For those looking to re-experience the acclaimed trilogy or jump in for the first time, EA and BioWare have announced that the Mass Effect Legendary Edition collection will be available worldwide on May 14 for PC via Origin and Steam, PS4, and Xbox One. While there won't be specific next-gen versions available, the Legendary Edition will be available to play on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S via backward compatibility. EA has confirmed that the Legendary Edition includes the single-player content for Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, along with more than 40 pieces of downloadable content, including story expansions, weapons, and armor packs, and all the content will be playable in 4K Ultra HD with HDR according to EA. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/mass-effect-legendary-edition-is-now-available-for-preorder"] The entire collection includes "remastered character models and tens of thousands of up-rezzed textures. Improvements to shaders and VFX, updated lighting and improved dynamic shadows, volumetrics and depth-of-field" according to the announcement, with pre-rendered cinematics also enhanced. Specifically for the original Mass Effect, EA announced it will have "comprehensive world-building enhancements with added detail and depth to locations like Eden Prime, Ilos and Feros," alongside improved interfaces and UI, plus a ton of quality of life additions. EA has also confirmed that the original Mass Effect's combat and exploration have been "modernized" with better aiming, squad controls and behavior, Mako handling, and cameras. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-mass-effect-review&captions=true"] Character creator options will work across all three games, and those creation options include "improved and expanded selection of hair, makeup, and skin tone options," with Female Shepard from ME3 becoming the default female Shepard option for all three games. For more on the Legendary Edition, find out why Mass Effect won't have dedicated PS5 and Xbox Series versions, and learn about how the devs are treating the canon ending of Mass Effect 3 in the Legendary Edition. The Legendary Edition previously went up for preorder early in January, following the Mass Effect trilogy's return announcement last November. And it's not the only project in the franchise in the works - alongside the Legendary Edition's announcement, BioWare confirmed a "veteran team" is working on a new Mass Effect, too. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

When Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches in May, it will include all of the content from the original Mass Effect Trilogy and its DLC -- including, BioWare confirmed, the Extended Cut's additional fourth ending. Speaking to IGN, project director Mac Walters said the decision stemmed from a desire to include as much of the DLC content as possible within the collection as if players had downloaded that content from the outset. "For the people who had an extended cut, that became the experience for them, and so that will be the experience for everyone who is playing the Legendary Edition as well," he said. "And ultimately...you finish a game and there are things you wish you had been able to do or things you want to add on, and to me that Extended Cut was that opportunity to add a little bit more love and a little bit more context around the ending. So to me that is part of the canon." Mass Effect 3's endings were famously controversial upon release, with director Casey Hudson defending the game at the time. The subsequent Expanded Cut was released to add more context to those endings: " It does not fundamentally change the endings," read a 2012 press release, "but rather it expands on the meaning of the original endings, and reveals greater detail on the impact of player decisions." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/mass-effect-legendary-edition-official-trailer"] Walters also confirmed to IGN that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition would not only include content added to the original games later via DLC, but would also include a few small, brand new tweaks to gameplay -- specifically to certain boss fights that were unnecessarily frustrating for players. As an example, Walters pointed to the fight against Asari Matriarch Benezia in Mass Effect 1. "A lot of people were very frustrated due to a number of things: there's the lack of cover in that fight so you're constantly getting flanked; her ability to almost immobilize you almost right off the bat," he said. "So tuning some of those. Not so much that the fight isn't still a hard fight -- it should be a hard fight -- but just so that you couldn't be knocked completely on your back right away. "And also, just on the frustration side of it, adding in discrete autosaves at certain points as well. I believe in that one specifically you had to backtrack quite a ways if you lost that fight, and now if you lose it first time, you just start over with the fight; you don't have to go through all the scenes. So things like that. And then it would vary depending on the boss fight what we would try to do, a lot of times it's around just making sure the player has enough cover and then tuning things accordingly." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/mass-effect-legendary-edition-is-now-available-for-preorder"] Today, BioWare announced that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will launch on May 14, 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and while it is forward-compatible with next-gen consoles, the studio also confirmed today it does not currently have plans for a dedicated next-gen release or optimization patch. Legendary Edition includes all single-player base and DLC content from the original Mass Effect trilogy, remastered with improvements such as better framerate and 4K Ultra HD optimization. It's available for pre-order now using our pre-order guide, and you can read our first impressions of the collection here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter with IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Quantic Dream, the studio behind AAA narrative adventures like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, has long been one of France’s most famous video game developers. Now, they’re expanding into North America with the announcement of a new studio in Montreal, Canada. Founded by David Cage in 1997, Quantic Dream has made a name for itself with story-driven, graphically sophisticated titles, most recently with Detroit: Become Human. For its Montreal studio, Square Enix Montreal founder and Eidos Montreal alumn Stéphane D’Astous has been tapped as General Manager for the new location. Yohan Cazaux, Project Lead Designer on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, will also join as Gameplay Director for a new, unannounced project in development at Quantic Dream. IGN spoke exclusively with Quantic Dream founder and CEO David Cage, Co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumière, and D’Astous about the new Montreal location, Quantic Dream’s goals for the location, and its future now that it is a third-party studio. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=quantic-dream-montreal&captions=true"]

