The pick rate for Dota 2 hero Dragon Knight has increased since Netflix launched its animated Dota show. While Dota 2 does not have a lead character among its roster of playable heroes, Dragon Knight is the star of Netflix’s Dota: Dragon’s Blood. And as PCGamesN points out, since the show was made available on March 24 the pick rate for Dragon Knight has spiked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/25/dota-dragons-blood-season-1-review"] Take a look at tracking website Dotabuff and you can see Dragon Knight’s pick rate currently sits at 8.7%, and peaked on March 27 at 9.2%. For comparison, the average hero pick rate is 8.33%, and Dragon Knight has typically trended below average by a few decimal points. While Dragon Knight is being played more often by players, the Netflix show does not appear to have encouraged new players to take up Valve’s second-most-popular game. Over the past month, SteamDB - the Steam database tracking site - shows a relatively unchanged set of peaks and troughs for the past few months. For more, check out our review of Dota: Dragon’s Blood, as well as our round-up of the best PC games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Netflix has released a new trailer for Shadow and Bone, its upcoming adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse fantasy novels. The latest trailer for the eight-part series summons fans to enter the Grishaverse as the Shadow and Bone premiere date inches ever closer. The thrilling new footage sheds light on a story that spans several warring countries, including in Ravka, a land that is split in half by a deadly magical anomaly known as the Shadow Fold, which is full of hideous, flesh-eating monsters known as volcra.

The sun has risen on the Grishaverse. She's real. Shadow & Bone premieres April 23, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/DacJu6WMyF

— Shadow And Bone (@shadowandbone_) March 30, 2021

Netflix's Shadow and Bone, premiering globally on the streaming service on April 23, will explore a war-torn world where Alina unleashes an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. However, with the monstrous threat of the Shadow Fold looming, Alina finds herself torn from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. Ultimately, Alina struggles to hone her power, as she discovers that allies and enemies can be one and the same and that nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. There are dangerous forces at play, including a crew of charismatic criminals, and it will take more than magic to survive in this world that has been cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/26/netflixs-shadow-and-bone-sneak-peek-fan-qa-w-cast-ign-fan-fest-2021"] The Netflix series will combine the stories of Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, both of which exist in the same universe, but take place at different points in the timeline, meaning that fans of the two fantasy book series will be able to witness the two stories come together to form a new cohesive narrative, with certain characters from the two timelines meeting each other. Jessie Mei Li stars as Alina Starkov, the central protagonist, alongside Archie Renaux as Malyen Oretsev, Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, Amita Suman as Inej Ghafa, Kit Young as Jesper Fahey, Danielle Galligan as Nina Zenik, Calahan Skogman as Matthias Helvar, and Ben Barnes as General Kirigan, aka The Darkling, the power-hungry leader of the Second Army, a magical military regiment of Grisha soldiers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-shadow-and-bone-official-cast-and-character-photos&captions=true"] Shadow and Bone hits Netflix globally on April 23. If you're looking forward to the upcoming series, make sure to also check out the cast's breakdown of the teaser trailer as well as some of our favorite goofs, bloopers, and outtakes from the Shadow and Bone panel at IGN Fan Fest 2021. For more on Netflix's entertainment offerings as a whole, take a look at everything new coming to the platform in April. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection team was "unable to salvage" code for the original versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, meaning it had to include the newer Sigma versions of those games. That also means that we'll likely never see new versions of Ninja Gaiden Black or Ninja Gaiden 2 outside of their original Xbox home. Speaking to IGN, head of Team Ninja Fumihiko Yasuda explained the choice of the Sigma editions in Master Collection: "The reason we chose these 3 titles for the collection is because they represent the latest installments of the numbered series and they are also the most polished versions featuring many additional modes and costumes. Furthermore, when we worked on Sigma and Sigma 2, we went and collected as much of that data as possible and organized it. And since we could fully utilize this data, Sigma and Sigma 2 became clear choices for this collection. "However, we were unable to salvage the varying assortment of data we had left from Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2. And for that very reason, we currently don't have any plans of remastering Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 on non-Xbox platforms." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ninja-gaiden-master-collection-announcement-trailer"] The Sigma versions of Ninja Gaidens 1 and 2, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge all made changes to the original versions of the games (as well as Ninja Gaiden Black, itself a 'remixed' version of the original Ninja Gaiden). Yasuda made clear that the versions of those games inside the Master Collection would remain identical in terms of gameplay, but would see resolution and frame rate improvements depending on what platform players choose. However, multiplayer modes have been stripped out of Ninja Gaidens 2 and 3, a decision Yasuda said came down to resource constraints: "In order to perfectly replicate the online system used from the past, not only would it require a great deal of time and money, it would also place limitations on the platforms we could release it on. And given that dilemma we decided to increase the number of platforms we would release the collection on in order to reach as many players as possible rather than pursue the multiplayer feature." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/02/ninja-gaiden-black-lets-play-final-episode-will-we-die-at-the-very-end-part-10-ign-plays"] If the past of Ninja Gaiden is now constrained to the Sigma versions, what about the future of the franchise? It's been 9 years since the release of Ninja Gaiden 3, and we asked Yasuda if he'd like to make a new installment after the re-releases. "Well, while it is a remastered version, we were able to announce something new for the series," Yasuda replied, "and it's something I've been waiting a long time to do, so I'm very happy about that. We at Team Ninja are always thinking of ways to bring back the series. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection gathers together Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. It will arrive for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 10. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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 newstips@ign.com.

