Alongside the news that Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021 and is no longer a launch game for the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has offered more info on what's in store for its next-gen console's launch lineup. Without specifying an exact release date for the Series X, Microsoft narrowed its launch window down from holiday 2020 to November for a global launch of the Series X. Microsoft has also promised that over 100 games optimized for Xbox Series X, either released across generations or developed exclusively for Xbox Series X, will be available before the end of 2020. We count 101 games confirmed for the Series X on our own list (including 2021 and beyond). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"]

Microsoft's Launch Window Plans for Xbox Series X

Here's the breakdown of what players can expect from Series X before the end of the year:

• "More than 50 new games planned for this year across generations and optimized for Xbox Series X, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Dirt 5, Gears Tactics, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Watch Dogs: Legion. With Smart Delivery you only have to buy these games once to play the best versions for your console, across generations."
• "New games developed exclusively for Xbox Series X and launching with Xbox Game Pass, including The Medium, Scorn, Tetris Effect Connected and more."
• "More than 40 popular games newly optimized to take full advantage of Xbox Series X such as Destiny 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Madden NFL 21 and more."

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/does-xbox-series-x-have-a-halo-problem-next-gen-console-watch"] Players will of course be able to access Xbox Game Pass on Xbox Series X as well, allowing subscribers to download and play dozens of games for one monthly fee. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which combines Xbox Live and Game Pass, will also allow players starting in September to play more than 100 games from the cloud on Android phones and tablets via Project xCloud. And of course, Xbox Series X will be supporting backward compatibility across all generations, meaning a library of games from the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One eras will also be playable on Xbox Series X. This means, as Microsoft has boasted before, that Xbox Series X's launch lineup will have "thousands" of games playable at launch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Microsoft has announced that Halo Infinite has been delayed from its planned Holiday 2020 launch to an unspecified 2021 release date. That means the upcoming Halo sequel from 343 Industries will not launch alongside the Xbox Series X, as Xbox had previously planned. Xbox did not confirm a new release window other than next year for Halo Infinite, explaining that the delay comes as the "result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year." Xbox Series X will still launch this year, with Microsoft confirming the Xbox Series X will arrive in November, 2020. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/halo-infinite-9-minutes-of-campaign-gameplay"] Microsoft's full statement on the delay of Halo Infinite reads:

"Today I want to share an important Halo Infinite development update with the community. We have made the difficult decision to shift our release to 2021 to ensure the team has adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision. "The decision to shift our release is the result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year. I want to acknowledge the hard work from our team at 343 Industries, who have remained committed to making a great game and finding solutions to development challenges. However, it is not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday. "We know this will be disappointing to many of you and we all share in that sentiment. The passion and support the community has shown over the years has been incredible and inspiring. We wanted nothing more than to play our game with the community this holiday. The extra time will let us finish the critical work necessary to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever at the quality we know our fans expect. "Thank you for your support and understanding."

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20098018&captions=true"] Halo Infinite was arguably the marquee launch game for Xbox Series X, but Microsoft has clarified its launch plans for the next-gen console following the announcement. The console maker makes clear that there are, "More than 50 new games planned for this year across generations and optimized for Xbox Series X." Last E3, Microsoft confirmed Halo Infinite was planned as an Xbox Series X launch game. While 343 remained relatively quiet about the upcoming sequel since then, we've recently seen and heard a lot more about Halo Infinite. 343 Industries recently confirmed that Halo Infinite's multiplayer will be free-to-play and support 120 fps on Xbox Series X. Xbox also showcased the upcoming Halo adventure as part of its recent Xbox Series X event, at which point we learned more about Infinite's story and villain, how Halo Infinite's open world will work, why Halo newcomers shouldn't be afraid to jump into infinite, and how 343 is setting up Infinite to be a platform for the Halo franchise. Since its showcase, however, the demo encountered some controversy due to discussions around its graphical fidelity. Infinite's developers addressed the blowback about Halo Infinite's graphics, explaining some of the developer's artistic goals and influences while also acknowledging some of the concerns. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air may be returning to the airwaves at long last, but not in the form you might expect. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series is being rebooted with a darker and more dramatic tone. The new series is being developed by Morgan Cooper, who achieved Internet fame in March 2019 with the release of Bel-Air, an unlicensed faux-trailer for a proposed Fresh Prince reboot. That trailer seems to have had the desired effect, with THR reporting Cooper's work caught the eye of original series star Will Smith (who actually interviewed Cooper about the project in April 2019). The reboot is also titled Bel-Air and is a co-production between Smith's Westbrook Studios and Universal TV. Cooper is co-writing and directing the pilot and will serve as co-executive producer on the new series. Chris Collins (The Wire) is serving as showrunner and executive producer and is co-writing the script with Cooper. Original series creators Andy and Susan Borowitz and producers Smith, Quincy Jones and Benny Medina will also executive produce Bel-Air. No cast members have been announced, and it's unclear if any of the actors from the Bel-Air trailer will return. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everything-coming-to-hbo-max&captions=true"] While Bel-Air hasn't yet found a home, THR notes "Peacock, Netflix and HBO Max are among the streamers who are bidding on the potential series." It's worth noting the original series is streaming exclusively on HBO Max. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons on NBC between 1990 and 1996. The series starred Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, following his character's struggles after leaving the hard streets of West Philadelphia for plush, sunny Bel-Air. The series also starred James Avery as gruff Uncle Phil, Janet Hubert-Whitten and later Daphne Maxwell Reid as Aunt Vivian, Alfonso Ribeiro as Will's preppy, nerdy cousin Carlton and Smith's musical collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff as his best friend Jazz. While The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a multi-camera sitcom, the idea of a dark and dramatic reboot isn't necessarily a huge stretch. The series was notable for featuring more serious moments, with Season 4's "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" and Smith's emotional performance being especially well-regarded. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/25/aladdin-fresh-prince-of-agrabah-rap"] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is just the latest classic series to get a new lease on life in 2020. ABC has ordered a pilot for a Wonder Years reboot featuring an African American family in '60s-era Alabama. Comedy Central, meanwhile, is reviving Beavis and Butt-Head and MTV's short-lived Clone High animated series. [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.

