Treyarch has banned a number of items from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's League Play, just a day after the competitive mode launched. League Play was introduced on Monday this week, and the developer issued a patch a day later restricting a number of items, responding to player feedback about the mode. You can check the full patch notes here on the Treyarch website. Molotovs and Suppressors have been banned, alongside the Armor and War Machine Scorestreaks, the Jammer Field Upgrade and the Gung-Ho perk. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/12/black-ops-cold-war-multiplayer-gameplay-pc"] A series of specific attachments have also been restricted as of the February 9 patch. "We've been monitoring feedback and known issues since yesterday’s launch, and today’s update introduces a handful of new fixes and restrictions that go beyond the current CDL 2021 ruleset," the blog post reads. "We’ll continue to monitor feedback and game data to ensure a fun and competitive experience with regard to rules and content restrictions in League Play. Our ultimate goal is to deliver a more varied experience for players by offering certain variations on the rules while providing an experience similar to what the pros are playing in the CDL (Call of Duty League)." League Play is a new mode for Cold War that lets players engage with the same rules, modes and maps that the Call of Duty League esports professionals play on. It's a skill-based matchmaking system that has players competing against those within their Skill Division, rising through 30 in-game ranks. Players will need to complete five placement matches before they will be placed into a ladder and a division based on their in-game performance. League Play Events will also occur biweekly where competitive players will get a chance to climb the Division Ladder and place highly to improve their chances of a promotion in the rankings. In other Call of Duty news, Activision recently confirmed that a new Call of Duty game is coming this year, during Activision Blizzard's Q4 2020 earnings call. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Ubisoft has revealed that it may be renaming Rainbow Six: Quarantine, but insists the long-delayed game will arrive this year. During Ubisoft's third-quarter earnings call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced that the company was asked whether the studio was concerned about releasing a game with 'quarantine' in the title given the global pandemic that arrived after the game's reveal: "On Rainbow Six: Quarantine, we are creating a product that is actually – as it’s named today – it is something we are evaluating and we'll see what comes in the future on that product," Guillemot said in response. This suggests we may see the game under a new moniker in the future. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/10/rainbow-six-quarantine-reveal-trailer"] Elsewhere in the call, Ubisoft also clarified that Quarantine will arrive before September 30, 2021, which shortens the previous window of April 2021 to March 2022. Several games, including Quarantine, were previously delayed in October 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. Rainbow Six Quarantine has been described as a "three-player, tactical co-op shooter" set in the future, where agents must enter a quarantine zone and fight a mutated alien parasite that is infecting human hosts and their surroundings. It's based somewhat on Rainbow Six Siege's popular Outbreak limited-time mode. During the call, the company also said it was planning to move away from relying on new AAA games, using free-to-play and existing games to help bolster its revenue. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.    

