Halo Infinite Craig Meme Pleases Phil Spencer, Who Calls The Brute Xbox’s New Mascot

The Halo Infinite gameplay reveal showed off many aspects of the Xbox Series X launch title, including its large world, grapple hook, and back-to-basics combat design. But it also showed off a visual engine that a lot of fans were not impressed by, which has been exemplified by “Craig“, the Brute whose deadpan expression has become a gaming meme for the ages.

Now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has given his thoughts on the meme, and he seems to see the funny side of it. Asked by a fan for his take, Spencer called Craig “our new official Xbox mascot.”

Behold Craig, the face of Xbox.
Behold Craig, the face of Xbox.

Continuing on, Spencer cited Craig as a great example of the creativity of the Xbox community. You can view the tweet below.

Considering all of this, we expect Craig will be somehow canonized in the final release–be on the look out for the inevitable Easter egg in the final release.

Halo Infinite will be the platform for Halo going forward, developer 343 Industries has said. Details about the game’s multiplayer have started to emerge too, and it turns out it’ll be fully free-to-play.

Now Playing: Halo Infinite Gameplay Demo | Xbox Games Showcase 2020

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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare/Warzone Season 5 Update File Size Is “Big” Again

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the battle royale game Warzone are set for a big week, as the much-anticipated Season 5 update is due to arrive very soon.

Writing on Twitter, production director Paul Haile has now warned fans to expect yet another “big” update in terms of the file size. As with previous updates, the file size will be large, but the patch also contains back-end configurations that actually decrease the overall file size of the game. This happens through “optimization” of the game’s asset packs, Hiele said.

“This means the download will be big, but the overall size of the game will actually shrink on your consoles after you download the patch, even though we’re adding a bunch of new content for the season,” he said.

Hiele went on to say that it remains a “priority” for Infinity Ward to reduce the overall size of Modern Warfare and Warzone. However, this is a tricky task, Hiele said.

“We’ll continue to work on this and keep pushing space reductions out with future updates,” he explained.

There is no word yet on the specific file size for the Season 5 update. For comparison, the Season 4 update was between 32 GB and 45 GB depending on your platform.

There is no exact launch date yet for Season 5, but it is confirmed to release sometime this week. It will introduce a new Operator, Battle Pass, and more–the full contents of the patch will be announced soon.

Now Playing: All The Games Coming To Xbox Series X

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Mad Max Fury Road: Charlize Theron’s Video Of Her First Furiosa Head Shave Is A Delight

Mad Max: Fury Road came out five years ago, but is never far from our minds. Charlize Theron, who played Furiosa in the iconic 2015 film, hosted a charity screening of the film over the weekend as part of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, and to celebrate she shared a wonderful video of her preparation for the role.

The video, below, show’s Theron’s “point of no return”–her initial head shave for the role, which represents a full commitment to the part. It doesn’t show the full process, but you get to see Theron’s hair in a half-shaved state, which is a lot of fun.

The video is set to music from Junky XL’s Fury Road soundtrack, so we’re not entirely sure what she’s saying, but the huge smile on her face says everything. Watch it below.

Auditions have been underway for a new Furiosa film, a prequel, and auditions have been happening over Skype. Because the film will follow a younger Furiosa, Theron will not be returning as the character.

Some of Theron’s other roles are likely getting revisited, though. Her most recent film, Netflix’s The Old Guard, has been a huge success, and a sequel seems like a strong possibility, while rumors of Atomic Blonde 2 continue to persist.

In other Mad Max news, Fury Road almost lost the Doof Warrior in one cut, but thankfully the incredible flame-shooting guitarist made his way back in.

Now Playing: Doof Wagon Behind the Scenes Exclusive – Mad Max: Fury Road

Ice-T Wants A New Def Jam Game For Next-Gen, As Do We All

Ice-T is known to be a big gamer, but he’s only appeared in a few games himself. One of his most iconic appearances is in the Def Jam series, appearing in Def Jam: Fight For NY and its PSP spin-off Fight for NY: The Takeover. The Def Jam fighting series was beloved, and many people have called for its returning–and now Ice-T has joined their ranks.

Ice-T has tweeted out a photo of himself in-game, and said that he thinks that “they really need to reboot this game for the new consoles.” With the PS5 and Xbox Series X on the way, we can’t help but agree.