New York Comic Con 2020 will be an all-digital event with live YouTube panels. NYCC and ReedPop announced that what is usually a massive in-person event held at the Javits Center in New York City will instead be digital this year as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The event will still take place in October this year, but instead of watching panels in exhibition halls at the center, panels will be held live on YouTube. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] "NYCC doesn't just stop because we can't do what we've done in the past," the company said in a statement. "Instead, we look to the future: We may not be meeting in the queue hall each morning, but we're excited to join forces with our sister event, MCM Comic Con in London, to bring you New York Comic Con's Metaverse, our new online portal dedicated to delivering pop culture experiences, right into your homes NYCC weekend, October 8-11." This news comes as no surprise as many of the year's largest con experiences have moved to all-digital if not cancelled altogether. NYCC said it is partnering with YouTube to bring to fans four days of "incredible content from the biggest studios, publishers and creators in the business." Future information about panel guests, exhibitor profiles and more will be available here. Alongside panels will be publisher and retailer roundtables, networking opportunities, digital courses, and educational opportunities for educators. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/san-diego-comic-con-2020-cancelled"] "We can't thank you enough for how supportive and understanding you've all been as we've cancelled nearly all our ReedPop events this year," the company said. "It's been amazing to see the community turn out, time and time again, in support of our exhibitors and creators. The loss of virtually all conventions in 2020 has leveled a devastating blow on their businesses. We know a lot of you are fans of their work yourselves, and we ask that you continue to support them." NYCC encourages people to check out the content of Emerald City Comic Con, Keystone Comic Con, Florida Supercon and MCM Comic Con Manchester in the meantime. Be sure to catch up on the biggest announcements from IGN's Comic-Con@Home 2020 show too. Here are some ways to help and stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Atomic Heart has surprised and delighted ever since the strange and mysterious first-person shooter was originally revealed two years ago. It gives off hints of BioShock, but with a decidedly more sci-fi twist, and now it's back with another new gameplay trailer. This one, which you can watch at the top of this page, shows off a very sadistic looking melee weapon as you roam the halls of VDNKH and eventually come face to face with Plyush, a mini-boss that appears to be mostly blood and tendons and is 100% disgusting. So just what is Plyush? "It's an organic enemy which might just be a product of some secret governmental deeds," the development team at Mundfish told IGN. "Who knows? You'll have to find out. Maybe its a pure jelly," they added with a laugh. Mundfish themselves call Plyush a mini-boss, too, noting that, "While Plyush shows how agile your enemies can be it's definitely not the biggest nor it the deadliest foe." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=atomic-heart-screenshots-february-2020&captions=true"] Meanwhile, though Atomic Heart will be released for PS4 and Xbox One, it is primarily a next-gen game, with PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC versions planned. "Our game will have no loading screens due to [the] fast SSD," Mundfish told IGN. "Next-gen hardware also provides an exclusive opportunity to fulfill our artistic vision and deliver our game with stunning visuals with no downgrading, which was absolutely essential for current gen." [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22Our%20game%20will%20have%20no%20loading%20screens.%22"] If you're still wondering just what Atomic Heart is all about, you're not alone – and the developers plan to keep that sense of mystery. We asked for some kind of hint, and Mundfish said only this: "The game kicks off when robots start attacking people. P-3 will have to investigate what has caused all these events and deal with what (or who?) is behind all of this." P-3 is, presumably, the player character. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/05/atomic-heart-gameplay-teaser-2020"] Finally, while COVID-19 has affected Mundfish just like it has everyone else, they are on track. "We've had our part of issues with COVID, but that just made us stronger in the end," they told us. "We're in active development." And renowned Doom composer Mick Gordon will be lending his talents to Atomic Heart, which you can hear a bit of in the new Plyush mini-boss gameplay video at the top of this page. "He is taking part in music production along with our in-house sound team," Mundfish said. "You will have an opportunity to experience both recognizable Mick Gordon's sound and the initial vision of our team we have started with." For more on Atomic Heart as development continues, stick with IGN. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Fall Guys will receive its first post-launch patch tomorrow, which will add a level featured in the beta as well as fix many issues and bugs. The new level is Jump Showdown, which is very similar to Jump Club; the survival game where you must jump over a rotating bar while avoiding getting knocked off the platform. Jump Showdown ups the challenge, adding falling platforms and another bar to avoid.  

