Category: Games

Crunchyroll now has 5 million paid subscribers, as well as 120 million registered users.

The specialist anime streaming service shared its latest subscriber milestone on Tuesday, just six months after it broke the four million subscriber mark. The number of registered users worldwide has also increased in that time, having jumped from 100 million to 120 million. Crunchyroll also currently has over 60 million followers across social media.

The news accompanied Crunchyroll’s announcement about a partnership with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures to develop a new fantasy adventure series for the service. Todd Ludy is onboard to write that series while Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana, and Mariel Saldana are serving as executive producers alongside producers Sonia A. Gambaro and Maytal Gilboa.

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“The tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture,” said Crunchyroll’s general manager Joanne Waage. “Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

“We’re elated to be working with such a talented creative team on the development of Dark Star Squadron, a new fantasy adventure series,” added Sarah Victor, Crunchyroll’s Head of Development. “We love working with creators who are passionate about telling stories through anime and we can’t wait to bring this interstellar epic to fans across the galaxy.”

According to Crunchyroll, the epic animated space opera will follow the journey of four failing cadets who return from a joyride with a stolen starship to find their academy in ruins and everyone vanished. Now on their own, the ill-equipped heroes must embark for the far side of the galaxy to find the missing and prove their worth.

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The new project will help to further bolster Crunchyroll’s robust anime library, which already houses more than 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes across a breadth of genres, supplying fans in more than 200 countries and territories with a wealth of sports, isekai, and mecha anime, both new and old, to stream and enjoy.

In December, AT&T announced a deal to sell Crunchyroll to Sony’s Funimation for $1.2 billion. However, the sale is now facing some uncertainty after it was reported in March that the U.S. Justice Department had extended its antitrust review of the acquisition. Paramount+ and Peacock’s rumored streaming partnership is also said to be on hold for similar reasons.

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

The world premiere of Sakugan will stream at Virtual Crunchyroll Expo Thursday, August 5 at 12:45 PM PT before the series airs on Crunchyroll this October.

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There’s nothing quite like seeing an adorable 9-year-old in a world full of massive robots and high-stake missions. Sakugan, otherwise known as Sacks&Guns!!, begins as an easy-to-follow, yet somewhat tedious watch. Despite the dialogue-heavy first episode that may discourage hardcore mecha anime fans, it packs a mean punch when it comes to enjoying a simple slice-of-life with robots.

The premiere has a heartening coming-of-age theme, and sets up a promising, playful dynamic between the young Memenpu and her father, Gagamba, as the two are constantly bickering while still caring for each other. So far, Sakugan illustrates the complexity of being a parent that wishes to protect their child from harm at any cost — while, at the same time, that child is striving for independence. The episode effectively lays out the importance of that father-daughter relationship, while also challenging the belief that little girls must be shielded from the atrocities of the world. Altogether, it presents Memenpu and Gagamba with tough challenges and even tougher consequences, as they’ll be forced to mature in various ways. 

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It also sets the stage for a refreshingly feminist take on girls who won’t just do as they’re told by paternalistic figures while refusing to step lightly in the face of danger. While there are many male leaders in their society, it’s Urorop, an intriguing female leader, who Memenpu and her friend Lynda admire the most. 

With the time it spends introducing the relationships at its center, the premiere doesn’t do too much in the way of world-building. It does, however, gently foreshadow some of the mysteries within its underground world of the Labyrinth and its various colonies, teasing some possible adventures later in the series. Memenpu and her father live in the colony of Pinyin, doing just enough to make ends meet, and their introduction gives us a good idea of the gap between the rich and the poor there. The look of Pinyin, with its rundown buildings and overcrowding of residents, also sends us a message: this is a colony, haunted by monsters and constant environmental catastrophes, that needs to be saved. The visuals, with the low-key lighting of the makeshift underground colony, stay true to the dismal state of affairs. The mysterious map of the Labyrinth, meanwhile, sets up a layer of intrigue about what lies beyond Pinyin. 

