David Gaider, the lead writer on the divisive Dragon Age 2, has revealed some of what he would do if he could "Zack Snyder DA 2" and change the game for the better. This Dragon Age 2 journey began when Gaider was asked whether or not Dragon Age 2 was his favorite in the franchise. Gaider answered by praising the writing team and saying how proud he was of all they accomplished in such a short time. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/03/08/dragon-age-ii-video-review"] DA 2, according to Gaider, was a project where the "goal posts kept moving" and where "things kept getting cut, even while we worked." "I had to write that dialogue where Orsinio turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment," Gaider said. He continued by confirming that, while DA 2 is his favorite in the series, it's "the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore." He then posed the question, "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" This is when he created a thread of fascinating details that reveal much of what could have been had the team been given enough time to do so. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/11/14/dragon-age-in-5-minutes"] One of the first things Gaider would change was to either "restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years." Despite many saying the team should have gotten "rid of repeated levels," Gaider doubled down and shared that he wanted "Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages." He also wanted to "restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut." Many alternate lines were cut, and Gaider would be happy to see these restored, many of which dealt with people forgetting they'd met you, "Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in [Dragon Age: Origins]. So much carnage." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-bioware-game-review&captions=true"] He'd want to "restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden." Alongside restoring Orsino's end battle, he also would have wanted "an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo." While he and the team never got around to planning it, he also would've loved to implement "an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no?" Oh, and he also thinks there should have been an option to go, "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/dragon-age-4-cinematic-trailer"] Varric also should have been a romance option, because Mary Kirby "took that 'slimy car salesman' character we'd planned and did the impossible with him." If Gaider had his way, there would also be an "original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked." Wrapping up his thoughts on this "Zack Snyder DA 2," Gaider also would have liked to "Restore the 'Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story' at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing." He also wished to have had the opportunity to make the cancelled Dragon Age 2: Exalted March expansion that would have... gasp... "ended with Varric dying." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/27/dragon-age-4-behind-the-scenes-teaser"] While being extremely proud of the project, Gaider obviously shares in the frustration in what Dragon Age 2 became, and even said "he wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild." Many of these issues may have stemmed from the fact that "DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion!" "I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines," Gaider said. "If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that." In our Dragon Age 2 review, we said, "Every modification to the gameplay and structure of Dragon Age II is a clear improvement over the previous game. The combat is more responsive and bloody, you don’t need to fight the inventory system anymore, and conversations are more engaging thanks to the adapted Mass Effect wheel. There are downsides though; the semi-linear story and repetitive environments have a negative effect on what is otherwise a great role-playing game." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/10/chorus-crowdfunding-campaign-trailer"] While Dragon Age 4 is currently in development, Gaider left BioWare in 2016 after 17 years at the studio. In 2019, he co-founded Summerfall Studios and is currently working on Chorus, a part musical and part adventure game. [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.

The Overwatch League is slowly re-opening with a series of live events in Asia scheduled for this summer. As the world slowly re-opens after a year under the COVID-19 pandemic, the Overwatch League is joining the re-openings beginning in China. "The Overwatch League has been actively monitoring the situation around the world so that we can continue to evolve our approach during the ongoing pandemic," Blizzard said in a press release. "Due to improved health and safety conditions in China, we are excited to announce the planned return of live events to three cities during the 2021 season[.]" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/11/04/overwatch-introducing-the-overwatch-league"] The three dates in China are as follows:

• June 4 - 6: Hangzhou Spark (June Joust)
• July 9 - 11: Shanghai Dragons (Summer Showdown)
• August 7 - 8: Guangzhou Charge (Countdown Cup)

During live events, these venues will host fans at reduced capacity. All five China-based teams will travel to each event, while the three Korea-based teams will play remotely. The Chinese teams will play onstage while the Korean teams will join through the cloud tournament server. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many live events to shut down. As vaccine rollouts progress, some countries have begun re-opening venues, restaurants, and more. The 2020 season was meant to rollout a home-and-away format, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Overwatch League into remote play. Following the extended break, the Overwatch League's 2021 season returns this Friday on April 16. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

Oculus has revealed some big updates for the Quest 2, including the Oculus Air Link feature that will let you wirelessly play PC VR games and native support for 120 Hz. As announced by Oculus, Oculus Air Link builds upon the Oculus Link feature that lets a compatible USB-C cable to connect a gaming PC and the Quest to allow for PC VR games to be played. Oculus Air Link is the next evolution, and allows the Quest 2 to connect to a gaming PC using WiFi, letting users take advantage of PC VR games like Half-Life: Alyx without any cables. This feature will be launching in Experimental mode, and Oculus notes that while the Oculus Link will still provide the "highest-fidelity visuals possible," those with a strong WiFi connection will be able to experience this new, untethered way to use the Quest 2. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-vr-games-of-2020&captions=true"] To see if your set-up is ready for Oculus Air Link, check out Oculus' guide for the best practices, known issues, and compatibility.

