The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has confirmed that E3 2021 will happen as a digital event. In a statement to IGN, the ESA has confirmed the return of one of the biggest video game conferences after its cancellation in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "We can confirm that we are transforming the E3 experience for 2021 and will soon share exact details on how we’re bringing the global video game community together." A spokesperson from the ESA said. "We are having great conversations with publishers, developers and companies across the board, and we look forward to sharing details about their involvement soon." This news follows a report from VGC, in which E3 2021 pitch documents sent to game publishers have outlined the proposal that would see three days of live-streamed coverage from the previously announced dates of June 15-17, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/the-biggest-games-coming-in-2021"] The plan includes having "multiple two-hour keynote sessions from game partners, an awards show, a June 14 preview night and other smaller streams from game publishers, influencers and media partners." The broadcast event would be preceded by a media preview week, and demos would be released to the public during E3 2021 to help celebrate the future of video games. The ESA is also planning on making it possible to "allow partner companies to remotely stream playable game demos to the media across 'thousands' of scheduled meetings" alongside one-on-one assistance from developers. According to the report, these plans for E3 2021 still need approval from the ESA's membership, which include some of the biggest game companies in the world. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/13/playstation-will-not-be-at-e3-2020-ign-now"] Prior to COVID-19, many companies, including Sony, had already backed out of E3 in favor of doing their own digital events. Furthermore, The Video Game Awards and Summer Game Fest's Geoff Keighley had also backed out of E3 2020, and has no plans to return this year. Becoming a part of E3 is also very expensive, and one video game company indicated that it would rather run its own digital event instead of "paying the six-figure sums required to join E3 2021's schedule." VGC does note that the ESA has not officially cancelled plans for a physical E3 2021 event, but the digital event is indeed the main focus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/07/no-digital-replacement-for-e3"] The proposed show would run from 10am-10pm EST, with regional replays scheduled for around the world. A typical day would include "a 30-minute pre-show run by a media partner, followed by a 2-hour 'exclusive press conference' by a console platform holder, followed by a Q&A and panel reaction." There would then be more third-party publisher presentations, a wrap-up show, a teaser for the next day, and a "charitable after-party" stream. [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.

More details have come to light about the nearly-released GoldenEye 007 remaster following a leak of the game's files online, including the fact that Nintendo canceled the project when it was nearly done. Former developers on the remaster Ross Bury and Mark Edmonds spoke with Ars Technica about its development, saying that it had started in late 2006 or early 2007, but didn't initially have approval from higher-ups. The game was planned as an Xbox 360 release, and was intended as a very straightforward remaster for the console with little in the way of new content beyond some dramatic visual upgrades -- including updated character models to, in many cases, make the characters look much closer in appearance to their real-life actors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/11/02/goldeneye-007-video-review"] Edmonds explained that at some point in the process, the team was told that "everyone had approved it." The team continued work, believing that the rights had cleared and there were no strings attached to the remaster of the Nintendo 64 title. However, just as the game was about to go gold, it was canceled due to an unknown "high up" Nintendo executive. "When it was put to Nintendo, everyone there approved it," Bury said. "Except they didn't check with the one guy who mattered." "I believe I was told his response went along the lines of, 'There is no way a Nintendo game is coming out on a Microsoft console,'" he added. Both Edmonds and Bury estimate that at the time the game was canceled, it only had around 90 bugs in QA testing -- a relatively small number for a game release and indicating that GoldenEye 007's remaster was nearly ready to be released. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/why-a-james-bond-007-game-from-the-hitman-team-has-major-potential"] The two added that the version of GoldenEye 007 that leaked online earlier this month was not the most "current" version of the game, but relatively close. It's missing some more updated art assets and has more bugs and other issues than the last version of the game. Bury stated that he does not anticipate the final version will ever be made available in any way. You can watch a longplay of the GoldenEye 007 remaster from earlier this year on YouTube, or take solace in the fact that while we will probably never get a proper release of the remaster, IO Interactive is at least supplying us with both a proper flashy spy game in Hitman 3, and a true 007 licensed title coming sometime in the future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

