Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Justin Davis, Mark Medina, and maybe a special guest -- are discussing the WORST games of the year. Oh yeah, there's also this game called Cyberpunk to talk about. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher   Find previous episodes here!

Disney fans, Pixar fans, and Toy Story fans are excited about Lightyear, but there might be nobody more excited about the movie than its star, Chris Evans. It was announced yesterday that Evans will play Buzz Lightyear in Disney Pixar's Lightyear movie, which hits theaters June 17, 2022. It was just one of the many announcements from Disney's recent investor call and Evans can't contain his excitement for the role. "Working with Pixar is a dream come true," Evans said in an Instagram post yesterday. "I've been a massive fan of their films since the very beginning. My team could barely contain their excitement when they told me that Pixar had a pitch for me. All they said was 'Buzz Lightyear.'" As you can see in the post above, Evans told his team that he didn't quite understand the pitch because Tim Allen, who has been the voice of Buzz Lightyear for over 20 years, and his performance as the character, were untouchable. He said he needed to know how this character was different from the Buzz Lightyear toy in Toy Story 1, 2, 3, and 4, and why the story of Lightyear is a story worth telling. "I can say 2 things with absolute confidence," he said. "1. I didn't stop smiling through the ENTIRE pitch. Ear to ear. 2. Everyone can rest easy. And get very excited." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-pixar-movies-rotten-tomatoes-score&captions=true"] Evans is living proof of his second point as his excitement about the official announcement couldn't be contained, as evidenced by his Instagram post and elsewhere. Shortly after the announcement was made, the actor said on Twitter, "I don't even have the words." He then explained that the story of Lightyear isn't about the Buzz Lightyear toy featured in the Toy Story movies — it's the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy in those movies is based on. It turns out that Evans is just a generally excited person when it comes to anything related to space. Entertainment Weekly writer, Devan Coggan, has a Twitter thread spanning over two years of tweets featuring Evans' many excited reactions to news about space, as you can see in Coggan's tweet below.

My absolute favorite thing about Twitter is Chris Evans being totally wonderstruck by the majesty of outer space. pic.twitter.com/h99eFYqpYo

— Devan Coggan (@devancoggan) July 9, 2018

The thread features over a dozen tweets dissecting how much Evans loves space and every bit of it is worth your time. Almost as if it were written in the stars, Coggan's thread that spans over two years ends with her saying "our boy is going to space" and a picture of Buzz from Lightyear. To infinity and beyond, Chris Evans. If you missed the announcement of Lightyear yesterday, be sure to check it out in our Disney Investor Day 2020 announcement story, which features every movie and TV announcement made during the investor call. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t just bringing back Natalie Portman. Lady Sif, once again played by Jaimie Alexander, is set to return, according to a report by Deadline.

Sif/Alexander was absent from Thor: Ragnarok, though her co-stars returned to portray the Warriors Three, who fought against Cate Blanchett’s sinister Hela.

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Deadline also reports that Lady Sif may appear in other Marvel properties, including Disney Plus’ Loki series.

Sif was featured throughout the first two Thor films as a dedicated ally and secondary possible love interest to the Asgardian god. She also appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where she aided the cast in pursuing escaped sorceress Lorelei.

Disney spent several hours pouring over details about its plans for 2021 and beyond on Thursday during an investors presentation. This included a multitude of announcements about Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney Plus properties.

Perhaps the most interesting announcement for Thor fans was that actor Christian Bale (Dark Knight) will play Gorr the God Butcher, a fan-favorite nemesis of Thor’s who, as the name implies, sets off a campaign of deicide.

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You can read much, much more about Kevin Feige’s updates on the MCU here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/warrior one for IGN.

