It’s true what they say. No one escapes the “Loop” in Fortnite. Whether it’s the near-constant barrage of licensed characters or world-altering events, there’s always something going on. The latest of which being an interesting update called the Fortnite Winter Trials.

What are the Fortnite Winter Trials?

Just like the game’s loop – involving Fortnite’s trapped denizens and their repetitive battles – Epic Games’ frequent updates are seemingly perpetual in nature. So much so, that they recently jumped the gun and revealed the Fortnite Winter Trails site before the event was live. Epic hasn’t come forward with any news just yet. Thankfully, data miner HYPEX was able to share some information about the coming event. According to Hypex and the official event page, the Winter Trials is an influencer tournament that will reward active players with cosmetics; they’ll be able to garner badges that unlock different rewards over the course of seven days.

Fortnite Winter Trials 2021 Schedule

The Fortnite Winter Trials site states that the tournament starts on January 25 and ends on February 1 at 8:59pm PST/11:59pm EST. Individual and team challenges start on January 26 and run until the 31st. Check out the full Fortnite Winter Trials schedule below:

Group Tournament Schedule:

• January 25, 28, and 31 starting at 3pm PT/6pm ET

Individual and Team Challenges Schedule:

• January 26, 27, 29, and 30 starting "at every player's convenience"

How to Earn Fortnite Winter Trial Badges

In order to unlock the Fortnite Winter Trial rewards, players will need to first gain badges. This is done by voting for challenges, collecting bounties, and by just playing Fortnite. The number of badges earned is determined by the activity. The core activities are:

• Logging in to the activate challenge – 1 badge
• Voting for a community challenge – 1 badge (once per challenge for a total of 4)
• Supporting an influencer team by clicking “thumbs-up – 1 badge available daily
• Playing Fortnite for 20 minutes – unlimited (every 20 mins in the main game rewards a badge)

Fortnite Winter Trial 2021 Rewards

As for the rewards, there's a total of twelve and most of them are still hidden. Epic has only revealed a unicorn spray, snow man-like emote, and animated gun wrap (the first, sixth, and final rewards respectfully). We'll update this article with the rewards as they unlock throughout the trial.

• 1/12: Unicorn spray
• 2/12: Coming soon
• 3/12: Coming soon
• 4/12:?
• 5/12:?
• 6/12: Snow-man emote
• 7/12:?
• 8/12:?
• 9/12:?
• 10/12:?
• 11/12:?
• 12/12: Animated gun wrap

Fortnite’s Winter Trials appear to be a solid event for new and veteran players alike. There’s no buy in, fans get to support their favorite influencers, and potentially unlock free stuff. For more Fortnite guides, check out how to get the Predator skin. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kenneth Seward Jr. is a freelance writer, editor, and illustrator who covers games, movies, and more. Follow him @kennyufg and on Twitch.

Despite AMD's record breaking 2020, it anticipates PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC chip shortages to last through at least the first half of 2021. As reported by Tom's Hardware, AMD recently held its Q4 2020 earnings call and AMD's president and CEO Lisa Su discussed these shortages in response to an investor asking about the magnitude of supply constraints due to growth and the COVID-19 pandemic. While AMD saw "a strong revenue ramp" in its business, Su mentioned that "overall demand exceeded our planning." As a result, there were supply constraints near the end of the year in the PC market, low-end PC market, and in the gaming markets. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] Su also discussed how this means she expects chip shortages in the first half of 2021 as AMD works to improve supply, but she reassures that there is "added capacity" in the second half of 2021 that should hopefully help. "And so we do see some tightness through the first half of the year, but there's added capacity in the second half," Su said. "And then as in terms of how we -- how we think about these things, so for our full-year annual guide, we do have good visibility on both the demand side and the supply side. And that was the basis for the guidance across the businesses." Su previously spoke to Xbox head Phil Spencer, as AMC produces the CPU and GPU of the Xbox Series X/S, and both teams are working as hard as they can to meet the high demand of the next-gen consoles. Last year, Microsoft's CFO Tim Stuart has cautioned that these shortages could continue through the first quarter of 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/16/xbox-warns-to-expect-series-xs-shortages-for-a-while-ign-now"] [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.

