Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

Diablo II’s last meaningful balance-focused patch arrived on March 23, 2010. That was to be the evermore version of the classic action-RPG. And yet, more than 21 years after Diablo II first launched, that’s not the end of the story. That version of the game - 1.13c to be precise - was the foundation upon which Diablo II: Resurrected was built. That game took the underlying game logic of the original and laid a 3D engine laid over the top, and the goal was to keep the gameplay (almost) exactly as it once was.

Now, however, Blizzard has announced a new patch coming to Diablo II: Resurrected that will once again take the experience somewhere new. Patch 2.4 - which will be coming to a PTR (Public Test Realm) on PC early next year - is set to make significant changes, close to 12 years since the last such update.

The changes will be geared around opening up new opportunities. The team isn’t interested in messing with things that work, and will instead focus on giving players more options. All seven playable classes are being reworked to some extent, in fact, capitalising on the game’s impressively open class design to elevate class fantasies that aren’t currently viable in high-level play. A few examples of builds the team have focused on, for instance, are melee-powered Amazons, martial arts-focused Assassins, and axe throwing Barbarians.

The re-introduction of Ladder Play (seasonal play), meanwhile, will introduce new Rune Word items, which are high level armour pieces and weapons crafted using hard to find socketable items. Set items are being buffed too, and Mercenaries (AI support characters) are being reworked.

These changes are a big deal considering how sacrosanct the original game was during Resurrected’s development, but it makes sense. The light touch tweaks that were made for Resurrected, such as (optional) auto-gold pick-up and adding a skill bar for PC players, were well-received, and the team have had many months of community feedback too.

“The first stage was, let's launch the game, have it be successful, and make sure that all the bugs and all the kinks and all the server stuff… was taken care of and smoothed out before moving on to stage two,” says Matthew Cederquist, Senior Game Producer. “I think we took the right approach, making sure everything was good before making changes. There was such an abundance of feedback that came through too, it was almost overwhelming. Players still love this game, 20 years later, and want to see updates. We took that and ran with it.”

Let’s dig into the changes in more detail.

Class Balance Changes

As mentioned, the changes to the seven playable classes (Amazon, Assassin, Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Paladin and Sorceress) won’t alter what they can already do, but instead will foster new viable builds.

“Conservative is a good way to put it,” says Robert Gallerani, Studio Design Director. “We're taking baby steps… which is why you'll notice that nothing's being nerfed.”

So what constitutes a viable build? Well that would be high-level play in Diablo II’s Nightmare and Hell difficulties. “We're not looking to make a brand new game, Diablo II is still going to be Diablo II,” Matthew Cederquist adds. “The main goal is to take the less viable classes and builds, stuff that has thematic value, and raise them up. 20 years ago, if you played a Blizzard Sorceress and you jumped back in [today] you’d still be able to play the same Blizzard Sorc. But, what if you always loved the idea of a Throwing Barbarian? It wasn't viable before. That's what we’re looking to do.”

It’s a commendable approach, and one that will no doubt pave the way for new builds complemented by both existing items and new Rune Words. Also, while viability is determined by high-level play it’s worth noting that all changes will benefit lower difficulty too.

The Amazon changes are being described as melee focused, with skills like Impale and Fend highlighted as two that are being buffed to increase damage potential. There’ll be changes to synergy requirements too, meaning you might not need to put a decent number of skill points into a synergy skill purely for the buff it can give.

High level play Assassins in Diablo II are usually all about placing sentries and traps and keeping your distance from mobs. With Patch 2.4, the martial arts skill tree is getting a rework specifically to offer up more choice. Not only that but lesser used traps are set to get a damage scaling buff – which means more options than simply going for Lightning Sentries every time.

For the Barbarian, in addition to the aforementioned Throwing Barbarian (Double Throw and Throwing Mastery) build, Leap Attack and Grim Ward are being looked into. For the Necromancer, Skeletal Mages and lesser used golems are getting a rework alongside bone skills for damage reduction.

Druid, meanwhile, is getting what sounds like a substantial rework of fire skills (right down to timings) and other elemental skills. In addition to this, the pet side of the Druid, the summons, are being buffed with a mind towards high-level Hell runs. This means that the Druid’s pets should be getting increased health, higher damage output, and some new synergies.

