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Bethesda had planned a big event for The Elder Scrolls Online for January 21 where it would announce more details on the new Gates of Oblivion expansion. However, the developer has now delayed the event to the following week to get out of the way of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

In a follow-up tweet, the developer said it’s delaying the announcement event due to the recent US Capitol riots and out of an abundance of caution for what could happen on inauguration day. Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20 during a ceremony in Washington D.C.

“Given recent events, we are opting to play it safe. We have players all over the world, but the majority of our employees live and work near the capital,” the developer said.

Developer ZeniMax Online Studios is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, which is relatively close to Washington D.C. Bethesda’s main headquarters is in Rockville, Maryland, which is even closer to the US capital.

The Elder Scrolls Online reveal event will now take place on Tuesday, January 26, starting at 5 PM ET. During the show, ZeniMax Online boss Matt Firor and Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines will discuss what’s next for the ongoing multiplayer game.

Elder Scrolls Online creative director Rich Lambert and “other special guests” from the development team will also be on hand to reveal what’s new in Gates of Oblivion.

Everyone who watches the reveal event on Twitch with a linked account will get the Viridescent Dragon Frog pet for free.

The Gates of Oblivion expansion is the next “year-long adventure” for the MMO. Little is known, but Bethesda has teased that it will feature an “epic new storyline that’ll take you and your companions to the very edge of oblivion.”

In times of stress, video games have proven to be a healthy distraction. One game that may be especially cathartic is developer Hyper Three Studio’s Tiny Lands, which has a simple setup. Presented with a series of 3D environments, players will need to find five differences in each digital diorama. The low-poly isometric puzzle game also features a soothing soundtrack from composer BigRicePiano, and there’s no time limit to worry about as you explore each of the diverse environments on offer.

Tiny Lands even features various elements such as fire, rain, thunder, snow, and wind in each diorama, and you’ll be able to rotate the levels and zoom in on them to find the small differences between each model. You can see the relaxing game in its official trailer below:

Tiny Lands will be out on Steam on January 22, with a 10% discount on its regular price of $7. A Nintendo Switch version will also be released at a later date.

Steam also just recorded one of its best years ever, as 2020 saw 120 million monthly active players, 62.6 million daily active players, and a peak of 24.8 million peak concurrent players on the digital distribution platform. You can check out highlights of Valve’s full Year in Review post right here.

Samsung announced three new smartphones: the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the company’s newest flagship Android phone, with a 6.8-inch display featuring a Quad HD+ resolution (3,200 x 1,440) and a refresh rate of 120Hz. While in years past you had to choose between either resolution or refresh rate, you can finally have both across the entire Galaxy S21 line.

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That said, this XL-sized handset automatically adjusts its frame rate between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on the type of content you’re viewing. The Galaxy S21 Ultra for example will display at 120Hz for gaming, 60Hz for video, and dip as low as 10Hz while viewing static content like books.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra also features a much brighter screen, with a peak brightness of 1,500-nits while also delivering 50% better contrast and a new Eye Comfort Shield feature to reduce eye fatigue.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 line is finally able to push high-resolution and refresh rate at the same time thanks to the new Snapdragon 888 processor. This particular handset is fitted with a 5,000mAh battery, as well as at least 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. Users can bump up the specs to 16GB of RAM, plus 256GB or 512GB of internal storage.

Around the back, Samsung has completely redesigned the Galaxy S21 line with a slimmer camera bump that more seamlessly blends in with the phone’s metal frame.

The number of cameras has increased up to four now, one more than last year. The main camera features a 108MP pro sensor with phase-detect autofocus. It captures extremely high-resolution images with 12bit HDR photos that offer 64 times more rich color data.

What’s more, you also get dual (yes, that’s right) 10MP telephoto cameras. Both of the telephoto cameras feature dual-pixel autofocus and are optically image-stabilized, but one offers a zoom of 3x while the other is 10x. Combined they power the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s 100x Space Zoom feature.

Lastly, there’s a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view and dual-pixel autofocus as well. All four cameras are capable of capturing 4K 60fps footage, and users can even switch between all the different lenses while recording. The new 8K Snap also allows users to quickly shoot 8K stills and video with their phones.

S-Pen fans will be glad to know it’s finally coming to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, though there’s no internal space to hold the stylus. Instead, you’ll have to buy a special case with a stylus caddy that bumps out the left side of the phone by about a centimeter.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is available for preorder now for $1,199 and releases on January 29th. Those that preorder between now and January 28th will also get a $200 Samsung Credit and a free Galaxy SmartTag – Samsung’s Bluetooth locator accessory.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+

Moving onto Samsung’s more affordable smartphones, the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ offer up a slightly smaller screen experience with 6.2 and 6.7 inch devices, respectively.

Both phones also only feature a Full HD+ resolution (2,400 x 1,080), but you still get a 120Hz experience and the screens are HDR10+ certified too.

As for internal hardware, the two handsets are still powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset with 8GB of RAM, plus either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The Galaxy S21 features a 4,000mAh battery while the Galaxy S21+ has slightly more capacity at 4,800mAh.

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The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ also have one fewer camera than their Ultra brethren and the arrangement is different too. They both have 12MP wide-angle and ultrawide cameras. The 64MP telephoto camera, meanwhile, features phase-detect AF and a 3x OIS optic for 30x Space Zoom.

