Six US lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have asked the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to crack down on cryptomining.

In a letter also signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Edward Markey, and Jeffrey Merkley alongside Members of Congress Jared Huffman and Rashida Tlaib, the lawmakers requested that cryptomining companies in the U.S. report their energy usage and carbon emissions.

Cryptomining is the process of using power-intensive computers to solve increasingly difficult mathematical puzzles to earn new tokens for currencies such as Bitcoin. While the US is seeing an influx of cryptomining operations, the report makes clear that there is, "no national or state reporting requirement or compilation of the locations of cryptomining facilities in the United States, and no federal regulations specifically governing cryptomining."

Given the power needs of these companies, concerns have been raised about energy usage driving up costs for regular consumers, and environmental damage. Citing their own research, the lawmakers claimed that between seven companies investigated - which includes Greenidge, Riot, Bitdeer, Stronghold, Marathon, Bit Digital, and Bitfury - together they have almost utilized enough energy to power every residence in Houston, Texas, coming in at around 1,045 megawatts.

Additionally, despite a number of the companies claiming that their cryptomining was environmentally friendly - Greenidge says it used a "clean burning natural gas facility", for example - the company still reported 273,326 tons of CO2 equivalent emitted in the 12 months prior to November 2021, equivalent to 60,000 cars.

Bit Digital estimated 92,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2020, but projected 1.075 million metric tons in 2022, rising to 1.2 million in 2023, the annual equivalent of 260,000 cars. The lawmakers also said the amount of energy used "could be used for other priority end uses that contribute to our electrification and climate goals, such as replacing home furnaces with heat pumps".

Making all of this information fully available to the government, the letter said, would "enable valuable public policy activities, including better monitoring of energy use and trends, better evidence basis for policy making, improved data for national mitigation analyses, better abilities for evaluating technology policies for the sector, and better modelling of national and regional grid loads and transitions, among other purposes."

Warren has been vocal about a number of other tech industry issues, including the transition to universal chargers for smartphones and raising concern over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Thumbnail Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

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

Six US lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have asked the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to crack down on cryptomining.

In a letter also signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Edward Markey, and Jeffrey Merkley alongside Members of Congress Jared Huffman and Rashida Tlaib, the lawmakers requested that cryptomining companies in the U.S. report their energy usage and carbon emissions.

Cryptomining is the process of using power-intensive computers to solve increasingly difficult mathematical puzzles to earn new tokens for currencies such as Bitcoin. While the US is seeing an influx of cryptomining operations, the report makes clear that there is, "no national or state reporting requirement or compilation of the locations of cryptomining facilities in the United States, and no federal regulations specifically governing cryptomining."

Given the power needs of these companies, concerns have been raised about energy usage driving up costs for regular consumers, and environmental damage. Citing their own research, the lawmakers claimed that between seven companies investigated - which includes Greenidge, Riot, Bitdeer, Stronghold, Marathon, Bit Digital, and Bitfury - together they have almost utilized enough energy to power every residence in Houston, Texas, coming in at around 1,045 megawatts.

Additionally, despite a number of the companies claiming that their cryptomining was environmentally friendly - Greenidge says it used a "clean burning natural gas facility", for example - the company still reported 273,326 tons of CO2 equivalent emitted in the 12 months prior to November 2021, equivalent to 60,000 cars.

Bit Digital estimated 92,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2020, but projected 1.075 million metric tons in 2022, rising to 1.2 million in 2023, the annual equivalent of 260,000 cars. The lawmakers also said the amount of energy used "could be used for other priority end uses that contribute to our electrification and climate goals, such as replacing home furnaces with heat pumps".

Making all of this information fully available to the government, the letter said, would "enable valuable public policy activities, including better monitoring of energy use and trends, better evidence basis for policy making, improved data for national mitigation analyses, better abilities for evaluating technology policies for the sector, and better modelling of national and regional grid loads and transitions, among other purposes."

Warren has been vocal about a number of other tech industry issues, including the transition to universal chargers for smartphones and raising concern over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Thumbnail Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

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

Sylvester Stallone has taken to social media to call out Rocky producer Irwin Winkler as part of an ongoing dispute over ownership rights to the long-running boxing franchise.

As reported by Deadline, Stallone pulled no punches on Sunday morning when he shared an illustrated image depicting Winkler as a knife-tongued serpent on Instagram. In the caption of the post, he addressed Winkler directly, calling for a "fair gesture" from the 93-year-old producer, who he says is withholding ownership of the franchise and its sequel series Creed.