Legal documents indicate that Microsoft intends to create a new wholly-owned subsidiary called Vault to complete its ZeniMax Media acquisition deal. It's not clear if ZeniMax will be known as Vault after the deal closes. The European Union is currently deciding whether to approve the $7.5 billion acquisition that was revealed back in September 2020. Documents seen on the European Union Law website EUR-Lex refer to the logistics of the acquisition, mentioning a "merger pursuant to which a newly created Microsoft subsidiary (‘Vault’) will be merged with and into ZeniMax." While it's not clear exactly how this will work, the 'Vault' subsidiary would be a good way to house Microsoft's new acquisitions under one quasi-independent banner, affording ZeniMax's studios (which includes Bethesda, Arkane, MachineGames, and more) a level of freedom while still being owned by Microsoft. The text explicitly says that Microsoft will acquire "sole control of the whole of ZeniMax," regardless, but the document suggests they will be accomplishing this via the Vault subsidiary. We'll be sure to learn more once the deal gets the all-clear from the European Union. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/21/microsoft-to-buy-bethesda-and-parent-company-zenimax-media"] It's a different approach to Microsoft's previous acquisitions, such as Obsidian, Ninja Theory and Double Fine, which were formally made a part of Microsoft and housed under its Xbox Game Studios brand. Whether ZeniMax's studios become known as part of Vault or not, the move to create a Microsoft subsidiary to complete the merger seems to mark a level of independence compared to other acquired companies. This tallies with previous reporting about Bethesda's semi-independence under Microsoft. Phil Spencer told CNET in September that "they're not about becoming us," in reference to the deal. Bethesda SVP of global marketing Pete Hines backed this up, saying in a statement that "we're still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us," around the same time. We still haven't heard how the acquisition will work in regards to the exclusivity of future Bethesda games. However, Bethesda head honcho Todd Howard recently said that it's "hard to imagine" a game like Elder Scrolls 6 being Xbox-exclusive. Arkane's Deathloop will launch later this year as a timed PS5 exclusive, with Microsoft honouring the deal after acquiring Arkane as part of the ZeniMax acquisition. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Update 2/9 4:31 pm PT: The group Riot Workers United, a collective of workers currently at Riot Games advocating for change has issued a statement regarding the news of Sharon O'Donnell's lawsuit. The group, which helped organize the walkout in 2019, says that "Inappropriate relations combined with the threat of power is a harm inherent to any company where leaders are not held accountable. Historically, Riot is a company where leaders have not been held accountable." Read the full statement below:

On the news of the allegations against Riot’s CEO: pic.twitter.com/bHcVeILyfe

— Rioters For Change (@Rioters4Change) February 10, 2021

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Former Riot Games executive assistant Sharon O'Donnell has filed suit against Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent and the company at large, alleging that during her three years at the company Laurent sexually harassed her, discriminated against her, and retaliated against her when she complained about his behavior to HR. Per a lawsuit obtained by Vice, O'Donnell was hired at Riot in October of 2017 as an executive assistant to Laurent. Shortly after she was hired, she says that Laurent began harassing her, and continued to do so until she alleges she was wrongfully terminated in July of 2020. Specific incidents mentioned in the suit include Laurent calling O'Donnell "beautiful" and telling her his wife was jealous of beautiful women, criticizing O'Donnell's tone by calling it "abusive" and saying she should be "more feminine," yelling at and speaking to O'Donnell in a condescending way, staring at her while describing his underwear and underwear size, suggesting women employees should handle COVID-19 stress by having kids, asking O'Donnell not to let his wife know how close they were, putting his arm around her, asking her she "could handle him when they were alone at his house," and telling O'Donnell she should "cum" over to his house while his wife was away. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/06/employees-of-riot-games-to-walkout-in-protest-monday"] In addition, O'Donnell alleges that Laurent both explicitly and implicitly made various job benefits a condition of her acceptance of sexual conduct. She says that after she refused the offer to visit Laurent's house, his "hostility and anger increased," she was subjected to more yelling, and had various job duties taken away. She alleges a complaint to HR only resulted in more criticism, and she was eventually let go from the company. O'Donnell is also suing Riot not only for failure to prevent harassment but also for failure to pay wages in a timely manner, claiming she was not paid for all hours worked including overtime. She also alleges the company failed to provide legally mandated rest and meal breaks. In a statement shared with IGN, a Riot spokesperson said the following: "Over the past several years, workplace culture has been one of our top priorities and we're proud of the steps we've taken to make Riot Games a great place to work. Core to giving Rioters confidence in our commitment to culture transformation is taking all allegations of harassment or discrimination very seriously, thoroughly investigating claims, and taking action against anyone who is found to have violated our policies. "In this case, because some of the claims relate to an executive leader, a special committee of our Board of Directors is overseeing the investigation, which is being conducted by an outside law firm. Our CEO has pledged his full cooperation and support during this process, and we're committed to ensuring that all claims are thoroughly explored and appropriately resolved." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/04/riot-games-to-pay-10m-in-gender-discrimination-lawsuit-ign-daily-fix"] The spokesperson added that O'Donnell was "dismissed from the company over seven months ago following over a dozen complaints from both employees and external partners," and Riot goes on to say, "Any suggestion otherwise is simply false." O'Donnell's lawsuit describes a "male-dominated culture" at Riot where women are "discriminated against, harassed, and treated as second class citizens," and specifically references an ongoing series of legal and collective fights against Riot Games' work culture, which in 2018 numerous sources described as toxic and sexist. Riot has since tried to address the workplace culture issues with various policy changes and the hiring of its first chief diversity officer, but the issues have remained in the spotlight since due to a class-action lawsuit filed by then-current and former employees alleging gender discrimination. The lawsuit ran into hurdles, with Riot alleging those bringing suit were not legally able to do so due to them having signed forced arbitration clauses in their contracts, which led employees to stage a walkout in 2019 in solidarity with those filing the suits and against such clauses. Riot eventually tried to settle the lawsuit by paying out $10 million in damages, but the settlement was later withdrawn after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and the Department of Labor Standards & Enforcement (DLSE) deemed the amount too low. Then, just last month, Riot moved to put the lawsuit back into arbitration -- resulting in the DFEH and DLSE issuing a joint statement last week alleging that Riot Games had violated the law in discriminating against women employees. The agencies declared they would proceed with enforcement action in court against the company on behalf of all the women involved, including those who had signed arbitration agreements. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