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And that’s largely the takeaway from the first episode: the most interesting part of it is what it promises for the rest of the series. If you’re looking for intricate high-tech robot fight sequences, you won’t find that right out of the gate of Sakugan. It’s a disappointing lack of action, but it does set up some larger-scale battles yet to come. 

Instead, Sakugan begins as a conversational show that spends a little too much time reminding audiences that Memenpu longs to go on her own to the furthest reaches of the “Underworld.” It does hint at some interesting larger themes, however, delving into the dangers of growing up too quickly. Already a college graduate, Memenpu’s tech savvy at such a young age does give her an edge when it comes to designing robotics, but probably not battling with them. It seems that her interest in fighting will certainly pay off later though, hopefully meaning there will be epic showdowns throughout the season.

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The conversations balance both humor and tragedy well, particularly those between Memenpu and Lynda. While they gleefully repeat their desire for adventure an absurd number of times, there’s a sinking feeling that their youthful innocence could be crushed by a harsh dystopian society as the series continues.

Amid Activision Blizzard’s legal scandal, the company has offered updates on some of its upcoming games, including that Overwatch 2 has “passed an important internal milestone” and the Diablo Immortal has been delayed into the first half of 2022.

Revealed during Activision Blizzard’s Q2 2021 results, Overwatch 2 is progressing well and the team is looking forward to revealing more of the upcoming sequel in the coming months.

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“Overwatch 2 development passed an important internal milestone in recent weeks,” Activision Blizzard said. “After a great response to the recent community update, the team is looking forward to revealing more of the game in the coming months as they approach the later stages of production.”

As for Diablo Immortal, Activision Blizzard shared that team behind the mobile title has been hard at work at improving the game following the Closed Alpha, but it will need a bit more time to improve the gameplay experience.

“Following feedback provided by test participants of the Closed Alpha, our team has been tuning core and endgame features,” Blizzard wrote. “For example, we’re iterating on PvP content like the Cycle of Strife to make it more accessible, alongside late-game PvE content like the Helliquary to make it more engaging. We’re also working to provide controller support for those who want to play our game in a different way.”

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“However, these changes and additional opportunities to improve our gameplay experience will not be realized in the 2021 timeframe we had previously communicated. So, the game is now planned for release in the first half of 2022, which will allow us to add substantial improvements to the whole game.”

The team also shared that it will be adding new PvE-centric Raids in the Helliquary system, which are designed for up to eight players to complete. Bounties will also be reworked to be “more engaging and fruitful for players who actively accomplish these challenges.” Challenge Rifts will also now reward new upgrade materials that can’t be obtained any other way.

Character progression is also being tweaked, and the team is implementing a new system that will enable players with higher Paragon levels or players taking on higher difficulties to receive more powerful items.

There will also be a change to the new “weekly XP cap” that was meant to discourage players from sinking an unhealthy amount of hours per week into Diablo Immortal. The changes will ensure that it is introducing bonus XP gain for players who play less often, and it is replacing a weekly XP cap with a global cap that increases over time.

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As previously mentioned, these updates arrive as Activision Blizzard is dealing with the fallout of a lawsuit that was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing that alleges the company fostered a “frat boy” culture in which female employees were subjected to sexual harassment, unequal pay, and much more.

In response to the lawsuit, former and current Activision Blizzard have begun speaking out about their experiences and organized a walkout to ensure that the company’s leadership heard their demands that will ensure these horrific experiences never happen again.

Employees from across multiple Activision Blizzard development studios also formed a group called ABK Workers Alliance that reiterated the employees’ demands and spoke out against the hiring of the law firm WilmerHale to review the company’s current policies.

Most recently, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack confirmed he was “leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.” Brack will be replaced by Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra.

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During the earnings results, Activision Blizzard also warned employees and key investors that, “If we experience prolonged periods of adverse publicity, significantly reduced productivity or other negative consequences relating to this matter, our business likely would be adversely impacted.”

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

Game of Thrones led to mental health difficulties for Jon Snow actor, Kit Harington, which eventually caused him to take a year off of work.

