Obsidian Entertainment has announced that The Outer Worlds' second and final expansion - Murder on Eridanos - will be released on March 17, 2021. Alongside the announcement, Obsidian gave a fans a look at the official opening cinematic for Murder on Eridanos, which will arrive on PC, PlayStation 5 (via backward compatibility), Xbox Series X/S (via backward compatibility), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next week. The new expansion will arrive on Switch later in 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/11/the-outer-worlds-murder-on-eridanos-official-opening-cinematic"] More details were revealed on PlayStation.Blog of this new expansion that tasks you with discovering who murdered the renowned actress Halcyon Helen. Murder on Eridanos is very much a murder mystery, but the developers had to make sure they accounted for the freedom of choice The Outer Worlds allows for, including the player's skills, perks and flaws that were chosen, which companions are with you, which clues you find and who you interrogate (and in what order!), and much more. While solving this crime, players will have to interrogate witnesses, learn about potential alibis, and argue who you think murdered this actress. The ending of this DLC very much depends on your actions, and one possible scenario involves you convincing others that YOU were somehow responsible for the murder. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-outer-worlds-murder-on-eridanos-screenshots&captions=true"] Characters from The Outer Worlds like Spencer Woolrich and Black Hole Bertie will make an appearance in this DLC, and players will have access to a completely new tool known as the Discrepancy Amplifier to help in the investigation. This tool will help reveal clues around you, will unlock new quest options, and will provide "its own humorous analysis of those details." Murder on Eridanos will also arrive with new perks and flaws, scientific weapons, armor variants, and "plenty of additional quests and choices to make along the way." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/the-outer-worlds-peril-on-gorgon-review"] This new expansion follows The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon DLC. In our review, we said that it "is very much more of a good thing. It doesn't do much to change up combat but it tells a fun detective story and takes us to interesting new locations." [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.

Obsidian Entertainment has announced that The Outer Worlds' second and final expansion - Murder on Eridanos - will be released on March 17, 2021. Alongside the announcement, Obsidian gave a fans a look at the official opening cinematic for Murder on Eridanos, which will arrive on PC, PlayStation 5 (via backward compatibility), Xbox Series X/S (via backward compatibility), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next week. The new expansion will arrive on Switch later in 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/11/the-outer-worlds-murder-on-eridanos-official-opening-cinematic"] More details were revealed on PlayStation.Blog of this new expansion that tasks you with discovering who murdered the renowned actress Halcyon Helen. Murder on Eridanos is very much a murder mystery, but the developers had to make sure they accounted for the freedom of choice The Outer Worlds allows for, including the player's skills, perks and flaws that were chosen, which companions are with you, which clues you find and who you interrogate (and in what order!), and much more. While solving this crime, players will have to interrogate witnesses, learn about potential alibis, and argue who you think murdered this actress. The ending of this DLC very much depends on your actions, and one possible scenario involves you convincing others that YOU were somehow responsible for the murder. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-outer-worlds-murder-on-eridanos-screenshots&captions=true"] Characters from The Outer Worlds like Spencer Woolrich and Black Hole Bertie will make an appearance in this DLC, and players will have access to a completely new tool known as the Discrepancy Amplifier to help in the investigation. This tool will help reveal clues around you, will unlock new quest options, and will provide "its own humorous analysis of those details." Murder on Eridanos will also arrive with new perks and flaws, scientific weapons, armor variants, and "plenty of additional quests and choices to make along the way." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/the-outer-worlds-peril-on-gorgon-review"] This new expansion follows The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon DLC. In our review, we said that it "is very much more of a good thing. It doesn't do much to change up combat but it tells a fun detective story and takes us to interesting new locations." [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.

This week in GTA Online, claim freebies for completing Heists, and double rewards in Business Battles, Transform Races, Hunting Pack Remix, and more.

