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Hitman III developer IO Interactive surprised fans when it announced last week that the entire trilogy of stealth titles will be compatible with PlayStation VR when it releases in January 2021 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The developer released a four-minute video that gives fans a better look at what to expect when stepping into Agent 47’s virtual shoes. This includes a look at the additional freedom players will have when using the contracted killer’s weaponry and how going first-person impacts the gameplay.

Lead game designer Sidsel Marie Hermansen says playing Hitman in virtual reality feels like an entirely new experience. The immersive nature of VR is aided by the existing level of detail, and the studio making sure that each location feels like a lived-in world with characters that have their own routines. The developer describes the experience as being more “powerful” and that it’s easy to get distracted by side conversations that take place.

“Every little thing wants to take center stage,” senior game designer Eskil Mohl explains. “Before in the third-person game, maybe you got a little distracted from something else but now you can’t escape them anymore. They’re right in your face. I found myself traversing the levels slower and just taking everything in because it’s so dense with detail.”

Since players have full control over Agent 47’s hands when playing the PlayStation VR mode, it has resulted in some gameplay changes. Rather than simply pressing a button to unleash a melee attack, players can now swing a crowbar at enemies and even tap their shoulders with it to get their attention beforehand. Likewise, players can now blindly fire around corners that they reach around. The first-person action also adds some risk to going prone on the ground as any vegetation will block the player’s view, creating new challenges for players to tackle when trying to sneak around.

“We are simulating a living world with a lot of different characters,” creative director Christian Elverdam says. “Witnessing that in VR … you feel a part of that living, breathing world in a completely new way. I think it’s going to be raising a few eyebrows.”

While the VR mode is exclusive to PlayStation platforms, Hitman III is also set to release on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Stadia.

Frostpunk is one of the best strategy games to come out in years, and it’s received some great support in the form of expansions. The third and final expansion, On The Edge, is slated for release on August 20, and if you want to get into the post-apocalyptic strategy game ahead of its launch, then you can snag the Steam version at a great price. Frostpunk is only $10 (was $30) on Fanatical with promo code GAMESPOT. This deal is only valid until August 17 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET.

This promo code stacks with the game’s current discount, bringing its $12 sale price down to $10. All you have to do to claim this extra deal is add Frostpunk to your cart, apply promo code GAMESPOT, and then checkout. Once your order is complete, you can then redeem your Frostpunk code on Steam and start playing. Frostpunk’s season pass and Game of the Year edition are also discounted. The latter includes both the base game and season pass.

GameSpot’s Frostpunk review scored the game a 9/10 for its great aesthetic that helps reinforce the themes of its frozen-wasteland dystopia. Frostpunk features gut-wrenching decisions, and challenging gameplay that forces you to balance your short-term goals and overall long-term plan.

“Frostpunk is among the best overall takes on the survival city builder to date,” critic Daniel Starkey wrote. “Its theming and consistency create a powerful narrative through line that binds your actions around the struggle to hold onto humanity in uncertain times. Hope is a qualified good, but you may not always be strong enough (or clever enough) to shelter that flame from the cold.”

Epic Games premiered a short less than a minute long saying that it had “defied the App Store Monopoly.” The video was showcased in Fortnite’s Party Royale mode shortly after Epic Games sued Apple, which followed the company’s removal of Fortnite from the iOS App Store.

“In retaliation Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices,” the screen read during the short. “Join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming ‘1984.’” Viewers were then encourage to use a #FreeFortnite hashtag on social media.

The commercial appears to be a play on Apple’s Macintosh commercial that aired in 1984. That commercial introduced the Apple Macintosh personal to the world and claimed that it would help people realize why “1984 won’t be like ‘1984,’” referencing the famous Goerge Orwell novel. Epic Games is clearly mocking Apple for their policies on the App store.

