Bob Iger, who served as CEO of The Walt Disney Company since 2005 and oversaw some of the company’s biggest acquisitions like Marvel and Lucasfilm, has stepped down from his executive role effective immediately. Replacing Iger is Bob Chapek, the former Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. Iger was originally set to retire in the summer of 2018, but the Board of Directors extended Iger's contract until 2019 to oversee the acquisition of Fox and the launch of Disney+. That contract was extended even further until 2021, though as evidenced by today's news, Iger will not be serving the full extension as CEO. In a press release sent out today the Walt Disney Company Board of Directors announced that Chapek will step up into the CEO role starting today. Iger will remain with the company as Executive Chairman until December 31, 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-must-watch-disney-plus-titles-on-launch-day&captions=true"] “With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO,” Iger said in a statement. “I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working closely with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney’s multifaceted global business and operations, while I continue to focus on the Company’s creative endeavors.” Chapek has been with the Disney company for nearly three decades serving as the head of its Parks, Experiences, and Products since 2018 and as Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015. Chapek oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, doubling the Disney Cruise Line fleet, and overseeing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fox-movie-and-tv-show-properties-possibly-headed-to-disney&captions=true"] Iger, who served as CEO of Disney since 2005, has defined his tenure with expansive growth for the company. Iger oversaw the 2006 acquisition of Pixar for $7.4 billion, the 2009 acquisition of Marvel for $4 billion, the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion, and the $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Iger also saw the launch of Disney's direct-to-consumer streaming service called Disney+ which the company plans to use as the one-stop destination for all things Disney. For everything else, Disney also acquired a controlling stake in Hulu where it plans to host content from other businesses like 20th Century Studios which was formerly Fox. During a conference call, Iger announced that as Chairman he will be ensuring a smooth transition while still overseeing some of the company's creative endeavors. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Ben Affleck has once again called for Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League to be released. Affleck and other cast members from 2017's Justice League tweeted last year in support of the long-fabled "Snyder Cut" of the film. Affleck has reignited that discussion once more after telling Cinema Blend last Friday at a press event that Snyder's cut should be available. "I do think Zack's cut should be available," Affleck told Cinema Blend. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-2017-photo-gallery&captions=true"] That comment comes off the heels of Affleck explaining why he's been vocal of supporting Snyder's version of the film. He told Cinema Blend that it's all about his support for the director. "I didn't know about it," Affleck said. "Zack was like, 'Hey, they are doing this thing.' And I said, 'Zack, I love you and I support you. However I can help you.'" Affleck continued and described Justice League as, "kind of a cow's body with a horse's head a little bit" in reference to the film's two directors. Snyder was the original director on the movie but after a family tragedy, he stepped away from production. Warner Bros. Pictures then hired Joss Whedon to complete the project. Therein lies the idea of a Snyder Cut. Snyder seemingly confirmed the existence of such a cut last year after making a post on social media network Vero that featured an image of film canisters with labels reading, "Z.S. JL Director's Cut, Running Time 214." Laid atop that photo were the words, "Is it real? Does it exist? Of course it does." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/19/justice-league-wb-has-no-plans-to-release-the-snyder-cut"] Snyder's post further fueled the flame of fans hoping to one day see that cut of the film. Fans have gone as far as renting billboard ads and flying banners behind planes in the sky with "#ReleaseTheSnyderCut" printed on them. IGN gave the movie a 7 out of 10 when it was released to theaters in 2017, but Snyder Cut fans believe a much better version of the movie exists in the wild. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker that recently watched Justice League and didn't have a good time. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Xbox Games with Gold have been revealed for March with Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 leading the way. Batman and Castlevania will be available on Sunday while Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and Sonic Generations will be free on March 16. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/xbox-march-2020-games-with-gold-trailer"] Batman: The Enemy Within was released throughout 2017 and early 2018. It's a sequel to Telltale's 2016 Batman series, which was one of the free Games with Gold in January. IGN's review of the final episode said, "Telltale’s take on Batman has been nothing if not full of fun twists over its first two seasons, and it sets up an intriguing jumping-off point if there is to be a third." This would ultimately be the last Telltale game fully released before the studio faced closure during the release of their next game. One of IGN's sources familiar with Telltale said, "15 [million] people watched Batman on YouTube – 250k bought it." However, Telltale jumped back with the re-announcement of The Wolf Among Us Season 2 in December. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 came out in 2014. The first Lords of Shadow and the Mirrors of Fate spinoff were both released in Games with Gold throughout 2019. Lords of Shadow 2 is still the last new Castlevania game that has been released. Aside from various collections of older games and an upcoming mobile game, there's no word on the future of Castlevania on console and PC. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-xbox-one-games&captions=true"] IGN's review of Lords of Shadow 2 said the game, "has taken far too many cues from its contemporaries in an attempt to please as many people as possible. While some of these changes – like going from a linear campaign to a non-linear open world, for instance – proved largely successful, other changes, such as the addition of unseemly stealth sections and an underwhelming modern-day setting, have significantly harmed the final product." Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is the fourth game in the Shantae series that began with a Game Boy Color game from 2002. It's a 2D platformer with colorful, 3D environments where your character transforms into animals and uses her hair to attack enemies. IGN praised the game in its review, where the critic said, "Smart level design, eye-popping colors, and unabashed charm make Shantae: Half-Genie hero a strong action-platformer." Last but not least, Sonic Generations was released in 2011. After weak entries like Sonic '06 and Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic rebounded in 2010 with Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Sonic Colors. He continued his hot streak in 2011 with Sonic Generations, a celebration of Sonic's history with 2D and 3D stages inspired by most of the main games in the franchise. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/06/06/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-e3-trailer"] IGN's review says SEGA "finally re-purposed Sonic as a platforming mascot that is, for the first time in ages, wildly definable by its own merits instead of trying to play catch up, tagalong or sorority sister with its mustachio partner in crime." All games are compatible with Xbox One while Xbox 360 owners can only access Castlevania and Sonic. Microsoft says this is $94 in value and 4100 total gamerscore. Be sure to pick up the Xbox One title Call of Cthulhu and the original Xbox game Star Wars: Battlefront (2004). Those games will be free until Sunday. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