More details have come to light about the nearly-released GoldenEye 007 remaster following a leak of the game's files online, including the fact that Nintendo canceled the project when it was nearly done. Former developers on the remaster Ross Bury and Mark Edmonds spoke with Ars Technica about its development, saying that it had started in late 2006 or early 2007, but didn't initially have approval from higher-ups. The game was planned as an Xbox 360 release, and was intended as a very straightforward remaster for the console with little in the way of new content beyond some dramatic visual upgrades -- including updated character models to, in many cases, make the characters look much closer in appearance to their real-life actors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/11/02/goldeneye-007-video-review"] Edmonds explained that at some point in the process, the team was told that "everyone had approved it." The team continued work, believing that the rights had cleared and there were no strings attached to the remaster of the Nintendo 64 title. However, just as the game was about to go gold, it was canceled due to an unknown "high up" Nintendo executive. "When it was put to Nintendo, everyone there approved it," Bury said. "Except they didn't check with the one guy who mattered." "I believe I was told his response went along the lines of, 'There is no way a Nintendo game is coming out on a Microsoft console,'" he added. Both Edmonds and Bury estimate that at the time the game was canceled, it only had around 90 bugs in QA testing -- a relatively small number for a game release and indicating that GoldenEye 007's remaster was nearly ready to be released. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/why-a-james-bond-007-game-from-the-hitman-team-has-major-potential"] The two added that the version of GoldenEye 007 that leaked online earlier this month was not the most "current" version of the game, but relatively close. It's missing some more updated art assets and has more bugs and other issues than the last version of the game. Bury stated that he does not anticipate the final version will ever be made available in any way. You can watch a longplay of the GoldenEye 007 remaster from earlier this year on YouTube, or take solace in the fact that while we will probably never get a proper release of the remaster, IO Interactive is at least supplying us with both a proper flashy spy game in Hitman 3, and a true 007 licensed title coming sometime in the future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith have joined Chris Pine in Paramount and eOne's Dungeons & Dragons feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rodriguez, who is best known for her role as Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise, and Smith, who has starred in blockbuster movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu, have both now closed deals to appear in the upcoming movie, which is based on the popular role-playing game owned by Wizards of the Coast. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Plot details for the Dungeons & Dragons feature adaptation are being kept firmly under wraps, but we do know that Spider-Man: Homecoming's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley penned the latest version of the script based on a previous draft by Michael Gilio. Goldstein and Daley are also doubling up as the directors of the movie. Jeremy Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is producing through his deal with eOne, Hasbro's entertainment arm, alongside Hasbro's Brian Goldner who is also on board as a producer. The Dungeons & Dragons reboot is currently slated to be released in theaters on May 27, 2022, following delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] This will be the first feature film based on the property since Jeremy Irons starred in New Line's adaptation in 2000. In our review of that movie, we said: "If making a movie is akin to running a marathon, then Dungeons & Dragons is like an infant trying to crawl. This film truly gives the already legendary Battlefield Earth legitimate competition as the worst, most inept big-budget movie released by a major studio in recent memory. Though it doesn't have Battlefield Earth's extra camp factors (the Scientology connection, Travolta), it may well actually be even worse. Quite an achievement." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith have joined Chris Pine in Paramount and eOne's Dungeons & Dragons feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rodriguez, who is best known for her role as Letty in the Fast and Furious franchise, and Smith, who has starred in blockbuster movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu, have both now closed deals to appear in the upcoming movie, which is based on the popular role-playing game owned by Wizards of the Coast. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Plot details for the Dungeons & Dragons feature adaptation are being kept firmly under wraps, but we do know that Spider-Man: Homecoming's Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley penned the latest version of the script based on a previous draft by Michael Gilio. Goldstein and Daley are also doubling up as the directors of the movie. Jeremy Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is producing through his deal with eOne, Hasbro's entertainment arm, alongside Hasbro's Brian Goldner who is also on board as a producer. The Dungeons & Dragons reboot is currently slated to be released in theaters on May 27, 2022, following delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] This will be the first feature film based on the property since Jeremy Irons starred in New Line's adaptation in 2000. In our review of that movie, we said: "If making a movie is akin to running a marathon, then Dungeons & Dragons is like an infant trying to crawl. This film truly gives the already legendary Battlefield Earth legitimate competition as the worst, most inept big-budget movie released by a major studio in recent memory. Though it doesn't have Battlefield Earth's extra camp factors (the Scientology connection, Travolta), it may well actually be even worse. Quite an achievement." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Epic has announced an upcoming announcement showcase and sale on the Epic Games Store, starting on February 11. The event kicks off with a Twitch stream at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK (that's 6am AEST on February 12) on the Epic Games Twitch Channel, and will include new game announcements, gameplay, and extended looks at upcoming games planned for launch on the Epic Games Store this year. Beginning three hours earlier the same day at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern / 4pm UK / (3am AEST on February 12) and lasting through the same time on February 25, Epic Games will also run its Spring Showcase Sale. The sale will include deals on a number of titles such as Star Wars: Squadrons, SnowRunner, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Hades. A preview of all the games that will go on sale during this time is available on the Epic Games Store now and appears to include over 180 games, though it isn't currently showing what the discounts on those titles will be. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/01/star-wars-squadrons-single-player-review"] Though Epic hasn't given any hints about what new announcements might be present at its stream on the 11th, it recently gave a statement to PC Gamer indicating that we should expect to specifically see a lot more Epic Games Store exclusives in the future. "We have more exclusives coming in the next two years than we have published to date," said a company representative to PC Gamer, in response to a report that the storefront's bevy of exclusives seemed to have quieted down of late. Exclusives have also been a major revenue driver for the storefront in the past, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a few new announcements along those lines at the showcase next week. It's also possible we might see glimpses of exclusives already announced for the store that aren't yet out -- which could include games such as The Wolf Among Us 2, Jett: The Far Shore, Darkest Dungeon 2, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, or upcoming titles from Ubisoft (which typically also launch on the Ubisoft Store) or Remedy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Epic has announced an upcoming announcement showcase and sale on the Epic Games Store, starting on February 11. The event kicks off with a Twitch stream at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK (that's 6am AEST on February 12) on the Epic Games Twitch Channel, and will include new game announcements, gameplay, and extended looks at upcoming games planned for launch on the Epic Games Store this year. Beginning three hours earlier the same day at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern / 4pm UK / (3am AEST on February 12) and lasting through the same time on February 25, Epic Games will also run its Spring Showcase Sale. The sale will include deals on a number of titles such as Star Wars: Squadrons, SnowRunner, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Hades. A preview of all the games that will go on sale during this time is available on the Epic Games Store now and appears to include over 180 games, though it isn't currently showing what the discounts on those titles will be. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/01/star-wars-squadrons-single-player-review"] Though Epic hasn't given any hints about what new announcements might be present at its stream on the 11th, it recently gave a statement to PC Gamer indicating that we should expect to specifically see a lot more Epic Games Store exclusives in the future. "We have more exclusives coming in the next two years than we have published to date," said a company representative to PC Gamer, in response to a report that the storefront's bevy of exclusives seemed to have quieted down of late. Exclusives have also been a major revenue driver for the storefront in the past, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a few new announcements along those lines at the showcase next week. It's also possible we might see glimpses of exclusives already announced for the store that aren't yet out -- which could include games such as The Wolf Among Us 2, Jett: The Far Shore, Darkest Dungeon 2, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, or upcoming titles from Ubisoft (which typically also launch on the Ubisoft Store) or Remedy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The beautiful puzzle game known as Maquette, which stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel, will be released on PS5, PS4, and PC on March 2, 2021. Developed by Graceful Decay and published by Annapurna Interactive, Maquette is "set in a recursive world where players experience the life cycle of a relationship and solve spacial puzzles as the story unfolds." Howard and Gabel will play the romantic couple Kenzie and Michael, and are characters that will guide players through the game but won't be "explicitly seen on screen." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/08/maquette-cast-announce-trailer"] Speaking to THR, Howard talked about how there isn't a villain in this game, and that this story is more about two people who were together at one point in their lives and simply moved on, after having a huge impact on each other's lives. "This is about a relationship that ultimately doesn't work out," Howard said. "But it's not a tragedy in any way, shape or form. I think there's something really nuanced about that that I really appreciated." Kenzie is described by director Hanford Lemoore as a "San Francisco hipster." "It's an interesting archetype, the hipster, and there's this inherent sense of irony," Howard added. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/maquette-gameplay-walkthrough-trailer"] Lemoore also discussed how the idea of this game came about while exploring the architecture of his neighborhood in San Francisco about 10 years ago. "Something set me off about trying to do [a game] in 3D with physics," Lemoore explained. "I thought about how physics is so chaotic; with a physics simulation you can knock an object and you know it's going to tumble, but you don't know how it's going to tumble. I thought about the idea of copying that really complex, almost random behavior, onto multiple levels of recursion." As to why Howard chose to join the project, she described Annapurna Interactive's games as "real art," and is always drawn towards choose your own adventure opportunities. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/maquette-reveal-trailer"] "I was always drawn to choose your own adventure opportunities. The opportunity to be active in the storytelling and have your own ability to have an impact on the eventual outcome — as a reader — was what I was drawn to." Howard concluded. [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.

