Ubisoft is launching a five-year plan to improve racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity within its studios and the wider company.

As reported by GI.biz, a Ubisoft blog post delved into how the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher is planning to evolve its workplace culture, one of which is through a new initiative called Project Rise.

It looks to diversify Ubisoft's staff by increasing the number of people from different backgrounds – focusing in particular on gender equality, race and ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and disability inclusion – present at different parts of the company.

"We know we have room for growth when it comes to the representation of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, both within Ubisoft and the gaming industry at large," said VP of global diversity Raashi Sikka. "With this in mind, we created a multi-year strategy called Project Rise to ensure that Ubisoft better reflects the diversity of our players, with a focus on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity.

"Over the course of the next five years, we will focus on three key areas: talent acquisition, internal talent development, and external talent pipeline development.

"We know that different people experience life and the workplace differently – there are different opportunities and barriers that we all face. In the workplace, addressing barriers requires us to be specific, targeted, and focused in our actions."

An increasing number of entertainment companies have made diversity a growing focus in recent years, including Take-Two Interactive, Disney, and more. Elsewhere, a series of lawsuits filed against Activision Blizzard were a result of its alleged "frat boy culture".

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Scientists have created a remote controllable cybernetic cockroach that could one day help rescue workers search for survivors in the wake of a disaster.

A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Japanese RIKEN research institute are attempting to harness the natural strengths of the humble Madagascar hissing cockroach to aide in search and rescue operations and environmental monitoring missions.

However, in order to control the bugs in a way that would actually make them useful, they would have to combine their biological form with a technological control system - in other words, they had to create a cyborg.

Naturally, the tiny size of these creatures makes controlling them all the more difficult. However, the team was able to develop an ingenious, ultralight, battery-powered control system that fits entirely on the back of the 6 cm long creature.

Here’s How it Works

To start with, the researchers designed a 3D printable elastic polymer backpack, which was crafted to conform to the natural shape of the cockroach's body. This specialized piece of gear allowed the bug to move largely unhindered, yet allowed the precious equipment mounted above to remain attached to the cockroach for over a month.

A tiny control module that included a lithium polymer battery was mounted near the head of the cockroach, and thin wires snaked outward to connect to the bug’s leg sections. Each of these wires was capable of delivering electrical stimulation to the legs - forcing them to move - and the entire system can be controlled wirelessly using a bluetooth signal.

One of the major issues faced by the team when developing their system was that of power. The lithium polymer battery powering the control system would function for a time, but would inevitably run out of juice.

At this point, the painstakingly designed cyborg would become less than useless to its handlers - running amock as its natural tendencies reasserted themselves.

In order to ensure that their cyborg remained fully charged and obedient, the researchers attached an ultrathin 0.004 mm thick solar cell to the lower part of the abdomen. This was tricky, as during normal movement, a cockroach's abdomen contracts, and parts of its exoskeleton shift relative to one another.

To combat this, the energy-generating cell was attached strategically so as to allow the bug to maintain much of its natural range of movement.

That’s right, they fitted a solar cell to a cockroach, and incredibly, it worked.

“The body-mounted ultrathin organic solar cell module achieves a power output of 17.2 mW, which is more than 50 times larger than the power output of current state-of-the art energy harvesting devices on living insects,” Kenjiro Fukuda, a Senior Research Scientist at RIKEN, and lead author of the new study said.

During testing, the researchers were able to command their cyborg cockroach to move and turn right and left on command. The insect was also able to right itself 80 percent of the time after being flipped onto its back, despite the presence of the control system.

Moving forward the team is hoping to adapt their control rig to work with beetles and possibly even flying insects like cicadas.

Main image credit: ArtMediaFactory / Shutterstock

CD Projekt Red has released an official modding tool called REDmod that allows Cyberpunk 2077 players to officially create and install their own mods to the PC version of the game.

As reported by Eurogamer, the REDmod tool includes custom sounds, animations, scripts, and more that lets players easily create custom content. It will also be updated regularly as new updates for Cyberpunk 2077 are released in order to stay compatible.

"You can use REDmod modding tools separately (in the commandline) or integrated into the WolvenKit mod editor (recommended for best experience and ease of use)," the official website reads.

Old mods created outside the new tool will still work without issue, CD Projekt Red made clear, and popular modding website Nexus Mods has added an official page on its website to explain how the two services will work side by side.

REDmod is also completely optional, being branded as DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 instead of a mandatory system, meaning users can continue to use the old modding systems if they prefer.