A Resident Evil 3 demo is on the way, according to a tweet made by the Resident Evil Twitter account Tuesday. The tweet doesn't mention anything beyond that a demo is on the way so it's not clear which point in the game that this demo takes place is not known at this time. The tweet does, however, say that more details will be announced soon so it's likely that we will learn more about what this demo consists of soon.

It was written in the STARS... A Resident Evil 3 Demo is on the way. We'll have more details in the near future! pic.twitter.com/wqN2AwI3pH

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) February 25, 2020

A playable demo for Resident Evil 3 wouldn't be unusual considering Capcom's use of a demo for last year's Resident Evil 2 remake. The company even went as far as updating it to tease what we now know to be the Resident Evil 3 remake. The Resident Evil 2 remake demo was a special 1-shot demo that gave players one chance and 30 minutes to reach the end. It was available for a short time in the weeks leading up to the game's release in January of last year. This demo was similar to what was available for players and press at events like E3. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/resident-evil-3-preview"] Whether or not the impending Resident Evil 3 remake demo is anything like the demo of its predecessor or something new entirely is unknown at this time, but Capcom will be sharing details soon. If you're looking for more Resident Evil 3 remake action as you wait for the demo, check out this gameplay from the game's multiplayer component. We also recently interviewed the producer of the game and found out how the team redesigned Jill Valentine to be an action hero. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN who's reaching for the STAAAAAARRSSSS. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Ubisoft delayed Ghost Recon Breakpoint's February update very late in the day, and fans aren't happy. The update, which is set to include the new Immersive Mode and Engineer class, was delayed until Spring – revealed via a blog post. Based on previous updates, many in the community had expected it to be released on the final Tuesday of the month (February 25), and that blog post arrived on Monday. That it came after weeks of fan questions about the update's status, and relative silence from Ubisoft, has not helped. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/28/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint-the-terminator-event-trailer"]The Ghost Recon subreddit has seen an influx of frustrated players since the announcement: one Redditor wrote a fake game obituary, another asked for an offline mode, and others compared the game to BioWare's Anthem. Meanwhile, the Breakpoint forums have seen posters asking for refunds - although others have publicly signalled their appreciation of the delay as a sign of polishing. Some of the reaction has been more aggressive, however, and Reddit moderators have stepped in to deal with the harassment, stating:

"It seems that I have to explain to the community that we do not allow verbal threats or violence to any Ubi Staff and each other in this sub. We all understand this news may not be ideal and would frustrate some but it does not excuse you going around wishing physical harm upon people and kin. It does not give you the right to call for abuse to other despite the news - behind every screen is a human being."

