Netflix's upcoming The Witcher prequel series, Blood Origin, has cast Laurence O'Fuarain as Fjall, a warrior that "carries a deep scar within, the death of a loved one who fell in battle trying to save him." The casting news was announced on Twitter alongside a character description: Fjall was "born into a clan of warriors sworn to protect a King" but holds a scar that "won't let him settle, or make peace with himself or the world around him. In his quest for redemption, Fjall will find himself fighting beside the most unlikely of allies as he carves a path of vengeance across a continent in turmoil." [caption id="attachment_2492087" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image credit: Netflix[/caption] O'Fuarain is best known for his roles on Vikings, Game of Thrones, and Rebellion. The Irish actor joins Jodie Turner-Smith who was previously announced in the role of Éile, "an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, [who] has left her clan and position as Queen's guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption." As per the show's logline, Blood Origin is "set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell a story lost to time - the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal “conjunction of the spheres,” when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-witcher-explaining-all-the-characters-and-who-plays-them&captions=true"] Blood Origin is being developed by the original series' showrunner, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, and Declan de Barra, who wrote the season 1 episode 'Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials' while The Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski will serve as creative consultant on the six-part series. No release date for The Witcher Season 2 or The Witcher: Blood Origin has been set as of yet. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Microsoft is reportedly in "exclusive" talks to acquire Discord, and the deal could be completed as soon as next month. A report from The Wall Street Journal citing "people familiar with the matter" has backed up a Bloomberg report from earlier this week, which said that Microsoft was in talks to purchase Discord for $10 billion or more, and that Xbox boss Phil Spencer was part of the discussions. "Microsoft and Discord are in exclusive talks and could complete a deal next month, assuming the negotiations don’t fall apart," the article says. It also points out that the acquisition is apparently tied to Microsoft hoping to reach more consumers across both gaming and social networking. A similar drive saw saw Microsaoft pursue an abandoned acquisition of TikTok last year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/23/microsoft-could-be-eyeing-another-billion-dollar-purchase-ign-daily-fix"] If you're unfamiliar, Discord is a messaging platform used by online communities to congregate, chat and play games together. It has been around since 2015 and has grown its user base considerably in recent years, leading to making $130 million in revenue in 2020, and a $7 billion valuation. The WSJ's report points out that Discord recently hired its first finance chief and has also been considering an Initial Public Offering. Discord previously partnered with Xbox Game Pass to provide members with special perks such as access to Discord Nitro, its premium service. If the deal goes through this would be another high-profile acquisition for Microsoft, who recently picked up ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, pulling development studios such as Arkane, Bethesda and id Software under its wing in the process. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Microsoft is reportedly in "exclusive" talks to acquire Discord, and the deal could be completed as soon as next month. A report from The Wall Street Journal citing "people familiar with the matter" has backed up a Bloomberg report from earlier this week, which said that Microsoft was in talks to purchase Discord for $10 billion or more, and that Xbox boss Phil Spencer was part of the discussions. "Microsoft and Discord are in exclusive talks and could complete a deal next month, assuming the negotiations don’t fall apart," the article says. It also points out that the acquisition is apparently tied to Microsoft hoping to reach more consumers across both gaming and social networking. A similar drive saw saw Microsaoft pursue an abandoned acquisition of TikTok last year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/23/microsoft-could-be-eyeing-another-billion-dollar-purchase-ign-daily-fix"] If you're unfamiliar, Discord is a messaging platform used by online communities to congregate, chat and play games together. It has been around since 2015 and has grown its user base considerably in recent years, leading to making $130 million in revenue in 2020, and a $7 billion valuation. The WSJ's report points out that Discord recently hired its first finance chief and has also been considering an Initial Public Offering. Discord previously partnered with Xbox Game Pass to provide members with special perks such as access to Discord Nitro, its premium service. If the deal goes through this would be another high-profile acquisition for Microsoft, who recently picked up ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, pulling development studios such as Arkane, Bethesda and id Software under its wing in the process. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

People Can Fly has announced that it will brand cheaters in Outriders by adding a permanent watermark to their HUD, among other punishments. In a post on the Outriders Steam blog, the developer outlined its cheating and hacking policy, and the repercussions players will suffer if they engage in foul play. People Can Fly identified around 200 cheaters during the game's demo period, including one who "gave themself 600 Legendary Weapons." Cheaters made up just 0.01% of the player base, and People Can Fly are hoping that the number won't grow in the launch period for the full game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/28/outriders-preview"] To prevent this from happening, People Can Fly has implemented a number of repercussions for cheaters, which will be account-wide.

• You will not be able to matchmake with legit players
• Matchmaking will likely take significantly longer
• You will still be able to play solo
• In future, your HUD will have a discreet but visible watermark placed on it so that gameplay footage created on this account can be readily identified as coming from a flagged account.

