Esai Morales has joined the cast of Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, reportedly replacing Nicholas Hoult as the villain in the upcoming sequels. Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, the writer and director of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Fallout, who has signed on to write and direct the next two sequels back-to-back, revealed that Morales had been cast in the latest instalments of the Mission: Impossible franchise in an Instagram post on Thursday. "We all face the same fate," McQuarrie wrote in the caption of his post, which included the hashtags for M:I-7 and M:I-8. While McQuarrie kept details about Morales' character tightly under wraps, Deadline reports that he has been brought on board to replace Hoult, who was cast in a villainous role earlier this year, since recent production delays put Hoult in "conflict with another commitment." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/13/mission-impossible-in-7-minutes-2018-update"] The cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 7 were apparently poised to shoot a major sequence in Italy when that country went into lockdown and production on the Tom Cruise film shut down indefinitely. This setback in the shooting schedule has reportedly forced Hoult to drop out of the production altogether. Meanwhile, Morales, who played the DC villain Deathstroke in the second season of Titans, joins the cast alongside Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff and Hayley Atwell, who has portrayed Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] With the resumption of filming still unclear, Paramount Pictures recently pushed back the release of Mission: Impossible 7 from July 23, 2021, to November 19, 2021. Mission: Impossible 8, previously scheduled for wide release on August 5, 2022, has also now been pushed to November 4, 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Esai Morales has joined the cast of Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, reportedly replacing Nicholas Hoult as the villain in the upcoming sequels. Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, the writer and director of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Fallout, who has signed on to write and direct the next two sequels back-to-back, revealed that Morales had been cast in the latest instalments of the Mission: Impossible franchise in an Instagram post on Thursday. "We all face the same fate," McQuarrie wrote in the caption of his post, which included the hashtags for M:I-7 and M:I-8. While McQuarrie kept details about Morales' character tightly under wraps, Deadline reports that he has been brought on board to replace Hoult, who was cast in a villainous role earlier this year, since recent production delays put Hoult in "conflict with another commitment." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/13/mission-impossible-in-7-minutes-2018-update"] The cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 7 were apparently poised to shoot a major sequence in Italy when that country went into lockdown and production on the Tom Cruise film shut down indefinitely. This setback in the shooting schedule has reportedly forced Hoult to drop out of the production altogether. Meanwhile, Morales, who played the DC villain Deathstroke in the second season of Titans, joins the cast alongside Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff and Hayley Atwell, who has portrayed Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] With the resumption of filming still unclear, Paramount Pictures recently pushed back the release of Mission: Impossible 7 from July 23, 2021, to November 19, 2021. Mission: Impossible 8, previously scheduled for wide release on August 5, 2022, has also now been pushed to November 4, 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Riot Games has announced that Valorant will be launching free-to-play on June 2, 2020 after a month-long closed beta. The official launch will reset player accounts for anyone who was participating in the closed beta. Valorant is Riot’s new 5v5 tactical shooter mixed in with some light hero elements. Players have described it as a mix of Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offense and Blizzard’s Overwatch, but Valorant is very much its own thing.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gameplay-screenshots-of-valorant-closed-beta&captions=true"]

As mentioned, once the official release version is live players will have their accounts reset. So win-loss records and progression will start from zero for all players. “Our goal has always been to bring Valorant to as much of the world as soon as possible, so we’re hyped to be able to do so on June 2,” says Anna Donlon executive producer of Valorant.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/6-minutes-of-valorant-gameplay"]

Along with the full launch, Valorant will release with new patch content. Riot is also promising regular new game content, game modes, agents, and maps after launch.

For more check out IGN’s review of Valorant. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Riot Games has announced that Valorant will be launching free-to-play on June 2, 2020 after a month-long closed beta. The official launch will reset player accounts for anyone who was participating in the closed beta. Valorant is Riot’s new 5v5 tactical shooter mixed in with some light hero elements. Players have described it as a mix of Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offense and Blizzard’s Overwatch, but Valorant is very much its own thing.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gameplay-screenshots-of-valorant-closed-beta&captions=true"]

As mentioned, once the official release version is live players will have their accounts reset. So win-loss records and progression will start from zero for all players. “Our goal has always been to bring Valorant to as much of the world as soon as possible, so we’re hyped to be able to do so on June 2,” says Anna Donlon executive producer of Valorant.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/6-minutes-of-valorant-gameplay"]

Along with the full launch, Valorant will release with new patch content. Riot is also promising regular new game content, game modes, agents, and maps after launch.

