Oculus announced a slew of new details regarding Resident Evil 4 VR, including details about graphical upgrades, gameplay changes, and more.

Originally announced during Capcom's Resident Evil Village showcase, Oculus revealed new details during its gaming showcase live stream today.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/resident-evil-4-vr-gameplay-reveal-showcase"]

While we already knew that Resident Evil 4 VR would feature a first-person perspective, along with touch controls that let you handle weapons, items, and puzzles, chief among the new updates are a few key graphical improvements.

Resident Evil 4 VR will also run at a higher framerate than the original’s 30fps. Oculus didn’t specify a specific framerate, but the Oculus Quest 2 can reach upwards of 70fps, depending on the game. Oculus also implied that RE4 VR will be the full game and that no content has been cut to accommodate the restructured presentation.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-4-vr-gameplay-screenshots&captions=true"]

Movement options include the ability to move in first-person using the analog stick or using a teleport function that shows Leon running ahead of his position before cutting to your new view. RE4 VR also supports room-scale VR, which will be helpful when cowering in a corner against chainsaw Las Plagas.

If you’d prefer to give your knees a break, you can also play RE4 VR in seated mode.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/15/resident-evil-4-vr-announced"]

While the core systems of Resident Evil 4’s gameplay return, Capcom and Armature Studios have uprezzed textures and art in the game to better accommodate the up-close view. More than 4,500 textures have either been repainted or had their resolution increased.

Other changes to Resident Evil 4 VR include:

• Enemy behavior has been rebalanced to better accommodate the new gameplay.

• Other gameplay changes include the ability to grab alternate weapons off of your body rather than entering a menu. Weapons and items have been “re-engineered” to be physical objects you can interact with, in the environment. The inventory menu is now an interactable screen that pops up in front of your face but still looks very much like the original grid.

• You can now dual-wield weapons with your hands.

• Cutscenes will be left intact in their original format, and character animations will remain untouched, albeit updated to Unreal Engine 4.

• Yes, you can type on the typewriter.

Oculus’s executive producer Ruth Bram said that the game has been in development for “a couple of years" in collaboration between Capcom, Oculus, and Armature Studios.

The original survival horror classic debuted on the Nintendo Gamecube in 2005, 16 years ago, featuring RE2’s Leon Kennedy on a mission to save the President’s daughter from a monstrous cult in rural Europe. Resident Evil 4 is widely regarded as one of the most popular games in the Resident Evil franchise.

Resident Evil 4 VR is due out on Oculus Quest 2 “later this year.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/shambler for IGN.

Oculus announced a slew of new details regarding Resident Evil 4 VR, including details about graphical upgrades, gameplay changes, and more.

Originally announced during Capcom's Resident Evil Village showcase, Oculus revealed new details during its gaming showcase live stream today.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/resident-evil-4-vr-gameplay-reveal-showcase"]

While we already knew that Resident Evil 4 VR would feature a first-person perspective, along with touch controls that let you handle weapons, items, and puzzles, chief among the new updates are a few key graphical improvements.

Resident Evil 4 VR will also run at a higher framerate than the original’s 30fps. Oculus didn’t specify a specific framerate, but the Oculus Quest 2 can reach upwards of 70fps, depending on the game. Oculus also implied that RE4 VR will be the full game and that no content has been cut to accommodate the restructured presentation.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-4-vr-gameplay-screenshots&captions=true"]

Movement options include the ability to move in first-person using the analog stick or using a teleport function that shows Leon running ahead of his position before cutting to your new view. RE4 VR also supports room-scale VR, which will be helpful when cowering in a corner against chainsaw Las Plagas.

If you’d prefer to give your knees a break, you can also play RE4 VR in seated mode.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/15/resident-evil-4-vr-announced"]

While the core systems of Resident Evil 4’s gameplay return, Capcom and Armature Studios have uprezzed textures and art in the game to better accommodate the up-close view. More than 4,500 textures have either been repainted or had their resolution increased.

