One week ago, a surprising little endless RPG about the end of the world launched on Steam, published by Devolver. Now, only seven days later, Loop Hero has sold half a million copies. Loop Hero puts you in the shoes of a hero awakening in a world entirely destroyed but for an empty, circular path infested with slime enemies. As they set out around the loop, they fight enemies and gain memories of a world back in the form of cards -- both equipment and terrain. Placing them brings back remembered elements of the empty world, creating new powers for the hero but also new monsters to fight. Loop Hero ends up being a combination of a rogue-like, a deck-builder, a strategy game, and an RPG as you place cards, change your equipment builds, fight, retreat or die, and return to camp to slowly build up your powers for your next run. With half a million players now and an average playtime of 12 hours, that makes an estimated 3 trillion hours played and 18 billion loops, at least (according to Devolver). Its soundtrack is also the fastest-selling in Devolver history. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/03/loop-hero-launch-trailer"] Developer Four Quarters has released a new set of Steam trading cards to celebrate the milestone, and is currently working on further quality-of-life updates to Loop Hero such as an improved save system, new speed settings, and new rewards from bosses -- as well as more content to come down the line including new cards, classes, and transformations. "When we first encountered Loop Hero it led to a 98% drop in productivity at Devolver," the publisher said in a statement. "We can't thank Four Quarters enough for giving us the opportunity to share their incredible game with the rest of the world. They fully deserve all of the praise they've received so far, but seriously, we can't get any work done and may never recover from this." Loop Hero is out now on Steam, and we have a walkthrough to help you survive your loops. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Silver Rain Games, an interactive entertainment development studio founded by Assassin's Creed Origins' Bayek of Siwa actor Abubakar Salim, has partnered with Electronic Arts' EA Originals Label. EA Originals will provide funding for Silver Rain Games' unannounced IP and will give "guidance and support in the team’s journey to bring a fresh perspective to games and to the industry." [caption id="attachment_2485178" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Abubakar Salim and Melissa Phillips[/caption] Silver Rain was founded in December 2019 in the U.K. and it launched with the intent to "generate thought-provoking and innovative games and content across different mediums of entertainment." Salim, who also starred in HBO's Raised by Wolves, co-founded the company with Melissa Phillips. Phillips will lead as Head of Studio and has previously worked as the BAFTA Games Programme manager on BAFTA Games programs and events. Since its inception, the company has grown to approximately 20 staff members, who are all currently working remote. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/09/new-ea-originals-games-from-a-way-out-fe-devs-announced"] “In what has been a challenging year, we have assembled an extraordinarily creative and worldly team who are eager to work on projects that bring their global perspectives to life. Together we will construct an exciting universe that unlocks the power of storytelling and the brilliance that brings,” said Salim. "We couldn’t be happier to work with the EA Originals team, who are phenomenal partners for us as we begin this journey. Not only does each of them understand our vision to inspire and entertain, but they also welcome this exciting new age of game development.” EA Originals is EA's way of working with the "best and boldest independent studios across the world to make sure these games get the scale of audience they deserve, with zero compromise on artistic vision." The label has already released such games as Unravel, Sea of Solitude, Rocket Arena, and Josef Fares' A Way Out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/02/it-takes-two-the-final-preview"] Fares' It Takes Two, the multiplayer dodgeball game Knockout City, and the Tim Burton-esque Lost in Random are all in development and are set to release in the future by other developers under EA Originals. [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

An Xbox broadcast to celebrate Bethesda joining the company will be aired today, but it won't focus on providing news or revealing projects. It will likely feature announcements of new Bethesda games joining Xbox Game Pass. The broadcast is titled 'Bethesda Joins Xbox - Roundtable', and is scheduled for 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK on YouTube today. The video description reads: "A conversation with key leaders celebrating Bethesda joining Team Xbox." Xbox head of marketing, Aaron Greenberg has made clear that "this is NOT FOCUSED ON NEWS/REVEALS, but a great chance to learn more about the teams & people at Bethesda." [Greenberg's Emphasis] [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/09/microsoft-bethesda-heres-to-the-journey-official-announcement-trailer"] The broadcast follows Microsoft's official acquisition of ZeniMax, which turned eight Bethesda developers into first-party Microsoft studios. In that initial announcement, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer promised further Bethesda games would be added to Xbox Game Pass later this week to celebrate – it's likely those will be announced during the broadcast. We may not learn quite as much about Microsoft's plans for Bethesda studios, however. Spencer previously explained that more news about how Xbox's new teams will work is coming "later this year". Spencer has previously explained that Microsoft legally could not address plans with Bethesda until the acquisition was complete, so discussions may still be in the early stages. One thing we do know is that "some" future Bethesda games will be Xbox & PC exclusive after the acquisition. "With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams," Spencer wrote earlier this week, "gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players." [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.

