Resident Evil 3 Demo ‘On The Way’

A Resident Evil 3 demo is on the way, according to a tweet made by the Resident Evil Twitter account Tuesday. The tweet doesn't mention anything beyond that a demo is on the way so it's not clear which point in the game that this demo takes place is not known at this time. The tweet does, however, say that more details will be announced soon so it's likely that we will learn more about what this demo consists of soon. A playable demo for Resident Evil 3 wouldn't be unusual considering Capcom's use of a demo for last year's Resident Evil 2 remake. The company even went as far as updating it to tease what we now know to be the Resident Evil 3 remake. The Resident Evil 2 remake demo was a special 1-shot demo that gave players one chance and 30 minutes to reach the end. It was available for a short time in the weeks leading up to the game's release in January of last year. This demo was similar to what was available for players and press at events like E3. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/resident-evil-3-preview"] Whether or not the impending Resident Evil 3 remake demo is anything like the demo of its predecessor or something new entirely is unknown at this time, but Capcom will be sharing details soon. If you're looking for more Resident Evil 3 remake action as you wait for the demo, check out this gameplay from the game's multiplayer component. We also recently interviewed the producer of the game and found out how the team redesigned Jill Valentine to be an action hero. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN who's reaching for the STAAAAAARRSSSS. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint Community in Uproar After Last-Minute Delay

Ubisoft delayed Ghost Recon Breakpoint's February update very late in the day, and fans aren't happy. The update, which is set to include the new Immersive Mode and Engineer class, was delayed until Spring – revealed via a blog post. Based on previous updates, many in the community had expected it to be released on the final Tuesday of the month (February 25), and that blog post arrived on Monday. That it came after weeks of fan questions about the update's status, and relative silence from Ubisoft, has not helped. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/28/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint-the-terminator-event-trailer"]The Ghost Recon subreddit has seen an influx of frustrated players since the announcement: one Redditor wrote a fake game obituary, another asked for an offline mode, and others compared the game to BioWare's Anthem. Meanwhile, the Breakpoint forums have seen posters asking for refunds - although others have publicly signalled their appreciation of the delay as a sign of polishing. Some of the reaction has been more aggressive, however, and Reddit moderators have stepped in to deal with the harassment, stating:
"It seems that I have to explain to the community that we do not allow verbal threats or violence to any Ubi Staff and each other in this sub. We all understand this news may not be ideal and would frustrate some but it does not excuse you going around wishing physical harm upon people and kin. It does not give you the right to call for abuse to other despite the news - behind every screen is a human being."
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/10/ghost-recon-breakpoint-review"] The main message seen across most complaints from fans is a wish for more communication. Ubisoft first announced its plans in January to release the Immersive Mode and Engineer class in February. However, the delay came in the final days of the month while fans were waiting for more information. Ubisoft tried to address concerns over transparency in their blog post: "We understand that you have been requesting more transparent communication and we aim to provide this whenever possible. There are a lot of moving parts in development which has made locking in dates challenging so we haven’t been able to communicate as much as we would have liked. We apologize for that and will be providing details on these upcoming additions starting early next month." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-confirmed-google-stadia-game&captions=true"] The current hope, according to Ubisoft, is to release the Immersive Mode and Engineer class alongside Episode 2, included in the Year 1 Pass. The blog post ends by stating to check back on March 5 for more information regarding Immersive Mode specifically. Immersive Mode emerged out of an entirely different set of fan complaints last year, when Ubisoft announced that it was working on "a more radical and immersive version" of the game. It's not been an easy ride for Breakpoint, with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot saying that "critical reception and sales during the game’s first weeks were very disappointing", and pinning some of the company's overall underachievement for the fiscal year on its lack of success. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Samurai Jack Video Game Announced for PC, PS4, Xbox, and Switch