Harry Potter actress Katie Leung has recalled the racist attacks she endured while playing Cho Chang in the blockbuster film franchise. According to Variety, Leung featured as a guest on Monday's episode of the Chinese Chippy Girl podcast and opened up about her personal experience of online abuse while filming 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Leung said that she started seeing hateful messages pop-up on sites shortly after being cast in the role, but that she was advised to deny it was happening to her. "I was Googling myself at one point, and I was on this website, which was kind of dedicated to the Harry Potter fandom. I remember reading all the comments. And, yeah, it was a lot of racist s***," Leung said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/07/15/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-part-2-video-review"] Leung, who was born in Scotland and is of Chinese descent, joined the Harry Potter cast at the age of 16 and appeared in all subsequent films in the franchise after that. As a breakout star, Leung admits that she entered the industry with very little media training under her belt, so she followed the instructions of her publicists who recommended that she didn't speak out about the racist attacks. "I remember them saying to me, 'Oh, look Katie, we haven't seen these, these websites that people are talking about. And you know, if you get asked that, just say it's not true. Say it's not happening,'" Leung recalled. "And I just nodded my head. I was like, 'Okay, okay,' even though I had seen it myself with my own eyes. I was like, 'Okay, yeah, I'll just say everything's great.'" Leung didn't make it clear whether this advice came from personal publicists or studio representatives, though she said she sometimes wished she had spoken out about the comments at that time. "I was really very f***ing grateful that I was in the position I was in," she said. "I keep saying, like, 'Oh I wish I'd maybe said something.' But you can't do that." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-harry-potter-characters&captions=true"] After Goblet of Fire, Leung became a recurring cast member, appearing in Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2. Though the Hogwarts school books have been locked away for some time now, there might be a reason to dust them off again soon as WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar has talked about the potential expansion of the Harry Potter franchise at HBO Max. It's not currently known what role Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling would play in future additions to the franchise, particularly those coming from the entertainment companies that hold the rights to create Harry Potter projects, but whatever the case turns out to be, we think the Harry Potter saga needs a fresh start via the medium of television, and HBO Max might just be the answer for that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

One week ago, a surprising little endless RPG about the end of the world launched on Steam, published by Devolver. Now, only seven days later, Loop Hero has sold half a million copies. Loop Hero puts you in the shoes of a hero awakening in a world entirely destroyed but for an empty, circular path infested with slime enemies. As they set out around the loop, they fight enemies and gain memories of a world back in the form of cards -- both equipment and terrain. Placing them brings back remembered elements of the empty world, creating new powers for the hero but also new monsters to fight. Loop Hero ends up being a combination of a rogue-like, a deck-builder, a strategy game, and an RPG as you place cards, change your equipment builds, fight, retreat or die, and return to camp to slowly build up your powers for your next run. With half a million players now and an average playtime of 12 hours, that makes an estimated 3 trillion hours played and 18 billion loops, at least (according to Devolver). Its soundtrack is also the fastest-selling in Devolver history. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/03/loop-hero-launch-trailer"] Developer Four Quarters has released a new set of Steam trading cards to celebrate the milestone, and is currently working on further quality-of-life updates to Loop Hero such as an improved save system, new speed settings, and new rewards from bosses -- as well as more content to come down the line including new cards, classes, and transformations. "When we first encountered Loop Hero it led to a 98% drop in productivity at Devolver," the publisher said in a statement. "We can't thank Four Quarters enough for giving us the opportunity to share their incredible game with the rest of the world. They fully deserve all of the praise they've received so far, but seriously, we can't get any work done and may never recover from this." Loop Hero is out now on Steam, and we have a walkthrough to help you survive your loops. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Silver Rain Games, an interactive entertainment development studio founded by Assassin's Creed Origins' Bayek of Siwa actor Abubakar Salim, has partnered with Electronic Arts' EA Originals Label. EA Originals will provide funding for Silver Rain Games' unannounced IP and will give "guidance and support in the team’s journey to bring a fresh perspective to games and to the industry." [caption id="attachment_2485178" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Abubakar Salim and Melissa Phillips[/caption] Silver Rain was founded in December 2019 in the U.K. and it launched with the intent to "generate thought-provoking and innovative games and content across different mediums of entertainment." Salim, who also starred in HBO's Raised by Wolves, co-founded the company with Melissa Phillips. Phillips will lead as Head of Studio and has previously worked as the BAFTA Games Programme manager on BAFTA Games programs and events. Since its inception, the company has grown to approximately 20 staff members, who are all currently working remote. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/09/new-ea-originals-games-from-a-way-out-fe-devs-announced"] “In what has been a challenging year, we have assembled an extraordinarily creative and worldly team who are eager to work on projects that bring their global perspectives to life. Together we will construct an exciting universe that unlocks the power of storytelling and the brilliance that brings,” said Salim. "We couldn’t be happier to work with the EA Originals team, who are phenomenal partners for us as we begin this journey. Not only does each of them understand our vision to inspire and entertain, but they also welcome this exciting new age of game development.” EA Originals is EA's way of working with the "best and boldest independent studios across the world to make sure these games get the scale of audience they deserve, with zero compromise on artistic vision." The label has already released such games as Unravel, Sea of Solitude, Rocket Arena, and Josef Fares' A Way Out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/02/it-takes-two-the-final-preview"] Fares' It Takes Two, the multiplayer dodgeball game Knockout City, and the Tim Burton-esque Lost in Random are all in development and are set to release in the future by other developers under EA Originals. [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.

