Monthly Archives: July 2020

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Teen Arrested for Twitter Hack That Affected Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and More

A 17-year-old from Tampa, Florida was arrested on Friday over the July 15 Twitter hack that affected the accounts belonging to high-profile users such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and more. Earlier this month, several prominent Twitter accounts were seemingly hacked to tweet out the same message about a fake giveaway for Bitcoin. Graham Ivan Clark was arrested as the “mastermind” of the attacks. He reportedly gained more than $100,000 in a single day from the hack. Clark was charged alongside two others. 22-year-old Nima Fazeli and 19-year-old Mason Sheppard. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren called the crime a “highly sophisticated attack on a magnitude not seen before.” Clark faces 30 charges including one count of organized fraud of more than $50,000, 17 counts of felony communications fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, 10 counts of identity theft, and one count of hacking and unlawful access to a computer in furtherance of a scheme to defraud. Following the Twitter hack, Twitter shut down the ability for some users to Tweet as it investigated the attack. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Detective Pikachu Director Will Helm Beyond Good and Evil Movie for Netflix

Ubisoft's adventure game, Beyond Good and Evil, is getting a Netflix adaptation from Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman. Ubisoft is also currently developing a long-awaited sequel, Beyond Good and Evil 2 for consoles. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter Letterman's The Beyond Good and Evil movie will reportedly be a mix of live-action and animation. The movie will be produced by Jason Altman and Margaret Boykin under the helm of Ubisoft Film & Television. This adaptation is early in development as the team is still searching for writers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=beyond-good-and-evil-2-concept-art&captions=true"] Beyond Good & Evil is a cult-classic 2003 video game developed by Ubisoft about a young investigative journalist named Jade who works with an underground resistance movement. The game takes place in the year 2435 on the mining planet of Hillys, which is located in a far off section of the galaxy. Ubisoft is currently at work on a sequel to the game. As for whether or not the Netflix adaption will follow the storyline of the game, not much is known. It could be an adaption of the game's plot or a different story that takes place in the same universe. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/22/beyond-good-and-evil-2-gameplay-prototype-walkthrough"] Letterman's directorial debut came with DreamWorks Animation's Shark Tale featuring Will Smith back in 2004. He co-directed 2009's Monsters vs. Aliens before making his first live-action film, Goosebumps, starring Jack Black in 2015. The director is seemingly fusing his talent for animation and visual effects, which is where he began in the film industry, with his live-action directorial efforts considering this Beyond Good and Evil movie will be a hybrid of animation and live-action. Beyond Good and Evil joins a troupe of Netflix video game adaptations. Just yesterday, it was announced that John Wick creator Derek Kolstad is writing a Splinter Cell series for the streaming service. Earlier this month, Netflix announced a Dragon's Dogma anime coming this September. Earlier this year, Netflix released The Witcher, which is based on the same books the Witcher video game series is inspired by. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Twitch DMCA Strike Causes Panic as Streamers Worry Their Channels Could Be Banned

Update: Twitch has proceeded to delete a wave of videos from partnered streamers earlier this week in its strongest action against copyrighted content yet. Streamers had no say in Twitch's decision to mass ban content found to include copyright-infringing material. Streamer Devin Nash posted an email they received from Twitch that informed them, and many others, that their videos have been deleted. "We are writing to inform you that your channel was subject to one or more of these DMCA takedown notifications and that the content identified has been deleted," the email states. "We recognize that by deleting this content, we are not giving you the option to file a counter-notification or seek a retraction from the rights holder." Twitch's email says that in lieu of a counter-notification, streamers should treat the email as a warning and to learn more about Twitch's copyright policy. "It is insane that Twitch informs partners they deleted their content - and that there is more content in violation despite having no identification system to find out what it is," Nash wrote in a tweet. "Their solution to DMCA is for creators to delete their life's work. This is pure, gross negligence." The decision by Twitch to enforce DMCA on content has incited panic among streamers. Especially since many of them are not fully aware which of their videos might contain copyrighted material. Some are worried that Twitch will ban their channels completely if they fail to expunge copyrighted content, which might require streamers to scrub through hundreds of hours of their videos to find. "So Twitch just threatened my account with termination if I ever get DMCA'd again," writes streamer @BikiniBodhi. "They didn't tell me what got striked, Nor did they... tell me who issued it... so I can't even appeal/remove the strike." In the meantime, streamers are sharing third-party tools that will let them mass download their videos in case something happens to their channel. Meanwhile, Twitch says it's continuing to develop tools to help creators navigate DMCA. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Last month Twitch streamers found themselves hit with a wave of DMCA takedown requests for clips that feature licensed music. For creators with hundreds of clips saved featuring various music in the background, this became a huge headache as they were asked to manually remove violating clips, which for some could be as many as hundreds of videos saved.

