10 Percent of Surveyed Devs Are Working on a PS5 or Series X Game

For the past eight years, the Game Developers Conference conduct a survey asking developers and industry-members various questions about the State of the Industry. Ahead of GDC, the organization released its survey results, including how over 10 percent of developers are currently working on a next-gen project. According to the survey, 11 percent of survey respondents said that their current game is being developed for the PlayStation 5, while 9 percent said their project is being developed for the Xbox Series X, or Project Scarlett at the time the survey was conducted. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-playstation-4-games&captions=true"] The majority of responses said their current project is being developed for either PC (56 percent) or mobile (39 percent), but since the survey was conducted before the Xbox Series X reveal in December, so there’s a chance the survey responses don’t accurately reflect next-gen game development today. Other responses from this year’s GDC survey include a rise in support for unionization within the games industry at 54 percent, up from 47 percent last year. Also, after years of declining responses, developer interest in VR and AR seems to be picking up again. 32 percent expressed confidence in AR while 25 percent of developers support VR, up from 19 percent of VR supporters in 2018. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/09/ps5-features-we-really-want"] As 2020 continues, and more is revealed about Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, there will likely be more announced projects for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Until then, check out IGN’s comparison of the PS5 and Xbox Series X here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Plague Inc. Developer Comments on Coronavirus Following Spike in Sales

Ndemic Creations has released a statement warning Plague Inc. players that their strategy simulation game, which tasks users with evolving a deadly pathogen in an effort to destroy the world, is "not a scientific model" for how disease spreads after the app skyrocketed in popularity amid the current coronavirus outbreak in China. According to Eurogamer, James Vaughan, creator of Plague Inc., commented on the game's chart-topping status in China, urging users to visit the World Health Organization's website and not to rely on the game itself for real-world situations. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/02/26/plague-inc-zombie-virus-commentary"] "The Coronavirus outbreak in China is deeply concerning and we've received a lot of questions from players and the media," Vaughan said. "Plague Inc. has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks. "We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative, while not sensationalising serious real world issues. This has been recognised by the CDC and other leading medical organisations around the world. However, please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the Coronavirus is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people." The BBC reports that Plague Inc. became the best-selling app in China's version of the Apple Store on Wednesday, as tens of millions of people were placed under lockdown across the country – with all public transport in and out of the city of Wuhan suspended in an attempt to halt the outbreak. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] In recent days, the coronavirus has spread from Wuhan to a number of Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, with more than 800 people now infected by the disease globally – although WHO has clarified the risk of becoming infected with the virus in the U.S. is low, as reported by NPR. As a further preventative measure, China has temporarily closed 70,000 movie theaters as several distributors cancelled their biggest movie releases ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year, which traditionally marks a high season at the box office. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Plague Inc. Developer Comments on Coronavirus Following Spike in Sales

Ndemic Creations has released a statement warning Plague Inc. players that their strategy simulation game, which tasks users with evolving a deadly pathogen in an effort to destroy the world, is "not a scientific model" for how disease spreads after the app skyrocketed in popularity amid the current coronavirus outbreak in China. According to Eurogamer, James Vaughan, creator of Plague Inc., commented on the game's chart-topping status in China, urging users to visit the World Health Organization's website and not to rely on the game itself for real-world situations. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/02/26/plague-inc-zombie-virus-commentary"] "The Coronavirus outbreak in China is deeply concerning and we've received a lot of questions from players and the media," Vaughan said. "Plague Inc. has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks. "We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative, while not sensationalising serious real world issues. This has been recognised by the CDC and other leading medical organisations around the world. However, please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the Coronavirus is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people." The BBC reports that Plague Inc. became the best-selling app in China's version of the Apple Store on Wednesday, as tens of millions of people were placed under lockdown across the country – with all public transport in and out of the city of Wuhan suspended in an attempt to halt the outbreak. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] In recent days, the coronavirus has spread from Wuhan to a number of Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, with more than 800 people now infected by the disease globally – although WHO has clarified the risk of becoming infected with the virus in the U.S. is low, as reported by NPR. As a further preventative measure, China has temporarily closed 70,000 movie theaters as several distributors cancelled their biggest movie releases ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year, which traditionally marks a high season at the box office. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Fortnite Season 2 Release Date Confirmed

Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 2 is expected to launch on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The Fortnite Team isn't revealing very much of anything in regards to this new season, but did tease that "Chapter 2 - Season 2 will feature [redacted] with multiple [redacted]." The team also gave an update on Fortnite v. 11.50 that will move Fortnite to Unreal Engine's Chaos physics engine. Its goal is to "ensure that Fortnite still feels like Fortnite," but admits there will be bumps along the road. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/20/fortnite-introducing-weapon-sidegrading-trailer"] To help with those rough spots, Epic will start this process with a small group of players and it will "closely monitor feedback and make improvements over time." February 20 will bring to a close the beginning of the newest chapter for Fortnite, a beginning that also saw a collaboration with Star Wars that even contained an unexpected tie-in to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. For more on Fortnite, check out our Fortnite wiki page and guide for all the Weekly Challenges, read about how Fortnite now has an official high school and college eSports league, and check out the Ninja skin based off popular streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-addictive-online-games&captions=true"] [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.

