Sony has introduced the PlayStation Bug Bounty program, which will give hackers who uncover bugs and vulnerabilities cash rewards. According to the announcement, critical vulnerabilities for the PS4 start at $50,000.
The announcement also indicates that the company’s bounty program has existed in some form for a while now, but it was only available to private researchers. By bringing the project public, Sony says that it hopes to enhance the security on its consoles. More details about the program can be found on its HackerOne page.
Critical security vulnerabilities have been an issue for both Sony and Microsoft in the past. The most notorious example remains the 2011 PlayStation Network outage, where hackers obtained the data of around 77 million users. During that incident, Sony was criticized by journalists and even government officials for waiting a week before informing players that their personal information was in jeopardy. Sony Europe was fined £250,000 for the breach by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office in 2013.
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A creative director at Ubisoft’s Montreal branch has announced his plans to leave the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla project behind. Ashraf Ismail, who previously worked on both Black Flag and Origins, is stepping down amid allegations of infidelity.
I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life. The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.
“I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life,” Ismail wrote on Twitter. “The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this.”
In a follow-up tweet, Ismail said he didn’t want to detract from the work others on the project are doing. “There are hundreds of talented, passionate people striving to build an experience for you that do not deserve to be associated with this,” Ismail said. “I wish them all the best.” [Update: Ismail appears to have now deleted his Twitter account.]
Ubisoft, in a statement to GameSpot, said Ismail is taking a leave of absence. “Ashraf Ismail is stepping down from the project to take a leave of absence,” a Ubisoft spokesperson said. “The development team is committed to delivering a great game in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.”
Over the weekend, along with allegations against other industry figureheads such as former Dying Light 2 writer Chris Avellone, Ismail was accused of courting women while married. According to a Twitter thread, Ismail cheated on his wife and lied about the relationship to the women he engaged with.
In addition to Ismail, another Ubisoft employee, product and brand marketing manager Andrien Gbinigie, has also been accused of sexual assault.
Regarding the accusations against various employees, Ubisoft told GameSpot, “We are deeply concerned by these accusations. We take any allegations of abuse or harassment very seriously and we are looking very closely into the allegations to determine next steps.”
Just as it was starting to seem that 2020 was setting its coordinates for “couldn’t possibly get any worse,” Disney+ is doing its best to point things in a sunnier direction. The streaming service has unveiled a new trailer for Muppets Now, an “unscripted” TV series featuring everyone’s favorite puppet performers and a supporting crew of celebrity pals.
In the trailer–which you can see below–the Muppets are joined by numerous celebrities from RuPaul to Seth Rogan and more. Check it out.
Premiering July 31 on Disney+, all that’s known for sure about the six-episode series beyond what’s teased at in the above trailer (as the featured litigious otter warns, “No details about celebrity guests or content may be proffered at this juncture.”) so far comes from the official synopsis.
“Muppets Now is The Muppets Studio’s first unscripted series and first original series for Disney+, reads a recent press release. “In the six-episode season, Scooter rushes to make his delivery deadlines and upload the brand-new Muppet series for streaming. They are due now, and he’ll need to navigate whatever obstacles, distractions, and complications the rest of the Muppet gang throws at him. Overflowing with spontaneous lunacy, surprising guest stars and more frogs, pigs, bears (and whatevers) than legally allowed, the Muppets cut loose in Muppets Now with the kind of startling silliness and chaotic fun that made them famous. From zany experiments with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker to lifestyle tips from the fabulous Miss Piggy, each episode is packed with hilarious segments, hosted by the Muppets showcasing what the Muppets do best.”
Disney has released a series of four images–none of which feature any of the celebrity pals usually associated with the series. However, in the above trailer, teasing glances of Aubrey Plaza, RuPaul, Seth Rogen, and a handful of others can be spotted.
Muppets Now on Disney+
This is the first use of Jim Henson’s characters since the short-lived ABC 2016 mockumentary series, The Muppets.
The company behind Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, has ended its working relationship with Noah Bradley, an artist for the game that has been accused of sexual assault by a number of women over the past few days. On Sunday, Bradley issued a statement on Twitter, admitting to being a “shitty, creepy sexual predator” and a “selfish asshole” who preyed on vulnerable women at industry events.
If you’re thinking of accepting Noah Bradley’s apology, consider that he has shared his playbook in the past and it’s a handbook on manipulation pic.twitter.com/hLWwBaJnLv
In response to these allegations, Wizards of the Coast released a statement, saying that it has fully cut ties with Bradley. However, the statement also indicates that some of his art will still appear in products that are scheduled to be released due to “the long timeframe between commissioning art [and] the manufacturing of printed products.” Bradley’s work will not be included in reprints, however.
