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The developers behind Little Devil Inside, which was shown during Sony’s PS5 conference last week, have apologised and promised to change some of the game’s enemy designs which contain racist stereotypes.

Many on social media made note of this after the trailer debuted during June 11’s ‘The Future of Gaming’ PS5 conference, with Twitter user Lord Balvin pointing out how “tone deaf” the character design is due to its depiction of a tribal character with dreadlocks and large lips. Developers Neostream have responded on Facebook, noting that “Racist stereotypes of any kind were absolutely not intended.”

“We were not aware of the stereotypical connotations and wish to apologise to anyone who may have been offended by the character design,” the statement reads. According to the developers, their design intention was “to create characters who are protectors/guardians of a particular mystic region in the world of Little Devil Inside.” Neostream added that they did not reference any “African and/or Afro-American human tribes” while creating it.

Neostream explained how they plan to modify the design in four steps listed below, and added that they may change it entirely if it ends up being unsuitable for the game.

1. Remove the Dreadlocks.
2. Change the bold lips.
3. Change skin tone.
4. Tweak the dart blower so it looks less like a joint.

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You can check out some screenshots from Little Devil Inside over on our announcement piece. For more on games from the PS5 conference last week, check out our article covering every game that was revealed during the show.

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

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is reportedly poised to postpone the 2021 Oscars ceremony and review its eligibility window, in recognition of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy’s board of governors are due to convene over Zoom on June 15 to discuss a new agenda for the 93rd Oscars ceremony, which is currently set to take place on February 28, 2021.

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The report suggests that the ceremony’s date is likely to be delayed by as many as eight weeks, as the Academy has apparently secured a new “hold date” in ABC’s broadcasting calendar. It is also expected that the eligibility window will be extended beyond the traditional closing period of December 31, 2020, in light of this prospective pushback.

Although it is an uncommon occurrence, this wouldn’t be the first time the Academy has postponed the annual event. The Oscars were previously delayed in 1938 due to the floods in Los Angeles, then again in 1968; following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 1981 after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

It is not believed that the format of the Oscars ceremony will be up for discussion yet, even though a great number of events have turned to virtual experiences and online offerings amid the lockdown, as organizers have been forced to find new ways for fans to immerse themselves in the industry from the safety of their own homes.

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This comes shortly after the Academy announced a new rule, for the 93rd Oscars only, that will allow movies that debuted on digital or streaming platforms to qualify for Best Picture in this year’s race (with some provisions).

The majority of the Academy’s recent shifts and changes have materialized as a direct result of the global closure of cinemas due to the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent studio delays in theatrical release calendars.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Details pertaining to an unreleased Kingdom Hearts game have been discovered in the hidden files of a recently launched website for mobile game Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road.

While datamining the Dark Road website, Reddit user Skullboj found a logo (below) for a project called Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, which appears to be unrelated to the forthcoming mobile title.

There are many theories swirling online for what this could be – the focus on music might suggest it’s a rhythm game, but the yellow colour scheme and allusion to memory visually ties it to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a card-based spin-off that originally launched on the Game Boy Advance back in 2004.

Twitter user Vampirically pointed out that the K and the S in the leaked logo are extended, which within the history of Kingdom Hearts title art suggests that this alleged game will not use Sora as the protagonist.

There’s also a distinct chance that this isn’t a game at all – that musical theme could point to this being a new project for the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra. We have contacted Square Enix for comment.

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If there’s one thing that’s for certain though, it’s that the naming scheme for Kingdom Hearts games has always been an unknown quantity, so the game’s content is really anyone’s guess.

In other Kingdom Hearts news, a TV series based on the games is reportedly in development for Disney Plus. You can also check out our review of Kingdom Hearts 3, which we called “a fulfilling evolution” of the franchise.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN surprised at the tame name for this Kingdom Hearts game. Follow him on Twitter.

EA has formally announced Star Wars: Squadrons, a first-person space dogfighting game set after the events of Return of the Jedi, and coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC (via Origin, Steam and Epic Games Store). It will be released for $39.99 USD on October 2.

Developed by Motive Studios, the game will include both a single-player story and multiplayer modes (with cross-play support across all platforms), and can be played in VR on PS4 and PC. EA will premiere gameplay at EA Play Live on June 18 (which you can watch as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming).

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Star Wars: Squadrons Story Mode Details

Squadrons will feature a single player story mode set after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the Death Star II. Alternating between two customisable pilots, the story will feature brand new characters, and cameos from familiar faces.

The two pilots you play as will show you both sides of the game’s conflict – one flies for the New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron, and the other for the shattered Galactic Empire’s Titan Squadron.

In a press release, Ian Frazier, creative director at Motive says: “Through the collaboration of the teams at Motive and Lucasfilm, we’ve been able to create a high-fidelity starfighter experience with an authentic storyline that invites Star Wars fans to explore never-before-seen corners of the galaxy in their own ship. We’re excited to show all this in action this week at EA Play Live.”

