Halo Infinite’s Multiplayer Will Be Free-To-Play And Run At 120 FPS

Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer component will be free-to-play and will support 120 FPS on Xbox Series X. 343 Industries announced this on Twitter, stating that more details about the game’s multiplayer will be shared at a later time.

Halo Infinite’s campaign was shown off during the Xbox event earlier in July, but 343 Industries has yet to show any footage of the game’s multiplayer component or offered details beyond confirming that the multiplayer will be available at launch. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently said that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer was “special” and the team worked alongside professional Halo players to fine-tune the experience.

In a recent blog post, 343 Industries developers said that Halo Infinite might not have a multiplayer beta due to the difficulties of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same post, 343 Industries said that the team is going with a more ‘classic’ art style for the game, but the studio has heard the complaints that the game looks “flat, simplistic, and plastic-like,” after the single-player demo was criticized for its visual fidelity. The studio also said that the game will not feature real-money loot boxes the way Halo 5: Guardians did, but the game is expected to have microtransactions in some form.

Now Playing: Halo Infinite – Everything You Need To Know

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Halo Infinite Multiplayer Is Free to Play, 343 Confirms

Following a leak, 343 Industries has confirmed that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will be free-to-play and will support 120fps on Xbox Series X.

Halo’s Twitter shared the news, saying “Halo is for everyone. We can confirm #HaloInfinite multiplayer will be free-to-play and will support 120FPS on Xbox Series X. More details will be shared later!”

Screenshot_2020-07-31 (2) Halo on Twitter Halo is for everyone We can confirm #HaloInfinite multiplayer will be free-to-pla[...]

Earlier today, Smyths Toys leaked the news in its listing for Xbox Series X, highlighting the free-to-play news, 120 FPS, and “greatly reduced load times.”

While we have yet to learn much more about Halo Infinite’s multiplayer, we did learn much more about its campaign at the Xbox Games Showcase, where 343 confirmed it will be running at a locked 60 FPS.

Halo Infinite will also be more of a platform than a standalone entry, and this move to free-to-play only reinforces that this is what Halo will look like for the foreseeable future.

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343 Industries’ confirmation of Halo Infinite’s free-to-play future follows its open discussion on the community’s mixed response on the latest Halo’s graphics and visual style, a possible multiplayer beta, and microtransactions.

Halo Infinite will be released alongside the Xbox Series X in Holiday 2020, but will also be available on PC and Xbox One.

For more, be sure to check out more info on Halo Infinite’s villain and story, as well as why this new entry is the perfect jumping on point for those new to the Halo franchise.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can’t wait and is so excited he just can’t hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Umbrella Academy Season 2: Everything We Need In Season 3

Umbrella Academy Season 2: Everything We Need In Season 3 – GameSpot

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The Last Of Us HBO Show Will “Expand” On The Series

Chernobyl miniseries creator and The Last of Us show producer, Craig Mazin, said that the television adaptation of Naugty Dog’s popular post-apocalyptic zombie franchise will “expand” on the series.

Mazin talked about The Last of Us show on BBC Radia 5 Live’s Chernobyl Special, in which he discussed the delicate balancing act he faces in adapting such a widely lauded game franchise to television. He assured fans during the conversation the show will “expand” instead of “undo” the source material.

“I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licensed to someone else, those people don’t really understand it, or are going to change it,” Mazin said. “In this case, I’m doing [the series] with the guy who [created the game], and so the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance [the source material].

“We’re creating anew and we’re also reimagining what is already there to present a different format,” Mazin continued. It’s kind of a dream come true for me. I’m a little bit scared because a lot of emotions connected to this game are rather intense. I think I’m probably going to go hide in a bunker for a while because you can’t make everyone happy.”

Mazin has previously professed his love for The Last of Us. A tweet ranking his favorite video games of all time saw 2013’s The Last of Us in his number one spot. And as a fan of the series and of Ellie as a character, Mazin also confirmed that the protagonist’s sexuality will remain unchanged in the HBO show.

While casting announcements have not been confirmed as of yet, the series has landed Vikings director and fellow Chernobyl cohort Johan Renck to direct the pilot episode. And Joel voice actor Troy Baker revealed who he thinks should play the gruff father figure.

Now Playing: The Last Of Us Part II Video Review

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Fortnite Party Royale Diplo Presents: Higher Ground Concert

Diplo held his final concert in his summer Fortnite residency on July 31 within Fortnite’s Party Royale mode. Players got to see a short set of the musicians library of tracks as they drove ATVs into walls, flew around in gliders, and emoted towards the sky.

Diplo’s stage featured glowing panels, bounce pads, and plunger crossbows as the DJ spun records in front of fantastical neon backgrounds. It was a much quieter affair than Travis Scott’s larger-than-map performance but the intimate setting was enjoyable. It also didn’t have any capacity limits–anyone who wanted to join could enjoy the show.

This concert only featured Diplo but previous concerts have had appearances from the other members of Major Lazer as well as Young Thug, Noah Cyrus, Jordan Fisher, and others.

Party Royale is Fortnite’s non-violent game mode that prioritizes fun over victory royales. The main stage within the mode has also been the home of Christoper Nolan movie screenings, Star Wars trailer premieres, and a handful of other concerts. It also features paintball guns, party games, and race tracks all without the fear of getting eliminated by a sweaty player with a sniper rifle.