Whether or not this eventuates–or if Ice-T’s tweet catches the attention of anyone in a position to get the ball rolling–remains to be seen, but Fight for NY was a pretty great game.

The mainline Def Jam fighting series included three games: Def Jam Vendetta, Fight For NY, and Icon. The third game switched developers and did not review as well, and the series never came back. There’s also Def Jam Rapstar, which is a singing game.

These games were published by EA, a company that has recently started work on Skate 4, another long-awaited series revival.

Ice-T’s latest video game appearance was as BALEX, an AI trapped in a teddy bear, in Borderlands 3.

Now Playing: 20 Amazing Games Of 2020 So Far

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Halo 3: ODST PC Beta Test Kicks Of Soon, Here’s How To Sign Up

The next title to be added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC is Halo 3: ODST, and Microsoft has now announced plans for the first beta test.

This test, or “flight” as Microsoft calls it, will begin the first half of August, developer 343 Industries said in a blog post. To get into the beta, you must be a Halo Insider member, and you can sign up for the free program here. Assuming this beta test is similar to previous ones, the rollout will begin small, so you may not be invited in right away.

Only a “slice” of ODST will be available in the PC beta test, 343 said. A beta test for Halo 3: ODST on Xbox One is also in the works, but this will presumably be related to the Firefight mode, as ODST’s campaign is already available on Xbox One.

The upcoming beta test will also include some new Halo 3 changes, including the tweaks that 343 has made to hit detection. Additionally, weapons from ODST like the Socom Magnum will be added to Halo 3 in this test.

The ODST test on PC will include Firefight matchmaking and custom games, as well as the Theatre mode. There will also be campaign content, including the Mombassa Streets, Tayari Plaza, Uplift Reserve, NMPD HQ, Data Hive, and Coastal Highway missions, which you can play solo or co-op and at any difficulty level.

The PC beta test for ODST will include a number of settings options, including HUD anchoring, window mode, framerate limit, and field-of-view options. There will also be numerous audio settings options and a handful of accessibility options. You can see all the options below.

ODST PC Settings Options For The Beta

  • Settings – Controls: Configure Mouse & Keyboard and Configure Gamepad
  • Settings – Video: Field-Of-View, Vehicle Field-Of-View, Gamma, Window Mode, Aspect Ratio, Resolution Scale, V-Sync, HUD Anchoring, Unified Medal Display, Framerate Limit, and Graphics Quality
  • Settings – Audio: Game Volume including Menu Music Volume, Game Music Volume, Effects Volume, Voice Chat Volume. Also, Voice Chat Channel, Push to Talk Voice Chat, and Multiplayer Game Sounds
  • Settings – Gameplay: Crosshair Position, Show Invite Notifications, Enemy Player Name Color, Multiplayer Game Timer, and Credits
  • Settings – Network: Network and Relays
  • Settings Accessibility: Subtitles, Change Language, Convert Text-To-Speech, and Convert Speech-To-Text

In other MCC news, Microsoft is adding a long list of exciting features to the game, including crossplay, a custom game browser, and more.

Now Playing: All The Games Coming To Xbox Series X

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection to Get Crossplay in 2020

Halo: The Master Chief Collection will get crossplay between Xbox One and PC in 2020 alongside a custom game browser, PC fileshare, per game graphics and audio options, mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One, and more.

343 Industries published a new Halo: The Master Chief Collection development update on Halo Waypoint and gave an update on some of the biggest features the team is working on for 2020.

While none of these have specific dates besides 2020, the list includes Crossplay, Input Based MM, Server Region Selection, Custom Game Browser, Per Game Graphics Options, Per Game Audio Options, M&K Support for Xbox, PC Fileshare, Double Keybinds for all games, Viewmodel adjustments for all games, In game FPS Cap/Adjustments, Steam Account Linking.

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343 did confirm that when Crossplay is released, it will arrive with Input Based MM and Server Region Selection. It also stated that Custom Game Browser will release with Per Game Graphics Options and M&K Support for Xbox.

In addition to these, 343 is committed to bring Halo 3: ODST’s campaign and Halo 4 to MCC to PC, as well as ODST Firefight (with updated networking) to both Xbox and PC, in 2020.

