Infinity Ward added a trio of new maps to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare last week, but the studio has now quietly removed two of them without explanation. Last week we reported that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which Activision had seemingly ended support for, received the classic Call of Duty 4 map Killhouse, as well as two new maps called Al-Raab Airbase and Drainage.

In addition to Killhouse, the Drainage (Gunfight) and Al-Raab Airbase maps are also available in #ModernWarfare Private Matches.

Read more: https://t.co/lVkbsr6UCG pic.twitter.com/bK7Cr6ShEV — Call of Duty Tracker (@CODTracker) March 31, 2021

But, as spotted by Eurogamer, both of the new maps have now been removed, while Killhouse remains, accompanied by the Killhouse 24/7 playlist inside the game. Drainage and Al-Raab Airbase were previously playable in private matches, but if you log into the game now, you won't be able to choose them during custom game setup. It's not clear why the maps were even added, never mind removed, and Activision nor Infinity Ward haven't commented on the situation, which makes it all the more confusing. Hopefully, we'll get an official explanation soon. We've contacted them for comment.

Infinity Ward appears to have removed Al-Raab Airbase and Drainage MP maps from Modern Warfare quietly. The two maps were added to play in Private Matches last week. Both are no longer on the list for players.

Killhouse is still available. — Call of Duty News (@charlieINTEL) April 7, 2021

In other Call of Duty news, check out our article covering how the Season 2 update finally reduced the game's massive file size. The actor behind Modern Warfare's Mara character also recently got two Warzone cheats banned after calling them out during a Twitch stream. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Capcom has announced a Resident Evil Village showcase for April 15, and files for a new 'gameplay demo' appear to have been uploaded to the PlayStation Network. Announced on Twitter, Capcom says the showcase will include a new trailer and gameplay, "along with a few other surprises" on April 15 at 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern / 11pm UK (that's April 16 at 8am AEST).

Brace yourselves for the next Resident Evil Showcase which goes live on April 15th at 3 PM PDT / 11 PM BST! Once again hosted by Brittney Brombacher (@BlondeNerd), watch the teaser below for more info, and join the Resident Evil Re:Verse Open Beta Test while you wait! pic.twitter.com/ZFNhSfztRM

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) April 8, 2021

Those surprises could include the promised second demo for Resident Evil Village (which will be multi-platform). MP1st reports that files for a new demo have been uploaded to PlayStation Network's backend, calling it a "Gameplay Demo" (presumably to differentiate from the previous Maiden demo, which was more of an interactive experience, with no combat included). MP1st reports that the files are around 10GB in size, and includes Vita Remote Play controls, which suggests it can be played on PS4, PS5, or Vita. The Maiden demo was released alongside the last showcase, so it feels likely that Capcom will repeat that trick. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/resident-evil-village-first-ever-ps4-pro-gameplay-4k-ign-first"] We're running an IGN First for Resident Evil Village throughout April, giving you exclusive looks at the game you won't see anywhere else. We've already shown gameplay on PS4 Pro, and run you through the evolution of Lady Dimitrescu, and we have much more coming. An open beta for the game's multiplayer mode, RE:Verse is playable right now, and it feels likely we'll see more of it in the showcase. It's possible we may also learn more about live-action movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which will remake the first two games as a single film. [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.

