San Diego Comic-Con 2020 has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first time in the con's 50-year history that SDCC has been canceled. The event will instead return to the San Diego Convention Center from July 22-25, 2021. WonderCon Anaheim has also been canceled; it was scheduled to run April 10-12, 2020. WonderCon Anaheim will return March 26-28, 2021. Comic-Con released the following statement Friday explaining their decision to cancel the event:

"Recognizing that countless attendees save and plan for its conventions each year, and how many exhibitors and stakeholders rely upon its events for a major portion of their livelihood, they had hoped to delay this decision in anticipation that COVID-19 concerns might lessen by summer. Continuous monitoring of health advisories and recent statements by the Governor of California have made it clear that it would not be safe to move forward with plans for this year."

SDCC also announced the following information for badge holders, exhibitors, and hotel bookings:

• Individuals who purchased badges for Comic-Con 2020 will have the option to request a refund or transfer their badges to Comic-Con 2021. All 2020 badge holders will receive an email within the next week with instructions on how to request a refund.
• Exhibitors for Comic-Con 2020 will also have the option to request a refund or transfer their payments to Comic-Con 2021 and will also receive an email within the next week with instructions on how to process their request.
• In the next few days onPeak, Comic-Con’s official hotel affiliate, will be canceling all hotel reservations and refunding all deposits made through them. There is no need for anyone who booked through onPeak to take any action, including trying to cancel their reservations online or contacting the company via phone as the process will be handled automatically. Those who booked rooms through onPeak will be notified when refunds have been completed.

San Diego Comic-Con becomes the latest in a long line of industry events canceled due to COVID-19, with E3 and Gamescom being among the notable gaming events scrapped due to the pandemic.

IGN can exclusively reveal who the new celebrity Dungeon Master will be on the forthcoming third season of Rollout, the UpUpDownDown’s D&D-meets-WWE streaming show featuring WWE Superstar Xavier Woods (aka Austin Creed). This season’s new celeb Dungeon Master is none other than Freddie Prinze Jr. of Star Wars Rebels and Scooby-Doo fame. Prinze also wrote an original RPG story arc that takes place in 22nd century Japan, a quest that will span Season 3. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/wwe-upupdowndown-rollout-exclusive-season-3s-celebrity-dungeon-master-revealed"] Prinze joins Xavier Woods, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Tyler Breeze, and Dio Madden for five all-new episodes of Rollout, which premieres Tuesday, April 21, at 10am ET on the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel. “Expect the unexpected,” Prinze promises viewers in our exclusive trailer for Season 3, which you can view above. And also be sure to watch Xavier Woods right here on IGN News Live at 4pm today where he’ll talk Rollout and more! Beginning in 2019, UpUpDownDown “explores the worlds of video gaming and nerdom,” showcasing WWE Superstar interviews and virtual battles between panelists for the UpUpDownDown Championship. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/02/18/wwes-xavier-woods-brings-gamers-and-wrestling-fans-together]

IGN can exclusively reveal who the new celebrity Dungeon Master will be on the forthcoming third season of Rollout, the UpUpDownDown’s D&D-meets-WWE streaming show featuring WWE Superstar Xavier Woods (aka Austin Creed). This season’s new celeb Dungeon Master is none other than Freddie Prinze Jr. of Star Wars Rebels and Scooby-Doo fame. Prinze also wrote an original RPG story arc that takes place in 22nd century Japan, a quest that will span Season 3. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/wwe-upupdowndown-rollout-exclusive-season-3s-celebrity-dungeon-master-revealed"] Prinze joins Xavier Woods, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Tyler Breeze, and Dio Madden for five all-new episodes of Rollout, which premieres Tuesday, April 21, at 10am ET on the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel. “Expect the unexpected,” Prinze promises viewers in our exclusive trailer for Season 3, which you can view above. And also be sure to watch Xavier Woods right here on IGN News Live at 4pm today where he’ll talk Rollout and more! Beginning in 2019, UpUpDownDown “explores the worlds of video gaming and nerdom,” showcasing WWE Superstar interviews and virtual battles between panelists for the UpUpDownDown Championship. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/02/18/wwes-xavier-woods-brings-gamers-and-wrestling-fans-together]

The Deadpool Week 9 challenges will require players to salute Deadpool's pants in exchange for the X-Force skin style. Here's the location of the hidden pants.

