Sony is working on a competing Xbox Game Pass service for PlayStation according to a new report.

Bloomberg says sources familiar with Sony’s plans shared details of a new service code named “Spartacus” where PlayStation owners can pay a monthly fee for access to a library of modern and classic games. This is the same model used for Xbox’s popular Game Pass service.

Documents on the project revealed three tiers for the upcoming service. The first includes the same benefits as PlayStation Plus, which is required for online gaming and comes with some free games each month. A higher tier offers access to the gaming catalog like Game Pass, and a third tier will include extended demos, game streaming, and access to a larger library that includes PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.

Given that backward compatibility has been a popular request from PlayStation owners, using a new service to introduce older games to the library could be an enticing move.

The new service is expected to launch in spring 2022 and will merge Sony’s two existing subscription services PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now — a cloud service that lets users stream games directly to their consoles. According to Bloomberg, the PlayStation Plus name will remain, but PlayStation Now will be phased out as a brand.

Despite beating competitors like Stadia to the market, PlayStation Now has failed to catch on as a core PlayStation subscription service, though the company has recently taken steps to add major releases like God of War and The Last of Us 2.

It’s plain to see why PlayStation wants to get in on a service similar to Game Pass. Xbox’s subscription service has been a huge hit for the company and has over 18 million subscribers as of January 2021.

Alongside access to a library of games, Xbox Game Pass also offers users day-one access to first-party Xbox games like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite. Future titles like Starfield from Bethesda are also coming to Game Pass. Xbox offers Game Pass subscriptions for $10 a month or $15 a month for the Ultimate tier which includes Game Pass for both console and PC plus cloud streaming.

IGN has reached out to PlayStation for comment.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Sony is working on a competing Xbox Game Pass service for PlayStation according to a new report.

Bloomberg says sources familiar with Sony’s plans shared details of a new service code named “Spartacus” where PlayStation owners can pay a monthly fee for access to a library of modern and classic games. This is the same model used for Xbox’s popular Game Pass service.

Documents on the project revealed three tiers for the upcoming service. The first includes the same benefits as PlayStation Plus, which is required for online gaming and comes with some free games each month. A higher tier offers access to the gaming catalog like Game Pass, and a third tier will include extended demos, game streaming, and access to a larger library that includes PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.

Given that backward compatibility has been a popular request from PlayStation owners, using a new service to introduce older games to the library could be an enticing move.

The new service is expected to launch in spring 2022 and will merge Sony’s two existing subscription services PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now — a cloud service that lets users stream games directly to their consoles. According to Bloomberg, the PlayStation Plus name will remain, but PlayStation Now will be phased out as a brand.

Despite beating competitors like Stadia to the market, PlayStation Now has failed to catch on as core PlayStation subscription service, though the company has recently taken steps to add major releases like God of War and The Last of Us 2.

It’s plain to see why PlayStation wants to get in on a service similar to Game Pass. Xbox’s subscription service has been a huge hit for the company and has over 18 million subscribers as of January 2021.

Alongside access to a library of games, Xbox Game Pass also offers users day-one access to first-party Xbox games like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite. Future titles like Starfield from Bethesda are also coming to Game Pass. Xbox offers Game Pass subscriptions for $10 a month or $15 a month for the Ultimate tier which includes Game Pass for both console and PC plus cloud streaming.

IGN has reached out to PlayStation for comment.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive has hit Hazelight Studio's game, It Takes Two, with a trademark claim. Records indicate that Hazelight has seemingly been forced to abandon ownership of the game's name.

In a statement to Eurogamer, a Hazelight spokesperson told the outlet that the studio cannot comment on ongoing disputes, but hopes that the situation will be resolved. Take-Two has also been filing trademark claims for names that include words like "rockstar," "social club," "mafia," and "civilization." These words all have connections to products or services that Take-Two owns, such as Rockstar Games, Rockstar Social Club, and the Mafia franchise.

Not only is Hazelight affected, but other businesses unrelated to the games industry are as well. A clothing brand "Max Fayne" has been included in Take-Two's trademark claims, presumably due to its closeness to the studio's Max Payne franchise. An axe-throwing company in Florida called "Rockstar Axe Throwing" is trying to oppose Take-Two's trademark claim too, while a music book brand called "Think Like a Rockstar" has abandoned its trademark following Take-Two's claim.