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Star Wars: Squadrons Multiplayer Details

Multiplayer will take the form of 5v5 battles, with two modes announced. Fleet Battles will task each team with destroying the opposing teams flagship, while Dogfights will simply ask each team to destroy as many opponents as possible. Locations will be both known and unknown, with Yavin Prime and the shattered moon of Galitan announced so far.

The announcement press release makes clear that squadron composition will be important, implying multiple ship classes to experiment with. EA also confirmed that, while Star Wars: Squadrons will include cosmetic and gameplay-related customisation, all upgrades will be earned solely through playing the game.

Playing through the game will earn you weapons, hulls, engines and shields to allow you to tweak your starfighter into whatever you want it to be, while cosmetics will alter your cockpit, ship exterior and pilot.

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Star Wars: Squadrons Release Date and Price

Star Wars: Squadrons will be released on October 2 as both a physical and digital product, for $39.99 USD (other pricings unavailable at time of writing). EA Access and Origin Access Basic subscribers can play 10 hours of the game for free at launch, and will get 10% off if they choose to buy it. Origin Access Premier subscribers will be given the full PC game on release.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

If you want to add a little touch of the arcade experience to your living space, but you don’t quite have the room, or if you just have a counter-top crying out for a video game, I have great news. Best Buy currently has some of Arcade1up’s Countercade cabinets marked down 50% from their original price. That means you can invite Dig Dug into your home for just under a hundred bucks.

App users: Don’t see the deals below? Click here.

Arcade1up Cabinet Deals

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The Golden Tee cabinet is part of Best Buy’s deal of the day, so if you want it at that price, better grab it now. The Countercade cabinets aren’t part of a deal of the day promotion, but at 50% off I don’t imagine the deal will be around too long. But who knows? Well, I guess the people in charge of pricing things at Best Buy know.

Recently Arcade1up revealed four new upcoming cabinets: Ms. Pac-Man, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Big Buck Hunter and Marvel Pinball.

Oh, and it’s not too late to preorder the special edition Arcade1up NBA Jam cabinet with riser and stool.

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Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

Pokemon Sword and Shield’s DLC expansions, Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, will feature level scaling, meaning Pokemon trainers of any level (who have reached the first Wild Area) can enjoy the new DLC content.

During our 30-minute hands-off preview of Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor DLC, we noticed that the first trainer battle were around level 60 – the same as the highest level Pokémon in the trainer’s party.

We asked Nintendo product marketing specialist Demetrius Boggs if this meant level scaling was in place, and he confirmed that Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Expansion Pass area’s trainers and wild Pokemon will in fact scale with your own Pokemon levels.

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Not only that, but these areas can be accessed as soon as you reach the Wild Area of Pokémon Sword and Shield, just a few hours into the games. So whether you’ve just started or have already completed every post-game activity and have a full party of level-100 Pokémon, both parts of the expansion pass–The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra–will match your Pokémon’s level.

As of now, we’re unsure whether the DLC areas will continue to scale with your level, or if the areas become locked to the level your Pokémon were when you first visit, but we will update this as soon as we hear back from the Pokémon Company.

Regardless, this is great news – anyone will be able to enjoy the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass at an appropriate level regardless of how high or low level their Pokémon are. (Though we can’t comment on how difficult or easy this content will be.)

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The Isle of Armor expansion, which will be released on June 17, will send players to a tropical island and will allow them to make their way through a new Pokemon Battle Dojo. By training there with Master Mustard, all players will receive the new legendary Pokemon, Kubfu.

After players obtain Kubfu, they will be given a choice of either going to the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters. Upon completion, Kubfu will evolve into Urshifu. If the Tower of Darkness was chosen, Urshifu will have the Single Strike style, and if the Tower of Waters is chosen, Urshifu will have the Rapid Strike Style.

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The Crown Tundra expansion, which is set to be released in Fall 2020, will take place in a snowy, icy tundra with mountains and will feature a ton of Legendary Pokemon, including Galarian forms of Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos.

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Casey DeFreitas is an editor at IGN. Talk Pokémon with her on Twitter at @ShinyCaseyD.

We first learned about the Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass back in January. Since then, we’ve been served a trickling of information about everything from new items to new legendary Pokémon. Finally, at the 11th hour, we’ve been treated to more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay from the beginning of The Isle of Armor DLC for Pokémon Sword.

There are two specific things I want to point out from my hands off demo. First, I noticed that the Pokémon in the first trainer battle were around level 60 – the same as the highest level Pokémon in the trainer’s party. Nintendo’s Demetrius Boggs told me that the new Pokémon expansion pass areas’ trainers and wild Pokémon scale with your own Pokémon’s levels.