The Deadpool Week 9 challenges will require players to salute Deadpool's pants in exchange for the X-Force skin style. Here's the location of the hidden pants.

Streets of Rage 4, the long-awaited sequel to the classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up series, will be released on April 30 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It will cost $24.99 USD (UK and AU prices not available at time of writing), and will also launch straight onto Xbox Game Pass. The new Streets of Rage is a collaboration between French retro game specialists Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, and publisher/co-developer Dotemu. It marks the first new entry in the series since Streets of Rage 3 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, released in 1994. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/streets-of-rage-4-five-minutes-of-pixel-art-character-gameplay"] As an homage to those original games, playable characters from the original Streets of Rage trilogy will be available in their original pixel art form as unlockable characters in SoR4 - and you can check out some exclusive gameplay of those characters in action in the video above. The game will also allow players to switch on the soundtracks from Streets of Rage 1 and 2 - although original composers Yūzō Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima have contributed to Olivier Derivière's score for the new game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/streets-of-rage-4-official-release-date-trailer"] A new trailer (above) also revealed the new game's Battle Mode, a returning PvP mode from Streets of Rage 2 and 3. "This feud-settling battleground is bound to help rivals recognize who truly is Wood Oak City’s finest alley-clearing ruffian," reads the press release, "as well as settle grudges spurred by accidental friendly strikes during multiplayer sessions." For more on Streets of Rage 4, you can also learn more about the game's music, and how the original composers got involved, and read our most recent preview, where we said it "isn’t trying to revolutionize the franchise, and that’s a good thing". [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=streets-of-rage-4-april-2020-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Streets of Rage 4, the long-awaited sequel to the classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up series, will be released on April 30 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It will cost $24.99 USD (UK and AU prices not available at time of writing), and will also launch straight onto Xbox Game Pass. The new Streets of Rage is a collaboration between French retro game specialists Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, and publisher/co-developer Dotemu. It marks the first new entry in the series since Streets of Rage 3 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, released in 1994. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/streets-of-rage-4-five-minutes-of-pixel-art-character-gameplay"] As an homage to those original games, playable characters from the original Streets of Rage trilogy will be available in their original pixel art form as unlockable characters in SoR4 - and you can check out some exclusive gameplay of those characters in action in the video above. The game will also allow players to switch on the soundtracks from Streets of Rage 1 and 2 - although original composers Yūzō Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima have contributed to Olivier Derivière's score for the new game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/streets-of-rage-4-official-release-date-trailer"] A new trailer (above) also revealed the new game's Battle Mode, a returning PvP mode from Streets of Rage 2 and 3. "This feud-settling battleground is bound to help rivals recognize who truly is Wood Oak City’s finest alley-clearing ruffian," reads the press release, "as well as settle grudges spurred by accidental friendly strikes during multiplayer sessions." For more on Streets of Rage 4, you can also learn more about the game's music, and how the original composers got involved, and read our most recent preview, where we said it "isn’t trying to revolutionize the franchise, and that’s a good thing". [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=streets-of-rage-4-april-2020-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Sony has patented an autonomous robotic gaming companion that sympathises with the user and reacts to their emotions during gameplay. A listing found on the US Patent & Trademark Office website depicts the robot as a fuzzy little guy who sits next to you on the sofa while you play games. It has no mouth but a pair of endearing eyes and cute boots and is said to be able to talk and empathize with the player as well as move its arm, leg or neck in reaction to the user's emotions. The patent mentions that, ideally, the robot would be "autonomous" to the point where it could sit beside you on the sofa of its own accord, rather than being placed next to the user. It's also noted that the robot could play games with the player - the example given being the companion controlling the "opponent team of a baseball game being played by the user." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/09/ps5-features-we-really-want"] The patent describes the robot including a "feeling deduction unit," an object control system that can detect and act upon the user's emotions. The unit can evaluate "feeling indexes such as joy, anger, love and surprise" and will be complemented by a biological sensor that can track the user's heart rate and sweating state. It doesn't sound too far from another Sony patent, for a controller attachment that measures biological responses. In the summary of the object, the patent notes that the robot has been created to usher in a "joint viewing experience" in order to motivate users to play games and react to them in absence of a face-to-face relationship with another person. Sony explains the robot's function in more detail later in the patent: "It is expected that the user's affinity with the robot is increased and motivation for playing a game is enhanced by the robot viewing the gameplay next to the user and being pleased or sad together with the user. Further, regarding not only the game but also a movie, a television program, or the like, it is expected that the user may enjoy content more by viewing the content with the robot as compared to the case of viewing it alone." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/18/the-road-to-ps5-official-playstation-presentation"] The patent explains that the robot has a "love index" which will be affected by how the user speaks to the robot in moments of tension. When asked to be charged, if the player doesn't charge the robot quickly it will evaluate that the player does not love it and will react in a similar fashion if it's kicked around instead of being stroked, or if the user tells the robot that it's being noisy. If it feels unpopular, it will no longer empathise with the player during gameplay, a conscious action made to make the user reflect on their attitude and treat the robot more kindly in future. It can also help to improve "life rhythm" and will tell users to go to bed. The patent also describes a computer-generated version of this companion which can be experienced in virtual reality when the user straps on a head-mounted device. "A mechanism is proposed in which the content is reproduced in front of the user, and when the user turns sideways, the user may see how the virtual character is viewing the content together with the user," the patent reads. So you can watch your virtual sympathy robot watching you play games if you want. As with all patents, this may well turn out to be an idea Sony is tinkering with, rather than a product it intends to release imminently. For more on a Sony product that's actually coming out, check out everything we learned about PS5 when its specs were revealed. If that's not enough, check out how PS5 compares to Xbox Series X, why stock might be limited because of a higher price, and take a good hard look at its new controller, the DualSense. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who welcomes our new fuzzy robot overlords. Tell him to go to bed on Twitter.