Other changes to Resident Evil 4 VR include:

• Enemy behavior has been rebalanced to better accommodate the new gameplay.

• Other gameplay changes include the ability to grab alternate weapons off of your body rather than entering a menu. Weapons and items have been “re-engineered” to be physical objects you can interact with, in the environment. The inventory menu is now an interactable screen that pops up in front of your face but still looks very much like the original grid.

• You can now dual-wield weapons with your hands.

• Cutscenes will be left intact in their original format, and character animations will remain untouched, albeit updated to Unreal Engine 4.

• Yes, you can type on the typewriter.

Oculus’s executive producer Ruth Bram said that the game has been in development for “a couple of years" in collaboration between Capcom, Oculus, and Armature Studios.

The original survival horror classic debuted on the Nintendo Gamecube in 2005, 16 years ago, featuring RE2’s Leon Kennedy on a mission to save the President’s daughter from a monstrous cult in rural Europe. Resident Evil 4 is widely regarded as one of the most popular games in the Resident Evil franchise.

Resident Evil 4 VR is due out on Oculus Quest 2 “later this year.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/shambler for IGN.

It sounds like Warner Bros. is prepared to make more Mortal Kombat movies if the franchise's reboot is successful. In a conversation with Variety, actor Joe Taslim, who plays Sub-Zero in the upcoming film, stated that he is signed on for four more entries if the series continues. "We don't know if we're gonna have a sequel — fingers crossed that we have a sequel," Taslim said. "If this one's successful, maybe we do more." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/16/mortal-kombat-scorpion-vs-sub-zero-official-clip"] Though no sequels have been announced yet, there is already considerable excitement for the film that could translate into a fruiful commercial run. The Mortal Kombat trailer became the most viewed red band trailer in history when it hit the internet in February, breaking a record that was previously held by Deadpool 2 and Logan. Fans were excited to see the games' hyper-violent style adapted faithfully to the movie, which director Simon McQuoid promises will "push the [blood, gore, and fatalities] right to the limit" of an R-rating. Mortal Kombat will hit theaters this Friday, April 23. Additionally, the film will be available to stream for 31 days on HBO Max, as per Warner Bros.' decision to simultaneously release its 2021 theatrical slate on the streamer. For a sneak peek at the Mortal Kombat reboot, check out the first seven minutes of the film. Also, participate in IGN's Mortal Kombat Face-Off and vote for your favorite fighters to help us determine the best character in the franchise. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