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/10/ghost-recon-breakpoint-review"] The main message seen across most complaints from fans is a wish for more communication. Ubisoft first announced its plans in January to release the Immersive Mode and Engineer class in February. However, the delay came in the final days of the month while fans were waiting for more information. Ubisoft tried to address concerns over transparency in their blog post: "We understand that you have been requesting more transparent communication and we aim to provide this whenever possible. There are a lot of moving parts in development which has made locking in dates challenging so we haven’t been able to communicate as much as we would have liked. We apologize for that and will be providing details on these upcoming additions starting early next month." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-confirmed-google-stadia-game&captions=true"] The current hope, according to Ubisoft, is to release the Immersive Mode and Engineer class alongside Episode 2, included in the Year 1 Pass. The blog post ends by stating to check back on March 5 for more information regarding Immersive Mode specifically. Immersive Mode emerged out of an entirely different set of fan complaints last year, when Ubisoft announced that it was working on "a more radical and immersive version" of the game. It's not been an easy ride for Breakpoint, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot saying that "critical reception and sales during the game’s first weeks were very disappointing", and pinning some of the company's overall underachievement for the fiscal year on its lack of success. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

This week in Red Dead Online, claim double Role XP for Collector role activities, save up to 50% on Collector items, and get 5 Ranks of Club XP.