All accounts will be checked for historic cheating on April 1st, launch day, and then at "regular intervals" following that date. If you did cheat during the demo but you still want to start the game without the mark of the false shepherd, then you need to "delete all characters and items on your entire account" to start fresh. Naturally, if you cheated in the demo, don't attempt to carry that progress over to the main game, or you will be branded. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/27/outriders-10-tips-tricks"] If you're wondering what People Can Fly considers cheating (at which point, perhaps you've already lost your way) here are a few habits to stay away from:

• Intentionally running the game on PC without Easy Anti Cheat (EAC)
• Modifying game files to enhance a character: levels, skills, inventory, etc.
• Externally modifying game time to reduce time dependent features such as vendors and challenges
• Using a trainer program or similar to gain advantages within the game
• Using gameplay altering programs such as aimbots or wallhacks

Don't worry if you did use the above-board farming routes to pick up extra loot during the demo. People Can Fly has said that "farming is not considered cheating," but did lament the unethical "battering" that the loot-stuffed Captain miniboss suffered during the demo phase. Outriders is launching on April 1 worldwide for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S and Google Stadia. The game will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Day 1. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

People Can Fly has announced that it will brand cheaters in Outriders by adding a permanent watermark to their HUD, among other punishments. In a post on the Outriders Steam blog, the developer outlined its cheating and hacking policy, and the repercussions players will suffer if they engage in foul play. People Can Fly identified around 200 cheaters during the game's demo period, including one who "gave themself 600 Legendary Weapons." Cheaters made up just 0.01% of the player base, and People Can Fly are hoping that the number won't grow in the launch period for the full game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/28/outriders-preview"] To prevent this from happening, People Can Fly has implemented a number of repercussions for cheaters, which will be account-wide.

• You will not be able to matchmake with legit players
• Matchmaking will likely take significantly longer
• You will still be able to play solo
• In future, your HUD will have a discreet but visible watermark placed on it so that gameplay footage created on this account can be readily identified as coming from a flagged account.

All accounts will be checked for historic cheating on April 1st, launch day, and then at "regular intervals" following that date. If you did cheat during the demo but you still want to start the game without the mark of the false shepherd, then you need to "delete all characters and items on your entire account" to start fresh. Naturally, if you cheated in the demo, don't attempt to carry that progress over to the main game, or you will be branded. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/27/outriders-10-tips-tricks"] If you're wondering what People Can Fly considers cheating (at which point, perhaps you've already lost your way) here are a few habits to stay away from:

• Intentionally running the game on PC without Easy Anti Cheat (EAC)
• Modifying game files to enhance a character: levels, skills, inventory, etc.
• Externally modifying game time to reduce time dependent features such as vendors and challenges
• Using a trainer program or similar to gain advantages within the game
• Using gameplay altering programs such as aimbots or wallhacks

Don't worry if you did use the above-board farming routes to pick up extra loot during the demo. People Can Fly has said that "farming is not considered cheating," but did lament the unethical "battering" that the loot-stuffed Captain miniboss suffered during the demo phase. Outriders is launching on April 1 worldwide for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S and Google Stadia. The game will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Day 1. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Razer has revealed that it will turn its reusable, and wild-looking, RGB face mask concept into a real product. Project Hazel was revealed by Razer during CES 2021 this year. It's a "smart" face mask with a see-through panel and a built-in voice amplifier. It's N95 grade, so it will filter 95% of airborne particles and it also features a rechargeable ventilation system. A ring around the microphone features Razor's CHROMA RGB lighting tech, so you can look like a cyberpunk while staying safe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=razer-ces-2021-project-hazel&captions=true"] Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan told Yahoo Finance that "Project Hazel is going to be a reality." "We were thinking, this is a concept project and is this going to be relevant when vaccinations and everything has been rolled out," Tan said. "I think moving forward we decided — and I can tell you now — we are going to proceed in making it a reality and ship the smart mask." Tan explains that the reasoning for pushing ahead with the project comes down to the fact that mask wearing will likely continue, despite global vaccination projects. "We've realised that even with vaccinations we are hearing you still have to be masked up because there is still the risk factor that even if you're vaccinated you still need to be incredibly careful. Secondly, there are also many countries that are unlikely that are going to get the whole [scale] of vaccinations in the next year or even two so travelling everyone should be very careful. "So with that in mind, we are going to go ahead and solve the sustainable aspect of the mask which is one of the big things for us. Project Hazel is going to be a reality. We are going to make it happen and I think we will all will be, unfortunately, wearing masks for a long time to come." In other Razer news, we recently reviewed the Razer Nga X MMO mouse, scoring it an 8 and calling it "a solid buy." Here's an article covering our favourite reusable and washable gaming-themed face coverings if you can't wait for Project Hazel. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Razer has revealed that it will turn its reusable, and wild-looking, RGB face mask concept into a real product. Project Hazel was revealed by Razer during CES 2021 this year. It's a "smart" face mask with a see-through panel and a built-in voice amplifier. It's N95 grade, so it will filter 95% of airborne particles and it also features a rechargeable ventilation system. A ring around the microphone features Razor's CHROMA RGB lighting tech, so you can look like a cyberpunk while staying safe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=razer-ces-2021-project-hazel&captions=true"] Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan told Yahoo Finance that "Project Hazel is going to be a reality." "We were thinking, this is a concept project and is this going to be relevant when vaccinations and everything has been rolled out," Tan said. "I think moving forward we decided — and I can tell you now — we are going to proceed in making it a reality and ship the smart mask." Tan explains that the reasoning for pushing ahead with the project comes down to the fact that mask wearing will likely continue, despite global vaccination projects. "We've realised that even with vaccinations we are hearing you still have to be masked up because there is still the risk factor that even if you're vaccinated you still need to be incredibly careful. Secondly, there are also many countries that are unlikely that are going to get the whole [scale] of vaccinations in the next year or even two so travelling everyone should be very careful. "So with that in mind, we are going to go ahead and solve the sustainable aspect of the mask which is one of the big things for us. Project Hazel is going to be a reality. We are going to make it happen and I think we will all will be, unfortunately, wearing masks for a long time to come." In other Razer news, we recently reviewed the Razer Nga X MMO mouse, scoring it an 8 and calling it "a solid buy." Here's an article covering our favourite reusable and washable gaming-themed face coverings if you can't wait for Project Hazel. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The unpatched version of Balan Wonderworld's includes a visual bug that could potentially trigger seizures in those with photo-sensitive epilepsy – Square Enix has now made clear that the game's Day 1 patch removes the effect. Players with early access to the game reported seeing the effect during the game's final boss fight, and posted videos of the bug in action (which we won't be linking to for safety reasons). I've watched the videos, in which the bug causes the screen to intermittently flash white during a specific attack. Many immediately pointed out that the effect could cause seizures in those with photo-sensitive forms of epilepsy, including journalist Liana Ruppert, who broke down the potential triggers in an article for GameInformer (and has previously provided guides for safely gaming with epilepsy). Others without the condition reported negative effects regardless. As someone without a visually-sensitive condition, I can say that it's absolutely an uncomfortable effect to see in any context. In a statement to IGN, Square Enix has confirmed that the effect was unintentional, and is removed by a Day 1 patch to the game: “Please ensure that you install the Day1 Patch before playing Balan Wonderworld. We have received reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk from a potential flashing bug if playing the game un-patched. The Day 1 Patch prevents this issue as well as enhances the overall play experience.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/29/first-11-minutes-of-balan-wonderworld-demo-gameplay"] Balan Wonderworld is released today, and anyone downloading a digital version should have the Day 1 patch installed automatically, meaning there should be no risk of seeing the effect. However, those buying a physical version should make sure the game downloads the patch before playing. It's unclear how the effect made it into the finished version of the game. Upon its release, Cyberpunk 2077 was also cited as including effects that caused seizures in those with photo-sensitive epilepsy. Those effects were subsequently removed in an update, with a warning added to the game. [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.

