Category: Games

Blizzard president J. Allen Brack has stepped down, shortly after the wider Activision Blizzard was served with a lawsuit alleging widespread discrimination and harassment at the company.

Announced on the Blizzard website, Brack will be replaced by ‘co-leaders’ Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra. Oneal joined Blizzard in January, having previously headed Vicarious Visions. Ybarra joined Blizzard from Xbox in 2019. As relatively recent additions to Blizzard leadership, it may be that both Oneal and Ybarra are seen as more detached from the reports of long-standing issues in the company’s working practices.

Brack’s departure comes amid a hugely turbulent two weeks for Activision Blizzard, after a lawsuit led to open letters, an employee walkout, and public outcry over the company’s culture. An Activision investor press release said that Brack is “leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.”

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Brack wrote: “I am confident that Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will provide the leadership Blizzard needs to realize its full potential and will accelerate the pace of change. I anticipate they will do so with passion and enthusiasm and that they can be trusted to lead with the highest levels of integrity and commitment to the components of our culture that make Blizzard so special.”

Brack had previously emailed employees at the company, calling the reported behaviour included in the lawsuit “completely unacceptable”, and pledging to discuss how to move forward with Blizzard employees. “I feel angry, sad, and a host of other emotions,” he wrote at the time, “but I also feel grateful to work alongside a set of leaders and thousands of employees who join me in their commitment to continuous improvement. Thank you Blizzard.”

Brack himself was mentioned in the lawsuit, having reportedly only given “a slap on the wrist” to ex-creative director Alex Afrasiabi, despite having received complaints about consistent sexual misconduct at the company. The ex-president had also seen renewed criticism for a video from BlizzCon 2010 that showed Brack and Afrasiabi laughing at a fan’s question as to whether new female characters in World of Warcraft might be less sexualised.

On a wider level, this marks yet another high-profile departure from Blizzard, after a talent drain that has left the company at a crossroads. Brack was appointed president of Blizzard in 2018, after leading the World of Warcraft team.

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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].

According to star Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian Season 3 will head into production soon, with filming for the Book of Boba Fett now complete.

The actor – known for his role on the show as Imperial Remnant Commander Moff Gideon – confirmed the show would soon be filming again in an interview with WRAL at GalaxyCon Raleigh. He said, “They just finished shooting Boba Fett and soon they will start on Season 3 of The Mandalorian.”

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When asked if filming for the show had to wait for Esposito’s busy co-star Pascal Pedro to return from filming the TV adaptation of The Last of Us in Canada, he said “I don’t know what Pedro’s doing but, no, we never have to wait on Pedro.” As well as playing the lead role as Din Djarin (Mando) in The Mandolorian, Pascal will star in HBO’s The Last of Us, portraying everyone’s favourite post-apocalyptic father figure, Joel.

It’s understood that a body double will stand in for Pascal for some of The Mandalorian’s production, with Pascal providing voiceover separately, which presumably allows the star to juggle multiple projects. It is unclear whether or not the show will take a similar approach to Season 3 if Pascal’s busy schedule were to add complications in filming. That being said, Esposito did say, “I’m sure that he has worked out some way to do his other show and come back to do us.”

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Elsewhere in the interview, when asked whether or not it was likely that season three of the show would see more “off the helmet” scenes, Esposito said, “I can’t speak to that. I know he’d love to be more off the helmet but his job is to be in the helmet. I mean, that’s the deal.”

In other news, Esposito, who is known for his time playing villains on a number of works including AMC’s Breaking Bad, will return to the medium of games this year in Far Cry 6. IGN spoke with Esposito about his role as Anton Castillo in the game, where he discussed Anton’s motives, his layered characterization, and a bit more about the fictional island nation at the heart of Far Cry 6.

If you’ve just caught up with the latest season of The Mandalorian, then why not check out our review of Season 2 where we said the show “pulls off an ambitious and epic sophomore season that has plenty of heart and nostalgia.” Alternatively, for more news in the world of Star Wars, you can read this article about how Lucasfilm hired the YouTuber known for his viral Luke Skywalker Deepfake.

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Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Belgian gymnast Nina Derwael made history on the weekend after winning gold on the women’s uneven bars, the country’s first medal of any color in the sport. However gamers were quick to notice that Derwael’s coach Marjorie Heuls showed a surprising good luck charm to the cameras after the win–an Ocarina of Time Link Amiibo.