The game director of the PS5 exclusive Abandoned has responded to rumours about the game being a secret Hideo Kojima project – and teased that it will receive a demo and a potential closed alpha test. Revealed earlier this week, Abandoned is a cinematic, first-person horror survival shooter with realistic visuals, pegged to launch in Q4 2021. Developer Blue Box Game Studios has a quiet social media presence, a fairly unknown history, and released a P.T.-esque trailer – all of which led some fans led to believe that it was actually a front for a new Kojima Productions project. The studio quickly issued an official response to the rumours on the company website: "We have no association with Hideo Kojima nor do we claim to have any association nor was it our intention to claim such a statement. We are a small group of developers working on a passionate title we wanted to work on for a long time." In an interview with IGN, Blue Box Game Studios director Hasan Kahraman spoke in more detail about the rumours: "It wasn't fun but it did make me laugh," they explained. "At first I was receiving messages from people telling me that they’ve been watching me and that I (As Kojima) used some marketing tricks to promote his next game. I didn’t know what they meant until I Googled it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/07/abandoned-announcement-teaser-trailer"] You may remember all the way back in 2012 when a game called 'The Phantom Pain' was revealed during the 2012 Video Game Awards. Supposedly developed by 'Moby Dick Studios', its CEO Joakim Mogren (Joakim being an anagram of Kojima) appeared covered in bandages in an interview with Geoff Keighley to promote the game before it was later revealed that the project was actually Metal Gear Solid V. Many took the unknown nature of Blue Box to mean something similar was happening now. Kahraman assures us that it isn't, and that this isn't the way they'd hoped to announce a new game: "It did bother me a bit as we as a team are so excited to tease a bit of our game and then this conspiracy comes." Kahraman continued. "All I wanted to do is to tease our game. Regarding our social media presence, we’re a small team and not a big AAA studio, it’s already hard work to work on a highly polished game for PS5 so we really can’t spare the time to work on our social media presence full-time (while it is important)." Moving past the misunderstanding, Kahraman also shared some more details about the game with IGN. Blue Box has been working on Abandoned since 2017, and the studio's initial goal was to create a tactical shooter game with cinematic storytelling and realistic gameplay. "We wanted to make something different than traditional shooter games," Kahraman said. "We wanted to make a game that feels real. Like when reloading, you get to see the whole animation, while in combat. Or when you get hit, you really need to stop the bleeding in order to continue fighting." Kahraman talks about several gameplay situations that will affect a character's stability in realistic fashion: "When you get hit in the legs, for example, you would fall down, unequipping your firearm by dropping it on the ground. You would eventually have to choose to take your firearm and fight or to stop the bleeding and cleanse the wound to prevent getting a disease," Kahraman adds. "This is not going to be a comforting battle. I promise." Kahraman says that the game's realistic environmental graphics were achieved through photogrammetry and retopology of the models (a process that takes high quality visuals and shrinks them for more efficient use), and has been bolstered by the horsepower of the PS5. "The PS5 console is powerful enough to run these images at a 4k resolution," Kahraman notes. "However optimization is needed to run the game at 60 FPS. At the end of the teaser, you’ll see some heavy cam shakes and frame drops. The animation isn’t final while the cam shake is removed and the framerate will go up to 60FPS, unlike the teaser video." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=abandoned-screenshots-of-the-ps5-exclusive&captions=true"] According to Kahraman, the game also "depends" on the DualSense wireless controller and makes good use of the immersive benefits of the PS5. "The feel and sound of the controller would change depending on if your firearm is loaded or unloaded. 3D audio is used for tactical purposes like to determine the distance between you and the enemy." they add. Much like Kojima's own P.T. (which was intended as a teaser for the cancelled Silent Hills), or Resident Evil's recent demos, a "small teaser" for Abandoned will be available to download on the PS5 ahead of launch, but Kahraman says the studio "can't share more details about it just yet. We are also thinking of doing some closed alpha testing on PS5 sometime after, but that isn’t 100% sure." Aside from Abandoned PS5's 2021 exclusives include Returnal (April), Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart (June), and Horizon Forbidden West (TBA 2021). We've also got a rundown of all of Sony's first party studios and what they're working on. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Dontnod is embracing a new direction: it's amping up its publishing arm so it can publish games made by other studios, beginning with a new title from PortaPlay. Today, the Life is Strange developer announced it would be publishing a brand new game from the developer of drunken zombie fighting game Broken Lines. Details about what this new game is have yet to be revealed, though PortaPlay head of development Hans von Knut Skovfoged said in a statement that the studio felt "called to work on games with meaning" with a focus on storytelling "about individuals in crisis situations tackling moral dilemmas." A bio sent with the announcement press release describes PortaPlay as a studio that makes games about "war and conflicts, told from the perspectives of the men and women enduring them." This announcement comes after statements last year from Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert, who said then that the developer was building a publishing and marketing arm to self-publish its own games, intending to be "as independent as possible" in the future. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/06/broken-lines-teaser-trailer"] In a statement, Dontnod head of publishing Xavier Spinat indicated that this was by no means the end to internal development at Dontnod: "As a publisher, we want to offer players experiences that are both accessible to the wider audience, while setting the bar high regarding themes and quality of design," he said. "From our first discussions with PortaPlay, it became clear to us that co-producing and publishing this original creation would allow us to expand our portfolio with a game complementary to our in-house productions, while remaining true to our DNA." Dontnod most recently released two of its own games last year: Twin Mirror and Tell Me Why. Our review called the former a "frustratingly uneven adventure," but Tell Me Why told "a good story in a charming world" and received praised for its main character Tyler, the first playable transgender video game hero from a major studio. It is unknown what Dontnod might be working on next itself. Earlier this year, Tencent purchased a minority stake in the studio to help it create a new IP, and at least for now Dontnod's acclaimed Life is Strange series appears to be in the hands of Deck Nine for the next entry, True Colors. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and Lucy O'Brien to break down all the biggest Sony news of the last week, including the confirmation that E3 2021 is returning as an all-digital event, but as of right now Sony won't be there. The panel discusses why this isn't shocking, and how PlayStation can still have a big 2021 even without needing to be at E3. Plus, the cast jumps into MLB the Show's availability on Game Pass for Xbox players but it not yet being announced for PlayStation Plus. The cast digs into how we think the two companies' services are comparing, what, if anything, we expect to change about Sony's offering, and more. Then, we dive into some of the games we're playing now, like Oddworld: Soulstorm, Disco Elysium, and Outriders, plus a haunted Memory Card story, and much more! Watch the new episode above! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console review and our PS5 wiki guide for tips on how to best use your system. And for more Beyond, be sure to watch the first episode of our Bloodborne let's play! [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=6dd2b926-8863-4080-99b2-d08eb61f67f6"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Capcom has revealed its upcoming plans for Street Fighter V, including details about the three new characters set to join the roster over the coming months. The latest fighter, Dan, was added to the game in February, and up next is Rose, who was announced during the Winter update for the game. Rose, a soul-powered fortune teller, will be released on April 19 with a moveset that Capcom says will "change the future of Street Fighter V." Some of those moves include her V-Skill I, Soul Fortune, which allows Rose to use a tarot card to either buff herself or debuff her opponent, and her V-Skill II, Soul Satellite, which makes a return from Street Fighter IV. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=street-fighter-5-season-5-dlc-characters&captions=true"] "When activated, Rose summons an orb that will circle around her," the PlayStation SFV Spring Update blog post reads. "Hit V-Skill again to summon a second orb. Each orb can either hit once or negate a single projectile hit. Use this V-Skill to put more pressure on opponents." Oro, the wandering hermit, will join the game's roster after Rose. Last seen in Street Fighter III, Oro does not yet have a release date, but Capcom says he'll be added to the game this Summer. Oro comes with a moveset featuring some of his classic moves from Street Fighter III and some new moves as well. "He even retains his one-armed combat style," the blog post reads. "However, unlike SFIII where he sealed one of his arms, here he is holding his new turtle pet during combat." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/06/street-fighter-v-akira-kazama-teaser"] One of Oro's new moves is called Tsuranekeashi. It's a kick move "used to help keep opponents at bay, but can also be used in combos." Another new move for this fighter is his V-Skill II called Minomushi. It's essentially a small hop that can be extended into a combo of kicks and punches. The last big thing detailed in the Spring Update blog post is Akira Kazama, a fighter announced last August, and the second to last fighter coming with the Street Fighter V Season 5 premium pass. Not much was said about this new character who originally hails from video game Rival Schools, but Capcom did release a work-in-progress trailer that you can view above. More will be revealed about Akira "in the near future," according to Capcom. Hitting the game alongside Rose's release on April 19 are three new costumes for Vega, Seth, and Juri. You can check those out below: [caption id="attachment_2497177" align="alignnone" width="720"] New costumes for Vega, Seth, and Juri, Photo Credit: Street Fighter V, Capcom[/caption] Check out everything already in the Street Fighter V Season 5 premium pass and character pass, and everything coming to the passes in the future, below: [caption id="attachment_2497181" align="alignnone" width="720"] Street Fighter V Season 5 Passes, Photo Credit: Street Fighter V, Capcom[/caption] While waiting for these new characters to hit Street Fighter V, catch up on all the new fighters announced last August and then check out this trailer for the game's Eleven character after that. Then, read our thoughts on the game in the official IGN Street Fighter V review. For more details about all of the fighter mentioned above, including detailed breakdowns of all their moves, check out Capcom's Spring Update on the PlayStation Blog. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Streamer Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter has become a co-owner of the esports gaming organization 100 Thieves, alongside fellow new co-owner Jack “CouRage” Dunlop, the group announced Wednesday.