Adult Swim Games and Japanese developer Soleil Games have announced a brand new video game based on the hit animated series, Samurai Jack. IGN has the exclusive first trailer for Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time which is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch this summer. You can watch the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/samurai-jack-battle-through-time-video-game-announced"] Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is set before Jack’s final fight with Aku, an evil entity that trapped Jack in alternate timelines throughout human history. Jack will have to fight through several different timelines in order to reach Aku and defeat him. The script for the Samurai Jack game is written by series head writer Darrick Bachman. The gameplay will combine hack-and-slash gameplay and allow players to wield a variety of different melee and ranged weapons. The 3D art style still retains the stylized look of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, which is a huge plus. The developers, Soleil Games, are a small studio from Japan comprised of ex-Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive developers so they have some background in 3D hack-and-slash games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=samurai-jack-battle-through-time-screenshots&captions=true"] Samurai Jack series creator Genndy Tartakovsky and head writer Darrick Bachman will be at PAX East for Adult Swim Games’ panel on Friday, February 28 where they will reveal more details about the project. Samurai Jack originally aired for four seasons on Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004 where it received critical acclaim. The series was brought back for a final season in 2017 by Adult Swim. You can read IGN’s Samurai Jack review when we awarded the fifth season our editor’s choice. There’s no hard release date for Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time other than a summer 2020 release window. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Resident Evil 3: How Capcom Redesigned Jill Valentine Into an Action Hero

Capcom revealed a whole bunch of new details about Resident Evil 3 remake this morning. IGN was able to get a full hands-on preview from the event, as well as an interview with Capcom producer Peter Fabiano where we talked about the inspirations for Jill Valentine’s redesign, the changes in the remake from the original, and how to make Nemesis scary after Mr. X. Resident Evil 3 remake reimagines and remixes the characters and events of the 1999 PlayStation survival-horror game. Jill Valentine, a protagonist from the first Resident Evil game, once again takes center stage as she tries to escape Raccoon City during a T-Virus outbreak. Like the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has gone back to the drawing board to redesign Jill Valentine for 2020 and we asked Fabiano what that process was like. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-3&captions=true"] “So when you look at the original, right? [Jill Valentine] needed to kind of pop in the graphics of the day. So when we were looking at [the remake] and rebuilding Raccoon City and the world, overall, in Resident Evil 3, you’ll notice that we use photogrammetry and photo-real [graphics],” Fabiano said. “We wanted to make sure that Jill fit in that environment. So that’s why you’ll see that come to fruition in the design that we have with Jill and in the reimagining we have here. As well as the fact that you still see the Jill you know and love. That comes out a lot more in the performances and mocap.” It wasn’t just Jill’s look that got a redesign either. Resident Evil 3 expands on the storytelling and dialogue, which means Jill’s character has been expanded upon through story and writing as well. Throughout the demo Carlos calls Jill ‘Supercop’ and she feels like an 80s action hero at times. “The director really wanted to show that Jill is a character that has the wherewithal to get through all situations,” Fabiano explained. One of those situations, for example, is the Drain Deimos which makes an updated return in Resident Evil 3. When attacked by one of these, Jill risks getting infected with parasites which she must proceed to remove from herself by inducing vomiting. “At its core, it is survival horror, right? And we want to keep those elements in there and…[show] that Jill can get through these really hard situations.” Resident Evil 3 has been in development for three years, and there was some concurrent development with Resident Evil 2. This allowed the developers to see what was being done in one remake and adapt and learn for Resident Evil 3. “So we were able to take a lot of what we built out for RE 2 with the RE engine and use that and then kind of adapt and actually bring that even more forward and develop in that sense… We saw what was being built out in RE2, and there were things that we took from that or things that we actually wanted to kind of bring even more forward,” Fabiano said. As for specifics, Fabiano told IGN that there were “certain things that [Capcom] did with AI and certain things to kind of spruce up the way that the graphics look,” but declined to get too much further in-depth. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/14/resident-evil-3-nemesis-trailer"] While elements like the city and characters were expanded for the Resident Evil 3 remake, other functions like the multiple endings and live choices were removed. Fabiano says these features were sacrificed in favor of a more focused story. “The live selections were something that was included in the original RE 3. You know, they didn’t have much development time and there were challenges that they had to face. So one of the solutions they came up with to give the game some replayability was to add the live selections,” Fabiano says. “In this case, the director really just wanted to tell a consistent story. And so that’s why we decided to go with the one story with Resident Evil 3.” While you can read IGN’s hands-on preview of Resident Evil 3 for more details and impressions about the upcoming survival horror game, we did ask Fabiano two final questions. Will there be more Resident Evil remakes in the future, and will Resident Evil go first-person again? Sadly, our answers to both of those questions was a very vague, “Who knows?” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Red Dead Online Players Being Banned By Booby-Trapped Treasure

Red Dead Online players are being suspended and, in some cases, permanently banned after opening treasure chests spawned into the game by hackers. Unfortunately, it seems it's not just hackers that are getting caught out, as even players who have never used a cheat in Red Dead Online are being suspended if they interact with these treasure chests.