For more check out IGN’s review of Valorant. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

G2A has admitted that it has sold stolen games on its marketplace. In a blog post on the G2A website, the company has admitted to selling 198 illegally-obtained copies of Factorio, a management sim created by developer Wube Software. As compensation, G2A has agreed to pay Wube Software "ten times the value of any bank-initiated refund costs that Factorio paid in relation to each of the 198 illegitimate keys sold via its Marketplace." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/04/21/the-first-15-minutes-of-factorio"] The compensation of ten times the value of refund costs comes as part of a guarantee G2A made in the same blog post earlier last year, which the company posted as part of its attempts to fight back against accusations that the G2A marketplace was being used to sell illegally obtained games. G2A claimed it was happy to compensate developers, provided that they could actually prove that their games had been stolen. "To assure honesty and transparency, we will ask a reputable and independent auditing company to make an unbiased examination of both sides — the developer's store and G2A marketplace," the blog post reads. "The cost of the first three audits is on us, every next one will be split 50/50." Wube Software took G2A up on this offer. "After assessing a number of independent auditing companies and finding none that would meet our agreed requirements, Wube and G2A decided that G2A should proceed with an internal investigation," the latest blog post update from G2A reads. Wube Software claimed that 321 keys had been sold illegitimately. "This investigation confirmed that 198 of Wube's keys had been sold via its Marketplace between March 2016 - June 2016," said G2A. "It is assumed by both parties that the remaining 123 illegitimate keys were sold via other online marketplaces or other online stores." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] The blog post claims that the ten-times-value compensation was a "limited-time offer", and concludes with the company seemingly announcing the end of this offer, adjusting the promise to full compensation for charge-back fees incurred. "The gaming developer community has our solidarity and sympathies on this issues, and we want to continue building bridges," the blog post reads. "With our main point being made, about the seriousness of fraud in the industry, from now on we will compensate developers the full value of any chargeback fees they incurred for any keys sold via G2A Marketplace, if they are able to prove they were illegitimate." G2A has a history surrounding its marketplace. Back in 2017, G2A accused Gearbox of defamatory statements. Just last year, thousands signed a petition to stop selling indie games on the G2A marketplace. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

G2A has admitted that it has sold stolen games on its marketplace. In a blog post on the G2A website, the company has admitted to selling 198 illegally-obtained copies of Factorio, a management sim created by developer Wube Software. As compensation, G2A has agreed to pay Wube Software "ten times the value of any bank-initiated refund costs that Factorio paid in relation to each of the 198 illegitimate keys sold via its Marketplace." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/04/21/the-first-15-minutes-of-factorio"] The compensation of ten times the value of refund costs comes as part of a guarantee G2A made in the same blog post earlier last year, which the company posted as part of its attempts to fight back against accusations that the G2A marketplace was being used to sell illegally obtained games. G2A claimed it was happy to compensate developers, provided that they could actually prove that their games had been stolen. "To assure honesty and transparency, we will ask a reputable and independent auditing company to make an unbiased examination of both sides — the developer's store and G2A marketplace," the blog post reads. "The cost of the first three audits is on us, every next one will be split 50/50." Wube Software took G2A up on this offer. "After assessing a number of independent auditing companies and finding none that would meet our agreed requirements, Wube and G2A decided that G2A should proceed with an internal investigation," the latest blog post update from G2A reads. Wube Software claimed that 321 keys had been sold illegitimately. "This investigation confirmed that 198 of Wube's keys had been sold via its Marketplace between March 2016 - June 2016," said G2A. "It is assumed by both parties that the remaining 123 illegitimate keys were sold via other online marketplaces or other online stores." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] The blog post claims that the ten-times-value compensation was a "limited-time offer", and concludes with the company seemingly announcing the end of this offer, adjusting the promise to full compensation for charge-back fees incurred. "The gaming developer community has our solidarity and sympathies on this issues, and we want to continue building bridges," the blog post reads. "With our main point being made, about the seriousness of fraud in the industry, from now on we will compensate developers the full value of any chargeback fees they incurred for any keys sold via G2A Marketplace, if they are able to prove they were illegitimate." G2A has a history surrounding its marketplace. Back in 2017, G2A accused Gearbox of defamatory statements. Just last year, thousands signed a petition to stop selling indie games on the G2A marketplace. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

UPDATE: Ben Affleck shared his response to the Justice League Snyder Cut news via Kevin Smith‘s Fat Man Beyond podcast. In a video message Affleck said he's "very excited that Zack is getting a chance to finally see his vision realized" and thanked the fans for helping to make the Snyder Cut's release a reality. "I love Zack and I love his version of the movie, and I look forward to everyone getting a chance to see it," Affleck said.

