Plague Inc. will soon have a new free mode entirely focused on fighting a pandemic instead of spreading one. The new mode, which will be free for all players during the pandemic, intends on providing a whole new perspective. Developed with aid from the WHO and Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, players will have to prevent diseases from spreading using methods like quarantining, social distancing, closing public sources, and boosting healthcare systems. Some of these methods are already being used today in response to COVID-19. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/plague-inc-mysteriously-removed-from-sale-in-china"] Developer Ndemic Creations announced the new mode on its website, alongside pledging a $250,000 donation to fighting the coronavirus. This donation is split between the World Health Organization and the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Plague Inc. creator, James Vaughan, spoke about how he never expected players to use Plague Inc. as a way to deal with COVID-19. “Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc. or that so many players would be using Plague Inc. to help them get through an actual pandemic," he said. "We are proud to be able to help support the vital work of the WHO and CEPI as they work towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19” Back in January, the strategy simulation game spiked in sales as the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread. The influx in new sales even led to the Chinese government banning Plague Inc. from being sold. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-games-industry"] The developer intends to support the WHO further by promoting a way for players to donate money in-game.   This news follows the cancellation or postponement of several video game conventions like E3 due to the impact of the pandemic. For every game event that has been affected thus far, take a look at our full story. Keep safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and understand how to stay healthy with these CDC guidelines. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=games-to-play-while-stuck-at-home&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Pokemon TCG 2019 World Champion Henry Brand just added another major victory to his record, and this time he did it in style. Kanto style, to be exact. Brand took first place at the Pokemon Regional tournament in Perth, Australia with an “Ultimate Mew3” deck that had never been seen before -- and the biggest surprise to longtime Pokemon fans was that it used all three Gen I starters: Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise. Even though those three superstar Pokemon are beloved in the fandom, anyone who plays the Pokemon TCG knows they don’t exactly have the best performance record. Instead, the strongest Pokemon in the card game tend to be the likes of Rayquaza, Gardevoir, and Garbodor. That said, each respective Kanto starter has had its time to shine over the years -- a Blastoise deck won the 2015 Pokemon TCG World Championship, many decks have earned big wins with Reshiram & Charizard GX since it was released in May 2019, and Venusaur, well, it gets points for trying. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=6b9768b2-4227-43c5-b586-39407e7e705b"] One key aspect that made Brand’s deck so unexpected is how it uses so many Pokemon of different types. Most meta decks are generally built focusing on one, maybe two Pokemon types. There are exceptions, of course, but it’s more common to see, for example, a pure Psychic or Lightning deck than a deck that tries to mix many types together. Having too many types hurts consistency, so it’s harder to make those decks work. That’s a big reason why it’s unheard of for the Fire, Grass and Water Kanto starters to all appear together. The special ingredient that allows Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise to coexist in the same deck is none other than Mewtwo & Mew GX. This obscenely powerful card has the “Perfection” ability that lets it use the attacks of other Pokemon GX on the bench or in the discard pile. Think of it as a Swiss-army Pokemon where a player can choose from a wide variety of attacks and use whichever is best depending on the situation. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=key-cards-in-ultimate-mew3&captions=true"] For example, if Mewtwo & Mew GX takes a big hit, it can return the damage (and then some) with Reshiram & Charizard GX’s Outrage attack. If Mewtwo & Mew GX needs to reach a high number to take a knockout on a Pokemon with high HP, it can use Blastoise GX’s Rocket Splash to get there. As for Venusaur & Snivy GX, rather than its attack, it’s in the deck for its "Shining Vine" ability that lets it gust up vulnerable benched Pokemon. Brand was able to answer the multi-type problem with the newly released Aurora Energy that provides all types of energy. When four copies are added to the deck along with four Rainbow Energy, which has the same effect for a different cost, the deck has eight energies that let Mewtwo & Mew GX use virtually any attack. In addition to the Kanto trio, the deck uses a handful of odd Pokemon like Alolan Raticate GX, Vileplume GX, and Flygon GX that most other players had long written off as “binder trash,” but Brand saw they had very specific uses that he could exploit to take opponents off guard and come out victorious. Those are just the highlights of the deck, but if you want a detailed explanation of everything it can do (and it’s quite a lot), then check out Brand and testing partner Jordan Palmer giving a full run-through of how it works on The SAbleyes YouTube channel. Brand won the 2019 Pokemon TCG World Championship with a Mewtwo & Mew GX deck, as well. His winning list went on to inform how competitive players built the deck for the rest of the season, and now it looks like Brand has done it again by innovating to create a new kind of deck for the metagame. What do you think of this unique deck that features the Kanto starting trio? Let us know in the comments. For more Pokemon throwback fun, check out all the differences between the original Pokemon: The First Movie and the new version Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution that just came to Netflix: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/biggest-differences-between-pokemon-the-first-movie-and-mewtwo-strikes-back-evolution"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