Earlier today Epic Game reduced the cost of V-Bucks on the App Store and introduced direct payments to get around paying Apple for the use of their storefront, prompting the games removal from the store by the tech giant. Epic hit back by filing a lawsuit against the company for the “exorbitant” 30% cut that Apple takes from App Store purchases among other things. This short premiered soon after.

Star Wars Squadrons’ latest Pilot Briefing has revealed how players will be able to customize both their starfighters and pilots in this upcoming first-person space dog-fighting game set after Return of the Jedi.

Active and Passive Ship Components

This Pilot Briefing began with focusing on the ship components players can purchase by using the Requisition points they earn while playing Star Wars Squadrons.

These components help change how your starfighter functions in “subtle and radical ways.” Some have passive effects, like “reinforcing their defensive capabilities with different hulls or shields,” while others help dictate what abilities will be available in gameplay.

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There are seven total component slots – Primary Weapons, Auxiliary (x2), Countermeasures, Hull, Shields, and Engines – but ships without shield generators will only have six.

Starfighters can be equipped with up to three passive components and four active components.

The active components are for your Primary weapons, Auxiliary components, and Countermeasures.

The Primary weapons are your main canons, and components can offer many changes like a rate of fire boost for a lower damage output or a long-range cannon that uses burst fire.

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Furthermore, there are ion canons that can be equipped to cut through shields with ease, but don’t do much damage to the ship’s hull beyond that.

Auxiliary components make up two of the seven slots and make up your starfighter’s secondary abilities. Pilots can choose to add such items as a repair astromech, tractor beam, or a variety of torpedoes, bombs, and mines. It’s important to know you can’t choose two of the same Auxiliary components at once.

Countermeasures help you survive when you need to disengage from intense fights. These components include seeker warheads that fire behind your ship and take out incoming missiles and a sensor jammer that will prevent another starfighter from locking on to yours.

The passive components offer an improvement of either your engines, hull, and shields at the cost of one of the ones you don’t choose. A default loadout will be very well balanced, without a major strength or weakness, but these components can help you make a starfighter for the role you want to play.

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Cosmetic Customization for Pilots and Starfighters

Whether you are playing as an Imperial of New Republic pilot, you can choose to customize each class you may be playing. These appearances will be used in both story mode and multiplayer.

Most cosmetics are unlocked via Glory points that are earned while playing, and include different heads, voice styles, full-body flight suits, torso apparel, legwear, helmets, and gloves.

Starfighters can also be customized, and give pilots the chance to “represent one of the classic iconic X-wing squadrons like Red Squadron, stay true to the noble values of Vanguard Squadron, or rep an entirely different paint job.” While the Imperial pilots sport a more uniform look, there are still some “special customization options for Titan Squadron’s starfighters that remain true to the Empire’s aesthetic.”

Your cockpit can also be changed to your liking, and you can “add small knick-knacks on your dashboard, like a hologram of the galaxy, or hang a small Stormtrooper helmet from above.” When you defeat an enemy, they will be able to see your crafted cockpit via the kill cam.

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The single-player story will feature traditional cockpits, but multiplayer allows for some creative liberties and gives pilots many more options to personalize their starfighters.

“The holo-display, normally used to provide critical phase and objective information throughout the Fleet Battles doubles as a customizable image projector,” Lead gameplay designer James Clements explained. “There are also hanging flairs like a miniature Millennium Falcon and dashboard-mounted objects like a severed protocol droid head or an Ewok bobblehead. Then of course there are the ship exterior paint jobs and pilot avatar customizations, all made through the culmination of months of concept art, modeling, and collaboration with the team at Lucasfilm.”

If it’s too hard for you to decide which cosmetics you’d like for each ship, you can rest easy knowing you can unlock five loadout slots to create the perfect options for you.

For more on Star Wars Squadrons, which will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 2, 2020, check out our hands-on preview and read all about the last Pilot Briefing that focused on starfighter differences and special abilities.