The treasure chest spawner was released on January 22, 2020 as an update to a mod menu created by an Austrian hacker called zJanny. Mod menus allow players to use cheats inside Red Dead Online, such as god mode, teleportation, and spawning objects - and breach the game's terms of service.

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When zJanny released the treasure chest spawner into a hacker's forum, it came with the message "IDK if detected or not," meaning they weren't sure if using the cheat would be detected by Rockstar's anti-cheat software and lead to an account suspension.

Around February 15, hackers from the same forum in which zJanny released the cheat started to report that they had been banned for using zJanny's mod menu, specifically for using a treasure chest spawning function. The number of bans reported by the hackers due to using the treasure chest spawner have increased since.

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Hackers speculated that Rockstar was hot on the treasure chest spawner and had started spectating flagged players and issuing bans if they were seen using the cheat. On February 20, one player who was banned due to using the tool, wrote in the forums: "I used this hack for one day, the first day that the treasure spawner came out. I only used it for that day a lone [sp]. Made 1k gold and 100k cash. I believe its been over a month since I used it. Finally got a ban notice. Sounds like they are looking over everyone's money now lol."

On February 22, zJanny popped up in the forum thread where many hackers were reporting account bans, saying that they figured out why so many people were being caught out when using their cheats. "I know why ya all get banned," zJanny wrote. "The 3 rewards in one treasure chest is detected. I am using it with just 1 reward per crate since a week no ban." Some hackers replied to this saying they never used the 3-in-1 treasure chest spawner but were banned regardless.

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That same day, a Red Dead Online player reported on Reddit that their account had been suspended after they opened a treasure chest. "I think it was a modder who spawned it or something. The chests kept spawning and I left the session," the Redditor wrote. "When I tried to go back, it said my account was suspended until March 17." Other players replied to that thread sharing similar tales of being suspended after opening suspect treasure chests.

A day later, on February 23, a Red Dead Online player reached out to me on Twitter saying that they had been wrongfully suspended after opening a treasure chest.

"Myself and at least 4 others in the r/reddeadonline community have reported being wrongfully suspended by Rockstar and have had our characters reset, losing all progress," the player told me over Twitter DMs. "Rockstar does not listen to any of us in our efforts to contact them about being wrongfully banned. They will not state what caused our accounts to be flagged, and they won't communicate with us in any way except to say we were reset and to wait until the suspension is over to continue playing.

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"From what I have gathered, these hacks allowed the hackers to disguise their names in game to look like other players, which could have been part of why innocent players were banned," the player said to me. "All of the people I've talked to who were wrongfully banned (including myself) came across a random chest in the world in which we found gold, as if from a regular treasure chest from maps. From what I've found, these chests were spawned in using a hack menu and everyone who interacted with one was banned. Even innocent players who had no idea the chest wasn't supposed to be there. I wrote to you in desperation as I have lost hundreds of hours of gameplay, unlocks, and grinding because I was wrongfully banned."

This report rings true as hackers in the forum where zJanny released the spawner have said that they spawned many treasure chests inside Red Dead Online as a test to see if they would get banned - they did. One hacker even admitted to using the treasure chest spawner to get innocent players banned. "I have been spawning gold chests in areas of high traffic to try and get others to open them," they wrote in the forum.

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If you're a Red Dead Online player, it's advised that you don't open any treasure chests you happen across randomly inside the world. Only open those you track down using a treasure map that you have earned legitimately.

IGN is awaiting a response from Rockstar on this issue, but hadn't received it at time of publishing.