What Is DMCA?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a federal law that’s become quite infamous with the rise of social media services, particularly YouTube. Essentially, it gives the copyright owners the ability to call out unlicensed use of its products and request they be taken down. While YouTube creators are familiar with the DMCA Twitch’s situation is unique in that the requests seem to come all at once, very quickly. Twitch’s official Support account acknowledged the takedown requests, but simply advised users to remove those clips. For users with large archives, Twitch says it’s “working to make this easier.”

Twitch’s DMCA Guidelines

Twitch’s guidelines on DMCA states that “It is our policy to respond to clear notices of claimed copyright infringement that fully comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In addition, we will promptly terminate without notice the accounts of those determined by us to be “repeat infringers”.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ninja-career-highlights&captions=true"]

How Does DMCA Affect Streamers?

The DMCA is infamous, but it’s also misunderstood. The Act primarily protects the interests of the copyright holder while also giving protections to digital platforms that would previously be liable for hosting copyrighted content that was uploaded without their knowledge. “Most people think of the DMCA as something used against infringers,” says David Hoppe, Managing Partner at SF-based Media/Tech law firm Gamma Law. “But actually DMCA takedown requests are not sent to infringers. DMCA takedown requests are sent by copyright owners to sites that have content posted by users, and that content infringes the copyright. This could be a product review on Amazon, an essay posted on Medium or a YouTube video, for example.” The purpose of the DMCA is to protect those platform owners, like YouTube or Twitch, from liability from the copyright holder, in case a user on the platform posts infringing content. “Any legitimate site will take a takedown request seriously and notify the user to take the content down so that the site will not have the risk of being sued by the copyright owner,” Hoppe says.”

Is there Free Music Twitch Streamers Can Use? Yes.

Twitch has rolled out a new feature called Soundtrack by Twitch which lets creators easily find rights-cleared music that integrates with streaming software. The Soundtrack Library makes it so that streamers can play music on top of their videos without worrying about DMCA Takedowns, because all the songs included has already been cleared legally. A version of the Soundtrack tool is already available for OBS.

What Can Content Creators Do If They’re Hit With a DMCA Takedown Request?

Hoppe says that creators, like streamers, can send a counter-notice through the platform and their content will be put back up. “The copyright owner then has a limited time within which to file a lawsuit against the user. So if the creator gets a counter-notice back, they have to decide quickly whether it’s worth escalating to a lawsuit. Otherwise, the content could just stay up indefinitely.” While platform holders will followthrough with DMCA takedown requests, there are steps creators can take if their content is taken down. However, these extra steps could lead to further litigation. “The [content creator] will have to evaluate the legitimacy of the takedown request. If there is a credible claim that the creator’s content infringes on the other party’s copyright? If there is no credible basis, then the creator should file a counter-notice, and the site will be required to put the content back up. If it’s a closer call and there could be infringement, then the creator should consult a copyright lawyer and make the decision whether to file the counter-notice and possibly wind up in court.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

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. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/halo-infinite-9-minutes-of-campaign-gameplay"] 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. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. 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.

Let’s Talk About the Halo Infinite Backlash

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're discussing Halo Infinite and the mixed responses to its gameplay reveal, the Nintendo gigaleaks, Ghost of Tsushima, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher

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. [caption id="attachment_2387307" align="alignnone" width="720"]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)[/caption] 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.'" [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=stars-who-were-almost-superheroes&captions=true"] 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.) [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/14/all-the-x-men-movies-ranked"] 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. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

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. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] 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. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/scientists-revive-100-million-year-old-lifeforms-ign-now"] 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. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Scream 5: Courteney Cox Back for Franchise Return