The Paladin’s cool sounding but not that cool Fist of the Heavens is getting a buff of some sort alongside Offensive Auras. For the Sorceress, skills like the Hydra will be improved whilst the team is looking to make the Inferno skill “less clunky” to use.

Mercenaries Rework and Set Item Buffs

Another area the team is focusing on is Mercenaries and making all of these recruitable AI characters useful across all difficulties. This means buffing their skills and base stats, with new Rune Words also supporting the lesser used Mercenaries. Basically, anyone other than Act II’s Desert Mercenary.

It’s a significant move, especially for those that struggle to keep their Mercenaries alive as they progress onto Nightmare and Hell. The goal here is to try and service the player base that sits in the middle, between casual and high-end expert. This philosophy is also driving the changes that are being made to some of the sets found in Diablo II.

“Diablo II is easy to get into and hard to master,” Matthew Cederquist says. “And there is a middle point that's a little vague. That's where the set items come into play. We wanted to be able to identify which ones were solid and didn't need changing at all. We put a couple of the others in front of the community and they were like, ‘oh yeah, I instantly sell those’. When something like that happens, you probably want to design them a little differently.”

An example of a set that isn’t changing is Cow King’s Leathers; a useful collection of green goodness you could work into any number of builds. Gear that’s confirmed to be getting a rework is Death’s Garb, which currently falls into that “instantly sell” category.

According to the team though, it’s not just about buffing lesser-used items. “Just taking other games into consideration, stuff outside of action-RPGs, when you have one [piece] of a set, there's something in the back of your mind where you want to get the other one,” Robert Gallerani reflects. “You need the matching set. That fantasy of putting together a matching set, having these two or more things that belong together. This is a key reason we’re buffing sets. A set is a really cool thing, you got it, so it should be good for you.”

‘Tis the Season for Ladder Play

Ladder Play will also be coming with patch 2.4, but this is no great surprise, as it was announced as a post-launch feature when Resurrected was first revealed. It will take a form that’s very familiar to old school Diablo II players - a race to level 99. Each new Ladder Play period generally lasts for a few months, and players start from scratch at the beginning of each season. Ladder Play encompasses four modes covering vanilla Diablo II, the Lord of Destruction expansion, and Hardcore versions of both.

Ladder Play has historically seen the debut of Rune Words in Diablo II and that tradition will continue with Resurrected. Ladder Play will be the only place where the new Rune Words coming in Patch 2.4 will drop, at least initially. Focusing on Rune Words as opposed to new uniques is an ingenious way to introduce new and powerful items, as it relies on crafting, negating the need to alter things like drop rates covering countless variations or possible loot.

Although details on the exact Rune Words aren’t yet available, or the total number, we do know quite a bit. All of the new Rune Words will utilise existing runes that are already available in Diablo II - some of them are actually high-level items that were designed back in the day, but that never made their way into the final game. Most of them though will be brand new and set to synergise with the meatier changes being introduced in patch 2.4.

The new Rune Words will complement the set item buffs, some will suit Mercenaries, and others will help amplify reworked class fantasies. As is the way with Ladder Play, the new Rune Words will eventually make their way over to the core Diablo II: Resurrected experience, but only after the inaugural ladder season has come to a close. On this front Blizzard expects the first ladder season to last roughly four months. However, this could change as Patch 2.4 rolls out.

Introducing the PTR

For the development team, remaining true to the original Diablo II and its Lord of Destruction expansion was always the goal. So even though patch 2.4 sounds a little bit like a Trojan Horse-style 180 on that idea, it was only after the positive reception from fans that the team felt they could “start acting on a lot of those theories and ideas we had through development.”

“When we were very first thinking of remastering this game I went out to these storage lockers around the town,” Matthew Cederquist says. “And they had all of these handwritten books and notebooks, ancient things that you had to dust off. But within them were the original thoughts of the designers. So when you’re looking to change something that's so many years old, you don't want to simply add something because you think it might be cool. These changes hearken back to what the original team created. Getting to see what they were thinking, we put ourselves in that position and then built upon that.”

“There are times where we've hit a bridge too far,” Robert Gallerani adds. “For example, fire immunities. A lot of people talk about how at a certain point in the game, fire immunity [on monsters] can screw a particular build. So why don’t we go in and start changing how fire immunity works? Well, the systems of Diablo II are all intertwined, so changing this one thing over here could change 19 other things over there. So we have to do it in a staggered approach. That's not to say we're thinking about getting rid of immunities, we’re just taking it slow. Let's see how everyone reacts, and as we go along, what works and what doesn't.”