View this post on Instagram

BATMAN ON FAT MAN BEYOND! Last night on #fatmanbeyond, @benaffleck sent a message to all the fans who made the #zacksnyder @justiceleague a forthcoming reality on @hbomax with their passionate #releasethesnydercut campaign! Ben also sent some love to his director Zack in the clip - and for you @jayandsilentbob Strike Back fans, he included a bomb of a button! Big thanks to the Dark Knight for swinging by our little show - @marcbernardin & I appreciated it, and the audience was ecstatic! (See the whole episode at my @youtube channel.) #KevinSmith #benaffleck #justiceleague #benaffleckbatman #hbomax #zacksnydersjusticeleague

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on May 22, 2020 at 12:02am PDT

Our original report follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The cast of Justice League seem to be as happy as their original director about the announcement of Zack Snyder's Justice League, the recut version of the 2017 movie. Henry Cavill (Superman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) all posted on Instagram about their happiness regarding the announcement of the long-awaited 'Snyder Cut'. Fisher kept it simple, referencing the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement by saying: "For those who fought. For those who believed. Thank you." Momoa also thanked fans for their part in the Snyder Cut's release: "finally it’s happening. your welcome. justice served. all my aloha to everyone who made this happen. all the fans. we love you." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-dceu-movie-review-score&captions=true"] Cavill provided the longest message, and referenced the occasionally volatile online arguments about the Cut, saying "be nice to each other" while congratulating Snyder himself: "Ladies and Gents, it finally happened. The Snyder cut will be out next year! Now, I know there have been two camps over the whole Snyder Cut thing and whether it will ever happen for a while. Just remember, we all get to have more Justice League now, it's a win win. So, be nice to each other ;). Big congratulations to you, Mr Snyder!" Zack Snyder's Justice League will be released on HBO Max in 2021, but its format is still undecided - it may be a 4-hour movie, or a miniseries. If you're not sure of how we got here, we wrote a full history of the Snyder Cut shortly before this announcement. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/20/snyder-cut-of-justice-league-is-actually-coming-to-hbo-max-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

UPDATE: Ben Affleck shared his response to the Justice League Snyder Cut news via Kevin Smith‘s Fat Man Beyond podcast. In a video message Affleck said he's "very excited that Zack is getting a chance to finally see his vision realized" and thanked the fans for helping to make the Snyder Cut's release a reality. "I love Zack and I love his version of the movie, and I look forward to everyone getting a chance to see it," Affleck said.

View this post on Instagram

BATMAN ON FAT MAN BEYOND! Last night on #fatmanbeyond, @benaffleck sent a message to all the fans who made the #zacksnyder @justiceleague a forthcoming reality on @hbomax with their passionate #releasethesnydercut campaign! Ben also sent some love to his director Zack in the clip - and for you @jayandsilentbob Strike Back fans, he included a bomb of a button! Big thanks to the Dark Knight for swinging by our little show - @marcbernardin & I appreciated it, and the audience was ecstatic! (See the whole episode at my @youtube channel.) #KevinSmith #benaffleck #justiceleague #benaffleckbatman #hbomax #zacksnydersjusticeleague

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on May 22, 2020 at 12:02am PDT

Our original report follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The cast of Justice League seem to be as happy as their original director about the announcement of Zack Snyder's Justice League, the recut version of the 2017 movie. Henry Cavill (Superman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) all posted on Instagram about their happiness regarding the announcement of the long-awaited 'Snyder Cut'. Fisher kept it simple, referencing the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement by saying: "For those who fought. For those who believed. Thank you." Momoa also thanked fans for their part in the Snyder Cut's release: "finally it’s happening. your welcome. justice served. all my aloha to everyone who made this happen. all the fans. we love you." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-dceu-movie-review-score&captions=true"] Cavill provided the longest message, and referenced the occasionally volatile online arguments about the Cut, saying "be nice to each other" while congratulating Snyder himself: "Ladies and Gents, it finally happened. The Snyder cut will be out next year! Now, I know there have been two camps over the whole Snyder Cut thing and whether it will ever happen for a while. Just remember, we all get to have more Justice League now, it's a win win. So, be nice to each other ;). Big congratulations to you, Mr Snyder!" Zack Snyder's Justice League will be released on HBO Max in 2021, but its format is still undecided - it may be a 4-hour movie, or a miniseries. If you're not sure of how we got here, we wrote a full history of the Snyder Cut shortly before this announcement. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/20/snyder-cut-of-justice-league-is-actually-coming-to-hbo-max-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

