Infinity Ward has announced it will be adding additional resources to ban racist names from its Call of Duty games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. In a tweet published on its official social media account, Infinity Ward announced additional counter-measures to ensure users with racist and hate-oriented names are banned from its servers and games. The studio says that while it already bans users for offensive names, there will be additional counter-measures in place to ensure racist names don't slip past its filters.

pic.twitter.com/o2nR4ZNQL0

— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) June 3, 2020

This includes adding “[A]dditional resources to monitor and ID racist content, [A]dding additional in-game reporting systems to increase the number of bans by hour, [A]dding filters and greater restrictions on name changes, [E]valuating in-game improvements to make it easier to report offenses, [and] [I]ncreasing permanent bans to root out repeat offenders.” In a statement, Infinity Ward says, “There is no place for racist content in our game. This is an effort we began with launch and we need to do a better job. We’re issuing thousands of daily bans of racist and hate-oriented names. But we know we have more to do.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] In the wake of the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd, Call of Duty community members highlighted the presence of racist and hateful names in Call of Duty games, including names that directly reference Floyd’s death. Although Activision announced its support for Floyd and the black community, as well as delaying the upcoming Season 4, it also brought attention to the presence of these racist names in its Call of Duty games. Infinity Ward ended its message by saying, “We apologize to our players. This is our commitment to you, our fans, thank you.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Marvel Studios won't have to wait much longer until Daredevil can rejoin the MCU. Via Screen Rant, the fan campaign known as Save Daredevil has calculated that only six months remain until the rights to Daredevil transfer from Netflix back to Marvel. Due to the nature of the contract between Netflix and Marvel, the latter isn't able to use characters like Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones until two years after the cancellation of their respective shows. Netflix canceled Daredevil in late November 2018, meaning Marvel will regain the rights to the character in November 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-netflix-marvel-series-review&captions=true"] As Screen Rant points out, Marvel will have also reacquired the rights to Luke Cage and Iron Fist at that point, as both shows were canceled in October 2018. The rights to Jessica Jones and The Punisher will follow in February 2021, with Netflix having canceled its final two Marvel series in February 2019. In less than a year, all five franchises will be back in the Marvel fold. The question now is when and how Marvel intends to utilize these characters. Will they continue the canceled Netflix shows on a Disney-owned streaming service like Hulu or Disney+? Or will they recast the roles and reboot this particular corner of the MCU? As it is, the connective tissue between the Netflix shows and the MCU movies was limited, to the point where we argued fans should stop pretending the two are connected at all. Fans were briefly given hope that Daredevil star Charlie Cox might reprise the role in the upcoming third Spider-Man movie. Unfortunately, Cox shot down that rumor, telling ComicBook.com "I hadn't heard those rumors, but it's certainly not with my Daredevil. I'm not involved in it." Only time will tell how these characters will be integrated (or reintegrated) into the MCU. For now, Marvel has big plans for other live-action superhero series on Disney+, including Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel. And unlike the Netflix shows, these Disney+ series will be closely intertwined with the MCU movies. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/29/charlie-cox-addresses-daredevilspider-man-rumors"] Let us know in the comments below what you hope to see from Daredevil's MCU future. [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.