Patch 2.4 will roll out early next year on PC in PTR form. It promises to help keep Diablo II vital as we move through 2022. And best of all? This is only the beginning.

Kosta Andreadis is an Australian musician and freelancer who wrote this longform Diablo retrospective. Check out his tunes and follow him on Twitter.

Guerrilla has shown off some further screenshots for Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4, and unsurprisingly, the game looks absolutely beautiful even on older hardware.

As shared on Twitter, Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla spoke further about the sequel’s upcoming launch on PS4. “We've showed you a lot of footage of Horizon Forbidden West on PS5 so far,” writes the developer, “but the game also looks – and plays – stunning on the PlayStation 4”.

Alongside the tweet, the developer showcased a range of images for the game that beautifully capture its blend of nature and technology. As well as displaying the sequel’s desert and wetland environments, the screenshots also further detailed some of the Forbidden West’s upcoming features, showing off several of the game’s mechanical creatures, a previously featured human settlement and some homegrown natural wildlife - including a particularly wholesome looking fox.

While the game certainly looks stunning on PS4, that’s not necessarily a surprise given that Guerrilla has previously noted that it was designed with the hardware in mind. “A lot of the development has taken place on the PlayStation 4, and a lot of playtesting has been done on PlayStation 4,” said Game Director Mathijs de Jonge earlier this year. “So we are ensuring that owners of that console have a great experience and the game will look fantastic on that console.”

That being said, the game will launch with a number of graphical differences between the console and its PlayStation 5 counterpart. During the same interview, de Jonge noted that current-gen console owners should notice a number of graphical improvements - particularly where water and lighting is concerned. Despite creating a game that will need to deliver across multiple console generations, separate comments by de Jonge explained that the experience was “not limiting in any way.”

Horizon Forbidden West is set to launch February 18, 2022. For players who are currently on PlayStation 4 hardware but thinking about making the switch to current-gen, Forbidden West will come with an upgrade path between the two systems.

For more on Horizon Forbidden West, make sure to check out this piece detailing how the game has an entire team of developers dedicated solely to making the game feel alive. And, if you’ve read that, then why not try this piece offering a closer look at the game’s new abilities.

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

Nintendo is finishing off the year with one last Indie World Showcase with a look forward to 2022. Check out all the delightful, charming indie games coming to the Switch including a JRPG throwback, gorgeous puzzle games, and a critically-acclaimed RPG from a popular designer.

Check below for everything announced at the Nintendo Indie World Showcase for December 2021.

Sea of Stars

A JRPG-inspired prequel to The Messenger. Sea of Stars follows a Lunar Monk and a Solar Blade Dancer as they work together to stop an evil force. Developer Sabotage Studio is promising a deep classic RPG story and a freely traversable world. Plus music from Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda. Coming holiday 2022.

River City Girls 2

A sequel to River City Girls, there are now six playable characters joining the roster. Get ready to fight through new locations in a bigger city, and fight with new moves and techniques in this modern beat 'em up. Coming to Switch in summer 2022.

Omori

Developed and designed by artist Omocat, Omori is set between two strange worlds, each with friends and foes. Play through this story and uncover the mysteries behind your forgotten past. The critically-acclaimed RPG comes to Nintendo Switch in spring 2022.

Allisha - The Oblivion of Twin Goddesses

Taiwanese studios Underscore developed this 3D puzzle game that lets you control twin sisters either solo or in co-op. Aisha and Lisha must work together and exchange clues and operate different devices to help you explore deeper into the mysterious temple. Aliisha - The Oblivion of Twin Goddesses launches in spring 2022.

Loco Motive

From Robust Games, a classic point-and-click adventure game set aboard the Royce Express. When there's a murder, players must solve the mystery as a lawyer, undercover agent, and amateur detective as they work to prove themselves innocent when they become the prime suspects. Coming to Switch in summer 2022.

After Love EP

A modern-day story of music and love. After a young musician named Rama loses his girlfriend, he must work to regain himself in a game that combines a visual novel with a rhythm game. Multiple endings mean you can replay to try and complete your next EP. Coming to Switch in summer 2022.