It sounds like Warner Bros. is prepared to make more Mortal Kombat movies if the franchise's reboot is successful. In a conversation with Variety, actor Joe Taslim, who plays Sub-Zero in the upcoming film, stated that he is signed on for four more entries if the series continues. "We don't know if we're gonna have a sequel — fingers crossed that we have a sequel," Taslim said. "If this one's successful, maybe we do more." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/16/mortal-kombat-scorpion-vs-sub-zero-official-clip"] Though no sequels have been announced yet, there is already considerable excitement for the film that could translate into a fruiful commercial run. The Mortal Kombat trailer became the most viewed red band trailer in history when it hit the internet in February, breaking a record that was previously held by Deadpool 2 and Logan. Fans were excited to see the games' hyper-violent style adapted faithfully to the movie, which director Simon McQuoid promises will "push the [blood, gore, and fatalities] right to the limit" of an R-rating. Mortal Kombat will hit theaters this Friday, April 23. Additionally, the film will be available to stream for 31 days on HBO Max, as per Warner Bros.' decision to simultaneously release its 2021 theatrical slate on the streamer. For a sneak peek at the Mortal Kombat reboot, check out the first seven minutes of the film. Also, participate in IGN's Mortal Kombat Face-Off and vote for your favorite fighters to help us determine the best character in the franchise. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Though Disney Plus has been the streaming home for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and entries from other Marvel series like X-Men and Fantastic Four, Sony's Spider-Man movies have been a conspicuous absence from the platform's library — until now. Future Spider-Man titles, along with other Sony films, will join Disney's library in the future, as Disney and Sony have reached a new licensing agreement. The deal comes almost two weeks after Sony Pictures and Netflix have signed a multi-year contract to give Netflix first-run rights to Sony films after they play in theaters. The new Disney deal covers the period after that, meaning theatrical releases from 2022 to 2026 will head to Disney's streaming services and other television networks (FX, ABC, etc) after they leave Netflix. The package only covers U.S. markets. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/24/spider-man-no-way-home-tom-holland-reveals-title-for-spider-man-3"] Library rights to other Sony franchises, like Jumanji and Hotel Transylvania, are covered by the agreement, as well as numerous other titles. One key point to note: Hulu will gain access to titles from Sony's library beginning as early as this June. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ranking-the-spider-man-movies&captions=true"] "We are thrilled to team up with Disney on delivering our titles to their viewers and subscribers," said Keith Le Goy, president of Worldwide Distribution and Networks for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy, which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Though Disney Plus has been the streaming home for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and entries from other Marvel series like X-Men and Fantastic Four, Sony's Spider-Man movies have been a conspicuous absence from the platform's library — until now. Future Spider-Man titles, along with other Sony films, will join Disney's library in the future, as Disney and Sony have reached a new licensing agreement. The deal comes almost two weeks after Sony Pictures and Netflix have signed a multi-year contract to give Netflix first-run rights to Sony films after they play in theaters. The new Disney deal covers the period after that, meaning theatrical releases from 2022 to 2026 will head to Disney's streaming services and other television networks (FX, ABC, etc) after they leave Netflix. The package only covers U.S. markets. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/24/spider-man-no-way-home-tom-holland-reveals-title-for-spider-man-3"] Library rights to other Sony franchises, like Jumanji and Hotel Transylvania, are covered by the agreement, as well as numerous other titles. One key point to note: Hulu will gain access to titles from Sony's library beginning as early as this June. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ranking-the-spider-man-movies&captions=true"] "We are thrilled to team up with Disney on delivering our titles to their viewers and subscribers," said Keith Le Goy, president of Worldwide Distribution and Networks for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy, which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Blizzard’s mobile entry into the venerable Diablo series, Diablo Immortal, has just entered closed alpha. The test is limited to Australia only, will run for at least a month, and sees a host of new additions above and beyond what we saw in the well-received technical alpha at the start of the year. The Crusader, for instance, has been added to the four previously playable classes and the level cap has been raised to 55 (just shy of the max level of 60). Alongside the ability to reach higher levels are two new zones to put those character to the test: Mount Zavain, home of the monks of the Sanctified Earth Monastery, and Frozen Tundra, a snowy wasteland inhabited by scattered Barbarian tribes. The latter also houses a new dungeon: The Cavern of Echoes. A number of new systems also debut, such as the Helliquary, which unlocks between levels 41–45, and allows players to locate and defeat boss demons in order to not only power up their characters, but also to benchmark their power. The closed alpha will have one boss initially, with another to be added later, while the eventual live game will see a boss added each month. [caption id="attachment_2503235" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Duking it out against a Helliquary boss.[/caption] By far the biggest new addition, however, is the Cycle of Strife, a server-wide faction-based PVP endgame system. Anyone can participate in it, and at its center is a battle between the Immortals and the Shadows. Who are they? Principal game designer Scott Shicoff outlined the lore behind it in a recent media briefing. “A long time ago,” he says, “there was a powerful individual called Daedessa the Builder… she wanted to protect Sanctuary from demonic invasion but she wasn’t a fighter. She was, however, a master crafter, and she created a powerful artifact called the Eternal Crown. She gave it to her son Kion… and charged him with forming a group whose sole purpose would be the protection of Sanctuary from the Burning Hells. Kion took this powerful artifact and created a guardian group which he called the Immortals. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/diablo-immortal-closed-alpha-developer-update"] “Daedessa knew that power, especially that kind of power, can lead to complacency and corruption for even the best or most well-intentioned individuals like her son. So she gave her daughter Akeba a secret heavy burden. It would be Akeba’s job to make sure that the Immortals would never falter or waver. That they were always worthy and capable of defending Sanctuary, as they were charged. So working in secret, Akeba found those brave enough to help her constantly test and challenge the Immortals. They would look for cracks and weaknesses and they would do everything they could to make sure the elite defenders of Sanctuary were always up to the task. She called this group the Shadows. “And should the Shadows ever prove stronger and more capable, they would overthrow the current reign and take up the Eternal Crown as the new Immortals. Which, of course, they eventually did, with Akeba becoming the next Immortal. But Akeba could never get too comfortable because she knew that as she rose up, so too would new Shadows to make sure she was always worthy of her station. And thus the Cycle of Strife was born.” That then, is the Cycle of Strife, and it boils down to a seasonal tug of war between the Immortals and the Shadows. That battle, however, will be a long way from symmetrical. There will only ever be one group of Immortals on a server, with up to 500 members. There’s no limit to how many Shadows can be active, on the other hand, and they will all be vying to displace the current group of Immortals.