A tweet by @Nintendeal pointed out where the figure appeared in the Olympics coverage, along with a close-up of the Amiibo.

Belgian news site HLN posted an interview with the coach about the figure. She explains that it was given to her by her son, who played Zelda games as a child, and that she keeps it attached to a bracelet that her daughter made for her. The importance of the Amiibo for Heuls appears to be the connection to her son, rather than any knowledge of the games–she even refers to the Link figure as “Zelda” in the interview. Heuls says the figure hasn’t left her bag in four years, and in the wake of Derwael’s gold medal win, said it was clearly also a good luck charm for her.

While some Zelda fans were happy to see the character represented in some way on the Olympic stage, others who replied to Nintendeal’s tweet were more concerned to see that the limited edition Ocarina of Time Amiibo had been ripped from its base.

Link’s appearance at the Olympics isn’t the first time Japanese video games have been worked into the event so far, with a number of iconic video game soundtracks being used in the Opening Ceremony as athletes walked into the stadium.

As part of Take-Two’s earnings report on Monday, the publisher’s CEO responded to the situation surrounding Activision Blizzard and the lawsuit regarding sexual harassment and discrimination against women at the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft company.

Strauss Zelnick put it simply: “We will not tolerate harassment or discrimination or bad behavior of any kind. We never have.”

He added that new hires at Take-Two learn about the company’s harassment and discrimination policies when they’re brought on, and every new employee must sign documents regarding their understanding of those policies and practices. What’s more, new hires are required to take anti-harassment training, and then bi-annually after that.

“And we make it clear through the training and through our policies that if anyone does experience any inappropriate contact there are multiple avenues to report that, and they’ll never be retaliated against for doing so,” he said. “Those options include the management chain, anyone in HR, an anonymous complaint by phone or online, through a third-party hotline, and website reporting. Take-Two has a director of diversity and inclusion, and that remit includes developing, executing, and leading the global [diversity and inclusion] strategy and that supports our business objectives.”

“We also have multiple employee resource groups inside the company and we have more growing all the time, which gives us all a thrill. So, that’s what we’re up to very specifically,” he added.

Overall, Zelnick said he is happy with how Take-Two as a company operates with respect to these policies, but he acknowledged that the company can do better.

“Is there more we can do? I’m certain there is. Do we feel like we’re in a pretty good place? We’re grateful that we do feel that way right now,” he said.

In an interview with GI.biz, Zelnick reiterated these points. “We think we as an industry and we as a company can of course do more,” Zelnick said. “We have an exceedingly diverse board at our company, and have had for a very long time. We’re proud of our record, and at the same time we don’t rest on that. We know there’s always more to be done.”

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has launched a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over claims of equal pay violations, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment, among other things. The suit also mentions that some male employees “engage in sexual banter and joke openly about rape, among other things.”

Activision Blizzard employees walked out last week in protest of the company’s response to the case, while hundreds of Ubisoft employees wrote an open letter in support of their colleagues at Activision Blizzard.

Once again, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has responded to the financial situation surrounding subscription services like Game Pass. His views are unchanged–subscription services make sense of catalog games but not new ones. This is a point he has been stressing for years already. He also questions if it’s possible for everyone in the chain–developers, publishers, and consumers alike–to come out ahead.

“Our views remain unchanged. We think a subscription model can make sense for deep catalog titles. But it doesn’t really make sense for frontline titles. For any business model to make sense in the entertainment business, it has to work for the creators of the entertainment as well as the consumers of the entertainment. I think catalog can make sense for the publishers, it can make sense for the consumers who are avid, who really want access to a lot of product. But if you’re getting into frontline product, then the economics are much more difficult to make sense of,” he said during Take-Two’s earnings call.

Zelnick observed that “consumption patterns” for a streaming service like Netflix–which offers linear entertainment (for now at least)–are different from interactive entertainment.

“Consumers who are involved with interactive entertainment have different consumption patterns than those involved with linear entertainment. Linear entertainment consumers consume something like 150 hours of programming a month. That’s probably well over 100 different titles. In the case of interactive entertainment, consumers are consuming something like 45 hours a month, and that may be one, two, three, four titles. But it’s certainly not 100 titles. So from a consumer point of view, it’s not clear that a subscription model really makes sense, for the bulk of consumers,” he said.

Overall, though, Zelnick said he’s not married to any one idea.

“That remains to be seen. We’re open minded. We have made catalog titles available for subscription services. Very occasionally we’ve made frontline titles available as well. But we do see this more as a catalog offering than a frontline offering,” he said.