While EA revealed the exciting news that EA Sports College Football would be returning for the first time since 2013, newly discovered documents reveal the first game in the revived franchise may not arrive until July 2023. As reported by GameSpot, Extra Points' Matt Brown obtained records from the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the company EA has partnered with on this College Football game relaunch, that state the game won't be out for a while. "According to internal documentation from CLC that I obtained via Open Records request, the CLC told FBS institutions that EA Sports intends to release the new video game in 'July of 2023.'" Brown wrote on Twitter. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/13/ea-sports-boss-ncaa-lawsuit-ripped-heart-and-soul-out-of-studio-but-had-silver-lining-ign-unfiltered"] The documentation obtained by Brown also includes numerous other details about the proposal to make new college football games, and you can subscribe to read them all. Some of these details include EA visiting schools to gather reference for items that cannot be sent (like stadiums), access to logos, uniforms, costumed mascots, "non-costumed mascots/traditions," school-owned band recordings, trophies, and more. EA Sports College Football, when it does return, will include more than 100 institutions in the upcoming game, including their logos, stadiums, uniforms, gameday traditions, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/05/ncaa-football-14-one-hour-of-gameplay"] While the game will not include student-athlete names, images, and likenesses, "EA Sports is continuing to watch those developments closely." For more on the EA Sports College Football saga, check out our IGN Unfiltered episode with EA Sports EVP and GM Cam Weber on how the NCAA lawsuit ripped the "heart and soul" out of the studio, but how it also had a silver lining. [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Gordon Hall, who founded the studio that would become Rockstar Leeds – and worked on the likes of Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and L.A. Noire – has died at the age of 51. As reported by GamesIndustry, members of the Yorkshire development scene began discussing the news today. No cause of death has been released at time of writing. Hall founded Möbius Entertainment in Leeds, England in 1997, which worked primarily on handheld games, including a Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne. Take-Two Interactive acquired the company in 2004, rebranding it as Rockstar Leeds in the process, with Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser saying the company's work on the Max Payne game had been impressive enough to want to bring them aboard. Rockstar Leeds, with Hall as studio president, became Rockstar's handheld specialists, co-developing GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Vice City Stories with Rockstar North. It also helped port a number of other Rockstar games over the years. Later, the studio led development on GTA: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS - a game we awarded a 9.5/10 review and go on to call one of the best ever games on the handheld. We spoke to Hall in 2009 about the game's development, and how Rockstar Leeds managed to fit a GTA city into the DS' hardware. Over the years, Hall also supported development on L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, and more. In 2011, Hall resigned from Rockstar Leeds, later joining Activision Blizzard Mobile as chief creative officer. All of us at IGN offer our condolences to Hall's family and friends. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News.

European police have arrested almost 80 people as part of a vast operation that resulted in the shutdown of an encrypted phone network used "almost exclusively" by organized crime groups. The Guardian reports that Belgian, Dutch, and French police made significant progress in their tactical plans to crackdown on organized crime on Tuesday, as law enforcement officers "carried out hundreds of raids" after successfully hacking into the Sky ECC network, an encrypted messaging service said to be used by some criminals to plot drug deals and murders. Investigators were able to look "over the shoulders" of suspects after breaking through the encryption and intercepting messages on the network, which, according to the Paris prosecutor, appeared to be "almost exclusively used by large-scale criminals" for a subscription price of "up to €2,000 per line and for six months." The information acquired from the investigation allowed for "procedures to be opened relating to large-scale drug operations and attacks on people." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/29/5-ways-pop-culture-science-fiction-has-influenced-real-technology"] In a major victory against organized crime, law officials in France were reportedly able to identify around 2,000 users of Sky ECC after hacking into the communications network. In the Netherlands, police were deployed to search 75 homes and ended up arresting 30 people and recovering 28 guns in Rotterdam. While police in Belgium raided about 200 homes, resulting in the arrest of at least 48 people and the confiscation of around 185 devices with Sky ECC encryption. According to the report, Sky ECC released a statement denying that its network had been hacked, though the company claimed "phoney devices" on the cellular network that were purchased through "unauthorized channels" may have had data compromised by a phishing application. The company further claimed that it had "not been contacted by any investigative authority" and that it has "a strict zero-tolerance policy that prohibits any criminal activity on its platforms." Euronews revealed that authorities had managed to intercept "hundreds of millions of messages" on the encrypted messaging platform during its two-year investigation, with Belgium authorities describing the recent operation as "one of the biggest" ever organized on their soil. The Sky ECC end-to-end encrypted service is reportedly installed on 171,000 phones worldwide, mainly in Europe, North America, some Central and Latin American countries (mainly Colombia), and the Middle East. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/checking-who-uses-an-iphone-in-movies-could-be-a-spoiler-now"] In other tech-related news, a group of researchers discovered that voice assistant programs like Siri can be hacked with ultrasonic sound waves that go undetected by human ears — but you probably won't have to worry about it too much because the environment required to make this possible is said to be very specific and not likely to be found in everyday life. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