Wizards of the Coast have suspended a freelance artist after discovering claims that they plagiarised fan art during the creation of artwork for a new Magic: The Gathering card. The art in question can be found on the new reprint of Crux of Fate, available as part of the new Strixhaven set. The card features an image of two dragons - Nicol Bolas and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - engaged in battle. The image of Nicol Bolas is almost identical to a piece of fan art created by Kitt Lapeña, which they uploaded to DeviantArt in 2016. Lapeña, who uses the name Scarypet online, posted a video to Twitter that demonstrates the lengths of the plagiarism. While the pose Nicol Bolas is positioned in on the card is not identical to Lapeña’s fan art, by simply rotating the dragon’s limbs you can see that the silhouette and even many of the fine details of the artwork are identical. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/07/magic-the-gathering-arena-first-gameplay-video"] In response, Wizards issued the following statement: “It has come to our attention that the card Crux of Fate from the Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archive may overtly feature Magic: The Gathering fan art and the contracted artist did not receive permission for this incorporation. These actions do not reflect the values of Wizards, and, as a result, we will be suspending future work with Jason Felix until we have been able to bring this matter to successful conclusion.” If you’re not a Magic: The Gathering player, you can try it out easily via its digital variant, Arena. Available on PC/Mac, it has also just come to iOS and Android. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Vankrupt Games, developer of the popular PC VR multiplayer shooter Pavlov VR, has revealed that the game is coming to Oculus Quest and PSVR 2. That makes it among the first games confirmed for Sony's new VR headset. The news was revealed on Twitter by Vankrupt CEO davevillz. The Quest/PSVR version of Pavlov will be called Pavlov Shack, and will cost $24 on the Oculus store as well as other platforms when it launches. The game will appear on Oculus App Lab first "and continue development as a free game" ahead of a final Oculus Store Launch. Davevillz also said that Vankrupt Games "got accepted as a partner" with PlayStation recently, and in a reply to a fan, clarified that the game will come to PSVR2, as "PSVR1 doesn't have the fidelity for Pavlov." The Pavlov Shack versions of the game will also feature cross-play with one another, but not with the current PC version of the game, which davevillz said "will never be crossplay."

Price has been decided as $24 for Shack in the Oculus Store and everywhere, we decided for price parity to have the less TOS conflicts across Steam, Oculus and Playstation (yes we just got accepted as a partner last week). Shack Beta will be free everywhere too where applicable.

