Monthly Archives: February 2021

Six Days In Fallujah Publisher Insists the Game Is Not a US Army Recruiting Tool

Six Days in Fallujah is not a US Army recruiting tool, according to the publisher of the game, Victura. Six Days in Fallujah is a tactical shooter based on the events that took place in 2004 during the Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq, and a revival of a game originally announced (and abandoned) in 2009. Its reannouncement caused hot debate, and raised questions about its use as a potential recruiting tool for the US armed forces. The game's new publisher, Victura, insists the game is not associated with the US government, and will not be used in recruiting. Victura did, however, speak to over 100 marines, soldiers, and Iraqi civilians in the making of the game. "The US government is not involved in making the game, nor are there any plans to use it for recruiting," Victura says in a FAQ. "The Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians who've helped us participated as private citizens, and the game is being financed independently." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=six-days-in-fallujah-screenshots&captions=true"] Elsewhere in the FAQ, Victura says it is helping service members outside of the game's development. "A portion of the proceeds from Six Days will be donated to organizations supporting coalition service members who have been most affected by the war on terror," the FAQ answer reads. "Our focus will be on those whom traditional relief efforts are not yet reaching. Marines, soldiers, and civilians who've helped us create the game will be deeply involved in directing these donations." This resurrected version of Six Days in Fallujah has been in the works at Victura since 2016 with Tamte, former Halo and Destiny lead developer, Jaime Griesemer, and Halo's original composer, Marty O'Donnell, who is providing the music for the game. Other numerous ex-Bungie staff make up Highwire Games, another studio on the project. Victura says more details on the game will be released in the coming weeks. The US Army has previously received criticism for its recruitment tactics in the video game world. After turning to esports, the Army subsequently halted its activities on Twitch after it was reprimanded for sending viewers to a recruitment page allegedly disguised as a giveaway. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Pacifico’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge: Watch Tony Hawk Play Tony Hawk

Pacifico is teaming up with Tony Hawk to give fans around the world an inside look to how he games. Tony Hawk and his team are redesigning his iconic vert ramp at his warehouse in San Diego into a game lounge, and he will be walking fans through his favorite elements of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2. Join him as he discusses his favorite characters and skins, shows off Easter Eggs and his mastery of in-game challenges, and watch as he tries to record his best 2-minute single run score ever!

Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge Event Time and Dates

Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge will take place on Thursday, February 18 at 5pm PT/8pm ET/1am GMT (2/19). The event will run for about 30 minutes. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/tony-hawks-pro-skater-12-review"]

How to Watch Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge

We'll be hosting Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge on our channels across a variety of platforms including IGN.com, YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter. Here's the full list of places you can watch Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/26/tony-hawks-12-remaster-developers-react-to-speedrun"]

Here's How You Could Win in Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge Sweepstakes

Pacifico wants to share their love of gaming with fans and will be running a sweepstakes where 30 lucky winners will receive a Astro A40 headset and a grand prize winner will receive a gaming pack which includes: a branded next-gen console, Co-branded Gaming Headset w/ Tags, Gaming Chair, 55-Inch 4k Smart TV, and a signed copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. All you have to do to enter is share your highest score on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 with Pacifico! Follow @PacificoBeer, direct message them proof via Instagram or reply to their tweet on Twitter including #PacificoTonyHawkProSkaterChallenge and #Sweepstakes. The drawing will be random and is not based on gameplay performance. The sweepstakes will run from February 18 - March 4. There's no purchase necessary. The sweepstakes is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are 21+. See rules at pacificotonyhawk.dja.com.

Pacifico’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge: Watch Tony Hawk Play Tony Hawk

Pacifico is teaming up with Tony Hawk to give fans around the world an inside look to how he games. Tony Hawk and his team are redesigning his iconic vert ramp at his warehouse in San Diego into a game lounge, and he will be walking fans through his favorite elements of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2. Join him as he discusses his favorite characters and skins, shows off Easter Eggs and his mastery of in-game challenges, and watch as he tries to record his best 2-minute single run score ever!

Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge Event Time and Dates

Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge will take place on Thursday, February 18 at 5pm PT/8pm ET/1am GMT (2/19). The event will run for about 30 minutes. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/tony-hawks-pro-skater-12-review"]

How to Watch Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge

We'll be hosting Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge on our channels across a variety of platforms including IGN.com, YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter. Here's the full list of places you can watch Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/26/tony-hawks-12-remaster-developers-react-to-speedrun"]

Here's How You Could Win in Pacifico's Tony Hawk Pro Skater Challenge Sweepstakes

Pacifico wants to share their love of gaming with fans and will be running a sweepstakes where 30 lucky winners will receive a Astro A40 headset and a grand prize winner will receive a gaming pack which includes: a branded next-gen console, Co-branded Gaming Headset w/ Tags, Gaming Chair, 55-Inch 4k Smart TV, and a signed copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. All you have to do to enter is share your highest score on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 with Pacifico! Follow @PacificoBeer, direct message them proof via Instagram or reply to their tweet on Twitter including #PacificoTonyHawkProSkaterChallenge and #Sweepstakes. The drawing will be random and is not based on gameplay performance. The sweepstakes will run from February 18 - March 4. There's no purchase necessary. The sweepstakes is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are 21+. See rules at pacificotonyhawk.dja.com.

Red Room: Exclusive Preview of Ed Piskor’s ‘Splatterpunk’ Horror Comic

Artist Ed Piskor has built a reputation crafting some of the most visually inventive comics on the stands, including books like X-Men: Grand Design and Hip-Hop Family Tree. Now Piskor is making the jump to creator-owned horror with Red Room. IGN can debut an exclusive preview of the first issue of Red Room. See more in the slideshow gallery below, though beware of some slightly NSFW content! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=red-room-1-exclusive-preview&captions=true"] As you can probably tell from the distinctive black and white art style, Red Room is an homage to the classic horror comics of the 1950's, before the advent of the Comics Code Authority. In this twisted world, murder has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Brutal killings are livestreamed on the dark web to an ever-growing audience, and cryptocurrency makes killing a lucrative business. Red Room will focus on a number of standalone but interconnected stories exploring this seedy world of death and depravity. “Red Room is a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk comic that you can't unsee once you feast your eyes on the mayhem,” said Piskor in Fantagraphics' press release. “Think of Red Room as modern day E.C. Comics, infused with the dream of Black Mirror. These are subversive, stand alone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative.” “This is no-holds-barred cartooning,” Piskor continued. “Fantagraphics is the perfect publisher for this book, because Gary Groth is a fighter. I’m going to push the boundaries with this book and I knew I needed to have a publisher that will unequivocally have my back.” Red Room will run for 12 issues in total, with the oversized first issue clocking in at 64 pages and the remaining issues 32 pages each. Fantagraphics will also collect the series in a trio of trade paperbacks beginning in Fall 2021. Red Room #1 is priced at $6.99 and is scheduled for release on May 19, 2021. You can preorder the book through the official Fantagraphics website. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/comixologys-snow-angels-exclusive-official-trailer"] Red Room is one of many promising horror comics making their debut in 2021. Recently we've also gotten new glimpses of Scott Snyder and Tony Daniel's Nocterra, Jeff Lemire and Jock's comiXology Unlimited-exclusive series Snow Angels and Tales From the Outerverse, the latest addition to Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden's Baltimore universe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Red Room: Exclusive Preview of Ed Piskor’s ‘Splatterpunk’ Horror Comic