Adult Swim Games and Japanese developer Soleil Games have announced a brand new video game based on the hit animated series, Samurai Jack. IGN has the exclusive first trailer for Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time which is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch this summer. You can watch the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/samurai-jack-battle-through-time-video-game-announced"] Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is set before Jack’s final fight with Aku, an evil entity that trapped Jack in alternate timelines throughout human history. Jack will have to fight through several different timelines in order to reach Aku and defeat him. The script for the Samurai Jack game is written by series head writer Darrick Bachman. The gameplay will combine hack-and-slash gameplay and allow players to wield a variety of different melee and ranged weapons. The 3D art style still retains the stylized look of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, which is a huge plus. The developers, Soleil Games, are a small studio from Japan comprised of ex-Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive developers so they have some background in 3D hack-and-slash games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=samurai-jack-battle-through-time-screenshots&captions=true"] Samurai Jack series creator Genndy Tartakovsky and head writer Darrick Bachman will be at PAX East for Adult Swim Games’ panel on Friday, February 28 where they will reveal more details about the project. Samurai Jack originally aired for four seasons on Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004 where it received critical acclaim. The series was brought back for a final season in 2017 by Adult Swim. You can read IGN’s Samurai Jack review when we awarded the fifth season our editor’s choice. There’s no hard release date for Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time other than a summer 2020 release window. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Capcom revealed a whole bunch of new details about Resident Evil 3 remake this morning. IGN was able to get a full hands-on preview from the event, as well as an interview with Capcom producer Peter Fabiano where we talked about the inspirations for Jill Valentine’s redesign, the changes in the remake from the original, and how to make Nemesis scary after Mr. X. Resident Evil 3 remake reimagines and remixes the characters and events of the 1999 PlayStation survival-horror game. Jill Valentine, a protagonist from the first Resident Evil game, once again takes center stage as she tries to escape Raccoon City during a T-Virus outbreak. Like the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has gone back to the drawing board to redesign Jill Valentine for 2020 and we asked Fabiano what that process was like. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-3&captions=true"] “So when you look at the original, right? [Jill Valentine] needed to kind of pop in the graphics of the day. So when we were looking at [the remake] and rebuilding Raccoon City and the world, overall, in Resident Evil 3, you’ll notice that we use photogrammetry and photo-real [graphics],” Fabiano said. “We wanted to make sure that Jill fit in that environment. So that’s why you’ll see that come to fruition in the design that we have with Jill and in the reimagining we have here. As well as the fact that you still see the Jill you know and love. That comes out a lot more in the performances and mocap.” It wasn’t just Jill’s look that got a redesign either. Resident Evil 3 expands on the storytelling and dialogue, which means Jill’s character has been expanded upon through story and writing as well. Throughout the demo Carlos calls Jill ‘Supercop’ and she feels like an 80s action hero at times. “The director really wanted to show that Jill is a character that has the wherewithal to get through all situations,” Fabiano explained. One of those situations, for example, is the Drain Deimos which makes an updated return in Resident Evil 3. When attacked by one of these, Jill risks getting infected with parasites which she must proceed to remove from herself by inducing vomiting. “At its core, it is survival horror, right? And we want to keep those elements in there and…[show] that Jill can get through these really hard situations.” Resident Evil 3 has been in development for three years, and there was some concurrent development with Resident Evil 2. This allowed the developers to see what was being done in one remake and adapt and learn for Resident Evil 3. “So we were able to take a lot of what we built out for RE 2 with the RE engine and use that and then kind of adapt and actually bring that even more forward and develop in that sense… We saw what was being built out in RE2, and there were things that we took from that or things that we actually wanted to kind of bring even more forward,” Fabiano said. As for specifics, Fabiano told IGN that there were “certain things that [Capcom] did with AI and certain things to kind of spruce up the way that the graphics look,” but declined to get too much further in-depth. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/14/resident-evil-3-nemesis-trailer"] While elements like the city and characters were expanded for the Resident Evil 3 remake, other functions like the multiple endings and live choices were removed. Fabiano says these features were sacrificed in favor of a more focused story. “The live selections were something that was included in the original RE 3. You know, they didn’t have much development time and there were challenges that they had to face. So one of the solutions they came up with to give the game some replayability was to add the live selections,” Fabiano says. “In this case, the director really just wanted to tell a consistent story. And so that’s why we decided to go with the one story with Resident Evil 3.” While you can read IGN’s hands-on preview of Resident Evil 3 for more details and impressions about the upcoming survival horror game, we did ask Fabiano two final questions. Will there be more Resident Evil remakes in the future, and will Resident Evil go first-person again? Sadly, our answers to both of those questions was a very vague, “Who knows?” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Red Dead Online players are being suspended and, in some cases, permanently banned after opening treasure chests spawned into the game by hackers. Unfortunately, it seems it's not just hackers that are getting caught out, as even players who have never used a cheat in Red Dead Online are being suspended if they interact with these treasure chests.

The treasure chest spawner was released on January 22, 2020 as an update to a mod menu created by an Austrian hacker called zJanny. Mod menus allow players to use cheats inside Red Dead Online, such as god mode, teleportation, and spawning objects - and breach the game's terms of service.

When zJanny released the treasure chest spawner into a hacker's forum, it came with the message "IDK if detected or not," meaning they weren't sure if using the cheat would be detected by Rockstar's anti-cheat software and lead to an account suspension.

Around February 15, hackers from the same forum in which zJanny released the cheat started to report that they had been banned for using zJanny's mod menu, specifically for using a treasure chest spawning function. The number of bans reported by the hackers due to using the treasure chest spawner have increased since.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/10/red-dead-online-hackers-are-seemingly-behind-two-headed-skeletons-attacking-players-ign-news"]

Hackers speculated that Rockstar was hot on the treasure chest spawner and had started spectating flagged players and issuing bans if they were seen using the cheat. On February 20, one player who was banned due to using the tool, wrote in the forums: "I used this hack for one day, the first day that the treasure spawner came out. I only used it for that day a lone [sp]. Made 1k gold and 100k cash. I believe its been over a month since I used it. Finally got a ban notice. Sounds like they are looking over everyone's money now lol."

On February 22, zJanny popped up in the forum thread where many hackers were reporting account bans, saying that they figured out why so many people were being caught out when using their cheats. "I know why ya all get banned," zJanny wrote. "The 3 rewards in one treasure chest is detected. I am using it with just 1 reward per crate since a week no ban." Some hackers replied to this saying they never used the 3-in-1 treasure chest spawner but were banned regardless.