Glen Schofield wants space to be scary, again. 12 years after creating Dead Space, Schofield is back in the world of sci-fi horror with his new studio Striking Distance, which just announced its survival-horror game The Callisto Protocol. IGN spoke with Schofield a day after The Callisto Protocol was revealed to find out more about the project. And one thing is clear, Schofield’s first and foremost goal with the game is to scare you. “I’m looking forward to really trying to make the scariest game on next-gen platforms [and PC],” says Schofield. “From what I hear — it’s hard to be the creative and talk nicely about it — but from what I hear… [Dead Space] was one of the scarier games of [its generation] and I want to do the same on next-gen, or what’s considered now the current-gen.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/the-callisto-protocol-announcement-trailer"] Striking Distance has a peculiar origin. Founded in 2019 by Schofield after he co-directed several Call of Duty games, including Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3, and Advanced Warfare. Striking Distance was built under the PUBG Corp, best known for the battle royale hit PlayerUnknown’s Battleground. Striking Distance then set out to expand the PUBG universe by creating a new narrative experience within it. And The Callisto Protocol is just that. According to Schofield, there is a big combined effort to flesh out the narrative universe of PUBG, and The Callisto Protocol is set within that universe, but 300 years after whenever PUBG is set. “The funny thing is, I came in with this story when I went and met with the PUBG people for the first time and started talking about [The Callisto Protocol] and building a studio. I presented this game to them, and so what we did was we made it fit within the PUBG storyline.” But don’t let the PUBG connection mislead you. Schofield says The Callisto Protocol is not a battle royale game, but a full-on, third-person survival horror game. “You want to see your character and you want to see you going into danger,” Schofield explains when asked about the appeal of the third-person horror genre. “You want to see yourself and what happens to you during the course of this... as you get blood on your suit.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/is-the-callisto-protocol-the-dead-space-successor-weve-been-waiting-for-rewind-theater"] Schofield is particularly passionate about next-gen, or rather current-gen, technology and how The Callisto Protocol will take full advantage of the latest tech and development innovations. He highlights innovations in lighting and sound, and how the developers can take advantage of all kinds of new lighting techniques and 3D audio to create a new level of immersion. "When the player is walking, your clothes make a sound when your arm is going across the cloth on your chest and things like that. And so we're getting all those sounds. The sound of the wind just so slightly blowing through your hair. It's crazy." The Striking Distance team is also working on integrating haptics, presumably for controllers like the DualSense. But Schofield lights up when he talks about the visuals. “You got to see the graphics, the graphics are just freaking amazing now,” Schofield tells IGN. “We’re getting so detailed, it slows us down on production, you know what I mean?... We can get so detailed now and fit those graphics on the screen and it’s taking a lot of time to build it.” Schofield still couldn’t share too much about the project, but immersion is the main pillar of its development. “We’re trying to make you really feel like you’re in this world. Even though it’s you escaping from this prison and you’ve got to survive these unthinkable horrors.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-callisto-protocol-game-awards-trailer-screenshots&captions=true"] “The more you are immersed, the more you want to know about that story, the more you want to know about those little hints that we put around. You’re like, ‘What the heck is that about? What is this mystery?’” If immersion comes through the advancements in visuals and audio, the other draw for players in The Callisto Project will be the story, one that’s being handled by a dedicated writing team working to create a deep story. “All I can say is... that my goal and the goal of the team is to make the scariest game on next-gen platforms. So if that’s what you want to play, that’s what we’re bringing.” Check out IGN's full recap of all the announcements and reveals from this year's Game Awards. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Update (12/12/20) - Cyberpunk 2077's Twitter has confirmed that Hotfix 1.04 is now available on Xbox consoles as well.

Original story follows.

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Cyberpunk 2077 is getting its first hotfix patch less than 48 hours after an aggressively buggy launch. CD Projekt Red says the update fixes a number of issues with quest bugs, visual bugs, stability, and more.

Hotfix 1.04 is now live on PlayStation consoles and PC. CD Projekt says it is working on getting the update available on Xbox consoles “as soon as possible.”

