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Coronavirus Concerns Causing Convention Dropouts, Theme Park Closings, And Movie Release Delays

COVID-19, more commonly referred to as the coronavirus, is affecting the entertainment industry hard in recent weeks. Movie releases are being delayed, conventions are seeing talent and publishers drop out, and theme parks are closing. Much like how the coronavirus is affecting the gaming industry, these are precautionary measures in order to stop or slow the spread of the highly contagious disease.

Conventions Affected By COVID-19

While we saw companies drop out from the Games Developer Conference (GDC) in recent weeks before it was outright delayed, comic conventions are also seeing major companies drop out from the shows. Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), Seattle’s convention taking place March 12-15, has seen DC Comics–which is also canceling all March conventions–Penguin Random House, and now, Dark Horse Comics drop out from the show amid coronavirus concerns.

At the time of this writing, ECCC is still happening as scheduled, even though talent in artist’s alley have also been dropping out. Eisner-winning illustrator Jen Bartel is the latest to cancel their appearance. She wrote in a tweet that ECCC is her favorite show but “due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, I will be canceling my appearance this year.”

The Seattle area is becoming a ghost town, according to a report by NBC News on March 4. There are 31 confirmed cases of the virus in the state, and nine deaths were located outside of the city, which is preparing for an outbreak.

Theme Parks And Wrestling Events

Outside of comic conventions, other major events could face being postponed, with the largest one being the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to Japan’s Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto. A laundry list of theme parks have also closed its doors including Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Universal Studios Japan, and Legoland Japan. The Japanese parks will stay closed through March 16, though that could change.

Stateside, WWE is coming to Tampa, Florida for the annual Wrestlemania event, where 100,000 people pack in to a stadium for the PPV, watch numerous other wrestling shows, and go to the Axxess convention over the course of the week. Currently, WWE is monitoring the situation.

Hollywood Global Releases… Delayed

Hollywood is also taking a hit, as countries are taking precautionary measures in order to slow down the rate of infection. China has closed 70,000 movie theaters across the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That means new movie releases are postponed for the time being in the country. Both Disney’s Mulan and Pixar’s Onward have not secured new release dates in China, at the time of this writing. Recently, MGM and Universal Pictures decided to push back the worldwide release of the film No Time To Die until November.

Movie Releases Affected By Coronavirus

Pocket outbreaks are also affecting production of films. Because of the coronavirus infections in Italy, production on Mission Impossible 7 have been halted. Season 33 of CBS’s reality show The Amazing Race has shut down its production, even though it’s filmed three episodes in Scotland and England. There will more than likely be more news about TV shows and movies shutting down production as the virus spreads.

While this news may be a disappointment to most people, it’s all about stopping the spread of the virus. The CDC has many precautions you can take in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus as well as some helpful tips to stay healthy.

Pokemon Sword & Shield: Gigantamax Toxtricity Leaving Max Raids Soon

Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s latest Max Raid event is coming to an end this week. The newly introduced Gigantamax Toxtricity will leave the games at 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET on Sunday, March 8, making this your last chance to catch it.

Until that time, Gigantamax Toxtricity will appear in Max Raid dens around the Wild Area. The Gigantamax Pokemon is available in both Sword and Shield, but which form it takes differs depending on which version you’re playing. Sword players will encounter Amped Form Toxtricity, while Shield players will find Low Key Form. Both variants have the same base stats, but each learns some different attacks.

When Gigantamaxed, Toxtricity’s Electric attacks will become the G-Max move Stun Shock. In addition to dealing damage, this attack will also either paralyze or poison all Pokemon on the opponent’s side of the field.

Also leaving Max Raids on March 8 are Gigantamax versions of Kingler, Grimmsnarl, Orbeetle, and Hatterene. These Gigantamax Pokemon will remain in the game, but their spawn rates will return to normal, which means they’ll be significantly rarer to encounter. You can see which Pokemon are available in each game in our Max Raid event roundup.