Sony has patented an autonomous robotic gaming companion that sympathises with the user and reacts to their emotions during gameplay. A listing found on the US Patent & Trademark Office website depicts the robot as a fuzzy little guy who sits next to you on the sofa while you play games. It has no mouth but a pair of endearing eyes and cute boots and is said to be able to talk and empathize with the player as well as move its arm, leg or neck in reaction to the user's emotions. The patent mentions that, ideally, the robot would be "autonomous" to the point where it could sit beside you on the sofa of its own accord, rather than being placed next to the user. It's also noted that the robot could play games with the player - the example given being the companion controlling the "opponent team of a baseball game being played by the user." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/09/ps5-features-we-really-want"] The patent describes the robot including a "feeling deduction unit," an object control system that can detect and act upon the user's emotions. The unit can evaluate "feeling indexes such as joy, anger, love and surprise" and will be complemented by a biological sensor that can track the user's heart rate and sweating state. It doesn't sound too far from another Sony patent, for a controller attachment that measures biological responses. In the summary of the object, the patent notes that the robot has been created to usher in a "joint viewing experience" in order to motivate users to play games and react to them in absence of a face-to-face relationship with another person. Sony explains the robot's function in more detail later in the patent: "It is expected that the user's affinity with the robot is increased and motivation for playing a game is enhanced by the robot viewing the gameplay next to the user and being pleased or sad together with the user. Further, regarding not only the game but also a movie, a television program, or the like, it is expected that the user may enjoy content more by viewing the content with the robot as compared to the case of viewing it alone." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/18/the-road-to-ps5-official-playstation-presentation"] The patent explains that the robot has a "love index" which will be affected by how the user speaks to the robot in moments of tension. When asked to be charged, if the player doesn't charge the robot quickly it will evaluate that the player does not love it and will react in a similar fashion if it's kicked around instead of being stroked, or if the user tells the robot that it's being noisy. If it feels unpopular, it will no longer empathise with the player during gameplay, a conscious action made to make the user reflect on their attitude and treat the robot more kindly in future. It can also help to improve "life rhythm" and will tell users to go to bed. The patent also describes a computer-generated version of this companion which can be experienced in virtual reality when the user straps on a head-mounted device. "A mechanism is proposed in which the content is reproduced in front of the user, and when the user turns sideways, the user may see how the virtual character is viewing the content together with the user," the patent reads. So you can watch your virtual sympathy robot watching you play games if you want. As with all patents, this may well turn out to be an idea Sony is tinkering with, rather than a product it intends to release imminently. For more on a Sony product that's actually coming out, check out everything we learned about PS5 when its specs were revealed. If that's not enough, check out how PS5 compares to Xbox Series X, why stock might be limited because of a higher price, and take a good hard look at its new controller, the DualSense. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who welcomes our new fuzzy robot overlords. Tell him to go to bed on Twitter.