— davevillz (@davevillz) March 29, 2021

The game's App Lab launch was said to be coming "soon" back in February. Davevillz replied "me too" to a fan who said they were waiting on the App Lab release, suggesting it's still on the way. Pavlov VR recently made our list of the 10 coolest Action VR games on Steam. Here is a clip from Pavlov Shack on Quest 2, with some players testing the game mode Trouble In Terrorist Town. Pavlov VR isn't the first game announced for PSVR 2 – the developer of sci-fi exploration game Low-Fi has previously said it will be coming to the platform. PSVR 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) was announced this month, and we've since seen its new haptic-enabled controllers. The headset itslf is still yeat to be shown, and we know it won't be coming this year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/06/igns-10-coolest-action-vr-games-on-steam"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Lawyers representing Sega have accused SteamDB, a database website that tracks games on Steam, of illegally distributing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In a post on Twitter, Pavel Djundik, creator of SteamDB, said: “[Sega’s] lawyers are trying to take down Yakuza: Like a Dragon's SteamDB page claiming that we distribute the game.”

Can anyone help getting in touch with SEGA?

Their lawyers are trying to take down Yakuza: Like a Dragon's SteamDB page claiming that we distribute the game. I took the page down because they did not reply to the first abuse report and sent a new one to our hoster. — Pavel Djundik (@thexpaw) March 29, 2021

The claim is incorrect, as SteamDB simply provides analytical information on the games available on Steam, rather than any actual games. “SteamDB does not support piracy,” said Djundik, in a follow-up Tweet. “It does not provide downloads, it does not sell keys, it does not link to any websites that do any of these activities.” It appears, then, that the situation is an accident/misunderstanding from Sega’s legal team. Djundik notes in his Twitter thread that SteamDB receives at least one DMCA takedown notice per year from companies that mistake the website for an illegal distributor rather than a database. He also notes that he is in touch with a representative of Sega of America to resolve the situation, although establishing contact with the company proved tricky. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/04/yakuza-like-a-dragon-review"] For now, the Yakuza: Like a Dragon page of SteamDB has been removed from the site. Search for the game, and a message is displayed: “This page was taken down because SEGA is claiming we distribute their game here (we don't).” SteamDB is an excellent resource for tracking how well games are doing, such as watching Valheim’s skyrocket success. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

American Gods has been canceled at Starz, just a week after the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's bestselling novel concluded its third season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network announced on Monday that the show would not be renewed for a fourth season, though sources have said that Starz is in talks with producers at Fremantle for "a potential event series or movie that would wrap up the story," which derives from Gaiman's fantasy novel of the same name. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/10/american-gods-season-3-official-trailer-nycc-2020"] "American Gods will not return for a fourth season. Everyone at Starz is grateful to the dedicated cast and crew, and our partners at Fremantle who brought author and executive producer Neil Gaiman's ever-relevant story to life that speaks to the cultural climate of our country," Starz said in a statement to THR on Monday, confirming the show's cancelation. Sources say that the decision to cancel the series was agreed upon amid declining ratings, as viewership across multiple platforms reportedly dropped by 65 percent from American Gods' first season to its third season. The axing of the show comes just over a week after the third season finale, which premiered on Starz on March 21. In our review of the S3 finale, we acknowledged that "over the course of its three seasons thus far, American Gods has had a complicated time, feeling a sort of Frankenstein's monster of a story rather than one focused vision," and unfortunately we felt that the latest season-capper was "no different," with the majority of the hour feeling "a bit too filler-y for such a vital part of American Gods' arc." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=american-gods-season-3-photos&captions=true"] American Gods joins a growing list of TV shows that have been canceled or announced to be ending in 2021, including BBC's Peaky Blinders, which announced in advance of its sixth season that it would be ending, allowing the show to go out on its own terms and hopefully craft a satisfying conclusion, though showrunner Steven Knight has already told Deadline that the series will return "in another form." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, has announced that it's begun testing for its Pikmin AR game in Singapore. The game, which was only teased for the first time last week, will be released this year globally, but Singaporean players will be the first in the world to try it. No matter where you are, you can pre-register to test the game in when it comes to your region.

We're excited to announce that, in partnership with @Nintendo, we've begun testing our Pikmin-based mobile app in Singapore! Register now to participate in this all-new Pikmin walking experience. https://t.co/mdA6zRTAgj

— Niantic, Inc. (@NianticLabs) March 30, 2021

At time of writing, exactly how the game works is still unknown, with Singaporean player Elias Chew explaining on Twitter that the game displays confidentiality notices when played. Chew did explain to another Twitter user that the game uses a Google Fit step count to grow Pikmin as you walk.

