Sega and Amplitude has announced that Humankind, the historical 4X strategy game, has been delayed by a few months to next August. Originally set to release on PC on April 22, Humankind will now release on August 17. The delay will allow the development team at Amplitude to work on perfecting the pace, balancing, diplomacy, AI, and accessibility elements of the game, as well as other aspects. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/04/humankind-11-minute-gameplay-walkthrough"] As a 'thank you' to waiting players, pre-orders of Humankind will also now offer two extra avatar sets for Lucy and Edgar Allan Poe. "Players have always been at the heart of Amplitude's philosophy and releasing Humankind in August will allow us the extra time to keep working with the community and polishing the game for an amazing day one experience,” said Romain de Waubert de Genlis, chief creative office and studio head at Amplitude. When it does release in August, Humankind will be available from both Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as a Google Stadia release. For a closer look at the game's details, take a look at how Humankind's religion system will work. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Microsoft has revealed two new official Xbox Series X/S controllers in striking colours. The peripherals were detailed in a post on the Xbox blog, which explains the designs behind the new Electric Volt and Daystrike Camo Xbox Wireless Controllers.

We’re excited to introduce not one, but two new Xbox Wireless Controllers: Electric Volt and Daystrike Camo Special Edition. Learn more: https://t.co/rUvbW2LkOb

— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) March 25, 2021

Inspired by "the energy and vibrance often found in athletic apparel and sneaker design," the Electric Volt controller pairs a neon yellow front plate with a white back and black D-Pad detailing. The DayStrike Camo Special Edition controller pairs red with grey and black and features a special textured grip on its bumpers. The Electric Camo controller will launch on April 27 and retail at $64.99 and the Daystrike Camo controller will launch on May 4 and retail at $69.99. In some markets, they will also arrive alongside a 14-day trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Microsoft is also launching a merch range inspired by these two controllers and will be using "post-consumer recycled resins" in an effort to make production more sustainable. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/xbox-series-x-controller-review"] In other Xbox news, Microsoft Is cutting the Xbox Live Gold requirement for party chat and free-to-play multiplayer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Microsoft has revealed two new official Xbox Series X/S controllers in striking colours. The peripherals were detailed in a post on the Xbox blog, which explains the designs behind the new Electric Volt and Daystrike Camo Xbox Wireless Controllers.

We’re excited to introduce not one, but two new Xbox Wireless Controllers: Electric Volt and Daystrike Camo Special Edition. Learn more: https://t.co/rUvbW2LkOb

— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) March 25, 2021

Inspired by "the energy and vibrance often found in athletic apparel and sneaker design," the Electric Volt controller pairs a neon yellow front plate with a white back and black D-Pad detailing. The DayStrike Camo Special Edition controller pairs red with grey and black and features a special textured grip on its bumpers. The Electric Camo controller will launch on April 27 and retail at $64.99 and the Daystrike Camo controller will launch on May 4 and retail at $69.99. In some markets, they will also arrive alongside a 14-day trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Microsoft is also launching a merch range inspired by these two controllers and will be using "post-consumer recycled resins" in an effort to make production more sustainable. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/xbox-series-x-controller-review"] In other Xbox news, Microsoft Is cutting the Xbox Live Gold requirement for party chat and free-to-play multiplayer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman has discussed how Sharon Carter has evolved as a character since Captain America: Civil War. Speaking as a guest on The A.V. Club's Push The Envelope podcast, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's creator, showrunner, and head writer Spellman revealed that Emily VanCamp's character will have completely transformed by the time that we meet her in the MCU's latest series because she has significantly grown up in the period between Civil War and Falcon and Winter Soldier. "Emily [VanCamp] has such a baby face," Spellman explained. "She looks very sweet and innocent, but Sharon Carter is going to emerge as a badass. I'd have to use far more inappropriate language to describe how awesome she is. Let's just say this: Sharon Carter is all grown up now. I guess what made it so fun was we started getting to know Sharon in Captain America: Civil War, and you just factor in what would have naturally happened between Civil War and now and you get a whole different Sharon Carter showing up." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/14/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-timeline-so-far"] As the niece of SHIELD founder Peggy Carter, Sharon previously helped Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes when Bucky was framed for a terrorist bombing by Helmut Zemo — a character who will return to stir up some more drama in Falcon and Winter Soldier. Spellman says that past events will continue to be a driving force behind Zemo's motives in the MCU miniseries. "Zemo thinks that people who are endowed with abilities that are extraordinary—like law enforcement or in this case, heroes—are inherently going to abuse their power, and he has a damn good reason to think that," Spellman said. "They destroyed his country by using his city as a bomb and killed his entire family along with everyone he knew." Neither of these characters made an appearance in the first episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier but when they do eventually turn up we know that Sharon will be donning her Agent 13 uniform while Zemo will be wearing his comics-accurate purple mask after leaving his trademark comics costume hanging up in the wardrobe for Civil War. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-cast-and-characters&captions=true"] There may be practical reasons for Zemo donning a costume this time. For example, in the comics, the mask is shown to give him resistance to psychic attacks, similar to how Magneto's helmet safeguards against Professor X's powers. However, the real significance of the purple mask lies in its family history, with Helmut being the second character to use the Baron Zemo title, after his father Heinrich Zemo. We hope to find out more about the Marvel mythology as the show continues, with Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier available to stream from Friday, March 26 on Disney Plus. IGN awarded the first episode of the series an 8, saying it was "packed with thoughtful character observations and themes that run deeper than many Marvel movies and shows." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman has discussed how Sharon Carter has evolved as a character since Captain America: Civil War. Speaking as a guest on The A.V. Club's Push The Envelope podcast, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's creator, showrunner, and head writer Spellman revealed that Emily VanCamp's character will have completely transformed by the time that we meet her in the MCU's latest series because she has significantly grown up in the period between Civil War and Falcon and Winter Soldier. "Emily [VanCamp] has such a baby face," Spellman explained. "She looks very sweet and innocent, but Sharon Carter is going to emerge as a badass. I'd have to use far more inappropriate language to describe how awesome she is. Let's just say this: Sharon Carter is all grown up now. I guess what made it so fun was we started getting to know Sharon in Captain America: Civil War, and you just factor in what would have naturally happened between Civil War and now and you get a whole different Sharon Carter showing up." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/14/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-timeline-so-far"] As the niece of SHIELD founder Peggy Carter, Sharon previously helped Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes when Bucky was framed for a terrorist bombing by Helmut Zemo — a character who will return to stir up some more drama in Falcon and Winter Soldier. Spellman says that past events will continue to be a driving force behind Zemo's motives in the MCU miniseries. "Zemo thinks that people who are endowed with abilities that are extraordinary—like law enforcement or in this case, heroes—are inherently going to abuse their power, and he has a damn good reason to think that," Spellman said. "They destroyed his country by using his city as a bomb and killed his entire family along with everyone he knew." Neither of these characters made an appearance in the first episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier but when they do eventually turn up we know that Sharon will be donning her Agent 13 uniform while Zemo will be wearing his comics-accurate purple mask after leaving his trademark comics costume hanging up in the wardrobe for Civil War. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-cast-and-characters&captions=true"] There may be practical reasons for Zemo donning a costume this time. For example, in the comics, the mask is shown to give him resistance to psychic attacks, similar to how Magneto's helmet safeguards against Professor X's powers. However, the real significance of the purple mask lies in its family history, with Helmut being the second character to use the Baron Zemo title, after his father Heinrich Zemo. We hope to find out more about the Marvel mythology as the show continues, with Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier available to stream from Friday, March 26 on Disney Plus. IGN awarded the first episode of the series an 8, saying it was "packed with thoughtful character observations and themes that run deeper than many Marvel movies and shows." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

You will no longer need Xbox Live Gold to access Party Chat, Looking 4 Groups and Free-To-Play Multiplayer features on Xbox. The news was revealed by Xbox Preview Program developer Brad Rossetti on Twitter. "Multiplayer in Free-to-play games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold membership," Rossetti said. The changes are being debuted to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha programs at the moment "ahead of general availability."

