This week in Red Dead Online, claim triple rewards for selling black-tailed jackrabbit samples, a free care package, and more.

Adult Swim has announced that Rick and Morty Season 5 will begin airing on June 20. The first episode will premiere at 11pm ET/PT. Adult Swim have also announced that June 20 will also be Rick and Morty Day, a day-long celebration of the show that will offer behind-the-scenes footage, look aheads for the rest of the season, and “special surprises” across TV, digital, and social media platforms. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/30/rick-and-morty-season-5-official-trailer"] While Adult Swim will be the place to watch the new episodes, seasons 1-4 are all available now on HBO Max, should you need to catch up before June. To see where the show is going, check out our first look at Rick and Morty Season 5. Dan Harmon, the creator of the show, is also working on a new comedy set in Ancient Greece. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Star Wars: The Bad Batch will open with a 70-minute premiere episode – and we got a new poster and trailer today too, including some familiar faces. In the description of a new trailer for the Disney+ animated series, it's explained that the show "makes its debut on Tuesday, May 4, with a special 70-minute premiere, followed by new episodes every Friday starting on May 7." The new trailer (below) showed off Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair in action – showing them performing for an unimpressed Grand Moff Tarkin before what seems to be an escape from their Kamino home. We also see characters who'll appear alongside the clones, including an unnamed Kamino child that seems be along for the ride, the young Saw Gerrera (playbe by Andrew Kishino, reprising his role from The Clone Wars series), and The Mandalorian's Fennec Shand (played by Ming-Na Wen). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/30/star-wars-the-bad-batch-official-trailer-2"] The Bad Batch focuses on a group of five clones created to serve the nascent Empire, officially known as Clone Force 99. Each clone has been created with a specific skill in mind, but they also come with a rebellious streak, leading to them being branded enemies of the state and going rogue. All five clones will be played by Dee Bradley Baker. The trailer was accompanied by a new poster, below: [caption id="attachment_2493618" align="alignnone" width="960"] Star Wars: The Bad Batch poster (Source: Disney)[/caption] The Bad Batch will premiere on Star Wars Day, and will act as a continuation of sorts the now-concluded Clone Wars series. It's one of a number of Star ars projects in production, including a Rogue One prequel series focused on Diego Luna's Cassian Andor, an Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor and a mysterious female-led series from Russian Doll's Leslye Headland. The Kenobi series yesterday announced an all-star cast including Hayden Christensen, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, and many more. It will begin shooting in April. [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.

Last week, Nintendo and Niantic revealed that they had partnered once again to release a Pikmin Augmented Reality game similar to Pokémon Go, with the goal being "to make walking more delightful." Niantic has begun testing its Nintendo-partnered Pikmin Augmented Reality app in Singapore and, via an anonymous source, IGN has seen the early version of the game, currently simply titled 'Pikmin App', and read through its help centre section for a rundown of the game. As a result, we can reveal some details about how it will work when it launches worldwide. Of course, with the game in testing, some features could change before the final version). Two features that will almost certainly change from this version are a lack of any microtransactions, and Points of Interest (similar to Pokémon Go's Pokestops) being currently non-interactable. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/pikmin-3-deluxe-review"]

Gameplay

Pikmin are first seen as dormant seedlings that you must find, pluck and grow by walking around the real world with your smartphone. Walking accumulates energy which you can use to pluck and collect the Pikmin, adding them to your squad (and you can manually rename Pikmin too). Places of Interest in the Pikmin App may well be based on Ingress' Portals and not Pokémon Go's Pokestops. Once Pikmin have grown, they can be added to a Squad (not unlike Pokémon Go's parties). Once you've got a Pikmin squad, if you walk with them they will accumulate fruits that can be turned into Nectar. Just like the mainline Pikmin games, Pikmin who partake in the nectar will bloom leaves, buds, and flowers, and when the flowers glow, players can collect petals by tapping the bloomed Pikmin. Petals are used for the Flower Planting mode, described below. Different Pikmin offer different coloured petals, and petals have a recovery period before you can collect them again. Collected Pikmin also have life meters, represented by small hearts. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/29/harry-potter-wizards-unite-review"]

