Sidney Poitier, actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, has died aged 94.

The Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell announced today that Sidney Poitier has died, though details of his death were not immediately available.

Poitier is perhaps best known as the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1964 classic, Lilies of the Field. During his prolific career, he obtained the status of a legend, starring in iconic films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, and To Sir With Love among many others.

Poitier made his film debut in the 1950 film noir, No Way Out. After his breakthrough role in Blackboard Jungle in 1955. Poitier’s first brush with the Academy Awards came in 1958 when he was nominated for Best Actor alongside his co-star Tony Curtis for the film The Defiant Ones.

He went on to nab the Oscar in 1964 and also won a BAFTA for The Defiant Ones as well as two Golden Globes and a Grammy Award throughout his career.

Poitier eventually turned his hand to filmmaking and continued to impress Hollywood with the likes of Stir Crazy – the iconic comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Richard Prior.

Throughout his career, Poitier was known for his unwavering calls for civil rights and racial equality. He was known for rejecting roles based on offensive racial stereotypes and chose instead to portray only dignified, intelligent Black men on film.

He is said to have felt a responsibility to represent Black excellence during a time when the vast majority of major movie stars were white. “I felt very much as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made,” he once wrote.

His best-known film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, was filmed when interracial marriage was still illegal in many states and was ground-breaking in its favorable representation of interracial love. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner has been remade or referenced several times since by other films and TV shows.

After his historic win in 1964, Poitier remained the only Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar until Denzel Washington in 2002. This was the same year Poitier himself received the honorary Oscar “in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human.”

Aside from his legendary acting credentials, Poitier also received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He also served as the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan between 1997 and 2007.

Poitier was one of the last major stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, after the death of Kirk Douglas in 2020.

Poitier is survived by his wife, Joanna Shimkus, and six daughters.

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

Sidney Poitier, actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, has died aged 94.

The Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell announced today that Sidney Poitier has died, though details of his death were not immediately available.

Poitier is perhaps best known as the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1964 classic, Lilies of the Field. During his prolific career, he obtained the status of a legend, starring in iconic films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, and To Sir With Love among many others.

Poitier made his film debut in the 1950 film noir, No Way Out. After his breakthrough role in Blackboard Jungle in 1955. Poitier’s first brush with the Academy Awards came in 1958 when he was nominated for Best Actor alongside his co-star Tony Curtis for the film The Defiant Ones.

He went on to nab the Oscar in 1964 and also won a BAFTA for The Defiant Ones as well as two Golden Globes and a Grammy Award throughout his career.

Poitier eventually turned his hand to filmmaking and continued to impress Hollywood with the likes of Stir Crazy – the iconic comedy film starring Gene Wilder and Richard Prior.

Throughout his career, Poitier was known for his unwavering calls for civil rights and racial equality. He was known for rejecting roles based on offensive racial stereotypes and chose instead to portray only dignified, intelligent Black men on film.

He is said to have felt a responsibility to represent Black excellence during a time when the vast majority of major movie stars were white. “I felt very much as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made,” he once wrote.

His best-known film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, was filmed when interracial marriage was still illegal in many states and was ground-breaking in its favorable representation of interracial love. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner has been remade or referenced several times since by other films and TV shows.

After his historic win in 1964, Poitier remained the only Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar until Denzel Washington in 2002. This was the same year Poitier himself received the honorary Oscar “in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human.”

Aside from his legendary acting credentials, Poitier also received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He also served as the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan between 1997 and 2007.

Poitier was one of the last major stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, after the death of Kirk Douglas in 2020.

Poitier is survived by his wife, Joanna Shimkus, and six daughters.

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

According to an industry analyst, Mario Kart 9 is currently in "active development", will have a new racing twist, and could be teased this year.

The speculation surrounding the game comes from Tokyo-based industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, who when writing his predictions for the upcoming year for Gamesindustry.biz, said that a new entry in the beloved racing series is on the way.

"I am aware Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development," he said before saying that Nintendo "could tease" their next entry of the franchise this year.

What's more, Toto also stated that Mario Kart 9 may launch with a "new twist". New Mario Kart games regularly include twists on the karting formula, from Double Dash's two-character karts, to Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity sections.

While the analyst refrained from adding further, that hasn't stopped fans on social media from speculating as to what the twist might be. From theories suggesting that the next installment could bring in a range of stars from other franchises to others routing for an F1-centric take to the popular series, the community has done a good job so far at offering up its suggestions toward a potential upcoming reveal.

