Monthly Archives: March 2022

Rockstar Launches Paid GTA Online Subscription Called GTA+

Rockstar has announced GTA+, a new subscription service for Grand Theft Auto Online. It will only be available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game, and will launch on March 29.

GTA+ will cost $5.99 per month, and provide subscribers with a recurring monthly bank deposit of GTA$500,000, ensuring players have plenty of cash to spend in the online open-world. There will also be a "wide-range" of members only bonuses, including exclusive properties, vehicles, upgrades, discounts, and cash/RP bonuses. Rockstar also mentions that there will be the ability to unlock gameplay updates that "you may have missed out on", suggesting previously time-limited content may be accessible with GTA+.

The first month of GTA+, which will span March 29 through to April 27, will provide the following content:

  • GTA$500,000, available to withdraw from your Maze Bank account.
  • The Principe Deveste Eight - a super car that comes with Hao’s Special Works upgrade and the the HSW Orange Trip and HSW CMYK Glitch Liveries. (This will eventually be made available to purchase by the general public.)
  • The Auto Shop property located in La Mesa. This introduces an assortment of gameplay updates from Los Santos Tuners.
  • Waived LS Car Meet Membership fees. Current LS Car Meet members with GTA+ will be reimbursed GTA$50,000 during this event period.
  • Yacht owners can upgrade to the Aquarius Super Yacht at no additional cost.
  • The Gussét Frog Tee and Broker Prolaps Basketball Top and Shorts will be added to your wardrobe.
  • The Conveyor Livery for the Mammoth Avenger, HVY APC, and TM-02 Khanjali.
  • A selection of free paints and emblems for the Auto Shop.
  • 3X GTA$ and RP on Hao’s Special Works Race Series.
  • 2X Car Meet Rep on the Street Race Series.

Additionally, GTA+ members can purchase members-only Shark Cards that come with extra bonus cash. These are purchasable from the PS Store or Microsoft Store.

On top of the headline content, each month will see a variety of exclusive rewards for GTA+ subscribers to claim. These can be found at stores on the GTA Online web browser, such as Legendary Motorsport, Hao’s Special Works, Maze Bank Foreclosures, and DockTease.

Grand Theft Auto V was re-released on current-gen consoles earlier this month. Take a look at our GTA V graphics comparison between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X to see how it looks on new hardware. If you're thinking about jumping in on PS5 or Xbox Series X, be sure to take a look at how to transfer your GTA Online save data across to next-gen.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Rockstar Launches Paid GTA Online Subscription Called GTA+

Rockstar has announced GTA+, a new subscription service for Grand Theft Auto Online. It will only be available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game, and will launch on March 29.

GTA+ will cost $5.99 per month, and provide subscribers with a recurring monthly bank deposit of GTA$500,000, ensuring players have plenty of cash to spend in the online open-world. There will also be a "wide-range" of members only bonuses, including exclusive properties, vehicles, upgrades, discounts, and cash/RP bonuses. Rockstar also mentions that there will be the ability to unlock gameplay updates that "you may have missed out on", suggesting previously time-limited content may be accessible with GTA+.

The first month of GTA+, which will span March 29 through to April 27, will provide the following content:

  • GTA$500,000, available to withdraw from your Maze Bank account.
  • The Principe Deveste Eight - a super car that comes with Hao’s Special Works upgrade and the the HSW Orange Trip and HSW CMYK Glitch Liveries. (This will eventually be made available to purchase by the general public.)
  • The Auto Shop property located in La Mesa. This introduces an assortment of gameplay updates from Los Santos Tuners.
  • Waived LS Car Meet Membership fees. Current LS Car Meet members with GTA+ will be reimbursed GTA$50,000 during this event period.
  • Yacht owners can upgrade to the Aquarius Super Yacht at no additional cost.
  • The Gussét Frog Tee and Broker Prolaps Basketball Top and Shorts will be added to your wardrobe.
  • The Conveyor Livery for the Mammoth Avenger, HVY APC, and TM-02 Khanjali.
  • A selection of free paints and emblems for the Auto Shop.
  • 3X GTA$ and RP on Hao’s Special Works Race Series.
  • 2X Car Meet Rep on the Street Race Series.

Additionally, GTA+ members can purchase members-only Shark Cards that come with extra bonus cash. These are purchasable from the PS Store or Microsoft Store.

On top of the headline content, each month will see a variety of exclusive rewards for GTA+ subscribers to claim. These can be found at stores on the GTA Online web browser, such as Legendary Motorsport, Hao’s Special Works, Maze Bank Foreclosures, and DockTease.

