Activision has announced that the fifth and final season of Call of Duty: Warzone will begin on August 24, implying the release of Warzone 2 could be right around the corner.

Announced on the game's website, the final season is named Last Stand and is centred around a league of Call of Duty villains led by Black Ops 2's Raul Menendez. The original Modern Warfare's Khaled Al-Asad also makes an appearance, alongside Ghosts' Gabriel T. Rorke and Black Ops 3's He “Seraph” Zhen-Zhen.

Call of Duty seasons - which takes place simultaneously across Warzone and Vanguard - typically last around two to three months, meaning this final season of Warzone will likely end in November.

Black Ops: Cold War's final season continued for around one month following Vanguard's release, and since Modern Warfare 2 is launching on October 28, this also lines up with a November end date for Warzone - and therefore, presumably, a launch date for Warzone 2.

Nothing is confirmed, of course, but rumours of a November release date did circulate earlier this week. An official confirmation shouldn't be too far away, however, as the Call of Duty: Next showcase on September 15 is set to reveal new Warzone 2 information alongside other games in "the immediate future of Call of Duty".

Activision has said incredibly little about the Battle Royale sequel since it was announced in February, only commenting in April that Warzone 2 "features groundbreaking innovations" and will be fully revealed sometime this year.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Developer Squanch Games has announced that High on Life has been delayed from its original October 25 release date to December 13.

“As we work to polish the best possible gaming experience for High on Life, the game’s release date will be moved to December 13, 2022,” Squanch Games said in a statement on Twitter. “The Team at Squanch Games is excited for you to play, and we thank you for your continued patience and support!”

New update for @highonlifegame. pic.twitter.com/BdysaV3WF2

— Squanch Games (@SquanchGames) August 18, 2022

Justin Roiland, the creator of Rick and Morty, is behind High on Life. The game follows the player as they rescue humans across the galaxy from aliens that are intending to use them as drugs. In order to fight off the threat, players use weapons called Gatlians.

High on Life was first revealed during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase back in June. It was also reportedly a Stadia title at first before Google shut down its first party development studios. Now, the game will be released on Xbox and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store in December. It will also be included in both Xbox and PC Game Pass on launch day.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Developer Squanch Games has announced that High on Life has been delayed from its original October 25 release date to December 13.

“As we work to polish the best possible gaming experience for High on Life, the game’s release date will be moved to December 13, 2022,” Squanch Games said in a statement on Twitter. “The Team at Squanch Games is excited for you to play, and we thank you for your continued patience and support!”

New update for @highonlifegame. pic.twitter.com/BdysaV3WF2

— Squanch Games (@SquanchGames) August 18, 2022

Justin Roiland, the creator of Rick and Morty, is behind High on Life. The game follows the player as they rescue humans across the galaxy from aliens that are intending to use them as drugs. In order to fight off the threat, players use weapons called Gatlians.

High on Life was first revealed during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase back in June. It was also reportedly a Stadia title at first before Google shut down its first party development studios. Now, the game will be released on Xbox and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store in December. It will also be included in both Xbox and PC Game Pass on launch day.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Netflix has just dropped two surprise episodes of The Sandman. The two-part bonus episode will feature one animated episode with guest voices including Sandra Oh, James McAvoy, and David Tennant, as well as a live-action episode.

The first episode is called A Dream of A Thousand Cats and it will be an animated special and adapts the storyline from the comics of the same name. Alongside Oh, Tennant, and McAvoy (who funny enough voiced Dream in an audiobook adaptation of The Sandman) the voice cast includes Rosie Day, David Gyasi, Joe Lycett, Michael Sheen, Nonso Anozie, Diane Morgan, Tom Wu, and Neil Gaiman himself.

The second episode, Calliope, will be a live-action episode and will star Melissanthi Mahut (the voice of Kassandra in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey) as the eponymous Muse. In the comics, Calliope was captured by a 20th-century writer in order to give him constant inspiration.

In addition to Mahut, the cast includes Arthur Darvill, Nina Wadia, Souad Faress, Dinita Gohil, Kevin Harvey, Amita Suman, and Derek Jacobi.

The Sandman premiered on August 5 on Netflix with a 10-episode first season. According to Netflix, the live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman's critically-acclaimed comic book series has been the number one TV show on Netflix for two weeks in a row with close to two hundred million hours viewed.

Though once considered unadaptable, Neil Gaiman became personally involved in the Netflix series and it looks to have succeeded. IGN's The Sandman review awarded the show a 9 calling it "everything longtime fans could have dreamed of in an adaptation."

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Netflix has just dropped two surprise episodes of The Sandman. The two-part bonus episode will feature one animated episode with guest voices including Sandra Oh, James McAvoy, and David Tennant, as well as a live-action episode.