"After Irwin controlling Rocky for over 47 years, and now Creed, I really would like have at least a little of what's left of my rights back, before passing it on to only your children," Stallone wrote. "I believe that would be a fair gesture from this 93 year old gentleman? This is a painful subject that eats at my soul because I wanted to leave something of Rocky for my children."

Stallone portrayed Rocky Balboa in eight films, directed four of them, and served as a writer or co-writer on all the Rocky films and Creed II. He then announced in 2018 that he would be officially hanging up his gloves and retiring from the role, meaning that he would not return for Creed III, the next entry in the Michael B. Jordan-starring Rocky spin-off series.

In recent years, Stallone has voiced his frustrations over his lack of ownership of Rocky considering his involvement in the franchise. According to Variety, Stallone was paid $75K plus 10 net points, which equated to at least $2.5m for the first movie. Another source claimed the actor had made more than $10m on Creed and in the mid-teens on Creed II.

However, Stallone told the outlet in 2019 that he had "zero ownership" of the lucractive franchise. "When I finally confronted them, I said, 'Does it bother you guys that I've written every word, I've choreographed it, I've been loyal to you, I've promoted it, directed it and I don't have 1% that I could leave for my children?' And the quote was, 'You got paid.'"

Creed III, starring Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed, is due to hit cinemas on November 23, just over a year after the release of the ultimate director's cut of Rocky IV. IGN's review of Rocky Vs. Drago praised Stallone for managing to "wonderfully fine-tune Rocky IV with The Ultimate Director's Cut, chopping out what didn't work and keeping what did."

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

Sylvester Stallone has taken to social media to call out Rocky producer Irwin Winkler as part of an ongoing dispute over ownership rights to the long-running boxing franchise.

As reported by Deadline, Stallone pulled no punches on Sunday morning when he shared an illustrated image depicting Winkler as a knife-tongued serpent on Instagram. In the caption of the post, he addressed Winkler directly, calling for a "fair gesture" from the 93-year-old producer, who he says is withholding ownership of the franchise and its sequel series Creed.

"After Irwin controlling Rocky for over 47 years, and now Creed, I really would like have at least a little of what's left of my rights back, before passing it on to only your children," Stallone wrote. "I believe that would be a fair gesture from this 93 year old gentleman? This is a painful subject that eats at my soul because I wanted to leave something of Rocky for my children."

Stallone portrayed Rocky Balboa in eight films, directed four of them, and served as a writer or co-writer on all the Rocky films and Creed II. He then announced in 2018 that he would be officially hanging up his gloves and retiring from the role, meaning that he would not return for Creed III, the next entry in the Michael B. Jordan-starring Rocky spin-off series.

In recent years, Stallone has voiced his frustrations over his lack of ownership of Rocky considering his involvement in the franchise. According to Variety, Stallone was paid $75K plus 10 net points, which equated to at least $2.5m for the first movie. Another source claimed the actor had made more than $10m on Creed and in the mid-teens on Creed II.

However, Stallone told the outlet in 2019 that he had "zero ownership" of the lucractive franchise. "When I finally confronted them, I said, 'Does it bother you guys that I've written every word, I've choreographed it, I've been loyal to you, I've promoted it, directed it and I don't have 1% that I could leave for my children?' And the quote was, 'You got paid.'"

Creed III, starring Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed, is due to hit cinemas on November 23, just over a year after the release of the ultimate director's cut of Rocky IV. IGN's review of Rocky Vs. Drago praised Stallone for managing to "wonderfully fine-tune Rocky IV with The Ultimate Director's Cut, chopping out what didn't work and keeping what did."

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

Another new AAA studio has joined the gaming scene, this one founded by Jerry Hook, one of the architects of the original Xbox who most recently worked on Halo Infinite.

The new studio's mission is to "create a new generation of narrative-driven action games" with "immersive worlds." Its founding members include Paul Crocker, who served as lead narrative director on the Batman: Arkham trilogy; Greg Stone, who produced DOOM (2016), and Steve Dyck, who worked on SSX, NBA Street, and the Halo series. Hook's new venture follows his departure from 343 Industries, where he served head of design on Halo Infinite. Hook also helped launch Xbox Live and worked on Halo 4, Halo 5, and Destiny in various capacities.

