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Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Witcher 3, has resigned from CD Projekt following workplace bullying allegations, which he denies.

As reported by Bloomberg, CD Projekt had been conducting a “months-long investigation in to accusations of mobbing, a Polish term for office bullying,” against Tomaszkiewicz. The commission that was formed to investigate these allegations found him not guilty, but Tomaszkiewicz decided to still leave the company as there was clear discomfort between him and other members of the studio.

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“Nonetheless, a lot of people are feeling fear, stress or discomfort when working with me,” he wrote. He apologized to staff “for all the bad blood I have caused.”

“I am going to continue working on myself,” he continued. “Changing behavior is a long and arduous process, but I’m not giving up, and I hope to change.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined CD Projekt as a junior tester in February 2004 to work on The Witcher, and has worked on all three Witcher games and was the Design Director, VP of Game Development, Secondary Game Director, and Head of Production on Cyberpunk 2077.

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Bloomberg notes that Tomaszkiewicz was set to play a big role in CD Projekt’s next Witcher game. When Bloomberg reached out to him for a comment, he said he was “sad, a bit disappointed and resigned.”

This is another entry in the the fallout following Cyberpunk 2077’s troublesome launch, including the poor performance issues on last-gen consoles and a targeted cyberattack. These troubles led to Cyberpunk 2077 being removed from the PlayStation Store on December 17, 2020. It has yet to return.

Despite all that, and the roughly 30,000 refunds issued for Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt’s CEOs and other board members are still set to receive big, multi-million dollar bonuses.

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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.

I’ve built a few advanced LEGO sets, many for IGN. But building the new LEGO R2-D2 was challenging and difficult in a way that those builds were not. This is not a build designed for multitasking, where you can watch a movie or browse social media while constructing it. It demands your undivided attention, which for many LEGO enthusiasts, is as good an excuse as any to buckle down and shut out the ambient noise and distractions. You don’t have to ask me twice.

The prior Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2 nailed the character’s iconic color scheme, but not the rounded, smooth design of the body, an essential component of its lovability. The new R2-D2, released in celebration of Lucasfilm Ltd.’s 50th anniversary, rectifies this with giant, smooth plating, built separately from the model, that hangs on the underlying LEGO Technic skeleton via cross pins. The build is a rectangular prism. But it does an excellent job at communicating the illusion of roundness and hiding its seams.

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Like the prior model, the new R2-D2 contains hidden components in its chest cavity. Side flaps fold back to reveal its utility arms/probes, which it uses to fix machines, redirect elevators, and turn off garbage compactors. Additionally, this model has an interactive dome, which can rotate 360 degrees. There’s a compartment for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, which R2-D2 launched to his master at the Great Pit of Carkoon in Return of the Jedi. There’s also a hidden, retractable periscope on the back of the droid, which R2-D2 used to find his bearings after falling off Jabba’s sail barge.

The model has a retractable third leg, but can easily balance on two legs. To switch from two-leg to three-leg mode requires you to lift the model, manually bend the body backwards, and set it down again in its new configuration. All of the hidden features in this model are manually performed; there are no remote, battery-operated functions, which would have added considerably to its $200 price tag.. It comes with a plaque that recognizes the aforementioned 50th anniversary, plus a factoid sticker detailing R2-D2’s specs. Mounted on the plaque is a mini-figure of R2-D2.

Interestingly, the R2-D2 designers anticipated builders’ mistakes. They used color coding on the LEGO Technic pieces to serve as warning lights: “Do this wrong, and you’ll likely spend hours undoing your error.” To wit: all of the rod pieces on the backside of R2-D2 are red. All of the rod pieces on the front side of R2-D2 are green.

During my build, the red coloring tipped me off that I had attached the legs and feet on the wrong sides. The realization came at a crucial moment, before I started plating over the Technic with the brick finish. It took a bit of backtracking to correct, but if LEGO had decided to make all the rods grey and indistinctive, it would have been much more.

Time and again, I felt LEGO’s attempts to save me from hours of unnecessary rework. A piece wouldn’t fit into its insertion point properly, because I hadn’t properly aligned the bricks four steps beforehand. Another piece wouldn’t be able to support itself, because the underlying bricks from ten steps ago were placed at the wrong orientation. LEGO is consistently excellent at pointing out small mistakes before they become large mistakes, hours after they’re too late to diagnose.

The end result is worth the fastidiousness. The final R2-D2 is adorable, decently-sized, and uncommonly pliable and poseable. Most LEGO recreations are accurate looking, but stiff to the touch–they’re a nostalgic, still snapshot from a moment in our childhoods.

But the R2-D2 model feels more alive. Its legs are held to the body by flexible pins and rods, which allows the model to jiggle about, similar to how Kenny Baker would make R2-D2 waddle on two legs in the original trilogy. If you interact with it in any tactile manner, the model is reactive. In this sense, the model captures the spirit of the character in addition to its appearance. But fair warning; this is not a build for a novice. Even an expert builder will need to give this model their full attention; there’s a fine line between being pliable and breaking apart at the seams, and this model walks it.