Grand Theft Auto V was re-released on current-gen consoles earlier this month. Take a look at our GTA V graphics comparison between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X to see how it looks on new hardware. If you're thinking about jumping in on PS5 or Xbox Series X, be sure to take a look at how to transfer your GTA Online save data across to next-gen.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Netflix Horror Archive 81 Cancelled After Season 1, Leaving a Major Cliffhanger Unsolved

Netflix's supernatural horror-thriller Archive 81 has been cancelled after just one season – and leaves behind a major cliffhanger that may never be resolved.

The cancellation, first reported by Deadline, is something of a surprise, as Archive 81 featured in Netflix's top ten ratings for originals and even briefly hit the number one spot in the U.S. We called it one of the best horror shows on Netflix right now.

Based on a podcast of the same name, the show follows archivist Dan Turner (played by Mamoudou Athie) who takes a job restoring damaged videotapes before being pulled into a supernatural mystery involving a missing director and a demonic cult.

Rebecca Sonnenshine, who made her showrunning debut with Archive 81 and also wrote and executive produced the series, said on Twitter that the team was "surprised and disappointed".

Sonnenshine said: "Thank you so much to everyone who watched Archive 81. Thank you to the reviewers who were so kind and thoughtful. We're surprised and disappointed that we won't be doing another season."

Sonnenshine added that the team had "cool new stories/found footage/Kaelego-lore planned" for Season 2 (Kaelego being a demonic entity introduced during the story). Indeed the cancellation leaves the show with a huge cliffhanger that may never be returned to.

While we won't spoil it here, the eighth and final episode ends rather bizarrely, with something fans have been trying to figure out since the show aired on January 14. Sonnenshine's final sentence, "I hope you'll remember us well," seemingly doesn't leave much hope that we'll get answers to our many questions – and it all feels like quite a shame.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Netflix Horror Archive 81 Cancelled After Season 1, Leaving a Major Cliffhanger Unsolved

Netflix's supernatural horror-thriller Archive 81 has been cancelled after just one season – and leaves behind a major cliffhanger that may never be resolved.

The cancellation, first reported by Deadline, is something of a surprise, as Archive 81 featured in Netflix's top ten ratings for originals and even briefly hit the number one spot in the U.S. We called it one of the best horror shows on Netflix right now.

Based on a podcast of the same name, the show follows archivist Dan Turner (played by Mamoudou Athie) who takes a job restoring damaged videotapes before being pulled into a supernatural mystery involving a missing director and a demonic cult.

Rebecca Sonnenshine, who made her showrunning debut with Archive 81 and also wrote and executive produced the series, said on Twitter that the team was "surprised and disappointed".

Sonnenshine said: "Thank you so much to everyone who watched Archive 81. Thank you to the reviewers who were so kind and thoughtful. We're surprised and disappointed that we won't be doing another season."

Sonnenshine added that the team had "cool new stories/found footage/Kaelego-lore planned" for Season 2 (Kaelego being a demonic entity introduced during the story). Indeed the cancellation leaves the show with a huge cliffhanger that may never be returned to.

While we won't spoil it here, the eighth and final episode ends rather bizarrely, with something fans have been trying to figure out since the show aired on January 14. Sonnenshine's final sentence, "I hope you'll remember us well," seemingly doesn't leave much hope that we'll get answers to our many questions – and it all feels like quite a shame.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Netflix Acquires Its Third Game Studio in Six Months

Netflix has acquired Boss Fight Entertainment, its third purchase of a game developer in six months.

Boss Fight has only released two games previously: mobile RPG Dungeon Boss and casino game myVEGAS Bingo.

Netflix announced the acquisition in a blog post, saying it was eager to add the mobile developer to its team as it continues to expand its gaming catalogue available to subscribers.

The founders of Boss Fight said its "mission is to bring simple, beautiful, and fun game experiences to our players wherever they want to play. Netflix’s commitment to offer ad-free games as part of members’ subscriptions enables game developers like us to focus on creating delightful game play without worrying about monetization."

Boss Fight is the second studio Netflix has aqcuired this month, as earlier in March it bought over Next Games, the developer of a Stranger Things mobile game. It purchased Oxenfree developer Night School Studio last September after declaring its intentions to get into game development in July.