In other news, The Pokemon Company recently unveiled a new Mythical Pokemon for Sword and Shield: Zarude. The monster will star in the upcoming film Pokemon the Movie: Coco, which premieres in Japan this summer. You can also still grab a few freebies in Sword and Shield.

Now Playing: Battle Strategies – Competitive Pokemon Explained Part 2

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Rumored Battle Royale Map Reportedly Leaks

While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare fans wait for official confirmation of the rumored Warzone battle royale mode, one more leak has given a new glimpse at what could be its map.

As reported by Dexerto, Reddit user and known Call of Duty leaker Senescallo has posted what appears to be the full Warzone map. The map closely matches the leak in November 2019, also by Senescallo, that showed a similar map.

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The map leak from November was edited by Redditor Kalinine, who marked up that map with potential locations that reference both multiplayer maps and Spec Ops maps.

Kalinine estimates Warzone’s map will be 8 km², and rumors suggest it could feature up to 200 players, have a “Gulag” feature that would see eliminated players battling it out 1v1 for a chance at a second life, a “Ping” system like Apex Legend’s, and many vehicles.

While there has been no official confirmation that Warzone exists, the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s second season has heavily hinted at its imminent arrival.

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Not only did the opening cinematic show players jumping out of a plane onto a much larger map than usual, but there is a new mode on the main menu that only says “CLASSIFIED.”

While we may have to wait a bit longer to experience Modern Warfare’s battle royale mode, players can jump into the store and purchase a Tomogunchi, a watch that houses a virtual pet that needs kills, wins, captures, and more to survive.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

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

WWE’s Matt Hardy Going To AEW Looks Like It Might Actually Be Happening

With Matt Hardy‘s WWE contract having expired, he’s now a free agent in the professional wrestling industry. However, it’s starting to look like his next steps have already been chosen. While there’s been plenty of speculation that Hardy would be making his next wrestling home in All Elite Wrestling, the evidence is starting to become overwhelming.

At the end of the most recent episode of Being the Elite, the YouTube series created by AEW executive vice presidents Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, the Bucks get a mysterious phone call from somebody in North Carolina, asking them to come for a visit. Immediately, fans speculated that the person on the other end of the phone was Hardy, who hails from Cameron, NC. Now, in the latest episode of Hardy’s Free the Delete web series, it was confirmed he was the person calling.

In the final moments of episode 10 of the series, the Bucks pull up to Hardy’s home. “Bucks of Youth,” he calls to them. “I know you’d come.” The episode also sees Hardy playing with his children, building a cross, and carrying it across his property for one reason or another.

Still, the Bucks appearing traveling to Hardy’s home and appearing on his YouTube series seems to indicate how likely it is he will be appearing in AEW sooner, rather than later. In fact, tonight (March 4) is the first episode of AEW Dynamite after the Revolution pay-per-view, which saw Jon Moxley dethrone Chris Jericho to become AEW World Champion.

Whether Hardy actually makes the jump–and when that could happen–remains to be seen. Whatever the case, though, clearly the Bucks like working with the now-former WWE superstar.

What’s less clear is whether Jeff Hardy would ever join his brother, should a potential jump to AEW happen. Appearing March 3 on WWE Backstage, the Charismatic Enigma revealed he is ready to return to the ring on WWE Smackdown and wants the chance to wrestle Roman Reigns. For the time being, at least, it seems Jeff will be sticking with WWE.

Sony Santa Monica Has A New Studio Head

After former SIE Santa Monica Studio boss Shannon Studstill left the company to head up a new Google Stadia studio in Playa Vista, California, Sony PlayStation has announced that her replacement is Yumi Yang.

Yang has worked at Sony Santa Monica for nearly 20 years, starting first as a senior producer and jumping all the way up to director of product development before taking over as studio head. During her time in the industry, she, like Studstill, had a brief stint at Electronic Arts as a development director before going back to the Los Angeles-based studio. And also like Studstill, Yang previously worked on 2018’s God of War.