This week in Red Dead Online, score special Valentine's Day gifts, special bonuses for the Tumbleweed Series, and so much more.

Lance McDonald, AKA ManFightsDragon, AKA the guy who’s known for data mining games like P.T., Bloodborne, and the Dark/Demon Souls series for cut or hidden content, has officially released his 60 frames per second mod for Bloodborne.

McDonald previously announced he had created a 60 FPS mod back in October, 2020, but was waiting for Sony to clarify if it had any future plans for Bloodborne.

The patch allows players to alter the 1.09 version of Bloodborne (the latest update) and modify the game engine to increase the framerate cap to 60 FPS, and optionally lower the resolution to 1280x720.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/16/demons-souls-review-ps5"]

In a previous video demonstrating the 60 FPS mod (which you should absolutely watch), McDonald shared that accessing Bloodborne’s debug mode and altering the framerate only served to speed up everything in the game to twice the speed, creating a comical Benny Hill effect. The PS4 Pro afforded some older games a boost mode that improved framerate and other performance metrics, but Bloodborne appeared to be locked behind what McDonald calls an “arbitrary” 30 FPS framerate, something Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro weren’t restricted by on the Pro. IGN has reached out to McDonald to clarify how well this patch could work on a base PS4, if at all.

You can find McDonald’s mod and instructions on his Patreon, but make sure you know what you’re doing. Altering your PS4 console in such a way will almost certainly void any warranty you have should something go awry. You’ll have to mod it to run homebrew software in the first place.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]

McDonald is an old hat when it comes to modding and data mining beloved games. He was originally the one to discover that P.T.’s ghost is programmed to always be behind the player, that the ghost actually walks around while you’re locked in the bathroom, and managed to explore the spooky Silent Hill city seen in the ending cutscene featuring Norman Reedus.

Don’t get your hopes up for an official 60 FPS patch from FromSoftware or Sony anytime soon, as neither company has even alluded to any intention of revisiting the game’s code. Considering the Demon’s Souls remake looks astounding at 60 FPS, we can still only hope they’ll see fit to do so.

