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Sony has revealed that the PlayStation Plus games for July 2021 include the new PS5 version of A Plague Tale: Innocence and PS4’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and WWE 2K Battlegrounds.

Announced on PlayStation.Blog, all three of these games will be available from July 6, 2021 through August 2, 2021. Sony also has reminded subscribers that Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, which is part of June 2021’s PlayStation Plus games, will stay on the service until August 5.

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The PS5 version of A Plague Tale: Innocence features targeted 60 FPS, “highly improved visuals,” and faster loading. Unfortunately for PS4 owners, only the PS5 version is part of this month’s selections. Even still, this will help PS5 owners get ready for the game’s sequel – A Plague Tale: Requiem – that was announced at E3 2021 with a 2022 release date.

In our review of A Plague Tale: Innocence on PS4, we said that “it has a great story, but the gameplay has a level of convenience that undercuts the perilous world.”

2018’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will also be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers, and brings with it an extensive multiplayer suite. However, those looking for a traditional Call of Duty campaign will be disappointed as this was the first title in the franchise without a single-player story mode.

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In our review of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, we said that it “has a few rough edges, but any of its three modes make for an enjoyable shooter experience that feel distinct and personalized.”

WWE 2K Battlegrounds was released in a time when 2K decided to not release a traditional WWE 2K games following heavy criticism on its previous games. This new arcade-style brawler was meant to give wrestling fans something to look forward while the team worked on what the future of its flagship title would look like.

In our review of WWE 2K Battlegrounds, we said that it “works as a shallow party game you play for an hour, then move on to something else, and that’s it.”

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has trained us all to sit through the credits. However, most of us aren’t there to actually watch the credits. We want a little taste of what’s coming next. The same can be said for the Disney+ series Loki.

Episode 4 of Loki has a post-credit sequence you’ll want to wait around for though. After the main credits, more specifically at 44:42, this mindblowing sequence begins. It only lasts 20 seconds, but what happens in those 20 seconds is pretty fantastic, and we’ll explain what it means below.

Warning: Spoilers for Episode 4 of Loki below the video.

After Loki’s apparent death, he awakes elsewhere, in a ruined city, wondering if he’s in Hell. He’s not but he is greeted by three familiar-looking people–and one animal. They’re all Loki variants who have roots within the world of Marvel Comics.

From left to right, you have Deobia Oparei (Sex Education) as Boastful Loki, Jack Veal (The End of the F***ing World) as Kid Loki and Richard E. Grant (Gosford Park) as Classic Loki. There’s also an Alligator Loki–although that’s not credited in the credits. Check out the photo of them below.

What’s the deal with the alligator? There’s no connection to the comics that we know of, but Marvel has plenty of moments of animals becoming superheroes, like the time Loki turned Thor into a frog–known as Throg–in Thor #363. Eventually, Throg became its own character. Maybe Thor found a way to turn Loki into an alligator?

Then there’s the character listed as Boastful Loki in the credits. This seems to be a new character–the one holding the hammer–for the MCU, as we couldn’t find a connection to the comics.

Grant takes on the role of Classic Loki, in a costume that is very similar to the villain’s first appearance in Journey into Mystery #85 from 1962. This was a time when Loki truly was the God of Mischief, a title which has been discussed on the Disney+ show, as it’s not really suited to Tom Hiddleston’s character in the MCU.

Finally, Veal plays Kid Loki. In the comics, Loki died during the Siege of Asgard, sacrificing himself to save his home–which was then floating above Oklahoma… because comics. However, he was reborn in Paris with no memories of his past life–just nightmares about past crimes. Thor restored part of his identity, but Kid Loki wasn’t a welcome sight back in Asgard. The child God of Mischief was around for some time, before he faded out of existence.

As for everything else going on here, it’s obvious that the group of Lokis are on another Earth–one where New York City was destroyed–you can see Avengers Tower on the right. Considering how much the TVA has lied to Loki throughout the series–where the agents come from, who the Time-Keepers are, etc.–it seems like there already is a multiverse and the TVA rods send you to a parallel Earth.

We’ll learn more next week when Episode 5 of Loki airs on Disney+.

The Bowflex SeletTech 552 dumbbell set is one of the most popular items we feature on IGN Deals. You probably thought the most popular stuff was games and computers and whatnot. Well, sure. Those are massive, for obvious reasons. But among the non-tech stuff that always does well is this set of weights. It’s in-stock right now, and has been since yesterday, which is something newsworthy in and of itself. This set tends to sell out quickly, even when it’s full price.

Bowflex SelectTech 552 Weights In-Stock

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The lockdowns and stay-at-home orders helped make these weights really popular. Now that most places allow you to move about freely, you might think they’d slack off on popularity, but you’d be wrong.

I don’t have this set, but I do keep some dumbbells near my desk. Since I work from home I can multi-task by doing commerce content and making gains. It’s win-win for everybody.