EA has announced that it's releasing the source code for Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert in an effort to support the series' modding community ahead of the launch of Command & Conquer Remastered. Announced in a blog post on May 21, EA has decided that it will release the dynamic-link library (.dll file) and for both Tiberium Dawn and Red Alert, as well as the games' respective source codes. This will allow modding of the remastered game, something highly requested by fans. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=command-and-conquer-remastered-collection-screenshots&captions=true"] The remastered collection launches in 15 days, and the blog post states that the source code will be launched alongside it. "This is a key moment for Electronic Arts, the C&C community, and the gaming industry, as we believe this will be one of the first major RTS franchises to open source their code under the GPL," C&C producer Jim Vessella said in the blog post, referring to the General Public License, which guarantees freedom for users to modify software. "After discussing with the council members, we made the decision to go with the GPL license to ensure compatibility with projects like [existing mod projects] CnCNet and Open RA." Vessella said EA's goal was to deliver the source code in a way that would be "truly beneficial for the community" and that he hopes this will enable community C&C projects for years to come. The release of the DLL files will help modders in designing maps, creating custom units, replacing art, altering gameplay logic, and editing general data, according to Vessella. This is enhanced by the inclusion of a new map editor in the remastered package. Steam players will be able to use Steam Workshop to share both maps and mods, while Origin users will need to manually install mods into their respective folders outside the game. Origin players will, however, be able to download maps through the usual in-game process. For both PC versions of the game, a Mods tab will be accessible in the game's Options menu, where mods can be activated. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/10/command-conquer-remastered-collection-official-reveal-trailer"] Alongside this announcement, Vessella said that while EA understands LAN play is a heavily-requested feature, its inclusion in the collection has been delayed as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Earlier this year, we had every intention of including LAN Play in the launch version of the game, but sadly this feature did not make it in time," Vessella said. "Unfortunately, LAN Play became the key impact of the Covid-19 situation as we realized the challenge of developing/testing a 'local area network' feature in a workplace time of social distancing." Vessella said the team will keep LAN Play on their priority list as it moves forward in the game's development. The C&C Remastered Collection launches on June 5 on PC. You can check out the first snippets of the collection's gameplay in this C&C Remaster teaser trailer. Meanwhile, here are some ways to help and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

EA has announced that it's releasing the source code for Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert in an effort to support the series' modding community ahead of the launch of Command & Conquer Remastered. Announced in a blog post on May 21, EA has decided that it will release the dynamic-link library (.dll file) and for both Tiberium Dawn and Red Alert, as well as the games' respective source codes. This will allow modding of the remastered game, something highly requested by fans. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=command-and-conquer-remastered-collection-screenshots&captions=true"] The remastered collection launches in 15 days, and the blog post states that the source code will be launched alongside it. "This is a key moment for Electronic Arts, the C&C community, and the gaming industry, as we believe this will be one of the first major RTS franchises to open source their code under the GPL," C&C producer Jim Vessella said in the blog post, referring to the General Public License, which guarantees freedom for users to modify software. "After discussing with the council members, we made the decision to go with the GPL license to ensure compatibility with projects like [existing mod projects] CnCNet and Open RA." Vessella said EA's goal was to deliver the source code in a way that would be "truly beneficial for the community" and that he hopes this will enable community C&C projects for years to come. The release of the DLL files will help modders in designing maps, creating custom units, replacing art, altering gameplay logic, and editing general data, according to Vessella. This is enhanced by the inclusion of a new map editor in the remastered package. Steam players will be able to use Steam Workshop to share both maps and mods, while Origin users will need to manually install mods into their respective folders outside the game. Origin players will, however, be able to download maps through the usual in-game process. For both PC versions of the game, a Mods tab will be accessible in the game's Options menu, where mods can be activated. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/10/command-conquer-remastered-collection-official-reveal-trailer"] Alongside this announcement, Vessella said that while EA understands LAN play is a heavily-requested feature, its inclusion in the collection has been delayed as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Earlier this year, we had every intention of including LAN Play in the launch version of the game, but sadly this feature did not make it in time," Vessella said. "Unfortunately, LAN Play became the key impact of the Covid-19 situation as we realized the challenge of developing/testing a 'local area network' feature in a workplace time of social distancing." Vessella said the team will keep LAN Play on their priority list as it moves forward in the game's development. The C&C Remastered Collection launches on June 5 on PC. You can check out the first snippets of the collection's gameplay in this C&C Remaster teaser trailer. Meanwhile, here are some ways to help and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.