Speaking with IGN in an interview ahead of the announcement, Hook says that the collective decision to leave 343 Industries was part of the natural cycle of departures that follows the release of a major project.

"I took a step back and really wanted to take a look at what is the impact I wanted to have moving forward; what is the impact I wanted to have not just with games or the next big idea, but really taking a look at teams and how could I build a home for creators and content creators who could really flourish and specifically help them grow so that they can put their entire passion against a project," Hook says. "And so on top of creative ideas and new game ideas and all the innovation that goes into games, I realized that probably my biggest challenge was we haven't really, in the game development space, spent a lot of time trying to innovate with teams and studios and studio structures."

Jar of Sparks is currently in the early stages of forming its core team, which the studio hopes will provide ideas for its first project. Hook estimates that the studio's first game is three to four years away.

One thing that's for certain is that it won't be a live service game. Even with Hook's experience working on projects like Xbox Live and Destiny, he deems live service to be too much of a risk for a fledgling studio like Jar of Sparks.

"[O]ne of the main challenges we all seem to struggle with is there's only so much risk you can take on within a new studio. You're forming a complete team with people who don't know each other, have never worked with each other or brand new IP. Live service adds more complexity on top of that and I really think from my own experience for service driven games, the amount of work you need to do to make a live service work is pretty tremendous. And I think the first game that Jar Sparks is going to go do isn't going to have that component to allow the team to flourish first and be able to put their creative energy first without having to worry about the continual pressure of server driven models," Hook explains.

And despite the studio's status as a "AAA developer," Hook isn't thinking in terms of massive budgets and even bigger sales.

"One of the challenges I think the industry has gotten itself into, where if everyone is always shooting for the 300 million mark or 10 million mark, I'm just like, okay, how about you build a team with the right budget that allows you to be successful with just a couple million or just a million? And you can be successful that way," Hook says, citing smaller-scale successes like V Rising and Valheim. "So my goal or at least our goal that we've talked about with the founder is — we don't want to go after God of War, we want to create our own space. It has a good dedicated following and it is a great title that people want to sink their teeth into, that's it."

As for NetEase, Hook sees the Chinese publishing giant as a backstop against the difficulties that can arrise from the volatile games industry.

"If you go and innovate and you need to slip something, your publisher of those people financing, you have to be clear that you can slip," Hook says. "And that was one of the key conversations I had with NetEase, which is, you need to prepare for slipping if we're going to go and innovate; if you're onboard with us innovating, you know the risks, and they were very clear with me."

Jar of Sparks joins a host of other studios that have formed amid the glut of financing in the games industry, among them Nightingale developer Inflexion Games, Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios, and Stormgate developer Frost Giant Studios. The surge of of studios helmed by experienced industry veterans is only now beginning to see results.

NetEase, for its part, calls Jar of Sparks a "new first party studio that will enjoy full creative freedom." Its other holdings including Grasshopper Manufacture and the new studio formed by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Another new AAA studio has joined the gaming scene, this one founded by Jerry Hook, one of the architects of the original Xbox who most recently worked on Halo Infinite.

The new studio's mission is to "create a new generation of narrative-driven action games" with "immersive worlds." Its founding members include Paul Crocker, who served as lead narrative director on the Batman: Arkham trilogy; Greg Stone, who produced DOOM (2016), and Steve Dyck, who worked on SSX, NBA Street, and the Halo series. Hook's new venture follows his departure from 343 Industries, where he served head of design on Halo Infinite. Hook also helped launch Xbox Live and worked on Halo 4, Halo 5, and Destiny in various capacities.

Speaking with IGN in an interview ahead of the announcement, Hook says that the collective decision to leave 343 Industries was part of the natural cycle of departures that follows the release of a major project.

"I took a step back and really wanted to take a look at what is the impact I wanted to have moving forward; what is the impact I wanted to have not just with games or the next big idea, but really taking a look at teams and how could I build a home for creators and content creators who could really flourish and specifically help them grow so that they can put their entire passion against a project," Hook says. "And so on top of creative ideas and new game ideas and all the innovation that goes into games, I realized that probably my biggest challenge was we haven't really, in the game development space, spent a lot of time trying to innovate with teams and studios and studio structures."

Jar of Sparks is currently in the early stages of forming its core team, which the studio hopes will provide ideas for its first project. Hook estimates that the studio's first game is three to four years away.