The beautiful puzzle game known as Maquette, which stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel, will be released on PS5, PS4, and PC on March 2, 2021. Developed by Graceful Decay and published by Annapurna Interactive, Maquette is "set in a recursive world where players experience the life cycle of a relationship and solve spacial puzzles as the story unfolds." Howard and Gabel will play the romantic couple Kenzie and Michael, and are characters that will guide players through the game but won't be "explicitly seen on screen." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/08/maquette-cast-announce-trailer"] Speaking to THR, Howard talked about how there isn't a villain in this game, and that this story is more about two people who were together at one point in their lives and simply moved on, after having a huge impact on each other's lives. "This is about a relationship that ultimately doesn't work out," Howard said. "But it's not a tragedy in any way, shape or form. I think there's something really nuanced about that that I really appreciated." Kenzie is described by director Hanford Lemoore as a "San Francisco hipster." "It's an interesting archetype, the hipster, and there's this inherent sense of irony," Howard added. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/maquette-gameplay-walkthrough-trailer"] Lemoore also discussed how the idea of this game came about while exploring the architecture of his neighborhood in San Francisco about 10 years ago. "Something set me off about trying to do [a game] in 3D with physics," Lemoore explained. "I thought about how physics is so chaotic; with a physics simulation you can knock an object and you know it's going to tumble, but you don't know how it's going to tumble. I thought about the idea of copying that really complex, almost random behavior, onto multiple levels of recursion." As to why Howard chose to join the project, she described Annapurna Interactive's games as "real art," and is always drawn towards choose your own adventure opportunities. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/maquette-reveal-trailer"] "I was always drawn to choose your own adventure opportunities. The opportunity to be active in the storytelling and have your own ability to have an impact on the eventual outcome — as a reader — was what I was drawn to." Howard concluded. [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.

Steam has once again broken its own concurrent players record, with over 26 million people logged in at once. As reported by PC Gamer, Valve's digital distribution service hit an all-time high over the weekend, managing 26.4 million users logged in at once on Sunday. It only set the previous record last month, with 25.4 million people online at one time. The rise is no doubt propelled by ongoing lockdown measures across the world pushing more people into gaming at home. Stalwart Steam games like Counter-Strike, Dota and PUBG are consistently driving the platform's numbers forward, but this recent push has been no doubt aided by the Chinese RPG Tale of Immortal which launched in late January and is sat in fourth position in the service's top 10. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-modern-pc-games-summer-2020-update&captions=true"] Contemporary success stories like Rust, Valheim, Among Us and Phasmophobia have also certainly had a part to play in boosting Steam's numbers. Valheim in particular was last week's top seller, cracking 130 thousand concurrent players in less than a week. The growth has been pretty phenomenal since March of 2020, when Steam's concurrent record was hovering around the 20 million mark. Compare that to December 2020, when it smashed through to 24 million concurrent users with the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. At the same time, Steam broke a separate record as more than 1 million players flooded onto Cyberpunk within hours of its launch, doubling Fallout 4's 2015 record of nearly 500 thousand users. Our news article from 2013 as Steam broke 7 million concurrent users makes for quite the humble comparison now. It bodes well for Valve that Steam has finally officially launched in China – although that's not been the smoothest process, and may continue to be tough for Chinese players after concerns about lost games arose. In other Steam news, the service was recently fined by the European Union for alleged Geo-blocking. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.