“We extend our warmest congratulations to Shannon Studstill on her new role,” a Sony spokesperson told GameSpot. “Under her leadership, the studio she helped found over twenty years ago masterfully reinvented itself and its greatest franchise with 2018’s Game of the Year, God of War. In her role as VP of Product Development, Shannon helped smaller independent teams incubate within the studio, leading to groundbreaking works like Journey and The Unfinished Swan. All of PlayStation is better for and grateful of her many years of exemplary service and bold creative vision.

“Taking over as studio head is Yumi Yang, a 19-year PlayStation veteran with an extensive background in product development and heavy involvement across many of Santa Monica Studio’s biggest games. Her project management prowess and meticulous oversight of 2018’s God of War helped the title fully realize its groundbreaking potential. After nearly two decades and countless substantial contributions to Santa Monica Studio’s rich legacy, Yumi has the unquestioned respect and trust of her peers. With her vast experience and deep understanding of the studio’s distinct creative DNA, she is perfectly positioned to lead Santa Monica Studio to a bold and exciting future.”

Though Santa Monica has developed most of the God of War entries, the studio’s 2018 effort is perhaps the franchise’s most successful. It’s gone on to win numerous accolades, including Game of the Year at 2019’s GDC Awards (and others), and even secured a spot on Metacritic’s Games of the 2010s Decade. Unfortunately, there is absolutely zero DLC coming, meaning Kratos has reached the end of his journey.

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New PS4 Games Sale Offers Twice The Discount For PS Plus Members

A pair of mid-week PS4 sales just kicked off in the PlayStation Store, bringing markdowns on around 200 games. The Double Discounts sale offers even steeper discounts for PlayStation Plus members, while the second sale features games under $15 for anyone on a budget. Between the two sales, there are plenty of games at great prices to keep you busy this week, and you have until March 18 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET to claim anything that catches your eye.

It’s been a while since the last Double Discounts sale on PSN, and considering these types of promotions are benefits of the membership, PS Plus subscribers should take time to check it out. The sale includes some of the best games on PS4 and other titles that may have flown under your radar. Acclaimed first-person shooter Titanfall 2 is just $8 as part of the sale, while Devil May Cry: HD Collection is down to $15. Considered one of the best RPGs of all time, Divinity: Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition is on sale for just $24. Meanwhile, you can also snag The Escapists 2: Game of the Year Edition for $9.17 and Dead Cells for $15. Plague Inc: Evolved, which has been trending lately, is also $6. While non-PS Plus members can still buy these games at a discount, they won’t be as cheap. Be sure to sign in to see the lowest price.

If you’re not a PS Plus member, the Games Under $15 sale has some nice deals that won’t drain your wallet. A pair of Assassin’s Creed games, Unity and Black Flag, are down to $9 each, while the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy is on sale for $10. Survival horror game The Evil Within is marked down to $6. Plus, some great narrative-driven adventures are on sale, including The Wolf Among Us for $4.94 and Life is Strange‘s complete season for $4.

There’s still a couple of days left to check out PSN’s Big in Japan sale, which ends March 6. The sale features huge discounts on series like Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, and more.

For now, check out some of the best deals from PSN’s two newest sales below, and see all the current PS4 sales at the PlayStation Store. Plus, be sure to claim your PS Plus free games for March 2020 while you’re at it.