This isn't the first problem inside Red Dead Online caused by hackers - previously, we saw unscrupulous types spawning in two-headed skeletons to terrorise innocent players.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Astronomers Discover New Way to Detect Potentially Habitable Planets

A new study shows how scientists can observe radio waves to detect planets and probe the surrounding environments to determine habitability, though it will largely depend on the positioning of star vectors to their nearby planets. According to ScienceDaily, this new research was conducted by a team of scientists in the Netherlands, who used a Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope to study emissions from aurorae, caused by the interaction between a planet and its star's magnetic field, particularly for red dwarf stars. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/21/exegol-explained-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker"] Red dwarfs are known to have strong magnetic fields that might heat up and erode the atmosphere of a habitable planet if they become exposed to this type of activity, even though the stars themselves are much smaller and cooler than the Sun. However, the radio emissions associated with this process allows scientists to probe the planet-star interaction. "The motion of the planet through a red dwarf's strong magnetic field acts like an electric engine much in the same way a bicycle dynamo works," said Harish Vedantham, the lead author of the Nature Astronomy study. "This generates a huge current that powers aurorae and radio emission on the star." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-every-new-planet-in-the-disney-movies&captions=true"] As this is the first time that astronomers have been able to detect and decipher these signals, solar-system studies are expected to expand into new territories, as scientists may now be able to use these novel techniques to potentially discover exoplanets in habitable zones by finding similar emission from other stars. "We now know that nearly every red dwarf hosts terrestrial planets, so there must be other stars showing similar emission," said Joe Callingham, who was a co-author on the recent Nature Astronomy paper. "We want to know how this impacts our search for another Earth around another star." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/12/31/the-star-wars-saga-in-7-minutes"] This new research puts astronomers on an exciting path towards discovering even more about the galaxy far, far away. As we all know, the Star Wars fictional universe has been steadily evolving for years. From the battle-strewn wastes of Jakku to the lush beaches of Scarif, the recent sequel trilogy and franchise spin-offs have introduced many new planets to the Star Wars solar system. For more on these worlds, check out our rundown of every new planet Introduced in the Disney Star Wars movies or read about The Rise of Skywalker's hidden planet Exegol and find out more about the classic Star Wars planet that appeared in Episode IX. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Crunchyroll Announces 7 Original Projects for 2020

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll announced its "first slate" of Crunchyroll Originals with all projects set for release in 2020. The first of Crunchyroll's newest projects, In/Spectre, is a fantasy anime streaming on the service now. The seven others coming later are a mix of previously announced and unannounced projects in production with companies like Webtoon, its own Crunchyroll Studios Production, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/5-notable-black-characters-in-anime-history"] You can read more about each project below:

Crunchyroll and Webtoon Production Projects

  • Tower of God - Based on a comic of the same name by SIU, this fantasy action series follows a man fighting his way through a mysterious tower. This is scheduled for spring 2020 with animation by Telecom Animation Film.
  • Noblesse - Also based on a comic of the same name by Jeho Son and Kwangsu lee, this fantasy is about the adventures of a vampire noble who wakes up in the modern-day after 820 years of sleep. Noblesse is animated by Production I.G.
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Crunchyroll Originals

  • Onyx Equinox - "A young Aztec boy is saved from death by the gods and chosen to act as ‘humanity’s champion,’ forced to discard his apathy toward his fellow man and prove humanity’s potential in a fight that spans across fantastical-yet-authentic Mesoamerican cultures." This show created by Sofia Alexander premieres in summer 2020.
  • The God of High School - Based on a comic of the same name by Yongje Park and animated by MAPPA, this series is about high schoolers loaning power from gods and fighting their way through an "epic tournament."
  • Meiji Gekken: Sword & Gun - "Japan, 1870. We follow an ensemble of characters - a former samurai, a yakuza bodyguard, a devious spy and a geisha assassin - as they try to find their place in the rapidly evolving Meiji-era while escaping the sins of their pasts…" This Crunchyroll Studios Production is out sometime in 2020.
  • FreakAngels - Based on graphic novels by the same name by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield, this show follows twelve psychics in a post-apocalyptic London attempting to rebuild society.
  • High Guardian Spice - Created by Raye Rodriguez, this Crunchyroll Studios production follows four girls training at the High Guardian Academy to become heroes.
Crunchyroll has been co-producing anime like Kenmono Friends and A Place Further than the Universe since 2015 since the company partnered with Sumitomo to produce anime for a global audience. It also partnered with NBC Universal in 2017. In other Crunchyroll news, the streaming service recently announced a new limited streetwear line with Kinfold. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Miranda Sanchez is an executive editor at IGN. You can chat with her about video games and anime on Twitter.