Despite AMD's record breaking 2020, it anticipates PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC chip shortages to last through at least the first half of 2021. As reported by Tom's Hardware, AMD recently held its Q4 2020 earnings call and AMD's president and CEO Lisa Su discussed these shortages in response to an investor asking about the magnitude of supply constraints due to growth and the COVID-19 pandemic. While AMD saw "a strong revenue ramp" in its business, Su mentioned that "overall demand exceeded our planning." As a result, there were supply constraints near the end of the year in the PC market, low-end PC market, and in the gaming markets. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] Su also discussed how this means she expects chip shortages in the first half of 2021 as AMD works to improve supply, but she reassures that there is "added capacity" in the second half of 2021 that should hopefully help. "And so we do see some tightness through the first half of the year, but there's added capacity in the second half," Su said. "And then as in terms of how we -- how we think about these things, so for our full-year annual guide, we do have good visibility on both the demand side and the supply side. And that was the basis for the guidance across the businesses." Su previously spoke to Xbox head Phil Spencer, as AMC produces the CPU and GPU of the Xbox Series X/S, and both teams are working as hard as they can to meet the high demand of the next-gen consoles. Last year, Microsoft's CFO Tim Stuart has cautioned that these shortages could continue through the first quarter of 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/16/xbox-warns-to-expect-series-xs-shortages-for-a-while-ign-now"] [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.

If you thought the weirdest thing about Paul Bettany’s MCU character Vision was that he’s a robot man who’s been mysteriously teleported to a 1950’s sitcom with his magic wife, well...you’ve got another thing coming. According to a new interview with Bettany from Lights, Camera, Barstool, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon originally wanted Vision to have a visible penis during the character’s birth scene.

“I know that Joss Whedon apparently really, really wanted -- the rendition of him, when Vision first is born, before he’s clothed, [Whedon] is like ‘he’s got to have a penis,’” Bettany told Lights, Camera, Barstool. “And everyone, [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] and [Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito], I mean everybody was like ‘I don’t know, Joss...I mean...I’m not sure….’”

We talked to Paul Bettany about #WandaVision and ended up with a story about how Joss Whedon wanted Vision to look when he first appeared in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’.

“He was like, ‘He has to have a penis.’” INTERVIEW: https://t.co/DpjuUp7a2E pic.twitter.com/WxeiERrVWv — Lights, Camera, Pod (@LightsCameraPod) January 26, 2021

 

Despite that pushback, Bettany says Whedon continued to insist on Vision having a penis.

“‘He has to have a penis!’” Bettany says, imitating Whedon. “‘I want to see some drawings of penises.’”

Bettany continued telling Barstool that artists at Marvel Studios ended up drawing a number of pieces showing Vision -- again, let me reiterate, a robot man born from the magic of a giant yellow gem -- with a penis and presented them to Whedon.

“And then they went in and sat down and Joss went…’Yeah, I’m 100% wrong. I don’t need to see any of these,’” Bettany said.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/wandavision-episode-3-review"]

The discussion on the bizarre penile proclivity quickly turned to other topics, but it’s worth noting that Bettany has previously joked about Vision possibly having a purple penis that can change density at a whim.

Whedon has become a particularly sore topic in the world of superhero films as of late. The director, who stepped in to finish Justice League for Zack Snyder, has been the focus of allegations and subsequent investigations into toxic workplace behavior during filming of the DC ensemble film. The matter remains shrouded in mystery, however, with Cyborg actor Ray Fisher being removed from the upcoming Flash movie. Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot was also interviewed during WarnerMedia’s investigation and stated she did not get along with Whedon. Whedon left production on HBO Max’s The Nevers series in November 2020, citing the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can catch up on everything we know about WandaVision, including all the classic TV easter eggs littered throughout the series, every cameo, and the very complicated history of Scarlet Witch's pregnancy. Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

If you thought the weirdest thing about Paul Bettany’s MCU character Vision was that he’s a robot man who’s been mysteriously teleported to a 1950’s sitcom with his magic wife, well...you’ve got another thing coming. According to a new interview with Bettany from Lights, Camera, Barstool, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon originally wanted Vision to have a visible penis during the character’s birth scene.

