A game all about hacking - Watch Dogs: Legion - has seen its source code seemingly hacked in a real-world event that assuredly makes it one of the more ironic stories of 2020. As reported by ZDNet, a ransomware gang by the name of Egregor, in October 2020, claimed to have obtained access to the internal networks of both Ubisoft and Crytek and stole data. Unfortunately for Ubisoft, DSOGaming has said that Egregor appears to have possession of the source code of Watch Dogs: Legion and it has since leaked it online at a size of around 560 GB. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/watch-dogs-legion-review"] DSOGaming notes that this could lead to enabling mods for Watch Dogs: Legion and cracking the game's anti-piracy measures. Crytek appeared to have been hit even harder, as documents from the company's game development division have allegedly been obtained and contain "resources and information about the development process of games like Arena of Fate and Warface, but also Crytek's old Gface social gaming network." It is yet unclear how Egregor gained access to these networks, but groups like this tend to steal data, encrypt it, and then hold it ransom and force these companies to pay a exorbitant fee to prevent them from leaking the files. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=biggest-video-game-leaks-of-2019&captions=true"] Both Ubisoft and Crytek have yet to announce anything publicly, possibly hinting that these intrusions by Egregor have not impacted any consumer-facing aspects of their businesses. In our review of Watch Dogs: Legion, which was released on October 29, 2020, we said its "bold use of roguelike mechanics in an open-world action game pays off in interesting ways, making this visit to near-future London feel more varied than the previous two games." [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.

Ubisoft will broadcast Odin's Hootenanny, an Assassin's Creed Valhalla digital variety show on Friday, November 6 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK (that's November 7 at 4am AEDT). The show will be hosted by Assasin's Creed cast member Danny Wallace, and will include IGN and other outlets on the bill. Alongside gameshows, challenges and more, the event will include a gameplay reveal of Valhalla running on Xbox Series X. You'll be able to watch the show right here on IGN. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/03/assassins-creed-valhalla-odins-hootenanny-stream-trailer"] Check out the full schedule below:  

• Eivor Critiques IGN’s Viking Skills: Magnus Bruun, the talented Danish actor behind male Eivor provides live commentary direct from a Viking long-hall in Denmark as Amy Mallett and Stevie Coales seek to prove their mettle in dark-age Leicestershire.  In true Viking fashion, Magnus’ commentary is brutal and unforgiving, not to mention colourful.
• BAFTA presents The Art of Storytelling: In an extended BAFTA Guru feature, Elle Osili-Wood sits down with Narrative Director Darby McDevitt to explore the storytelling of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
• Xbox On presents Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the Xbox Series X: An extended gameplay segment showcasing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the new Xbox Series X hardware.
• Modern-Day Flyting: Gaming rapper and self-proclaimed Rhyming Minister, Dan Bull will go head-to-head with British rap star Lethal Bizzle in a modern interpretation of a dark-age flyting battle, filled with sarcastic wit.
• A Very Viking Gameshow: A live-action, socially distanced game-show where two teams of the UK’s finest presenters and content creators, including Bex Bomb, Elle Osili-Wood, Gav Murphy and Marcus Bronzy square off in a series of Viking challenges, including axe-throwing and mind-games (and Kerplunk) with an actual raven named Loki.

AC Valhalla arrives on November 10 for Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia. It will be followed by a PS5 release on November 12 (and November 19 in territories with a delayed PS5 launch). We recently learned about the game's next-gen enhancements, and we've run down 8 big changes coming in the new game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-biggest-game-releases-of-november-2020"] [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.