“Looking back, I just feel like it’s been such a long journey,” Hofstetter said in a video put out by 100 Thieves.

“And now being, not just a co-owner, but a female co-owner, like how did this even happen! It just feels like everything just played out so unbelievably well. I feel very lucky and very fortunate to be in this position. I’m also very grateful because I feel I can be a very good role model, not just to our community but to females as well.”

Happy to announce that I am officially a co-owner of 100 Thieves!

Its been almost 3 years since I joined the team and I would have never expected this path to lead to this.. I’m proud to be one of the first women co-owners in esports and beyond excited for our future together! pic.twitter.com/hb5uxI8rea — rae (@Valkyrae) April 7, 2021

Hofstetter joined 100 Thieves as its first female content creator in 2018, following her rising popularity as a YouTube and Twitch creator. Valkyrae was also the recipient of the 2020 Gamer Awards “Content Creator of the Year” award. Just this week, she also streamed Among Us with The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon and other popular streamers. She was crowned the most viewed female streamer in 2020, according to TalkeSports. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/100-thieves-asuna-pops-off-in-this-round-of-pro-level-valorant-jbl-quantum-cup"]

100 Thieves was founded in 2017 by Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, a former OpTic Gaming Call of Duty captain and X Games gold medalist. After Haag retired from professional play, he founded the 100 Thieves business, which employs several professional esports teams across various games. Teams under the 100 Thieves banner quickly went on to win multiple esports championships in games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and League of Legends.

The brand now boasts sponsorships and partnerships with the likes of hip-hop artist Drake, CashApp, Red Bull, and others.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

A professional Overwatch player shared their experiences with anti-Asian racism on a Twitch stream earlier this week, describing living in America as an Asian person right now as “terrifying.” Eui-Sok Lee, also known as Fearless, is currently a pro signed with the Dallas Fuel Overwatch League team. Although he is from South Korea, Lee is currently residing in Dallas, Texas at the Fuel’s training center. Professional esports players like Lee occasionally hosts streams on Twitch, which is where Lee shared with his audience his experience in the United States during the pandemic. During the stream, Lee talked about what it’s like living in Texas during this time. The state recently eased Covid restrictions, opening up the city while simultaneously rolling back mask mandates. “It’s pretty scary; people don’t even wear masks around here so it worries me,” Lee says during his stream.

i dont know if i'm "stepping out of line" for translating something about what another team's player is experiencing

but here's the full translation of that Fearless clip. please see some of what OWL players and staff are facing as Asians in America. pic.twitter.com/LZWvnRkuAx — swingchip (@swingchip930) April 6, 2021

This segued to Lee talking about his encounters with racism while in Texas. “Being Asian here is terrifying,” Lee says who described incidents where people would come up to him, remove their masks, and cough on him Lee says he sometimes wears his team jersey when he goes out as a form of a deterrent from harassment. “If I have my jersey on I think they realize we’re part of some kind of team, so they don’t bother us as much, but if I have my everyday clothes on, they run up to us, harass us, then run away.” There has been an increase in attention to anti-Asian racism, especially in the past year where rhetoric around the Covid-19 pandemic such as when former president Donald Trump referred to it as the “Chinese Virus.” “They call us Chinese, then harass us. The racism here is unspeakable,” Lee says at one point during his stream. Incidents of anti-Asian racism have escalated in the United States ranging from attacks on the elderly to a shooting in Georgia that killed 8 people, six of whom were women of Asian descent.