One of the more notable fixes pertains to the controversial braindance sequences, which featured red and white flashing lights that could cause players with epilepsy to have seizures. CDPR says the 1.04 update modifies the lighting effect to reduce the risk of inducing epileptic symptoms, reducing the flashing in frequency and magnitude. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/cyberpunk-2077-graphics-comparison-ps5-vs-ps4-base-model"]

CDPR has also removed copyrighted songs present in the game’s DMCA-friendly “disable copyrighted music” feature, which presented the streamer community with the huge issue of possibly being demonetized or having their content taken down following a DMCA strike.

Here’s CDPR’s full list of each fix in the 1.04 update.

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Quests

• Fixed an issue with completing the final objective in Gig: Freedom of the Press.
• Fixed an issue with starting conversation with Johnny at the end in Life During Wartime.
• Corrected a rare issue with NPCs no longer calling V if A Like Supreme quest was abandoned mid-way.
• Fixed an issue with Nix not going into his default state in Spellbound and KOLD MIRAGE.
• Fixed issues blocking progress in I Fought The Law if the quest area is left.
• Fixed inability to find Delamain in Epistrophy.
• Fixed issues related to remaining in the second phase of the quest after finishing Pacifica fight with Ozob if played after Finals.
• Fixed an issue with Nomads no longer present if V leaves the quest area mid-combat in With a Little Help from My Friends/Queen of the Highway.
• Adjusted mappings and re-enabled quest tracker in M'ap Tann Pèlen/I Walk the Line/Transmission.
• Fixed constraints on freedom to get up and sit down if neither blueline condition is met in Violence.
• Fixed issues with time and space resulting from leaving the quest area or abandoning the quest in Following the River.
• Fixed an issue with conversation with Johnny not starting after leaving the hotel in Tapeworm.
• Fixed an issue with quest being blocked upon leaving the quest area before climbing the hill in Following the River.
• Fixed the objective “Go into booth 9” not completing if the room’s entered too fast in Automatic Love.
• Fixed Jackie’s issues with sitting still in The Ripperdoc.
• Other quest fixes

Gameplay

• Fixed the preview in weapon crafting.

Visual

• Reduced vehicle appearance pop-in.
• Speeded up switching first person perspective to third person perspective in a vehicle.
• Fixed issues with animations missing from important quest NPCs during cinematics.

Performance & Stability

• Improved stability, including various crash fixes.

Miscellaneous

• Modified the flashing effect on braindances to reduce the risk of inducing epileptic symptoms. The effect has been smoothed out and the flashes reduced in frequency and magnitude.
• Removed copyrighted songs incorrectly present in the game with "Disable Copyrighted Music" feature toggled on.

PC-specific

• Switching language to default in the in-game settings now correctly sets it to the language of your Steam client.

Console-specific

• Improved reflections quality on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to eliminate the smudge effect.
• Fixed “The Wasteland” achievement being stuck on 97% after completing all relevant missions in The Badlands on Xbox.
• Fixed an issue with missing PT-BR VO for Xbox players in Americas.

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Cyberpunk 2077 launched just late Wednesday evening here in North America, perhaps coming in a little too hot as numerous players lamented the number of significant bugs and graphical issues present throughout the game. Console players particularly got the short end of the stick, with base PS4 and Xbox One users experiencing significant graphical downgrades compared to the PC version. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/cd-projekt-red-stock-drops-29-around-cyberpunk-2077-launch"] Check out the latest episode of IGN Now to hear our thoughts on how CD Projekt Red missed the mark with its last-gen failure. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/netrunner for IGN.