One thing that's for certain is that it won't be a live service game. Even with Hook's experience working on projects like Xbox Live and Destiny, he deems live service to be too much of a risk for a fledgling studio like Jar of Sparks.

"[O]ne of the main challenges we all seem to struggle with is there's only so much risk you can take on within a new studio. You're forming a complete team with people who don't know each other, have never worked with each other or brand new IP. Live service adds more complexity on top of that and I really think from my own experience for service driven games, the amount of work you need to do to make a live service work is pretty tremendous. And I think the first game that Jar Sparks is going to go do isn't going to have that component to allow the team to flourish first and be able to put their creative energy first without having to worry about the continual pressure of server driven models," Hook explains.

And despite the studio's status as a "AAA developer," Hook isn't thinking in terms of massive budgets and even bigger sales.

"One of the challenges I think the industry has gotten itself into, where if everyone is always shooting for the 300 million mark or 10 million mark, I'm just like, okay, how about you build a team with the right budget that allows you to be successful with just a couple million or just a million? And you can be successful that way," Hook says, citing smaller-scale successes like V Rising and Valheim. "So my goal or at least our goal that we've talked about with the founder is — we don't want to go after God of War, we want to create our own space. It has a good dedicated following and it is a great title that people want to sink their teeth into, that's it."

As for NetEase, Hook sees the Chinese publishing giant as a backstop against the difficulties that can arrise from the volatile games industry.

"If you go and innovate and you need to slip something, your publisher of those people financing, you have to be clear that you can slip," Hook says. "And that was one of the key conversations I had with NetEase, which is, you need to prepare for slipping if we're going to go and innovate; if you're onboard with us innovating, you know the risks, and they were very clear with me."

Jar of Sparks joins a host of other studios that have formed amid the glut of financing in the games industry, among them Nightingale developer Inflexion Games, Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios, and Stormgate developer Frost Giant Studios. The surge of of studios helmed by experienced industry veterans is only now beginning to see results.

NetEase, for its part, calls Jar of Sparks a "new first party studio that will enjoy full creative freedom." Its other holdings including Grasshopper Manufacture and the new studio formed by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Microsoft is pushing hard to make mainstream cloud gaming reality, partnering with Samsung to release a smart TV app while making it a big part of the Xbox Game Pass package. But at least one former Xbox developer thinks there are still plenty of issues to work out.

Speaking with IGN on the occasion of the launch of his new studio, Jar of Sparks, former Xbox developer Jerry shared his thoughts on whether we're near the end of the line for the traditional console model. Hook, who once helped launch Xbox Live and most recently worked on Halo Infinite, has his doubts.

"My brain says [this isn't the last console generation], even in my notes for the studio, it's like, okay, [the next console generation] should land about here, so let's at least plan for it," Hook says. "But yeah, I have a hard time saying that it would be the last one just because of the struggle my friends globally have with streaming. And if everything's going to be in the cloud, you can't have millisecond delays, especially for what I consider AAA, like e-sports and competitive games, that just won't work. So you'll need something there."

Hook himself is taking a decidedly old-school approach with Jar of Sparks, choosing to focus on narrative action-adventure games rather than live service games, which he considers risky for a fledgling studio.

Games like the ones that Hook wants to make are ostensibly a good fit for the sort of cloud-based tech Xbox is offering, but online games are a different matter. Hook has plenty of experience making online shooters himself, and he thinks top competitive players will balk at any amount of input delay.

"Yeah, you really have to talk to esports players and you ask them and they'll go, 'Nope,'" Hook says. "They get mad when we have input lag just to the console at times, so it's something that I think again, for the general or the hobbyists where we're just not good enough. I know I'm not good enough to detect some of it, but some of it you can still detect or when there's spikes within the network. It's that kind of thing where the last mile problem of networking that you're always going to have to manage, that you can't predict because everyone's house isn't standard."

Regardless, Xbox continues to press ahead with cloud gaming while publishers like Square Enix release cloud-based games of their own, such as the widely-panned Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix for Nintendo Switch. It hasn't been all bad though — there are plenty of anecdotes to be found of players enjoying games like The Ascent with a mobile phone and a Backbone controller.

Either way, we're getting close to a turning point, with Hook himself acknowledging that we're "getting dang close" to a truly high-quality cloud gaming experience. Until then traditional consoles will have to suffice.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Microsoft is pushing hard to make mainstream cloud gaming reality, partnering with Samsung to release a smart TV app while making it a big part of the Xbox Game Pass package. But at least one former Xbox developer thinks there are still plenty of issues to work out.