An Xbox broadcast to celebrate Bethesda joining the company will be aired today, but it won't focus on providing news or revealing projects. It will likely feature announcements of new Bethesda games joining Xbox Game Pass. The broadcast is titled 'Bethesda Joins Xbox - Roundtable', and is scheduled for 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK on YouTube today. The video description reads: "A conversation with key leaders celebrating Bethesda joining Team Xbox." Xbox head of marketing, Aaron Greenberg has made clear that "this is NOT FOCUSED ON NEWS/REVEALS, but a great chance to learn more about the teams & people at Bethesda." [Greenberg's Emphasis] [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/09/microsoft-bethesda-heres-to-the-journey-official-announcement-trailer"] The broadcast follows Microsoft's official acquisition of ZeniMax, which turned eight Bethesda developers into first-party Microsoft studios. In that initial announcement, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer promised further Bethesda games would be added to Xbox Game Pass later this week to celebrate – it's likely those will be announced during the broadcast. We may not learn quite as much about Microsoft's plans for Bethesda studios, however. Spencer previously explained that more news about how Xbox's new teams will work is coming "later this year". Spencer has previously explained that Microsoft legally could not address plans with Bethesda until the acquisition was complete, so discussions may still be in the early stages. One thing we do know is that "some" future Bethesda games will be Xbox & PC exclusive after the acquisition. "With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams," Spencer wrote earlier this week, "gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players." [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.

While EA revealed the exciting news that EA Sports College Football would be returning for the first time since 2013, newly discovered documents reveal the first game in the revived franchise may not arrive until July 2023. As reported by GameSpot, Extra Points' Matt Brown obtained records from the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the company EA has partnered with on this College Football game relaunch, that state the game won't be out for a while. "According to internal documentation from CLC that I obtained via Open Records request, the CLC told FBS institutions that EA Sports intends to release the new video game in 'July of 2023.'" Brown wrote on Twitter. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/13/ea-sports-boss-ncaa-lawsuit-ripped-heart-and-soul-out-of-studio-but-had-silver-lining-ign-unfiltered"] The documentation obtained by Brown also includes numerous other details about the proposal to make new college football games, and you can subscribe to read them all. Some of these details include EA visiting schools to gather reference for items that cannot be sent (like stadiums), access to logos, uniforms, costumed mascots, "non-costumed mascots/traditions," school-owned band recordings, trophies, and more. EA Sports College Football, when it does return, will include more than 100 institutions in the upcoming game, including their logos, stadiums, uniforms, gameday traditions, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/05/ncaa-football-14-one-hour-of-gameplay"] While the game will not include student-athlete names, images, and likenesses, "EA Sports is continuing to watch those developments closely." For more on the EA Sports College Football saga, check out our IGN Unfiltered episode with EA Sports EVP and GM Cam Weber on how the NCAA lawsuit ripped the "heart and soul" out of the studio, but how it also had a silver lining. [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.