The Relationship Between Quantic Dream Montreal and Paris

Quantic Dream games have been lauded for innovations in technology and visual storytelling. As such, there’s often a long time between the release of Quantic Dream titles. Cage says that despite opening a new, “human-sized” studio, the goal isn't simply to make games faster: “With this opening, we are following a long-term vision to seek the best and most experienced talents having specific expertise, people who are passionate and want to work on innovative and ambitious AAA games. Our goal is not to expand, nor accelerate cadence and become a 'factory' with this new studio.” D’Astous agreed, adding, “Time and schedule are obviously an important factor in developing AAA games, but please do not think by adding a second studio we will cut the dev phase in two. The ambition of our next game is great and we will release it when it is ready, as we have all other games that were released from Quantic Dream.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/12/09/detroit-become-human-gameplay-demo"] Rather than two studios, D’Astous says Montreal and Paris are “one unified body located in two regional hubs.” As such, the two offices will collaborate on “the same new unannounced AAA title.” “We have structured the relationship between the two entities so that they work together as one team with a distinctive core perimeter on both sides in order to build this project together,” D’Astous says. Something that helped the process of collaboration — not just between Montreal and Paris, but all Quantic Dream developers — were the new COVID-19 protocols that allowed the studio to recruit new talent who didn’t want to live in Paris but can still collaborate with the studio remotely.

Quantic Dream Goes Multi-Platform

In 2020, Quantic Dream announced that after 12 years the studio will no longer be make PlayStation exclusive games, instead returning to multi-platform development. Although developing for a single platform allowed the developers to focus on optimizing for one piece of hardware and controller, Cage says the studio’s internal tools and pipelines were using their PC engine, so multi-platform development is not new. The challenge is actually in next-gen game development, which Cage says requires new pipelines and new tech. “This is the reason why we keep investing in our infrastructure… we are always looking for the best talent to reinforce our R&D department, which today is 60 staff strong. We also secured funding to compete with the best AAA studios in the world.” As part of this commitment, Cage says Quantic Dream renewed its motion capture studio, added a 7.1 surround sound studio, and is building a high-end photogrammetry studio. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/03/01/heavy-rain-official-launch-trailer"] When asked what about next-gen tech Cage finds exciting to work with, he says that it’s actually lighting which excited him the most. “As cinema showed, [lighting] is a language by itself. Hardware always had heavy constraints that altered the quality of real-time rendering, but it feels like the present generation of consoles will see a real gap in this area with new features like ray-tracing.” Other focuses include improved AI, dynamic destruction, more interactive environments, and even increased crowd sizes. “We’ve reached a point where the limits will be the imagination of the developers,” Cage says.

