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.

Russian Loop Hero developer Four Quarters has encouraged those who are unable to purchase the game due to sanctions placed on Russia after its military invasion of Ukraine to pirate it instead.

As reported by Kotaku, these sanctions have made it difficult for people in Russia to purchase the game on online storefronts like Steam. Some of these potential buyers took to a Russian social media site called VK to ask how they can purchase the game while still supporting the developers in the process.

Four Quarters responded to these questions by telling players to "raise the pirate flag" and torrent the game if they can't purchase it. The developer shared a link to a torrent version of Loop Hero on RuTracker and reminded players that they should use a VPN when doing so.

“First of all, [the war and sanctions] hit us morally very hard because we do not support the war,” Four Quarters told Kotaku. “On February 24, we could not believe that this whole nightmare had begun.”

The studio could not elaborate further on the cost of the war on developers in "fear of arrest for up to 15 years under new Russian laws punishing anyone for spreading 'false information' about the war being a war."

Despite the encouragement from Four Quarters, players still asked how they could send direct donations to the studio, especially due to the fact that Russian developers haven't been able to cash out payments through Steam because Valve has stopped all bank payments to Russia and Ukraine.

“We are very grateful for your support, but the truth is that everything is fine with us,” Four Quarters posted, according to a Google translation of the post. “Send this support to your family and friends at this difficult time.”

In our Loop Hero review, we said that its "cleverly stripped-down RPG concept demands attention for as long as it takes you to work out the clear 'best' way to guide each hero class, and its fantastically dark story setup stands out as one of the best in years."

For more, check out how you can help Ukraininan Civilians, our look as to why these game and entertainment companies are pulling support in Russia and Humble Bundle's charity bundle that has already raised over $5.6 million.

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.

Sony has revealed that the PlayStation Plus games for April 2022 are Hood: Outlaws & Legends (PS5 & PS4), SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (PS4), and Slay the Spire (PS4).

As detailed on PlayStation.Blog, all three of these games will be made available at no extra cost to all PlayStation Plus subscribers on Tuesday, April 5.

This news follows Sony's "all-new PlayStation Plus" that is set to launch in June with three separate tiers and, depending on what tier you choose, access to PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, and PSP games. Unlike Xbox Game Pass, however, no tier will give you access to PlayStation first-party exclusives at launch.

Hood: Outlaws & Legends is an online multiplayer title that is, as our review puts it, a "Robin Hood fantasy heist game where you and a crew of outlaws steal from the heavily guarded fortresses of the rich and give it to the poor."

While we enjoyed our time with it, we also said that it "rewards sloppiness over cunning. That can be fun, but it also badly needs more content."

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated is a remake of the 2003 3D platformer that took us under the sea to hang out with SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy as they try to stop Plankton's plan to "rule Bikini Bottom with his army of wacky robots."

In our SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated review, we said that, "rather than addressing any of the real issues with Battle for Bikini Bottom that could have been tweaked without ruining the spirit of the original, it leaves history intact at the cost of making this a better game – and its problems have only become more noticeable with age and increased competition."

Slay the Spire is a "fantasy deckbuilder adventure that fuses together card games and roguelikes" and we called it one of our favorite roguelikes of all time.

In our Slay the Spire review, we said that it "takes some of the best parts of deckbuilding games, roguelikes, and dungeon crawlers, and mixes them into a wholly new and extremely satisfying package."

Alongside the announcement of April's PlayStation Plus games, Sony also shared that Persona 5 will be removed from the PS Plus Collection on May 11, 2022. So, make sure to add it to your game library before then to continue to play it as long as you have an active membership.

While you wait for April 5, don't forget to download March 2022's PlayStation Plus games - Ark: Survival Evolved, Team Sonic Racing, Ghostrunner, and Ghost of Tsushima: Legends.

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.

Genre-blending is nothing new for video games, but we think it's safe to say that the following two genres have never been blended together before: first-person shooters and match-3 games. Yes, you read that right: Matcho is a match-3 FPS that also bills itself as an action-adventure game with an actual story. It sounds nuts but the trailer (which you can watch at the top of this page) is worth taking a look at.

In Matcho, you play as the twentysomething Max, whose mysterious illness has kept him confined to the Triagon laboratories in search of a cure. The plot involves aliens, a kidnapping, and Max's malady, and if it's anywhere as intriguing as Matcho's gameplay appears to be, then we might all be in for something very unique.

The Unreal Engine-powered game promises "a non-linear, humor-packed plot with multiple endings" as well as "an extensive, built-in parkour system lets you wall-run, double-jump, float, and dash in any direction." Combos and chaining attacks will lead to bigger wins and, presumably, more fun.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this one. If you'd like to as well, you can wishlist Matcho on Steam if you're interested. Matcho will be released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Dyson has created a pair of noise-canceling headphones that feature a built-in air purifier to help protect its users from air pollution.

The technology company shared an initial overview of its new Dyson Zone audio device, which has been designed to deliver pure air and pure audio by combining over-ear headphones with a contact-free visor to supply "a continuous stream of purified air to your nose and mouth" in a bid to help battle various pollutants in the air, from "industrial emissions to car exhausts."