Netflix said in January that it aimed to be the "absolute best" gaming service in the industry by expanding its slate of titles in 2022. Netflix began rolling out its gaming service to subscribers in November and currently has twelve games available including Stranger Things 3: The Game and Card Blast.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Netflix Acquires Its Third Game Studio in Six Months

Netflix has acquired Boss Fight Entertainment, its third purchase of a game developer in six months.

Boss Fight has only released two games previously: mobile RPG Dungeon Boss and casino game myVEGAS Bingo.

Netflix announced the acquisition in a blog post, saying it was eager to add the mobile developer to its team as it continues to expand its gaming catalogue available to subscribers.

The founders of Boss Fight said its "mission is to bring simple, beautiful, and fun game experiences to our players wherever they want to play. Netflix’s commitment to offer ad-free games as part of members’ subscriptions enables game developers like us to focus on creating delightful game play without worrying about monetization."

Boss Fight is the second studio Netflix has aqcuired this month, as earlier in March it bought over Next Games, the developer of a Stranger Things mobile game. It purchased Oxenfree developer Night School Studio last September after declaring its intentions to get into game development in July.

Netflix said in January that it aimed to be the "absolute best" gaming service in the industry by expanding its slate of titles in 2022. Netflix began rolling out its gaming service to subscribers in November and currently has twelve games available including Stranger Things 3: The Game and Card Blast.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Microsoft Won’t Block a Potential Activision Blizzard Union

Microsoft has stated it "will not stand in the way" of a potential Activision Blizzard union were any to be recognized.

As reported by The Washington Post, Microsoft's corporate vice president and general counsel Lisa Tanzi shared the company's stance on these unions that could potentially happen before the Xbox-Activision Blizzard deal goes through in 2023.

"Microsoft respects Activision Blizzard employees’ right to choose whether to be represented by a labor organization and we will honor those decisions,” Tanzi said.

This comment follows fifteen workers at Raven Software signing a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that asks him to encourage Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize the Game Workers Alliance union. Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith was also addressed in the letter.

Furthermore, the letter denounces Reed Smith, a law firm retained by Activision Blizzard, for its part in publishing anti-union material on its website, including a PowerPoint presentation that features a slide titled "Types of Employees Unions Exploit."

“I hope that you will agree that this demeaning and insulting approach to employees who are seeking to improve their workplace should not be tolerated,” reads the letter.

“The content of this presentation was created for a workshop in 2013 by lawyers who no longer work at the firm," said Phill McGowan, director of corporate communications at Reed Smith. “It does not reflect the way our firm thinks about the rights of employees and employers. These slides have no bearing on the pending CWA representation petition, and were not prepared or used by the lawyers representing Activision Blizzard.”

Following Activision Blizzard laying off "at least a dozen" quality assurance contractors from Call of Duty studio Raven Software in December 2021, steps were taken by Raven QA employees and more to create Activision Blizzard's first union.

Activision Blizzard has yet to voluntarily recognize Game Workers Alliance and no agreement was made between the two parties by the deadline set by the organizing workers.

This is but another chapter in the fallout from Activision Blizzard being sued by California over allegations of "frat boy culture" and sexual harassment.

For more, read about a new lawsuit alleging "rampant sexism" at Activision Blizzard and how Microsoft approached Activision Blizzard about an acquisition just 3 days after the Bobby Kotic report.

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

Activision Blizzard Hit With a New Lawsuit Alleging ‘Rampant Sexism’

Activision Blizzard has been hit with yet another lawsuit, this time alleging the company's "frat boy" environment fostered "rampant sexism" that led to a current employee experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination and being "retaliated against" for speaking up.

As reported by Bloomberg, the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Country Superior Court on behalf of this employee who is going by "Jane Doe" by attorney Lisa Bloom.

“For years, Activision Blizzard’s open ‘frat boy’ environment fostered rampant sexism, harassment and discrimination with 700 reported incidents occurring under CEO Robert Kotick’s watch,” the lawsuit reads.

Doe began work at Activision Blizzard in 2017 as a senior administrative assistant to executives in the IT department and the troubles started on her first day. During an "initiation lunch," she was pressured to take tequila shots and was told by leadership that she would need to tell all the employees at this lunch "an embarrassing secret."

Throughout her time at the company, Doe alleged that she was often pressured to drink alcohol, participate in "cube crawls" that saw women be subjected to sexual comments and groping, and play "Jackbox" - a game that often required players to suggest "creative answers" to questions that tended to be sexual in nature.