For more on Halo, be sure to check out all the new details on Halo Infinite, our IGN Unfiltered conversation with Master Chief creator Marcus Lehto, and our 2019 re-review of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

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

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fireworks Show Guide

While the first part of Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ summer update added swimming and diving, the second part of the update brought with it a very different kind of summer activity: fireworks! Every Sunday in August, there will be a fireworks show on your island, hosted by Jolly Redd. You can exchange bells for raffle tickets in order to win festive items, and you can even use your own custom designs for fireworks. Below is everything you need to know about the fireworks shows.

For more on New Horizons’ second summer update, check out our guide to dream islands and dream addresses. If you’re still catching up on the first summer update, see our guide to how to swim and dive and our list of all the sea creatures you can now catch.

When And Where Are The Fireworks Shows?

The fireworks shows take place every Sunday in August at 7 PM your time–this applies to both Northern and Southern Hemisphere islands. They’re hosted in the plaza outside Resident Services by Jolly Redd, the one Animal Crossing character who’s sure to have a good fireworks hookup, as well as Isabelle. But while the plaza is the epicenter, you’ll be able to view the fireworks from any location on your island that has a good view of the sky.

In 2020, there are five Sundays in August. That means that there will be five fireworks shows throughout the month:

  • August 2
  • August 9
  • August 16
  • August 23
  • August 30

What Happens During A Fireworks Show?

The main event for the fireworks show is, of course, fireworks! Like with any good summer festival, your villagers will be hanging around the plaza and may even give you fireworks-related presents. Make sure to speak to Isabelle, too–she’ll give you a bopper headwear item. The possible boppers are:

  • Bulb bopper
  • Heart bopper
  • Flower bopper
  • Star bopper

You can even include some of your own custom designs as fireworks (details below). There’s also a raffle hosted by Redd; read on to see how Redd’s Raffle works and a list of all the prizes you can get.

How To Set Up Custom Fireworks

Ahead of the fireworks show, you’ll be able to add some of your own custom designs to the fireworks lineup. Simply speak to Isabelle and she’ll let you pick up to 10 slots for your own designs; you’ll see the designs you picked in the fireworks show.

Redd’s Raffle: How To Enter And Prizes

Jolly Redd, purveyor of fine and not-so-fine arts, hosts a raffle in your plaza during the fireworks show. Through the raffle, you can get a number of exclusive items, including fireworks and balloons, that you can only get during the fireworks shows.

To enter into the raffle, click on the raffle box by Redd. It costs 500 bells each time you’d like to enter, and there are 12 prizes you can win in total. They are:

  • Fountain firework
  • Blue balloon
  • Green balloon
  • Red balloon
  • Pink balloon
  • Yellow balloon
  • Blue sparkler
  • Red sparkler
  • Bubble blower
  • Pinwheel
  • Tweeter
  • Uchiwa fan

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Ghost Of Tsushima Players Have Patted 8.8 Million Foxes In 10 Days, And More Stats

Ghost of Tsushima has been out on PS4 for less than two weeks, but already the game’s player base has put some serious time into Sucker Punch’s samurai adventure. Now PlayStation has released some of the stats from the game’s first 10 days, showing off how many times some of the game’s activities have been enjoyed.

In a tweet, PlayStation revealed 11 stats about the game across three images. Players took a lot of photos with the game’s excellent photo mode, it seems, and went out of their way to pat a lot of foxes.

You can view the tweet below, but here’s the full rundown of stats released:

  • 156.4 million standoffs
  • 57.5 million duels
  • 139.4 million enemies collapsed in fear
  • 810.3 years on horseback
  • 16.2 million onsen visited
  • 14.2 million haikus written
  • 28.1 million flute songs played
  • 8.8 million foxes petted
  • 17.1 million bamboo strikes completed
  • 37.5 million Inari shrines honored
  • 15.5 million photos taken

Ghost of Tsushima sold over 2.4 million copies in its first three days on sale, making it the fastest-selling new IP for PlayStation this generation. The game contains a great Easter egg for fans of PlayStation-exclusive games, too.

One of the game’s players is Yakuza series director Toshihiro Nagoshi, who has been loving it.

Now Playing: Ghost of Tsushima – Cinematic Combat Montage

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