The unpatched version of Balan Wonderworld's includes a visual bug that could potentially trigger seizures in those with photo-sensitive epilepsy – Square Enix has now made clear that the game's Day 1 patch removes the effect. Players with early access to the game reported seeing the effect during the game's final boss fight, and posted videos of the bug in action (which we won't be linking to for safety reasons). I've watched the videos, in which the bug causes the screen to intermittently flash white during a specific attack. Many immediately pointed out that the effect could cause seizures in those with photo-sensitive forms of epilepsy, including journalist Liana Ruppert, who broke down the potential triggers in an article for GameInformer (and has previously provided guides for safely gaming with epilepsy). Others without the condition reported negative effects regardless. As someone without a visually-sensitive condition, I can say that it's absolutely an uncomfortable effect to see in any context. In a statement to IGN, Square Enix has confirmed that the effect was unintentional, and is removed by a Day 1 patch to the game: “Please ensure that you install the Day1 Patch before playing Balan Wonderworld. We have received reports of a photo-sensitive epilepsy risk from a potential flashing bug if playing the game un-patched. The Day 1 Patch prevents this issue as well as enhances the overall play experience.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/29/first-11-minutes-of-balan-wonderworld-demo-gameplay"] Balan Wonderworld is released today, and anyone downloading a digital version should have the Day 1 patch installed automatically, meaning there should be no risk of seeing the effect. However, those buying a physical version should make sure the game downloads the patch before playing. It's unclear how the effect made it into the finished version of the game. Upon its release, Cyberpunk 2077 was also cited as including effects that caused seizures in those with photo-sensitive epilepsy. Those effects were subsequently removed in an update, with a warning added to the game. [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.

DC diehards will be treated to the first red band trailer for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad tomorrow, the director has revealed on Twitter. Gunn announced the arrival date of the trailer alongside a fresh poster for his upcoming standalone sequel.

I'll just drop this here. Did I mention that a trailer is coming tomorrow? #TheSuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/VmB9n0rFSZ

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 25, 2021

Gunn recently confirmed that the film was "fully finished" and praised Warner Bros. for the total creative freedom he enjoyed during making it. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-suicide-squad-whos-who-full-cast-and-character-reveals&captions=true"] The Suicide Squad will hit cinemas and HBO Max simultaneously on August 6, 2021. While tomorrow’s trailer will be the first for the film, a glimpse at a few brief snippets of The Suicide Squad in action were recently spotted in a Warner Bros. sizzle reel of upcoming releases. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/the-suicide-squad-official-cast-reveal"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.