One high-profile example of a Rockstar Games-developed title that went into a subscription service is Grand Theft Auto V. It was added and then removed from Xbox Game Pass originally, and the same is happening again. It’s slated to be removed again from the service sometime soon.

For more from Take-Two’s earnings report today, check out the stories below.

Electronic Arts has already announced that EA Play members will be able to play the Madden NFL 22 Early Access trial starting on August 12. Those members will also receive 10% off of their preorder, as well as other perks including a Launch Welcome Pack in Madden Ultimate Team, monthly Ultimate Team Pack rewards, and eligibility for a Madden Veteran Bonus based on the number of previous years played.

From August 12 to 20, EA Play members can play a Madden Ultimate Team event in order to complete a set of challenges to win an elite wide receiver. Players can also win exclusive Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes Power Up item art.

Additionally, EA Play members will also have access to Skate on August 5. Throughout August, EA Play members will continue to earn rewards with new games across several of EA’s games.

From now until September 1, FIFA 21 members can claim the EA Play Volta Squad Boost, which sees Groundbreaker Thierry Henry and the Nowhere FC Apparel Set return, along with 3,500 Volta coins. In Knockout City, for each Orange Overcharge brawlers drink, players will be rewarded with an extra 500% bonus experience boost for every KO finish from Overcharged Shots. This starts now and lasts until September 27.

Lastly, Apex Legends will give EA Play members a Dicey Weapon Charm as a collaboration with the upcoming Lost in Random game.

Madden NFL 22 launches on August 20 for Google Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series. Those who preorder the Dynasty Edition gain early access to the full game on August 17.

While Marvel’s What If…? will continue the legacy of many MCU characters, the series also represents a farewell, as it will feature Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as T’Challa. The late Black Panther star reprises his role in the animated series, voicing a version of T’Challa removed from Wakanda. What If…? will explore a reality that hypothesizes if Yondu adopted T’Challa instead of Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, and the character became Star-Lord instead of the Black Panther.

During a junket for the Disney Plus series, IGN sat down with What If…? creator A.C. Bradley and director Bryan Andrews to discuss the show. During the conversation, Andrews recounted Boseman’s involvement with the series and the actor’s excitement to play a lighter version of T’Challa removed from the heavy weight of the crown.

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“[Boseman] may have been one of the earliest of [the] voice actors that got back to us and was just like, ‘Yeah, man.’ And then we were like, ‘Really?’ We were so excited. It’s like, Chadwick’s into this?” Andrews told IGN. “He loved the fact that he can play… a version of T’Challa that didn’t have the mantle of the king, where he could be a little bit lighter, a little bit funny, crack jokes, flirt a little bit with the on-again, off-again love interest… [to] play that kind of guy, that roguish kind of captain with a heart of gold.”

“He was into it and it was a great process working with him. And he brought so much to the table. Of course, I mean, it’s Chadwick right?” Andrews continued. “He had a blast. It was really important to him. And we also loved the fact that he got what we were trying to do, the notion of here’s this universe out there, but he is who he is and he doesn’t change. It’s the universe changes around him… It was great. I wish we had him around still.”

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Marvel’s What If…? will begin its ten-episode run on August 11 when the series premieres on Disney Plus. A second season is already in development. For more about the show, read how a proposed storyline for the series was rejected because it was already part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

(Photo by Marvel Studios/Disney Platform Distribution/IMDb)

Saturday Night Live writer Colin Jost has been tapped to write a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with his brother Casey Jost.

According to Deadline Jost will pen an upcoming untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie for Paramount Pictures. Michael Bay will again be one of the producers on the film, just like on 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 2016 sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

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The report makes it sound like this upcoming film will be related to the previous live-action film franchise, though it’s not confirmed explicitly.

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is just one of several TMNT projects Paramount is developing. Earlier this year the studio announced that Seth Rogen will produce a CG animated reboot slated to be released in 2023.

The reboot series will “hone in” on the teenage elements of the four ninja turtle brothers as a “jumping-off point.” Rogen also tweeted a page of notes he jotted down in preparation for the series.

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With so many different Turtles projects in the works, Paramount seems to be seeing the value in its popular story about four turtles who turn into mutants after being splashed by ooze. They then learn ninjutsu from a rat-turned-teacher.

There’s even a new video game coming out called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. So all-in-all a pretty good couple of years for fans of mutant turtles.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.