[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20Cycle%20of%20Strife%20boils%20down%20to%20a%20seasonal%20tug%20of%20war%20between%20the%20Immortals%20and%20the%20Shadows"] How does that happen? Well, Shadows players can form and join Dark Houses, which are basically like sub-guilds. The Dark Houses are all effectively in competition with each other, fighting to be at the top of the sub-guild rankings. The more each Dark House’s members are actively engaged with Shadows activities, the higher their house will be in the rankings. This all comes to a head when the Shadows reach a point in their overall progression that triggers an event called the Rite of Exile. This is where the Shadows and Immortals fight it out to see if the Immortals are still worthy of holding onto their vaunted position. The Rite of Exile sees the top ten Dark Houses sending their eight strongest members to fight the best the Immortals have to offer. This kicks off ten separate simultaneous 8v8 battles and if at least half of these are won by the Immortals the status quo remains. If it least half are won by Shadows fighters, the Dark House at the top of the Shadows ranking will become the new Immortals and a new cycle begins. [caption id="attachment_2503236" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shadows fighting to prove their worth in the Rite of Exile.[/caption] It's a pretty interesting sounding system that rewards both PVE engagement and PVP skill, and is a focal point for this test. Indeed, the prospective length of the alpha is all about testing the Cycle of Strife. “The last technical alpha,” says game director Wyatt Cheng, “was three weeks. We are looking for this closed alpha to be quite a bit longer. We want it to be at least a month. We want to see a group of players become the Immortals. And we would love to see those Immortals get overthrown by a Dark House of Shadows. So, since each overthrow cycle probably takes about a month, we'll see how long that takes. Of course, this is a very early look at the feature. And so, if the tuning is off, then it could disrupt some of our master plans. That's one of the things that we'll be testing is how long does it actually take versus our theoretical paper design?” The Immortals/Shadows system is also entirely opt-in. Players can choose not to take part and simply be designated as Adventurers. It’s also worth pointing out that when a new cycle starts, everyone aside from the Shadows that become the new Immortals will be reset back to Adventurers and can thus choose whether to join the Shadows and align with a Dark House all over again. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=diablo-immortal-closed-alpha-screenshots&captions=true"] There will be a variety of activities for both Immortals and Shadows to really ensure each faction feels distinct. One example for the Immortals is called Kion’s Ordeal, which is a 48 person raid and sees four groups of 12 players each simultaneously fighting four bosses. “You want to try and kill these bosses as close to the same time as you can,” explains Scott Shicoff, “because as each one dies, the other gets stronger.” Beating Kion’s Ordeal helps keep the Immortals ahead of the Shadows and gives a faction-wide buff called the Blessing of Daedessa which increases rewards for Elder Rift runs for every non-Shadows player on the server. Most interestingly of all, riches and equipment from Elder Rift runs those players complete contribute to an Immortals vault, which gets handed out to Immortals at the end of the week… unless the Shadows can stop it. This ties into a Shadows activity called Raid the Vault. This lets a team of four Shadows attempt to steal from the vault. It starts out as PVE against NPC enemy guardians in the vault, but if the Immortals find out someone is attempting to breach their defenses, they can send players in to defend it and the activity transitions to PVP. If the Shadows are defeated, they leave with nothing. If they defeat the Immortals they have a grace period to continue raiding the vault. [caption id="attachment_2503238" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shadows attempting to raid the Immortals' vault.[/caption] There’s a lot more to discuss when it comes to Diablo Immortal’s closed alpha, but for now I’ll just leave you with Wyatt Cheng’s thoughts on class design for Diablo Immortal, including some specific info about the Crusader class. “Whenever we sit down for any class,” he says, “we say, ‘What is the marquee skill that really defines the class?’ And when you picture the class, you say, ‘Well, it has to have this skill or it's just not right.’ “And for example, in the case of the Barbarian, a lot of people would say, ‘Oh, well, a Barbarian has to have Whirlwind. It's just not the Barbarian without Whirlwind.’ And on the Demon Hunter, a lot of people would say, ‘Multishot. When I think Demon Hunter, I think Multishot.’ And so that answer varies from person to person. In the case of the Crusader… the Steed Charge ability is iconic Crusader. And being able to throw your shield, and have it ricochet off of enemies is also this iconic Crusader ability. And so you can see both of those. “Falling Sword has [also] received [a] facelift from Diablo 3… it's gotten a little bit of an upgrade. We were looking at Heroes of the Storm, and the way that Heroes of the Storm does some of its skills, and Johanna in particular in Heroes of the Storm. So Falling Sword in Immortal allows you to throw your sword, which then marks a location. And for the next six seconds, that sword will actually pulse damage to enemies around the sword. And then you can activate the skill a second time during that window to then teleport and drop at that location. And so it becomes a two-stage activity with two presses. [caption id="attachment_2503239" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A bad-ass still from the male Crusader cinematic.[/caption] “And then the final note I'll make on Crusader skills is, as with all of our skills, there's some skills that seem familiar, but because of our mobile controls, have an opportunity to take on new life, because of the charge-up mechanic. In Diablo 3, pressing and holding a skill to charge it up, actually just viscerally doesn't quite feel correct. We tried it during Diablo 3 development, and the players are just more looking for a fast paced button mashy feel. But on Immortal, our charge-up skills feel great, because you're using these touch screen controls. You're aiming the skill. You're building up this power while you aim it. And then when you release, you unleash the power of the skill, and it feels great. And so the Crusader makes use of that input mechanic as well.” While the closed alpha is currently limited to Australia and may remain that way (“We are looking at other regions,” says Wyatt Cheng, “but Australia is the only region that... we're announcing right now”), your time may yet come, as Cheng confirmed that there will be at least one more testing phase before release and that phase will let players hit level 60. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/15/diablo-immortal-hands-on-preview"] For more on Diablo, be sure to read our Diablo Immortal technical alpha impressions (or watch the video above) and watch IGN's Diablo II Resurrected performance preview. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cam Shea is based in Sydney and can't wait to sink some time into the Crusader. He's on Twitter.

