Monthly Archives: September 2020

Read Black Panther Comics for Free on ComiXology

In celebration of the life, influence, and career of Chadwick Boseman, Comixology is offering up a big selection of Marvel’s Black Panther comics for free this weekend. This stealth offering, first noticed on Reddit, was very quickly amplified by social media which pointed out the cool unadvertised deal. Some of the free titles available include the Black Panther run by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Shuri comic series by Nnedi Okorafor, the Rise of the Black Panther series by Evan Narcisse, and all 8 issues of Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda by Jim Zub. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-panthers-home-wakanda-in-the-marvel-comics&captions=true"] To find the free titles, search "Black Panther" at Comixology.com and click on "Single Issues." The ABC News special Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King – A Special Edition of 20/20 is now available to stream on Disney+. Those who worked with Boseman, including the community of the MCU, have been sharing their heartfelt condolences and fond memories of the late actor on social media. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler penned a touching tribute to the stalwart star of his movie, saying that he "had the warmest laugh in the world, and eyes that [saw] much beyond his years, but could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/new-to-netflix-september-2020"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Read Black Panther Comics for Free on ComiXology

In celebration of the life, influence, and career of Chadwick Boseman, Comixology is offering up a big selection of Marvel’s Black Panther comics for free this weekend. This stealth offering, first noticed on Reddit, was very quickly amplified by social media which pointed out the cool unadvertised deal. Some of the free titles available include the Black Panther run by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Shuri comic series by Nnedi Okorafor, the Rise of the Black Panther series by Evan Narcisse, and all 8 issues of Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda by Jim Zub. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-panthers-home-wakanda-in-the-marvel-comics&captions=true"] To find the free titles, search "Black Panther" at Comixology.com and click on "Single Issues." The ABC News special Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King – A Special Edition of 20/20 is now available to stream on Disney+. Those who worked with Boseman, including the community of the MCU, have been sharing their heartfelt condolences and fond memories of the late actor on social media. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler penned a touching tribute to the stalwart star of his movie, saying that he "had the warmest laugh in the world, and eyes that [saw] much beyond his years, but could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/new-to-netflix-september-2020"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Call of Duty: Warzone Has All Vehicles Temporarily Removed Due to Glitch

Call of Duty: Warzone has a new game-breaking glitch that has caused Infinity Ward to temporarily remove all vehicles from Warzone and Plunder. As reported by VGC, this glitch is caused when players take any vehicle into a certain point of Warzone's map. This will cause the game's server to crash, which will kick all players out of the match. YouTuber JGOD breaks down this new glitch, without showing exactly how to accomplish it as, like he mentioned, it's just a frustrating thing that doesn't even give the players performing the glitch an advantage. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/28/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-warzone-games-of-summer-trailer"] Infinity Ward has confirmed that a playlist update has been rolled out to all platforms to "remove all vehicles from Warzone," but it has yet to give a timeframe when they will return. This is another bug that has impacted the hugely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, but is a bit different from the previous one that was turning players' guns into terrifying black cubes that made it very difficulty to see and play a proper match. These issues will undoubtedly be fixed shortly, and players will be able to drive vehicles again in Call of Duty: Warzone, a game that will also be part of this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-campaign-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Call of Duty: Warzone Has All Vehicles Temporarily Removed Due to Glitch

Call of Duty: Warzone has a new game-breaking glitch that has caused Infinity Ward to temporarily remove all vehicles from Warzone and Plunder. As reported by VGC, this glitch is caused when players take any vehicle into a certain point of Warzone's map. This will cause the game's server to crash, which will kick all players out of the match. YouTuber JGOD breaks down this new glitch, without showing exactly how to accomplish it as, like he mentioned, it's just a frustrating thing that doesn't even give the players performing the glitch an advantage. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/28/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-warzone-games-of-summer-trailer"] Infinity Ward has confirmed that a playlist update has been rolled out to all platforms to "remove all vehicles from Warzone," but it has yet to give a timeframe when they will return. This is another bug that has impacted the hugely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, but is a bit different from the previous one that was turning players' guns into terrifying black cubes that made it very difficulty to see and play a proper match. These issues will undoubtedly be fixed shortly, and players will be able to drive vehicles again in Call of Duty: Warzone, a game that will also be part of this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-campaign-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Epic Asks Court to Reinstate Fortnite After Daily iOS Players Drop by 60%

