Over Thanksgiving weekend 2021, Steam broke a new record as it reached an all-time peak of 27,384,959 concurrent players using games on its service.

SteamDB revealed that this new record for concurrent players occurred on Sunday, November 28, and this peak is just one of the many times in 2021 that Steam has accomplished this feat.

As of this writing, the top five most played games on Steam are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, New World, Halo Infinite, and Team Fortress 2. Halo Infinite surely contributed to the cause, as it is free-to-play and has been long-awaited by many around the world. Since its launch, it has seen an all-time peak of 272,586 players on Steam alone.

Another big factor in Steam achieving this new all-time peak is that its Autumn Sale has begun, and it will offer fans big discounts on a ton of different games until December 1.

Steam's concurrent player record has been constantly on the rise for some time now, and its new 27 million milestone is 10 million more than the 17,155,417 it was in November 2019.

Steam's impressive 2021 is obviously built on the games that live in its store, and they have also shared in the platform's success this year. For example, Team Fortress 2 broke its own Steam concurrent record after 14 years in 2021, and Final Fantasy 14 did the same without releasing anything new. Of course, there are many factors beyond just being on Steam that accounted for these achievements, but it's worth applauding nonetheless.

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.

Over Thanksgiving weekend 2021, Steam broke a new record as it reached an all-time peak of 27,384,959 concurrent players using games on its service.

SteamDB revealed that this new record for concurrent players occurred on Sunday, November 28, and this peak is just one of the many times in 2021 that Steam has accomplished this feat.

As of this writing, the top five most played games on Steam are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, New World, Halo Infinite, and Team Fortress 2. Halo Infinite surely contributed to the cause, as it is free-to-play and has been long-awaited by many around the world. Since its launch, it has seen an all-time peak of 272,586 players on Steam alone.

Another big factor in Steam achieving this new all-time peak is that its Autumn Sale has begun, and it will offer fans big discounts on a ton of different games until December 1.

Steam's concurrent player record has been constantly on the rise for some time now, and its new 27 million milestone is 10 million more than the 17,155,417 it was in November 2019.

Steam's impressive 2021 is obviously built on the games that live in its store, and they have also shared in the platform's success this year. For example, Team Fortress 2 broke its own Steam concurrent record after 14 years in 2021, and Final Fantasy 14 did the same without releasing anything new. Of course, there are many factors beyond just being on Steam that accounted for these achievements, but it's worth applauding nonetheless.

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.

Disney's Encanto has reigned supreme during the Thanksgiving domestic weekend box office, securing the #1 spot over Ghostbusters: Afterlife and House of Gucci with ticket sales of $40 million since Wednesday, November 24.

As reported by Variety, Encanto, Disney's latest Thanksgiving/holiday theatrical release, didn't live up to the House of Mouse's other films' holiday debuts, including 2019's Frozen at $123.7 million, 2018's Ralph Breaks the Internet at $84.6 million, and 2017's Coco at $71 million.

While Encanto's box office performance is obviously in part due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it did manage to earn enough to make it the best opening weekend for an animated film during the pandemic. Encanto cost $120 million to produce, and it being exclusively in theaters may help it get there over its run.

Another new movie to find its way exclusively to theaters was Lady Gaga and Adam Driver's House of Gucci. Despite it not being able to surpass Ghostbusters: Afterlife's second-week earnings of $35 million since Wednesday, it earned a respectable $21.8 million in its first five days in theaters and placed third.

House of Gucci also performed better than other "films aimed at older crowds, such as Will Smith’s awards hopeful 'King Richard' ($11.3 million), Ridley Scott’s star-studded medieval drama 'The Last Duel' ($10.8 million) and David Chase’s 'Sopranos' prequel 'The Many Saints of Newark' ($7.6 million), made during their entire theatrical runs."

House of Gucci's international run will hopefully help earn back its $75 million production budget. As it stands, House of Gucci has already brought in $12.8 million in 40 international markets, bringing its global total to $34 million.