Blizzard’s mobile entry into the venerable Diablo series, Diablo Immortal, has just entered closed alpha. The test is limited to Australia only, will run for at least a month, and sees a host of new additions above and beyond what we saw in the well-received technical alpha at the start of the year. The Crusader, for instance, has been added to the four previously playable classes and the level cap has been raised to 55 (just shy of the max level of 60). Alongside the ability to reach higher levels are two new zones to put those character to the test: Mount Zavain, home of the monks of the Sanctified Earth Monastery, and Frozen Tundra, a snowy wasteland inhabited by scattered Barbarian tribes. The latter also houses a new dungeon: The Cavern of Echoes. A number of new systems also debut, such as the Helliquary, which unlocks between levels 41–45, and allows players to locate and defeat boss demons in order to not only power up their characters, but also to benchmark their power. The closed alpha will have one boss initially, with another to be added later, while the eventual live game will see a boss added each month. [caption id="attachment_2503235" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Duking it out against a Helliquary boss.[/caption] By far the biggest new addition, however, is the Cycle of Strife, a server-wide faction-based PVP endgame system. Anyone can participate in it, and at its center is a battle between the Immortals and the Shadows. Who are they? Principal game designer Scott Shicoff outlined the lore behind it in a recent media briefing. “A long time ago,” he says, “there was a powerful individual called Daedessa the Builder… she wanted to protect Sanctuary from demonic invasion but she wasn’t a fighter. She was, however, a master crafter, and she created a powerful artifact called the Eternal Crown. She gave it to her son Kion… and charged him with forming a group whose sole purpose would be the protection of Sanctuary from the Burning Hells. Kion took this powerful artifact and created a guardian group which he called the Immortals. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/diablo-immortal-closed-alpha-developer-update"] “Daedessa knew that power, especially that kind of power, can lead to complacency and corruption for even the best or most well-intentioned individuals like her son. So she gave her daughter Akeba a secret heavy burden. It would be Akeba’s job to make sure that the Immortals would never falter or waver. That they were always worthy and capable of defending Sanctuary, as they were charged. So working in secret, Akeba found those brave enough to help her constantly test and challenge the Immortals. They would look for cracks and weaknesses and they would do everything they could to make sure the elite defenders of Sanctuary were always up to the task. She called this group the Shadows. “And should the Shadows ever prove stronger and more capable, they would overthrow the current reign and take up the Eternal Crown as the new Immortals. Which, of course, they eventually did, with Akeba becoming the next Immortal. But Akeba could never get too comfortable because she knew that as she rose up, so too would new Shadows to make sure she was always worthy of her station. And thus the Cycle of Strife was born.” That then, is the Cycle of Strife, and it boils down to a seasonal tug of war between the Immortals and the Shadows. That battle, however, will be a long way from symmetrical. There will only ever be one group of Immortals on a server, with up to 500 members. There’s no limit to how many Shadows can be active, on the other hand, and they will all be vying to displace the current group of Immortals.[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20Cycle%20of%20Strife%20boils%20down%20to%20a%20seasonal%20tug%20of%20war%20between%20the%20Immortals%20and%20the%20Shadows"] How does that happen? Well, Shadows players can form and join Dark Houses, which are basically like sub-guilds. The Dark Houses are all effectively in competition with each other, fighting to be at the top of the sub-guild rankings. The more each Dark House’s members are actively engaged with Shadows activities, the higher their house will be in the rankings. This all comes to a head when the Shadows reach a point in their overall progression that triggers an event called the Rite of Exile. This is where the Shadows and Immortals fight it out to see if the Immortals are still worthy of holding onto their vaunted position. The Rite of Exile sees the top ten Dark Houses sending their eight strongest members to fight the best the Immortals have to offer. This kicks off ten separate simultaneous 8v8 battles and if at least half of these are won by the Immortals the status quo remains. If it least half are won by Shadows fighters, the Dark House at the top of the Shadows ranking will become the new Immortals and a new cycle begins. [caption id="attachment_2503236" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shadows fighting to prove their worth in the Rite of Exile.