Ubisoft will broadcast Odin's Hootenanny, an Assassin's Creed Valhalla digital variety show on Friday, November 6 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK (that's November 7 at 4am AEDT). The show will be hosted by Assasin's Creed cast member Danny Wallace, and will include IGN and other outlets on the bill. Alongside gameshows, challenges and more, the event will include a gameplay reveal of Valhalla running on Xbox Series X. You'll be able to watch the show right here on IGN. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/03/assassins-creed-valhalla-odins-hootenanny-stream-trailer"] Check out the full schedule below:  

• Eivor Critiques IGN’s Viking Skills: Magnus Bruun, the talented Danish actor behind male Eivor provides live commentary direct from a Viking long-hall in Denmark as Amy Mallett and Stevie Coales seek to prove their mettle in dark-age Leicestershire.  In true Viking fashion, Magnus’ commentary is brutal and unforgiving, not to mention colourful.
• BAFTA presents The Art of Storytelling: In an extended BAFTA Guru feature, Elle Osili-Wood sits down with Narrative Director Darby McDevitt to explore the storytelling of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
• Xbox On presents Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the Xbox Series X: An extended gameplay segment showcasing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on the new Xbox Series X hardware.
• Modern-Day Flyting: Gaming rapper and self-proclaimed Rhyming Minister, Dan Bull will go head-to-head with British rap star Lethal Bizzle in a modern interpretation of a dark-age flyting battle, filled with sarcastic wit.
• A Very Viking Gameshow: A live-action, socially distanced game-show where two teams of the UK’s finest presenters and content creators, including Bex Bomb, Elle Osili-Wood, Gav Murphy and Marcus Bronzy square off in a series of Viking challenges, including axe-throwing and mind-games (and Kerplunk) with an actual raven named Loki.

AC Valhalla arrives on November 10 for Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia. It will be followed by a PS5 release on November 12 (and November 19 in territories with a delayed PS5 launch). We recently learned about the game's next-gen enhancements, and we've run down 8 big changes coming in the new game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-biggest-game-releases-of-november-2020"] [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.

Friday the 13th: The Game will be receiving its final update this month, November 2020, and its dedicated servers will be shut down as well. Announced by publisher Gun Interactive, Friday the 13th: The Game will still be playable via peer to peer Quick Play and Private Matches, and Database Servers will remain active, which house all player progression and unlocks. The final patch will fix " a long list of player issues," and finalized patch notes will be made available a week prior to the update going live. Furthermore, the official forums for the game will be archived in a locked state, and game's social channels will be "switching to a more minimal approach, keeping our social media channels active for any necessary announcements only." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/01/friday-the-13th-the-game-review"] Those who have yet to purchase Friday the 13th: The Game will still be able to do so and will "continue to receive the support of JasonKillsBugs.com as a resource for troubleshooting." Players will also be able to continue to indefinitely take advantage of Double XP, CP, and Tape Drop Rates that were set at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In our review of Friday the 13th: The Game, which was released in 2017 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, we said "When you’re playing as Jason, this is unquestionably the best Friday the 13th game ever made. I really appreciate the genuine love for the franchise on display here. Hunting down players and executing them in spectacularly gory scenes is an homage that warms my lifelong Friday-fan heart. But the fun of its asymmetrical multiplayer-only action is heavily skewed toward Jason, which means you’ll mostly be stuck playing as teens rummaging through drawers." Friday the 13th: The Game had a troubled history as legal disputes forced the team to stop producing any further content. If you enjoyed the game, however, developer Illfonic has since released Predator: Hunting Grounds, which takes much inspiration from the gameplay found in Friday the 13th. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/28/predator-hunting-grounds-review"] [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.

Friday the 13th: The Game will be receiving its final update this month, November 2020, and its dedicated servers will be shut down as well. Announced by publisher Gun Interactive, Friday the 13th: The Game will still be playable via peer to peer Quick Play and Private Matches, and Database Servers will remain active, which house all player progression and unlocks. The final patch will fix " a long list of player issues," and finalized patch notes will be made available a week prior to the update going live. Furthermore, the official forums for the game will be archived in a locked state, and game's social channels will be "switching to a more minimal approach, keeping our social media channels active for any necessary announcements only." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/01/friday-the-13th-the-game-review"] Those who have yet to purchase Friday the 13th: The Game will still be able to do so and will "continue to receive the support of JasonKillsBugs.com as a resource for troubleshooting." Players will also be able to continue to indefinitely take advantage of Double XP, CP, and Tape Drop Rates that were set at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In our review of Friday the 13th: The Game, which was released in 2017 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, we said "When you’re playing as Jason, this is unquestionably the best Friday the 13th game ever made. I really appreciate the genuine love for the franchise on display here. Hunting down players and executing them in spectacularly gory scenes is an homage that warms my lifelong Friday-fan heart. But the fun of its asymmetrical multiplayer-only action is heavily skewed toward Jason, which means you’ll mostly be stuck playing as teens rummaging through drawers." Friday the 13th: The Game had a troubled history as legal disputes forced the team to stop producing any further content. If you enjoyed the game, however, developer Illfonic has since released Predator: Hunting Grounds, which takes much inspiration from the gameplay found in Friday the 13th. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/28/predator-hunting-grounds-review"] [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.