A bunch of upcoming Xbox One games have been highlighted in a new series by Microsoft’s ID@Xbox division. The Summer Spotlight Series specifically targets smaller projects by smaller teams, giving us a brand-new look at titles like Carrion, Dead Static Drive, SkateBird, and more.
The series consists of six videos, with each one diving into and showing off new games and gameplay. The videos themselves are short and feature someone from the development team of each spotlighted game discussing what the game is about, how the game plays, and, in some instances, a vague release window. You can check out the first Summer Spotlight Series video below.
Some of the videos also include footage newly released or highly anticipated titles, such as Cyber Shadow, ScourgeBringer, Super Meat Boy Forever. Below is a full list of all the games mentioned in the Summer Spotlight Series.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
Developer Experiment 101 showed off new Biomutant gameplay and provided an update on its development.
In an interview with IGN, creative director Stefan Ljungqvist went in-detail about some elements players can expect in Biomutant. Ljungqvist talked about the gigantic bosses and how they play pivotal roles in the game’s story, how the morphing character creator affects stats, the necessity of crafting the necessary gear to traverse the various biomes, and more. The entire interview was punctuated by bits and pieces of new gameplay, illustrating the scope of Biomutant’s world as we see expansive fields, deep waters, and everything in between.
Throughout the interview, Ljungqvist said Biomutant was the biggest game he had ever worked on, mentioning the game’s massive size on several occasions while disclosing that Biomutant is almost done. “We are at the end phase of development,” Ljungqvist said. “When you asked me at the beginning ‘what we’ve been doing,’ we’ve been doing the same thing. In a massive game like this–and it’s very big, like I said, the largest game I ever worked on–you will have issues. You will have technical challenges to overcome–and artistic too–but at this stage [of the project], it’s more like cleaning out. You know, we’re squashing bugs.”
Earlier this year, Experiment 101 said something similar, issuing a statement on Biomutant confirming that the game’s development was nearing completion. Apart from this, the last time we saw Biomutant was back in 2018 when Experiment 101 showed a lengthy gameplay session during Gamescom. While a release date is still unconfirmed, Biomutant will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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The centerpiece of Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Isle of Armor expansion is a new storyline that centers around Kubfu, a brand-new Legendary Pokemon that you’ll receive after you complete all three of the Master Dojo’s trials. Unlike most other Legendary Pokemon, Kubfu is actually able to evolve, and its evolution, Urshifu, can take one of two forms: Single Strike or Rapid Strike.
However, evolving Kubfu is a bit more involved than it may initially seem, and Urshifu’s two possible forms each have their own strengths and drawbacks. To help you decide which one to choose, we’ve put together this guide explaining how to evolve Kubfu and how its two evolutions compare. Isle of Armor story spoilers follow.
How To Evolve Kubfu
After you complete the Master Dojo’s three trials, Mustard will gift you the Legendary Pokemon Kubfu. To evolve it, you’ll need to challenge one of the Towers of Two Fists, but before you can do that, you’ll need to increase your friendship with Kubfu. Fortunately, this is much simpler than the usual methods of improving friendship with your Pokemon.
After you receive Kubfu, Mustard will mark down several areas on your map that have great views. You’ll need to visit three of these and speak to a dojo member at each to max out your friendship with Kubfu. It doesn’t matter which viewpoints you visit, so you have some flexibility over how you approach this trial. Once you’ve visited three of the areas, return to Mustard and you’ll earn the right to challenge either the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters.
Each tower consists of five battles, but you can only select one of them to challenge, so think carefully before you begin. Your Kubfu will need to be at least level 70 to gain access to the tower, and it must be the only Pokemon in your party for the challenge. After you defeat the first four trainers, your final battle will be against Mustard, who uses his own Kubfu.
Your Kubfu will evolve differently depending on which of the two towers you challenge. If you complete the Tower of Darkness, it will evolve into Single Strike Urshifu, a Dark/Fighting type; if you complete the Tower of Waters, it will evolve into Rapid Strike Urshifu, a Water/Fighting type.
Which Kubfu Evolution Is Better?
Both Single Strike and Rapid Strike forms of Urshifu have the exact same Ability–Unseen Fist–and base stats, so neither is more powerful than the other. The biggest difference between the two forms is their potential movesets. Although they can learn many of the same attacks, Single Strike Urshifu is able to learn a handful of Dark-type attacks, including the signature move Wicked Blow. This attack deals damage and always results in a critical hit unless the opposing Pokemon has an Ability that prevents crits, such as Battle Armor or Shell Armor.