[/caption] It's a pretty interesting sounding system that rewards both PVE engagement and PVP skill, and is a focal point for this test. Indeed, the prospective length of the alpha is all about testing the Cycle of Strife. “The last technical alpha,” says game director Wyatt Cheng, “was three weeks. We are looking for this closed alpha to be quite a bit longer. We want it to be at least a month. We want to see a group of players become the Immortals. And we would love to see those Immortals get overthrown by a Dark House of Shadows. So, since each overthrow cycle probably takes about a month, we'll see how long that takes. Of course, this is a very early look at the feature. And so, if the tuning is off, then it could disrupt some of our master plans. That's one of the things that we'll be testing is how long does it actually take versus our theoretical paper design?” The Immortals/Shadows system is also entirely opt-in. Players can choose not to take part and simply be designated as Adventurers. It’s also worth pointing out that when a new cycle starts, everyone aside from the Shadows that become the new Immortals will be reset back to Adventurers and can thus choose whether to join the Shadows and align with a Dark House all over again. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=diablo-immortal-closed-alpha-screenshots&captions=true"] There will be a variety of activities for both Immortals and Shadows to really ensure each faction feels distinct. One example for the Immortals is called Kion’s Ordeal, which is a 48 person raid and sees four groups of 12 players each simultaneously fighting four bosses. “You want to try and kill these bosses as close to the same time as you can,” explains Scott Shicoff, “because as each one dies, the other gets stronger.” Beating Kion’s Ordeal helps keep the Immortals ahead of the Shadows and gives a faction-wide buff called the Blessing of Daedessa which increases rewards for Elder Rift runs for every non-Shadows player on the server. Most interestingly of all, riches and equipment from Elder Rift runs those players complete contribute to an Immortals vault, which gets handed out to Immortals at the end of the week… unless the Shadows can stop it. This ties into a Shadows activity called Raid the Vault. This lets a team of four Shadows attempt to steal from the vault. It starts out as PVE against NPC enemy guardians in the vault, but if the Immortals find out someone is attempting to breach their defenses, they can send players in to defend it and the activity transitions to PVP. If the Shadows are defeated, they leave with nothing. If they defeat the Immortals they have a grace period to continue raiding the vault. [caption id="attachment_2503238" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Shadows attempting to raid the Immortals' vault.[/caption] There’s a lot more to discuss when it comes to Diablo Immortal’s closed alpha, but for now I’ll just leave you with Wyatt Cheng’s thoughts on class design for Diablo Immortal, including some specific info about the Crusader class. “Whenever we sit down for any class,” he says, “we say, ‘What is the marquee skill that really defines the class?’ And when you picture the class, you say, ‘Well, it has to have this skill or it's just not right.’ “And for example, in the case of the Barbarian, a lot of people would say, ‘Oh, well, a Barbarian has to have Whirlwind. It's just not the Barbarian without Whirlwind.’ And on the Demon Hunter, a lot of people would say, ‘Multishot. When I think Demon Hunter, I think Multishot.’ And so that answer varies from person to person. In the case of the Crusader… the Steed Charge ability is iconic Crusader. And being able to throw your shield, and have it ricochet off of enemies is also this iconic Crusader ability. And so you can see both of those. “Falling Sword has [also] received [a] facelift from Diablo 3… it's gotten a little bit of an upgrade. We were looking at Heroes of the Storm, and the way that Heroes of the Storm does some of its skills, and Johanna in particular in Heroes of the Storm. So Falling Sword in Immortal allows you to throw your sword, which then marks a location. And for the next six seconds, that sword will actually pulse damage to enemies around the sword. And then you can activate the skill a second time during that window to then teleport and drop at that location. And so it becomes a two-stage activity with two presses. [caption id="attachment_2503239" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A bad-ass still from the male Crusader cinematic.[/caption] “And then the final note I'll make on Crusader skills is, as with all of our skills, there's some skills that seem familiar, but because of our mobile controls, have an opportunity to take on new life, because of the charge-up mechanic. In Diablo 3, pressing and holding a skill to charge it up, actually just viscerally doesn't quite feel correct. We tried it during Diablo 3 development, and the players are just more looking for a fast paced button mashy feel. But on Immortal, our charge-up skills feel great, because you're using these touch screen controls. You're aiming the skill. You're building up this power while you aim it. And then when you release, you unleash the power of the skill, and it feels great. And so the Crusader makes use of that input mechanic as well.” While the closed alpha is currently limited to Australia and may remain that way (“We are looking at other regions,” says Wyatt Cheng, “but Australia is the only region that... we're announcing right now”), your time may yet come, as Cheng confirmed that there will be at least one more testing phase before release and that phase will let players hit level 60. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/15/diablo-immortal-hands-on-preview"] For more on Diablo, be sure to read our Diablo Immortal technical alpha impressions (or watch the video above) and watch IGN's Diablo II Resurrected performance preview. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Cam Shea is based in Sydney and can't wait to sink some time into the Crusader. He's on Twitter.