A rebroadcast of the event is happening on Monday, August 3 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT

Michael Jackson Really Wanted to Play Professor X in 2000’s X-Men

Before Patrick Stewart was cast as the mighty Marvel Comics telepath, “King of Pop” Michael Jackson pitched himself to the filmmakers to play Professor Charles Xavier in 2000’s X-Men movie.

That meeting was recounted as part of a larger exposé from The Hollywood Reporter on X-Men director Bryan Singer, which details a long pattern of unprofessional and allegedly abusive behavior on set and off that eventually saw Singer fired from directing Bohemian Rhapsody nearly two decades later.

Michael Jackson met with Bryan Singer and a group of the filmmakers involved in the X-Men movie back in the spring of 1999. Jackson, who THR notes was wearing sunglasses and refused to shake hands, made his case for why he should play Professor Charles Xavier, mentor and leader of the X-Men, in what would become the first big Marvel movie blockbuster.

Michael Jackson in 1986's 3D sci-fi film Captain Eo. (Credit: Disney)
Michael Jackson in 1986’s 3D sci-fi film Captain EO. (Credit: Disney)

Jackson, it must be remembered, was no stranger to acting, having portrayed the Scarecrow in 1978’s The Wiz. He also acted in several of his extended music videos, such as “Thriller” and “Bad,” and starred in the 1988 musical anthology film Moonwalker as well as the Francis Ford Coppola-directed, George Lucas-scripted fantasy short, Captain EO.

X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner recalled telling Jackson at the X-Men meeting, “I said to him, ‘Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?’ … And Michael said, ‘Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.'”

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Jackson’s “elaborate presentation” to the X-Men team included showing the short film Ghosts, wherein Jackson plays an older white mayor at one point.

THR claims Jackson was, “never seriously considered” for the role, citing one unnamed former film exec citing the late singer’s child sex abuse scandal as one reason why: “Michael was already in the thick of all his allegations by X-Men.” (It should be noted that THR also delves into the many sexual misconduct allegations against Bryan Singer in their piece.)

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In the end, Patrick Stewart was cast as Professor X in 2000’s X-Men, a role he continued to play until 2017’s Logan.

Michael Jackson’s pitch to play Professor X isn’t the only curious “what might have been” piece of X-Men casting history. Then-unknown Hugh Jackman replaced Dougray Scott as Wolverine, while Jim Caviezel was originally tipped to play Cyclops before James Marsden won the role.

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Refurbished SNES Classic, 3DS XL, And More Available From Nintendo

Somehow, the Nintendo Switch is still sold out everywhere, thanks to the rush of people looking to buy consoles during the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re someone who’s looking for a Nintendo system to play games on right now, some of Nintendo’s older handhelds and classic models are currently available directly from the Nintendo store. These are products that have been refurbished directly by Nintendo and come with everything you need to play. “Although it may have minor cosmetic blemishes, it is guaranteed to be fully functional,” each product listing states.

Notably, you can buy the NES Classic and SNES Classic, which were released by Nintendo in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and have since been discontinued. Unless you want to pay an absurd price for these systems somewhere on the internet, the best place to buy them now is on the Nintendo store, which sells “Authentic Nintendo Refurbished Sets.” The refurbished NES Classic sells for $50 at Nintendo and comes with the system, one controller, an HDMI cable, AC adapter, and 30 pre-installed games. Meanwhile, the refurbished SNES Classic is $70 and gets you the mini console with two wired SNES controllers, one HDMI cable, one USB cable with AC adapter, and 21 pre-loaded Super NES games.

Several of Nintendo’s 3DS and 2DS systems are available as well, including a red 3DS XL for $120, two 2DS XL colors for $100, and two 2DS options for just $50 each. There are a ton of great games that can be played on these systems, including The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Ocarina of Time 3D, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and more.

You can check out all the refurbished Nintendo systems available directly from Nintendo below. You’ll see the Nintendo Switch included as well, but unfortunately, both the gray and red/blue Joy-Con versions are sold out.

Cicadas Are Being Infected With Fungus That Makes Them Zombies

Cicadas are succumbing to a parasitic infection that basically turns them into zombies.

You read that right. The fungus scientifically known as Massospora has been infecting male cicadas for years, according to a journal from PLOS Pathogens as reported by LiveScience. It doesn’t end there though. Much like a zombie army, the male cicada zombies begin to work toward growing their numbers by luring in other male cicadas using a flickering wing movement traditionally used by female cicadas to lure in male mates.

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When the non-infected male cicadas attempt to mate with the infected cicada after being lured in, the Massospora is transferred and it begins to infect the new cicada by eating away at its abdomen. It replaces the abdomen with itself, which looks like a grouping of yellow spores.

It’s apparently not easy to spot this zombie-like transformation occur as the cicadas usually infected are of the Magicicada genus, which spend up to 17 years of their life underground at a time. Fortunately for the scientists behind the PLOS Pathogens report, they’re able to track different populations of cicada emerging at different times through a cycle of years.

Once the abdomen is transformed into a mass of spores, the now-zombified cicada will fly around and drop spores to infect even more cicada. As to how the Massospora controls this spore-dropping flight and the mating call that occurs after infection, scientists aren’t yet sure which chemicals within the fungus are making that happen.

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A non-infected cicada’s life after emerging from the ground years and years after it is born would generally only last a few weeks. They mate, lay eggs, then die. When infected by the Massospora, their life is prolonged but considering they are zombies at that point, it’s not really living.

If you’re clamoring for zombie-like science, read about how scientists are resurrecting 100-million-year-old underwater lifeforms. After that, read about how a bionic moon jellyfish was created by scientists earlier this year.

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