Niantic hasn't said when the game will be coming to other countries, although it has previously soft-launched both Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in Australia and New Zealand, so it wouldn't be surprising to see it hit those regions earlier than full release. The Pikmin game is the start of a new partnership between Niantic and Nintendo, who will "jointly develop mobile titles" using Niantic's AR technology and Nintendo's characters. The news comes a day after Niantic CEO John Hanke seemed to tease that the company was creating AR glasses to help aid its games. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/star-wars-director-rian-johnsons-pokemon-trailer-pokemon-go-fest-2020"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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 newstips@ign.com.

As American audiences await the imminent duel of Godzilla vs. Kong, the monster movie's director has begun work on his next project. Adam Wingard is set to helm a feature film adaptation of the animated television series ThunderCats, per Deadline. An early script has been written by David Coggeshall. Wingard and his frequent collaborator Simon Barrett are tackling the project together. Barrett has writing credit on several of Wingard's previous films, including The Guest, You're Next and the 2016 horror sequel Blair Witch. "ThunderCats is a dream project for me," Wingard told Deadline. "Nobody on this planet knows or has thought as much about ThunderCats as I have. They gave me the reins. I saw this as an opportunity to do a new type of fantasy sci-fi spectacle film that people have never seen before." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/24/godzilla-kong-in-5-minutes"] Wingard went on to explain that he doesn't want to tone down the '80s aesthetic of the original property, aiming for a film that "bridges the gap between cartoon and CGI." He then added a caveat that he doesn't plan on making a movie that resembles the 2019 adaptation of Cats. ThunderCats follows a group of cat-like aliens. The original series ran from 1985 to 1989, spawning numerous comic book and video game adaptations of the property. A second rebooted series premiered in 2011. A film adaptation was announced in 2007 with video game art director Jerry O'Flaherty attached to direct before the project fell by the wayside. Wingard is the first director to sign a deal with Warner Bros. since its parent company WarnerMedia announced it would be releasing the studio's entire 2021 theatrical slate on HBO Max simultaneous to its box office debut. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=godzilla-vs-kong-whos-who-the-human-cast-and-characters&captions=true"] Wingard also has a sequel to John Woo's action classic Face/Off in the works. Last month, the director stated that his and Barrett's script for the project was nearing completion. Godzilla vs. Kong will hit theaters in the United States on Wednesday, with a simultaneous debut on WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max. The film has already grossed $123 million overseas, the biggest international debut for a Hollywood film in over a year. In our review of Godzilla vs. Kong, IGN gave the film a 7, calling it "a glorious love letter to these iconic characters’ collective histories." [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)

Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke shared a small teaser of what looks to be a pair of AR or XR glasses from Niantic. The Pokemon Go developer has been looking into AR heavily, and this could be the next step for Niantic games beyond just the smartphone. In a short tweet, Hanke says progress is being made on "new kinds of devices" that leverage Niantic's AR platform. He also shared an image of the stem of what appear to be glasses, with some kind of strap with the Niantic logo. The glasses stem is also thicker and appears to feature some kind of speaker, possibly.

Exciting to see the progress we’re making to enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform... pic.twitter.com/yYglk4q89G

— John Hanke (@johnhanke) March 29, 2021

Niantic's interest in AR glasses technology goes a long way back. In 2019, Niantic announced a collaboration with Qualcomm on an XR platform that combines XR, 5G, and AI along with Niantic's AR platform. This is the same AR platform that Niantic uses for games like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Niantic also demoed a version of Pokemon Go on Microsoft's HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Mesh platform. AR glasses it seems will allow players to see Pokemon out in the world, though at the time Hanke says its HoloLens demo was not intended for consumer use, according to The Verge. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/24/pokemon-go-official-pokemon-go-plus-trailer"] The AR glasses space is heating up recently after years of VR goggles dominating the gaming space. Apple is reportedly working on an expensive, $3,000 VR headset with 8K displays as a trial product before launching a more consumer-friendly AR device. The Niantic-powered AR glasses could help take games like Pokemon Go and maybe the newly announced Pikmin game from Niantic to the next level. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. Photo credit: Niantic