Author: Trafficblast

Nacon, publisher of The Sinking City, has denied developer Frogwares’ claims that Nacon bought a copy of The Sinking City, altered it to include Nacon logos, and reuploaded the game to Steam to sell to customers without Frogwares’ permission.

In a post to Steam today, Nacon said that the version of The Sinking City published on Steam under its name is “an official and complete version,” and that the only issue with the release is a lack of Steam-specific features such as cloud saving and achievements — a problem it attributes to a “lack of cooperation” with Frogwares.

This comes in response to a blog post yesterday from Frogwares attesting that while a legal battle over whether Nacon has the rights to publish The Sinking City was underway in French courts, Nacon purchased a copy of the game from Gamesplanet, altered certain elements such as splash screens and logos to make it appear as though the game was licensed to Nacon, and then reuploaded it to Steam as an official version.

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The Sinking City was first removed from multiple storefronts back in August 2020, with Frogwares saying at the time that the publisher had breached its contract with the developer, stopped providing owed payments, and tried to mask the involvement of Frogwares in the versions of the games it was licensed to distribute. The dispute, which also involves a number of other similarly-published Frogwares titles such as the Sherlock Holmes games, has gone before French courts. A decision is still pending.

First launched in 2019, we reviewed The Sinking City at launch and found the game compelling in its storytelling, though clunky in certain mechanics such as open-world travel and combat.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Today PC games can save big on a bunch of games from Humble. You can get 12 games, and that includes the excellent Control game, for about $1 per game. In other deal news, Final Fantasy VII Remake is free for PS Plus members starting today (and you can get over 40% off a 1 year membership). God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn for the PS4 are back down to $10, Watch Dogs: Legion is only $24.99, Godfall for the PS5 is $39.99, and more.

New Humble Choice Bundle Includes Control and 11 Games for $12

This month’s Humble Choice PC bundle starts today at 10:30am PST, 1:30pm EST, but we already know some of the games that will be included. The highlight is Control, which won IGN’s 2019 Game of the Year. The other games are as follows:

• Control
• XCOM: Chimera Squad
• ELEX
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds
• Hotshot Racing
• Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
• Kingdom Two Crowns
• Wildfire
• Cyber Hook
• Pesterquest
• Boreal Blade
• Ageless

Control by itself is currently $29.99 at Steam but you’re getting all 12 games for much less. The Humble Choice Premium subscription costs only $12 per month for new customers (for up to 1 year) and you can cancel anytime, which means you can sign up for this single month only for $12. Along with the free games, you’ll also get access to the Humble Trove digital library and up to 20% off other Humble purchases while your subscription is active.

• Get Control and more games for PC from Humble for $12

Final Fantasy VII Remake Free for PS Plus Members Starting Today

Final Fantasy VII Remake is free for PS Plus members through the month of March. The other free March games include Remnant: From the Ashes, Farpoint (PSVR) & Maquette

• Play FFVII: Remake Free for PS Plus Members

1 Year of PS Plus Membership for as Low as $32.99

For those of you who aren’t PS Plus members, you can save up to 45% off a 1 year subscription now by using our coupon code. The PS Plus membership is necessary to play online, but it also offers perks like new free games every month, exclusive discounts at the PlayStation Store, and (for PS5 owners) access to the PS Plus Collection. The PS Plus Collection includes games like God of War, Persona 5, The Last of Us Remastered, Days Gone, Final Fantasy XV, Mortal Kombat, Ratchet & Clank, and more. StackSocial offers a slightly better deal but you’ll have to create an account to use the code. DailySteals allows you to use the code even with guest checkout.

• Use code “IGNPSN” to get it at DailySteals for $34.99
• Use code “IGNPSPSAVE” to get it at StackSocial for $33

More Deals for March 2

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.

Scientists are creating “smart tattoos” that use the technology in TVs and phone screens to make tattoos glow. And scientists say there are applications for glowing tattoos that go beyond just cool looks.

The report, from Advanced Electronic Materials and reported by SciTech Daily, says the tattoos are temporary and are placed by taking the OLED tattoo paper and pressing it against the skin with a wet cloth. The smart tattoos are easily removed by scrubbing with soap and water.

While these tattoos will undeniably make for some great Halloween costumes and cosplay, scientists point to more practical uses that can greatly help people. When combined with other “tattoo electronics,” athletes can use light-emitting tattoos to detect when they are dehydrated or when they’re about to get sunburnt.

“The tattooable OLEDs that we have demonstrated for the first time can be made at scale and very cheaply,” Professor Franco Cacialli, the senior author of the paper, said. “They can be combined with other forms of tattoo electronics for a very wide range of possible uses.”

Cacialli points to medical uses for smart tattoos that can make breakthroughs in the fight against cancer.

“In healthcare, they could emit light when there is a change in a patient’s condition – or, if the tattoo was turned the other way into the skin, they could potentially be combined with light-sensitive therapies to target cancer cells, for instance,” Cacialli said.

The OLED tattoos are approximately 2.3 micrometers thick or, as SciFi Daily puts it, 1/400 of a millimeter. The researchers successfully used the technology to make a green light glow on glass, paper, plastic, and an orange. The tattoos can also be placed on fruit or food packaging to detect when they are expired, according to SciTech Daily.