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

Apple has confirmed that it has removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store following Epic Games’ alteration of the price of Fortnite V-Bucks and a new direct payment system in response to Apple and Google’s “exorbitant” app store fees. Epic has responded by filing a complaint for injunctive relief against Apple.

In a statement to The Verge, Apple confirmed that “As a result [of Epic’s update to the game,] their Fortnite app has been removed from the store.”

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“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users,” Apple’s larger statement reads. “As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.”

Apple goes on to cite Epic’s agreement to the App Store rules in the first place, which allowed Fortnite to exist previously on the app store, noting that “The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users.”

The company explains that it “will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store,” but it remains unclear how long this ban from the store may last at this time.

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Epic Sues Apple Over App Store Policies

Epic has responded to this move by filing a legal complaint in California, stating that “Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation.”

“Rather than tolerate this healthy competition and compete on the merits of its offering, Apple responded by removing Fortnite from sale on the App Store, which means that new users cannot download the app, and users who have already downloaded prior versions of the app from the App Store cannot update it to the latest version,” Epic’s legal complaint reads. “This also means that Fortnite players who downloaded their app from the App Store will not receive updates to Fortnite through the App Store, either automatically or by searching the App Store for the update. Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market.

“Apple imposes unreasonable and unlawful restraints to completely monopolize both markets,” the complaint goes on to read, taking issue with the “30% tax” both apps and in-app purchases come with, and the company believes Apple’s behavior has “anti-competitive consequences” on the industry.

Update: IGN has reached out to Epic for additional comment and will update this story should they respond. Epic debuted an in-game event, a new short film titled “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite,” which was a direct parody of Apple’s famous 1984 commercial, an ad Epic cites in its suit against Apple.

In the video, text reads “Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices. Join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming ‘1984,’” along with the hashtag #FreeFortnite. Epic has elaborated on its #FreeFortnite campaign, urging fans affected by these recent moves to petition Apple on social media to reinstate Fortnite.

How Fortnite’s Removal Affects iOS Players

Epic has explained that players who already had Fortnite downloaded on iOS devices will be able to continue playing, but the app cannot be updated further. So once Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4 begins, which could be potentially as early as Aug. 28, iOS players will not be able to play Fortnite in the new season’s content or Battle Pass unless this matter is resolved before then.

And for those asking for refunds for purchases made through the iOS version, Epic’s FAQ explains that those refunds must be requested through Apple, not Epic, due to the nature of in-app purchases. As for why Epic does not want to agree to Apple’s terms any longer, the company said “Epic believes that you have a right to save money thanks to using more efficient, new purchase options. Apple’s rules add a 30% tax on all of your purchases, and they punish game developers like us who offer direct payment options.”

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Before Apple’s announcement, Epic confirmed a change to the cost of V-Bucks, changing the price of 1,000 V-Bucks from $9.99 to $7.99 on consoles, Mac, and PC. Mobile works somewhat differently, as players can still buy using Apple or Google accounts at the higher price, but will now offer ‘Epic direct payment’ when purchasing V-Bucks on mobile devices to save the 20%. Epic noted that this was done to “pass along the savings to players,” citing the “exorbitant 30% fee” Apple and Google collect on every V-Buck payment. In the future, Epic is open to altering the deal “if Apple and Google lower their fees on payments.”

Epic is not the only gaming company to recently come into a public disagreement with Apple and its App Store policies. Apple’s recent decision to block the Xbox Game Pass app from iOS drew ire from Microsoft, which said “Apple stands alone as the only general purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. And it consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content.”

And Apple also recently decided to restrict the Facebook Gaming app’s functionality on iOS, with Facebook explaining how “months of submissions and repeated rejections by Apple” led them to “remove instant games entirely from the standalone app.”[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Russell Kirsch, the inventor of the pixel, has died.