Native 120 Hz Support and Infinite Office

The Oculus Quest 2 currently runs at 90 Hz by default, but Oculus is now giving gamers and developers the chance to utilize a 120 Hz display refresh rate. This feature will also available in Experimental mode and, while there aren't any apps that yet support it, that will change shortly. The Quest 2 system software will continue to run at 90 Hz, and Oculus Link support for 120 Hz will come in a future release. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/23/half-life-alyx-review"] The last big feature for the v28 update is for Infinite Office. This is a feature that allows you to bring your actual desk, keyboard, and mouse into VR to work while using an Oculus Quest headset. While the ability to add a Bluetooth-enable mouse or trackpad to VR was added in January, this new update will allow you to literally bring your desk into VR. Launching in Experimental mode, you'll be able to place a virtual desk on your actual furniture that will allow you to see and use it when in your Home environment. You will also be able to pair your physical keyboard with your Quest 2, allowing you to view a 3D representation of your hands and keyboard within VR. The first keyboard to support this feature is the Logitech K830, and more will be added in the future. This v28 update will roll out gradually, but Quest users should see it coming through in then near future. It's important to note that both the Quest 2 and PC must be running v28 for the everything to work. This news precedes the first-ever Oculus Gaming Showcase on April 21, which will feature updates Pistol Whip, Lone Echo 2, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge, and more. [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.

Perfect World Entertainment is developing a new mobile game based on the Persona franchise, the publisher confirmed today. Currently titled "Code Name: X," the new game is set in Tokyo and appears to be set in the same world as Persona 5. Indeed, Gematsu quickly determined that the binary code in the trailer translates to "Persona 5X." Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad later reported on Twitter that Perfect World had confirmed it would be based on the Persona IP.

Perfect World confirmed to me its based on the Persona IP

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 13, 2021

The trailer shows a mysterious hooded figure standing on a Tokyo rooftop, with the famous 109 Building in the background. Meanwhile, a hacker is shown uploading a program seemingly designed to take over one of the massive screens near Shibuya's Scramble Crossing. All's that missing are the words, "Hack the planet." You can watch the full trailer below.

Chinese game company Perfect World has announced it is working on a mobile game for a famous JRPG IP.

While the game is only known as CODE NAME: X, it is very clearly a mobile game based on the Persona IP. It is currently in early development and only confirmed for China atm pic.twitter.com/pM0BzrYQmX — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 13, 2021

Persona 5 has been popular territory for spinoffs of late. Recent releases include Persona 5 Strikers, which IGN awarded an 8 out of 10. No word on when Code Name: X will be released, only that it's early in development is currently only confirmed for release in China. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN. She will eventually someday find the 100 hours needed to finish Persona 5 Royal.

After streaming nonstop for 31 days, Ludwig Ahgren has accrued more subscriptions than anybody else in Twitch history. As of this writing, Ahgren has over 273,00 subscriptions and counting, shattering the previous record of 269,155 held by Tyler "Ninja" Blevins. Ahgren's current stream began on March 18 as a "sub-athon," with each new subscriber extending the length of his stream by ten seconds. Though he had originally planned for the stream to last a day or two, the project became so popular that Ahgren gained enough subscribers to extend the timer for weeks on end. Though he hasn't always been gaming — or even conscious — during the stream, Ahgren has kept broadcasting through both day and night. "There it is," Ahgren said when he surpassed Blevins' record. "You were here. This is the new record on Twitch for most subscribers all time. Holy shit, that was insane."