I’m struggling to explain the experience of building this to readers who do not build LEGO on a regular basis. Here is an attempt: building the new LEGO R2-D2 is somewhat akin to playing Red Dead Redemption 2 back in 2018. You’ll remember in that game, the developers would punish you for moving too quickly. Gallop through a town, and you’d likely run someone ever. Run through the town square, and you’d bump into an NPC.

And after multiple punitive dealings with the law, you eventually realized that this was a game meant to be walked through. You were supposed to interact, explore, and mosey about in real time, and make progress at a detail-oriented pace. And like that game, the LEGO R2-D2 build is defiant, demanding that you slow down in order to match its speed.

The LEGO R2-D2, Set #75308, was created by a design team led by Creative Director Jens Kronvold Fredericksen. It’s composed of 2314 pieces and retails for $199.99.

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Kevin Wong is a contributor to IGN. Talk LEGO with him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.

The Lord of the Rings’ Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, who played the hobbits Merry and Pippin in all three films, are launching The Friendship Onion – a podcast where they will reveal stories from their time working on the franchise, interview members of the cast and crew, answer fan questions, and much more.

The Friendship Onion will launch on YouTube and Podcast services like Apple Podcasts and Spotify on May 18, 2021, and Monaghan and Boyd have teamed up with Kast Media to make this weekly show a reality.

“I am contractually obliged to make a glowing comment here in regards to the podcast Billy and I are making together. This is proving difficult as Billy has abducted me and is holding me for ransom to the price of 44 bananas. PLEASE, SEND bananas,” said Monaghan.

“Dom took a little persuading, it’s true, but this podcast is going to rock! He is such a joker, you have to love Dom! Ha….but you also have to love bananas, so….yes! send bananas,” said Boyd.

While it doesn’t appear to be a straight rewatch podcast like The Office Ladies or the Scrubs podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends, it should be worth a listen for fans of Middle-earth as they “as they peel back the layers of their experiences, both in real life and from the screen.”

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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.

New documents presented as part of the Epic Games vs Apple court case have revealed new details about the cloud gaming streaming service that Walmart had been developing, which it pitched to Epic Games in 2019.

An email thread from April 2019 confirms reports from the same year that Walmart was talking to developers about a streaming service for games. The service, known as Project Storm, was designed to be an “open ecosystem” that allowed users to stream from the cloud or download games to a Windows PC and play locally. Documents attached to the email thread show that Walmart had been pitching this system to publishers such as Epic, and was planned to support for third-party launchers such as Steam, Uplay, Epic Games Store, Origin, Battle.net and the Bethesda Launcher.

A diagram explaining the system also notes that indie games would be supported alongside AAA via third party launchers. Users would be given the option to subscribe, buy games, or ‘BYOG’ – Bring your own game (presumably by linking with accounts like Steam and porting across your existing library).

Among the new details in the emails, Epic Games co-founder Mark Rein sent messages detailing a clip that would attach a phone to a controller, in order for players to use Walmart’s system. “They’re going to sell the clip for a crazy low amount, they were saying something like $2,” said Rein. He notes that the kickstand is the “killer part” of the device, and made it “more comfortable than playing on a Nintendo Switch.”

Rein also had the opportunity to play games using the service, which he detailed in the thread. “I played Walmart’s demo on an Android phone (with and Xbox controller) and the experience felt like playing on a PS4 and superior to playing on Android or iOS,” he said. “They also moved it over to a laptop in real-time (video stream hopped from phone to laptop instantly) and I played there too. Again, it was VASTLY superior to playing it on my daughter’s Surface Pro laptop.”

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It is unclear if Project Storm is still in development or if the idea has been abandoned, but a beta period was originally planned for July 2019. As for Epic’s streaming partnership plans, eventually the company partnered with Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming system to make Fortnite available for cloud gaming.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

At its heart, New Pokemon Snap is a game about discovery. As you travel about the different islands of the Lental region photographing Pokemon, you’ll need to use the various tools at your disposal to lure monsters out of hiding, encourage them to interact with each other, and uncover other rare photo opportunities.

For those unfamiliar with the original Nintendo 64 game, this can mean a lot of repetition. You’ll be playing through the same courses multiple times in order to snap better photos of Pokemon and increase your Research Level, which in turn will open new courses to explore and Pokemon to photograph. Moreover, the game can be cryptic; it’s often unclear how to access new islands or trigger certain Pokemon reactions, so you’ll need to experiment frequently to progress. If you ever find yourself at a loss for what to do or how to advance, here are some beginner’s tips to help you out in New Pokemon Snap.

Scan Your Surroundings

Early on in your adventure, you’ll unlock the scan function–an entirely new mechanic for New Pokemon Snap. Pressing the X button will cause your camera to emit an electrical signal over the immediate area, which will mark the names of any nearby Pokemon and other objects of interest on your screen. This isn’t just a good way to see if any monsters are lurking out of sight; many Pokemon will also react to the signal and may even exhibit a special behavior you wouldn’t normally see.