A proposed Texas bill banning transgender youth from participating in sports is "bad for business," Gearbox Entertainment testified yesterday before the Texas Committee on Public Education. Gearbox Director of Institutional Partnerships David Najjab told lawmakers that bills and others like it targeting transgender youth will make "Texas appear unfriendly and unwelcome." He argued that such bills stand to hurt Gearbox's efforts to recruit top game development talent to the state. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/05/borderlands-the-movie-gets-an-official-synopsis"] "[Game development] requires an educated workforce of a certain type. It makes us look bad. It sullies us and makes it hard to recruit," Najjab said. "Our game companies are in competition worldwide. We sell more to Asia than we do in the U.S. We bring a lot of money to Texas. We're headquartered here. Don't drive us to where we have to start expanding outside of Texas and outside of the country. We want to keep doing business here." Gearbox's opposition comes amid a recent wave of bills targeting transgender youth in states like Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. Similar bills will also impact healthcare for transgender youth by banning doctors from prescribing blockers that delay the onset of puberty. Asked for a statement, a Gearbox representative said that Najjab's testimony "can stand alone." The studio also highlighted its previous opposition to a proposed bill targeting which bathrooms trans people could use. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford wrote to Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the issue, saying that discriminatory bills would "only increase the challenges that we face in attracting top talent to Texas." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-borderlands-review&captions=true"] "We are in a battle for globally competitive talent, and our ability to successfully recruit and retain our future workforce is critical to our long-term economic prosperity. We already face stiff competition with employers in places such as California. Discriminatory laws will only increase the challenges that we face in attracting top talent to Texas," Pitchford wrote in the letter to Abbott. Gearbox has been based in Texas since its inception in 1999, relocating to a new facility in Frisco, Texas in 2014. It most recently published Godfall as a next-gen launch title, with Homeworld 3 set to launch in 2022. A Borderlands movie is also under development. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