The game's modding community has already produced countless wacky and wonderful mods since it was released in 2020. Users have made CD Projekt Red's unused quests available, a way to listen to Cyberpunk 2077's music outside of the car, and tons of new weapons and clothing too.

On the weirder side of things, some users even tried to mod the game so that Johnny Silverhand is a romanceable character – something that Keanu Reeves thinks is "nice".

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

King of the Hill may be about to make a comeback, but it won’t be at Fox.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn explained the network won’t be involved.

“That’s not going to be with Fox,” he revealed. “We love that team, and we love that show. It’s obviously part of our animation legacy. But what we’re really focusing on animation is launching the kind of the next wave of our signature animated series, while still having our great legacy shows.”

King of the Hill creator Mike Judge recently teased the show’s return saying that it “has a very good chance of coming back.”

It’s not the first time we’ve seen the show touted for a revival either, with Judge and co-creator Greg Daniels launching a new animation company, Bandera Entertainment, back in January while also hinting that something is in the works.

“We were very excited to go into different tones and different styles and try to expand the animation art form,” Daniels said about Bandera's animation slate. "We're in a golden age for content, right? That's animation, too. That was one of the things we were talking about in founding the company: 'Let's push animation into all these different genres.'"

However, Daniels later clarified that no deal had been made for King of the Hill.

Going back even further, writer Bent Forrester claimed there were “hot negotiations” for the show as far back as 2021.

“They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill,” he said. “The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay, I've said too much.”

Whether or not King of the Hill will make it back to our TVs remains to be seen. Either way, it looks as though the show’s original network won’t be involved.

Want to read more about King of the Hill? Check out the 25 best adult cartoon shows as well as Mike Judge’s hilarious send-up of NFTs.

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

Gremlins star Gizmo has made his MultiVersus debut.

Everyone’s favorite Mogwai is now live in MultiVersus, the online platform fighter from Warner Bros., and a new gameplay trailer gives us the lowdown on what to expect from the game’s cutest brawler.

Gizmo has arrived as part of MultiVersus Season 1 and features some interesting moves, as well as an appearance from his iconic pink toy sports car.

The latest update went live just yesterday, adding a number of fixes and balance changes alongside the cool new character. Update your game and you’ll find Gizmo added to the MultiVersus roster.

And he’s got some interesting attacks and abilities.

Gizmo is a support class character with a pretty unique move set, including the weird and wonderful Gizmo-A-Go-Go – a new support move that allows Gizmo to jump onto his partner’s back and absorb incoming damage. Yes, it essentially makes Gizmo a human (Mogwai) shield, but it also removes any negative status effects.

He can also use the move Corrugated Camouflage to hunker down in the toy chest from the movie Gremlins, blocking all incoming projectile damage. Neat, but don’t let your opponents get too close.

Most interestingly, Gizmo can also climb into his iconic pink toy sports car with the Beep Beep move, driving around and damaging opponents. A well-timed jump sends the car smashing into Gizmo’s opponents while you make a quick getawa, and your partner can even drive it around if it’s left unattended.

Check out the video above for an in-depth look at the rest of Gizmo’s moves.

As well as adding the beloved Gremlins character, the most recent MultiVersus update also makes plenty of balance changes.

Notably, you’ll find Bugs Bunny has been nerfed, while Garnet, LeBron James, and Harley Quinn have all been buffed. Taz has undergone some changes too, and you can find all the tweaks and changes in the game’s latest patch notes.

MultiVersus Season 1 is now well underway following the game’s impressive debut. Amassing over 10 million players since the game’s beta launch, it’s an impressive start for the ambitious fighting game.

Want to read more about MultiVersus? Check out what MultiVersus Season 1 has to offer and which other WB characters could be on their way.

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

The final trailer for Black Adam has been released and, alongside showcasing the power of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's DC anti-hero, it also gives us a new glimpse at the Justice Society of America and our first look at the villain Sabbac.

Black Adam is set to be released in theaters on October 21, and we have been given more details as to what we can expect from the Black Adam whose arrival will, according to Johnson, mean the "power heirachy of the DC Universe is about to change."

For those unfamiliar, Sabbac was a villain introduced in the comics in Outsiders Vol. 3 8 in 2004 and was a Russian crime boss named Ishmael Gregor who was possessed by a demon. In Black Adam, he will be played by Marwan Kenzari.

As for Black Adam, this film will follow the anti-hero who was imprisoned for nearly 5,000 years after gaining the "almighty power of the gods."

"In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods," Black Adam's official description reads. "After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed and Black Adam has gone from man, to myth, to legend. Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone."