Developer Slightly Mad is back in the driver’s seat after surprise announcing Project Cars 3, the next game in its popular racing simulator series. Project Cars became popular with racing aficionados thanks to the high level of detail in the first two Project Cars game. However, with the new sim, Slightly Mad is working to expand beyond the sandbox with a fleshed-out career mode. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/03/project-cars-3-4k-announcement-trailer"] Speaking with GamesRadar, Project Cars 3 production director Pete Morrish says that alongside its highly customizable sandbox, which includes different cars, tracks, and weather conditions that can be mixed-and-matched, there’s also a new career mode designed to help more casual fans. According to Morrish there’s “a whole metagame, and a whole career system to really support newcomers to the franchise, and those that are maybe further down the continuum towards more casual, more ‘pick up and play’ people, than the usual sim-head crowd.” The career mode will allow new players to explore a progression system designed to introduce them to different skills, tracks, and cars, and rewards players equally for progressing. Regardless of whether a player sticks with a specific discipline, or tries to become a jack of all trades. Alongside the new Career Mode, Project Cars 3 will bring back community events where players can compete in daily, weekly, and monthly challenges for additional bonuses and progression. "[Project Cars 3] wants you to get good. It wants you to enjoy racing and discover what we love about it. And that's what we're ultimately trying to share," Morrish says. Project Cars 3 will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC later this summer. Read IGN’s review of Project Cars 2 here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Elite Dangerous's newest expansion, Odyssey, will allow players to step off their ships, walk on planets, engage in first-person fights, complete contracts, and much more. Arriving in Early 2021, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is more than just a way for space travelers to get a good view of a new planet, as there will be a wide variety of contracts to undertake, including those that feature diplomacy, commerce, lethal stealth, and all-out combat. There will be "diverse settings, objectives, and NPCs" that offer "endless mission variety and a near infinite amount of content to enjoy." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/03/elite-dangerous-odyssey-announcement-trailer"] There will be social hubs spread throughout the galaxy where travelers can form alliances, procure services, and find expert support in "highly coveted Engineers." When in combat, fights will take place in first-person and new and upgradeable gear will be waiting for those brave enough to get it. Oh, and SRVs and Starships will still be in play, so players must not forget to look up to the stars every once and a while. Elite Dangerous is a space flight simulation game that was first released on PC in 2014 before arriving on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It features a 1:1 scale open-world representation of the Milky Way and allows for single-player and multiplayer fun. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=elite-dangerous-horizons-24-the-return-screenshots&captions=true"] In our review of Elite Dangerous, we said it "is a beautiful game and an amazing space sim let down by a universe devoid of character and low on excitement. It's great to fly the various ships and experiment with different loadouts, and there are a lot of different roles to play in Elite that helps keep the experience fresh. But without any special missions or narrative threads to pick up, and a universe that seems more mechanical than alive, Elite also seems far smaller than its 400 billion star systems." [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.

Konami, the company behind such games as Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill, has announced it has launched a new third-party publishing unit in the West and that its first game, Skelattack, is available now. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Konami's senior brand and business development manager Richard Jones discussed how this new initiative will focus on external studios that will build games designed to succeed in western markets. "The drive is towards publishing more titles from Western studios," Jones said. "So the focus for the European team is domestic audiences. Obviously everyone knows Konami, we have studios and teams in Japan, we have many well-known, well loved IPs. They're all being managed and looked after by our studios in Japan, and what we're looking for is complementary titles, to build the portfolio with things that perhaps [are] new to Konami -- Western titles for Western audiences." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/03/skelattack-launch-trailer"] Even though Konami hasn't been focusing on some of its most beloved franchises, save for such titles as Metal Gear Survive and the Contra and Castlevania Anniversary Collections, its mobile games, PES' online mode, and esports have led to years of consecutive profit growth. These new games, however, will find their way to PC and consoles. Skelattack, while not a huge AAA game, is only one part of the initiative that will also see much larger projects. "I guess the reason we're talking about smaller titles is because the first title we announced is Skelattack, which is obviously an indie title," Jones says. "I think one of the reasons we're looking to those types of smaller teams is just that there's so much creativity out there with those guys -- you know, teams working on small but ambitious titles. Those guys are the ones daring to do innovative games, and I think that's something very exciting, which we wanted to support as a publisher." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=10-konami-games-that-need-remakes&captions=true"] Skelattack has players taking on the role of a villain who has to defend their land from "the invading human threat," and is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. The developer behind Skelattack, Ukuza, is one of many that Jones hopes to build a long term partnership with. "We're in for the long haul," Jones says. "We're only now just going public with this, with the release of Skelattack, [but] I'm sure you can imagine that this has been planned for months. So, right now, we're looking at short and mid-term titles that need funding and publishing support to realise their potential. I think long-term, from my perspective, it's about forming creative partnerships with studios. It's about bringing original projects to fruition. This is something that we're keen to invest in and are willing to put time and resources into." Jones stated that the team's focus will initially be on studios in Europe, as the team is smaller and it "makes sense if we're working in similar time zones." This strategy doesn't mean other markets will be ignored, just that Europe will presently be the primary focus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/turbografx-16-mini-review"] "Our hope is that these things which we can offer might be a good option or a good fit for certain development partners. From the beginning of this process, we've been clear with ourselves that we want to put the developers first. Developers generally want to focus on development. The commercial side is not something which all studios want or need to have in-house. And I think that's where perhaps the more traditional publisher/developer relationship could work, because we can bring our expertise to those guys and allow them to do what they're best at, which is making games." For more on Konami, be sure to check out our review of Konami's TurboGrafx-16 and the denied rumors that Silent Hill may be making a return in the near future [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.