Marvel Comics is bringing back the classic version of The Defenders this summer, pivoting away from the Netflix-inspired roster introduced in the 2017 Defenders comic. The "New Defenders" team looks to feature mostly classic members, with Doctor Strange rallying his allies to battle a new threat to the Marvel timeline. Marvel hasn't yet revealed a creative team or details on this new project, but they have released a new teaser image drawn by The History of the Marvel Universe artist Javier Rodriguez. Check it out below: [caption id="attachment_2471408" align="aligncenter" width="1988"] Art by Javier Rodriguez. (Image Credit: Marvel)[/caption] The teaser was accompanied by the tagline, "Who will answer Doctor Strange's call to be... the New Defenders!" and promising a Summer 2021 release date. Strange is accompanied by The Masked Raider, a relatively new addition to the Marvel Universe who exists as an update to an obscure Golden Age hero. The Masked Raider wears a cosmic artifact known as the Eternity Mask and was at the heart of Marvel Comics #1000, an oversized anniversary special that laid the groundwork for a number of future storylines. Given that Immortal Hulk writer Al Ewing has been the Marvel creator most associated with the Masked Raider so far, we wouldn't be at all surprised if Ewing is the writer of New Defenders, possibly with Rodriguez as artist. For those keeping track, here are the heroes featured on the tarot cards in this teaser:

• Beast
• Cloud
• Daimon Hellstrom
• Harpy (Betty Ross)
• Hulk
• Moondragon
• Namor
• Silver Surfer
• Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)