“I know that Joss Whedon apparently really, really wanted -- the rendition of him, when Vision first is born, before he’s clothed, [Whedon] is like ‘he’s got to have a penis,’” Bettany told Lights, Camera, Barstool. “And everyone, [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] and [Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito], I mean everybody was like ‘I don’t know, Joss...I mean...I’m not sure….’”

We talked to Paul Bettany about #WandaVision and ended up with a story about how Joss Whedon wanted Vision to look when he first appeared in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’.

“He was like, ‘He has to have a penis.’” INTERVIEW: https://t.co/DpjuUp7a2E pic.twitter.com/WxeiERrVWv — Lights, Camera, Pod (@LightsCameraPod) January 26, 2021

 

Despite that pushback, Bettany says Whedon continued to insist on Vision having a penis.

“‘He has to have a penis!’” Bettany says, imitating Whedon. “‘I want to see some drawings of penises.’”

Bettany continued telling Barstool that artists at Marvel Studios ended up drawing a number of pieces showing Vision -- again, let me reiterate, a robot man born from the magic of a giant yellow gem -- with a penis and presented them to Whedon.

“And then they went in and sat down and Joss went…’Yeah, I’m 100% wrong. I don’t need to see any of these,’” Bettany said.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/wandavision-episode-3-review"]

The discussion on the bizarre penile proclivity quickly turned to other topics, but it’s worth noting that Bettany has previously joked about Vision possibly having a purple penis that can change density at a whim.

Whedon has become a particularly sore topic in the world of superhero films as of late. The director, who stepped in to finish Justice League for Zack Snyder, has been the focus of allegations and subsequent investigations into toxic workplace behavior during filming of the DC ensemble film. The matter remains shrouded in mystery, however, with Cyborg actor Ray Fisher being removed from the upcoming Flash movie. Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot was also interviewed during WarnerMedia’s investigation and stated she did not get along with Whedon. Whedon left production on HBO Max’s The Nevers series in November 2020, citing the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can catch up on everything we know about WandaVision, including all the classic TV easter eggs littered throughout the series, every cameo, and the very complicated history of Scarlet Witch's pregnancy. Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

AMC is feeling the GameStop effect as shares for the beleaguered theater chain opened at around $20 a share. That’s way up from less than a month ago where shares traded as low as $3. Following the short squeeze on GameStop stock, which drove the video game retailer’s stock to record highs over the past week, r/WallStreetBets has taken an interest in other similar businesses whose stocks could potentially lead to similar gains. One of which is AMC. The hobbyist r/WallStreetBets subreddit, driven by the recent squeeze on GameStop stock, has been discussing for weeks similar prospects. Among those, the subreddit has singled out are companies like BlackBerry and AMC. [caption id="attachment_246619" align="alignnone" width="778"] Source: Google.[/caption] GameStop stock for example was in a similar position a year ago when shares hovered between $10 and $16 per share. But recently the stocks have jumped several hundredfolds and have reached as high as $319. The increase in stock prices for GameStop has been driven by a squeeze on short-sellers. Basically, Wall Street investors were betting on GameStop to fail, whereas day traders on r/WallStreetBets rallied behind the struggling video game retailer. The ensuing commotion has caused GameStop stock prices to skyrocket and Wall Street short-sellers are rushing to cover their losses, perpetuating a vicious cycle. r/WallStreetBets is looking to repeat this process with AMC. The theater chain has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. AMC has said that it was facing dire straits, though recently raised over $400 million in financing to keep the company operational through 2021. As with GameStop, the push from r/WallStreetBets for AMC is driven by a variety of factors not necessarily rooted in conventional investing wisdom. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/26/reddit-investor-group-drives-gamestop-stock-to-record-highs-ign-news"] Speaking with GameStop stock traders on r/WallStreetBets, common reasons for investing in a company like AMC has partly to do with FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] or even to stick it to traditional Wall Street hedge funds, who are facing financial consequences for shorting a stock like GameStop. Furthermore, the stock activities for these companies, like AMC and GameStop, aren't necessarily tied to their business performance. AMC and GameStop have not miraculously turned their business around, so to speak. Day trading or hobby investing, has seen a boom thanks to apps like Robinhood, which makes purchasing small amounts of stock relatively easy on commission-free trades. However, the ongoing squeeze has led to increased scrutiny on r/WallStreetBets and both the White House and NASDAQ say they are monitoring the situation. AMC has not yet responded to IGN's request for comment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter @lawoftd.