PS Plus-exclusive deals

  • Battlefield V — $12 ($40)
  • Blasphemous — $15 ($25)
  • Burnout Paradise Remastered — $8 ($20)
  • Cities: Skylines — $12 ($40)
  • Dead Cells — $15 ($25)
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Digital Deluxe Edition — $6.29 ($45)
  • Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition — $24 ($60)
  • Devil May Cry HD Collection — $15 ($30)
  • DmC: Devil May Cry – Definitive Edition — $10 ($40)
  • Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen — $12 ($30)
  • Dying Light — $10 ($20)
  • The Escapists 2 – Game of the Year Edition — $9.17 ($27)
  • Jurassic World Evolution — $15 ($50)
  • Kerbal Space Program – Enhanced Edition — $9.59 ($40)
  • Mortal Kombat 11 — $24 ($60)
  • Observer — $12 ($30)
  • Okami HD — $10 ($20)
  • Onimusha: Warlords — $12 ($20)
  • Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight — $15 ($30)
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy — $15 ($30)
  • Plague Inc: Evolved — $6 ($15)
  • Rocket League — $10 ($20)
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast — $6 ($10)
  • Stellaris – Console Edition — $16 ($40)
  • Titanfall 2 — $8 ($20)
  • Tomb Raider – Definitive Edition — $6 ($30)
  • We Happy Few — $12 ($60)

PS4 games under $15 sale

  • Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag — $9 ($30)
  • Assassin’s Creed Unity — $9 ($30)
  • Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy — $10 ($25)
  • Child of Light — $4.49 ($15)
  • Dishonored 2 — $12 ($40)
  • The Division — $7.49 ($30)
  • The Evil Within — $6 ($20)
  • Hollow Knight – Voidheart Edition — $7.49 ($15)
  • Life is Strange Complete Season — $4 ($20)
  • Resident Evil 4 — $8 ($20)
  • Undertale — $12.74 ($15)
  • The Wolf Among Us — $4.94 ($15)
  • Wolfenstein: The Two-Pack — $12 ($30)
  • Yakuza 0 — $10 ($20)

Now Playing: Free PS4 PlayStation Plus Games For March 2020 Revealed

Watch Resident Evil 3 Remake’s Gameplay Stream Here

You can get a closer look at some Resident Evil 3 Remake gameplay today, March 4, as Capcom is set to stream the game at 7 PM GMT / 8 PM CET / 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. There’s no indication of how long the stream will be or what parts of the game will be shown off as of yet, but we’re expecting it to showcase some of the new things Capcom is doing to modernize the experience.

Capcom recently announced that Resident Evil Remake 3 will be receiving a demo, but has yet to confirm a release date for this. It could be that the stream provides information for when the demo will launch.

We recently got to see Resident Evil 3 Remake for ourselves and came away very impressed with the improvements Capcom has made to the classic survival horror. “It’s intriguing to see how much Capcom is redefining what it means to revisit classic games, so much so that it makes me wonder how much these reimagined remakes will impact the series’ legacy and identity moving forward,” wrote Matt Espineli in a recent preview. “To re-experience a game I love in a new, but familiar way is truly special–it’s not an everyday thing.”

Of course, Capcom already impressed with last year’s Resident Evil 2 Remake, with our own 9/10 review praising its impeccable atmosphere and clever improvements on the original. Critic Alessandro Fillari wrote, “Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own.”

Resident Evil 3 Remake is set to launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on April 10.

When to watch:

  • 7 PM GMT
  • 8 PM CET
  • 2 PM ET
  • 11 AM PT

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Red Dead Redemption 2 Soundtracks Head To Vinyl This Year

Publisher Rockstar Games has announced that music from Red Dead Redemption 2 is getting vinyl pressings very soon–and they will come in double-LP packages.

Both the game’s original score and soundtrack will come in two double-LP bundles: The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2: Original Score and The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2: Original Soundtrack, both of which are available to pre-order right now through the Rockstar Warehouse, the studio’s official merch store.

Is it me or is this vinyl a little ghostly?
Is it me or is this vinyl a little ghostly?

The original score will come on transparent vinyl and features various collaborations from musicians such as Arca, Colin Stetson, Senyawa, David Ferguson, Jon Theodore, and more. This double-LP vinyl pressing is a “one-time-only, limited release” composed and mastered by longtime Rockstar contributor Woody Jackson. It retails for $30 USD and is expected to release on April 10.