You can see that some companies have chosen to simply abandon their trademarks instead of fighting a company as big as Take-Two, as it is trying to extend the claims. Virtual Legality's Richard Hoeg says, "You can start to see applicants peremptorily limit their own applications to try to avoid getting extended out. As well as plenty of folks with legitimate applications simply choosing not to fight by defaulting on the opposition."

In terms of It Takes Two, Hoeg says that since it isn't a company name and that the phrase is commonly used in goods and services everywhere, "I would suspect they simply wind up going untrademarked and relying on copyright," Hoeg explains.

Take-Two has been on something of a legal kick lately, such as suing reverse-engineered GTA 3 and Vice City creators as well as GTA modders.

It Takes Two creator Josef Fares made a name for himself with an outspoken appearance at the 2018 Game Awards. Perhaps he might have a similar attitude next week during the Game Awards 2021, where It Takes Two is up for Best Game, among other nominations.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive has hit Hazelight Studio's game, It Takes Two, with a trademark claim. Records indicate that Hazelight has seemingly been forced to abandon ownership of the game's name.

In a statement to Eurogamer, a Hazelight spokesperson told the outlet that the studio cannot comment on ongoing disputes, but hopes that the situation will be resolved. Take-Two has also been filing trademark claims for names that include words like "rockstar," "social club," "mafia," and "civilization." These words all have connections to products or services that Take-Two owns, such as Rockstar Games, Rockstar Social Club, and the Mafia franchise.

Not only is Hazelight affected, but other businesses unrelated to the games industry are as well. A clothing brand "Max Fayne" has been included in Take-Two's trademark claims, presumably due to its closeness to the studio's Max Payne franchise. An axe-throwing company in Florida called "Rockstar Axe Throwing" is trying to oppose Take-Two's trademark claim too, while a music book brand called "Think Like a Rockstar" has abandoned its trademark following Take-Two's claim.

You can see that some companies have chosen to simply abandon their trademarks instead of fighting a company as big as Take-Two, as it is trying to extend the claims. Virtual Legality's Richard Hoeg says, "You can start to see applicants peremptorily limit their own applications to try to avoid getting extended out. As well as plenty of folks with legitimate applications simply choosing not to fight by defaulting on the opposition."

In terms of It Takes Two, Hoeg says that since it isn't a company name and that the phrase is commonly used in goods and services everywhere, "I would suspect they simply wind up going untrademarked and relying on copyright," Hoeg explains.

Take-Two has been on something of a legal kick lately, such as suing reverse-engineered GTA 3 and Vice City creators as well as GTA modders.

It Takes Two creator Josef Fares made a name for himself with an outspoken appearance at the 2018 Game Awards. Perhaps he might have a similar attitude next week during the Game Awards 2021, where It Takes Two is up for Best Game, among other nominations.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Netflix is set to make a movie based on the true story behind a viral Thanksgiving tweet published five years ago.

Back in 2016, Wanda Dench, a grandma in Arizona, accidentally invited a stranger to Thanksgiving dinner after a text message intended for her grandson ended up being received by the wrong number. Now, five years later, their story of friendship is being turned into a feature-length film by the streaming giant.

Somebody grandma is coming in clutch this year!! Ayee!!! pic.twitter.com/QGrx83nHLl

— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 15, 2016

As shared by Netflix, The Thanksgiving Text will be based on the true story between Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton that blew up on social media following a viral tweet from the latter published after he'd accepted an accidental offer from Dench to join for Thanksgiving dinner. While the two strangers initially met in 2016, the film will seemingly follow their friendship, which has grown as they have spent each Thanksgiving together since.

Thanksgiving 2021 pic.twitter.com/2Ff3PpvvVY

— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 25, 2021

“We are excited to share our story with the world," reads a statement from the pair. "We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”

The Thanksgiving Text is being written by Abdul Williams (The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story) and produced by Robert Teitel and George Tillman, Jr. for State Street Pictures. As reported by Variety, the film is yet to announce either a director or its cast.

The Thanksgiving Text isn't the only film in recent memory to come from the back of a viral Twitter moment. Earlier this year, the viral Twitter thread known as The Story was turned into a movie called Zola, about a Detroit waitress who took a 48-hour trip that turned into a journey involving some Tampa gangsters, an idiot boyfriend, and more. You can check out our review of Zola, where we awarded it a 7/10.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Netflix is set to make a movie based on the true story behind a viral Thanksgiving tweet published five years ago.

