Activision has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will integrate with Call of Duty: Warzone in December, the month after the main game launches. The integration between the two games will come as Black Ops Cold War enters its first season, just weeks after its November 13 launch. Black Ops Cold War weapons and operators will be made available in Warzone, as well as battle pass and store content. Players will also be able to use their Cold War multiplayer loadouts in Warzone. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/15/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-fireteam-dirty-bomb-trailer"] The merge was explained as part of Activision’s latest investor call. "We'll bring Black Ops Cold War's characters and weaponry into the free-to-play experience," said Daniel Alegre, the company’s chief operating officer. "Along with substantial new content ensuring that Warzone remains both a terrific experience and a powerful on-ramp for the franchise's premium content." Activision president Rob Kostich further elaborated on this: “For example, all the awesome new Black Ops weapons and operators you unlock and your level one to 55 progression will be usable in Black Ops and in Warzone just like they work in Modern Warfare.” "One cool feature that players will see is that they'll be able to choose either their Black Ops loadout or their Modern Warfare loadouts in Warzone for their gameplay," he added. While this system sounds practically identical to the way Warzone works with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, there are some elements that make this integration a little more interesting. If you’ve played the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War alpha, then you’ll know the new game plays and feels very differently to Modern Warfare, with the guns providing much of that change. And since both games are built on different tech, presumably the Warzone team has had to remake every Cold War weapon and balance them for use in an environment based on Modern Warfare's ‘ruleset’, for lack of a better word. We’ll no doubt see how it all works in December. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] For more, check out why you’ll need to find another 250GB of space for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, as well as our chat with Raven Software’s co-founder about taking the lead on Black Ops after being a supporting studio for a decade. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Lucasfilm has unveiled a first look at the new batch of villains featured in Star Wars: The High Republic. StarWars.com has officially pulled back the curtain on a slew of new monsters and marauders that were terrorizing the galaxy during the High Republic sub-era of the Age of Republic, 200 years before the events of the Skywalker saga. Along with new character concept art, the creators behind Lucasfilm's multi-pronged publishing initiative shared some additional insight into the new adversaries, providing more details about the Drengir, the Nihil, and Marchion Ro. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/star-wars-the-high-republic-explained"] "One of the north stars for this initiative is to answer the question, 'What scares the Jedi?' Which is a really fun but extraordinarily challenging question to answer," explains Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain. "All five authors, as well as the Story Group and Publishing teams, had thoughts on what would scare them — and why — but everyone agreed that had to be something new." You can check out the new batch of villains in our slideshow below or keep scrolling for the full article. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-meet-the-villains-of-the-high-republic&captions=true"]

The Drengir

First up: The Drengir. These amorphous, vegetated villains are looking to "reap a terrible harvest across the galactic frontier," according to High Republic writer Cavan Scott. With their tentacle-riddled bodies and mouths chock full of teeth, the Drengir are described as "sentient plant-life" who rise up from the ground to wreak havoc at a time when the Jedi are struggling to deal with the aftermath of the Great Disaster, and are "inescapably linked to the fate" of one of the Jedis. Scott says the concept of the new creeping terror came from a sketch by the legendary Star Wars artist Iain McCaig in the early days of The High Republic's development. Where to Find Them: Star Wars: The High Republic comic by Cavan Scott.

The Nihil

The Nihil are a group of "brutal, savage marauders, based in the Outer Rim," reveals Light of the Jedi author Charles Soule. The Nihil are organized into three main divisions known as Tempests, with each faction serving under a captain who wields total control over their plans, which run directly through both the Republic and the Jedi Order. The chaotic clan are fully equipped with weapons, ammunition and "anything that might kill you," which they're not afraid to use to get what they want. In fact, the Nihil sound like pure nightmare fuel because they have the ability to "appear anywhere almost at will" and "if you stand in their way, they will kill you and everyone you love," according to Soule. "The Nihil are truly unlike any villain we've seen in Star Wars before," adds Daniel José Older, the writer of The High Republic Adventures comic book series. "I am really excited to go deep behind enemy lines in the [IDW Publishing] ongoing series and give readers a chance to learn about the inner workings of one of the most vicious, unyielding, and chaotic groups the galaxy has ever known." Where to Find Them: Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi novel by Charles Soule / Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic by Daniel José Older.