Ubisoft has delayed its upcoming Avatar game to 2022, which would make it arrive in the same year as James Cameron's Avatar 2 in theaters. As reported by GameSpot, this news was included in the same earnings call that Ubisoft revealed that Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine were delayed and would now be releasing in its next fiscal year, which takes place from April 2021 to March 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/19/why-being-an-avatar-fan-sucks-up-at-noon"] This new delay for the Avatar game by The Division developer Massive Entertainment was discussed in response to the delay of Avatar 2 in theaters to 2022. If that release date holds, it will arrive 13 years after the original film. Ubisoft announced its Avatar game in 2017, and revealed that Massive Entertainment is working alongside Fox Interactive and James Cameron's studio Lightstorm Entertainment to create the game. Ubisoft released Avatar: The Game alongside the first film, and in our review, we said "Avatar: The Game feels like all of the development effort was put into building out the look of Pandora... The gameplay feels like it needs more work. Loose controls, bad melee combat, weak mission design, and a wonky camera dull the experience. Middling storytelling doesn't help matters, and it ultimately fails in matters of motivation. The thrill of the fight just isn't here, and that's a problem for an action game." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] [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.

Ubisoft has delayed its upcoming Avatar game to 2022, which would make it arrive in the same year as James Cameron's Avatar 2 in theaters. As reported by GameSpot, this news was included in the same earnings call that Ubisoft revealed that Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine were delayed and would now be releasing in its next fiscal year, which takes place from April 2021 to March 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/19/why-being-an-avatar-fan-sucks-up-at-noon"] This new delay for the Avatar game by The Division developer Massive Entertainment was discussed in response to the delay of Avatar 2 in theaters to 2022. If that release date holds, it will arrive 13 years after the original film. Ubisoft announced its Avatar game in 2017, and revealed that Massive Entertainment is working alongside Fox Interactive and James Cameron's studio Lightstorm Entertainment to create the game. Ubisoft released Avatar: The Game alongside the first film, and in our review, we said "Avatar: The Game feels like all of the development effort was put into building out the look of Pandora... The gameplay feels like it needs more work. Loose controls, bad melee combat, weak mission design, and a wonky camera dull the experience. Middling storytelling doesn't help matters, and it ultimately fails in matters of motivation. The thrill of the fight just isn't here, and that's a problem for an action game." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] [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.

Bethesda's Todd Howard has said that the company's current engine – which will be used for Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 – is getting what could be its largest upgrade yet, and is being worked on by the largest number of employees the company has ever assigned to engine work. Speaking during the Develop:Brighton keynote session, Howard was asked how much work was being done on Bethesda's proprietery Creation engine, which has attracted criticism in the past. "We too will acknowledge it needs more work than it has in previous times," Howard replied, "and we do that between generations - and we've been doing it. I can say that the engine work started a while ago." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/29/bethesdas-todd-howard-hard-to-imagine-elder-scrolls-6-as-an-xbox-exclusive"] It sounds as though this is a major rework, too – perhaps the largest leap for the engine in its long history (Creation was born out of the older Gamebryo Engine, which was initially released in 1997). "We have more people doing engine work now, by a factor of five, probably than we've ever had," Howard explained. "So the overhaul in our engine is the largest we've probably ever had, maybe larger than Morrowind to Oblivion." Howard went on to explain that there are elements of Creation that Bethesda continues to like, but pointed out the sheer number of changes being made: "There are things we do that we still like. The way we build our worlds, the way people can mod it – these are things that I think are fundamentally good about our tech stack. But from rendering to animation to pathing to procedural generation – I don't want to say everything, but it's a significant, significant overhaul. "It's taken us longer than we would have liked, but it's going to power what we're doing with Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, and when people see the result, they'll hopefully be as happy as we are with what's on the screen, but also in how we can go about making our games." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] We've previously heard that the engine was being worked on, when Howard explained that it was being rewritten for Starfield and next-gen consoles. That news came alongside Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax. Howard's also explained that it's 'hard to imagine' The Elder Scrolls 6 becoming a full Xbox exclusive after the buyout. [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.