• See the Bowflex SelectTech 552 at Walmart for $360 (note: Walmart is NOT offering free shipping on these weights)

With such a range between light and heavy all in one package, this is an extremely versatile weight set with the added bonus of not taking up all the room required for individually sized dumbbells.

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Seth Macy is IGN’s Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. You can follow him on Twitter.

Dreams developer Media Molecule has released three levels for its latest Dreamiverse project, Megapenguin. Starring a very buff version of nature’s greatest killing machine–the penguin–the big draw of this game is that it isn’t complete yet and it’ll be up to the Dreams community to finish the job. To help Dreamiverse creatives out, Media Molecule has provided a selection of assets that can be used to craft more Megapenguin adventures.

“We’ve kicked things off with these three levels – but, in the spirit of Megapenguin, we would like you to fill in the rest of the story and, above all, help us get Megapenguin back to his fleet where he belongs,” Media Molecule explained in a blog post. “Who knows how long Megapenguin’s quest might end up being, or where it may take him? We certainly don’t. That’s the entire point of this.”

Dreams players can submit their creations to the Challenges page, with the best scenes eventually being picked for inclusion in the Adventure mode. Fans can also look forward to DreamsCom 2021, which will feature explorable booths and creations made entirely within the game. The convention floor will be open from July 28 until August 2, and Media Molecule will host Twitch livestreams, kicking off with a preview stream on July 27 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET.

Dreams first launched on the PS4 on February 14, 2020, and is also playable on PS5 through backwards compatibility.

Is there a cooler job in the world than being a game developer? Whether you want to start an exciting new career or make your own games from home for fun, the way to do it is by learning the coding skills behind them – and now, you can learn them all at your own pace, from home. 

That’s because we’ve found The JavaScript DOM Game Developer Bundle on sale for just $30 today (regular price $1592). This mega training bundle includes eight different courses that will show you how to master essential game development skills – making each course less than $4 right now. 

The perfect way to launch your career as a developer, this bundle will equip you with more than fifty hours of training on JavaScript DOM, coding, HTML 5 Canvas, and more. Plus, you’ll be walked through making tons of your own games as you learn, so by the end of it, you’ll also have a killer portfolio of real video games you have built to show to employers, too. 

In the 4.7/5 rated course, HTML5 Canvas: Create 5 Games & 5 Projects, for example, you’ll go hands-on with creating your own fun, an interactive battle game with a computer brain and dynamic values. Then, in the 4.8/5 rated course JavaScript: Create 5 Fun Word Games, you’ll learn how to create fully functional games for kids from start to finish, and in just a few hours, you’ll even be making your own versions of them, too. 

Every course in this bundle is taught by Laurence Svekis, a leading web expert and app developer with twenty years of professional experience in web programming, and an extremely high 4.3/5 instructor rating from his previous students. 

Take the first step towards your exciting new career in gaming today with The JavaScript DOM Game Developer Bundle, on sale today for $30 (regular price $1592).

We all have a killer app idea that we just know should top the charts. The difference between those that can make it happen – and those that can’t – is in having the coding skills to actually make it a reality. The simple truth is that, if you want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, you’re going to need to know how to code. 

But, thankfully, that doesn’t mean having to go to an expensive college. Today, we’ve found the 15-course Build a Bundle: The 2021 Ultimate Learn to Code Training on sale for just $10 – that works out to less than $1 a course (regular price $99). 

This hands-on bundle of courses will walk you through building your own apps and websites with a huge 135 hours of content on Java, Python, Amazon Honeycode, Flutter, Dart, and more.  Not only is its practical approach a fun and effective way to learn, but it means that by the end of it, you’ll also have a packed portfolio of your own work to show to employers and to get lucrative freelance work, too.

The ideal starting point for your coding journey, even if you’re a complete beginner, you’ll start with the course Complete Java Masterclass – Become an Android App Developer! Before moving on to courses like Python Language Fundamentals: Learn Python from Scratch, and The Complete Web Developer Course: Build 20 Websites to really solidify your skills and build your portfolio.

Each course in this bundle comes from Mammoth Interactive, which produces XBOX 360, iPhone, iPad, Android, HTML 5 for huge companies like Nickelodeon, and has an impressive 4.5/5 instructor rating from previous students. Your instructor is Mammoth’s owner, John Bura, who has created more than 40 commercial games, several of which have hit the coveted number one spot in Apple’s app store. 

Start building your own apps with the Build a Bundle: The 2021 Ultimate Learn to Code Training (15 Courses), on sale right now for $10 – that’s 89% off the regular price of $99.

Whether you love anime, comic books or simply doodling in your spare time, drawing is an amazing creative outlet to have. In fact, as a hobby, it can relieve stress, improve your memory and your motor skills (which will up your gaming skills, too, FYI). 

But, where do you start? An online art school can show you exactly how to brush up on your art skills – and right now, we’ve found The 2021 Complete Character Art Academy Drawing Bundle on sale for just $29.99 (regular price $1400). With a huge selection of seven different courses included in this bundle, that works out to less than $4.30 a course. 