Marchion Ro

Marchion Ro "holds an important post within the greater Nihil organization — he is the Eye of the Nihil, as was his father before him," Soule explains. Ro isn't the person in charge of delivering the orders to the various factions because that role is already assigned to the Tempest Runners. However, everything is said to revolve around this mysterious cloaked character who seems to play an influential role in the group. "The things that make the Nihil more than just a bunch of Outer Rim raiders all come from Marchion," according to Soule. Where to Find Him: Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi novel by Charles Soule / Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic by Daniel José Older. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Lucasfilm delayed the launch of its cross-media Star Wars prequel series from August 2020 to January 2021 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, so there's still plenty of time to dig into The High Republic archives. Check out the opening crawl for this all-new era of tales, and then discover more about the galaxy's new Jedi Knights and Masters and the next class of Jedi Padawans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1 contains a number of a references to Star Wars movies of years gone by, but one of the more subtle ones harkens back all the way to The Phantom Menace. *Tusken Raider noise* There are spoilers for Season 2, Episode 1 of The Mandalorian ahead! Read our review of The Mandalorian Season 2, episode 1. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer-breakdown"] Cobb Vanth, the Marshal of Mos Pelgo, strolls into The Mandalorian wearing one huge reference in the form of Boba Fett's armour, but it might be easier to miss that he also seems to be in possession of an even older piece of Star Wars history - part of Anakin Skywalker's podracer. When we see him riding alongside Mando's speeder bike, the hulking vehicle Vanth's driving is seemingly built out of one of the two engines Anakin uses to power his podracer - check out a comparison below: [widget path="global/page/imagecomparison" parameters="comparisons=%7B%22comparisons%22%3A%5B%7B%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22images%22%3A%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%225f9bea76e4b01ef5eb1cf707%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22%22%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%225f9bea75e4b01ef5eb1cf706%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22%22%7D%5D%7D%5D%7D"] There are a couple of minor differences to note - the "wings" around the central fan now look reinforced underneath, and the fan intake itself appears to be a slightly different shape, but the rest of the engine (which we see more of later in the episode) bears a striking resemblance to Anakin's pod engines. It may be that Cobb Vanth (or the person he bought the bike from) has modified the engine over time. It may also be that this is a more generic Swoop Bike, the name given to podracer engines converted into speeders in Star Wars lore. Either way, it's a neat nod to Star Wars history that might otherwise go under the radar - and also, weirdly, puts Cobb Vanth unwittingly in direct contact to multiple eras of the Star Wars universe. Want to keep track of when we'll get our next (probably reference-filled) episode of The Mandalorian? here's when every episode will arrive.   [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Activision and Treyarch have revealed the PC specs for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and confirmed that it will require up to 250 GB of storage if you wish to run the latest Call of Duty with Ultra RTX settings. Fortunately, for those who don't need to run Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on the highest settings, it is possible to download Multiplayer only for 50 GB on Minimum Specs and all game modes for 175 GB on Recommended and Competitive Specs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/27/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-official-launch-trailer"] It's also important to note that these requirements are specifically for launch, and will hopefully go down as time goes by. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has also dealt with storage requirements of over 200 GB, but Infinity Ward recently released a patch that gives PC players an option to uninstall specific game modes to reduce its file size. The full list of official specifications for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PC are as follows;

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Minimum Specifications

• OS: Windows 7 64-Bit (SP1) or Windows 10 64-Bit (v.1803 or higher)
• CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300
• RAM: 8GB RAM
• HDD (at launch): 50GB (MP only), 175GB (all game modes)
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 / GeForce GTX 1650 or Radeon HD 7950
• DirectX 12 compatible system Required
• Broadband Internet Connection Required

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Recommended Specifications

These are the recommend specs to run 60GFPS in most situations with all options set to medium:

• OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
• CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen R5 1600X processor
• RAM: 12GB RAM
• HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1660 Super or Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
• DirectX 12 compatible system Required
• Broadband Internet Connection Required

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Recommended Specifications (Ray Tracing)

• OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
• CPU: Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 1800X
• RAM: 16GB RAM
• HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
• DirectX 12 compatible system Required
• Broadband Internet Connection Required

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Competitive Specifications

Here are the competitive specs to run at a high FPS for use with a high refresh monitor:

• OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
• CPU: Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 1800X
• RAM: 16GB RAM
• HDD (at launch): 175GB HD space
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / RTX 3070 or Radeon RX Vega64 Graphics
• DirectX 12 compatible system Required
• Broadband Internet Connection Required

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Ultra RTX Specifications

Here are the Ultra RTX specs to run the game at a high FPS in 4K resolution with Ray Tracing enabled:

• OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest Update)
• CPU: Intel i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 3700X
• RAM: 16GB RAM
• HDD (at launch): 250GB HD space
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
• DirectX 12 compatible system Required
• Broadband Internet Connection Required

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-campaign-screenshots&captions=true"] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PC will feature 4K graphics, uncapped framerate, RTX Shadows and Ambient Occlusion, NVIDIA DLSS and Reflex Technology, Ultrawide and Multi-Monitor support and much more. Additionally, developer Beenox worked closely with Treyarch and all other studios to "bring over 200 individual settings to fine tune the PC version of Black Ops Cold War." To further explain, RTX Shadows and Ambient Occlusion will allow for more photo-realistic shadows, NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) will use "AI to construct sharp, hi-fidelity images all while rendered fewer pixels," and NVIDIA Reflex will "aid pros or pros-to-be in ensuring there is as little delay between their click or press and what happens on their screen as possible." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-13-minutes-of-miami-multiplayer"] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be released on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 13, 2020. For more, check out our review in progress for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Beta, our best tips and tricks for the newest Dirty Bomb mode, everything else we know about the latest Call of Duty game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Update (10/29/20) - Sony has detailed the accessibility settings for PS5, and they include reducing or disabling the force of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the DualSense controller. Many of the PS4's accessibility settings will be available on PS5, including text-to-speech, inverting colors, and enabling custom button assignments, but PS5 plans to take it a step further. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/ps5-official-launch-trailer-featuring-travis-scott"] "PlayStation 5 will offer a voice dictation feature to quickly input text without the use of a virtual keyboard," SIE wrote. "Simply speak the words and they’ll appear on-screen. Screen Reader provides blind and low vision users with options to hear on-screen text, while deaf and hard of hearing users can type text messages, which will be spoken out loud to other party members. These features will now support multiple languages(*) on PS5 globally. Along with Accessibility Settings for Button Assignments and Closed Captions that were also available on PS4, PS5 additionally supports color correction which allows users to adjust color, and in supported games, game presets will allow users to customize their common settings in advance. PS5 will also include improved audio enhancements to provide players with better spatial awareness." Original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] One of the biggest new features Sony is touting for the upcoming PlayStation 5 is the haptic responses on the PS5 DualSense controllers. But Sony cautions that players with injuries in their hands or joints should turn the feature off, which anyone can do through the settings. According to a blurb in the PS5 instruction booklet (first reported by @_Caprica), which IGN can verify, vibrations and trigger effects can be turned off using through the Accessories tab in the Settings option.

Hey so I have a DualSense and thought it important to highlight this bit from the instruction manual.

You can turn off vibration and trigger resistance from the PS5 console. pic.twitter.com/Lb5yG7dRhu — Aunt Tifa (@__caprica) October 29, 2020