Dungeon Munchies

A 2D side-scrolling action platformer where you play an undead Necro-Chef named Simmer. Hunt monsters to cook and eat, and then gain their powers. Mix-and-match ingredients to create about 100 dishes which will give you skills to suit your playstyle. Coming to Switch later today.

Figment 2: Creed Valley

In a rhythmic world, play through a human mind that is overcome by nightmares in this musical puzzle-adventure game. The sequel to Figment, players will solve environmental puzzles and face off against symphonic bosses. Coming to Nintendo Switch in February 2022 with a free demo available later today.

Let’s Play! Oink Games

A collection of board games developed by Oink Games. Play investor-themed board game Startups, or as a con artist in A Fake Artist Goes to New York. Oink Games can be played either locally or online and new titles will become available over time. Coming to Nintendo Switch later today.

Endling - Instinction Is Forever

An environmentally conscious game about a fox who navigates a post ecologically devastated Earth. Help your young animal friends avoid human and environmental dangers. As the last mother fox, you have to keep your three cubs alive in a game that blends stealth, survival, and adventure. Hunt other animals and teach your cubs new skills, but not every cub might survive. Coming to Switch in spring 2022.

OlliOlli World

Skateboard your way through trippy cool environments as you skate towards “Gnarvana” where you will battle in rank skates and work up the leaderboards. All in Radlandia. Coming to Nintendo Switch on February 8, 2022, with pre-orders starting later today.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

The critically-acclaimed painting adventure game where you use your painting powers to solve puzzles and help the world is coming to Nintendo Switch later today.

Timelie

A stealth puzzle game that controls like a media player. Use your abilities to see future events and plan your escape accordingly while sneaking past enemies and manipulating time. Timelie and a free demo are coming to the Nintendo Switch later today.

Don't Starve Together

The gothic multiplayer survival game Don't Starve Together lets players work together to unravel the mysteries of "The Constant." Players can try the game for free from December 15 to December 21 and carry over your save when you purchase the full game.

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

Ubisoft has announced that it has greenlit the development of a remake of its stealth classic, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.

Announced on Ubisoft's website, the remake will be developed by lead studio Ubisoft Toronto, the developers of Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It will be built from the ground up using the Snowdrop engine, which is the tech being used for The Division games, the upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora game, and Ubisoft's as-yet-untitled Star Wars game.

In an interview posted to the Ubisoft website, producer Matt West said, "I think it kind of has to be a remake as opposed to a remaster. Although we're still in the very earliest stages of development, what we're trying to do is make sure the spirit of the early games remains intact, in all of the ways that gave early Splinter Cell its identity."

Part of keeping that remake true to the series identity is that it will be a linear game, and not open world akin to many other Ubisoft games. As for the gameplay that happens within those linear levels, the emphasis is once again on stealth, not action.

"It’s safe to say a lot of us on the team are stealth purists, and we're behind that level of seriousness when it comes to those kinds of mechanics, and those sorts of things that we want to see in this game," says Chris Auty, Splinter Cell's new creative director. "And we're very, very aware of what makes classic Splinter Cell what it is."

"It’s important for us to preserve the sense of mastery by supporting players who observe the situations, make their plan, use their gadgets, and outsmart the enemy creatively to deal with the challenges they are presented with," he explained. "Ideally, they end up coming out on the other side with no one having realized you were even there. That’s the essence of Splinter Cell."

"The gameplay experience we are targeting is directly tied to what we want players to feel, to capture the essence back when we were all playing the original games," said West.

It's unclear if anyone from the original Splinter Cell team is working on this remake, but technical producer Peter Handrinos says that series veterans are part of the new team. "There are a lot of vets here, so we're going to have a really good mix of people who have worked on previous Splinter Cell games, and new team members who are joining and bringing fresh energy and fresh ideas," he said.

But it looks like this remake could just be the start of Ubisoft's revised efforts on Splinter Cell. "With this remake, we are building a solid base for the future of Splinter Cell," Auty said.

While this is the first 'true' Splinter Cell game for many years, Ubisoft also last year announced that a Splinter Cell VR game is in development. With two Splinter Cell games in active production, it means Sam Fisher's curse of being relegated to a guest star in every other Tom Clancy game, from Ghost Recon to Rainbow Six, seems to be finally over.

