.The Unbeatable @AnnaKendrick47 #SquirrelGirl pic.twitter.com/FcJjD3qElJ — BossLogic (@Bosslogic) July 2, 2016The report cites sources that say they 30-minute show... more.

If you were worried you'd seen the last of Wii-style minigames, then fret no more. 2K announced today that it's bringing Carnival Games to the Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and HTC Vive.Carnival Games VR is everything you remember from the Wii's glory days of bargain-bin minigame compilations, except this time, it's in virtual reality. It features 12 different games including Shark Tank, where you ... more.

In a new interview, Electronic Arts executive Peter Moore talked about the cancellation of the EA Sports NCAA Football series and teased that it may not be dead forever.Speaking to IGN, Moore, who was formerly the president of EA Sports, said it was a "sad day" when the company decided to cancel the well-regarded series. The shutdown came in the wake of the player likeness and compensation lawsuit... more.

Another athlete has made a play in the professional gaming space. ESPN reports that Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko paid an undisclosed sum to acquire the professional gaming team the Renegades.He bought the rights to the team from former owner Christopher "Montecristo" Mykles. As part of the deal, he also gets the team's stake in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the WME | IMG Eleague and ... more.

Battlefield 1's open-beta is now live, which means you can download and play DICE's World War 1 shooter on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC without a code. The beta weighs in at around six gigabytes on all platforms.You can download it on PS4 using this link if you're in Europe and here if you're in North America. PC players need only to start the Origin client and navigate to the Free Games sectio... more.

When Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima said licensing deals are critical to helping the company bring in more consumers, he wasn't kidding.In June the company's iconic characters appeared on Vans sneakers, and now they're being transformed into toy cars, as Nintendo has partnered with Mattel to turn six of its characters into Hot Wheels.These characters are Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Toad, and Bowse... more.