Dyson Zone features a two-stage purification system that tackles city fumes and pollutants by using high-performance filters and two miniaturized air pumps. The compressors in each earcup are said to "draw air through the dual-layer filters and project two streams of purified air to the wearer's nose and mouth, channelled through the non-contact visor."

In addition to the air-purification system, the headphones fulfil their traditional purpose of delivering rich, immersive audio. Dyson Zone's headphone cushions mold around the listener's ear to reduce unwanted disturbance with "advanced noise cancellation, low distortion and a neutral frequency response, to faithfully replicate music or audio as the creator intended."

Get in the zone with Dyson’s latest technology.

30 years of air filtration expertise pioneered into a wearable, high-end audio device. With a contact-free visor to supply a continuous stream of purified air to your nose and mouth. So, you can breathe cleaner air, anywhere.

— Dyson (@Dyson) March 30, 2022

Dyson engineers have been working on these air-purifying headphones for the past six years, and there have been over 500 prototypes in that time. The team started out by analyzing data on air pollution in cities and drawing up an initial concept for such a device, before then moving into user testing to fine-tune the design and ensure optimal product performance.

"Air pollution is a global problem – it affects us everywhere we go. In our homes, at school, at work and as we travel, whether on foot, on a bike or by public or private transport. The Dyson Zone purifies the air you breathe on the move," Chief Engineer Jake Dyson said of the new tech. "And unlike face masks, it delivers a plume of fresh air without touching your face."

Dyson is known for harnessing innovative new technology and bringing devices that may once have been regarded as futuristic fiction into the world of reality, such as its 360 Eye robot vacuum. The Dyson Zone headphones are set to become the firm's newest invention to hit the market, with the product due to go on sale in Autumn for an as-yet-unannounced price.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

HBO has revealed that the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21, 2022.

The official House of the Dragon Twitter account shared the news alongside an image of a dragon egg and a dragon behind it.

August 21. #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/xH6T7b9sa9

— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) March 30, 2022

Developing...

Intel has officially entered the graphics card market by launching its Arc series of graphics cards for gaming laptops, with desktop GPUs slated to follow sometime this summer.

The first generation of Arc A-Series mobile graphics cards debut with three different products: Intel Arc 3, Arc 5, and Arc 7. Arc 3 is available starting now, while Arc 5 and Arc 7 will be available in "early summer."

Intel says the Arc 3 graphics aim to deliver "enhanced" 1080p gaming with Arc A370M-based laptops targeting high-FPS and 1080p gaming.

Laptops with the Intel Arc 5 or Arc 7, on the other hand, aim to increase the graphics and computing performance by offering more GDDR6 memory, more Xe-cores, and more ray tracing units. You can see a comparison of all three GPUs in the chart below.

Like AMD and Nvidia's graphics cards, Intel will include a companion app for its Arc series called Intel Arc Control. This will allow Intel Arc GPU owners to keep their graphics drivers up to date, create custom profiles, and utilize additional features such as a virtual camera and built-in streaming.

Intel also notes that the Arc A-Series graphics cards use its new Xe graphical micro-architecture and support high resolution and high refresh rate HDR displays alongside meeting the latest gaming standards, such as Display Port 2.0 10G. In other words, these cards support 4K/120Hz uncompressed gaming, according to Intel.

As Intel previously confirmed, its Arc series graphics cards will also support XeSS, the company's supersampling technology, to compete with AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Nvidia's DLSS technologies. While XeSS will be the newest supersampling tech to join the race, Intel has already worked with several developers to support XeSS. Intel has confirmed that games, including Death Stranding: Director's Cut, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Hitman 3, will support XeSS early this summer.

Gaming laptops with Intel Arc 3 graphics are available to preorder now; several OEMs offering Intel Arc-powered gaming laptops include Asus, Dell, HP, and MSI.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

It looks as though Fast & Furious: Crossroads is being pulled from sale less than two years after it launched in August 2020.

An update from Bandai Namco has confirmed that Fast & Furious: Crossroads will be delisted by the end of the month, will all sales ending on April 29, 2022, at 4am CEST.

“If you bought the game digitally it will remain in your library and can be redownloaded in the future,” says an update on the game’s official website. “Any DLCs purchased before April 29, 2022, will still be available to use after this date.”

Additionally, the game’s online modes will also remain active for the time being. How long before that goes offline is anyone’s guess, however.

The critically panned game from Bandai Namco didn’t exactly win over gamers or fans of the Fast & Furious films. Although there’s no official reason given for the game being pulled from sale, it’s likely that the negative response has a lot to do with it.

Digital copies of the game will remain in your library, so you can always re-download it in the future if you want. But no new copies will be sold after April 29. Additionally, you can still use any DLC you’ve purchased. So, don’t worry if you’ve picked up any additional rides – they’re safe.

Fast & Furious: Crossroads is described as a team-based vehicular heist action game with players taking on high-speed heists and adrenaline-fueled stunts alongside the likes of Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Tyrese Gibson.