We're about to drop a new level into rotation!!!

Jump Showdown - A fan-favourite from the beta! We'll be adding it in our first update TOMORROW! Patch-notes in the thread More new levels will be coming soon - along with new features & costumes pic.twitter.com/zQ4hOI70MP — Fall Guys (@FallGuysGame) August 11, 2020

The update will also fix issues in specific minigames, change the odds for which game gets selected in the final round, resolve some matchmaking issues, and more. Here are the full patch notes, as posted on the Fall Guys Twitter:

• Lowered the weighting for Royal Fumble to add more final round variation
• Fixed crash at launch with certain regional calendars set in the operating system
• Improved messaging for matchmaking and server errors
• Fixed physics behaving erratically at high framerate on levels like Tip Toe
• Fixed crown in Fall Mountain not being grabbable in rare situations
• Addressed some collisions in Block Party allowing players to bypass the blocks
• Fixed Parties sometimes failing due to too many requests
• Addressed some special characters causing display issues in player names
• Fixed Big Tease Achievement not unlocking in specific regions
• PC only - Fixed certain game controller models not being detected on PC

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/04/fall-guys-behind-the-schemes-video"] Fall Guys has seen an extreme level of popularity, especially after being featured as one of August's free PS Plus games. Companies like KFC and Walmart are trying to get in on the Fall Guys action, posting their own Fall Guys costume designs online. In our Fall Guys review, we say, "a collection of exciting minigames and a smattering of every colour under the rainbow makes Fall Guys a consistent delight, even if it can also be a frustrating one at times." For more, you can check out our ranking of every minigame in Fall Guys. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Rockstar has updated its support page after a series of serious issues began affecting Red Dead Online in the wake of update 1.21. The developer is aware of the problems and working on numerous fixes. “We are aware some players may currently be experiencing a range of issues including connection problems, low animal spawn counts, difficulty pitching Camps, entering Moonshine shacks and others,” says the Rockstar support page. “We are currently developing fixes to address these and will share more information as it is available.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/28/red-dead-online-the-naturalist-trailer"] The issues listed there are just the surface; the Read Dead Online community has been reporting many strange bugs and glitches over the past 24 hours that include, but are not limited to: being unable to shoot animals, trails of fire extending from wagons, invisible horses, a creepy bald dude arriving in lobbies, trains appearing from nowhere, and a lack of NPCs in the world. Basically, Red Dead Online is a weird place to be right now, and difficult to play.

Can someone grab another wagon? I need to know what happens if the flames cross....lol#RedDeadOnline pic.twitter.com/VYDtcrSIg3

— STAXXMCDOOGLE (@staxxmcdoogle) August 10, 2020

The 1.21 update follows the introduction of The Naturalist as a new Frontier Pursuit. The class requires you to shoot animals - be that with a tranquilizer gun or hunting rifle - and so the glitch preventing guns firing at animals has disturbed any progress being made by players on this pursuit. Hopefully Rockstar can deploy a fix soon. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Jump into GTA Online today to take part in the huge Los Santos Summer Special update, which adds new collectibles, an Open Wheel Race Creator, and much, much more.