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In other science news, scientists have taught an AI to beat Pitfall on Atari and discovered that humans can fall into black holes. NASA also recently landed the Mars Rover on Mars and hid a message inside the parachute that the internet decyphered.

Anybody in a sci-fi mood can check out IGN’s list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix or the top 10 gadgets from games, movies, and TV that we wish were real.

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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

The ongoing conflict between Justice League actor Ray Fisher and WarnerMedia and DC Films continues to grow. In a tweet posted Tuesday morning, Fisher accused former DC Films co-president Geoff Johns and producers Toby Emmerich and Jon Berg of “racially discriminatory conversations” focused on his character of Cyborg in Justice League.

“When it comes to matters involving race, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt to those who may be ignorant of their own biases,” Fisher wrote, saying he received information about the conversations from individuals who witnessed them firsthand. “But when you have studio executives (particularly Geoff Johns) saying ‘we can’t have an angry black man at the center of the movie’ — and then those executives use their power to reduce and remove ALL black people from that movie — they are no longer entitled to any benefit associated with doubt.

“[WB head] Toby [Emmerich], Geoff [Johns], and [WB co-president of production] Jon Berg were not ignorant of their biases,” Fisher continued. “They understood full well that the racist rhetoric they chose to entertain in those meetings was offensive, discriminatory, and unacceptable. Furthermore, they dared not speak those things to me, nor any black person associated with the film. Instead, they chose the cowardly route of gaslighting — complete with extremely problematic requests such as asking me to ‘play Cyborg like Quasimodo;’ and forcing a scene to be reshot so they could highlight the existence of Cyborg’s penis.”

You can read Fisher’s entire statement below:

Please Read.

A>E pic.twitter.com/C6PjkBLlDE

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 2, 2021

Fisher continued his post stating that while Geoff Johns was not credited as a co-writer on Joss Whedon’s reworking of Justice League, he was an “enforcer” of race-based discrimination during conversations with Emmerich and Berg. Fisher also reiterated his position that DC Films president Walter Hamada owes an apology to those individuals who participated in the investigation of workplace toxicity on the set of Justice League.

Hamada and Fisher were thrust into the spotlight following Fisher’s accusations against director Joss Whedon, who took over for Zack Snyder following his departure from the original project.

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WarnerMedia and DC Films dispute Fisher’s allegations, citing a third-party investigation that found no misconduct and no interference from Hamada, whom Fisher has accused of protecting Johns. This lead Fisher to state he would never participate in any project associated with Hamada in the future. WarnerMedia said the investigation resulted in “remedial action,” but failed to specify against whom.

And we learned from Zack Snyder that Cyborg’s storyline had been reduced when he left the project, something he hopes to remedy with the upcoming Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

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Whedon has since stepped down from directing HBO’s The Nevers series, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO is owned by WarnerMedia.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

A line about grief from the latest episode of Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+ has stirred up quite a bit of fan debate online, so IGN asked series director Matt Shakman to offer some insight on the original intention behind the line.

Warning: full WandaVision spoilers ahead!

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The line in question–“What is grief, if not love persevering?”–comes in Episode 8 as Agatha Harkness takes Wanda on a supernatural trip down memory lane to unearth the source of the Hex. One pitstop in Wanda’s memory of Avengers HQ shows her opening up about the loss of her brother Pietro, who was killed by Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Vision consoling her with one of his many philosophical musings on life.

Wanda: It’s just like this wave washing over me again and again. It knocks me down and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again. And I can’t… It’s gonna drown me. 

Vision: No. No, Wanda.

Wanda: How do you know?

Vision: Because it can’t be all sorrow, can it? I’ve always been alone so I don’t feel the lack. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never experienced loss because I’ve never had a loved one to lose. What is grief, if not love persevering?

While the line about grief was received earnestly by some who expressed how they could relate to what Vision said, it wasn’t long before those with an opposing view began to heavily criticize the line, and now the line has completed the full Internet Discourse Cycle by becoming the basis for a viral meme.

Shakman explained how the line about grief and the scene where it is delivered was so significant to Wanda’s life.

“[Episode 8] was so important because it pulls back the curtain on what the whole story has been all season, and hopefully folks can go back and look at episodes one, two, and three in a new light now. This is a story about love, it’s about loss, it’s about grief, it’s about how we move on from loss, something I think we all know too much about in general, but especially this year of the pandemic,” Shakman told IGN in an interview. “And so everything that we’ve done so far, even silly live-audience sitcoms in the ‘50s, is fueled by Wanda’s loss and about how she’s trying to find solace from that loss. So that’s what the Avengers HQ scene is really about.

“And it’s also about [Wanda and Vision’s] connection. We’ve seen them together, they’ve been quite charming together making paprikash, we’ve seen the highs and the lows, but this is the moment where they really come together. This is the moment where [Vision] provides the solace that she needs, a way forward, and that line [about grief] is quite beautiful. But it’s also made especially beautiful by the line before it, as well, when Wanda articulates what loss is like to her and he is able to give her a way forward. He is able to show her that love is the way through that. He is quite a wise person, Vision. Even though he’s not human, he seems to be more human than any of us. He has some of the best lines in the MCU, I think that one [about grief] written by [WandaVision writer] Laura Donney is gorgeous.”