Epic has once again made a move to try and get the court to reinstate Fortnite to Apple's App Store, as it has stated that, since its removal, daily iOS Fortnite players have dropped by over 60%. As reported by The Verge, Epic Games has filed a preliminary injunction against Apple that would force it to put Fortnite back on its App Store. The full hearing for this overall case had already been scheduled for September 28, but Epic is hoping to have Fortnite back in the hands of iOS players before then, at least until a verdict is reached. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously ruled that Apple did not have to put Fortnite back in its App Store as Epic hadn't proved any harm had been done and that Epic "strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/fortnite-1984-apple-parody-video-short"] However, this latest filing argues that "daily active users on iOS have declined by over 60% since Fortnite's removal from the App Store." This date range also includes the start of the Marvel-themed Chapter 2 - Season 4 that iOS players were unable to join due to the lack of ability to update. Epic says that iOS is the biggest platform for Fortnite with over 116 million registered users, almost a third of its 350 million registered users. Furthermore, Epic claims 63% of Fortnite players on iOS only access Fortnite on Apple devices. Epic is worried it "may never see these users again" and that its Fortnite community has been "torn apart." Additionally, since Apple has terminated Epic's developer account, its other games, and those players looking to play those titles, are also impacted. It is also reads that Apple is threatening to deny any attempts by Epic to apply for a new developer account for "at least a year." This would be a big issue for Epic if it was "denied the opportunity to access even a single new users among the one-billion-plus iOS users for at least the next year." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=games-that-came-back-from-the-brink-of-disaster&captions=true"] In a statement to The Verge on this matter, Apple referred them to a previously made comment:
"We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today."
Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their app stores following Epic's decision to alter the price of Fortnite V-Bucks and add a new direct payment system in response to Apple and Google's "exorbitant" app store fees. Epic responded by starting its #FreeFortnite campaign by hosting in-game events and parodying Apple's 1984 commercial. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/31/ridley-scott-weighs-in-on-fortnites-apple-ad"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Epic Asks Court to Reinstate Fortnite After Daily iOS Players Drop by 60%

Epic has once again made a move to try and get the court to reinstate Fortnite to Apple's App Store, as it has stated that, since its removal, daily iOS Fortnite players have dropped by over 60%. As reported by The Verge, Epic Games has filed a preliminary injunction against Apple that would force it to put Fortnite back on its App Store. The full hearing for this overall case had already been scheduled for September 28, but Epic is hoping to have Fortnite back in the hands of iOS players before then, at least until a verdict is reached. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously ruled that Apple did not have to put Fortnite back in its App Store as Epic hadn't proved any harm had been done and that Epic "strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/fortnite-1984-apple-parody-video-short"] However, this latest filing argues that "daily active users on iOS have declined by over 60% since Fortnite's removal from the App Store." This date range also includes the start of the Marvel-themed Chapter 2 - Season 4 that iOS players were unable to join due to the lack of ability to update. Epic says that iOS is the biggest platform for Fortnite with over 116 million registered users, almost a third of its 350 million registered users. Furthermore, Epic claims 63% of Fortnite players on iOS only access Fortnite on Apple devices. Epic is worried it "may never see these users again" and that its Fortnite community has been "torn apart." Additionally, since Apple has terminated Epic's developer account, its other games, and those players looking to play those titles, are also impacted. It is also reads that Apple is threatening to deny any attempts by Epic to apply for a new developer account for "at least a year." This would be a big issue for Epic if it was "denied the opportunity to access even a single new users among the one-billion-plus iOS users for at least the next year." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=games-that-came-back-from-the-brink-of-disaster&captions=true"] In a statement to The Verge on this matter, Apple referred them to a previously made comment:
"We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today."
Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their app stores following Epic's decision to alter the price of Fortnite V-Bucks and add a new direct payment system in response to Apple and Google's "exorbitant" app store fees. Epic responded by starting its #FreeFortnite campaign by hosting in-game events and parodying Apple's 1984 commercial. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/31/ridley-scott-weighs-in-on-fortnites-apple-ad"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

EA Responds to Fan Outcry Caused by Ads Appearing in UFC 4 and Removes Them

UPDATE (9/6/20) - EA has responded to the fan outcry caused by intrusive ads in UFC 4 on Reddit and has confirmed that they "have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced.” The full statement is as follows; "I’m part of the Community team here at EA and I wanted to post here and give you all an update on this situation. Earlier this week, the team turned on ad placements in EA SPORTS UFC 4 that appeared during the “Replay” moments in gameplay. This type of advertising inventory is not new to the UFC franchise, though we have typically reserved displaying ads to specific main menu tiles or Octagon logo placement." "It is abundantly clear from your feedback that integrating ads into the Replay and overlay experience is not welcome. The advertisements have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced. We realize that this should have been communicated with players ahead of time and that’s on us." "We want to make sure our players have the best possible experience playing EA SPORTS UFC 4, so ad integration in the Replay and overlay experience will not be reappearing in the future. Thank you for your continued feedback on EA SPORTS UFC 4." Original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] EA has put in-game ads into EA Sports UFC 4 a few weeks after release, and its fans are not happy about it. Reddit user Ydino shared a clip of the in-game ads, which do seem intrusive, and they note that it was added "a month after it's [sic] release so it wasn't talked about in reviews." Additionally, Ydino brings up that UFC 4 is a $60 game and not a free-to-play title that is using ads in lieu of charging the player an entry fee. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/14/ea-sports-ufc-4-review"] This particular clip features marketing from Amazon's The Boys' second season. There is a full-screen advertisement during replays, its logo appears on the octagon, and it also appears above the timer on the bottom of the screen. EA Sports UFC 4 was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 14, 2020. In our review of UFC 4, we said "is a largely iterative sequel that tightens up some looser parts, makes a few smart tweaks here and there, and doesn’t rock the boat all that much. And in that sense, it’s a success. Longstanding problems still remain in the ground game and some dated visuals, but without any competition for the title, EA Sports UFC 4 still remains the king of combat sports." At launch, UFC 4 did feature microtransactions in the form of an in-game currency called UFC Points. These UFC Points can be used to buy cosmetic items, but have no impact on the game. Additionally, there were brands featured on the octagon, but the full-screen ads recently seen were not. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-ufc-game-review&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