Back in 2016, Wanda Dench, a grandma in Arizona, accidentally invited a stranger to Thanksgiving dinner after a text message intended for her grandson ended up being received by the wrong number. Now, five years later, their story of friendship is being turned into a feature-length film by the streaming giant.

Somebody grandma is coming in clutch this year!! Ayee!!! pic.twitter.com/QGrx83nHLl

— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 15, 2016

As shared by Netflix, The Thanksgiving Text will be based on the true story between Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton that blew up on social media following a viral tweet from the latter published after he'd accepted an accidental offer from Dench to join for Thanksgiving dinner. While the two strangers initially met in 2016, the film will seemingly follow their friendship, which has grown as they have spent each Thanksgiving together since.

Thanksgiving 2021 pic.twitter.com/2Ff3PpvvVY

— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 25, 2021

“We are excited to share our story with the world," reads a statement from the pair. "We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”

The Thanksgiving Text is being written by Abdul Williams (The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story) and produced by Robert Teitel and George Tillman, Jr. for State Street Pictures. As reported by Variety, the film is yet to announce either a director or its cast.

The Thanksgiving Text isn't the only film in recent memory to come from the back of a viral Twitter moment. Earlier this year, the viral Twitter thread known as The Story was turned into a movie called Zola, about a Detroit waitress who took a 48-hour trip that turned into a journey involving some Tampa gangsters, an idiot boyfriend, and more. You can check out our review of Zola, where we awarded it a 7/10.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Players heading into Final Fantasy 14's recently launched Endwalker expansion are reporting a number of problems with the game, including long queue times, and even error codes sending them back to the end of the line.

As is quite often the case when it comes to content launched for MMOs, FF14's Endwalker expansion is seeing some teething issues when it comes to server wait times. As reported by VG247, the server queue times for the game seem to be causing additional frustration for players due to the fact that they're being mixed in with a number of error codes that seemingly keep pushing players back to the end of the queue.

FFXIV Players' most feared number as of right now: 2002#FF14 #ffxiv #endwalker pic.twitter.com/En3UVPky2I

— G'raha Tia (@graha_tia) December 3, 2021

As per reports from fans, error 2002 appears to be the main code that players are encountering when sitting in server queues. "Error 2002" tends to occur when selecting a character in the selection menu. The code has been known to infuriate fans during periods of high traffic or when a login queue exceeds 17,000 players.

Earlier today, the FF14 Twitter account acknowledged the issues players were facing trying to access the game. "The login server is currently congested and players may see Error 2002 when selecting a character in the Character Selection menu," reads a statement on the social media platform. "Should you encounter Error 2002 when attempting to log in, we apologize for the inconvenience, but ask that you wait a while before trying again."

The login server is currently congested and players may see Error 2002 when selecting a character in the Character Selection menu.

Should you encounter Error 2002 when attempting to log in, we apologize for the inconvenience, but ask that you wait a while before trying again.

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) December 3, 2021

In a subsequent thread of tweets, the developer stated that a number of worlds are experiencing downtime due to the influx of players joining the game for Endwalker's early access period. "We have confirmed that some Worlds are currently down," reads a follow-up statement on Twitter. "The cause of the downtime is due to the increased traffic load when characters change zones within the World, and we are currently working on adjusting the amount of traffic to prevent further outage."

Following up on the above: The cause of the downtime is due to the increased traffic load when characters change zones within the World, and we are currently working on adjusting the amount of traffic to prevent further outage. (1/2)

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) December 3, 2021

Prior to the release of Endwalker, Square Enix warned players that there may be server issues with the game due to congestion. This is in part due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductors, which has meant that the studio was unable to add new worlds.

For more on Final Fantasy, make sure to check out this piece detailing how FF14 has surpassed over 24 million players.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Players heading into Final Fantasy 14's recently launched Endwalker expansion are reporting a number of problems with the game, including long queue times, and even error codes sending them back to the end of the line.

As is quite often the case when it comes to content launched for MMOs, FF14's Endwalker expansion is seeing some teething issues when it comes to server wait times. As reported by VG247, the server queue times for the game seem to be causing additional frustration for players due to the fact that they're being mixed in with a number of error codes that seemingly keep pushing players back to the end of the queue.

FFXIV Players' most feared number as of right now: 2002#FF14 #ffxiv #endwalker pic.twitter.com/En3UVPky2I

— G'raha Tia (@graha_tia) December 3, 2021

As per reports from fans, error 2002 appears to be the main code that players are encountering when sitting in server queues. "Error 2002" tends to occur when selecting a character in the selection menu. The code has been known to infuriate fans during periods of high traffic or when a login queue exceeds 17,000 players.