I WAS HERE pic.twitter.com/bWILDI3Hui

— ludwig (@LudwigAhgren) April 13, 2021

After Ahgren broke the record, Blevins voiced his congratulations to his usurper on Twitter. "Records are meant to be broken," Blevins wrote. "I would be lying if I said wasn’t a little sad but congrats @LudwigAhgren on holding the new sub record on Twitch." After broadcasting on both YouTube and the now-defunct Mixer, Blevins returned to Twitch last September, signing a multi-year deal to stream exclusively on the platform. Ahgren and Blevins' subscription numbers far exceed those of any other Twitch user. The streamer RanbooLive has the third-most tally at 114,387 in March, not even half the number of Blevins' old record. Though he continues to gain new subscribers, Ahgren announced on Sunday that his nonstop stream will conclude today, April 13, at 9 p.m. PST. To commemorate the ending, Ahgren stated that he would match each new sub with a $5 donation to either St. Jude Children's Hospital or the Animal Humane Society. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Cheating has been a huge issue in both Call of Duty and Call of Duty Warzone, and the teams behind the games have given an update on how they plan to continue to combat them with such actions as large banwaves. The Call of Duty staff shared the update in a blog, confirming that their security and enforcement team has issued more than 475,000 permabans in Call of Duty: Warzone, and that April 11th's banwave was the seventh high-volume set of bans since February. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/17/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-warzone-season-two-cinematic-trailer"] The same team also issues bans seven days a week to individual offenders and repeat offenders and, in combination with the large banwaves, these methods are "an integral focus of our efforts." Another large focus is tackling the commercial market of cheat providers and resellers, which includes suspicious accounts that are farmed and often sold to repeat offenders. The team recently banned 45,000 fraudulent, black market accounts used by repeat offenders. One of the most difficult challenges in stopping cheaters is in limiting their ability to move to alternate accounts. To do so, the team has increased its efforts to ensure accounts are utilizing 2-factor authentication, it has ramped-up additional resources to help the security and enforcement teams, it has increased the frequency of bans, and it is working to improve upon communication and updates. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/15/call-of-duty-warzone-top-10-roofs-of-verdansk"] Hardware bans are also used for repeat, or serial, cheaters, and the security research team uses such tactics as using malware hidden as a "dropper" in a fake cheat that was being offered for sale. In February, it was reported that over 60,000 cheaters were banned in a massive banwave, and that followed one of the biggest Warzone streamers, Vikkstar123, confirming that he would no longer play the game following how prevalent the cheating problem is. Fortunately, Activision appears to be stepping up their efforts to combat cheaters and there are those like Alex Zedra, the actress behind Warzone's Mara, who helped get two cheaters banned on Twitch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/10/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-and-warzone-season-two-combat-pack-trailer"] [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.

Pokemon Go developer Niantic says it is aware of an issue that makes certain Pokemon invisible for some players. Skrelp and Clauncher were recently added to Pokemon Go for the game's Rivals Week event. Some players are unable to see the new creatures on-screen when trying to catch them, making the monsters essentially impossible to capture. In a tweet, Niantic Support said this is impacting players using an older version of the software. Niantic says players can update their app to the newest version while the developers work on a fix. "Trainers, due to a bug, Skrelp and Clauncher cannot be seen on versions of Pokémon GO older than 0.205. As a result, Trainers on older versions of the app may not be able to catch them. Please update your app to the latest version as a workaround, while we work on a fix."

Trainers, due to a bug, Skrelp and Clauncher cannot be seen on versions of Pokémon GO older than 0.205. As a result, Trainers on older versions of the app may not be able to catch them. Please update your app to the latest version as a workaround, while we work on a fix.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) April 13, 2021

Pokemon Go just had a record year, with the game earning over $1 billion in 2020 alone. Overall, the game has earned well over $4 billion since its launch in 2016. Niantic and Nintendo recently announced a partnership to develop more AR games based on Nintendo franchises, beginning with a Pikmin title. The game will be the first project for Niantic's Tokyo studio, which was established in 2018. Story first reported by NME. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/05/pokemon-go-friends-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Pokemon Go developer Niantic says it is aware of an issue that makes certain Pokemon invisible for some players. Skrelp and Clauncher were recently added to Pokemon Go for the game's Rivals Week event. Some players are unable to see the new creatures on-screen when trying to catch them, making the monsters essentially impossible to capture. In a tweet, Niantic Support said this is impacting players using an older version of the software. Niantic says players can update their app to the newest version while the developers work on a fix. "Trainers, due to a bug, Skrelp and Clauncher cannot be seen on versions of Pokémon GO older than 0.205. As a result, Trainers on older versions of the app may not be able to catch them. Please update your app to the latest version as a workaround, while we work on a fix."