The PS5 booklet says, “Do not use the vibration or trigger effect features if you have any ailment or injury to the bones, joints, or muscles of your hands or arms.” The instructions continue, “If you have an ailment or an injury, do not play titles with these features using the controller unless you have set those functions to ‘Off’.” The haptic feedback in the Sony PS5 DualSense controller is described as an immersion feature that goes well beyond rumble features. Common examples Sony previously offered when describing the DualSense include features like simulating the sand on a beach through vibrations or making the trigger buttons tenser to simulate pulling back on a bow.  However, players with difficulties in their hands or joints due to injury or disability may not be able to comfortably use those features. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] Check out IGN’s hands-on impressions of the PS5 from the Beyond! crew. We’ll have more PS5 coverage leading up to launch so check back to IGN regularly. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/27/ps5-console-unboxing"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige knows quite a bit about The Suicide Squad, according to director James Gunn. Gunn told Empire he had to fill Feige in on why exactly he couldn't jump right back on Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 following him being rehired on the project. Gunn told Feige he was working on a DC movie, to which Feige replied, "Is it Superman?" Gunn said that character "was a possibility" for him to tackle, but it wasn't the one he chose. After telling Feige that it was a new Suicide Squad movie, Feige replied, "Please, please make a good movie. Just…make a great movie.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-is-dcs-peacemaker-john-cenas-the-suicide-squad-character-explained&captions=true"] Gunn told Feige all about The Suicide Squad's characters, including the villain, who has yet to be revealed to the public. "Kevin knew who all those characters were for months before we revealed them at FanDome,” Gunn said. “He still knows who the villain is. I think he’s pretty trustworthy with his NDA!” Gunn said the conversations with Disney were "scary," especially since Marvel missed Gunn by only one day and it was their rival, DC, who hired Gunn first. “It was a happy ending, but it was also scary, because I actually got the call from [Walt Disney Studios CCO] Alan Horn long before it was announced: it happened literally the day after I agreed to do The Suicide Squad,” Gunn said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/the-suicide-squad-official-cast-reveal"] Gunn is also writing and directing a Suicide Squad TV series spinoff starring John Cena's character Peacemaker. The filmmaker has said Guardians Vol. 3 will likely be his last as the franchise's director. The Suicide Squad is currently set to hit theaters on Aug. 6, 2021. For anyone looking for more information on the massive cast, here is a full breakdown of The Suicide Squad's characters. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Sacha Baron Cohen has donated $100,000 to babysitter Jeanise Jones, who appeared in the film after she said she felt misled by the Borat 2 film crew. Jones told the New York Post earlier this week that she felt betrayed by the Borat 2 film crew for legitimately making her believe Borat's daughter in the movie, Tutar, was being groomed to marry a rich man. Jones was unaware that this plan was a plot point in Borat 2 — or that she was even being filmed for Borat 2 — so in babysitting Tutar, who was played by Maria Bakalova, she began to worry about the wellbeing of the girl. After reports that a GoFundMe page has been opened for Jones, who has been unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cohen donated $100,000 to Ebenezer Baptist Church per Jones' request, as reported by People. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/01/borat-2-official-trailer"] "I was blown away, but not surprised because I was told about what type of heart this man has," Ebenezer Baptist Church pastor, Derrick Scobey, told People when asked about Cohen's donation, which will be used for essentials like shelter and food. "Maybe it's a little risqué, some of the things in the movie, but he has a good heart." Jones told the New York Post that she was praying for Tutar after coming to believe that the marriage might actually happen. "I felt pain for her and tried [to see] if there's any way we can get through to her that she doesn't need to do all that," Jones said in regards to Tutar believing in Borat 2 that she needs plastic surgery to get married. "I'm feeling like she's from the Third World and that kind of stuff does happen where they sell women. I'm thinking this is for real so I felt kind of betrayed by it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/21/borat-subsequent-moviefilm-review"] Another $131,000 was raised for Jones through the GoFundMe drive started by Scobey. The Borat 2 crew recruited Jones through her church after telling the church they were looking for a babysitter for a documentary. Scobey said the $100,000 donation from Cohen won't be used directly for the church, but will instead be used as community aid. If you haven't yet watched Borat 2, you can read our thoughts on why we thought the sequel was amazing in our Borat Subsequent MovieFilm review. Be sure to watch this deleted scene from the movie that features a White House infiltration after that and then read about how Kazahkstan has adopted Borat's signature "very nice" catchphrase in its tourism advertising. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

There's a "rogue planet" flying through the Milky Way galaxy -- a free-floating world without a host star. Is it actually a Death Star? The worldships of Marvel villains Annihilus or Galactus? The planet-sized Transformer Unicron? In the year 2020, surely anything is possible but, alas, no. In a newly published study, scientists announced they have discovered a rogue planet. It appears to be on the smallish side as far as exoplanets go, with a mass reportedly between that of Earth and Mars. "Our discovery demonstrates that low-mass free-floating planets can be detected and characterized using ground-based telescopes," announced the study's co-author Andrzej Udalski, principal investigator of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) project led by the University of Warsaw in Poland.