A Total War Saga: Troy will be free on the Epic Games Store when it first launches later this year. Sega announced that its upcoming strategy game, A Total War Saga: Troy, will launch on August 13 exclusively on the Epic Games Store, where it will be free of charge for 24 hours. Anyone who claims the game during that period will be able to keep the game forever, with no charge. After that 24 hour period, the game will be available for purchase at its standard price. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-total-war-review-ever&captions=true"] "Thanks to Epic, we're able to offer a Total War title for free on its launch day," Chief Studios Officer at Sega Europe Ltd, Tim Heaton, said. "It's a hugely exciting thing for us to be able to do for our players." A Total War Saga: Troy will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for a year. In August 2021, the game will be available "on other digital PC storefronts such as Steam." Heaton said this free offer is exciting because it gives players who haven't played a Total War game before the chance to dip their toes into the series for free. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/19/a-total-war-saga-troy-campaign-trailer"] "Not only does this mean that we can bring the tales and legends of Troy to a wide audience through Epic's massive platform, but it also means new players will get to try Total War for the first time, experiencing the unique gameplay that the series is famous for," Heaton said. Sega describes A Total War Saga: Troy as an "award-winning marriage of grand turn-based strategy and spectacular real-time battles." Players will play as Achilles, Hector, and others to defend or destroy the city of Troy during the historical Bronze-Age conflict. For more on the Total War series, read up on the announcement of Troy and where it sits with other games in the Total War series like Three Kingdoms. Check out our review of Total War: Three Kingdoms. While waiting for Troy to launch later this year, read about the lofty new ambitions the game sets for the series. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins has revealed that she was once offered the chance to direct a Justice League movie, but she ultimately decided to turn the project down. ComicBook.com reports that Jenkins made the admission in a recent interview, published by French magazine Premiere, as she elaborated on her reasons for passing up the opportunity to helm a superhero ensemble film. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/snyder-cut-of-justice-league-is-actually-coming-to-hbo-max-ign-now"] "I love comics, but I've come to superheroes through films," she said. "There is in me this desire to emulate compared to the movies I saw as a child. A certain spirit that reigned in those times. Is that relevant when I shoot? I don't know. "The point is, unlike other directors, I don't really care about shared universes, continuity, and that kind of detail. I've been contacted to make a Justice League movie in the past, and it doesn't connect to me. Too many characters." It is unclear whether Jenkins was contacted over Zack Snyder's Justice League reshoot, eventually completed by Joss Whedon, or whether she was offered a sequel movie, or an entirely different Justice League project altogether. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-dceu-movie-review-score&captions=true"] Snyder was announced as the director of Justice League in 2014, but he had to step away from the film in its final stages due to a heartbreaking personal tragedy. After years of campaigning for his version of the film to be released, the Man of Steel filmmaker recently confirmed that the Snyder Cut - or at least a Snyder Cut - would be coming to HBO Max in 2021, and it might take the form of a four-hour movie, or even a TV-like run of episodes. For more on the Snyder Cut of Justice League, check out our deep dive into the legendary project's history. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Ten minutes of new footage from the cancelled first-person Avengers game has been uploaded to the internet, captured from an early build that was secured by a video game preservation community.