For more, be sure to check out our look at the secrets from this trailer, including how the Justice Society of America predates the Justice League.

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.

Startup developer Different Monster has announced Macabre Museum, a new four-player time-traveling co-op horror adventure game for PC. No release date has been given as of yet.

“We’ve been really inspired by nostalgic movies and TV shows, and that feeling you get when walking around a museum and just imagining what would happen if the mummy in the display case suddenly woke up!” Different Monster’s Creative Director said. Expect puzzle-solving plus plenty of combat with terrifying monsters as you travel from Ancient Egypt to Historic Mesoamerica and other museum-relevant time periods. Take a look at the game's first trailer above and its first screenshots in the gallery below.

IGN will have more on Macabre Museum as its development progresses. If you're interested you can wishlist the game on Steam.

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.

Last week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said new Call of Duty games will remain on PlayStation platforms for "at least several more years" after Activision's current contract with Sony expires. Now, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan is calling Spencer's offer "inadequate".

In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan said he didn't intend to comment on the business discussion until Spencer brought it into the "public forum."

"Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends," Ryan said, "After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle."

Spencer recently confirmed that future Call of Duty entries will join Xbox Game Pass, but launch on PlayStation on the same day. There's no timetable yet as for which upcoming Activision Blizzard games will appear on Game Pass following Xbox's $68.7 billion acquisition of the company. Earlier this year, there were reports that Activision wanted to put Call of Duty 2022 (which is now confirmed to be Modern Warfare 2), Call of Duty 2023, and Warzone 2 on PlayStation. After that, though, the future is unclear.

This year's Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2, is set to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, as usual. However, the Call of Duty series will seemingly see a shakeup after 2022, as 2023 will reportedly be the first year in nearly two decades without a new Call of Duty.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, Lifewire, and more. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant, where he's probably pleading for an F-Zero revival.

The official Black Adam Twitter account tweeted out a brand new poster for the film and teased a new trailer for the movie to be released on Thursday, September 8.

DC sent all this information out in a press release, which also contained character posters and an official synopsis for the film.

Power born from rage. ⚡️#BlackAdam TRAILER TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/vhyulIlhyT

— Black Adam Movie (@blackadammovie) September 7, 2022

It again confirms that Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone will be the anti-hero’s main antagonists in the film.

“In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed and Black Adam has gone from man, to myth, to legend. Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone,” the synopsis reads.

You can check out the character posters below:

The first trailer for the film dropped in early June, with a full reveal coming later on in July at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con 2022 — where Johnson introduced the panel by donning his iconic Black Adam suit in all its thunderous glory.

A trailer for the film also dropped then, which you can check out here.

This has long been a passion project for Johnson, who’s said to have dreamed of playing the character for years, and he was as excited to show off the film during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

“The journey for Black Adam, it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit,” he said. “It’s been easily over 10 years. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true.”

Black Adam is slated for release on October 21st; for our full trailer breakdown and analysis, stick to IGN!

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.

CD Projekt Red has decided to end development of new content for the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Cyberpunk 2077, confirming in an update note that future expansions, including the recently announced Phantom Liberty, will only be released on PC, PS5, Stadia and Xbox Series X|S.

Following Patch 1.6 (the Edgerunners Update), they’ll focus their attention and resources on the new-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077; however, they’re still committed to and will continue to provide technical support for last gen versions of the game, according to the release.

“In practice, that means after Patch 1.6 your game will continue to work on previous-gen consoles and we will continue to provide technical support to players — as we do with all our other games,” the release reads. “However, new content updates and improvements will no longer be available for previous-gen consoles, including the upcoming expansion.”

CD Projekt Red stressed that though the decision to end the development of future content was a “difficult decision,” they chose to do so because they believe that the scope of the expansion makes “releasing it for previous-gen consoles technologically challenging without compromising player experience.”

The game has been plagued with controversy since its initial launch in December of 2020, as it’s been riddled with bugs, glitches and performance issues that made the game virtually unplayable for some on last generation consoles.

Since then, CD Projekt Red has been able to mitigate these issues by releasing patches and hotfixes to improve the game’s issues — overhauling in-game systems and gameplay mechanics in their attempt to meet the vision and version of the game they’d set out to build.

It now seems they believe to have succeeded and are ready to move on to expand the game on the consoles that are built to handle it.

"We believe Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is in a good place, and that now is the right time to shift our focus and start looking forward," CD Projekt's statement says.

Click here to watch our PC review of Cyberpunk 2077, and for more on Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077’s expansion, stick to IGN!

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.