Tiny rogue planet is the smallest free-floating exoplanet candidate yet https://t.co/NCPKgJBb4h pic.twitter.com/v0xbu83h66

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) October 29, 2020

While astronomers have discovered 4,000 exoplanets to date -- and that there may be far more rogue planets out there than there are planets with host stars -- detecting a rogue planet is more difficult than it seems because there's no light from a host star for scientists to use to help spot the planet. The OGLE project, utilizing the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, spotted the rogue planet using a technique known as gravitational microlensing. As Space.com explains, this planet-hunting method, "involves watching foreground objects pass in front of distant background stars. When this happens, the closer body can act as a gravitational lens, bending and magnifying the star's light in ways that can reveal the foreground object's mass and other characteristics." The study's lead author, Przemek Mroz at the California Institute of Technology, explained just how "extremely slim" the chances of such a microlensing event are because it requires perfect alignment of the light source, the telescope lens, and the observer. "If we observed only one source star, we would have to wait almost a million years to see the source being microlensed," Mroz said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-every-new-planet-in-the-disney-movies&captions=true"] For more science news, read up on the evidence of a parallel universe where time runs backward, a cosmic cloud that has some people claiming "Galactus is coming!", NASA's discovery of water on the moon, a black widow star that's a source of gamma radiation, the frightening 50-50 chance that we really are living in a simulation, and watch footage of the Osiris-Rex probe touching down on an asteroid. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

A company promising customized PlayStation 5 faceplates has come under scrutiny recently after their website briefly disappeared and their social media presence became temporarily hard to find. Now, the company is back online and promises that all orders for custom PS5 plates will be fulfilled. When the PlayStation 5 teardown video has published the team at Customize My Plates, saw an opportunity to offer custom replacement PlayStation 5 plates with designs separate from the standard white that Sony offers by default. Enter PlateStation5.com, the former name and web domain for a UK-based company selling unofficial, third-party PS5 accessories. Custom Plates LTD has no relationship with Sony in any capacity.

Those asking why the name and website was changed - we made the move to respect trademark and copyright claims.

— Customize My Plates (@customizeplates) October 29, 2020

Custom Plates’ initial PS5 faceplates were popular enough that demand quickly sky-rocketed and sites, including our own, covered the products. But a confusing name change and social media blackout made some customers question the validity of the service. In an email to IGN, Custom Plates confirmed copyright was one of the reasons for the name change as “a certain console provider’s lawyer recently ‘suggested’ a few changes to our website.” The company also confirmed copyright issues as a reason for the name change on Twitter. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=platestation-5-unofficial-ps5-and-ps5-digital-edition-faceplates&captions=true"] Custom Plates told IGN that it was aware of some of the concerns online about the business. The team feels that it “communicated our production delays transparently,” through a recent update on Twitter which outlined a 3-week delay on orders and promised a full refund for anyone who requests one. "I think that's fairly uncommon for your average vanishing venture," they wrote in the email. Custom Plates also sent IGN a screenshot of what they claim to be over $20,000 in refunds the company already paid out. “Our site’s level of success hit like a suckerpunch,” Adam from Custom Plates writes in an email to IGN. “We misjudged demand and disappointed hundreds of supporters who helped us get off the ground.” “It truly sucks not coming through for them. We can only say we’re sorry and that it won’t happen again. We’ve suspended all sales. When they go live again, every single one will be fulfilled without fail, without delay.” Adam argued that suspending sales and refunding money to customers is proof this is a legitimate business. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/07/ps5-teardown-official-hardware-deep-dive"] Without a physical product in hand, it’s understandable that customers can get nervous, especially from a new business. Situations arise on platforms like Kickstarter where new ventures over-promise and under-deliver, or sometimes never deliver. Custom Plates still offers full refunds for customers but hopes its refund policy and transparency can ease customer concerns. “When the plates hit, there will be no doubt,” the company says. “We’re here for the long haul.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.