Bethesda's Todd Howard has said that the company's current engine – which will be used for Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 – is getting what could be its largest upgrade yet, and is being worked on by the largest number of employees the company has ever assigned to engine work. Speaking during the Develop:Brighton keynote session, Howard was asked how much work was being done on Bethesda's proprietery Creation engine, which has attracted criticism in the past. "We too will acknowledge it needs more work than it has in previous times," Howard replied, "and we do that between generations - and we've been doing it. I can say that the engine work started a while ago." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/29/bethesdas-todd-howard-hard-to-imagine-elder-scrolls-6-as-an-xbox-exclusive"] It sounds as though this is a major rework, too – perhaps the largest leap for the engine in its long history (Creation was born out of the older Gamebryo Engine, which was initially released in 1997). "We have more people doing engine work now, by a factor of five, probably than we've ever had," Howard explained. "So the overhaul in our engine is the largest we've probably ever had, maybe larger than Morrowind to Oblivion." Howard went on to explain that there are elements of Creation that Bethesda continues to like, but pointed out the sheer number of changes being made: "There are things we do that we still like. The way we build our worlds, the way people can mod it – these are things that I think are fundamentally good about our tech stack. But from rendering to animation to pathing to procedural generation – I don't want to say everything, but it's a significant, significant overhaul. "It's taken us longer than we would have liked, but it's going to power what we're doing with Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6, and when people see the result, they'll hopefully be as happy as we are with what's on the screen, but also in how we can go about making our games." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] We've previously heard that the engine was being worked on, when Howard explained that it was being rewritten for Starfield and next-gen consoles. That news came alongside Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax. Howard's also explained that it's 'hard to imagine' The Elder Scrolls 6 becoming a full Xbox exclusive after the buyout. [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.

Justice League star Ray Fisher has claimed that almost every single scene featuring Cyborg ended up being reshot for Joss Whedon's theatrical cut of the film. Speaking to the hosts of the Geek House Show podcast, Fisher addressed the extent of Whedon's reshoots and how they altered Zack Snyder's intended arc for Cyborg, as he alleged that every single scene with Cyborg in the theatrical version of Justice League turned out to be a reshoot, except one brief appearance from his character assembling alongside the Justice League to meet up with Commissioner Jim Gordon on the rooftop of the Gotham City Police Department. "Some things were, like, similar with the reshoots as what we did with the original, and so it's hard to, like, tell with certain shots of other people for scenes that I wasn't there for," Fisher said of the reshoots. "But what I can tell you from my character, and for what you saw in the theatrical version, that every single scene with the exception of the Gotham City police rooftop scene with Commissioner Gordon and Batman and Flash and all that... every single scene that I'm in was reshot. I reshot almost the entire film on my end. As far as other people's stuff where I wasn't there, I can't really tell you." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/21/the-true-story-behind-the-snyder-cut"] Most of Cyborg's origin story was cut from the theatrical version of the film, including seeing the character learn to fly, use weapons, and hack into other computer networks, as well as his deeper connection to Mother Boxes (since he's basically born from a Mother Box). The majority of these scenes are expected to be restored in full for Zack Snyder's four-hour cut of Justice League, which will release across four parts on HBO Max in 2021. Snyder has already stated that he will not use even a "single frame" from Whedon's Justice League reshoots for his version of the film. In fact, he said that he would "literally blow that f***ing thing up" before using any of Whedon's material. Snyder has, however, started working on his own reshoots for the director's cut of Justice League, with several of the main cast reportedly returning to shoot additional footage to presumably flesh out existing scenes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.