Xbox Insiders in Alpha Skip Ahead & Alpha today we are flighting some new features. Multiplayer in Free-to-play games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold membership as we flight and test these service changes ahead of general availability

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) March 24, 2021

This means that when the update comes to all Xbox users, players will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to create a party chat with their friends, look for a multiplayer group or play free-to-play multiplayer games on Xbox. It's not clear exactly how many games will be compatible with this change, but there are plenty of high-profile free-to-play titles on Xbox like Apex Legends and Destiny 2 that will benefit from this. The news arrives as Xbox has renamed Xbox Live to Xbox Network to "distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.” In other Microsoft news, the company is reportedly in talks to purchase Discord for over $10 Billion. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

You will no longer need Xbox Live Gold to access Party Chat, Looking 4 Groups and Free-To-Play Multiplayer features on Xbox. The news was revealed by Xbox Preview Program developer Brad Rossetti on Twitter. "Multiplayer in Free-to-play games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold membership," Rossetti said. The changes are being debuted to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha programs at the moment "ahead of general availability."

Xbox Insiders in Alpha Skip Ahead & Alpha today we are flighting some new features. Multiplayer in Free-to-play games, Looking 4 Groups and Party Chat on Xbox no longer requires an Xbox Live Gold membership as we flight and test these service changes ahead of general availability

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) March 24, 2021

This means that when the update comes to all Xbox users, players will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to create a party chat with their friends, look for a multiplayer group or play free-to-play multiplayer games on Xbox. It's not clear exactly how many games will be compatible with this change, but there are plenty of high-profile free-to-play titles on Xbox like Apex Legends and Destiny 2 that will benefit from this. The news arrives as Xbox has renamed Xbox Live to Xbox Network to "distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live Gold memberships.” In other Microsoft news, the company is reportedly in talks to purchase Discord for over $10 Billion. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Halo Infinite could feature Spartans from the Halo Extended Universe. Earlier this week user Atill555 on the Halo subreddit clipped a podcast featuring actor Verlon Roberts, who was talking about his experiences working on Halo Infinite. Roberts revealed that his character is called Spartan Griffin and that he was acting opposite Master Chief during motion capture sessions. Roberts pointed out that Chief is much taller than Griffin in the game, and that Roberts had to talk to a baseball cap with a tennis ball on the end of it to make up the difference. Roberts posted a picture of himself in mocap gear to Instagram in 2020, which may be from when he was working on Infinite. Mega Construx leaks previously revealed the existence of a Spartan Griffin toy, who sports purple Mark VII armour.

Mega Construx Halo Heroes Series 14 is slowly leaking! So far we only got two figures so far, which is Spartan Trailblazer (Spartan Stone?) and Spartan Mark VII (Spartan Griffin?) Ctedit: Target and thanks to travisz7963 for the information. pic.twitter.com/pL5FbcDDKq

— Mega Construx News (@megabloksnews) February 4, 2021

While this is already providing more details about the game's story and characters, Halo novel fans have pointed out that a character called Spartan Griffin already exists in the Halo Extended Universe. In the book Halo: Shadows of Reach: A Master Chief Story, Master Chief meets Commander Palmer (a character that voice actor Jennifer Hale has confirmed to be in Halo Infinite) who is in charge a Spartan-IV crew from the UNSC Infinity called Fireteam Taurus, who have been sent by Captain Lasky to fight the Banished (the antagonists of Halo Infinite) on the planet Reach. One of the Spartans in the crew happens to be called GRIFFIN. In the past, 343 Industries has said that Shadows of Reach isn't "required reading" to enjoy Halo Infinite, but its author, Troy Denning also said the following: "343 wanted Shadows to give a glimpse into certain plot points that also come to fuller fruition within Halo Infinite, and often times this can mean that certain elements I’m writing in my manuscript are brought to life in parallel with ones being developed for Halo Infinite’s story and gameplay." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/you-can-knock-enemies-off-the-halo-ring-in-halo-infinite"]   Halo Infinite takes place on Installation 07 or Zeta Halo, in the wake of a battle between the UNSC and the Banished, led by War Chief Escharum, who we saw in the Halo Infinite gameplay reveal. From the gameplay trailer we also know that the crew of the UNSC Infinity suffered heavy casualties in the battle that frames the game's story. It's not unreasonable to suggest that some may have survived, including Commander Palmer and Spartan Griffin, played by Verlon Roberts, who appears to have acted opposite Master Chief for Halo Infinite. We don't have a confirmed release date for Halo Infinite after it was delayed into Fall 2021, but another interesting tidbit from the interview is that Roberts said that the game was "pushed to later November this year." We can't yet confirm that date, but it's perhaps a useful pointer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Halo Infinite could feature Spartans from the Halo Extended Universe. Earlier this week user Atill555 on the Halo subreddit clipped a podcast featuring actor Verlon Roberts, who was talking about his experiences working on Halo Infinite. Roberts revealed that his character is called Spartan Griffin and that he was acting opposite Master Chief during motion capture sessions. Roberts pointed out that Chief is much taller than Griffin in the game, and that Roberts had to talk to a baseball cap with a tennis ball on the end of it to make up the difference. Roberts posted a picture of himself in mocap gear to Instagram in 2020, which may be from when he was working on Infinite. Mega Construx leaks previously revealed the existence of a Spartan Griffin toy, who sports purple Mark VII armour.