Quantic Dream’s Unannounced AAA Game

But what about the new unannounced AAA game? Will it be a similar narrative-style game as past Quantic Dream games? Details are being kept hidden, but Cage tells IGN that he and the developers are interested in new genres and directions. “As a designer, my professional journey made me discover that I really enjoy telling interactive stories in which players are the heroes, that creating emotion in a game is something challenging and fascinating, that I love to create meaningful experiences questioning players’ moral values... But I also believe that there are other ways of telling moving and emotional stories that we haven’t tried out yet, and I am really interested in exploring new directions.” At 51 years old, Cage says he is not at the stage in his career where he wants to “milk the cow, and just make more games in the style that we created in the past.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-quantic-dream-review&captions=true"] “Each game has its own language, its own voice, and repeating things that worked in the past is not necessarily a good recipe to move forward,” says Cage. “You can expect a continuity in our intentions, but we also want to continue experimenting and trying new ideas. This is what our team really likes, and I think what our fans also expect from us.” D’Astous says that with the studio’s next game, “we hope, will demonstrate our ongoing pursuit to craft superior-quality and innovative games enjoyed by millions.”

As a Third-Party Publisher

Quantic Dream also announced in 2019 that it will work as a publisher as well as a developer. Guillaume de Fondaumière says the Montreal location will help Quantic Dream set up a publishing presence in North America so that the studio can release both internal and third-party titles worldwide. “We are interested in publishing games in any genre, as long as they are original and creative, and that they stand out,” says de Fondaumière. “We offer these studios funding and publishing capability, of course, but most importantly perhaps, also creative and development support, access to our infrastructure and expertise in different technical and artistic fields, and much more.” Quantic Dream is already working with Jo-Mei studio on Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut and Red Thread Games on Dustborn.

Fostering a Healthy Studio Culture

In 2018, investigative reports alleged that Quantic Dream’s Paris office fostered a toxic corporate culture. One of the most damning allegations was from the studio’s head of IT who filed a complaint that claimed photoshopped images of employees featuring racist, sexist, and homophobic elements were created by some staff and distributed around the office. After the matter was brought to a Parisian labor tribunal, the Paris Labor Court awarded the former employee €7,000 who was photoshopped doing a Nazi salute. In a statement, Quantic Dream said the fine was for a “security obligation,” and not over any deterioration in working conditions for the employee. Though Le Monde quoted the judge in the tribunal chastising Quantic Dream’s management for “remaining passive in the face of this more than questionable practice[.]” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/01/15/quantic-dream-under-fire-over-inappropriate-studio-culture-ign-news"] When asked how Quantic Dream will foster a healthy work environment in its new studio, Cage first said that “all allegations about our studio have been indisputably proven wrong by verifiable facts, independent audits, the French Labor Court, state agencies, independent journalistic investigations, and by our employees themselves.” Cage says Quantic Dream has built a diverse team who are also shareholders in the company, owning 10% of the capital – a benefit that will be extended to its Montreal employees. Nevertheless, Cage says that the employees at Quantic Dream have a variety of tools to build a healthy work environment. There are dedicated representatives who accept any issue anonymously, and there is a third-party anonymous investigation into the company every year. As for the new studio, Cage says there will be a dedicated human resource team “operating locally whose mission is to specifically ensure that any workplace issues that may arise are dealt with in a swift and professional manner.” Management will also undergo harassment training in both Paris and Montreal “to be best prepared, to better know, to identify, and to best react to such incidents, if they ever were to happen at our studio.” "We are very proud of our team spirit, our collaborators are very attached to the studio, its ambition, its projects, its culture of excellence through passion, and work through friendships,” Cage says. “These are some of the values that we will share with our studio in Montreal.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

IGN is excited to debut the first trailer for Justice Society: World War II, due out later this year on Blu-ray and Digital from Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the movie is officially described as a "time-skipping World War II thriller" that sees Barry Allen's travel back in time thanks to his first encounter with the Speed Force. You can watch our exclusive trailer debut for Justice Society: World War II in the player below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/justice-society-world-war-ii-exclusive-official-trailer"] This is the 42nd entry in the DC Universe Movie franchise and the first to feature this Golden Age superhero team. The Justice Society previously appeared in various live-action incarnations on television in Smallville, The CW's Arrowverse, and Stargirl. Justice Society will make their live-action big-screen debut in Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson. As detailed in our explainer on DC's Justice Society of America, they are "a classic Golden Age superhero team -- the first superhero team actually -- that was born out of the minds of Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox. The team debuted in 1941's All-Star Comics #3 -- predating the Justice League by almost two decades." This official synopsis sheds some additional light on the new animated film's plot:

"Justice Society: World War II finds modern-day Barry Allen – prior to the formation of the Justice League – discovering he can run even faster than he imagined, and that milestone results in his first encounter with the Speed Force. The Flash is promptly launched into the midst of a raging battle – primarily between Nazis and a team of Golden Age DC Super Heroes known as The Justice Society of America. Led by Wonder Woman, the group includes Hourman, Black Canary, Hawkman, Steve Trevor and the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. The Flash quickly volunteers to assist his fellow heroes in tipping the scales of war in their favor, while the team tries to figure out how to send him home. But it won’t be easy as complications and emotions run deep in this time-skipping World War II thriller."

Justice Society: World War II's voice ensemble is led by Stana Katic and Matt Bomer, who made their DC Universe Movies debuts starring opposite each other as Lois Lane and Superman in the 2013 film Superman: Unbound. As you can see from the full cast list below, Katic and Bomer are not reprising their Superman roles in Justice Society: World War II:

• Stana Katic (Castle) as Wonder Woman
• Matt Bomer (Doom Patrol) as The Flash
• Elysia Rotaru (Arrow) as Black Canary
• Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley) as Steve Trevor
• Omid Abtahi (American Gods, The Mandalorian) as Hawkman
• Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Overwatch) as Hourman
• Armen Taylor (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) as Jay Garrick
• Liam McIntyre (The Flash, Spartacus, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War) as Aquaman
• Geoffrey Arend (Batman: Hush) as Charles Halstead/Advisor
• Ashleigh LaThrop (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Iris West
• Keith Ferguson (Overwatch) as Dr. Fate
• Darin De Paul (Overwatch, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge) as Franklin Delano Roosevelt

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-society-world-war-ii&captions=true"] Behind the scenes, Butch Lukic serves as Supervising Producer with Sam Register as Executive Producer. Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) and Kimberly S. Moreau (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) are producers. Justice Society: World War II is directed by Jeff Wamester (Guardians of the Galaxy TV series) from a screenplay by Supernatural's Meghan Fitzmartin and Jeremy Adams. Included with the purchase of Justice Society: World War II is the new animated short Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, one of four newly announced DC animated short films.

Bungie has revealed Destiny 2 Season 13, the Season of the Chosen - and given us a look at what's coming. Launching on February 9 and running until May 11, Season of the Chosen will introduce new strikes, new gear, and an all-new mode called Battlegrounds. Battlegrounds is a three-player matchmade activity where players "will engage in ritual combat" against the warriors of the Cabal. Old and new strikes will also be peppered throughout Season 13, with Destiny strikes Devil's Lair and Fallen S.A.B.E.R. returning at the start of the season, and a new strike called Proving Grounds unlocking later, which will "determine the fate of the Last City." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/destiny-2-beyond-light-season-of-the-chosen-official-trailer"] Players who own the Destiny 2 Season Pass will unlock the Praefectus Armor Set and an Exotic bow called Ticcu's Divination, which launches Solar arrows that can track "several targets at once." Over 25 new weapons will also be added alongside the Season Pass additions. The story of Season 13 centres around a political feud between Empress Caiatl and Zavala. "With the Pyramids and Xivu Arath destabilizing the system, Empress Caiatl, leader of the Cabal and daughter of Calus, seeks an alliance. But when she demands more than Zavala can offer, negotiations collapse." Guardians will do battle with Caiatl's growing war council to stabilize the situation. In other Destiny 2 news, the community has raised concerns over Bungie's plans for PC and console crossplay. Bungie recently filed a lawsuit alongside Riot, targeting cheat-making companies allegedly creating software hacks for Destiny 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