HBO has reportedly cast Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, and Matt Smith for its upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. The three are set to star in the show with Greg Yaitanes (Banshee), Clare Kilner (Snowpiercer), and Geeta Patel (Netflix's The Witcher) tapped to direct episodes of the series set 300 years before Game of Thrones, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series will tell the story of House Targaryen, which is the house of Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=house-of-the-dragon-images-and-concept-art&captions=true"] Smith, who is perhaps best known for his time as the eleventh doctor on Doctor Who, will star in House of the Dragon as Prince Daemon Targaryen, who is the "younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne," according to HBO. He's a "peerless warrior and a dragonrider" that "possesses the true blood of the dragon." Cooke, who played Samantha in 2018's Ready Player One, has been cast to play Alicent Hightower, who HBO describes as "the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms." Hightower was "raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle" and she "possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen." D'Arcy, who played Naomi Richards in the TV series Wanderlust, will portray Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is "the king's first-born child" and "of pure Valyrian blood," according to HBO. Like her uncle Daemon, she is also a dragonrider and HBO says she was "born with everything" except being "born a man." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/23/george-r-r-martin-gives-an-update-on-the-winds-of-winter"] This is the latest casting news for House of the Dragon after it was reported back in October that Paddy Considine will play King Viserys Targaryen. House of the Dragon is expected to premiere in 2022. Check out some art of the dragons from the show and then read up on everything you need to know about this Game of Thrones Targaryen prequel series. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Cyberpunk 2077 has been out for less than a week, but developer CD Projekt says it has already recouped its total development cost and marketing and promotional cost.

In a short report to investors, the Management Board of CD Projekt says that the “estimated licensing royalties receivable by the Company in association with pre-order sales of Cyberpunk 2077 across all of its digital distribution channels have exceeded the sum,” of both the game’s development cost and marketing expense.

This means that Cyberpunk 2077 is already profitable thanks to both pre-order sales across PS4, PS5, Xbox One/S/X, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and PC. The profits are also bolstered by estimated licensing royalties the company expects to be owed. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cyberpunk-2077-pc-gameplay-screenshots&captions=true"] Cyberpunk 2077 was announced way back in May 2012 and pre-production began after the development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Blood and Wine expansion in 2016. So depending on how CD Projekt defines the development time for Cyberpunk, the pre-orders and royalties have already covered anywhere from eight to four years of development. Similarly, CD Projekt towards the end of its development promoted Cyberpunk 2077 heavily with ads, physical events at conferences like E3, and more, but those costs including the marketing costs for the remainder of the year have also already been eclipsed by the profits. The news comes just as CD Projekt stock dropped by 29% following the launch and news that the performance of the title is underwhelming on consoles, particularly last-gen systems like the PS4 and Xbox One. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/why-cyberpunk-2077-should-not-get-a-pass-on-last-gens-failures"] Though that didn't stop CD Projekt from already selling 8 million copies of Cyberpunk 2077 before it was even released. For more on Cyberpunk 2077, check out IGN’s full Cyberpunk 2077 guide and Night City map. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The PlayStation 5 was November 2020's best-selling hardware platform in consumer spending, and it had the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a video game hardware platform in U.S. history, breaking the previous record held by PlayStation 4 in November 2013. As reported by The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella, even though the PS5 broke those records, the Nintendo Switch was still the best-selling hardware platform in November 2020 in units sold, extending its streak for a record 24 consecutive month. As for Xbox Series X/S, even though they did not set any records, Piscatella notes that they also "immediately and completely sold out." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/call-of-duty-cold-war-warzone-season-one-trailer"] As far as games, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War was November 2020's best-selling game, and has already become the best-selling game of 2020 year-to-date, beating out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This is the 13th consecutive year that a Call of Duty game has been the best-selling game of its launch month. In November 2007, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock surpassed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's sales to take the #1 spot. Assassin's Creed Valhalla took the number two spot and achieved the highest launch month sales for an Assassin's Creed game since Assassin's Creed III in 2012. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales followed at number three and had the second highest launch month sales of any superhero game on PlayStation platforms in U.S. history, trailing only behind Marvel's Spider-Man. The full list of November 2020's top 20 best-selling games is as follows; [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/08/ps5-reviews-one-month-later-the-review-crew"]