This week in RDO, claim tons of Rewards and Offers and get Moonshiner discounts and XP boosts.

PlayStation has announced that it is managing download traffic in Europe to ease bandwidth strain, which will mean that players may see "slower or delayed game downloads". Online gameplay should not be affected. In a blog post, Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO, Jim Ryan explained that the company was "working with internet service providers in Europe to manage download traffic to help preserve access for the entire internet community. "We believe it is important to do our part to address internet stability concerns as an unprecedented number of people are practicing social distancing and are becoming more reliant on internet access." It's not clear if or how this move will affect PlayStation Now, Sony's game streaming service. We have contacted Sony for comment on that. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/19/netflix-to-reduce-bandwidth-in-europe-due-to-surge-in-traffic"] The move follows the likes of Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and more, who have pledged to lower streaming video quality across the continent. Unlike the US, internet service providers in Europe tend not to put data caps on Internet usage. That means, as internet usage increases during a period of social distancing and school closures, services could become strained by high-usage services. With levels gaming increasing across the world, PSN's downloads would have been one of those high-usage elements. Online gameplay is a far less intensive activity, due to the fact that much of the information onscreen is already stored on the console, which explains why it's not also being throttled. "We appreciate the support and understanding from our community, and their doing their part," Ryan's statement ends, "as we take these measures in an effort to preserve access for everyone." Here's how you can help and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Konami has denied that it is working on a new Silent Hill game following numerous rumours suggesting the series would be returning. Talking to Rely on Horror, a Konami US PR spokesperson said "We’re aware of all the rumors and reports but can confirm that they are not true. I know it’s not the answer your fans may want to hear.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/27/konami-rumored-to-be-soft-rebooting-silent-hill"] “It’s not to say we are completely closing the door on the franchise, just not in the way it is being reported,” they added. Recent rumours pointed to two new projects in the Silent Hill series, which were allegedly set to ‘soft reboot’ the franchise. One would be a straight new game in the series, while the other would be an episodic game with gameplay akin to Until Dawn and Man of Medan. This rumour was quickly followed by teases that Kojima Productions is also working on Silent Hills. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/09/19/pt-demo-aka-silent-hills-at-tgs-2014"] Rely on Horror pressed for further details regarding these projects specifically, but Konami has provided no further response. The resulting picture is that it appears Konami may want to revisit Silent Hill at some point, but the direction it will take is not what recent rumours and speculation has suggested. While it looks like we won’t be revisiting Silent Hill any time soon, the demo that spawned out of it, PT, is the gift that keeps on giving. A famous PT hacker has made another discovery about the game’s ghost, which is another achievement on his pile of discoveries. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.

PC manufacturer HP has announced that it is working on a new ‘next-gen’ VR headset, in collaboration with Valve and Microsoft. The HP VR headset, the Reverb G2, is described as “the new standard in VR” by HP and that it offers “a more immersive, comfortable and compatible experience than the previous generation.” That’s all the details that the website and newly-listed Steam store page reveals. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/28/valve-index-vr-kit-review"] What we do know is that it is a follow up to the Reverb, HP’s expensive VR headset designed for Windows’ Mixed Reality lineup. That headset is best known for its very high-definition display, which measures 2160 x 2160 per eye. That’s significantly ahead of even Valve’s Index, which has a resolution of 1440x1600 per eye. Quite what Microsoft and Valve’s contribution to the project is has not yet been made clear, but based on the original Reverb it may be that Windows Mixed Reality is a core design principle for the G2. Steam VR is a given - it’s on the Steam store, after all - but there’s no indication yet as to if the Index’s Knuckles controllers with be compatible with the G2. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-valve-game-review&captions=true"] VR has had a surge in interest over the last few months in anticipation of Half-Life: Alyx, Valve’s first feature-length VR game and the first return to the Half-Life universe in over a decade. We gave it a 10/10 in our review, calling it a masterpiece. That surge in interest has led to sold-out VR headsets, a situation further worsened by the impact of the coronavirus. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Weeks after its initial announcement for PC, Hideo Kojima has confirmed that Death Stranding's Photo Mode will come to the PS4 version of the game. It's not an unexpected announcement, but every post Kojima has made about the mode has been met with fans asking for a PS4 version, so it should set some minds at ease. Kojima says the mode should be a part of the next patch to the PS4 game, and he is "trying to make it happen at the end of this month's update".