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

The cutthroat competition, politics, and warfare in Frank Herbert's Dune novels are a natural fit for strategy games, and Northgard developers Shiro Games are looking to capitalize on that with their upcoming RTS/4X, Dune: Spice Wars. Releasing into early access next year, Spice Wars will have us using guile, military might, and careful management of resources to control Arrakis as a number of different factions representing the Great Houses and other important groups from the setting.

The action will take place on a circular map representing Arrakis' North pole, and we'll have the option to roll up a randomized version or use an "official" configuration that is very faithful to the description in the books. While the whole planet is, of course, a big desert, the devs have gone out of their way to make sure it doesn't all feel like a big, homogeneous sandbox. They even consulted a geologist to try and come up with enough visually and mechanically distinct types of arid terrain to keep things interesting.

Rocky areas are valuable as they offer some safety from the worms. Deep Deserts are the opposite: acting almost like seas in a Civilization game, simply venturing into them will be suicidally hazardous until you unlock later techs. All military units will be limited by supplies, which can drain very quickly in unforgiving environments. And of course, the worms are an ever-present threat, with all of your units generating vibrations that will attract them. When one shows up, your only option is usually to evacuate the area until it goes away.

Open House

Becoming the ruler of Dune can be accomplished in one of three ways: destroying all of your rivals outright, being declared Governor using political maneuvering, or achieving a score-based Hegemony victory, which can vary from faction to faction. The two factions that have been revealed so far are House Atreides and House Harkonnen, and true to their lore, the former has more options for diplomacy and indirect control while the latter is focused on brutal military domination.

House choice isn't the end of the story, either, as you'll also choose a small number of consulars for each new campaign. These sub-leaders are drawn from your faction's cast of characters and can further customize your playstyle. Lady Jessica is an adept politician, for instance, while Duncan Idaho will give benefits to your military.

Spice will of course be the main resource, and the primary way to get money. Its price will fluctuate over time, and you'll always have to decide how much to sell and how much to stockpile to take advantage of this. There won't be a full supply and demand system at launch, so you can't flood the market to suddenly deflate the price or hoard your stock to keep it high, but the developers are interested in looking into that kind of system more after the initial early access release. You'll also always owe a small spice tax to the Emperor, with dire consequences if you don't pay it.

GAMES OF SUCCESSION

The Emperor isn't the only political force in the galaxy, though, and interacting with the Landsraad, a ruling council of powerful houses, will also present its own challenges and opportunities. This is your principal link to the greater game taking place beyond Arrakis, where you can vote on resolutions to help yourself and/or hinder your enemies. If you play your cards right, you can clinch a win by being named Governor of Arrakis. And not all of the maneuvering happens out in the open.

Espionage will also be a major system, though you can choose to specialize in it heavily or barely touch it at all. The ideal Shiro sees for these shadow games is to reward players who can correctly predict what their enemies are going to do. For example, your agents could launch an operation to severely hinder an oncoming enemy army if you know the attack route they plan to follow. You should feel clever for reading the board and letting the enemy play into your hands like a chess master, not merely be rewarded for deploying spies out without a plan.

All the while, we'll run into side stories that can be anything from a one-off involving the recovery of a crashed ornithopter, or a multi-step event wrapped up in political subterfuge. The devs are striving for a balance between the natural storytelling that will arise from the AI Baron Harkonnen you're playing against, well… acting like Baron Harkonnen, and more handcrafted mini-stories like this. They mentioned Stellaris as a point of comparison, though each campaign should take only a few hours to finish as opposed to dozens.

We'll be able to pack our bags and head for Arrakis when Dune: Spice Wars hits early access some time in 2022.

Leana Hafer is a freelance writer for IGN

Nathan Drake strikes a familiar pose in a new Uncharted poster, which is reminiscent of the washed-out orange/beige colour palette of videogame sequel, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

This new poster gives us another glimpse of Uncharted star Tom Holland as Nathan Drake – a young fortune hunter in search of the greatest reassure never found. Uncharted also brings back Victor “Sully” Sullivan (played by Mark Wahlberg), Drake’s friend and mentor who accompanies the young adventurer on his travels.

Check out the full Uncharted poster below:

Aside from featuring the dynamic duo near a washed-up shipwreck, there’s little else we can learn from this new Uncharted poster.

Except that Wahlberg still doesn’t have Sully’s iconic moustache. For shame.