November 2020's Best-Selling Games

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
2. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
3. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
4. Madden NFL 21
5. NBA 2K21
6. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
7. Watch Dogs: Legion
8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
9. FIFA 21
10. Demon's Souls
11. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
12. Super Mario 3D All-Stars
13. Just Dance 2021
14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
15. Luigi's Mansion 3
16. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
17. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
18. Marvel's Avengers
19. Mortal Kombat 11
20. Ghost of Tsushima

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-reviewed-games-of-2020&captions=true"] PlayStation 5's DualSense controller achieved the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a gamepad in U.S. history. As a whole, consumers spent a November record $7.0 billion, 35% higher than November 2019. Year-to-date spending is at $44.5 billion, 22% higher than the same time period in 2019. [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.

In conjunction with its packed Disney Investors Day, Disney updated its larger slate of theatrical release dates, including adjustments for the Ryan Reynolds-starring Free Guy, The King's Man, and more. Of course, the changes to Disney's slate also included all the announced release dates for big upcoming Marvel films like Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and more. After Free Guy's delay out of December, it will now be released on May 21, 2021, while Death on the Nile, also delayed out of 2020, will be released on September 17, 2021. The full list of updates includes: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"]

• THE KING’S MAN moves to 3/12/21

• ANTLERS is now Unset
• RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON moves to 3/5/21
• FREE GUY is now dated on 5/21/21
• DEATH ON THE NILE is now dated on 9/17/21
• UNTITLED 20TH CENTURY previously dated on 9/10/21 moves to 2/11/22
• ENCANTO is the updated title of UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION dated on 11/24/21
• THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER moves to 5/6/22
• TURNING RED is the updated title of UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION dated on 3/11/22
• BLACK PANTHER 2 moves to 7/8/22
• LIGHTYEAR is the updated title of UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION dated on 6/17/22
• CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 moves to 11/11/22
• UNTITLED 20TH CENTURY previously dated on 11/11/22 is removed from schedule

• ROGUE SQUADRON is the updated title of UNTITLED STAR WARS dated on 12/22/23

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/hayden-christensen-returns-a-rogue-squadron-movie-announced-and-more-star-wars-news"] Disney's Investors Day was filled with more than just release date confirmations, though - various new projects from Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, Disney Animation and more were announced throughout the presentation. Among the biggest reveals were the confirmation that a Fantastic Four movie is officially in development with Spider-Man director Jon Watts, Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins will direct a Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie, and Pixar is producing a Buzz Lightyear Origin film starring Chris Evans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The Callisto Protocol - the new sci-fi horror from the creator of Dead Space - is definitely set in the universe of PUBG. We just don't quite know how right now. Announced at The Game Awards 2020, The Callisto Protocol comes from Glen Schofield and his new studio Striking Distance, a developer set up specifically to create a "narrative experience" within the world of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. However, when the Callisto Protocol was shown off, the game looked far more like Dead Space than PUBG. However, speaking to IGN, a spokesperson for Striking Distance confirmed that the game is indeed that same narrative experience, and connected to PUBG - but wouldn't say exactly how. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/the-callisto-protocol-announcement-trailer"] That connection could be very interesting - PUBG's background narrative has gotten increasingly in-depth over time (including an appearance from Jonathan Frakes among many other things), but Callisto Protocol is set on one of Jupiter's moons in the year 2320, whereas the battle royale is based around the story of a multi-billionaire that organises mercenary battles in his razed fictional homeland. This could be an interesting one to explain. We've definitely spotted some Dead Space connections in the new game, and we've also had thoughts about how to turn PUBG into a narrative game - but neither crosses over quite yet. We'll let you know more as soon as we find it out. The Callisto Protocol was one of many, many new announcements last night - here's everything announced and revealed at The Game Awards 2020. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/is-the-callisto-protocol-the-dead-space-successor-weve-been-waiting-for-rewind-theater"] [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.