Marvel's Eternals placed fourth with $11.4 million over the Thanksgiving five-day period, and it earned enough to surpass $150 million at the domestic box offices. Globally, its total has reached $368 million.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was also new to theaters and brought in $8.8 million in its first five days, falling short of expectations and placing fifth overall. The latest Resident Evil film adaptation cost only $25 million to produce.

For more, check out our reviews of Encanto, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, Eternals, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

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.

Disney's Encanto has reigned supreme during the Thanksgiving domestic weekend box office, securing the #1 spot over Ghostbusters: Afterlife and House of Gucci with ticket sales of $40 million since Wednesday, November 24.

As reported by Variety, Encanto, Disney's latest Thanksgiving/holiday theatrical release, didn't live up to the House of Mouse's other films' holiday debuts, including 2019's Frozen at $123.7 million, 2018's Ralph Breaks the Internet at $84.6 million, and 2017's Coco at $71 million.

While Encanto's box office performance is obviously in part due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it did manage to earn enough to make it the best opening weekend for an animated film during the pandemic. Encanto cost $120 million to produce, and it being exclusively in theaters may help it get there over its run.

Another new movie to find its way exclusively to theaters was Lady Gaga and Adam Driver's House of Gucci. Despite it not being able to surpass Ghostbusters: Afterlife's second-week earnings of $35 million since Wednesday, it earned a respectable $21.8 million in its first five days in theaters and placed third.

House of Gucci also performed better than other "films aimed at older crowds, such as Will Smith’s awards hopeful 'King Richard' ($11.3 million), Ridley Scott’s star-studded medieval drama 'The Last Duel' ($10.8 million) and David Chase’s 'Sopranos' prequel 'The Many Saints of Newark' ($7.6 million), made during their entire theatrical runs."

House of Gucci's international run will hopefully help earn back its $75 million production budget. As it stands, House of Gucci has already brought in $12.8 million in 40 international markets, bringing its global total to $34 million.

Marvel's Eternals placed fourth with $11.4 million over the Thanksgiving five-day period, and it earned enough to surpass $150 million at the domestic box offices. Globally, its total has reached $368 million.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was also new to theaters and brought in $8.8 million in its first five days, falling short of expectations and placing fifth overall. The latest Resident Evil film adaptation cost only $25 million to produce.

For more, check out our reviews of Encanto, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, House of Gucci, Eternals, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

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.

According to a recent investor presentation, DC Universe Online developer Dimensional Ink Studios is working on a "Marvel IP based massively multiplayer online game."

As reported by Eurogamer and spotted by Miller on Twitter, this new MMO from Daybreak Game's Austin-based Dimensional Ink Studio was revealed in parent company Enad Global 7's Q3 2021 financials and is one of its "longer-term" projects. This means we most likely wouldn't see this until 2023 at the very earliest.

It was also revealed that this unannounced Marvel MMO would be "led by Jack Emmert, who designed and helmed City of Heroes, and currently leads [DC Universe Online]."

No further details were given, but it is important to note that Daybreak Game Company was reportedly working on a Marvel MMO a few years ago that was said to have been cancelled and led to layoffs in 2018.

Emmert also has some other history in the world of Marvel as City of Heroes' Cryptic Studios, the company he co-founded, worked on Marvel Universe Online in 2006, before it was canceled by Microsoft in 2008.

There are other interesting details in the presentation as well, including that The Lord of the Rings Online will be getting a "major revamp to upgrade the visuals, modernize the experience, and release on consoles" in anticipation of Amazon's own The Lord of the Rings series.

DC Universe Online, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, will also see an "investment in graphics upgrade and the largest expansion content to date for 2023."

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.

According to a recent investor presentation, DC Universe Online developer Dimensional Ink Studios is working on a "Marvel IP based massively multiplayer online game."

As reported by Eurogamer and spotted by Miller on Twitter, this new MMO from Daybreak Game's Austin-based Dimensional Ink Studio was revealed in parent company Enad Global 7's Q3 2021 financials and is one of its "longer-term" projects. This means we most likely wouldn't see this until 2023 at the very earliest.