Speaking with IGN on the occasion of the launch of his new studio, Jar of Sparks, former Xbox developer Jerry shared his thoughts on whether we're near the end of the line for the traditional console model. Hook, who once helped launch Xbox Live and most recently worked on Halo Infinite, has his doubts.

"My brain says [this isn't the last console generation], even in my notes for the studio, it's like, okay, [the next console generation] should land about here, so let's at least plan for it," Hook says. "But yeah, I have a hard time saying that it would be the last one just because of the struggle my friends globally have with streaming. And if everything's going to be in the cloud, you can't have millisecond delays, especially for what I consider AAA, like e-sports and competitive games, that just won't work. So you'll need something there."

Hook himself is taking a decidedly old-school approach with Jar of Sparks, choosing to focus on narrative action-adventure games rather than live service games, which he considers risky for a fledgling studio.

Games like the ones that Hook wants to make are ostensibly a good fit for the sort of cloud-based tech Xbox is offering, but online games are a different matter. Hook has plenty of experience making online shooters himself, and he thinks top competitive players will balk at any amount of input delay.

"Yeah, you really have to talk to esports players and you ask them and they'll go, 'Nope,'" Hook says. "They get mad when we have input lag just to the console at times, so it's something that I think again, for the general or the hobbyists where we're just not good enough. I know I'm not good enough to detect some of it, but some of it you can still detect or when there's spikes within the network. It's that kind of thing where the last mile problem of networking that you're always going to have to manage, that you can't predict because everyone's house isn't standard."

Regardless, Xbox continues to press ahead with cloud gaming while publishers like Square Enix release cloud-based games of their own, such as the widely-panned Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix for Nintendo Switch. It hasn't been all bad though — there are plenty of anecdotes to be found of players enjoying games like The Ascent with a mobile phone and a Backbone controller.

Either way, we're getting close to a turning point, with Hook himself acknowledging that we're "getting dang close" to a truly high-quality cloud gaming experience. Until then traditional consoles will have to suffice.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

The second round of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July has now been announced. Included in the new selection is Watch Dogs 2, As Dusk Falls, MotoGP 22, Inside, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation.

This latest selection of titles adds to the previous wave of games get introduced into the Game Pass library earlier in the month, including Far Cry 5, Yakuza 0, Last Call BBS, and more. You can see everything included on Xbox Game Pass in July below.

As Dusk Falls Is On Xbox Game Pass From July 19

As Dusk Falls is coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC, and cloud gaming on July 19. It is a Day One release for the service, and you can read IGN's full 9/10 review here.

"As Dusk Falls is a masterwork of branching storytelling that makes the best out of its comic book-style animations, which end up giving you the opportunity to fill the negative space with your imagination – and this works surprisingly well during some of the more intense scenes."

Everything Coming to Xbox Game Pass This Month

This is the complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2022.

• Far Cry 5 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Last Call BBS (PC) — Available Now
• Yakuza 0 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Yakuza Kiwami (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• DJMAX Respect V (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Matchpoint (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Road 96 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Escape Academy (Console, PC) — Available Now
• My Friend Peppa Pig (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Overwhelm (PC) — Available Now
• PAW Patrol The Movie (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• PowerWash Simulator (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• As Dusk Falls (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 19
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (PC) ID@Xbox — July 19
• Watch Dogs 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 19
• MotoGP 22 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 21
• Torment: Tides of Numenera (Cloud and Console) — July 21
• Inside (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox — July 29

Watch Dogs 2 Is Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon

Watch Dogs 2 is the latest Ubisoft game to hit Xbox Game Pass, and continues a trend of Ubisoft titles coming to game subscription services like Game Pass or the new PS Plus tiers. Watch Dogs 2 will hit consoles, PC, and cloud gaming from July 19.

Every Yakuza Game Is Now Back On Xbox Game Pass

Now that Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 are back on Xbox Game Pass, that means that the entire Yakuza catalogue is now back on the service. Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon are all available to play on Xbox Game Pass right now. With this new reunion, it's now much easier to jump in and play the entire Yakuza series with ease.

Everything Leaving Game Pass in July 2022

The following games are leaving the Game Pass library by July 31, so if you want to keep playing them you'll need to finalise a purchase before they leave.