Consider this your complete character art education, with a massive 94 hours of top-rated training on drawing, painting, and coloring, all taught by renowned artist, Scott Harris.

This mega bundle includes the 4.5/5 rated course, Character Art Academy: Complete Character Drawing Course, which will teach you all the fundamentals you need to know to start drawing characters, and then develop your skills to have you sketching like a pro, no matter the skill level you enter the course with. 

If you’re a manga fan, you’ll particularly love the 4.5/5 rated Manga Art Academy: Anime & Manga Character Drawing Course, which will walk you through common stylistic rules, before delving into the different manga art variants to develop your own artistic style which is unique, yet authentic to the medium’s Japanese principles.

Each course in this bundle is taught by Scott Harris, the Art Director of the DAS: School of Art & Design, who has earned an extremely high 4.5/5 instructor rating from his previous students. And that’s an especially impressive score when you consider that the illustrator, painter, and art instructor has taught more than 270,000 budding artists around the world to develop their art skills, learn to draw characters, and more.

Become an artist today with The 2021 Complete Character Art Academy Drawing Bundle, on sale now with 97% off, for $29.99 (regular price $1400).

July is almost here, which means it’s just about time for a new batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. PlayStation has revealed the trio of games members can snag starting July 6. As usual, PlayStation is giving away one PS5 game and a pair of PS4 games. A Plague Tale: Innocence is the PS5 freebie, and it lands on the service the same day as the next-gen enhancements. Subscribers can also snag Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and WWE 2K Battlegrounds for PS4.

A Plague Tale: Innocence’s PS5 upgrade features a number of enhancements. In addition to 4K resolution and 60fps, A Plague Tale will make use of the DualSense’s haptic rumble, adaptive triggers, and 3D audio. This freebie is only available for PS5, but you should claim it anyway even if you haven’t managed to secure a console.

This story is developing…

If you’ve run out of new games to play or new shows you watch, we have two answers for you: PlayStation Plus, for awesome free games every month, and a VPN, for unlocking region-free Netflix from across the world. 

Thankfully, we’ve found the VPN Unlimited Lifetime + PlayStation Plus 2-Yr Subscription Bundle, which gives you a lifetime VPN for encrypted, restriction-free internet browsing and streaming, and two whole years of subscription to the PlayStation Plus service – all for just $89.99 right now when you enter the coupon code GETPLAYSTATION at checkout (regular price $318). 

With VPN Unlimited, you’ll get anonymous, private browsing for life for five of your devices – whether you’re using private or public Wi-Fi connections. There are a ton of benefits to using a VPN, but one of the biggest is that thanks to this one’s 500+ high-speed servers across the world, you’ll be able to enjoy totally unrestricted streaming, free of any region blocking – so you’ll be able to access international Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, ESPN+, HBO Now and more.

It’s won the VPN service a highly regarded 4.2/5 stars on Trustpilot, as well as being named PC Mag’s Top VPN, and taking home the Editor’s Pick Award by Software Informer. Meanwhile, Tech.Co sums it up as, “From its simple interface to its genuinely practical features, VPN Unlimited has plenty to recommend it.”

Then, you’ll also get two years of membership to PlayStation Plus, the essential subscription service which unlocks the full potential of your PS4 or PS5 with online multiplayer, gives you exclusive discounts and offers on new games, and gives you two awesome free games every month. To get an idea of the monthly new and noteworthy games you’ll get access to, check out our guide to June’s PlayStation Plus free games. The service also has 4.8/5 stars on Amazon from very happy gamers. 

Take your gaming and streaming to the next level today with the VPN Unlimited Lifetime + PlayStation Plus 2-Yr Subscription Bundle, on sale today for just $89.99 with the coupon code GETPLAYSTATION (regular price $318). 

Debuting on July 2 on Netflix, Fear Street Part 1: 1994 is the first entry in a new horror movie trilogy that will be released over three consecutive weeks in July. Today, IGN can exclusively bring you the tense and terrifying opening five minutes of Part 1, which you can watch in the player above or via the embed below.

The Fear Street Trilogy is inspired by author R.L. Stine’s young adult horror book series of the same name, which was adapted for the screen by co-screenwriter and director Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon).

The trilogy is set in Shadyside, where a group of teenage friends in 1994 accidentally encounter the ancient evil behind a series of grisly murders that have plagued their community for over three centuries.

In the opening sequence, Stranger Things’ Maya Hawke plays a mall bookstore employee who is unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when horror returns to Shadyside. Check it out:

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In addition to Maya Hawke, the cast of Part One includes Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Jordana Spiro, Jordyn Dinatale, and Jeremy Ford.

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 was scripted by Phil Graziadei & Leigh Janiak. It debuts on Netflix on July 2.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 debuts July 9, and the summer movie event concludes with Fear Street Part 3: 1666 on July 16.

For more on Fear Street, watch the trailer for the trilogy and the trailer for Part One.

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