Mega Construx Halo Heroes Series 14 is slowly leaking! So far we only got two figures so far, which is Spartan Trailblazer (Spartan Stone?) and Spartan Mark VII (Spartan Griffin?) Ctedit: Target and thanks to travisz7963 for the information. pic.twitter.com/pL5FbcDDKq

— Mega Construx News (@megabloksnews) February 4, 2021

While this is already providing more details about the game's story and characters, Halo novel fans have pointed out that a character called Spartan Griffin already exists in the Halo Extended Universe. In the book Halo: Shadows of Reach: A Master Chief Story, Master Chief meets Commander Palmer (a character that voice actor Jennifer Hale has confirmed to be in Halo Infinite) who is in charge a Spartan-IV crew from the UNSC Infinity called Fireteam Taurus, who have been sent by Captain Lasky to fight the Banished (the antagonists of Halo Infinite) on the planet Reach. One of the Spartans in the crew happens to be called GRIFFIN. In the past, 343 Industries has said that Shadows of Reach isn't "required reading" to enjoy Halo Infinite, but its author, Troy Denning also said the following: "343 wanted Shadows to give a glimpse into certain plot points that also come to fuller fruition within Halo Infinite, and often times this can mean that certain elements I’m writing in my manuscript are brought to life in parallel with ones being developed for Halo Infinite’s story and gameplay." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/you-can-knock-enemies-off-the-halo-ring-in-halo-infinite"]   Halo Infinite takes place on Installation 07 or Zeta Halo, in the wake of a battle between the UNSC and the Banished, led by War Chief Escharum, who we saw in the Halo Infinite gameplay reveal. From the gameplay trailer we also know that the crew of the UNSC Infinity suffered heavy casualties in the battle that frames the game's story. It's not unreasonable to suggest that some may have survived, including Commander Palmer and Spartan Griffin, played by Verlon Roberts, who appears to have acted opposite Master Chief for Halo Infinite. We don't have a confirmed release date for Halo Infinite after it was delayed into Fall 2021, but another interesting tidbit from the interview is that Roberts said that the game was "pushed to later November this year." We can't yet confirm that date, but it's perhaps a useful pointer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Reggie Fils-Aimé has retired from GameStop's board of directors, just one year after he joined the company. Fils-Aimé is one of eight directors who are set to retire from the board at GameStop's 2021 Annual Meeting. The remaining board members will largely be made up of directors relatively new to the board, with many of the company's more established directors leaving along with Fils-Aimé. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/28/what-is-going-on-with-gamestop-stock-ign-now"] Best known as the former Nintendo of America president, Fils-Aimé joined the GameStop board of directors in March 2020. He joined the board at the same time both as veteran retail business executive Bill Simon and PetSmart CEO J.K. Symancyk as part of a company reshuffle. All three of them will formally quit the company at the GameStop 2021 Annual Meeting. This won't be the first big shake-up for GameStop this year; a year-long management tussle at the retailer put a new group of investors in charge with big plans for change, and the latest earnings call suggested change is brewing, if slowly. And, of course, there was also the Reddit-fuelled stock surge earlier this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.