EA’s UFC 4 Gets In-Game Ads a Few Weeks After Release, Fans are Not Happy

EA has put in-game ads into EA Sports UFC 4 a few weeks after release, and its fans are not happy about it. Reddit user Ydino shared a clip of the in-game ads, which do seem intrusive, and they note that it was added "a month after it's [sic] release so it wasn't talked about in reviews." Additionally, Ydino brings up that UFC 4 is a $60 game and not a free-to-play title that is using ads in lieu of charging the player an entry fee. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/14/ea-sports-ufc-4-review"] This particular clip features marketing from Amazon's The Boys' second season. There is a full-screen advertisement during replays, its logo appears on the octagon, and it also appears above the timer on the bottom of the screen. EA Sports UFC 4 was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 14, 2020. In our review of UFC 4, we said "is a largely iterative sequel that tightens up some looser parts, makes a few smart tweaks here and there, and doesn’t rock the boat all that much. And in that sense, it’s a success. Longstanding problems still remain in the ground game and some dated visuals, but without any competition for the title, EA Sports UFC 4 still remains the king of combat sports." At launch, UFC 4 did feature microtransactions in the form of an in-game currency called UFC Points. These UFC Points can be used to buy cosmetic items, but have no impact on the game. Additionally, there were brands featured on the octagon, but the full-screen ads recently seen were not. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-ufc-game-review&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Ray Fisher Accuses Justice League Investigation of Not Being Independent

Yesterday, WarnerMedia issued a statement regarding the third-party investigation into Justice League Ray Fisher's claims that director Joss Whedon ran a toxic, hostile set, alleging that Fisher "refused to meet with their third party investigator to discuss the case." This was a response to Fisher's statements about former DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabling Whedon's alleged bad behavior and Johns reprimanding Fisher for complaining up the chain. You can read WarnerMedia's full statement here. This morning, Fisher, taking to Twitter, insisted that he did, in fact, cooperate with the investigation while also calling the investigation’s independence into question. Check it out... Fisher wrote "Thank you all for the support and for seeing through @wbpictures desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me to continue protecting those in power. I met with the investigator via Zoom on Aug 26th. Below is an email I sent to my team and @sagaftra immediately after." "It’s also worth noting that I made it clear to the world on Aug 21st that I would be vetting the investigator to ensure a fair and protected process for all witnesses. @wbpictures has escalated this to an entirely different level, but I’m ready to meet the challenge." In the email Fisher sent to his team, and to SAG-AFTRA, Fisher suspected the investigator "had been put on the case by Warner Bros. Pictures not Warner Media" and noted that someone else was on the call he'd not been made aware of beforehand. More on the case as it develops... [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"]

Ray Fisher Accuses Justice League Investigation of Not Being Independent

Yesterday, WarnerMedia issued a statement regarding the third-party investigation into Justice League Ray Fisher's claims that director Joss Whedon ran a toxic, hostile set, alleging that Fisher "refused to meet with their third party investigator to discuss the case." This was a response to Fisher's statements about former DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabling Whedon's alleged bad behavior and Johns reprimanding Fisher for complaining up the chain. You can read WarnerMedia's full statement here. This morning, Fisher, taking to Twitter, insisted that he did, in fact, cooperate with the investigation while also calling the investigation’s independence into question. Check it out... Fisher wrote "Thank you all for the support and for seeing through @wbpictures desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me to continue protecting those in power. I met with the investigator via Zoom on Aug 26th. Below is an email I sent to my team and @sagaftra immediately after." "It’s also worth noting that I made it clear to the world on Aug 21st that I would be vetting the investigator to ensure a fair and protected process for all witnesses. @wbpictures has escalated this to an entirely different level, but I’m ready to meet the challenge." In the email Fisher sent to his team, and to SAG-AFTRA, Fisher suspected the investigator "had been put on the case by Warner Bros. Pictures not Warner Media" and noted that someone else was on the call he'd not been made aware of beforehand. More on the case as it develops... [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"]