This news comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter, which reports Harington spoke of his mental health challenges on the SiriusXM show, The Jess Cagle Show. Harington told the hosts that the nature of Game of Thrones led to mental health difficulties for him both during and after the show.

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“I went through some mental health difficulties after Throne and during the end of Thrones, to be honest,” Harington said. “I think it was directly due to the nature of the show and what I had been doing for years.”

Harington said the mental health challenges brought upon by Game of Thrones led to him taking an entire year off of work “to really concentrate on [himself].” THR points out that it was reported back in May of 2019, which is also when the series finale of Game of Thrones aired, that Harington had checked into a wellness facility to address his mental health difficulties.

He said in the Jess Cagle Show interview that right when he was finally ready to get back to work, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He also said that he doesn’t have to live “in that intense place all the time” when acting, presumably referring to the darker and more violent nature of Game of Thrones.

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Harington’s comments come as the wider pop culture world grapples with mental health, whether it’s in Olympic sports or entertainment and gaming.

Harington’s next big role will be as Black Knight in Marvel’s Eternals, which is set to hit theaters on November 5. For more about that character, check out IGN’s breakdown of Black Knight and who Harington’s Marvel character is, and then watch the latest teaser for the movie. Check out IGN’s breakdown of who’s who in that teaser after that.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in a lawsuit over its corporate culture and treatment of women, and at the same time, the publisher is pressing ahead with new game releases. One of its next big ones is a new Call of Duty game from Sledgehammer Games. As part of Activision Blizzard’s earnings report on Tuesday, the management confirmed that the next game is coming in the fourth quarter.

“Our teams remain hard at work on the next new premium Call of Duty release, planned for the fourth quarter,” Activision said. “From a setting that our fans know and love, to an incredible amount of content in development including an extensive live ops schedule, we believe this release will be incredibly well-received. In addition to launching a great seamless experience for both current and next-gen console players, we are focused on continuing to integrate Warzone and engage our direct relationship with our player base for even deeper content integration between the premium and free experiences and substantial innovation within Warzone itself. Our teams cannot wait to unveil what they have been working on.”

Later in the presentation, the studio said that Sledgehammer has “never been bigger or stronger” and confirmed that this year’s release will include campaign, co-op, and multiplayer.

Sledgehammer developed 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII, while the studio has also contributed to the ongoing development of Call of Duty: Warzone. The studio’s new game is said to be another WWII entry that will feature a campaign, multiplayer, and co-op; it will also integrate with Warzone (which is where the game might also be revealed, at least in part).

Sledgehammer was confirmed as the developer of 2021’s Call of Duty game back in May, at which time management said the game was “built for next-gen.” Whether or not this means the game will be exclusive on console to PS5/Xbox Series X|S, however, remains to be seen, though it seems unlikely.

While we wait for Sledgehammer’s new Call of Duty, Activision continues to update and support both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Just recently, Activision announced the first details on the long-awaited Season 5 update, which is slated to begin on August 12. Outside of those games, Call of Duty: Mobile, just got its own big Season 6 update that brings back Zombies.

Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s mobile take on its iconic action-RPG franchise, will now release sometime in the first half of 2022. The game was previously slated to release in 2021.

The game has been undergoing closed Alpha testing, with Blizzard saying in a new blog post that the community has been a “key collaborator” as the development team molds its vision for Diablo Immortal. Based on player feedback, Blizzard is looking to implement numerous improvements to the game like making endgame PvE content more engaging, providing controller support, and iterating on PvP content like the Cycle of Strife.

“However, these changes and additional opportunities to improve our gameplay experience will not be realized in the 2021 timeframe we had previously communicated,” Blizzard says. “So, the game is now planned for release in the first half of 2022, which will allow us to add substantial improvements to the whole game.”

Blizzard goes on to outline some changes that will be coming to the game. In regards to PvE, Diablo Immortal will be gaining new eight-player raids, while also adjusting the game’s current Bounty system and making Challenge Rifts more rewarding. On the PvP side, Blizzard will be tweaking various aspects of the game’s Battlegrounds system as well as the faction-based Cycle of Strife. Overall changes to the game’s progression systems, like the Paragon system, and weekly XP cap will also be coming.