But don’t get too excited…

IGN’s own Fast & Furious: Crossroads review called the game “short, shallow, and surprisingly simple”.

“There are certainly glimpses of a game that respects the film franchise as much as fans do, with a well-curated vehicle roster, some familiar sequences that riff on some of the most memorable moments from the movies, and the occasional cheeky wink at the audience, but overall Fast & Furious Crossroads is a short and superficial relic of a previous generation.”

Now, it looks as though it barely got to the finishing line.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Activision Blizzard is looking to do away with one of the several lawsuits over sexual harassment and discrimination levied against it.

According to The Washington Post, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer is “prepared to approve” an $18 million settlement between Activision Blizzard and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This lawsuit is separate from another one from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Once finalized, Activision will agree to create an $18 million fund to compensate eligible claimants, continue enhancing policies, practices, and training to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and engage a third-party equal employment opportunity consultant approved by the EEOC.

“We are gratified that the federal court that reviewed our settlement with the EEOC is finding that it is ‘fair, reasonable and adequate and advance(s) the public interest,’” Activision Blizzard said in a statement.

This is not the only lawsuit Activision Blizzard is facing on the matter of workplace misconduct. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is also suing the company over similar concerns. The EEOC is a federal agency, while the DFEH is a state agency and both were tipped off to investigate the company in 2018.

The DFEH and EEOC did disagree on how to pursue action against Activision Blizzard and the California agency says that the federal settlement could limit the DFEH from pursuing further damages.

The DFEH told Washington Post that it will “continue to vigorously prosecute its action against Activision in California state court,” and the DFEH defeated Activision’s request to dismiss its case. The DFEH’s case has a trial date in February 2023.

Alongside the DFEH, an unnamed “Jane Doe” has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over sexual harassment and discrimination. Finally, the company faces a lawsuit from the family of an Activision Blizzard employee who died by suicide in 2017.

Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal since 2021 and while it looks to resolve one lawsuit, there are others the company still faces. For a full timeline of events, including Xbox’s intent to purchase Activision Blizzard, check out our story here.

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

Bandai Namco has announced that it is developing a Gundam Metaverse that will take place across a wide variety of formats, including video games, anime, and even Gunpla — its massive line of model kits.

First hinted at in a midyear report early last month, Bandai Namco used today's Third Gundam Conference to finally confirm the existence of its Gundam metaverse initiative, calling it a "platform of opportunities for Gundam fans worldwide to come together to converse and connect in a variety of categories."

The Gundam Metaverse will take place across multiple virtual communities that will connect to a central hub to form Bandai Namco's cohesive vision. Categories will include anime, music, video games, plastic model kits, and more, with each one modeled after the franchise's space colonies. Examples include Gunpla fans being able to scan in their model kits and have them battle one another, similar to the popular show Gundam Build Fighters.

Bandai Namco is hoping that third-party companies will partake in its vision for Gundam where "character rights are preserved" while allowing for future content within the IP's metaverse to be "co-created with fans." The company plans to achieve much of this via a model that will allow fans to interact and engage in transactions with one another directly as users do on websites like eBay.

“Metaverse” has been a major tech buzzword since Facebook rebranded itself as “Meta” in 2021. It’s driven by an increased interest in virtual spaces, which have been on the rise thanks to the growing adoption of inexpensive VR headsets. The push has been met with mixed reactions, not the least because it already seems to be filled by games like Fortnite, but that hasn’t stopped dozens of companies from announcing their own metaverse plans in recent months, including the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and even Disney.

Aside from the Gundam Metaverse, the Third Gundam Conference also included the announcement of a new anime series Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch of Mercury, which will begin broadcasting in October 2022. The show will air Sundays at 5pm on NBS/TBS 28 stations in Japan, but simulcast is planned for other territories. A prequel called simply "PROLOGUE" is planned for release this summer.

Billy Givens is a freelancer at IGN

HBO Max is reportedly working on a prequel to It, the Stephen King cosmic horror story that was adapted into a highly-successful movie duology, The Ankler reports.

The new prequel will reportedly be titled "Welcome to Derry." Should the series be greenlit, it will likely delve into the origin of Pennywise the Clown, the demonic clown who terrorizes Derry's children across multiple generations.

According to The Ankler, it's unclear whether previous cast members from the films will make an appearance. However the show apparently has an "honest to god writer's room," so make of that what you will.

Prequels have been very much in style at HBO Max in recent years. HBO Max's planned Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, recently finished shooting, while The Batman's series featuring the Gotham PD has "evolved" into a story featuring Arkham Asylum instead.

In the meantime, while It: Chapter 2 wrapped the original story in 2019, director Andy Muschietti has said that "there is a whole mythology to the book" that merits exploration.

"Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. It has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans for hundreds of years, every 27 years. So you can imagine the amount of material," Muschietti told iO9 in an interview.

With horror stories being as popular as ever, it wouldn't be a shock if It: Welcome to Derry does indeed become a reality. In the meantime, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.