Trainers, due to a bug, Skrelp and Clauncher cannot be seen on versions of Pokémon GO older than 0.205. As a result, Trainers on older versions of the app may not be able to catch them. Please update your app to the latest version as a workaround, while we work on a fix.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) April 13, 2021

Pokemon Go just had a record year, with the game earning over $1 billion in 2020 alone. Overall, the game has earned well over $4 billion since its launch in 2016. Niantic and Nintendo recently announced a partnership to develop more AR games based on Nintendo franchises, beginning with a Pikmin title. The game will be the first project for Niantic's Tokyo studio, which was established in 2018. Story first reported by NME. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/05/pokemon-go-friends-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

In the absence of any trailers or preview footage of Paramount's upcoming Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, it falls on Hasbro to give G.I. Joe fans their first real look at the cast of this prequel movie. Hasbro just unveiled a new wave of G.I. Joe Classified figures based on the new movie, offering an early glimpse of Henry Golding's Snake Eyes, Andrew Koji's Storm Shadow, Samara Weaving's Scarlett and other movie characters. Get a better look at all five figures in the slideshow gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=snake-eyes-hasbro-figures-offer-closer-look-at-gi-joe-prequel-movie&captions=true"] These figures show the costumes in Snake Eyes aren't straying far from the source material, with both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's ninja costumes looking similar to the ones seen in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013's G.I. Joe Retaliation. Scarlett's suit, meanwhile, is reminiscent of her less colorful and more tactical look introduced in IDW's G.I. Joe comics. The biggest change in the movie may involve Snake Eyes out of costume. This iconic ninja hero rarely ever speaks or shows his face and is traditionally depicted as having horrific burns or facial scars. But the fact that this figure includes an unmasked head sculpt suggests we'll be seeing a lot more unmasked Snake Eyes this time, which gels with Golding's previous teases about his character. The question, of course, is whether Snake Eyes will make it through the entire film unscathed, or if this origin story will reveal how he got those scars. Haruka Abe's character Akiko is also included in this lineup. Little is known about Akiko, as she doesn't appear to be based on a preexisting G.I. Joe character. But given her appearance and the fact that she's wielding a double-bladed bo staff, we can probably assume Akiko is a member of Clan Arashikage alongside Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/10/snake-eyes-henry-golding-on-why-its-important-to-show-him-without-his-mask"] These figures are priced at $22.99 each and are expected to hit stores in October 2021, alongside the movie's debut. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins was originally slated for an October 2020 release before being delayed due to the pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

In the absence of any trailers or preview footage of Paramount's upcoming Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, it falls on Hasbro to give G.I. Joe fans their first real look at the cast of this prequel movie. Hasbro just unveiled a new wave of G.I. Joe Classified figures based on the new movie, offering an early glimpse of Henry Golding's Snake Eyes, Andrew Koji's Storm Shadow, Samara Weaving's Scarlett and other movie characters. Get a better look at all five figures in the slideshow gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=snake-eyes-hasbro-figures-offer-closer-look-at-gi-joe-prequel-movie&captions=true"] These figures show the costumes in Snake Eyes aren't straying far from the source material, with both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's ninja costumes looking similar to the ones seen in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and 2013's G.I. Joe Retaliation. Scarlett's suit, meanwhile, is reminiscent of her less colorful and more tactical look introduced in IDW's G.I. Joe comics. The biggest change in the movie may involve Snake Eyes out of costume. This iconic ninja hero rarely ever speaks or shows his face and is traditionally depicted as having horrific burns or facial scars. But the fact that this figure includes an unmasked head sculpt suggests we'll be seeing a lot more unmasked Snake Eyes this time, which gels with Golding's previous teases about his character. The question, of course, is whether Snake Eyes will make it through the entire film unscathed, or if this origin story will reveal how he got those scars. Haruka Abe's character Akiko is also included in this lineup. Little is known about Akiko, as she doesn't appear to be based on a preexisting G.I. Joe character. But given her appearance and the fact that she's wielding a double-bladed bo staff, we can probably assume Akiko is a member of Clan Arashikage alongside Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/10/snake-eyes-henry-golding-on-why-its-important-to-show-him-without-his-mask"] These figures are priced at $22.99 each and are expected to hit stores in October 2021, alongside the movie's debut. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins was originally slated for an October 2020 release before being delayed due to the pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.