Stay tuned to IGN for the full interview with director Matt Shakman.

For more on WandaVision, check out how that little Monica Rambeau moment is a big setup for Captain Marvel 2.

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Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Everyone loves free stuff. It’s the best. Whether you do your gaming on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, you can generally find some free games to download–though for the consoles you usually need a subscription service to grab ’em. (Switch owners can play retro games at no extra cost if they subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online). The only problem is, it can be tough to keep track of what free games are available at any given time.

We thought we’d make it easy on you. Whenever there’s a free game to download at one of the major online stores, we’ll highlight it below. All you have to do is check back often to make sure you get the free games you so richly deserve.

Free PC Games on Epic Game Store

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For years and years, Steam seemed unstoppable. It was the storefront for PC games. How could any company possibly compete with such an entrenched powerhouse? Turns out the answer is: by offering tons of high-quality games for free.

Anyone with an Epic Games Store account can download at least one free game each week from the online retailer. It’s a heck of a perk, and one you should take advantage of on a weekly basis if you like free games. And who doesn’t?

Other Free PC Games

• Black Desert Online – Free on Steam
• Time Loader Prologue – Free on GOG
• The Witcher: Enhanced Edition – Free on GOG with newsletter signup
• Garfield Kart – Free on Indiegala
• Assorted PC Games – Free on GOG

Epic Games Store isn’t the only online game distributor in the “giving away PC games”… er, game. Above is a list of others you can snag if you haven’t yet.

Free PlayStation Games

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As part of Sony’s Play At Home initiative, everyone can grab a copy of the PS4 game Ratchet & Clank for free. It’s yours to keep, as long as you add it to your library before March 31.

Free PlayStation Plus Games

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Each month PlayStation Plus subscribers get a batch of new games they can keep and play for as long as they’re a PS Plus member. The only catch is that you have to add the games to your account each month, or you’ll lose out on the opportunity. See above for this month’s selection of freebies for PS4 and PS5 owners.

Free Xbox Games with Gold

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Anyone who wants to save money should check out our rundown on how to get a cheap Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member (or if you have Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Xbox Live Gold), you get free games each month you can download and play for as long as you’re a member. This month’s selection is listed above. But, like the free games with PS Plus, you have to add them to your account the month they’re available, or you’ll miss the opportunity to have those games.

Free Games with Nintendo Switch Online

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Free Switch games are harder to come by. In fact, they almost never happen, unless you count the NES and SNES games Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have access to. That said, no really exciting games have been added in a while, so it’s not as compelling as the similar services for PlayStation and Xbox. That said, NSO costs less, so at least that’s something.

Free Games from Amazon Prime Gaming

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Amazon Prime members get a batch of free PC games each month. Granted, you need to sign up for Prime, which costs money, but if you’re already a member for the free shipping or Prime Video, you might as well take advantage of the free games each month.

In addition to free PC games each month, Prime members also get in-game items in all kinds of titles, ranging from Destiny 2 and League of Legends to Red Dead Online and Star Wars Squadrons.

Unless you’re really into indie titles, t’s probably not worth signing up for Prime just to get the free games. Prime’s free PC games don’t tend to be as big or well-known as the ones Epic Games Store doles out for free. But if you’re already a Prime member for the many other benefits, there’s no reason not to take a look at what’s on offer each month.

If you don’t have a gaming PC, or you also have a console, you can check out our best PlayStation deals, best Xbox deals, and best Nintendo Switch deals as well. We keep those articles updated with all the best deals on games, consoles, accessories, and more.

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Respawn has released a new gameplay trailer for the Nintendo Switch port of Apex Legends. The trailer reveals a new Pathfinder skin as well, which will be exclusive to the Switch version of the game for a limited time.

As seen in the trailer, the new legendary P.A.T.H. Pathfinder skin recolors the happy-go-lucky robot with a sleek red-and-white paint job. The trailer doesn’t mention how long this skin will remain exclusive to the Switch version.

Interestingly, this trailer may also tease more, currently unannounced additions to Apex Legends. At 0:26, you can see Rampart dancing with a microphone and at 0:38, you can see Mirage, Bangalore, Lifeline, Gibraltar, Pathfinder, and Wattson also all doing emotes that aren’t present in the game.

These could be upcoming banner poses that may be added in future events (maybe one that’s tied to a future Caustic town takeover), or perhaps Respawn will begin adding brand-new ground-based emotes alongside the current collection of skydive emotes and holo-sprays. Banner poses make more sense given Apex Legends is a first-person shooter and you normally can’t see your character, meaning you wouldn’t even see the emote you’re using. But we’ll have to wait and see.

Those who download Apex Legends on Switch within two weeks of its launch (so between March 9 and March 23) will automatically unlock the first 30 levels of Season 8’s battle pass. Additionally, all Switch players will earn double XP during that two week period.