Modes

There are a number of modes in the Pikmin app. Expedition mode allows players to send their collected Pikmin to locations that they have previously visited in the app to collect seedlings, fruit and postcards. Postcards will depict Pikmin on their adventures framed against a picture of a real-world location submitted by Pokémon Go and Ingress users. Players will be able to report and remove inappropriate postcards. A Flower Planting mode is also available, which will leave a trail of flowers behind the player as they walk. Players will need Flower Petals from their Nectar-bloomed Pikmin to partake in this mode, which will make Seedlings easier to find and improve Pikmin growth speed. Players can plant flowers solo or with other users, and co-operative flower planting will let you share your data and your Pikmin squad with other players. If you are planting flowers, your flower trail will be visible to other players and will widen depending on how big your Pikmin squad is. Lifelog is a seciton of the app used to catalog your journeys in the game. Players will be able to see their stats and record activities, photos and thoughts in a journal reflecting on their adventures. Your Lifelog entries will include steps walked, flowers planted, places visited, photos captured, and any written entries you add. You'll also be able to see an animated summary of your progress in the app over the past day, with chances to earn more items in this mode if you've gone on some long walks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/12/pokemon-go-review"]

Pikmin Types

The game's help centre reveals the species of Pikmin in the game, each of which will have different characteristics (although those differences aren't described in detail here). The Pikmin species will include:

• Red Pikmin
• Blue Pikmin
• Yellow Pikmin
• Purple Pikmin
• White Pikmin
• Rock Pikmin
• Winged Pikmin

There's also a sub-category, Decor Pikmin. Decor Pikmin can be found in Big Seedlings, and regular Pikmin can transform into them after being interacted with. Decor Pikmin will wear special clothing reflective of the place in which you found them. It's not clear if they offer other benefits, or if they act as the Pikmin app's take on Shiny Pokémon. The Pikmin app is due to launch globally later this year, and we'd expect it to soft launch in more regions before the full launch. Niantic has also been teasing what seem to be AR glasses. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The pick rate for Dota 2 hero Dragon Knight has increased since Netflix launched its animated Dota show. While Dota 2 does not have a lead character among its roster of playable heroes, Dragon Knight is the star of Netflix’s Dota: Dragon’s Blood. And as PCGamesN points out, since the show was made available on March 24 the pick rate for Dragon Knight has spiked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/25/dota-dragons-blood-season-1-review"] Take a look at tracking website Dotabuff and you can see Dragon Knight’s pick rate currently sits at 8.7%, and peaked on March 27 at 9.2%. For comparison, the average hero pick rate is 8.33%, and Dragon Knight has typically trended below average by a few decimal points. While Dragon Knight is being played more often by players, the Netflix show does not appear to have encouraged new players to take up Valve’s second-most-popular game. Over the past month, SteamDB - the Steam database tracking site - shows a relatively unchanged set of peaks and troughs for the past few months. For more, check out our review of Dota: Dragon’s Blood, as well as our round-up of the best PC games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Netflix has released a new trailer for Shadow and Bone, its upcoming adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse fantasy novels. The latest trailer for the eight-part series summons fans to enter the Grishaverse as the Shadow and Bone premiere date inches ever closer. The thrilling new footage sheds light on a story that spans several warring countries, including in Ravka, a land that is split in half by a deadly magical anomaly known as the Shadow Fold, which is full of hideous, flesh-eating monsters known as volcra.