Rainbow Six Siege Dev Team Wants it to Go Free-to-Play One Day

Rainbow Six Siege's development team would like the competitive shooter to go free-to-play one day.

That's according to game director Leroy Athanassoff who spoke to PC Gamer at the Six Invitational 2020. "It’s a company decision. I think on the development team we want that at some point. We want the game to be accessible to everyone,” Athanassoff said.

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However, he added that while the desire is there to make Siege free-to-play, Athanassoff reckons the game isn't ready for it yet. “You need certain features ready to be a good and successful free-to-play game,” he said.

One of these features according to the game director is a solution to smurfing in Siege. Smurfing is when an experienced player creates a new account in order to play against players of lesser skill. "What’s important for us is that we find out as soon as possible that a player is highly skilled in the things that matter,” Athanassoff said. “The problem right now is that you can play a certain amount of matches with Copper players while you’re a Diamond.”

Ubisoft has a team dedicated to making smurfing less of a problem in Rainbow Six Siege. If that team is able to lessen its impact then Siege will be a little closer to going free-to-play. One of the ways to do this is to change how a player's skill is worked out.

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Currently, Siege's ranking system looks at a player's win rate, but Athanasoff's team is looking to bring in more stats so smurfs aren't matched with lower-skilled players as often.

More on the future of Rainbow Six Siege was recently revealed during the Six Invitational 2020. New operators Iana and Oryx were announced, alongside a player reputation system, and confirmation that Siege would be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Every Game Event Affected by Coronavirus So Far

With ongoing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus), games companies are increasingly pulling out of major events for the protection of their employees and the public. Below is a list of dropouts, changes and cancellations at game shows across the world, forced by the current health crisis. We'll update this story as and when more news emerges. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/07/the-outer-worlds-switch-version-delayed-due-to-coronavirus"]

Taipei Game Show (February 6-9)

January 31: The organisers of Taipei Game Show – who had previously announced temperature checks and mandatory masks for attendees – announce that the show has been postponed to an unspecified date later this year.  “We are deeply sorry to announce the difference decision from our committee,” said the organizers in a statement. “However, due to the serious outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus, we have decided to postpone the event to this summer.”

PAX East (February 27-March 1)

February 19: Sony announces that it will no longer attend PAX East in any capacity, including canceling the first public hands-on of The Last of Us Part 2. February 20: Capcom cancels any developer involvement in the Monster Hunter Festa event, due to take place during PAX East. The event itself will still take place. February 21: Square Enix scales back its PAX East showing, with no Japanese staff to attend the show. Final Fantasy developer and fan sessions are canceled, but other Square events at the show will continue as planned. February 23: The mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, sends an open letter to Sony, urging the company to reconsider its decision to skip PAX East. "These fears reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle," reads Walsh's letter.

Game Developers Conference (March 16-20)

February 20: Both PlayStation and Facebook Oculus announce that they will not attend GDC, cancelling all scheduled participaton in the show. "[We are] emoving our booth footprint and are advising all employees to refrain from travel during the show”, said an Oculus spokesperson. February 20: GDC organisers say they "are confident that the Game Developers Conference will follow in the footsteps of other large and successful international events taking place at the Moscone Center." However, they will enact "enhanced on-site measures" at the show, per CDC and WHO guidance. February 24: Kojima Productions pulls out of GDC, cancelling two sessions at the show, including Hideo Kojima's talk on the design philosophy of Death Stranding. February 25: EA says it is also cancelling its participation with GDC, as well as "limiting attendance" to other unspecified events. The company will also restrict all non-essential travel for employees. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Coronavirus has seen other game-related setbacks, including a delay to The Outer Worlds on Switch, and Animal Crossing special edition console production being affected. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.