Kirsch died Aug. 11 at his home in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 91. Best known as the inventor of the digital pixel, Kirsch was a computer scientist also credited with scanning one of the first digital photographs into a computer, per Oregon Live. He was born in Manhattan, New York, in 1929, and completed his primary education at the Bronx High School of Science. He then went on to study at New York University, Harvard, and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kirsch created a small digital image of his son, Walden, as a baby in 1957 and scanned it into a computer using a machine he and his team of researchers created. This digital image would make history as it is one of the first images scanned into a computer. Life magazine called it one of 100 photographs that changed the world. The original image is on display in the Portland Art Museum digital collection.

It was he and his team’s belief that computers would one day come to mirror that of the human mind, and although the world isn’t quite there yet, it grows closer to Kirsch’s vision every day.

Kirsch worked for over 50 years as a scientist for what is now known as the National Institute of Science and Technology in Maryland. It was known as the U.S. National Bureau of Standards when he worked there. Kirsch left Maryland in 2001 and moved to Portland. He had dementia in his later years.

Kirsch is survived by his wife Joan Kirsch, whom he had been with for 65 years, and his sons Walden and Peter and his daughters Lindsey and Kara.

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

Today the newest generation Alienware Aurora gaming PC equipped with RTX 2080 graphics has reached a new price low thanks to a new 10% off Dell coupon. The best Alienware laptop deal has also been extended for a few more days. If you’re looking for other options, there are also solid deals on Lenovo, ASUS, HP, and Gigabyte PCs from Newegg, Amazon, and Best Buy.

Deals for August 13

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More Video Game Deals

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.

Here’s a good deal for fans of the Caped Crusader. The massive, deeply researched book Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond is 37% off at Amazon. That brings the price from $75 all the way down to $47.49. There’s no telling how long the deal will last, so grab it if you want it.

Batman: The Definitive History, if I may abridge the title, is a 400-page full-color doorstopper of a book that that traces the history of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego from his debut in Detective Comics in 1939 all the way to the present.

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Written by Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago and media reporter Gina McIntyre, this hefty tome (it weighs seven pounds) dives into pretty much everything you’d want to know about Batman through the years.

It includes interviews with people like Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Tim Burton, Mark Hamill, and Christopher Nolan. It illuminates behind-the-scenes stories surrounding major moments from the comics. It goes into the live-action Batman TV show from the 1960s, as well as Batman: The Animated Series, the Nolan films, and even the Arkham video games.

In addition to its credentialed authors, the book features a forward by Michael Keaton, an introduction by Kevin Conroy, and a preface by longtime Batman editor Dennis O’Neil.

Also included in the book are previously unpublished photographs from Batman film sets, animation cels, and comic book art, plus a 40-page film treatment from Bob Kane.

Basically, it’s a whole lot of information about Batman over the 80 years he’s been a pop cultural icon. And it’s displayed beautifully in a full-color, gorgeously illustrated book. It would make a great present for the Batman fan in your life, even if that fan happens to be you.

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

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Remedy Entertainment’s Control was one of our favorite games of 2019. If its world captivated you as well, there’s a new companion book on the horizon that dives into the creation of the game. The limited-edition version of The Art and Making of Control is available to pre-order now at Amazon for $60, and we expect a standard (cheaper) edition will pop up soon, too.

It’s unclear exactly when the book will launch, but it’s expected to arrive this holiday. The hardcover coffee table book comes in at 384 pages and will be published by Future Press. While we can’t tell exactly what extras come with the book’s limited edition, it’s safe to assume that the sleek slipcase and multiple inserts with supplemental material are two of the bonuses.

The book will also cover the pair of expansions, The Foundation and AWE, the latter of which launches August 27. Remedy recently announced an Ultimate edition of Control that comes with both expansions will launch September 10, and it’ll be the only way to get a free upgrade to the next-gen versions of Control.

It’s extremely common for art books to receive discounts ahead of their publication dates, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see the limited edition and the inevitable standard edition get marked down before release. If you order now, you’ll get the lowest price offered until release thanks to Amazon’s pre-order price guarantee.