Nothing says
Nothing says “hard” like bloodshot vinyl.

If you’re looking for something a little bloodier, the original soundtrack might be more your speed as it’s pressed on bloodshot red vinyl. It features music created exclusively for RDR2 by artists like D’Angelo, Willie Nelson, Rhiannon Giddens, and Josh Homme, and is produced by Grammy Award winner Daniel Lanois. The original soundtrack double-LP will arrive on September 20 and also sets you back $30 USD.

Red Dead Redemption 2 recently saw a fan mod taken down, though the reason remains hazy. The mod was a play on the inaccessible Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas “Hot Coffee” mini-game. The modder admitted that a Rockstar representative asked them to remove it but refused to do so at the time, claiming the mod didn’t break any rules

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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Is Now Available on Mobile

PlayStation classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has been released on mobile all of a sudden and completely without warning.

The iOS and Android port costs $2.99 / £2.99 and comes with touchscreen controls, with revamped menus to boot, but is said to be fully compatible with controllers. It also has a new continue feature – which probably means you don’t have to wait an age every time you die as you’re sent back to the title screen.

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It seems this mobile port is based on the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 4 versions of Symphony of the Night, rather than the original PlayStation 1 version. That means it has a completely new script and voice acting that, unfortunately, doesn’t have the iconic line, “What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!”

It also has extra familiars, new credits music, a boss fight against Maria, and Maria is playable. Everything else is pretty much the same as the 1997 original. The timing of this couldn’t be better as Castlevania Season 3 arrives on Netflix on March 5.

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If you don’t know, in Symphony of the Night you play as Alucard – the white-haired vampire in the Netflix series – as he tries to stop the evil that has overtaken Dracula’s castle. We gave it a 9 in our Castlevania: Symphony of the Night review from way back in 1997, saying that it’s “one of the finest 2D platforms game yet seen.”

One of the directors of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Koji Igarashi, went on to make a spiritual successor to the game recently in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Hideo Kojima Shows Off Death Stranding Photo Mode

Hideo Kojima has provided a first look at the photo mode that will be available as part of the PC version of Death Stranding.

He shared footage of the photo mode in a Twitter video that, unfortunately, isn’t of the greatest quality. What can be seen in the low-res video is that Death Stranding’s photo mode will work much like many other photo modes in other games.

You’ll be able to pause the game at any moment and then move the game camera around to get the shot you want. You’ll also be able to tweak the brightness, the depth of field, change the aperture, and add filters. If you want, you can even make protagonist Sam Bridges pull different expressions and poses, or remove him from the shot entirely. It seems you may also be able to put themed frames around photos as well as turn them into posters.

In another tweet, Kojima mentioned that he’d like to hold photo contests for Death Stranding “by letting users send the photo that they took with the in-game camera.” He’s referencing a Metal Gear Solid 2 competition that rewarded players for creative use of the camera in that game.

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Finally, around the same time as the tweets about Death Stranding’s photo mode, Kojima brought up the fact that, in Metal Gear Solid, he hid a number of his staff members in the game as ghosts. The only way you could see these ghosts were to take photos in certain places using the in-game camera. In fact, most of the Metal Gear Solid games had ghosts hidden in them that can be found through this method.

Kojima doesn’t make any direct connection between the Metal Gear Solid ghosts and Death Stranding. However, given that he mentions it around the same time as posting this video, it could mean that there’s something hidden in Death Stranding that can be revealed with the new photo mode. Maybe it’ll be something related to Kojima Productions’ next project, or perhaps even a Silent Hill tease?

Death Stranding comes to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on June 2. As well as the photo mode, it’ll have higher frame rate caps, ultra-wide screen support, and Half-Life content. There’s no word yet on whether any of these new features will be added to the PlayStation 4 version of Death Stranding.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.