When she began dressing "more conservatively" so she wouldn't be as prone to harassment and tried to speak out against the many issues she was facing, she was told that "it was just her leadership being nice and trying to be friends with her." The suit also alleges she was told to keep these concerns to herself as it could be "damaging" to the company.

Doe would face an ever-increasing hostile work environment after she raised these concerns and many roadblocks in her attempts to switch departments. It was only after she sent a complaint in writing to ex-Blizzard president J. Allen Brack that she got her wish, albeit with a lower status and less pay.

In the suit, the demands include that Acitvision implements a "rotating human resources department to avoid conflicts of interest with management, to retain a neutral investigation firm, and to fire CEO Bobby Kotick, among other demands." This is in addition to "damages, medical expenses, lost earnings, punitive damages, and a restraining order."

This is but another chapter in the fallout from Activision Blizzard being sued by California over allegations of "frat boy culture" and sexual harassment.

For more, read about another lawsuit from the family of an Activision Blizzard employee who died by suicide in 2017, how the company says it failed to hire another woman for its board due to Microsoft deal complications, and all the details on Xbox's intent to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

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

Ukrainian Sherlock Holmes Devs Discuss How They’re Developing During a War

Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind.

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One developer Frogwares is headquartered in Ukraine, and the team has shared a bit of what it's like to develop a game during a war.

Sherlock: Holmes: Chapter One was released on November 15, 2021, and Frogwares has just announced that not only is the M for Mystery DLC now available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, but also that Sherlock Holmes: The Devils Daughter will be released on Switch on April 7, 2022.

Frogwares is located in Kyiv, Ukraine (subsidary offices are in Dublin, Ireland), and the team has said that, "despite being embroiled in a horrendous war, the majority Ukrainian-based team managed this through external partners and a handful of remote-based staff. They are now aiming to adapt to the situation and do what they can to keep the studio semi-functioning and afloat."

"Put simply, we need to keep the studio alive and functioning to the best of our abilities now more than ever," Frogwares CEO Wael Amr said. "Nobody on the team is expected to work, only those who can and want to. Some on the team have become full-time volunteers in the humanitarian efforts around the country. Others have joined the defense forces. The rest are in various, safer locations abroad or around the country and have made themselves available to work remotely. And we continue to pay all of these people on the team.

"For those fighting or volunteering, each of their spots on the team will be waiting for them at the end of the war. But essentially it is through a collection of staff that either fled Ukraine to neighboring EU countries and those who have relocated to safer areas who are keeping Frogwares going right now. We are an independent studio with no external financing, investors, or parent company keeping us afloat.

"So it's up to us alone and through the support of our players wanting to play our games that will keep this studio alive. And as this war drags out more and more, we and people all around Ukraine are seeing that even if they are not involved in the fighting directly, they need to somehow keep things moving forward. So that when this is all over and it’s time to rebuild and restart, we are not starting from zero.”

To learn more about this conflict and how you can help, check out how other members of the games and entertainment industry are giving their support, why games and entertainment companies are pulling support in Russia, and how you can help Ukrainian civilians.

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.

Seven Arrested in Relation to LAPSUS$ Hacks Against Microsoft, Nvidia

Seven people have been arrested in relation to the hacker group LAPSUS%1#39;s recent cyberattacks on Microsoft, Nvidia, Samsung, and Ubisoft.

As reported by the BBC, City of London police arrested the individuals, aged between 16 and 21, who have since been released under investigation.

A 16-year-old has been separately named by rival hackers and researchers who revealed his identity, address, and social media pictures online, but police have not confirmed if he is among the seven arrested.

The teenager, who uses the online monikers "White" or "Breachbase", is believed to have amassed more than $14 million. His father told the BBC: "I had never heard about any of this until recently. He's never talked about any hacking, but he is very good on computers and spends a lot of time on the computer. I always thought he was playing games."

"The hacking group, while fairly new, is already infamous for brazenly posting its attacks on social media."

Unit 221B, a cyber security company investigating the LAPSUS$ attacks, also told the BBC that it had already identified the 16-year-old as he failed to cover his tracks.

The hacking group, while fairly new, is already infamous for brazenly posting its attacks on social media, celebrating its successful breaches of major technology companies.

Microsoft was its latest victim as the group stole and released the source code for Bing, Bing Maps, and Microsoft Cortana, while earlier this month it launched a major attack against Nvidia. LAPSUS$ also took credit for the Ubisoft cyberattack that happened earlier this month, though Ubisoft believes that no personal player information was compromised.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.