A proposed Texas bill banning transgender youth from participating in sports is "bad for business," Gearbox Entertainment testified yesterday before the Texas Committee on Public Education. Gearbox Director of Institutional Partnerships David Najjab told lawmakers that bills and others like it targeting transgender youth will make "Texas appear unfriendly and unwelcome." He argued that such bills stand to hurt Gearbox's efforts to recruit top game development talent to the state. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/05/borderlands-the-movie-gets-an-official-synopsis"] "[Game development] requires an educated workforce of a certain type. It makes us look bad. It sullies us and makes it hard to recruit," Najjab said. "Our game companies are in competition worldwide. We sell more to Asia than we do in the U.S. We bring a lot of money to Texas. We're headquartered here. Don't drive us to where we have to start expanding outside of Texas and outside of the country. We want to keep doing business here." Gearbox's opposition comes amid a recent wave of bills targeting transgender youth in states like Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. Similar bills will also impact healthcare for transgender youth by banning doctors from prescribing blockers that delay the onset of puberty. Asked for a statement, a Gearbox representative said that Najjab's testimony "can stand alone." The studio also highlighted its previous opposition to a proposed bill targeting which bathrooms trans people could use. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford wrote to Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the issue, saying that discriminatory bills would "only increase the challenges that we face in attracting top talent to Texas." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-borderlands-review&captions=true"] "We are in a battle for globally competitive talent, and our ability to successfully recruit and retain our future workforce is critical to our long-term economic prosperity. We already face stiff competition with employers in places such as California. Discriminatory laws will only increase the challenges that we face in attracting top talent to Texas," Pitchford wrote in the letter to Abbott. Gearbox has been based in Texas since its inception in 1999, relocating to a new facility in Frisco, Texas in 2014. It most recently published Godfall as a next-gen launch title, with Homeworld 3 set to launch in 2022. A Borderlands movie is also under development. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.