It looks like Microsoft is starting to announce digital Xbox Series launch events, which appear to cover the worldwide midnight launch of the next-gen consoles. After teasing an announcement over the past few days, the official Xbox Australia and New Zealand account tweeted out a short clip of a gorgeous vista from Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand. The clip is accompanied by a date and time, with fans asked to tune in on November 9 at 11 PM NZDT / 9 PM AEDT to observe the event. In a follow-up tweet, the Xbox ANZ account added that the event will be "100% socially distanced and virtual," meaning fans can tune in regardless of their location.

Tune in November 9th, 11pm NZDT / 9pm AEDT#PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/mG9OJKx8D7

— Xbox ANZ (@XboxANZ) October 21, 2020

The Xbox Mexico account tweeted out a similar RSVP for a "special celebration" event that will take place on November 9 at 7 PM. No announcements have been made regarding US or UK events, but they can likely expect similar celebratory launch events. Given that New Zealand is often the first country to start selling new consoles and games due to the timezone, the Xbox ANZ team are known for their shenanigans, so expect the unexpected - for example, at the launch of the Xbox One, the first console was plopped into a tank full of 20 sharks at an aquarium in Auckland. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Xbox Series X retails at $499 USD / £449 / $749 AUD, while Xbox Series S comes in at $299 USD / £249.99 / $499 AUD. Both Xbox Series consoles will be released on November 10. Xbox Series X and S are currently sold out ahead of launch but, with more units promised, keep an eye on our Xbox Series preorders page - and if you want to know everything about the consoles before you nab one, we have our Xbox Series X and S guide. In other Xbox Series launch news, check out this episode of Unlocked where the team offers their reactions to the official launch lineup for the Xbox Series X. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A narrative writer job listing for Sucker Punch may hint that a sequel or new experience may be in in the works for Ghost of Tsushima. The requirements on this particular narrative writer position specifically ask for a "desire to write stories set in feudal Japan." Considering Ghost of Tsushima takes place during that time period - in 1274 to be exact - this could indicate Sucker Punch isn't quite ready to leave this new PlayStation exclusive's world quite yet. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/17/ghost-of-tsushima-devs-on-legends-new-game-plus-update"] It's important to note that this may not be for a traditional sequel, and could be for DLC, new story content for Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, or even a new standalone experience like that of Uncharted: Lost Legacy or Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Either way, those who enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima, which was PS4's fastest-selling first-party original IP debut, have reason to be hopeful. Until then, Sucker Punch just released the previously mentioned Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, its free co-op mode, and it announced that Ghost of Tsushima will be playable on PS5 with 60FPS via Game Boost. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ghost-of-tsushima-legends-and-version-11-new-game-screenshots&captions=true"] In our review of Ghost of Tsushima, we said it "is an enormous and densely packed samurai adventure that often left me completely awestruck with both its visual spectacle and excellent combat. By steadily introducing new abilities instead of stat upgrades, its swordplay manages to stay challenging, rewarding, and fun throughout the entire 40 to 50 hours that it took me to beat the campaign." [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.

Netflix recently revealed how many of its members checked out The Old Guard, Enola Holmes, Project Power and The Kissing Booth 2 in their first four weeks. The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, was seen by 78 million members in its first four weeks, which is up from Netflix's estimate of 72 million views from earlier this year. Netflix is still counting a view as only watching two minutes of a movie, because that's "long enough to indicate the choice was intentional." Netflix revealed its top ten biggest movie debuts around the time The Old Guard was released in July. Assuming Netflix isn't hiding any other impressive viewership numbers, then The Old Guard places as the fifth biggest launch for a Netflix movie with Enola Holmes and Project Power in sixth and seventh. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/02/new-to-netflix-for-october-2020"] Enola Holmes is estimated to "reach" 76 million members over its first four weeks and Project Power was seen by 75 million Netflix members. The Kissing Booth 2 put up 66 million views, which would place it ninth on Netflix's list of top debuts. The documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door, was checked out by 50 million Netflix users, which Netflix says is its biggest documentary launch so far. Netflix also revealed some numbers for its TV shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In its four weeks, Ratched was seen by 48 million users, The Umbrella Academy received 43 million views, and Lucifer was viewed by 38 million Netflix users. Netflix also bragged about its acquisition of Cobra Kai. The first two seasons of the series were released on the service in September 2020 and eclipsed all of Netflix's original shows of the quarter to reach 50 million viewers in its first four weeks. Netflix announced a season three premiere for Cobra Kai earlier this month and gave the series an early season four renewal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflix-spotlight-october-2020&captions=true"] Netflix continues to put out big releases in October with The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Hubie Halloween. IGN's review of Hubie Halloween calls the Adam Sandler movie "aggressively stupid" but "occasionally endearing." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Apple TV+ has teamed up with WildBrain, Peanuts Worldwide, and Lee Mendelson Film Productions to become the home for "all things Peanuts," which includes classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas and new original series and specials. The second season of the Daytime Emmy-nominated Snoopy in Space series will be part of the new Peanuts content coming to Apple TV+ alongside "a slate of brand-new specials that will find the Peanuts gang marking Mother's Day, Earth Day, New Year's Eve, and Back to School." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/11/05/the-peanuts-movie-review"] Apple TV+ subscribers will also be treated to the previously announced The Snoopy Show, a new Peanuts 70th anniversary documentary, and the Daytime Emmy Award-winning Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10. Those looking for the Peanuts classics will soon find such films as A Charlie Brown Christmas (December 4), Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (November 18), and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (October 19) on Apple TV+. Yet there is also good news for those who are not subscribed to Apple TV+, as these favorites will be free to all who use the app for a short time. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-non-superhero-comic-book-movies&captions=true"] The previously mentioned Halloween special will be available for free from October 30-November 1, the Thanksgiving special will be available for free from November 25-27, and the Christmas special will be available for free from December 11-13. [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.

Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya is set to produce a live-action Barney movie with Mattel, and the premise appears to be a bit "heartbreaking." Speaking to EW, Kaluuya brought up how Barney, everyone's favorite purple dinosaur, taught us "I love you, you love me. Won't you say you love me too?" However, what happens when "that isn't true?" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/18/get-outs-daniel-kaluuya-is-producing-a-barney-movie-ign-now"] "Barney taught us, ‘I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?’ That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking," Kaluuya said. "I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense. It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed." Barney & Friends was a children's show that aired from 1992-2009 and starred Barney, a purple Tyrannosaurus Rex, and his friends Baby Bop, B.J., Riff, and more. The show was set to return in 2017, but there has been little to no word of it since then. Kaluuya was also speaking to EW about his upcoming film Judas and the Black Messiah, which is set to be released in theaters in 2021 and is looking to "show the 'full picture' of the Black Panthers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/judas-and-the-black-messiah-official-trailer"] [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.

Following the outcry that followed unskippable ads being added into loading screens in NBA 2K21, 2K has stated that the ads were "not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction" and this issue "will be fixed in future episodes." Last weekend, owners of NBA 2K21 noticed that unskippable ads for the Oculus Quest 2 were appearing during pre-game - ads that weren't there at launch - and they wouldn't even let you edit your lineups while they were running. NBA 2K21's Twitter account responded to the controversy, saying that while ads have been previously integrated into 2KTV segments, they were not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction. "As many are aware, in recent years ads have been integrated into 2KTV segments," The statement reads. "Yesterday's 2KTV ad placement impacted our players' experience in a way we didn't intend, as these ads are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction. This will be fixed in future episodes. Thanks for your continued feedback." Many were upset that these ads were occurring in a game that is retailing at full-price, and this issue was very similar to what occurred in UFC 4, which also added advertisements weeks after release. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/17/nba-2k21-review"] These intrusive advertisements add to the frustration many feel around the NBA 2K series, which also has, as our review put it, a "persistent addiction to obnoxious microtransactions." [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.

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be streaming Among Us on Twitch.TV/AOC to encourage those who can to go out (or stay in) and vote ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election on November 3, 2020. Ocasio-Cortez will be streaming on October 20, 2020, at 6pm PT/9pm ET with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Pokimane, DrLupo, Myth, Maia, Jacksepticeye, MoistCr1TiKaL, Hasanabi, and Disguised Toast. As of this writing, AOC's Twitch channel already has over 260,000 viewers, and she hasn't even started playing quite yet. AOC, along with figuring out who are the imposters, will be helping "folks make a voting plan at iwillvote.com and officially declare orange sus on Among Us." We've also built a guide to help you vote in the U.S. Presidential Election, as things are obviously a bit different this year as we all deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. For more on Among Us, be sure to check out how it came back from the bring of obscurity to becoming one of the biggest hits of 2020 and the rules and settings you needs to know to create the best Among Us game. [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.