The twist is that it borrows a load of mechanics from F1 Race Stars - including the damage system. Enjoy hitting those pit lanes every time one comes up.

— Christopher Searle (@DarkRulaMedia) January 7, 2022

In addition to Toto's predictions surrounding Mario Kart 9, the analyst also suggested that 2022 could be the year that Nintendo brings another one of its series to mobile devices. "On mobile, Nintendo has been very silent since Mario Kart Tour's launch in 2019, but I think 2022 is when we will see an established IP arriving on smart devices again," he said.

Last year, Mario Kart 8 officially became the best-selling racing game in US history. The title, which combines sales for both the Wii U version and the Nintendo Switch's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, surpassed Mario Kart Wii back in April after selling over 40 million combined units and taking pole position.

For more from the world of Nintendo, make sure to check out this piece detailing our roundup of the top 25 Nintendo Switch games.

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

According to an industry analyst, Mario Kart 9 is currently in "active development", will have a new racing twist, and could be teased this year.

The speculation surrounding the game comes from Tokyo-based industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, who when writing his predictions for the upcoming year for Gamesindustry.biz, and said that a new entry in the beloved racing series is on the way.

"I am aware Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development," he said before saying that Nintendo "could tease" their next entry of the franchise this year.

What's more, Toto also stated that Mario Kart 9 may launch with a "new twist". New Mario Kart games regularly include twists on the karting formula, from Double Dash's two-character karts, to Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity sections.

While the analyst refrained from adding further, that hasn't stopped fans on social media from speculating as to what the twist might be. From theories suggesting that the next installment could bring in a range of stars from other franchises to others routing for an F1-centric take to the popular series, the community has done a good job so far at offering up its suggestions toward a potential upcoming reveal.

The twist is that it borrows a load of mechanics from F1 Race Stars - including the damage system. Enjoy hitting those pit lanes every time one comes up.

— Christopher Searle (@DarkRulaMedia) January 7, 2022

In addition to Toto's predictions surrounding Mario Kart 9, the analyst also suggested that 2022 could be the year that Nintendo brings another one of its series to mobile devices. "On mobile, Nintendo has been very silent since Mario Kart Tour's launch in 2019, but I think 2022 is when we will see an established IP arriving on smart devices again," he said.

Last year, Mario Kart 8 officially became the best-selling racing game in US history. The title, which combines sales for both the Wii U version and the Ninendo Switch's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, surpassed Mario Kart Wii back in April after selling over 40 million combined units and taking pole position.

For more from the world of Nintendo, make sure to check out this piece detailing our roundup of the top 25 Nintendo Switch games.

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

The Boys Season 3 will premiere its first three episodes worldwide on Prime Video on June 3 2022, with the remaining five episodes airing every Friday through July 8.

The release date for The Boys Season 3 was announced during the final installment of the Vought News Network (VNN) digital video miniseries, 'Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman', which was designed to help bridge the gap between Season 2 and the upcoming third season, following on from the explosive action of the last season finale in October 2020.

Small spoilers for The Boys Season 2 follow.

Towards the end of Season 2, Homelander found himself in a particularly bad place. He started to lose his grip on reality, and desperately tried to regain control of the unravelling situation. In a scene that was originally cut from the first season, he repeatedly chanted the phrase "I can do whatever I want!"... and that appears to be his outlook this coming season.

Antony Starr will return as the narcissistic leader of The Seven alongside Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, one of the earliest superheroes injected with Compound V during WWII.

After Soldier Boy fought in WWII, he became the first super celebrity and a mainstay of American culture for decades. The history of his Payback team will likely play a significant role in the third season if the first episode's title is anything to go by. To learn more about Solider Boy, check out our explainer of this character who introduces a f***ed-up take on Avengers.

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

The Boys Season 3 will premiere its first three episodes worldwide on Prime Video on June 3 2022, with the remaining five episodes airing every Friday through July 8.

The release date for The Boys Season 3 was announced during the final installment of the Vought News Network (VNN) digital video miniseries, 'Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman', which was designed to help bridge the gap between Season 2 and the upcoming third season, following on from the explosive action of the last season finale in October 2020.

Small spoilers for The Boys Season 2 follow.