Not only that, but these areas can be accessed as soon as you reach the Wild Area of Pokémon Sword and Shield, just a few hours into the games. So whether you’ve just started or have already completed every post-game activity and have a full party of level-100 Pokémon, both parts of the expansion pass, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, will match your Pokémon’s level.

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As of now, we’re unsure whether the DLC areas will continue to scale with your level, or if the areas become locked to the level your Pokémon were when you first visit, but we will update this as soon as we hear back from the Pokémon Company. Regardless, this is great news – anyone will be able to enjoy the Pokémon Sword and Shield expansion pass at an appropriate level regardless of how high or low level their Pokémon are. (Though I can’t comment on how difficult or easy this content will be.)

We already knew the Isle of Armor would at least include an additional wild area, but this demo confirmed that the entirety of the island is basically one big massive wild area, with many more diverse terrains than on the mainland. I saw coastal beaches, swampy marshes, lush forests, gloomy caves, and even deserts during my short tour. At many intervals during the story and upon entering new areas, the camera swept over each spot, creating a beautifying panoramic effect that highlighted the topography of the island. It also seems as though all of these areas can be explored as soon as you get to the island, without needing to progress the story, which leaves the pacing in the player’s hands.

Overall, each of these micro areas seemed to be a little more full with environmental touches like logs or trees than the mainland wild area was. I also saw Pokémon interact with their surroundings in ways I hadn’t before. For example, I saw a Pokémon on a tree branch in the forest. Though Nintendo couldn’t confirm how we could interact with this Pokémon, I assume it could be lured down from the tree by whistling at it – like you would lure flying Pokémon down from the sky in the base Pokémon Sword and Shield.

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I also saw a huge (and I mean massive!) Wailord in the water from the beach. I’m not sure whether this was a to-scale representation of an overworld Pokémon, or if it was part of the story or had some other purpose. Most likely, it was just a wild Pokémon in the overworld. I know that’s not that surprising, but seeing a giant Pokémon in the water brought me joy in that moment. Overall, I saw a large variety pack on this island, and I’m happy to report that a few of my personal favorites return.

I did ask if the large inclusion of old Pokémon previously unavailable in Pokémon Sword and Shield was in response to player feedback, but the Pokémon Company’s Elvin Gee said that The Isle of Armor expansion was already being developed before Pokémon Sword and Shield were released, so it seems as though it was always the plan, though he couldn’t be certain.

Of course, there was more to the demo than just a tour of the island and it’s myriad Pokémon. I also got to see the first 30 minutes of the story, which included introductions to Klara (in Sword) or Avery (in Shield); Mustard, a legendary Pokémon trainer who once trained Leon and will now train you; and other NPCs that call the Master Dojo on the Isle of Armor their home.

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Because this demo was for Pokémon Sword, the Poison–type Pokémon trainer (and our rival for this expansion) Klara greeted us upon arrival. She quickly outed herself as a self-interested mean girl type, but her antics were nevertheless amusing. After defeating her in a battle, she instructs you to not approach the dojo. However this is of course where you must go to progress the story…

Once inside the dojo, after a quick battle, you’re presented with a choice and the introduction of a move tutor that will accept Armorite Ore as payment. Then, Mustard explains that the dojo’s apprentices must complete three trials in order to earn the dojo’s sacred armor.

One of the challenges involves collecting Max Mushrooms, which are used to create the previously revealed Max Soup which unlocks the ability for a Pokémon to Gigantamax. Though I only saw a single different trial (one I can’t reveal just yet), it reminded me of the minigames you might encounter as part of Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Island Challenge, except perhaps less involved.

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It’s worth mentioning that I saw a mysterious Pokémon looking over the main character from the top of the dojo. Because of previous promotional materials for the DLC we know that this is Kubfu, a Fighting-type Legendary Pokémon that evolves into Urshifu. We know this Pokémon is an integral part of the story of The Isle of Armor DLC, and its evolution is dependent on which of the Towers of Two Fists you choose to face – the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters.

I saw one of these pagoda-like towers on the coast of the island, but that’s as much of the story that I saw and can reveal now. Oh, except the customizable bikes. I didn’t see the menus for this, and Nintendo and the Pokémon Company couldn’t give me any additional information, but I saw two different bikes with different “trails” similar to the trails you unlock for your cars in Rocket League!

I loved exploring the Wild Area and catching a wide variety of new Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield – in fact, it was one of my favorite new features. Considering that, the Isle of Armor DLC seems right up my alley. Though I do hope the story is robust on its own and doesn’t rely on Pokémon catching as a way to artificially pad its playtime too much. Then again, who doesn’t like catching Pokémon in new places?

For more about Pokémon Sword and Shield: Isle of Armor, check out even more details ahead of its June 17 release.

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Casey DeFreitas is an editor at IGN. Talk Pokémon with her on Twitter at @ShinyCaseyD.