Similarly, Rapid Strike Urshifu is able to learn a handful of Water-type attacks. This form’s signature move is Surging Strikes, a multi-hit attack that strikes opponents three times. Although each hit has a fairly low base power, all three strikes are always critical hits unless the opposing Pokemon has the aforementioned Abilities.
Ultimately, which Urshifu you should choose comes down to personal preference. Single Strike Urshifu’s biggest drawback is its 4x weakness to Fairy Pokemon, which are fairly prevalent in competitive play, although it gains immunity from Psychic types. Meanwhile, Rapid Strike Urshifu’s Water typing opens up weaknesses to Grass and Electric Pokemon. Another point to keep in mind is that Water/Fighting is a less common type combination than Dark/Fighting. The only other Water/Fighting Pokemon is Poliwrath, while Pangoro and Scrafty share Single Strike Urshifu’s typing.
How To Get Gigantamax Urshifu
Both forms of Urshifu are capable of Gigantamaxing, although they won’t have that ability innately. As with your Galar starter, you’ll need to teach Urshifu how to Gigantamax, but you can’t simply feed it a regular Max Soup as you can other Pokemon; you need an additional ingredient for the dish called Max Honey.
Max Honey can only be obtained after defeating a Dynamax Vespiquen raid. You’ll be tasked with battling one on Honeycalm Island as part of Isle of Armor’s story. After you’ve obtained the Max Honey, you’ll need to combine it with three cluster of Max Mushrooms to create a special Max Soup that will give Urshifu the ability to Gigantamax.
Kubfu isn’t the only new Pokemon you can evolve in Isle of Armor; you can also evolve Galarian Slowpoke into Galarian Slowbro, a brand-new regional variant that comes with a unique Ability called Quick Draw and an exclusive Poison-type attack called Shell Side Arm. The Isle of Armor expansion also gives you the ability to teach certain Pokemon how to Gigantamax thanks to a special dish called Max Soup.
While Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins has hinted at plans for a third movie in the series, it doesn’t sound like that sequel will be happening right away.
Jenkins spoke to Total Film Magazine (via Batman News), saying the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled her to stop and reassess her future plans for the DC film franchise, which includes both Wonder Woman 3 and a planned spinoff focused on the Amazons.
“I’ve really hit the pause button,” Jenkins told Total Film. “Because the truth is, where that plotline was coming from was our state of being six months ago. And so I want to make sure that I’m totally absorbing whatever the result of this pandemic is.”
“We’re not starting to work on that movie right away,” Jenkins continued. “I’m hoping to do this Amazon movie before we do the third Wonder Woman. And I may not do either of them. You never know what will happen in this world, you know? But yes, I think the plotline will stay very similar, probably. But I want to make sure it’s influenced by all of this.”
Previously, Jenkins indicated the third Wonder Woman movie won’t be a period piece like its predecessors, but will instead take place in the present-day DC Universe.
While Wonder Woman 3 may be on the back-burner for now, the upcoming Flash movie may give us a better idea of the future scope of DC’s cinematic universe. Michael Keaton is reportedly in talks to reprise his Batman role for that movie, setting the stage for Keaton’s Batman to play a Nick Fury-like role in the DCEU. Perhaps this iconic Batman will have a part to play in Wonder Woman 3 as well?
Surgeon Simulator 2 will take the first game’s brutally amusing cartoon operations, and add a much wider game around it – from larger, more varied levels, to 4-player co-op, to customisation, and even an entire level creation suite.
In a game overview video revealed at IGN Expo today, we got a first look at the sequel’s many additions, all set in the new Bossa Labs medical facility, a varied set of areas to unlock, featuring new items like the Anatomy Vendor, multiple new tools to operate with, and dozens of physics-enabled objects to accidentally knock over.
The video also introduces the game’s four characters, Penny, Kamal, Heather and Milo, all of whom can be used in 4-player co-op, and can be customised with new costumes and a variety of finger ornaments.
We also got a look at the Bossa Labs Creation Mode, which opens up the streamlined level creation tools used by the developers themselves. Level designs can run from medical, to sci-fi, to fantasy, and can be uploaded for other players to try.
Pre-ordering the standard version of the game on Epic Games Store will open up closed beta access and an exclusive Mad Scientist costume, with the Deluxe Edition offering more on top of that.
There’s more to see from today’s IGN Expo, and we’re running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here’s the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we’re supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