FIFA 21 is coming to Stadia in March, and EA has extended its exclusive license to UEFA content, including the Champions League and Europa League competitions. A press release from Electronic Arts reveals that FIFA 21 will come to Google Stadia on March 17, as part of EA's plan to make FIFA games accessible across more platforms. That comes alongside expanding release regions for FIFA Online 4 - a free-to-play, downloadable version of the core game currently only available in Asia. The company is also working on "multiple in-development mobile offerings" under the FIFA brand. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/fifa-21-review"] The news also included the announcement of a multiyear license extension brokered between UEFA and EA Sports which resecures FIFA's exclusive license to the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup tournaments in-game. EA first picked up the UEFA license in 2018, bringing to a close Pro Evolution Soccer's 10-year partnership with the organisation. According to EA, the FIFA franchise has now sold more than 325 million units over its lifetime. Check out our review of FIFA 21, which we scored a 7, calling it a "year of small improvements." You can also find out the six key differences seen in the FIFA 21 next-gen patch, which launched on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles in December. In other Google Stadia news, Google recently revealed that it is shutting down its internal game studios in Los Angeles and Montreal, impacting 150 employees. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Nintendo reportedly scrapped a live-action Legend of Zelda series with Netflix after news of the project leaked and circulated online. As reported by Eurogamer, US comedian Adam Conover, who was working on a secret Star Fox claymation project around the same time, revealed that Nintendo canceled its proposed slate of video game adaptations with Netflix after someone from the company allegedly spread the word about the Zelda series. The Wall Street Journal shared details of the adaptation and Nintendo rescinded the show. "Suddenly there were reports Netflix wasn't going to do its Legend of Zelda anymore," Conover recently recalled, speaking on The Serf Times podcast. "I was like 'what happened?' And then I heard from my boss we weren't doing our Star Fox anymore. I was like 'what happened?' He was like, 'someone at Netflix leaked the Legend of Zelda thing.' They weren't supposed to talk about it, Nintendo freaked out... and they pulled the plug on everything, the entire programme to adapt these things." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/02/06/zelda-netflix-show-why-now-is-the-perfect-time"] News of the prospective live-action Legend of Zelda series with Netflix hit headlines back in 2015 when "a person familiar with the matter" reportedly told WSJ that the streamer had described the upcoming show as "Game of Thrones for a family audience," with a story that would follow Link's conquest to save Princess Zelda and the land of Hyrule. However, little more was said after that. In the years since then, video game adaptations have become big business on Netflix as the games market has experienced rapid growth, and interest in gaming has exploded even more so during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Netflix wants to be the service that players turn to when they need to take a break from gaming, and the streamer is making big moves to make it happen. For more on Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed, and other video game projects, check out our slideshow below or click through to our article about why we think Netflix is the best place for video game adaptations. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The PlayStation Wrap Up, a breakdown of all the hours played, Trophies earned, and more, returns to deliver all your 2020 gaming stats, including any time your account has spent on PS5 so far. You can head to the official PlayStation Wrap Up site to get your breakdown of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games you've played. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] PS4 stats are the primary focus, with the number of games and hours played, your top played games, hours spent locally vs. online, your average playtime every day of the week, and more. The Wrap Up also includes some generalized stats pulling from all PS4 player data for games like The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and MLB: The Show 20. Additionally, PS5 owners will see some stats as well, like top game and hours spent with it, total hours played, and the number of PS5-specific trophies earned. Players can also grab a free dynamic PS4 theme in honor of the Wrap Up. To actually access the information as well, PlayStation requires players to have a registered PSN account, be 18 years or older, and have at least played on a PS4 for 10 hours during the last calendar year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/the-state-of-playstation-studios-2021-update"] PlayStation's Wrap Up returns after previously offering players a look at Trophies, top games, and more for 2019. And while you're looking back at your PlayStation past, don't forget to look ahead to what's to come, including the current state of PlayStation studios and their active projects, the biggest games coming in 2021, and why PS5's 2021 lineup has us so excited. And for the latest on all things PlayStation, be sure to watch our weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Scientists have managed to engineer spinach plants to send emails when they detect explosive materials. Euronews picked up its trowel and dug through a Nature journal entry to provide details of the nanotechnology that has been used to transform wild-type plants, such as spinach, into infrared communication platforms capable of sending information to computers and smartphones through a process of sensor detection and wireless relay. MIT engineers experimented with a niche field of science known as "plant nanobionics" and discovered that, per the report, spinach roots can "detect the presence of nitroaromatics in groundwater, a compound often found in explosives like landmines, the carbon nanotubes within the plant leaves emit a signal." This signal can then be picked up by an infrared camera, sending an email to alert scientists. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/21/christopher-walken-has-never-sent-a-text"] "Plants are very good analytical chemists. They have an extensive root network in the soil, are constantly sampling groundwater, and have a way to self-power the transport of that water up into the leaves," Professor Michael Strano, who led the research, explained to the outlet. "This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant/human communication barrier." Initially, the research was conducted to understand whether wild-type plants could be bioengineered to detect explosive materials, however, scientists now believe that the nanotech could be stretched further afield, whilst still remaining in the field, to engineer plants to warn researchers about pollution and other potential environmental issues. The experiment findings were published in 2016 but the research recently resurfaced in headlines, sparking interest amongst social media users who immediately got the topic trending on Twitter.