It was also revealed that this unannounced Marvel MMO would be "led by Jack Emmert, who designed and helmed City of Heroes, and currently leads [DC Universe Online]."

No further details were given, but it is important to note that Daybreak Game Company was reportedly working on a Marvel MMO a few years ago that was said to have been cancelled and led to layoffs in 2018.

Emmert also has some other history in the world of Marvel as City of Heroes' Cryptic Studios, the company he co-founded, worked on Marvel Universe Online in 2006, before it was canceled by Microsoft in 2008.

There are other interesting details in the presentation as well, including that The Lord of the Rings Online will be getting a "major revamp to upgrade the visuals, modernize the experience, and release on consoles" in anticipation of Amazon's own The Lord of the Rings series.

DC Universe Online, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, will also see an "investment in graphics upgrade and the largest expansion content to date for 2023."

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 United States Department of Defense has announced the formation of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), which, in some ways, is the U.S.' very own UFO task force.

As reported by New York Post, the DoD announced this new group earlier this week and confirmed it would be a successor to the U.S. Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.

The AOIMSG will "synchronize efforts across the Department and the broader U.S. government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security."

One of the main goals of the AOIMSG is to "address the challenges associated with assessing UAP occurring on or near DOD training ranges and installations highlighted in the DNI preliminary assessment report submitted to Congress in June 2021."

This report was the long-awaited one on UAP that detailed the government's official stance on these mysterious flying objects that have been seen over our skies. It analyzed 144 reports of UAP between 2004 and 2021, but the government determined that any official explanation for what these UAP are is "largely inconclusive."

The report did say there were 18 incidents in 21 reports that were said to have unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics, but there was no determination one way or another as to whether these were alien in origin or from our planet.

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 United States Department of Defense has announced the formation of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), which, in some ways, is the U.S.' very own UFO task force.

As reported by New York Post, the DoD announced this new group earlier this week and confirmed it would be a successor to the U.S. Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.

The AOIMSG will "synchronize efforts across the Department and the broader U.S. government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security."

One of the main goals of the AOIMSG is to "address the challenges associated with assessing UAP occurring on or near DOD training ranges and installations highlighted in the DNI preliminary assessment report submitted to Congress in June 2021."

This report was the long-awaited one on UAP that detailed the government's official stance on these mysterious flying objects that have been seen over our skies. It analyzed 144 reports of UAP between 2004 and 2021, but the government determined that any official explanation for what these UAP are is "largely inconclusive."

The report did say there were 18 incidents in 21 reports that were said to have unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics, but there was no determination one way or another as to whether these were alien in origin or from our planet.

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.

Stephen Sondheim, the composer, lyricist, and Broadway icon who U.S. President Barack Obama said "reinvented the American musical," has died at the age of 91.

As reported by The New York Times, Sondheim's lawyer and friend F. Richard Pappas announced the news of his death and shared that he passed away at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He also noted that he "had not been known to be ill and that death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends."

Sondheim's impressive line of work includes Saturday Night, West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion, and many more.

Over the course of his career, he received an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park with George, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama, and was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors.

Speaking of Obama, in the speech he gave when he awarded Sondheim with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he summed up Sondheim's contributions to Broadway and theater as a whole.

"As a composer and a lyricist, and a genre unto himself, Sondheim challenges his audiences," Obama said. "His greatest hits aren’t tunes you can hum; they’re reflections on roads we didn’t take, and wishes gone wrong, relationships so frayed and fractured there’s nothing left to do but send in the clowns.

"Yet Stephen’s music is so beautiful, his lyrics so precise, that even as he exposes the imperfections of everyday life, he transcends them. We transcend them. Put simply, Stephen reinvented the American musical. He’s loomed large over more than six decades in the theater."

What Obama said about Sondheim not creating "tunes you can hum," was an oversimplified explanation of his style and why his words meant so much to so many. His lyrics were "by and large character-driven, often probing explorations into a psyche that expressed emotional ambivalence, anguish, or deeply felt conflict."