On top of that, the scan function can reveal alternate routes in some islands. The game will often notify you when an alternate route or other object of interest is coming up, either via an on-screen prompt or a clue from the research team, giving you a clear hint of when to use the scanner. If you’re striving to snap the best photos you can, it’s a good idea to scan the environment often and see how the nearby Pokemon react, even if the game doesn’t prompt you to.

Use Fluffruit And Illumina Orbs On Every Pokemon

Shortly after you unlock the scan function, Professor Mirror will add fluffruits and Illumina Orbs to your arsenal, and both will be vital for photographing Pokemon. As in the original N64 game, you can attract a Pokemon’s attention by throwing a fluffruit near them, making it a handy way to lure some monsters out of hiding or get them into a clearer position for better photos. You can even use fluffruits to knock Pokemon off branches, causing them to react in new ways.

Illumina Orbs, meanwhile, will make a Pokemon glow. Not only does this help the monster stand out during nighttime photos, but many of them will exhibit different behaviors or reactions when they’re hit with an Illumina Orb. You will also add a music box to your arsenal later on, which will likewise cause some Pokemon to react in different ways, so be sure to experiment with all the tools at your disposal to see what works.

Feel Free To Ignore Requests

As you research the Lental region’s different islands, you’ll begin getting requests from the other members of your research team. These are essentially hints intended to help you snap four-star photos of Pokemon engaged in special behavior, but don’t feel compelled to complete all the requests as they come in. Requests have no bearing on your progress through the story, so if you’re focusing just on seeing the game to the end, it’s best not to get caught up completing requests right away. There’s an overwhelming number of requests to fulfill, and many are cryptic or can only be completed in higher Research Levels. Fortunately, requests aren’t time-sensitive, so you can always return to them after you’ve cleared the story, if you want to work on filling out your Photodex.

Raise Your Research Levels

Every island you visit in New Pokemon Snap has its own Research Level, and increasing this is the key to encountering new kinds of Pokemon and behaviors. After you’ve completed a run through one of the courses and returned to the lab, Professor Mirror will evaluate your photos. The scores he awards are then converted into Expedition Points, which go toward raising the island’s Research Level. This, in turn, will open up new photo opportunities on that island, from new Pokemon to never-before-seen interactions and even alternate routes.

What the game doesn’t outright tell you, however, is that you will need to raise an island to Research Level 2 to advance the story. This means you’ll need to replay a course multiple times to earn enough Expedition Points before you can progress. To level up quickly, be sure to take pictures of Pokemon you’ve already photographed, even if they’re in the same positions as before. While you may not add new pictures to your Photodex, you’ll still rack up Expedition Points, which will help you raise that island’s Research Level and advance the story forward.

Don’t Hesitate To Move On To Different Islands

It can often be tempting to replay a course until you’ve maxed out its Research Level, but it’s a good idea to move on to new islands as you unlock them, rather than focusing on 100% completing each. After you’ve hit Research Level 2, you’ll need considerably more Expedition Points to increase that area’s Research Level further, so it’ll require even more replays to level it up again. What’s more, story progress is generally dependent on moving on to the next island, so it’s a good idea to keep moving forward. If you feel like you’re hitting a wall or struggling to make headway, move on to another level and come back later. This will help cut down on frustration and keep the grind feeling manageable.

New Pokemon Snap is out exclusively on Nintendo Switch. We’ve put together a few other guides to help you out, including the biggest changes from the original Pokemon Snap, how to find the elusive Seafloor Illumina Pokemon, and how many Pokemon are in the game.

Zack Snyder is coming back to the big screen for a limited time. The director’s upcoming Army of the Dead will have a one-week run at over 250 Cinemark locations in the United States beginning on May 14, ahead of its May 21 premiere on Netflix.

The decision marks Cinemark’s first wide theatrical release of a Netflix film, though the company began showing titles from the streamer last year in an effort to expand programming options during the pandemic. Prior to this, Netflix has given limited theatrical runs to some of its films — particularly its awards season contenders — though the company did not extend to larger theater chains until now.

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Army of the Dead will also play at some regional chain locations, like Harkins Theatres, Landmark Theatres and Alamo Drafthouse. With about 600 theaters, this marks the largest theatrical release of a Netflix film. This is the first time a large theater chain and Netflix are collaborating on a release, an indication that theaters are easing on their historically hardline stance against streaming.

“We’re in active discussions with Netflix, Apple TV, and others,” Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said in a conference call in March. “There are either big, important Academy [Awards] movies or bigger, mid-sized commercial films that we would be interested in playing. We would be open to a shortened window depending on what the financial terms were on that particular deal.”

Though Cinemark or Netflix, have confirmed no further collaborations, the two companies said they “anticipate there will be more to come.”

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Another Zack Snyder film is setting a theatrical release for later this year. Since the director’s version of Justice League premiered on HBO Max in March, Snyder has stated that he plans to hold a handful of charity screenings in the fall. Warner Bros. has not officially confirmed any screenings at this time.

Army of the Dead stars Dave Bautista as the head of a group of mercenaries who attempts to pull off a casino heist in the middle of a zombie-infested Las Vegas. Snyder has confirmed that the current version has his stamp of approval, with no Snyder cuts necessary in the future.

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.