Pricing for the Galaxy S21 starts at $799 and the Galaxy S21+ starts at $999, both phones are available for preorder now and will arrive on January 29th. Preorders made between now and January 28th come with a $100 Samsung Credit for the Galaxy S21 or a $150 Samsung Credit for the Galaxy S21+, as well as a Galaxy SmartTag.

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Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

If you’re looking for something to play this weekend, the Epic Games Store’s latest free PC game is a good one. From now until January 21 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, you can claim Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration edition free of charge. For those who haven’t claimed a free game at Epic before, all you need to do is create a free account to add Battlefront II into your library forever.

Star Wars Battlefront II originally released in 2017 as a sequel to the 2015 reboot of the third-person shooter series. While the shooter got off to a rocky start due to a confusing and unfriendly progression system as well as much-maligned microtransactions, it received consistent updates from EA over the next two years. Though it no longer receives major updates, the game has come a long way since we awarded it a 6/10 in our Star Wars Battlefront II review.

The Celebration edition comes with all of the customization content released post-launch. Battlefront II’s story mode is a mixed bag, though it’s still worth a playthrough. The online multiplayer is where Battlefront II gets its legs thanks to a wide variety of game modes, including large-scale objective-based variants and fast-paced skirmishes on small maps. Battlefront II also features PvE co-op for up to four players and a single-player Arcade mode that helps you prepare for multiplayer combat.

We imagine that the Epic Games Store giveaway will boost the online player base (at least for a bit), so it’s worth checking out this weekend if you haven’t played Battlefront II before. It’s just the latest of many free games the Epic Games Store has given away. Make sure to check back next week to snag Galactic Civilizations III.

In other Star Wars game news, Ubisoft has partnered with Lucasfilm Games to create a new open-world Star Wars game developed by Massive Entertainment, the studio responsible for The Division series.

505 Games has announced the acquisition of Infinity Plus Two, the studio that created the Puzzle Quest series as well as the free-to-play Gems of War. 505 touted this as a strategic move to strengthen its position in the F2P market.

Infinity Plus Two is based in Melbourne, Australia, and has created more than 30 games, though it’s most known for Puzzle Quest. Founder Steve Fawkner will remain in a leadership role at the studio as part of 505 Games management. The studio had previously collaborated with 505 on Gems of War, a strategy-RPG with match-3 mechanics.

“IP2 is a proven studio with phenomenal success over the years. Their creative vision and extensive experience will be a great addition to 505 Games,” said 505 Games free-to-play head Clive Robert, in the announcement. “The F2P market has seen a tremendous amount of growth and rise in popularity over the years and has always been a key facet of the company’s growth strategy. As one of the leading third-party publishers of F2P games across multiple platforms, this latest acquisition solidifies our investment in internal development and builds on our library of owned IP.”

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was originally released in 2007, published by D3 Publisher. It recently had a remastered version released on Nintendo Switch. Gems of War launched in 2014 and features similar match-3 mechanics with a team-building strategy layer.

The secret Isu language found in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been deciphered by fans of the series.

Assassin’s Creed fan community Access The Animus released a video on January 13 (as reported by Eurogamer) detailing the fascinating process behind translating the secret texts, which has led them to decipher symbols found in the collector’s edition of the game.

There are a number of tablets you can find while playing as Eivor that display this language, and they can be cross-referenced with partially translated files found on Layla’s computer in the modern portion of the game to be decrypted in full. Access the Animus used corresponding words, in-game translations and a complex understanding of grammar and historical language construction to figure out what had been written.

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Using the in-game translations from Antony Henry, Access the Animus was able to apply what they had learned to the collector’s edition of the game, which features Isu text on the packaging. So far they’ve found the words “Hidden Inside” on the Soundtrack CD, and “This Lake” in the CD bed of the game’s case. They also arranged the collector’s edition art prints which revealed another Isu word, “Now”.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Narrative Director Darby McDevitt praised the community on Twitter shortly after the release of the video. “Access the Animus, I never doubted you. The Isu language has been cracked,” his tweet reads. The Access the Animus team mention at the end of the video that there are still many more tablets and texts to decipher, with more secrets to uncover beyond the progress they have made so far.

Access the Animus, I never doubted you.

The Isu language has been cracked!https://t.co/PiHj3FBA40

— Darby McDevitt (@DarbyMcDevitt) January 13, 2021

If you’re unfamiliar with Assassin’s Creed lore, the Isu, or “Those Who Came Before” are a species of precursor beings responsible for creating humans and the powerful Pieces of Eden that appear throughout the franchise.

Here’s our review of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which we scored an 8, noting its “massive, beautiful open-world”.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Fans have been asking for it for over 20 years, and it’s finally happening: New Pokemon Snap is coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch April 30, 2021. A new take on the 1999 Nintendo 64 original, New Pokemon Snap promises to take players to areas like deserts, beaches, and jungles that are filled with Pokemon. Your job is to observe and snap photos of these creatures in their natural habitats, filling out your Pokemon Photodex in the process.

While the release date was only just announced, it’s been available to preorder for months. Read on for the details.

Preorder New Pokemon Snap

• Get it at Amazon – $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $59.99
• Get it at GameStop – $59.99
• See it on the eShop – $59.99

Those are all the retailers that have New Pokemon Snap available for preorder so far, but I’m sure it’ll make its way to the rest of the usual suspects in due time. When it does, we’ll update this article with the freshest of links.

Since there are no special editions or preorder bonuses for New Pokemon Snap (at least that they’ve announced so far) these links are all you need to secure a copy of the game.

Other Preorder Guides

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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