We recently reported on fan discoveries about Everywhere, the upcoming game from ex-Rockstar president Leslie Benzies and his new studio Build a Rocket Boy. The studio has now told IGN that some of the theories fans have been putting together are "not far off" what Build a Rocket Boy is envisioning for the final project – but may not represent the scale of the game it's aiming for. In a statement to IGN, a Build a Rocket Boy spokesperson said that the company keeps a close eye on its communities, and has been impressed by what fans have pieced together using the slim number of clues available: "We love how the community is piecing together all the information they can find to build an idea of what Everywhere might be about. Believe me when I say, we’re a regular reader of the Subreddits! Some of the things they found out, and you touched on in your article, are actually not far off from what we envision, but there’s a lot of context and scale missing that will be really exciting for players to dive into and experience once we release. "We don’t like thinking in terms of open-world, or closed-world, but rather how we can build new worlds, and exciting, new ways of playing games." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everywhere-4-art-images&captions=true"] The spokesperson didn't go into more detail about which elements were close, but our report included a number of details drawn from patents and hidden areas of the Everywhere website. The Everywhere fan community has been drawing lines between those ideas, putting together an image of a somewhat realistic online world, within which a second virtual world exists, where players can potentially create their own minigames. “I think the first world will be something similar to GTA Online and the second world will [look] like Ready Player One," said Everywhere Discord admin Nestor, "where you can create worlds and games for the enjoyment of other players, and access them through doors or portals." Other elements included potential payment systems, perhaps even for real-world objects, in-game spectation services, a battle royale potentially tied to music tracks, and even a companion app that ties together all of the above - which can seemingly already be accessed in part. Build a Rocket Boy hasn't given any indication of when it might officially reveal more about the project. Previously, we've learned that the game will be "an immersive and large MMO experience", which recently switched from the Amazon Lumberyard engine to Unreal. “In the near future, technology has brought humanity to the precipice of a world shifting change,” reads an official blurb. "There are those who want to use this technology to advantage only themselves, and those who want to use it to help all humankind. Will we look to the stars? Or stare only at our feet? Will we be inspired? Or live in fear?” Build a Rocket Boy was founded by Leslie Benzies, the "unseen mastermind" of Grand Theft Auto. Benzies worked on almost every Rockstar game from Grand Theft Auto 3 in 2001 through to Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013, and directed GTA Online. He left Rockstar amid some controversy in 2014, and announced Everywhere in 2016. [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.  

Update: As the investigation into Jay 'Sinatraa' Won continues, the Overwatch League has issued a statement regarding the matter. Prior to playing Valorant esports, Won was a key member of the San Francisco Shock Overwatch team, where he was crowned MVP for the team's winning 2019 season. Furthermore, Overwatch will refund an Overwatch League skin for Zarya that was inspired by Won as part of his MVP win during his time in the league. The Overwatch League operates under a franchise system, and the San Francisco Shock is operated by a third-party company. In a statement to IGN, an Overwatch League spokesperson says, "The Overwatch League is aware of allegations made against former player Jay “Sinatraa” Won. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and unequivocally support victims of abuse." Overwatch League also says it will offer refunds for the "Alien" Overwatch League skin, which was designed to commemorate Won's MVP win. Anyone with the skin currently can refund the skin for 200 League Tokens (retail: $9.99 USD) and have the skin removed from their collection. The Overwatch Championship and MVP badges will also be removed from the Alien skin in a future patch. An official blog post on the Overwatch League website for how Won helped inspire the Alien skin has already been taken down and now redirects to an error page. [caption id="attachment_248505" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Overwatch League 'Alien' skin for Zarya designed to commemorate Sinatraa's MVP win. Source: Blizzard[/caption] Here is the Overwatch League's full statement below:

“The Overwatch League is aware of allegations made against former player Jay “Sinatraa” Won. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and unequivocally support victims of abuse. The League is offering a refund of 200 League Tokens for the “Alien” Overwatch League MVP skin to players who request one, at which point the skin will be removed from their collection. We’ll share more information on how refunds will work soon. The Overwatch Championship and MVP badges will be removed from the “Alien” skin in a future patch.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Professional Valorant player Jay 'Sinatraa' Won has been suspended from the North American Valorant Champions Tour following allegations that he sexually abused a former partner. Content Warning: details on sexual and emotional abuse follows. In a statement yesterday,  Cleo Hernandez provides a detailed, graphic account of her relationship with Won, saying Won pressured her into sex on numerous occasions without her consent, even after she repeatedly told him no or expressed that she was in pain. She also accused him of being emotionally abusive and manipulative while they were together. The account includes an audio recording in which Hernandez can be heard saying "No" repeatedly while a male voice, said to be Won's, insists on continuing. Today, Riot issued a statement through its official Valorant Champions Tour NA account authored by global head of competitive operations and Valorant, Alex Francois: "We are aware of the current situation regarding Jay Won (Sinatraa) and have launched an investigation. Per our existing competitive rules and investigative process, a decision has been made to suspend Won throughout the investigation and therefore he will not be able to compete this weekend." Won's team, the Los Angeles Sentinels, has also suspended Won with a similar statement: "We are aware of the current situation regarding Jay 'Sinatraa' Won and have launched an investigation internally. While the investigation is pending, he is suspended from the team. We will provide a further update once the investigation has concluded." Won is a former competitive Overwatch player who used to play for the San Francisco Shock, before moving to the Sentinels and Valorant in 2020. Won has yet to reply to these accusations. IGN has also reached out to the Overwatch League for comment as well. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The director of the "John Wick" series has set up his next action outing. New Line Cinema has won an auction for Chad Stahelski's action-thriller "Classified," per Deadline. The film is based on a story by Paranomal Activity: The Ghost Dimension writers Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan. There's currently no word on who will star in the picture. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/19/john-wick-3-best-fight-scenes"] The project was pitched as a cross between Die Hard and Indiana Jones. The film is set inside a secret government bunker like the one seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The facility contains artifacts recovered during World War II that prove to be dangerous. And then some Die Hard-style shenanigans proceed, presumably. Stahelski made his name in Hollywood through stunts, serving as the stunt double for Keanu Reeves and a martial arts stunt coordinator for the original Matrix trilogy. Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut in 2014 with the Reeves' vehicle John Wick. While Stahelski stayed attached to the series, helming the second and third entries, Leitch went on to direct blockbusters like Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=john-wick-chapter-three-photos&captions=true"] Additionally, Stahelski is also set to helm a reboot of the cult fantasy film Highlander. He is also directing the fourth and fifth John Wick movies, which are currently in pre-production and set to be filmed back-to-back. John Wick: Chapter 4 will release on May 27, 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

The director of the "John Wick" series has set up his next action outing. New Line Cinema has won an auction for Chad Stahelski's action-thriller "Classified," per Deadline. The film is based on a story by Paranomal Activity: The Ghost Dimension writers Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan. There's currently no word on who will star in the picture. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/19/john-wick-3-best-fight-scenes"] The project was pitched as a cross between Die Hard and Indiana Jones. The film is set inside a secret government bunker like the one seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The facility contains artifacts recovered during World War II that prove to be dangerous. And then some Die Hard-style shenanigans proceed, presumably. Stahelski made his name in Hollywood through stunts, serving as the stunt double for Keanu Reeves and a martial arts stunt coordinator for the original Matrix trilogy. Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut in 2014 with the Reeves' vehicle John Wick. While Stahelski stayed attached to the series, helming the second and third entries, Leitch went on to direct blockbusters like Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=john-wick-chapter-three-photos&captions=true"] Additionally, Stahelski is also set to helm a reboot of the cult fantasy film Highlander. He is also directing the fourth and fifth John Wick movies, which are currently in pre-production and set to be filmed back-to-back. John Wick: Chapter 4 will release on May 27, 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.