Artist Ed Piskor has built a reputation crafting some of the most visually inventive comics on the stands, including books like X-Men: Grand Design and Hip-Hop Family Tree. Now Piskor is making the jump to creator-owned horror with Red Room. IGN can debut an exclusive preview of the first issue of Red Room. See more in the slideshow gallery below, though beware of some slightly NSFW content! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=red-room-1-exclusive-preview&captions=true"] As you can probably tell from the distinctive black and white art style, Red Room is an homage to the classic horror comics of the 1950's, before the advent of the Comics Code Authority. In this twisted world, murder has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Brutal killings are livestreamed on the dark web to an ever-growing audience, and cryptocurrency makes killing a lucrative business. Red Room will focus on a number of standalone but interconnected stories exploring this seedy world of death and depravity. “Red Room is a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk comic that you can't unsee once you feast your eyes on the mayhem,” said Piskor in Fantagraphics' press release. “Think of Red Room as modern day E.C. Comics, infused with the dream of Black Mirror. These are subversive, stand alone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative.” “This is no-holds-barred cartooning,” Piskor continued. “Fantagraphics is the perfect publisher for this book, because Gary Groth is a fighter. I’m going to push the boundaries with this book and I knew I needed to have a publisher that will unequivocally have my back.” Red Room will run for 12 issues in total, with the oversized first issue clocking in at 64 pages and the remaining issues 32 pages each. Fantagraphics will also collect the series in a trio of trade paperbacks beginning in Fall 2021. Red Room #1 is priced at $6.99 and is scheduled for release on May 19, 2021. You can preorder the book through the official Fantagraphics website. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/comixologys-snow-angels-exclusive-official-trailer"] Red Room is one of many promising horror comics making their debut in 2021. Recently we've also gotten new glimpses of Scott Snyder and Tony Daniel's Nocterra, Jeff Lemire and Jock's comiXology Unlimited-exclusive series Snow Angels and Tales From the Outerverse, the latest addition to Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden's Baltimore universe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Black Widow: Disney Still Has No Plans to Release on Streaming

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has confirmed that Marvel's Black Widow is still targeting a theatrical release rather than going directly to streaming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chapek confirmed on an investor call on Thursday that the upcoming Marvel superhero movie starring Scarlett Johansson is still set for a theatrical release rather than a Disney+ debut, though he also expressed that the company will remain flexible with its theatrical release calendar and will reassess release strategies if and when required. "We are still intending for it to be a theatrical release," Chapek stated during Disney's quarterly earnings call this week, as he reaffirmed the company's commitment to releasing Black Widow on the big screen before touching further on the company's surveillance of the situation, saying, "We are going to be watching very carefully to see whether that strategy needs to be revisited." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/10/black-widow-final-trailer-breakdown-taskmaster-theories"] While Chapek reiterated the company's intentions to release Black Widow theatrically, he didn't confirm whether the movie will be released on May 7, 2021, as scheduled, or if it will face another pushback over the coming months. Per THR, Chapek outlined some of the factors that the company will be monitoring, including the status of theater closures, as well as audience demand for the theatrical experience. For a while now, speculation has been rife over whether Black Widow may debut on Disney+, with rumors accelerating shortly after Disney started to change course with a number of its other planned theatrical releases. Mulan premiered on Disney+ in September for a premium price of $29.99, while Pixar's Soul skipped theaters and headed to streaming in December at no additional cost. Disney continued to reassess its release plans as we entered the new year, with the company announcing in January that Robert Zemeckis' live-action remake of Pinocchio had been shifted to a Disney+ release. This news came shortly after a report circulated which suggested that the company had been mulling over Disney+ premieres for some of its upcoming tentpole family movies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Black Widow's May 7, 2021 release date is almost exactly one year after its original May 1, 2020 release date. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first prompted Disney to push Black Widow to November 6, 2020, before the company decided to shift that date again. However, it was reported in March of last year, via an unnamed Marvel insider, that "pushing Black Widow affects nothing on the MCU timeline." For more on the studio's future slate of projects and releases, read our breakdown of the biggest and most noteworthy developments in the MCU, on Disney+, and in Marvel's comics this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Black Widow: Disney Still Has No Plans to Release on Streaming