Today’s good news! DEATH STRANDING PC ver. Photo Mode will be also implemented for PS4 ver. as many of you requested! We are doing the final checks right now and trying to make it happen at the end of this month’s update. Photo Mode during your journey and delivery pic.twitter.com/Dspi2DpVpS

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 24, 2020

Should it meet that target, it will arrive far earlier than the PC version, which is scheduled for release on June 2. That PC version will also include Half-Life themed content, which is unlikely to make the jump to PS4. Early looks at the Photo Mode show that it'll work similarly to comparable modes in other PS4 games, such as God of War. However, Kojima has intimated that it may contain a "psychic photo" mode, that could work similarly to how he previously hid staff images as 'ghosts' in Metal Gear Solid games. Next month, Kojima is set to receive BAFTA's highest honour, albeit at a now-online only event. [ignvideo url="https://uk.ign.com/videos/death-stranding-pc-release-date-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

The writer of Final Fantasy 7 Remake has revealed that he has scripted the new version of Cloud to show a different side of the character, noting that he is nervous about how fans will receive the change. Talking in a new Inside Final Fantasy 7 Remake documentary video, story and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, who is one of the returning developers from the original game, explained that Remake has allowed him to explore Cloud’s personality further. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/24/inside-final-fantasy-7-remake-part-2-english-subs"] “For this game I have gone much deeper into the inner psychology of Cloud, the main character,” Nojima said. “In the original I depicted him as a cool and stylish character. However, this time, he can miss the mark and be a little cringe-worthy at times. His cool facade can often slip. Because he wants people to accept him and respect him, he puts on a front. So, when he doesn't know something he just goes ‘Not interested’. I have written him in a way that makes you think that ‘Not interested’ might not be a cool thing to say, but can sometimes be a bit lame.” “I am nervous about whether the fans will accept that or not,” he added. Cloud isn’t the only character Remake is revealing more about. In the same video, co-director Motomu Toriyama revealed that the game will provide more information about Aerith. “In Remake we actually reveal quite a major untold part of [Aerith’s] past,” he says. “You might not even catch it at all.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] Beyond just extra personality traits, we’ll also see new events that help broaden players’ understanding of the relationships between the core characters. “Cloud's childhood friend Tifa shows him a flat in Midgar, and they come to live in the same building,” reveals Nojima. “It is a Japanese styled flat and the scene itself is quite sweet, So, I want people to look forward to that.” For more, check out Square Enix's explanation about why Final Fantasy 7 Remake is multiple games rather than one big one, our most recent hands-on with the game, details on how the Remake will let players see more of Midgar's Upper City, and the reveal of some brand new characters and locations in Wall Market. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s belated buddy cop blockbuster Bad Boys for Life is joining the lengthy list of films getting an early digital release amid the current COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, reports Variety. Bad Boys for Life will hit digital platforms on March 31 (its physical 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release is slated for several weeks later, on April 21). [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/15/bad-boys-for-life-review] Bad Boys for Life originally hit cinemas on January 16 in Australia and January 17 in the UK and North America – so the gap between its theatrical and home release isn’t quite as truncated as other films recently confirmed to be making unusually speedy home releases – but it is still slightly earlier than has previously been typical. The long-gestating follow-up to 1995’s Bad Boys and 2003’s Bad Boys II, Bad Boys for Life has been well-received by fans and critics and is currently 2020’s highest grossing film. IGN’s review called Bad Boys for Life an outrageous throwback threequel with great cast chemistry and plenty of all-out action. Development on a fourth instalment has already been confirmed. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/02/the-bad-boys-story-recap-in-6-minutes] While the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in considerable upheaval across the entertainment industry, more importantly there are number of things you can do to stay safe during this pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter every few days @MrLukeReilly.