The first episode is called A Dream of A Thousand Cats and it will be an animated special and adapts the storyline from the comics of the same name. Alongside Oh, Tennant, and McAvoy (who funny enough voiced Dream in an audiobook adaptation of The Sandman) the voice cast includes Rosie Day, David Gyasi, Joe Lycett, Michael Sheen, Nonso Anozie, Diane Morgan, Tom Wu, and Neil Gaiman himself.

The second episode, Calliope, will be a live-action episode and will star Melissanthi Mahut (the voice of Kassandra in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey) as the eponymous Muse. In the comics, Calliope was captured by a 20th-century writer in order to give him constant inspiration.

In addition to Mahut, the cast includes Arthur Darvill, Nina Wadia, Souad Faress, Dinita Gohil, Kevin Harvey, Amita Suman, and Derek Jacobi.

The Sandman premiered on August 5 on Netflix with a 10-episode first season. According to Netflix, the live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman's critically-acclaimed comic book series has been the number one TV show on Netflix for two weeks in a row with close to two hundred million hours viewed.

Though once considered unadaptable, Neil Gaiman became personally involved in the Netflix series and it looks to have succeeded. IGN's The Sandman review awarded the show a 9 calling it "everything longtime fans could have dreamed of in an adaptation."

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Five years after its original release, Quake Champions is finally out of early acccess. The full release of id Software's free-to-play shooter coincides with several games arriving on PC Game Pass, which was announced during Bethesda's QuakeCon event earlier today.

First released back in 2017, Quake Champions is an evolution of id Software's classic arena shooter. Asked why it didn't receive a full release when it went free-to-play in 2018, community developer Joshua Boyle said Quake Champions wasn't ready.

"I'd say we were at a crawl [at launch last year] and we're at a walk now," Boyle said at the time.

Quake Champions has enjoyed mostly positive reviews on Steam, but it has generally failed to take hold among fans in a manner similar to other free-to-play shooters, even with the addition of familiar faces like Doom Slayer and Wolfenstein's B.J. Blazkowicz.

Quake Champions is currently available on Steam and will also be downloadable via the Microsoft Store alongside Daggerfall. Meanwhile, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein 3D, Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire, and TES Adventures: Redguard are all headed to PC Game Pass, where they may soon be joined by Death Stranding.

In the meantime, QuakeCon also afforded a fresh glimpse of Redfall, which will feature missions so large that they will be able to encompass the entirety of Prey's space station.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Five years after its original release, Quake Champions is finally out of early acccess. The full release of id Software's free-to-play shooter coincides with several games arriving on PC Game Pass, which was announced during Bethesda's QuakeCon event earlier today.

First released back in 2017, Quake Champions is an evolution of id Software's classic arena shooter. Asked why it didn't receive a full release when it went free-to-play in 2018, community developer Joshua Boyle said Quake Champions wasn't ready.

"I'd say we were at a crawl [at launch last year] and we're at a walk now," Boyle said at the time.

Quake Champions has enjoyed mostly positive reviews on Steam, but it has generally failed to take hold among fans in a manner similar to other free-to-play shooters, even with the addition of familiar faces like Doom Slayer and Wolfenstein's B.J. Blazkowicz.

Quake Champions is currently available on Steam and will also be downloadable via the Microsoft Store alongside Daggerfall. Meanwhile, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein 3D, Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire, and TES Adventures: Redguard are all headed to PC Game Pass, where they may soon be joined by Death Stranding.

In the meantime, QuakeCon also afforded a fresh glimpse of Redfall, which will feature missions so large that they will be able to encompass the entirety of Prey's space station.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Nintendo of America is currently investigating claims of sexual misconduct.

A company-wide message (via Kotaku) from president Doug Bowser explained that Nintendo acknowledges the “media coverage involving claims made about worker conduct.”

“We have strict policies designed to protect our employees and associates from inappropriate conduct and expect full compliance with these policies by all who work for or with us,” said Bowser. “We have and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and we are actively investigating these most recent claims.”

Nintendo has come under fire following claims that female contractors face a “frat house” environment with sexual harassment and misconduct claims.

“Nintendo was almost like a nightmare,” one contractor told Kotaku. “It’s sad because I love Nintendo; I grew up with Nintendo. I was so excited to join Nintendo when I first got there, and I thought I was going somewhere. I had my supervisors telling me I was doing such a good job.”

Another claimed that “[product testing] really felt like a frat house sometimes.”

They reportedly encountered jokes about gender stereotypes and female characters who go their skirts flipped. She alleges that when she complained, she was simply told she had to be “tough enough” to work in product testing.