Director Justin Lin is aboard to helm the 10th and 11th films in the core Fast and Furious franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s been reiterated that these movies will conclude the main Fast and Furious saga. Franchise veteran Lin (who previously directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6) recently returned to the Fast universe to direct F9. F9 was scheduled to arrive this year but was pushed until May 28, 2021, alongside a horde of other major films to have their 2020 release plans scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/31/f9-fast-furious-9-official-trailer-1"] Franchise star Vin Diesel previously confirmed Lin would be directing F9 and Fast 10 back in 2018, and mentioned that the tenth instalment would be broken into “Fast 10 parts one and two” during an interview back in February this year. Fast and Furious producer Neal Moritz and Diesel have both previously discussed the fact that these films will form the finale for the main Fast saga, but Diesel has expressed his support for any future spin-offs, acknowledging “it’d be good to give back to Universal” in return for its support over the past two decades and noting “it would be nice for this world to continue for generations to come.” Dwayne Johnson confirmed that a sequel to 2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is in active development back in April this year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-dumbest-moments-from-the-fast-furious-movies&captions=true"] For more on F9 in the meantime, which will feature John Cena making his Fast & Furious debut, along with Guardians of the Galaxy's Michael Rooker, find out why Justin Lin decided to bring back Han Lue amid the popular #JusticeForHan fan campaign. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office, but Hector is going to be running three Honda Civics with spoon engines. And on top of that, he just went into Harry's and he ordered three T66 turbos, with NOS. And a Motec exhaust. You can find Luke on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

The Justice Department is suing Google for alleged antitrust practices. But at this stage of the proceedings, it is too early to say for certain what ramifications this will have on customers and one of the largest tech companies in the world. In a complaint from the Justice Department, Google has been accused of stifling competition in order to maintain its position as the leader in online search and search advertising. 11 states — Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, and South Carolina — have joined the suit. One of the allegations against Google is that the search company pays billions of dollars to companies like Apple, Samsung, and more to be their default search engine.

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However, it will be years before the case ends and customers who use Google will likely not see an immediate impact on the service. David Hoppe, Managing Partner at SF-based Media/Tech law firm Gamma Law tells IGN, “The core of the DOJ’s case relates to Google’s agreements with other parties, like Apple. It’s possible as the case proceeds that Google will back away from those agreements.” Hoppe says, “From a consumer perspective, that may mean that mobile users will be presented with a choice of different search platforms rather than just being served Google as the default.” At a briefing, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen did not rule out breaking up Google. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued guidelines for when amusement parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood can reopen. However, Disney has pushed back calling the guidelines “unworkable.” Gov. Newsome has kept parks like Disneyland closed in California, even after states like Florida opened up their Disney resorts. Disney continued to demand Gov. Newsome to make a call on reopening theme parks in California, and the governor sent a research team to both Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood, as well as each park’s counterparts in Florida to find a viable strategy to reopening.

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Following their findings, Gov. Newsome has issued guidelines saying that the two parks can operate when their county's COVID-19 conditions are under Tier 4 “Yellow” and even then the parks can only operate at 25 percent limited capacity. A reservation system will also need to be in place, and masks will be required in the parks. California operates on a four-tier COVID-19 system that ranges from Tier 1 Purple (widespread), Tier 2 Red (Substantial), Tier 3 Orange (Moderate), and Tier 1 Yellow (Minimal). For Disneyland to open at below Tier 1, Orange County will need to report a positivity rate of less than 2% or Less than 1 daily new case per 100k. Currently, Orange County is in Tier 2 Red, while Los Angeles Country is in Tier 1 Purple. Hence why it will likely be some time before either Disneyland or Universal Studios can re-open under the current guidelines. Disney, already unhappy with the restrictions placed on theme parks, appears less-than-thrilled about the new guidelines. In a statement from Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock, they said:

“We have proven that we can responsibly reopen, with science-based health and safety protocols strictly enforced at our theme park properties around the world. Nevertheless, the State of California continues to ignore this fact, instead mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are unworkable and that hold us to a standard vastly different from other reopened businesses and state-operated facilities.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/15/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer"] Potrock added, “Together with our labor unions we want to get people back to work, but these State guidelines will keep us shuttered for the foreseeable future, forcing thousands more people out of work, leading to the inevitable closure of small family-owned businesses, and irreparably devastating the Anaheim/Southern California community.” Since the pandemic, Disney has laid off about 67% of its workforce, or “approximately 28,000 domestic employees.” Meanwhile, California has battled multiple waves of COVID-19, including a summertime resurgence after an early flattening of the curve. The ongoing battle over reopening Disneyland will likely keep the company at odds with the California government. Small groups of disgruntled park-goers have started protesting outside Disney demanding the park to reopen, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger recently resigned from Gov. Newsom’s coronavirus economic taskforce. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN. Header Photo by MN Chan/Getty Images