Courteney Cox is reportedly set to return to the Scream movie universe. Cox will reprise her role as reporter Gale Weathers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was last seen in that role in 2011's Scream 4. This news comes two months after it was announced that David Arquette is set to reprise his role as Sheriff Dewey Riley in the fifth Scream movie. As for what Cox's involvement in the story will be, not much more is known. Considering that her role throughout the series has been to investigate the murders of Ghostface, it's easy to imagine that she'll probably be picking back up on the killer's trail. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-horror-movies&captions=true"] The news of a fifth Scream movie came earlier this year when it was reported that Spyglass Media Group would produce the film. The movie will be directed by Ready or Not's Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. As for what to expect, it's still unclear if this is a soft reboot with a continuation of the previous Scream movies or a hard reboot with no connection to what's come before. Betinelli-Olpin, Gillette, and Chad Villela are collectively known as horror film group, Radio Silence. This trio is responsible for last year's Ready or Not, which saw Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett direct and Villela produce. We gave Ready or Not a 7.6 out of 10 in our review. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/18/ready-or-not-red-band-trailer-1"] Lantern Entertainment acquired the rights to Scream after the company took control of film and TV Scream assets following a Weinstein Co. bankruptcy sale in 2018. Scream 5's production will shoot in Wilmington, North Carolina and casting is currently underway, according to THR. The first Scream — directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson — was released in 1996. It starred Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Cox, and Matthew Lillard, among others. The slasher "GhostFace" wore a mask inspired by Edvard Munch painting, The Scream, while preying on Campbell's character. The film made over $100 million at the domestic box office and spawned a number of sequels as well as an MTV television series. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Football Manager Will Release ‘Later’ Than Planned This Year

This year's Football Manager game will be released "a little later" than originally planned, according to developer Sports Interactive. In a statement put out by studio boss Miles Jacobson, it was explained that new games in the long-running sports series will be released this year, but they won't appear at the time originally planned, and will have slightly different features. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/18/football-manager-2020-announce-trailer"] "What I can confirm today is that, despite all the problems going on in the world, there will be new Football Manager games released later this year," said Jacobson. "They will be delivered a little later than we’d originally planned, but they’ll have exceptionally strong feature sets… albeit different to those we thought we’d settled on back in January when I completed my ‘dream feature set’." The delay is due, as so many have been this year, to the impact of COVID-19 and the enforcement of working from home. While Sports Interactive reports adding more than 20 new members of staff to its team during this unusual period, it has had to reassess development on "an almost weekly basis", which has resulted in changing scope, both up and downwards. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/29/euro-2020-in-football-manager-feat-football-ramble-daily-part-1"] Football Manager games traditionally release in November. With Sports Interactive saying that the new games will release this year, it seems sensible to assume that December could be the new target month. However, with no date given, it's impossible to know when this year's FM will land. For more Football Manager in the meantime, take a look at how we recreated the Euro 2020 tournament in FM 2020. You can also check out our Football Manager 2020 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Anthem Next: BioWare Reveals Changes to Loot and Weapons

BioWare is still working towards a refreshed version of Anthem, dubbed Anthem Next. Today, BioWare Austin director Christian Dailey revealed some updates to loot and gear in his first blog post since announcing his involvement leading Anthem to its next stage. The bulk of Dailey’s new blog post was dedicated to the changes BioWare Austin is trying out in regards to loot and weapons. This includes a more frequent and satisfying loot drop system, as well as a faster power ramp. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-bioware-game-review&captions=true"] Here are some of the changes Dailey outlined in the new Anthem blog post. Respect Your Time
  • Increase the frequency of Loot Drops
  • Loot is viable more often; All items are better and more competitive, but there’s still a chance of getting something exceptional
  • All loot rarities have strategic value throughout progression
Embrace Choice
  • You can pursue specific loot without relying on randomness alone; Quests; Specialized Vendors; Unique Loot Tables
  • Modify your loot, including rerolling inscriptions and leveling up items
Create a Rewarding Loot Experience
  • Loot feels exciting and more noticeable when it drops, and is celebrated when collected
  • Rare enemies (aka “walking treasure chests”) create exciting moments to get a burst of loot all at once
Keep it Accessible and Immediate
  • Reveal and equip loot right away
  • Complete revamp of the equipment sheet – including a detailed stat sheet (not shown)
  • The equipment sheet can be accessed from anywhere, allows you to easily see what you have equipped in each slot
Reliability of Equipment and Rewards
  • Each item has an inscription “budget”, based on its Power and Rarity
  • No more useless items because they were missing must-have inscriptions (see “Increased weapon dmg by +225%”)
  • Exceptional items are about getting the exact types of bonuses you want, instead of maxing values on every bonus
Scale for the Future
  • Your power cap can be easily increased, and the loot system scales accordingly
  • Advanced telemetry data allows us to identify trends and make meaningful balance changes
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=anthem-next-developer-update&captions=true"] The Anthem team in Austin is also exploring ways to make gunplay feel more responsive, and even the efficacy of introducing melee items and builds. New equipments and weapons are also on the way. Dailey stresses that these aren’t easy fixes and that implementing changes will take time. The timeline has also no doubt been affected by the ongoing COVID pandemic. Anthem was released in 2019 and was BioWare’s foray into the live-service space. Unfortunately, critical response to Anthem was mostly negative, which has led to BioWare Austin taking over the project and build an updated version. Other parts of BioWare are currently working on a new Dragon Age title. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
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