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has confirmed that Marvel's Black Widow is still targeting a theatrical release rather than going directly to streaming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chapek confirmed on an investor call on Thursday that the upcoming Marvel superhero movie starring Scarlett Johansson is still set for a theatrical release rather than a Disney+ debut, though he also expressed that the company will remain flexible with its theatrical release calendar and will reassess release strategies if and when required. "We are still intending for it to be a theatrical release," Chapek stated during Disney's quarterly earnings call this week, as he reaffirmed the company's commitment to releasing Black Widow on the big screen before touching further on the company's surveillance of the situation, saying, "We are going to be watching very carefully to see whether that strategy needs to be revisited." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/10/black-widow-final-trailer-breakdown-taskmaster-theories"] While Chapek reiterated the company's intentions to release Black Widow theatrically, he didn't confirm whether the movie will be released on May 7, 2021, as scheduled, or if it will face another pushback over the coming months. Per THR, Chapek outlined some of the factors that the company will be monitoring, including the status of theater closures, as well as audience demand for the theatrical experience. For a while now, speculation has been rife over whether Black Widow may debut on Disney+, with rumors accelerating shortly after Disney started to change course with a number of its other planned theatrical releases. Mulan premiered on Disney+ in September for a premium price of $29.99, while Pixar's Soul skipped theaters and headed to streaming in December at no additional cost. Disney continued to reassess its release plans as we entered the new year, with the company announcing in January that Robert Zemeckis' live-action remake of Pinocchio had been shifted to a Disney+ release. This news came shortly after a report circulated which suggested that the company had been mulling over Disney+ premieres for some of its upcoming tentpole family movies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Black Widow's May 7, 2021 release date is almost exactly one year after its original May 1, 2020 release date. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first prompted Disney to push Black Widow to November 6, 2020, before the company decided to shift that date again. However, it was reported in March of last year, via an unnamed Marvel insider, that "pushing Black Widow affects nothing on the MCU timeline." For more on the studio's future slate of projects and releases, read our breakdown of the biggest and most noteworthy developments in the MCU, on Disney+, and in Marvel's comics this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Halo Wars 3 Not in the Works, Leaving Open Rumours of a Different Spin-Off

Update: Earlier this week, Halo community manager John Junyszek confirmed that the job listings suggesting a new Halo project were in the works were in fact using boilerplate language the company uses for job listings. It was in fact referring to Halo: Infinite, not a new project. "I did some digging and was able to confirm that this is a role for Halo Infinite. It's our standard boilerplate language for job listings. We saw the same attention on a posting last summer before we confirmed it was for Infinite as well," Junyszek said in response to a Twitter post addressing the potential spinoff. Original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 343 Industries has confirmed that it is not working on another Halo Wars game. After job listings suggested an unannounced Halo project is in the works, the announcement leaves open speculation about a less expected spin-off. In this week's Halo Community Update, the 343 team was clear about the future of the Halo Wars sub-series: "343 Industries has no current plans for further Halo Wars 2 work including content updates, balance patches, bringing the title to other platforms, or a new game in the series [...] There is no plan for the development team to re-engage with Halo Wars 2 and we aren’t working on a new game in the series at this time." However, if you are a fan, there was a glimmer of hope. "We’re specifically never going to say never because, well, who knows what the future may bring." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/08/unannounced-halo-game-seemingly-in-development-ign-news"] This is especially interesting given that we reported on a job listing earlier this week that suggested there was a "new project in the Halo universe" in development – a project many took to mean a Halo Wars 3 was on the way. With that possibility now closed, speculation is more open – perhaps the team is moving onto a new spin-off, or a separate Halo game as the rest of the studio wraps up its work on Halo Infinite. Previous unconfirmed rumours suggested that there could be a spin-off in the works focusing on Halo 5's Fireteam Osiris. As for what we'd like to see – what about a Halo horror game? Officially, the blog post claims that the talent behind Halo Wars is shifting its focus onto supporting the Master Chief Collection "and plenty of ongoing work to support the Halo franchise." There's also the small matter of Halo Infinite, which is set to come out later this year in Fall 2021. "The majority of the studio is incredibly focused working towards Halo Infinite’s launch (and you may have also heard, 'launch is only the beginning')," the blog post reads. We'll bring you more as we learn it. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Halo Wars 3 Not in the Works, Leaving Open Rumours of a Different Spin-Off