The sun has risen on the Grishaverse. She's real. Shadow & Bone premieres April 23, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/DacJu6WMyF

— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) March 30, 2021

Netflix's Shadow and Bone, premiering globally on the streaming service on April 23, will explore a war-torn world where Alina unleashes an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. However, with the monstrous threat of the Shadow Fold looming, Alina finds herself torn from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. Ultimately, Alina struggles to hone her power, as she discovers that allies and enemies can be one and the same and that nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. There are dangerous forces at play, including a crew of charismatic criminals, and it will take more than magic to survive in this world that has been cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/26/netflixs-shadow-and-bone-sneak-peek-fan-qa-w-cast-ign-fan-fest-2021"] The Netflix series will combine the stories of Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, both of which exist in the same universe, but take place at different points in the timeline, meaning that fans of the two fantasy book series will be able to witness the two stories come together to form a new cohesive narrative, with certain characters from the two timelines meeting each other. Jessie Mei Li stars as Alina Starkov, the central protagonist, alongside Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev, Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa, Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik, Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar, and Ben Barnes as General Kirigan, aka The Darkling, the power-hungry leader of the Second Army, a magical military regiment of Grisha soldiers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-shadow-and-bone-official-cast-and-character-photos&captions=true"] Shadow and Bone hits Netflix globally on April 23. If you're looking forward to the upcoming series, make sure to also check out the cast's breakdown of the teaser trailer as well as some of our favorite goofs, bloopers, and outtakes from the Shadow and Bone panel at IGN Fan Fest 2021. For more on Netflix's entertainment offerings as a whole, take a look at everything new coming to the platform in April. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection team was "unable to salvage" code for the original versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, meaning it had to include the newer Sigma versions of those games. That also means that we'll likely never see new versions of Ninja Gaiden Black or Ninja Gaiden 2 outside of their original Xbox home. Speaking to IGN, head of Team Ninja Fumihiko Yasuda explained the choice of the Sigma editions in Master Collection: "The reason we chose these 3 titles for the collection is because they represent the latest installments of the numbered series and they are also the most polished versions featuring many additional modes and costumes. Furthermore, when we worked on Sigma and Sigma 2, we went and collected as much of that data as possible and organized it. And since we could fully utilize this data, Sigma and Sigma 2 became clear choices for this collection. "However, we were unable to salvage the varying assortment of data we had left from Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2. And for that very reason, we currently don't have any plans of remastering Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 on non-Xbox platforms." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ninja-gaiden-master-collection-announcement-trailer"] The Sigma versions of Ninja Gaidens 1 and 2, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge all made changes to the original versions of the games (as well as Ninja Gaiden Black, itself a 'remixed' version of the original Ninja Gaiden). Yasuda made clear that the versions of those games inside the Master Collection would remain identical in terms of gameplay, but would see resolution and frame rate improvements depending on what platform players choose. However, multiplayer modes have been stripped out of Ninja Gaidens 2 and 3, a decision Yasuda said came down to resource constraints: "In order to perfectly replicate the online system used from the past, not only would it require a great deal of time and money, it would also place limitations on the platforms we could release it on. And given that dilemma we decided to increase the number of platforms we would release the collection on in order to reach as many players as possible rather than pursue the multiplayer feature." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/02/ninja-gaiden-black-lets-play-final-episode-will-we-die-at-the-very-end-part-10-ign-plays"] If the past of Ninja Gaiden is now constrained to the Sigma versions, what about the future of the franchise? It's been 9 years since the release of Ninja Gaiden 3, and we asked Yasuda if he'd like to make a new installment after the re-releases. "Well, while it is a remastered version, we were able to announce something new for the series," Yasuda replied, "and it's something I've been waiting a long time to do, so I'm very happy about that. We at Team Ninja are always thinking of ways to bring back the series. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection gathers together Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. It will arrive for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 10. [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.