Length of spinach's email. vs Content in spinach's email. pic.twitter.com/ZB1JoMHMZT

— Ólafur Waage (@olafurw) February 2, 2021

Have your spinach email my spinach and we’ll set something up pic.twitter.com/kdee9tUerM

— charles entertainment cheese (@jmurffff) February 2, 2021

This year is stressful enough, I refuse to get emails from salad pic.twitter.com/s5eiLlcTZi

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) February 2, 2021

Pressures really ramping up on my grandma to learn how to use her iPad now that spinach is sending emails

— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) February 2, 2021

For more technological developments and real-world discoveries, read about a new "cyborg" technology that is now one step closer to becoming a reality, find out more about Microsoft's patent filing to create chatbots that imitate dead people, and then check out this study about how brains process visual communication in films. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Design Director of Perfect Dark studio The Initiative has announced that he is leaving the project. The Initiative's Drew Murray revealed the news on Twitter (as spotted by VGC). Murray previously worked on Resistance, Ratchet & Clank and Sunset Overdrive at Insomniac Games before leaving in 2018 to help kickstart the Microsoft first-party studio. He is leaving to focus on his "life outside of work" and tweeted that the goodbye felt bittersweet after working with "such a talented and experienced team."

After two wild years helping start @TheInitiative @Xbox and rebooting #PerfectDark, it's time for me to say a tearful and bittersweet goodbye to my team at The Initiative. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/LIY9AQDyTV

— Drew Murray (@PlaidKnuckles) February 1, 2021

"The team has the vision and talent to knock the game and franchise out of the park," Murray tweeted in regards to the future of the project, noting that the reveal trailer still gives him goosebumps. Interestingly, Murray points out that, when he joined The Initiative, he wasn't aware that the team would be working on a Perfect Dark game. Murray says that the silver lining of this is that he will get to experience Perfect Dark as a fan on launch day. The Perfect Dark reboot project was announced in December of 2020 during The Game Awards and is promising to deliver an "eco sci-fi" first-person shooter. You can learn more about the game in our coverage of its reveal. Santa Monica-based studio The Initiative was revealed by Microsoft in 2018 and famously described as looking for 'AAAA' standards in job listings. The development team is currently being led by Darrell Gallagher, a veteran of Rockstar Games, Crystal Dynamics and Activision where he worked on games such as GTA IV and Tomb Raider. God of War Lead Producer Brian Westergaard and Red Dead Redemption Lead Writer Christian Cantamessa are also working at The Initiative, most likely contributing to Perfect Dark. It's part of Microsoft's growing roster of studios following its recent acquisition of Zenimax Media. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.