• Atomicrops (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Carrion (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Children of Morta (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cris Tales (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lethal League Blaze (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dodgeball Academia (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Katamari Damacy Reroll (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lumines Remastered (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Omno (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Best Game Pass Deal Right Now: 2-Years of Game Pass Ultimate for $135 (Save $224)

First up, your Game Pass subscription must not currently be active - I repeat, you must not have an active Game Pass for this to work. Once you're confident, proceed to the next step.

Next, you need to invest in up to 3-years worth of Xbox Live Gold. You can easily buy 12-month Xbox Live Gold codes from Amazon or other retailers, costing $60/£50 depending on your region.

I Recommend Stacking 2-Years of Xbox Live Gold

The maximum amount of stacking for Gold subscriptions is 36-months (costing $180), any more than that will be lost. So, to keep things safe for those who currently have a Gold membership, I recommend sticking to just 2-years' worth (costing $120/£100).

Now, here's the fun part. Once you've redeemed these codes and stacked your Xbox Live Gold membership up to your liking, you can then convert this time to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at a 1:1 ratio.

Head to the Xbox Live Gold upgrade page and proceed to convert the time you've paid for directly into Game Pass Ultimate. If you've never used the upgrade feature before, this will cost $1/£1 (total cost coming to $121/£101). If you have used this before, it will instead cost you $14.99/£10.99 to upgrade.

Overall, at most, you'll be paying only $135 for 2-years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (instead of $359). If you manage to pull off a 3-year conversion, at most you'll be paying $195 instead (instead of $539). Now that's a big discount. Once you're done, just make sure you turn off auto renewal as well.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

2017's Calexit certainly made waves in the comic book industry, given that its premise was very directly inspired by the events surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Now writer and Black Mask publisher Matteo Pizzolo is following up that story with an equally topical speculative fiction series called Rogue State.

IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about Rogue State ahead of the book's official unveiling at SDCC this weekend. This ongoing series reunites Pizzolo with Calexit: San Diego artist Carlos Granda. It explores an alternate version of the US that has splintered into a series of paramilitary militia groups, and where a new freedom fighter named Vya of Brightstars emerges to rally a terrified nation.

Black Mask will be teasing the new series through a free preview ashcan booklet being released exclusively at Comic-Con. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see some of the unlettered artwork featured in that ashcan:

Here's Black Mask's official plot description for the new series:

In ROGUE STATE, a crew of young vigilantes will rise against an authoritarian state robbing Americans of their rights. The ongoing series tells the story of Vya Of Brightstars, a mysterious freedom fighter rising from the unrest, and Clara Santos (she/her), a young professional who becomes activated in Vya’s movement when her fiancée Taylor Sanchez (they/them) is disappeared as militias take over their Mission District neighborhood. As a nationwide police state takes shape following a contested Presidential election and The Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling to deputize paramilitary groups, Vya and Clara’s rogue state will blaze a path across America, inspiring others to raise their own armies… some in solidarity, others in opposition. Each issue of ROGUE STATE will also include non-fiction material about building local support networks and grassroots campaigning for coming elections.

“This is an amazing and crucial moment in the history of comics. It’s a real renaissance for socially relevant and politically challenging comic books and graphic novels, but at the same time these books are facing more attacks, lawsuits, and bans than they have in a generation,” said Pizzolo in a press release. “Researchers are pointing out the explosion in book banning has been disproportionately impacting graphic novels--and whether it’s Maia Kobabe’s powerful GENDER QUEER, Art Spiegelman’s incredible MAUS, Alison Bechdel’s moving FUN HOME, or Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s piercing V FOR VENDETTA, it’s clear that deeply personal and fearlessly political comics and graphic novels are capturing imaginations across our polarized world. There’s never been a more robust range of comics and graphic novels speaking to the demand for social and political change than right now.”

The Rogue State preview ashcan will be distributed at Black Mask's Comic-Con booth and during the Rogue State panel being held on Saturday, July 23 at 5pm PT. Additionally, the publisher will be offering the following exclusive comics at the con:

• Calexit: Our Last Night In America [Uncut]
• Godkiller: For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice #1 advanced issue
• Godkiller: Tomorrow’s Ashes Collected Edition Hardcover & Softcover
• Rogue State ashcan
• Destiny, NY Chapter 1

Rogue State #1 will be released in October 2022.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, find out how to watch this year's event and what to expect.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.