That same day, a Red Dead Online player reported on Reddit that their account had been suspended after they opened a treasure chest. "I think it was a modder who spawned it or something. The chests kept spawning and I left the session," the Redditor wrote. "When I tried to go back, it said my account was suspended until March 17." Other players replied to that thread sharing similar tales of being suspended after opening suspect treasure chests.

A day later, on February 23, a Red Dead Online player reached out to me on Twitter saying that they had been wrongfully suspended after opening a treasure chest.

"Myself and at least 4 others in the r/reddeadonline community have reported being wrongfully suspended by Rockstar and have had our characters reset, losing all progress," the player told me over Twitter DMs. "Rockstar does not listen to any of us in our efforts to contact them about being wrongfully banned. They will not state what caused our accounts to be flagged, and they won't communicate with us in any way except to say we were reset and to wait until the suspension is over to continue playing.

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"From what I have gathered, these hacks allowed the hackers to disguise their names in game to look like other players, which could have been part of why innocent players were banned," the player said to me. "All of the people I've talked to who were wrongfully banned (including myself) came across a random chest in the world in which we found gold, as if from a regular treasure chest from maps. From what I've found, these chests were spawned in using a hack menu and everyone who interacted with one was banned. Even innocent players who had no idea the chest wasn't supposed to be there. I wrote to you in desperation as I have lost hundreds of hours of gameplay, unlocks, and grinding because I was wrongfully banned."

This report rings true as hackers in the forum where zJanny released the spawner have said that they spawned many treasure chests inside Red Dead Online as a test to see if they would get banned - they did. One hacker even admitted to using the treasure chest spawner to get innocent players banned. "I have been spawning gold chests in areas of high traffic to try and get others to open them," they wrote in the forum.

If you're a Red Dead Online player, it's advised that you don't open any treasure chests you happen across randomly inside the world. Only open those you track down using a treasure map that you have earned legitimately.

IGN is awaiting a response from Rockstar on this issue, but hadn't received it at time of publishing.

This isn't the first problem inside Red Dead Online caused by hackers - previously, we saw unscrupulous types spawning in two-headed skeletons to terrorise innocent players.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A new study shows how scientists can observe radio waves to detect planets and probe the surrounding environments to determine habitability, though it will largely depend on the positioning of star vectors to their nearby planets. According to ScienceDaily, this new research was conducted by a team of scientists in the Netherlands, who used a Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope to study emissions from aurorae, caused by the interaction between a planet and its star's magnetic field, particularly for red dwarf stars. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/exegol-explained-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker"] Red dwarfs are known to have strong magnetic fields that might heat up and erode the atmosphere of a habitable planet if they become exposed to this type of activity, even though the stars themselves are much smaller and cooler than the Sun. However, the radio emissions associated with this process allows scientists to probe the planet-star interaction. "The motion of the planet through a red dwarf's strong magnetic field acts like an electric engine much in the same way a bicycle dynamo works," said Harish Vedantham, the lead author of the Nature Astronomy study. "This generates a huge current that powers aurorae and radio emission on the star." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-every-new-planet-in-the-disney-movies&captions=true"] As this is the first time that astronomers have been able to detect and decipher these signals, solar-system studies are expected to expand into new territories, as scientists may now be able to use these novel techniques to potentially discover exoplanets in habitable zones by finding similar emission from other stars. "We now know that nearly every red dwarf hosts terrestrial planets, so there must be other stars showing similar emission," said Joe Callingham, who was a co-author on the recent Nature Astronomy paper. "We want to know how this impacts our search for another Earth around another star." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/12/31/the-star-wars-saga-in-7-minutes"] This new research puts astronomers on an exciting path towards discovering even more about the galaxy far, far away. As we all know, the Star Wars fictional universe has been steadily evolving for years. From the battle-strewn wastes of Jakku to the lush beaches of Scarif, the recent sequel trilogy and franchise spin-offs have introduced many new planets to the Star Wars solar system. For more on these worlds, check out our rundown of every new planet Introduced in the Disney Star Wars movies or read about The Rise of Skywalker's hidden planet Exegol and find out more about the classic Star Wars planet that appeared in Episode IX. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.