Gordon Hall, who founded the studio that would become Rockstar Leeds – and worked on the likes of Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and L.A. Noire – has died at the age of 51. As reported by GamesIndustry, members of the Yorkshire development scene began discussing the news today. No cause of death has been released at time of writing. Hall founded Möbius Entertainment in Leeds, England in 1997, which worked primarily on handheld games, including a Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne. Take-Two Interactive acquired the company in 2004, rebranding it as Rockstar Leeds in the process, with Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser saying the company's work on the Max Payne game had been impressive enough to want to bring them aboard. Rockstar Leeds, with Hall as studio president, became Rockstar's handheld specialists, co-developing GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Vice City Stories with Rockstar North. It also helped port a number of other Rockstar games over the years. Later, the studio led development on GTA: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS - a game we awarded a 9.5/10 review and go on to call one of the best ever games on the handheld. We spoke to Hall in 2009 about the game's development, and how Rockstar Leeds managed to fit a GTA city into the DS' hardware. Over the years, Hall also supported development on L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, and more. In 2011, Hall resigned from Rockstar Leeds, later joining Activision Blizzard Mobile as chief creative officer. All of us at IGN offer our condolences to Hall's family and friends. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News.

European police have arrested almost 80 people as part of a vast operation that resulted in the shutdown of an encrypted phone network used "almost exclusively" by organized crime groups. The Guardian reports that Belgian, Dutch, and French police made significant progress in their tactical plans to crackdown on organized crime on Tuesday, as law enforcement officers "carried out hundreds of raids" after successfully hacking into the Sky ECC network, an encrypted messaging service said to be used by some criminals to plot drug deals and murders. Investigators were able to look "over the shoulders" of suspects after breaking through the encryption and intercepting messages on the network, which, according to the Paris prosecutor, appeared to be "almost exclusively used by large-scale criminals" for a subscription price of "up to €2,000 per line and for six months." The information acquired from the investigation allowed for "procedures to be opened relating to large-scale drug operations and attacks on people." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/29/5-ways-pop-culture-science-fiction-has-influenced-real-technology"] In a major victory against organized crime, law officials in France were reportedly able to identify around 2,000 users of Sky ECC after hacking into the communications network. In the Netherlands, police were deployed to search 75 homes and ended up arresting 30 people and recovering 28 guns in Rotterdam. While police in Belgium raided about 200 homes, resulting in the arrest of at least 48 people and the confiscation of around 185 devices with Sky ECC encryption. According to the report, Sky ECC released a statement denying that its network had been hacked, though the company claimed "phoney devices" on the cellular network that were purchased through "unauthorized channels" may have had data compromised by a phishing application. The company further claimed that it had "not been contacted by any investigative authority" and that it has "a strict zero-tolerance policy that prohibits any criminal activity on its platforms." Euronews revealed that authorities had managed to intercept "hundreds of millions of messages" on the encrypted messaging platform during its two-year investigation, with Belgium authorities describing the recent operation as "one of the biggest" ever organized on their soil. The Sky ECC end-to-end encrypted service is reportedly installed on 171,000 phones worldwide, mainly in Europe, North America, some Central and Latin American countries (mainly Colombia), and the Middle East. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/checking-who-uses-an-iphone-in-movies-could-be-a-spoiler-now"] In other tech-related news, a group of researchers discovered that voice assistant programs like Siri can be hacked with ultrasonic sound waves that go undetected by human ears — but you probably won't have to worry about it too much because the environment required to make this possible is said to be very specific and not likely to be found in everyday life. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.