Sondheim was born in New York City on March 22, 1930, and found a love for theater early on. He wrote his first musical - By George - when he was around 14 years old. He would continue to hone his craft and would graduate from Williams College magna cum laude and win the Hutchinson Prize that allowed him to continue his study of music.

In his early 20s, he wrote his first professional musical - Saturday Night - that was itself an adaptation of Philip G. and Julius J. Epstein's Front Porch in Flatbrush. While it was set to premiere in 1955, its producer Lemuel Ayers died before he had raised enough money to see it to completion. The show would not make it to New York until 2000 when it opened Off Broadway at the Second Stage Theater.

From there, he would write the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy and, shortly thereafter, his "greatest work began when Harold Prince became his director." Together, they would help create five of Sondheim's most classical musicals in the 1970s - Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd.

Following 1981's Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim and Prince paused their creative partnership for over 20 years, and this change led to Sondheim working closely with James Lapine. Together, they created the "most cerebral works of Mr. Sondheim's career," including Into the Woods, Passion, and Sunday in the Park with George.

The last major work he completed was 2008's Road Show, a show he wrote the music and lyrics for. He had many projects in progress, including a new musical called Square One that he was working on with David Ives.

Sondheim is survived by his husband Jeffrey Scott Romley. The two got married in 2017.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Stephen Sondheim, the composer, lyricist, and Broadway icon who U.S. President Barack Obama said "reinvented the American musical," has died at the age of 91.

As reported by The New York Times, Sondheim's lawyer and friend F. Richard Pappas announced the news of his death and shared that he passed away at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He also noted that he "had not been known to be ill and that death was sudden. The day before, Mr. Sondheim had celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner with friends."

Sondheim's impressive line of work includes Saturday Night, West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion, and many more.

Over the course of his career, he received an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park with George, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Barack Obama, and was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors.

Speaking of Obama, in the speech he gave when he awarded Sondheim with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he summed up Sondheim's contributions to Broadway and theater as a whole.

"As a composer and a lyricist, and a genre unto himself, Sondheim challenges his audiences," Obama said. "His greatest hits aren’t tunes you can hum; they’re reflections on roads we didn’t take, and wishes gone wrong, relationships so frayed and fractured there’s nothing left to do but send in the clowns.

"Yet Stephen’s music is so beautiful, his lyrics so precise, that even as he exposes the imperfections of everyday life, he transcends them. We transcend them. Put simply, Stephen reinvented the American musical. He’s loomed large over more than six decades in the theater."

What Obama said about Sondheim not creating "tunes you can hum," was an oversimplified explanation of his style and why his words meant so much to so many. His lyrics were "by and large character-driven, often probing explorations into a psyche that expressed emotional ambivalence, anguish, or deeply felt conflict."

Sondheim was born in New York City on March 22, 1930, and found a love for theater early on. He wrote his first musical - By George - when he was around 14 years old. He would continue to hone his craft and would graduate from Williams College magna cum laude and win the Hutchinson Prize that allowed him to continue his study of music.

In his early 20s, he wrote his first professional musical - Saturday Night - that was itself an adaptation of Philip G. and Julius J. Epstein's Front Porch in Flatbrush. While it was set to premiere in 1955, its producer Lemuel Ayers died before he had raised enough money to see it to completion. The show would not make it to New York until 2000 when it opened Off Broadway at the Second Stage Theater.

From there, he would write the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy and, shortly thereafter, his "greatest work began when Harold Prince became his director." Together, they would help create five of Sondheim's most classical musicals in the 1970s - Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd.

Following 1981's Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim and Prince paused their creative partnership for over 20 years, and this change led to Sondheim working closely with James Lapine. Together, they created the "most cerebral works of Mr. Sondheim's career," including Into the Woods, Passion, and Sunday in the Park with George.

The last major work he completed was 2008's Road Show, a show he wrote the music and lyrics for. He had many projects in progress, including a new musical called Square One that he was working on with David Ives.

Sondheim is survived by his husband Jeffrey Scott Romley. The two got married in 2017.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.