Earlier today, the FF14 Twitter account acknowledged the issues players were facing trying to access the game. "The login server is currently congested and players may see Error 2002 when selecting a character in the Character Selection menu," reads a statement on the social media platform. "Should you encounter Error 2002 when attempting to log in, we apologize for the inconvenience, but ask that you wait a while before trying again."

The login server is currently congested and players may see Error 2002 when selecting a character in the Character Selection menu.

Should you encounter Error 2002 when attempting to log in, we apologize for the inconvenience, but ask that you wait a while before trying again.

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) December 3, 2021

In a subsequent thread of tweets, the developer stated that a number of worlds are experiencing downtime due to the influx of players joining the game for Endwalker's early access period. "We have confirmed that some Worlds are currently down," reads a follow-up statement on Twitter. "The cause of the downtime is due to the increased traffic load when characters change zones within the World, and we are currently working on adjusting the amount of traffic to prevent further outage."

Following up on the above: The cause of the downtime is due to the increased traffic load when characters change zones within the World, and we are currently working on adjusting the amount of traffic to prevent further outage. (1/2)

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) December 3, 2021

Prior to the release of Endwalker, Square Enix warned players that there may be server issues with the game due to congestion. This is in part due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductors, which has meant that the studio was unable to add new worlds.

For more on Final Fantasy, make sure to check out this piece detailing how FF14 has surpassed over 24 million players.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Valve has shared a number of images showing off the packaging for its upcoming handheld PC, the Steam Deck.

According to a blog post by Valve, the company has recently completed its Design Validation for the handheld which it says is the "final prototype build before production." While this is the newest build to come from the company and offers improvements on its previous prototype (EV2) Valve has said that there will be "additional minor changes in the final product.”

One of the major changes between the current prototype and its predecessor comes through the product's design packaging - which the company says it is now testing before it ships to fans next year. Included within the post are a number of images (as seen above) that Valve has shared in order to give its community "a sneak peek of the final packaging that customers will see in February," ahead of schedule.

The packaging itself is pretty minimalistic. As per the photos, the device will ship in a brown box. Aside from featuring a number of warnings reminding fans (and perhaps more importantly couriers) that they shouldn't use the packaging as an umbrella or launch it into the ground, the outside of the box is pretty unremarkable.

On the inside, things are a little different. As well as the console itself, the packaging contains a number of short statements with different places that you can take and play your Steam Deck. These include notable landmarks such as "on the subway," "on a ferris wheel" and of course "on the moon," should you be making the trip anytime soon.

As well as showing off the Steam Deck's packaging the post also gave us a closer look at the latest Dev kits to be shipped out to developers as well as the device's carry case, which offers a black material outer and fitted padding on the inside.

For more on the Steam Deck, make sure to check out this piece detailing how Valve recently confirmed that there won't be Steam Deck exclusive games.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Valve has shared a number of images showing off the packaging for its upcoming handheld PC, the Steam Deck.

According to a blog post by Valve, the company has recently completed its Design Validation for the handheld which it says is the "final prototype build before production." While this is the newest build to come from the company and offers improvements on its previous prototype (EV2) Valve has said that there will be "additional minor changes in the final product.”

One of the major changes between the current prototype and its predecessor comes through the product's design packaging - which the company says it is now testing before it ships to fans next year. Included within the post are a number of images (as seen above) that Valve has shared in order to give its community "a sneak peek of the final packaging that customers will see in February," ahead of schedule.

The packaging itself is pretty minimalistic. As per the photos, the device will ship in a brown box. Aside from featuring a number of warnings reminding fans (and perhaps more importantly couriers) that they shouldn't use the packaging as an umbrella or launch it into the ground, the outside of the box is pretty unremarkable.

On the inside, things are a little different. As well as the console itself, the packaging contains a number of short statements with different places that you can take and play your Steam Deck. These include notable landmarks such as "on the subway," "on a ferris wheel" and of course "on the moon," should you be making the trip anytime soon.

As well as showing off the Steam Deck's packaging the post also gave us a closer look at the latest Dev kits to be shipped out to developers as well as the device's carry case, which offers a black material outer and fitted padding on the inside.

For more on the Steam Deck, make sure to check out this piece detailing how Valve recently confirmed that there won't be Steam Deck exclusive games.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.