343 Industries has confirmed that it is not working on another Halo Wars game. After job listings suggested an unannounced Halo project is in the works, the announcement leaves open speculation about a less expected spin-off. In this week's Halo Community Update, the 343 team was clear about the future of the Halo Wars sub-series: "343 Industries has no current plans for further Halo Wars 2 work including content updates, balance patches, bringing the title to other platforms, or a new game in the series [...] There is no plan for the development team to re-engage with Halo Wars 2 and we aren’t working on a new game in the series at this time." However, if you are a fan, there was a glimmer of hope. "We’re specifically never going to say never because, well, who knows what the future may bring." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/08/unannounced-halo-game-seemingly-in-development-ign-news"] This is especially interesting given that we reported on a job listing earlier this week that suggested there was a "new project in the Halo universe" in development – a project many took to mean a Halo Wars 3 was on the way. With that possibility now closed, speculation is more open – perhaps the team is moving onto a new spin-off, or a separate Halo game as the rest of the studio wraps up its work on Halo Infinite. Previous unconfirmed rumours suggested that there could be a spin-off in the works focusing on Halo 5's Fireteam Osiris. As for what we'd like to see – what about a Halo horror game? Officially, the blog post claims that the talent behind Halo Wars is shifting its focus onto supporting the Master Chief Collection "and plenty of ongoing work to support the Halo franchise." There's also the small matter of Halo Infinite, which is set to come out later this year in Fall 2021. "The majority of the studio is incredibly focused working towards Halo Infinite’s launch (and you may have also heard, 'launch is only the beginning')," the blog post reads. We'll bring you more as we learn it. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Kickstarter Hit Eiyuden Chronicle to Be Published by 505 Games

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, the spiritual successor to Suikoden, will be published by 505 Games, with the developers promising "even higher quality" as a result of the partnership. The publisher revealed its partnership with Rabbit & Bear Studios in a YouTube video published earlier this week. Studio Lead Yoshitaka Murayama thanked fans for their support, adding "With this partnership, I believe that we can deliver Eiyuden Chronicle to our fans, following the original concept with even higher quality standards." Murayama also said that Eiyuden Chronicle was the "first of hopefully many games" the team wish to bring to fans around the world. Eiyuden Chronicle benefitted from an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign in 2020, where it surpassed its goal in one day and became the third-most successful Kickstarter video game, raising over $4.5 million. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/24/eiyuden-chronicle-hundred-heroes-gameplay-teaser"] As for what players can expect from the game, a press release notes that it will feature "a traditional 6-character battle system utilizing painstakingly created 2D sprites and gorgeous 3D backgrounds with a deep and intricate story written by master storyteller Murayama." Eiyuden Chronicle is a JRPG with a 2.5D visual style, featuring over 100 heroes to recruit, as alluded to in the game's title. Rabbit & Bear has said that it chose 505 as a publisher due to its work on the PC releases of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (another hugely successful Kickstarter spiritual successor) and Death Stranding. The team at Rabbit & Bear is stocked full of veteran Japanese developers with credits on game series like Suikoden, Wild Arms, Tales of and Castlevania. Eiyuden was originally planned for PC, but after meeting stretch goals in the Kickstarter campaign, consoles were "unlocked" and it's thought that the game will land on PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch (or a Switch successor) when it's ready. As for a potential release window, fans will have to wait. Murayama noted that Rabbit & Bear will be publishing more information via the game's official social channels. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN, who loves the cute Rabbit & Bear logo.  Follow him on Twitter.