With success comes recognition, and with recognition comes brand synergy. With 'fumble royale' Fall Guys currently dominating the Steam charts, brands are, er, falling over themselves to become a part of the 2020's unexpected gaming success story. Fan art for popular games is par for the course, and you only need to take a look at the Fall Guys Twitter account to see some fantastic fan creations for bean-ified costumes. It just so happens that some of those fans run social media accounts for often completely unrelated companies. It's perhaps unsurprising that KFC has gotten a lot of attention for its Colonel Sanders interpretation, given that the chicken chain's already opened locations inside Animal Crossing and built a dating game around their mascot, who would be (checks notes) 130 years old by now. Anyway, he makes a fun bean:

We need this skin in @FallGuysGame, Twitter do your thing pic.twitter.com/QjeC8Z4fAy

— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) August 10, 2020

On the "incredibly mundane" end of the costume spectrum, we've also seen Walmart Canada suggesting a costume in which your glorious, whooping fantasy avatar dresses as a Walmart employee, which made me a bit sad to think about:

Hey, @FallGuysGame. How do we get a Walmart vest cosmetic into your game? Attached is very serious mockup: pic.twitter.com/bMBUufxw2R — Walmart Canada Gaming (@WalmartCAGaming) August 6, 2020

As for costumes I actually might spend my hard-earned crowns on, please see this hideous, chair-based creation from racing equipment creator GT Omega. I wouldn't buy it because I think it looks nice, I just think it'd completely change the meta in team games:

Yo, @FallGuysGame!

Here is our submission. If you took this seriously, that would be great. Thanks, GT Omega. Xoxoxoxo pic.twitter.com/dExIr018J0 — GT Omega (@GTOmegaRacing) August 7, 2020

Of genuine worth, though, are the charities designing their own skins, aiming to let you rep good causes as you fail at Slime Climb again. Get Well Gamers UK had this sleek little number designed - I'd love the addition of a charity skins section, with money going to the causes involved:

Hey @FallGuysGame We got our favourite pizza person @TwiceTheSlice to mock us up a collab skin for Fall Guys X Get Well Gamers What do you say? Hands up, who's be interested in this skin? #gwg #charity #gaming pic.twitter.com/MCczKPRnFS — Get Well Gamers UK (@gwguk) August 10, 2020

Of course, games companies are getting in on the act too, with Konami risking the ire of the entire Internet by formally submitting a set of Metal Gear Solid-themed skins:

TACTICAL FALL GUYS ACTION

We've been carefully designing our ultimate #FallGuys outfits here at KONAMI UK. What do you think, @FallGuysGame? pic.twitter.com/N9OigxUzqd — KONAMI UK (@KonamiUK) August 11, 2020

So far, Fall Guys' actual tie-in costumes have included Hotline Miami and Half-Life, so there is a precedent set - it'll be interesting to see what crossovers we see appear as Fall Guys continues its wobbly march of domination. To see what the fuss is about, check out our review of Fall Guys, which we called "a consistent delight." We also ranked all the current minigames, and talked to its designers about how one of its hardest entries was built. [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.

The Last of Us Part II's new Grounded difficulty and Permadeath mode are available Thursday, Aug. 13 to players as part of a free update, alongside other options and improvements. As teased by a pair of trophies added to the game yesterday, players can now earn two new rewards: one for beating TLoU II with Permadeath enabled, and another for beating the game on Grounded difficulty. These two trophies will not be necessary to earn the Platinum, however. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-last-of-us-part-2-grounded-permadeath-update&captions=true"] Grounded is a returning hardest difficulty mode, featured in the original The Last of Us as well. That version of Grounded stripped away several key elements for players, severely reduced resource availability, and made foes all the more difficult to defeat. Meanwhile Permadeath can seemingly be enabled on any difficulty, and as the screenshot below shows, TLoU II will keep track of what killed you, what difficulty you played on, what aspect of the game you were tackling, and how long and to where you lasted. Additionally, Naughty Dog has added a host of graphics, audio, and gameplay modifiers that can now be included in your playthrough. (Check out some in the gallery above.) These elements include: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/the-last-of-us-part-ii-grounded-update-trailer"]

• Mirror World
• Mirror on Death
• Slow Motion
• Bullet Speed Mode
• Infinite Ammo
• Infinite Crafting
• Infinite Melee Durability
• Infinite Listen Mode Durability
• Infinite Listen Mode Range
• One Shot
• Touch of Death
• 8-bit Audio
• 4-bit Audio
• Helium Audio
• Xenon Audio

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps4-games-summer-2020-update&captions=true"] Additionally, more options have been added to the game, including some specific to visual and HUD elements, plus more:

• Film Grain Adjustment Option
• Disable Listen Mode Option
• Motion Sensor Function Aiming Option
• Arc Throw HUD Display Option
• Aiming Acceleration Scale Option
• Aiming Ramp Power Scale Option
• Accessibility Improvements to Ground Zero encounter and rope gameplay
• Additional accessibility improvements

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-last-of-us-part-2-neil-druckmann-halley-gross-interview-a-podcast-beyond-special-episode"] The Last of Us Part 2 debuted earlier this year to huge sales success, and our Last of Us 2 review praised it as "a masterpiece worthy of its predecessor." For more on the sequel, watch our interview with Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross above about how The Last of Us Part 2 grew and changed during development, and hear more from Gross and Josh Scherr about the unexpected ways in which The Last of Us 2 tells its story.[poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.