While the original Defenders lineup featured Doctor Strange, Hulk, Namor and Silver Surfer, both the team roster and the series itself have undergone many changes over the decades. Most recently, Marvel's 2017 Defenders comic broke with tradition to feature an all-new lineup modeled directly on the Netflix series - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. But with Netflix and Marvel ending their partnership, it would seem this MCU-inspired team is no more. It's just as well, as Daredevil has plenty of other problems to deal with these days always. What's your ideal Defenders lineup? Do you prefer the classic team or modern overhauls like the Netflix version? Let us know in the comments below. For more on what's coming in 2021, see everything you can expect from Marvel this year and our 21 most anticipated comics of 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Ubisoft doesn't want to be as reliant on AAA game releases as it has in the past, and will instead look more closely at free-to-play games and its back catalog to make money. In an earnings call today following the company's Q3 financial results, the publisher said that its plans for fiscal 2022 (the period from April 2021 through March 2022) included three AAA game releases, but that in the future, Ubisoft didn't want AAA games to be the focus of its business model. "We said for a number of years that our normal template is to come with either three or four AAA games, so we'll stick to that plan for fiscal 2022," said CFO Frederick Duguet. "But we see that we are progressively, continuously moving from a model that used to be only focused on AAA releases to a model where we have a combination of strong releases from AAA and strong back catalog dynamics, but also complimenting our program of new releases with free-to-play and other premium experiences." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/far-cry-6-reveal-trailer"] He went on to specify that the company had a number of titles, AAA and otherwise, in the pipeline, naming Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Quarantine, Skull & Bones, Riders Republic, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, and Roller Champions. He also nodded to a previously-announced Assassin's Creed mobile game planned to come to China with the help of Ubisoft investor Tencent, which he said was a part of the company ramping up its investment and interest in free-to-play games, especially on mobile. Mobile currently makes up about 9% of the company's total business. "In fiscal 2022, we will continue our evolution from a AAA release-centric model toward a model where AAA stands alongside new premium and free-to-play innovative experiences across platforms," Duguet said. "These diverse experiences will feed on each other through complementary gameplay and business models." Notably, there wasn't a single mention on the call about Ubisoft's free-to-play battle royale Hyper Scape, which flopped tremendously at launch and is currently undergoing an overhaul. Elsewhere in the call, CEO Yves Guillemot also noted that the company's back catalog -- or its already-released games that are still bringing in revenue long term -- will also play a heavier role in the company's revenues in the future, and already are. As an example, six-year-old Rainbow Six Siege added 15 million new players in the last 12 months, growing to 70 million total players since launch, and is still a major revenue driver for the publisher. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/09/assassins-creed-valhalla-review"] "We are continuing to move toward an increasingly pronounced recurrence of our revenues on the back of growing audiences," said Guillemot. "Therefore, we expect our highly-profitable back catalog to account for an even larger share of our business going forward." Ubisoft has struggled in recent years to get its AAA game releases out in a timely manner, with the publisher delaying Rainbow Six Quarantine, Gods & Monsters, and Watch Dogs Legion a year out from their intended release during a 2019 earnings call, then pushing Quarantine again the following year alongside Far Cry 6, and delaying its upcoming Avatar game into 2022. And that's not to mention whatever's going on with Skull & Bones, which has been delayed multiple times and seems to have been rebooted entirely mid-development. Meanwhile, Ubisoft's financials indicate that games like Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Far Cry 5, The Crew 2, Anno 1800, older Just Dance games, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and aforementioned Rainbow Six Siege are still doing meaningful numbers for the company, meaning it doesn't necessarily need to churn out multiple blockbusters a year to keep making money -- though based on Assassin's Creed Valhalla's launch sales breaking records, it certainly doesn't hurt. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The CW has ordered a pilot for a live-action Powerpuff Girls series. This series, which was in development as of last August, will center on the girls who are now disillusioned twenty-something-year-olds who resent that they lost their childhood to years of fighting crime, according to Variety. The series will answer the question of whether or not the former team reunites once more when their crime-fighting skills are needed again. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/02/29/the-powerpuff-girls-vs-the-lava-lady"] This series comes by way of writers and executive producers, Heather Regnier and Diablo Cody, with the latter executive producing under the banner of Vita Vera Films. Regnier worked on the recent Veronica Mars revival, iZombie, and Sleepy Hollow while Cody is best known for writing Juno and working on Jennifer's Body and Young Adult. Greg Berlanti, David Madden, and Sarah Schechter will executive produce the show under the Berlanti Productions banner. Erika Kennair and Warner Bros. Television will produce the show. The Powerpuff Girls ran for six seasons for a total of 78 episodes between 1998 and 2005. The original animated series was created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network and centered around three superhero crimefighters by the names of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. These girls were created when Professor Utonium combined "sugar, spice, and everything nice with the mysterious Chemical X," as the show's intro reminded you with every episode. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-adult-cartoon-tv-series&captions=true"] A Powerpuff Girls movie was released in 2002 and a reboot of the series aired on Cartoon Network in 2016. It's unclear what this live-action series will pull from the animated series beyond the actual Powerpuff Girls, but the writers have plenty to pull from by way of nefarious villains such as Him, Mojo Jojo, and more. For more Powerpuff Girls, read about how the former Powerpuff Girls voice actresses were replaced for the reboot, and then check out our thoughts on that reboot in our Powerpuff Girls "Man Up" review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.   

Blue Sky Studios, the 20th Century Fox animation production division behind the popular Ice Age series, will be closed in April. Deadline reports that Disney, which acquired Blue Sky as part of the larger acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, has decided to close the studio, with 450 employees losing their jobs at the studi as a result of the closure. However, according to Deadline, Disney will work with employees in possibly finding work at some of Disney's other internal studios. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fox-movie-and-tv-show-properties-possibly-headed-to-disney&captions=true"] Blue Sky is largely known for the Ice Age franchise, and while the studio may be closing, Disney still holds the rights to the franchise and had greenlit a Disney+ Ice Age series. "Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios," a spokesperson told Deadline. The closure will affect the studio's upcoming release, Nimona, which will now no longer come out, leaving the last film from the studio as Spies in Disguise, which IGN called " a wonderful message for the holiday season, and it’s going to leave you wanting to see Will Smith and Tom Holland do a live-action film together one day" in our Spies in Disguise review. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/20/ice-age-collision-course-review"] The last entry in the Ice Age series was Collision Course, which we said "is fun but isn’t as continually engaging for adults or kids as previous entries" in our Ice Age: Collision Course review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.