I am deeply saddened by the situations some of our @DallasFuel players have been put in while walking the streets here in Dallas, TX. This is a great city in a proud state. This isn't something we should be proud of at all and should all pitch in to change it. pic.twitter.com/Sq7MGlco50

— Mike Rufail (@hastr0) April 6, 2021

Team Envy CEO Mike Rufail took to his personal Twitter account to decry the harassment his players faced while in Dallas. “This is a great city in a proud state. This isn’t something we should be proud of at all and should all pitch in to change it,” Rufail writes. Rufail says measures are being taken to ensure the players’ safety when they go out, but no specific details were provided during Rufail’s video. In a statement to IGN, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson also denounced the harassment. “At Activision Blizzard, we condemn racism in the strongest possible terms. We stand with the Asian community, our employees, and our players and are working across our organization, including esports, to do our part to combat hate and ignorance.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. Photo by Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment

Amazon has closed a deal to debut Chris Pratt's sci-fi thriller The Tomorrow War on Prime Video. The film is set for a July 2 release. The Tomorrow War was originally set to be distributed by Paramount Pictures with a theatrical run over the 2020 holiday season but was one of many films delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon reportedly paid $200 million for rights to The Tomorrow War, which was developed and produced by Skydance Media. The company has been aggressive in its acquisitions in recent months, shelling out large sums for films like Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and the upcoming Michael B. Jordan vehicle Without Remorse. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/02/tom-holland-and-chris-pratt-share-their-road-trip-essentials"] Last October, Paramount Pictures sold Coming 2 America to Amazon for a price tag of roughly $125 million. The long-awaited Eddie Murphy comedy sequel drew the largest weekend debut viewership of any streaming movie during the pandemic when it premiered on Prime Video in March. Paramount has also sold films off to other streamers during the pandemic. Last June, Netflix purchased the rights to Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 from the studio. The film went on to a fruitful awards season, earning 5 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=2021-movies-preview&captions=true"] The Tomorrow War follows a group of time travelers from the year 2051 who visit the present day to recruit soldiers for a war against an alien species. Pratt plays a high school teacher who joins up to ensure a future for his daughter. The LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay is helming the film. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Today, Sony and developer Blue Box Game Studios showed off a new, cinematic, first-person horror survival shooter with a realistic, eerie vibe. It's called Abandoned, and it's being made exclusively for the PS5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/07/abandoned-announcement-teaser-trailer"] In a blog post, game director Hasan Kahraman showed off the above first look at Abandoned, noting that it's still in early development and subject to change. Abandoned follows the story of Jason Longfield, who wakes up in a forest alone with no clue how he got there. As he attempts to find his way out, he uncovers a sinister purpose behind his being brought to the forest, and must fight his way to safety. Blue Box promises that Abandoned will focus on realism, and not just the visuals. If Jason runs out of breath from sprinting, it will be harder to shoot accurately. And firing weapons will be "realistically slow," using the DualShock's technology to add a level of realistic feel to pulling a gun trigger or being hit by a bullet. It uses 3D audio, too, which it says will help players accurately know when and where to fire their gun. Abandoned is planned for the end of this year, and Blue Box says it's already running at 60 fps and 4K resolution. A full gameplay video is planned for release soon. Blue Box has made a few attempts at haunting realism in the past. In 2015 it had a title on Steam Greenlight called Rewind: Voices of the Past about a young woman who could see and communicate with dead people, though it never left Greenlight. It is also the studio behind The Haunting: Blood Water Curse, which is now in early access on Steam -- though the game has since been acquired by a different studio, Createq Interactive. Abandoned joins a number of other upcoming titles planned for the PS5's 2021 roster of exclusives, including Returnal later this month, Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart in June, Horizon Forbidden West, and Destruction AllStars out now, which we found fun in small bursts but otherwise shallow. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.