I can't say this was something I expected to see this week, early and broken or not. #avengersassemble pic.twitter.com/IrjMEYJ3nT

— Andrew Borman (@Borman18) June 1, 2020

This version of the Avengers game was discovered on a hard drive by Obscure Gamers, and the footage uploaded by Andrew Borman, the digital games curator at the Museum of Play. In the tweet above you can see Captain America in action, hurling his shield at enemy Skrulls, and the full video on YouTube also demonstrates Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk in action, too. The footage is clearly taken from an early build of the game, which features sparse, undetailed levels, placeholder collectables, and untextured enemy models. But despite the early nature of the assets, you can easily see the kind of first-person co-op brawling gameplay that the project was working towards. This Avengers project was set to be a co-op game that would coincide with the release of the first Avengers movie, and was inspired by the Secret Invasion comic book story arc in which the Skrulls invade earth by shapeshifting into members of society and taking their place. In the menus we can spot several key Marvel locations as levels, including SHIELD’s headquarters, the Triskelion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/04/14/what-would-be-your-dream-avengers-game"] The game, which was in development in 2011 at THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue Entertainment, was eventually cancelled after THQ suffered financial troubles and was eventually forced to close. While this Avengers co-op game sadly never saw completion and release, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix are currently working on a new, third-person Marvel’s Avengers co-op game, due to release this September. You’ll be able to see more from the game as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming event, where more will be shown of the War Table feature. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

The CW is reportedly looking to replace Kate Kane with an entirely new character for Batwoman Season 2 after Ruby Rose's shock departure from the lead role. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the show has opted to find a new identity for Batwoman rather than recast Rose's role of Kate Kane, a cousin of Bruce Wayne, following the circulation of a leaked casting call in a Batwoman Reddit forum. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/08/why-arrowverses-batwoman-casting-is-perfect"] Decider picked up on the since-deleted callout searching for an actor to portray the new character, identified in the listing as "Ryan Wilder" (though it is not clear whether this is a placeholder name), a woman in her mid-20s who "is about to become Batwoman." "She's likeable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She's also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her," the notice reads, per the outlet. "With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits," it continues. "A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=batwoman-season-1-photos&captions=true"] Warner Bros. and The CW previously confirmed that they would recast the role of Batwoman with another LGBTQ actor for the already commissioned second season, which is moving forward without Rose after she announced she would be hanging up the cape and cowl. Rose has not confirmed the exact reason for her sudden exit from the series, though some reports have suggested that friction arose on set after Rose became unhappy with the long hours required for the lead role on the 20-episode season. Our review of Batwoman's first season finale was full of praise, so hopefully, the right person will be found in order to propel the show into a great second season. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

New details have been revealed about Pokemon Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass, including the release date of the first content pack, the Isle of Armor, which will launch on June 17. The Pokemon Company has revealed a new trailer for the entire Expansion Pass, giving us a better look at the new features coming to the game with the two DLC packs, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/03/pokemon-sword-and-shield-isle-of-armor-and-crown-tundra-expansion-pass-trailer"] Aside from the release date, we were also introduced to two new Pokemon from the Regi family - Regieleki (electric-type) and Regidrago (dragon-type). We were also introduced to Galarian Slowbro, a poison/psychic type with a new move, Shell Side Arm, which is unique to this form. We also learned more about the Galarian forms of the original legendary birds that we were introduced to earlier this year: Galarian Articuno is psychic/flying, Galarian Zapdos is fighting/flying, and Galrian Moltres is dark/flying. The Isle of Armor will bring Gigantimax forms of all three final evolution starter Pokemon - Rillaboom, Cinderace and Inteleon, adding powerful new G-Max moves to their skillset. You can check out the new Gigantamax Forms in our Pokemon Sword and Shield Wiki. The Isle of Armor will also add in Pokemon that did not appear in the main game, such as Azurill and Chansey. A series of new Pokemon will also be brought to the game across the Expansion Pass, including new legendaries such as Kubfu, Urshifu and Calyrex. You can check out a huge set of new screenshots from the Expansion Pass in the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=pokemon-sword-and-shield-isle-of-armor-screenshots&captions=true"] We're still yet to learn about the release date for The Crown Tundra, the frosty second expansion pack which was revealed back in January. The expansion pass marks a new step for the Pokemon franchise - which has previously preferred to release new versions of the same game, or semi-sequels. We think this is a very good next step. We awarded Pokemon Sword and Shield a 9.3 review, and since named it one of the best Nintendo Switch games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.