AMC is feeling the GameStop effect as shares for the beleaguered theater chain opened at around $20 a share. That’s way up from less than a month ago where shares traded as low as $3. Following the short squeeze on GameStop stock, which drove the video game retailer’s stock to record highs over the past week, r/WallStreetBets has taken an interest in other similar businesses whose stocks could potentially lead to similar gains. One of which is AMC. The hobbyist r/WallStreetBets subreddit, driven by the recent squeeze on GameStop stock, has been discussing for weeks similar prospects. Among those, the subreddit has singled out are companies like BlackBerry and AMC. [caption id="attachment_246619" align="alignnone" width="778"] Source: Google.[/caption] GameStop stock for example was in a similar position a year ago when shares hovered between $10 and $16 per share. But recently the stocks have jumped several hundredfolds and have reached as high as $319. The increase in stock prices for GameStop has been driven by a squeeze on short-sellers. Basically, Wall Street investors were betting on GameStop to fail, whereas day traders on r/WallStreetBets rallied behind the struggling video game retailer. The ensuing commotion has caused GameStop stock prices to skyrocket and Wall Street short-sellers are rushing to cover their losses, perpetuating a vicious cycle. r/WallStreetBets is looking to repeat this process with AMC. The theater chain has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. AMC has said that it was facing dire straits, though recently raised over $400 million in financing to keep the company operational through 2021. As with GameStop, the push from r/WallStreetBets for AMC is driven by a variety of factors not necessarily rooted in conventional investing wisdom. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/26/reddit-investor-group-drives-gamestop-stock-to-record-highs-ign-news"] Speaking with GameStop stock traders on r/WallStreetBets, common reasons for investing in a company like AMC has partly to do with FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] or even to stick it to traditional Wall Street hedge funds, who are facing financial consequences for shorting a stock like GameStop. Furthermore, the stock activities for these companies, like AMC and GameStop, aren't necessarily tied to their business performance. AMC and GameStop have not miraculously turned their business around, so to speak. Day trading or hobby investing, has seen a boom thanks to apps like Robinhood, which makes purchasing small amounts of stock relatively easy on commission-free trades. However, the ongoing squeeze has led to increased scrutiny on r/WallStreetBets and both the White House and NASDAQ say they are monitoring the situation. AMC has not yet responded to IGN's request for comment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter @lawoftd.

Scavengers Studio, the developer of Darwin Project and the upcoming Seasons, has issued an official statement regarding the toxic workplace allegations levied against the studio's co-founders Simon Darveau and Amélie Lamarche. Lamarche, who is Scavengers Studio's CEO, said in the statement that the company "wishes to apologize for the harm caused" and that it is taking these allegations seriously. Additionally, it is "committed to doing better for our employees, our fans and our partners." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/season-announcement-trailer"] The studio held an emergency Board of Directors meeting to decide on the best course of action moving forward, and is enacting the following changes immediately;

• Simon Darveau is indefinitely suspended from all responsibilities within the company and from the Board of Directors.
• An external auditing firm will conduct an independent workplace assessment and audit of our culture and practices.
• Daisy Lilly Best, currently Director of Operations, is appointed as Chief Operating Officer and will be reporting directly to the board of directors for the duration of the audit to ensure complete transparency and accountability.
• The audit report will be shared in its entirety with the team and presented by Daisy to the board for further actions to be taken.