Wizards of the Coast have suspended a freelance artist after discovering claims that they plagiarised fan art during the creation of artwork for a new Magic: The Gathering card. The art in question can be found on the new reprint of Crux of Fate, available as part of the new Strixhaven set. The card features an image of two dragons - Nicol Bolas and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - engaged in battle. The image of Nicol Bolas is almost identical to a piece of fan art created by Kitt Lapeña, which they uploaded to DeviantArt in 2016. Lapeña, who uses the name Scarypet online, posted a video to Twitter that demonstrates the lengths of the plagiarism. While the pose Nicol Bolas is positioned in on the card is not identical to Lapeña’s fan art, by simply rotating the dragon’s limbs you can see that the silhouette and even many of the fine details of the artwork are identical. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/07/magic-the-gathering-arena-first-gameplay-video"] In response, Wizards issued the following statement: “It has come to our attention that the card Crux of Fate from the Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archive may overtly feature Magic: The Gathering fan art and the contracted artist did not receive permission for this incorporation. These actions do not reflect the values of Wizards, and, as a result, we will be suspending future work with Jason Felix until we have been able to bring this matter to successful conclusion.” If you’re not a Magic: The Gathering player, you can try it out easily via its digital variant, Arena. Available on PC/Mac, it has also just come to iOS and Android. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Vankrupt Games, developer of the popular PC VR multiplayer shooter Pavlov VR, has revealed that the game is coming to Oculus Quest and PSVR 2. That makes it among the first games confirmed for Sony's new VR headset. The news was revealed on Twitter by Vankrupt CEO davevillz. The Quest/PSVR version of Pavlov will be called Pavlov Shack, and will cost $24 on the Oculus store as well as other platforms when it launches. The game will appear on Oculus App Lab first "and continue development as a free game" ahead of a final Oculus Store Launch. Davevillz also said that Vankrupt Games "got accepted as a partner" with PlayStation recently, and in a reply to a fan, clarified that the game will come to PSVR2, as "PSVR1 doesn't have the fidelity for Pavlov." The Pavlov Shack versions of the game will also feature cross-play with one another, but not with the current PC version of the game, which davevillz said "will never be crossplay."

Price has been decided as $24 for Shack in the Oculus Store and everywhere, we decided for price parity to have the less TOS conflicts across Steam, Oculus and Playstation (yes we just got accepted as a partner last week). Shack Beta will be free everywhere too where applicable.

— davevillz (@davevillz) March 29, 2021

The game's App Lab launch was said to be coming "soon" back in February. Davevillz replied "me too" to a fan who said they were waiting on the App Lab release, suggesting it's still on the way. Pavlov VR recently made our list of the 10 coolest Action VR games on Steam. Here is a clip from Pavlov Shack on Quest 2, with some players testing the game mode Trouble In Terrorist Town. Pavlov VR isn't the first game announced for PSVR 2 – the developer of sci-fi exploration game Low-Fi has previously said it will be coming to the platform. PSVR 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) was announced this month, and we've since seen its new haptic-enabled controllers. The headset itslf is still yeat to be shown, and we know it won't be coming this year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/06/igns-10-coolest-action-vr-games-on-steam"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Lawyers representing Sega have accused SteamDB, a database website that tracks games on Steam, of illegally distributing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In a post on Twitter, Pavel Djundik, creator of SteamDB, said: “[Sega’s] lawyers are trying to take down Yakuza: Like a Dragon's SteamDB page claiming that we distribute the game.”

Can anyone help getting in touch with SEGA?

Their lawyers are trying to take down Yakuza: Like a Dragon's SteamDB page claiming that we distribute the game. I took the page down because they did not reply to the first abuse report and sent a new one to our hoster. — Pavel Djundik (@thexpaw) March 29, 2021

The claim is incorrect, as SteamDB simply provides analytical information on the games available on Steam, rather than any actual games. “SteamDB does not support piracy,” said Djundik, in a follow-up Tweet. “It does not provide downloads, it does not sell keys, it does not link to any websites that do any of these activities.” It appears, then, that the situation is an accident/misunderstanding from Sega’s legal team. Djundik notes in his Twitter thread that SteamDB receives at least one DMCA takedown notice per year from companies that mistake the website for an illegal distributor rather than a database. He also notes that he is in touch with a representative of Sega of America to resolve the situation, although establishing contact with the company proved tricky. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/04/yakuza-like-a-dragon-review"] For now, the Yakuza: Like a Dragon page of SteamDB has been removed from the site. Search for the game, and a message is displayed: “This page was taken down because SEGA is claiming we distribute their game here (we don't).” SteamDB is an excellent resource for tracking how well games are doing, such as watching Valheim’s skyrocket success. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.