Towards the end of Season 2, Homelander found himself in a particularly bad place. He started to lose his grip on reality, and desperately tried to regain control of the unravelling situation. In a scene that was originally cut from the first season, he repeatedly chanted the phrase "I can do whatever I want!"... and that appears to be his outlook this coming season.

Antony Starr will return as the narcissistic leader of The Seven alongside Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, one of the earliest superheroes injected with Compound V during WWII.

After Soldier Boy fought in WWII, he became the first super celebrity and a mainstay of American culture for decades. The history of his Payback team will likely play a significant role in the third season if the first episode's title is anything to go by. To learn more about Solider Boy, check out our explainer of this character who introduces a f***ed-up take on Avengers.

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

Members of a hacking group creating cheats for PUBG Mobile have been ordered to pay $10 million in damages – which PUBG's developers say they'll reinvest into anti-cheat technology.

As detailed in a press release, federal courts in the US and Germany recently ruled in favor of PUBG Mobile publishers Tencent Games and Krafton in a lawsuit launched against members of a hacking group known for creating and distributing cheats within the game.

As part of the ruling, the defendants have been ordered to pay the publishers around $10 million USD in damages. In addition, the group has also been ordered to provide details pertaining to how they were able to exploit the game in the first place and are under strict instructions to cease any future illegal activities involving game cheating.

In a statement following the legal victory, Tencent Games PUBG Mobile Producer Rick Li spoke about the importance of the ruling within the game's online community. “Millions of players worldwide enjoy PUBG Mobile and we will ensure a level playing field for everyone. Sadly, the actions of hacker groups undermine the fairness of the game. These Judgements send a clear message that we will not tolerate cheating in PUBG Mobile," he said.

Krafton's Head of PUBG Mobile Product Development Minu Lee added that the publishers will continue to monitor the state of the game going forward. “Fun and fairness is the bedrock of the PUBG Mobile experience and cheating in any form will not be tolerated," said Lee. "As such, we will continue enforcing our IP rights with unwavering resolve against any who seek to tarnish or misuse them.”

The two companies announced that any funds recovered from the ruling will be reinvested into anti-cheat technology for the game.

Despite this being a victory for PUBG Mobile and its community, other online multiplayer publishers will be hoping that it sends a wider message throughout the industry. The issue of cheating has become far more prominent with the rise of free-to-play online games and has affected a number of gaming communities including the likes of Halo Infinite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Battlefield 2042.

While a number of games such as Call of Duty: Warzone have looked to combat cheating through building upon and improving their built-in anti-cheat systems, further legal options are also being explored by a number of companies. Most recently, Activision announced that it had launched a lawsuit against EngineOwning - a popular cheats distributor who is accused of creating and distributing cheats throughout a range of Call of Duty titles. With that in mind, it's likely that Activision will be encouraged by the recent ruling in favour of PUBG Mobile and will be hoping for a similar outcome in their own pursuits.

To read more about the efforts companies are taking to combat cheaters within their games, make sure to check out this piece detailing the lawsuit that Riot and Bungie launched against the software producers creating hacks for Valorant and Destiny 2 last year.

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

Members of a hacking group creating cheats for PUBG Mobile have been ordered to pay $10 million in damages – which PUBG's developers say they'll reinvest into anti-cheat technology.

As detailed in a press release, federal courts in the US and Germany recently ruled in favor of PUBG Mobile publishers Tencent Games and Krafton in a lawsuit launched against members of a hacking group known for creating and distributing cheats within the game.

As part of the ruling, the defendants have been ordered to pay the publishers around $10 million USD in damages. In addition, the group has also been ordered to provide details pertaining to how they were able to exploit the game in the first place and are under strict instructions to cease any future illegal activities involving game cheating.

In a statement following the legal victory, Tencent Games PUBG Mobile Producer Rick Li spoke about the importance of the ruling within the game's online community. “Millions of players worldwide enjoy PUBG Mobile and we will ensure a level playing field for everyone. Sadly, the actions of hacker groups undermine the fairness of the game. These Judgements send a clear message that we will not tolerate cheating in PUBG Mobile," he said.

Krafton's Head of PUBG Mobile Product Development Minu Lee added that the publishers will continue to monitor the state of the game going forward. “Fun and fairness is the bedrock of the PUBG Mobile experience and cheating in any form will not be tolerated," said Lee. "As such, we will continue enforcing our IP rights with unwavering resolve against any who seek to tarnish or misuse them.”

The two companies announced that any funds recovered from the ruling will be reinvested into anti-cheat technology for the game.