Though Diablo Immortal will no longer release in 2021, the remastered Diablo 2: Resurrected is still slated to release on September 23 on consoles and PC. Diablo 4 remains in development and does not currently have a release window.

Diablo Immortal’s delay comes amidst Blizzard dealing with the fallout from a state of California lawsuit that alleges Activision Blizzard fosters a culture where sexual discrimination and harassment are far too common. In response to Activision Blizzard statements that CEO Bobby Kotick later said were “tone deaf,” thousands of current and ex-Blizzard employees signed an open letter demanding change and went as far to stage a walkout. In light of the lawsuit’s allegations, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack announced he would be leaving the company.

The once mysterious CX-9 submachine gun was quietly added into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone today. This new weapon was leaked, teased, and even available for a brief time in Warzone before being removed without any official word. Here’s how players can now officially unlock the CX-9 submachine gun in both Modern Warfare and Warzone.

How To Unlock The CX-9 In-Game

If you just want to score the new CX-9 submachine without spending any money, it can be unlocked via an in-game challenge. The challenge is the same whether you choose to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Warzone. You simply need to get 2 longshot kills while using any submachine gun in five different matches.

If you’re trying to unlock the weapon now, you may notice your kills aren’t tracking. Raven Software tweeted it’s aware of an issue with the CX-9’s unlock challenge and level progression not tracking.

How To Unlock The CX-9 With COD Points

If you don’t want to waste time on challenges, this once mysterious weapon can be officially unlocked in today’s new Warzone shop bundle, which is the long-awaited John “Soap” MacTavish operator pack.

Soap MacTavish is a main character featured in 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, who also played major roles in the two Modern Warfare sequels that followed. Given that Soap is such an iconic Modern Warfare character and the bundle was highly-anticipated, it feels weird to not have this tied to any major announcement or event, but he’s finally available for those who wish to purchase him for 2,400 COD Points. The Soap bundle comes with ten items total, which is obviously highlighted by the Soap operator skin and the Serac weapon blueprint for the new CX-9 submachine gun.

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Today’s surprise additions to Warzone and Modern Warfare also arrived with a new Season 5 cinematic trailer to tease the return of the famous Numbers broadcast from the first Black Ops game. Season 5 is set to launch on August 12. Here’s what we know so far about the season, and we’ll be updating with any new details.

This quiet arrival of content emerges while Activision Blizzard is also facing multiple lawsuits concerning alleged sexual harassment and a “frat boy” culture.

Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa will appear in four episodes of Marvel’s What If…? animated series.

During a junket for the upcoming Marvel series, IGN sat down with What If…? executive producer, Brad Winderbaum, to talk about the show. When asked about Boseman and his work in the series, Winderbaum said the late actor was very excited about it before revealing T’Challa will be in four episodes.

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“Unfortunately, he never was able to see the finished product, but he was very excited about taking part in it,” Winderbaum told IGN. “He actually appears in four episodes of the series, playing different versions of the character, and each time, he was just so enthusiastic about finding a new spin on the character.”

Winderbaum said Boseman was a craftsman and that the opportunity to play these different spins on T’Challa harkened back to what inspired him to become an actor in the first place. He also said working with Boseman was a privilege.

This is just one new interesting tidbit IGN learned about Marvel’s What If…? during a recent press junket. What If…? director Bryan Andrews told IGN that the series will show the roguish and flirty side of Boseman’s T’Challa.

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We also learned that a What If…? storyline was rejected because it’s already half the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 and that the entire series is officially made up of canon MCU stories. During a What If…? press conference, a Marvel producer revealed that Peggy Carter’s Captain Britain will appear in every season of the show and that she’s the “driving force” behind the series.

We’ll see Boseman’s T’Challa soon when Marvel’s What If…? begins on Disney Plus on August 11. While waiting for the series to hit the streaming service, check out the latest teaser and then read about how Marvel’s What If…? will tell the tales that never happened in the MCU.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.