Furthermore, to "ensure a transparent, fair and unbiased process" Lamrache will be stepping down as from her role as CEO for the duration of the audit. She will, however, remain available to "support the studio's normal course of business." Lamarche ends by asking for the patience of the community as it goes through this process, and that the team has full confidence in the creative direction of Season and will "continue to support the amazing work of our talented team." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=season-9-screenshots&captions=true"] The allegations against Darveau came from nine current and former employees of Scavengers Studio and range from creating a hostile workplace to creating a "boys' club" atmosphere to sexual harassment. It was also said that this behavior was enabled by Lamarche, who had served in an HR role to other employees despite having previously been in a romantic relationship with Davreau. [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.

Scavengers Studio, the developer of Darwin Project and the upcoming Seasons, has issued an official statement regarding the toxic workplace allegations levied against the studio's co-founders Simon Darveau and Amélie Lamarche. Lamarche, who is Scavengers Studio's CEO, said in the statement that the company "wishes to apologize for the harm caused" and that it is taking these allegations seriously. Additionally, it is "committed to doing better for our employees, our fans and our partners." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/season-announcement-trailer"] The studio held an emergency Board of Directors meeting to decide on the best course of action moving forward, and is enacting the following changes immediately;

• Simon Darveau is indefinitely suspended from all responsibilities within the company and from the Board of Directors.
• An external auditing firm will conduct an independent workplace assessment and audit of our culture and practices.
• Daisy Lilly Best, currently Director of Operations, is appointed as Chief Operating Officer and will be reporting directly to the board of directors for the duration of the audit to ensure complete transparency and accountability.
• The audit report will be shared in its entirety with the team and presented by Daisy to the board for further actions to be taken.

Furthermore, to "ensure a transparent, fair and unbiased process" Lamrache will be stepping down as from her role as CEO for the duration of the audit. She will, however, remain available to "support the studio's normal course of business." Lamarche ends by asking for the patience of the community as it goes through this process, and that the team has full confidence in the creative direction of Season and will "continue to support the amazing work of our talented team." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=season-9-screenshots&captions=true"] The allegations against Darveau came from nine current and former employees of Scavengers Studio and range from creating a hostile workplace to creating a "boys' club" atmosphere to sexual harassment. It was also said that this behavior was enabled by Lamarche, who had served in an HR role to other employees despite having previously been in a romantic relationship with Davreau. [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.

Tencent has purchased a minority stake in Life Is Strange developer, Dontnod, to create new series. This minority purchase cost Tencent €30 million, or roughly $36 million, and will be used to finance a new franchise from Dontnod for PC, consoles, and mobile devices. The funding will also be used to allow Dontnod to self-publish whatever this new game becomes.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tell-me-why-official-screenshots&captions=true"]

"The funds raised will mainly be used to finance the ramp-up of Dontnod's strategy to develop new self-published intellectual properties worldwide on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms, and thereby take full advantage of positive trends within the industry for creators of internationally renowned and originals games, such as Dontnod," a Dontnod press release reads. In terms of what this new series will be, it's anybody's guess, although one could presume it to be in the style of games Dontnod has continued to make over the years, such as Life Is Strange, Tell Me Why, and Twin Mirror. These are third-person narrative-based games that see the player making choices that affect the outcome of stories and solving small puzzles along the way. Tencent's purchase is part of a total €40 million capital increase that comes by way of an accelerated bookbinding process, according to Dontnod. The studio also announced a, "concurrent signing of a business cooperation agreement with Tencent" as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/01/twin-mirror-review"] "We are delighted to welcome Tencent as a Dontnod investor," Chairman and CEO of Dontnod, Oskar Guilbert, said. "This is a real expression of trust from a key online game leader, which is behind a number of success stories and has invested in several leading companies in the video game industry. Through this partnership, Dontnod is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the various growth drivers in the video game industry, in particular in China and on mobile platforms, in cooperation with an industry leader. The capital increase announced today will enable us to step up and boost the roll-out of our development plan, which aims to capture more value from our original creators by self-publishing more games." While waiting for whatever this new franchise is, check out our thoughts on Dontnod's latest two games in IGN's Tell Me Why review and Twin Mirror review. Read this story about a new narrative survival game being developed by the new studio of a Dontnod co-founder after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.