“I have had people act in a way that made me uncomfortable, then asked me not to go to HR about it because I’d be ‘misinterpreting,’ making me feel guilty about my own discomfort,” said another tester. “I never felt as included in things or as respected.”

Back in November last year, Nintendo condemned sexual harassment allegations at Activision Blizzard calling reports “disturbing”.

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” said Bowser at the time. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values, and policies.”

Now, it’s Nintendo that’s under scrutiny, and Bowser wants to assure employees that Nintendo of America is taking it seriously.

“Please remember that our HR teams are here to support you,” he wrote. “If you experience, have experienced, witness, or have witnessed anything concerning such behavior that is contrary to our Standards of Conduct, employee handbook, or Company Values, please immediately contact your HR Business Partner.”

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Nintendo of America is currently investigating claims of sexual misconduct.

A company-wide message (via Kotaku) from president Doug Bowser explained that Nintendo acknowledges the “media coverage involving claims made about worker conduct.”

“We have strict policies designed to protect our employees and associates from inappropriate conduct and expect full compliance with these policies by all who work for or with us,” said Bowser. “We have and will always investigate any allegations we become aware of, and we are actively investigating these most recent claims.”

Nintendo has come under fire following claims that female contractors face a “frat house” environment with sexual harassment and misconduct claims.

“Nintendo was almost like a nightmare,” one contractor told Kotaku. “It’s sad because I love Nintendo; I grew up with Nintendo. I was so excited to join Nintendo when I first got there, and I thought I was going somewhere. I had my supervisors telling me I was doing such a good job.”

Another claimed that “[product testing] really felt like a frat house sometimes.”

They reportedly encountered jokes about gender stereotypes and female characters who go their skirts flipped. She alleges that when she complained, she was simply told she had to be “tough enough” to work in product testing.

“I have had people act in a way that made me uncomfortable, then asked me not to go to HR about it because I’d be ‘misinterpreting,’ making me feel guilty about my own discomfort,” said another tester. “I never felt as included in things or as respected.”

Back in November last year, Nintendo condemned sexual harassment allegations at Activision Blizzard calling reports “disturbing”.

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” said Bowser at the time. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values, and policies.”

Now, it’s Nintendo that’s under scrutiny, and Bowser wants to assure employees that Nintendo of America is taking it seriously.

“Please remember that our HR teams are here to support you,” he wrote. “If you experience, have experienced, witness, or have witnessed anything concerning such behavior that is contrary to our Standards of Conduct, employee handbook, or Company Values, please immediately contact your HR Business Partner.”

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

After a long period out of the public eye in North America, Sunsoft is returning to publish three new games based on its classic games catalogue. They include Ikki Unite, a multiplayer co-op roguelike; the return of Gimmick, a classic NES platformer; and Ufouria, a metroidvania expected to hit consoles in 2023.

The releases are part of a new strategy by Sunsoft, which will see it lean on its large catalogue of classic games to capitalize on the popularity of retro gaming.

"The revival of original game porting to game consoles is a big part of our strategy," Sunsoft general manager Yuichi Ochi tells IGN. "We have a plan to bring our original title to current consoles, two or three titles a year."

The most notable of them is Ikki Unite, a new game based on the kusoge or "crap game" that once sold more than 500,000 units in Japan. Sunsoft is also releasing a port of Gimmick on Switch, PS4, and Steam later this year, with a Ufouria port to follow in 2023.

First established in the 1970s, Sunsoft found fame on the NES thanks to classics like Blaster Master, Spy Hunter, and Batman. Sunsoft's games were known for their excellent graphics and high-quality soundtracks, which took advantage of the NES' sound chip in unique ways.

Sunsoft was successful until the mid-1990s, when its parent company, Sun Corporation, abruptly went bankrupt after reportedly losing millions of dollars in a golf course investment. Sunsoft eventually closed all of its offices in North America and Europe, though it continues to develop and publish RPGs, pachinko games, and mobile titles in Japan.

In making a renewed push in the west, Sunsoft hopes to lean into its nostalgic appeal. However, Ochi says that the company also plans to develop new IP.

"I think for me, the original titles are not enough. We will have new IP, brand new titles, in the future," Ochi says.

Sunsoft isn't the only retro company digging into its history. Atari is likewise attempting to make a comeback by pivoting toward retro-styled updates like Gravitar: Recharged and Kombinera, the latter of which is its first new game in years.

Ochi, meanwhile, says that the new push behind Sunsoft's game division is a "big part" of Sun Corporation's strategy going forward, meaning this could be just the beginning. We'll be able to see for ourselves when Ikki Unite's closed beta launch on Steam "soon."

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.