After Spheal starred in the latest Pokemon Go Community Day last weekend, a bonus second Community Day–called Community Day Classic–is coming this weekend, spotlighting the very first Pokemon in the Pokedex.

Bulbasaur is the star of the Community Day Classic, which runs 2 PM-5 PM local time on January 22. Along with increased chances to catch the Seed Pokemon, any Ivysaurs that evolve into Venusaur either during the event or up to two hours afterward will learn the powerful Grass-type move Frenzy Plant.

A limited-time Community Day Special Research Story called “Bulbasaur Community Day Classic” will be available to purchase for $1. No specific details are known about the research tasks or rewards, but tickets are available to pre-purchase now for those who are interested anyway. Other Bulbasaur Community Day perks include:

Triple Catch XP for each Pokemon caughtIncense activated during the event will last three hours instead of 30 minutesLure Modules activated during the event will also last three hours instead of 30 minutesSome Snapshots taken during the event will have “a surprise”

Finally, the Item Shop will have two Community Day specials running throughout the event. Not only will 30 Ultra Balls be offered for free, but a special one-time-purchase Community Day Box will be available for 1,280 PokeCoins. The special bundle will include 50 Ultra Balls, five Lucky Eggs, five Star Pieces, and one Elite Charged TM.

The event is the second Pokemon Go Community Day in a week, after a Spheal-themed event took place January 16. This Community Day also marks the first time Bulbasaur has been celebrated via the monthly event since March 2018, during what was the third-ever Community Day event.

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Elden Ring doesn’t arrive until February 25, but Newegg is giving you a chance to scoop it up at a $10 discount. The preorder deal only applies to digital copies of Elden Ring’s Deluxe Edition on Xbox, but this is the first price cut we’ve seen for a console version of the highly anticipated title.

To earn the full discount, you’ll need to add the Xbox version of Elden Ring: Deluxe Edition to your shopping cart and apply promo code EMCBN2A25. This will slash the price to $70, down from its usual listing of $80. Newegg is only running the promotion until January 23, so make sure to check it out before it’s gone.

If you’re a longtime fan of From Software, the Deluxe Edition of Elden Ring isn’t a bad deal (especially at its newly discounted price). Aside from the main game, you’ll get a digital artbook and an original soundtrack. Preordering will also net you the Adventure Guide (which contains useful information about the Lands Between) and an in-game bonus gesture.

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While it may have had a strong start, Battlefield 2042’s performance issues, XP progression, and a moderate amount of available content have seen a declining player count for the near-future military shooter.

According to industry insider Tom Henderson, EA has been “very disappointed” with the game’s market performance and is considering implementing some form of free-to-play capacity within Battlefield 2042.

“EA is reportedly very disappointed with how Battlefield 2042 has performed and is ‘looking at all the options’ when it comes to the title, this is including looking at free-to-play in some capacity,” Henderson tweeted.

It’s worth noting that while Battlefield 2042 was 2021’s fifth best-selling game in the US, EA has so far kept quiet on exact numbers for the title. This week has seen some substantial content drop for the game though, as the new 3.2 update went live and added a refreshed scoreboard UI that fans had been requesting since launch. Battlefield 2042 players can also dive into a community-made mode called Zombie Survival and fight back against the undead hordes until January 27.

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Call of Duty has been the best-selling video game series in the US for 13 years in a row now, but despite that, there have reportedly been discussions about no longer releasing the series annually.

According to a report from Bloomberg, “high-level employees have discussed moving away from the annual release schedule…” as part of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Nothing is set in stone as of yet, but the report said “there’s a belief among many Call of Duty developers that releasing games at a slower cadence will please players and help bolster the franchise.”

This change could happen in 2023, or potentially later, the report said. 2022’s new Call of Duty game, which is said to be a sequel to Infinity Ward’s hugely popular Modern Warfare reboot, is poised to “redeem the franchise’s fortunes,” Bloomberg’s report said.

“Slowing down the Call of Duty release schedule may lighten developers’ intense workloads and could provide new opportunities for Activision’s gamemakers to work on other titles,” the report said.

The Call of Duty series debuted in 2003 and took a year off in 2004 before returning with Call of Duty 2 in 2005. After that, Activision released a new game every year since. The entire series has sold more than 400 million premium units, which only represents a fraction of the franchise’s money-making opportunities. Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale game, is a major revenue-driver, while Call of Duty: Mobile is a massive juggernaut as well.

The Call of Duty franchise has a three-year development cycle for each new installment, rotating between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Treyarch taking development duties with the support of other teams like Raven and High Moon, among others.

The latest release was Call of Duty: Vanguard, which was 2021’s best-selling game overall in the US. The second best-selling game of 2021 was also a Call of Duty game, Black Ops Cold War. And as mentioned, the Call of Duty series is the best-selling game franchise for dollar sales for 13 years in a row in the US.

There is clearly a business case to be made for releasing a new Call of Duty game every year, but that might not be the only factor at play after Microsoft takes over, if the deal goes through.

When Microsoft announced its intent to buy Activision Blizzard, many wondered if the Call of Duty series would become exclusive to Xbox. Phil Spencer, the new head of Microsoft Gaming, released a statement that suggested Call of Duty will continue to be released on PlayStation, not unlike how Microsoft still releases new Minecraft games and experiences on competing consoles despite owning the franchise. Spencer said this was Microsoft’s “desire,” and his words do not outright confirm anything specific.

Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision Blizzard is expected to go through in Microsoft’s FY2023, which means sometime between July 2022-June 2023.

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