Alongside Holland and Wahlberg, the Uncharted cast includes Sophia Ali as fellow treasure hunter and love interest Chloe Frazer, Tati Gabrielle as Braddock, and Antonio Banderas as the film’s unnamed villain and ruthless competitor.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Uncharted is based on the popular PlayStation video game franchise, as well as a script by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway. Uncharted takes place during Drake’s first ever treasure hinting adventure.

“In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, [Drake and Sully] go in dangerous pursuit of ‘the greatest treasure never found’ while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother,” reads a synopsis by Sony Pictures.

During a recent interview, Holland explained that filming Uncharted “broke” him.

“I never realized how lucky I am that Spider-Man wears a mask, because when he’s bouncing around and flying from buildings, that’s all CG. In Uncharted it’s just me in a henley and cargo pants,” he said. “That film absolutely broke me.”

A recent Uncharted trailer gave us a good look at Nate’s first big adventure, with young Drake meeting his new friend and mentor while working as a bartender. The trailer also included multiple references to the games, with fans eager to see more.

Uncharted will debut in theaters on February 18, 2022.

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

New patents filed by Nintendo appear to hint at gameplay features for the upcoming sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

As spotted by GameReactor, Nintendo recently filed three new patents with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) that appear to detail gameplay mechanics set to feature in Breath of the Wild’s sequel. These patents bare a number of similarities to gameplay mechanics seen in the game’s most recent E3 trailer.

Each of the patents listed with the WIPO comes paired with a diagram showing a character performing various actions that appear to match up with moves already showcased for the game.

The first patent, which is filed under item number 'US20210370179', is currently being unofficially referred to as ‘Free Falling’ by the Zelda community. The patent describes a move performed by the player character (Link) that will cause him to perform a “special action” while moving through the air and shooting an arrow toward an object. During the opening of the game’s E3 trailer, Link can be seen performing a similar fall through the air, which has led to speculation surrounding the move.

Nintendo’s second patent (US20210370175) similarly describes a mechanic performed by Link in the trailer; it details an action where the player is able to pass through solid objects positioned above them. About midway through the sequel’s teaser, Link does this as he pushes his way through a large rock overhang to reappear on the other side.

The final patent (US20210370178), which has been given the name 'Rewind' by members of the community, does exactly what its name suggests. The patent describes an ability to affect movement related parameters on objects in the game, so as to return such items to their previously recorded positions. Or, in simpler terms, you’ll be able to turn back time on an object so that it returns to the position it once was. Again, this mechanic seems to also feature in the game’s E3 trailer when Link reverses a spike-covered boulder in order to outsmart a number of enemies.

While the mechanics seem to match up alongside actions performed by Link in the trailer pretty closely, it’s important to note that Nintendo hasn’t publicly commented on their purpose. With Breath of the Wild's sequel set to launch sometime in next year, there’s likely to be some time yet before fans are able to jump into the game and see what the final product has in store.

For more on Breath of the Wild, make sure to check out this piece with a rundown of everything that’s happened in the story so far.

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

Zorro is returning to our screens as Disney reboots the world’s greatest swordsman with a brand-new TV show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilmer Valderrama will star as the iconic folk hero Zorro in the upcoming series.

“We’re reimagining this Disney classic as a compelling period piece, set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style — with richly drawn contemporary characters and relationships set against the action, drama, suspense and humor of the original, iconic Zorro,” said Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis.

Valderrama will become the next Don Diego de la Vega – otherwise known as the swashbuckling, masked vigilante, Zorro. And it sounds as though he has a rather personal connection to the role.

“Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” he said. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility in the stories that I help bring to life. To partner with Gary and Disney to bring Zorro back into the family after 60 years, and be a part of the legacy for other children to know they too can be the heroes of their own stories, is a dream come true.”

Gary Marsh is on board as executive producer along with John Gertzof Zorro Productions, which owns the rights to the legendary swordsman.

“Wilmer shares our commitment to reflect the interesting and rich diversity of the human experience,” said Davis. “We look forward to delivering a culturally relevant and entertaining story with definitional characters that will connect with our viewers for generations to come.”

Valderrama recently voiced Agustin in Disney’s Encanto as well as minor character Gaxton in the magical animated comedy, Onward. He has also appeared on NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy.