Despite this being a victory for PUBG Mobile and its community, other online multiplayer publishers will be hoping that it sends a wider message throughout the industry. The issue of cheating has become far more prominent with the rise of free-to-play online games and has affected a number of gaming communities including the likes of Halo Infinite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Battlefield 2042.

While a number of games such as Call of Duty: Warzone have looked to combat cheating through building upon and improving their built-in anti-cheat systems, further legal options are also being explored by a number of companies. Most recently, Activision announced that it had launched a lawsuit against EngineOwning - a popular cheats distributor who is accused of creating and distributing cheats throughout a range of Call of Duty titles. With that in mind, it's likely that Activision will be encouraged by the recent ruling in favour of PUBG Mobile and will be hoping for a similar outcome in their own pursuits.

To read more about the efforts companies are taking to combat cheaters within their games, make sure to check out this piece detailing the lawsuit that Riot and Bungie launched against the software producers creating hacks for Valorant and Destiny 2 last year.

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

Sega is reassessing its plans to launch NFT content, having received negative reactions from the community following their initial announcement on the matter.

As reported by Nintendo Life, Sega's NFT plans were addressed in a recent management meeting in which Sega CEO Haruki Satomi, CFO Koichi Fukazawa, and COO Yukio Sugino assembled to discuss a range of topics regarding the company, including its growth strategy, noting that "nothing is decided" about NFTs, blockchain, or play-to-earn content.

"In terms of NFT, we would like to try out various experiments and we have already started many different studies and considerations but nothing is decided at this point regarding P2E [Play-to-Earn]," one attendee remarked. "There have been many announcements about this already including at overseas but there are users who show negative reactions at this point."

The speaker went on address several areas that may need to be considered before the company makes a final decision on whether or not to proceed with their plans to "start selling NFT digital contents that utilize blockchain technology" in partnership with game developer double jump.tokyo., as per the announcment made by Sega in April of last year.

"We need to carefully assess many things such as how we can mitigate the negative elements, how much we can introduce this within the Japanese regulation, what will be accepted and what will not be by the users," they added. "Then, we will consider this further if this leads to our mission 'Constantly Creating, Forever Captivating,' but if it is perceived as simple money-making, I would like to make a decision not to proceed."

NFTs and cryptocurrencies are currently largely unregulated entities often exploited for scam purposes and have been accused of having a huge negative impact on the environment due to the energy consumed during the electronic mining of currency. Steam has already banned blockchain games, but some companies are moving forward with their NFT plans regardless.

Konami is the latest games publisher to express a shift in this direction, having recently announced the launch of an NFT collection to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Castlevania. Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda also penned a New Year's letter highlighting the company's growing focus on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse.

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

Sega is reassessing its plans to launch NFT content, having received negative reactions from the community following their initial announcement on the matter.

As reported by Nintendo Life, Sega's NFT plans were addressed in a recent management meeting in which Sega CEO Haruki Satomi, CFO Koichi Fukazawa, and COO Yukio Sugino assembled to discuss a range of topics regarding the company, including its growth strategy, noting that "nothing is decided" about NFTs, blockchain, or play-to-earn content.

"In terms of NFT, we would like to try out various experiments and we have already started many different studies and considerations but nothing is decided at this point regarding P2E [Play-to-Earn]," one attendee remarked. "There have been many announcements about this already including at overseas but there are users who show negative reactions at this point."

The speaker went on address several areas that may need to be considered before the company makes a final decision on whether or not to proceed with their plans to "start selling NFT digital contents that utilize blockchain technology" in partnership with game developer double jump.tokyo., as per the announcment made by Sega in April of last year.

"We need to carefully assess many things such as how we can mitigate the negative elements, how much we can introduce this within the Japanese regulation, what will be accepted and what will not be by the users," they added. "Then, we will consider this further if this leads to our mission 'Constantly Creating, Forever Captivating,' but if it is perceived as simple money-making, I would like to make a decision not to proceed."

NFTs and cryptocurrencies are currently largely unregulated entities often exploited for scam purposes and have been accused of having a huge negative impact on the environment due to the energy consumed during the electronic mining of currency. Steam has already banned blockchain games, but some companies are moving forward with their NFT plans regardless.

Konami is the latest games publisher to express a shift in this direction, having recently announced the launch of an NFT collection to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Castlevania. Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda also penned a New Year's letter highlighting the company's growing focus on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse.

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