Zorro has already appeared on the big screen numerous times – most recently with The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Legend of Zorro (2005), both starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

There’s also a separate reimaging currently in the works, with Alex Rivera planning a modern-day retelling of the pulp legend, turning Zorro into a hacker.

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

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World has announced that its upcoming sequel will be supported by a range of linked NFTs when it launches in 2022. While details surrounding the majority of these have yet to be shared yet, the studio has revealed information about one specific NFT which will come will allow the owner to become the “first-ever metahuman” (AKA an NPC in the game).

As detailed in a report by The Verge, GSC Game World has announced the STALKER Metaverse, will “use blockchain technology to let the community own a piece of STALKER 2.”

While the developer has stated that it will be creating a number of NFTs linked to the game, The Verge's report focuses on a particular token will allow its final owner the opportunity to become an NPC within the game, something that GSC refers to as a “metahuman”.

In order to bring the idea to life, the studio has partnered with NFT marketplace DMarket. An auction for the NFT will take place in January 2022, with the winning bidder being offered the prize of digital NPC recreation. As NFTs allow their owners to hold digital proof of ownership over an item, the winning bidder doesn’t necessarily need to be the person who claims the token’s metahuman prize. Instead, the studio has stated that the winning bidder will be able to sell the token to another user after the auction closes, should they wish. There will be a specific claim date, though, so it would need to be sold before then.

Whether or not it is the auction winner or another buyer who ends up undergoing their very own digital transformation, the process appears to be relatively straightforward - that is, unless you don’t live anywhere near CSC Game World’s studios.

“The idea of the related NFT is to give the right to recreate its owner’s identity within the game through one of the NPCs,” explained GSC Game World CEO Evgeniy Grygorovych in an email to The Verge. “The person will need to come to our studio for a detailed scanning procedure and after that, we will have everything to make this person appear in the game world as one of the characters.”

STALKER 2 isn’t the only game of late to have announced its ties to the blockchain. In a recent reveal, Peter Molyneux stated that his next game, Legacy, will be a play-to-earn blockchain-powered business sim that includes NFTs. As well as featuring “Land NFTs”, which can be bought in order to become business associates within the game, Legacy will also feature its very own cryptocurrency known as LegacyCoin.

As more and more games appear to be testing the waters with links to the crypto market, there has been notable pushback from those with concerns about the blockchain’s effect on the environment as well as platforms such as Steam, who announced that they were banning blockchain games that issue NFTs or cryptocurrency back in October.

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

The contents of Magic: The Gathering's Secret Lair crossover with Netflix’s Arcane were technically revealed a couple of weeks ago, but we’ve got an exclusive look at the final two “hidden” cards that have yet to be shown off.

The Arcane Secret Lair is spread across two drops, one that features seven reskinned reprints of existing cards and the other with one of each basic land card, all of which use scenes from the TV show itself for their art. Each drop will also include one hidden card not listed in its contents: Gromp for the reprinted card drop and Summoner’s Rift for the land drop, which are reskinned versions of Spore Frog and Command Tower, respectively.

You can click through the gallery above to see both the two hidden cards and the rest of the cards in each Arcane drop.

Unlike the other cards in the Arcane Secret Lair, these two hidden cards don’t actually depict moments taken directly from the Netflix show and don’t use stills from it for their art. Instead, both Gromp and Summoner’s Rift are subjects taken more from League of Legends as a game, with their cards even using existing key art from that instead.

Hidden cards are nothing new for Secret Lairs, with most drops including one of some kind or another, but they aren’t always necessarily a custom card paired with the theme of the drop like these are. For example, the one from the Stranger Things crossover earlier this year depicts Hawkins National Laboratory, but other drops might simply contain an unrelated card with a special art treatment.

The Arcane drops are available for pre-order in both foil and non-foil versions on the Secret Lair website until December 23. The show itself has had success of its own lately too, with IGN’s Arcane Season 1 review getting a 10. On top of that, it also won our award for the best animated TV series of 2021 and earned a nomination for the best TV show of 2021 overall.

This is far from the last licensed crossover developer Wizards of the Coast has planned for Magic: The Gathering too, with Secret Lairs for Street Fighter and Fortnite already announced for 2022. I recently spoke to folk across the Magic community about these crossover initiatives as well, and found many players are split on what they could mean for the future of the nearly 30-year-old game.