Fortnite Season 2 Release Date Confirmed

Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 2 is expected to launch on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The Fortnite Team isn't revealing very much of anything in regards to this new season, but did tease that "Chapter 2 - Season 2 will feature [redacted] with multiple [redacted]." The team also gave an update on Fortnite v. 11.50 that will move Fortnite to Unreal Engine's Chaos physics engine. Its goal is to "ensure that Fortnite still feels like Fortnite," but admits there will be bumps along the road. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/20/fortnite-introducing-weapon-sidegrading-trailer"] To help with those rough spots, Epic will start this process with a small group of players and it will "closely monitor feedback and make improvements over time." February 20 will bring to a close the beginning of the newest chapter for Fortnite, a beginning that also saw a collaboration with Star Wars that even contained an unexpected tie-in to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. For more on Fortnite, check out our Fortnite wiki page and guide for all the Weekly Challenges, read about how Fortnite now has an official high school and college eSports league, and check out the Ninja skin based off popular streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-addictive-online-games&captions=true"] [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.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake Rumored to be In Development

The latest rumor indicates that a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic project is underway at EA and it looks to, "integrate elements from the first two games in order to bring certain things into the current Star Wars canon." As reported by Cinelinx, two sources claim to have knowledge on the rumored return of this beloved franchise. The first source says a remake of the 2003 classic is in development, while the second expands and says it "wasn't so much a remake, but a 'sequel' of sorts." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/11/22/history-of-awesome-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic"] This new project, as previously mentioned, would take elements from the first KOTOR and Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and retool the two stories to make them fit in current canon. These rumors do fall in line with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's previous comments confirming that Lucasfilm is developing "something" Knights of the Old Republic-related. There have also been rumors of a Knights of the Old Republic film, with some sources linking Game of Thrones' D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, who are no longer creating a Star Wars trilogy. It was reported last year after the cancellation of KOTOR 3, that Obsidian always envisioned the games to be trilogy.Lead writer Chris Avellone from Reboot Develop also said KOTOR 3 would've been about uncovering the origin stories of the Sith Lords, and that they foreshadowed what Darth Revan was doing in the second game. As for the current canon, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker did make Darth Revan canon as one of Emperor Palpatine's Sith Trooper legions was named "The 3rd: Revan Legion." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] Hopefully, if this project is real, it will live up to the legacy created by the KOTOR series and continue the upward swing for EA's Star Wars titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In our review, we said it, "Makes up for a lot of lost time with a fantastic single-player action-adventure that marks the return of the playable Jedi." For more Star Wars news, check out Ewan McGregor's comments confirming that, despite the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series being put on hold, the release date has not changed. [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.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake Rumored to be In Development

The latest rumor indicates that a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic project is underway at EA and it looks to, "integrate elements from the first two games in order to bring certain things into the current Star Wars canon." As reported by Cinelinx, two sources claim to have knowledge on the rumored return of this beloved franchise. The first source says a remake of the 2003 classic is in development, while the second expands and says it "wasn't so much a remake, but a 'sequel' of sorts." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/11/22/history-of-awesome-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic"] This new project, as previously mentioned, would take elements from the first KOTOR and Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and retool the two stories to make them fit in current canon. These rumors do fall in line with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy's previous comments confirming that Lucasfilm is developing "something" Knights of the Old Republic-related. There have also been rumors of a Knights of the Old Republic film, with some sources linking Game of Thrones' D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, who are no longer creating a Star Wars trilogy. As for the current canon, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker did make Darth Revan canon as one of Emperor Palpatine's Sith Trooper legions was named "The 3rd: Revan Legion." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] Hopefully, if this project is real, it will live up to the legacy created by the KOTOR series and continue the upward swing for EA's Star Wars titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In our review, we said it, "Makes up for a lot of lost time with a fantastic single-player action-adventure that marks the return of the playable Jedi." For more Star Wars news, check out Ewan McGregor's comments confirming that, despite the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series being put on hold, the release date has not changed. [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.

Star Wars: Colin Trevorrow Confirms ‘Duel of the Fates’ Leak Is Real

Director Colin Trevorrow has seemingly confirmed that the Star Wars: Duel of the Fates script is legitimate after leaked concept art from his axed version of Episode IX surfaced online. The artwork, posted in a Twitter thread on Thursday, appeared to illustrate Episode IX's original script, as the highly-detailed images depicted everything from Force Ghost Luke Skywalker blocking Kylo Ren's lightsaber with his hand, Rey using a double-bladed lightsaber to battle Ren, C-3PO comforting his severely damaged sidekick R2-D2, and General Leia Organa delivering a message to BB-8 as a touching callback to A New Hope. Eager to uncover the truth, one fan took to Twitter to ask Trevorrow to verify a couple of the key plot points presented in the so-called leaked concept art. In response, the director tweeted to confirm that the images were, in fact, genuine sketched snapshots of Duel of the Fates, aka the rumored working title for his version of Episode IX. He said: "Yes, this is from Duel of the Fates. But I'd never kill R2... he just took a bad hit. Happens to all of us." As a result, some of the details from the alleged Duel of the Fates script have now been confirmed by the authenticated artwork, which can be viewed in full on Imgur. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/15/star-wars-colin-trevorrows-episode-9-script-allegedly-leaks-ign-now"] This comes shortly after another Twitter user uploaded various pictures from what appeared to be the non-English edition of The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker book. Fans spotted similarities between the artwork and the scrapped screenplay, as one drawing depicted an alien resembling Tor Valum, who was supposedly the mentor to Palpatine and was going to train Kylo Ren in the film. On this occasion, however, Trevorrow tweeted to clarify the images were not from his unused story for Episode 9. He wrote, "Some beautiful work in here from artists I was lucky enough to work with, but nothing from our story." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] According to director J.J. Abrams himself, his version of Star Wars: Episode IX is completely different from the one envisioned by Trevorrow. In fact, Abrams previously revealed he and co-writer Chris Terrio started from scratch when they took over the sequel and began writing what became The Rise of Skywalker. "We are both a little superstitious about starting with material that might lead us in a direction that's different than the one we might've gone in naturally," Terrio commented in an interview with TheWrap. "So we didn't begin with the previous script, there may have been certain elements that we used that had been in the original script and we weren't aware of it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/whats-next-for-star-wars-after-the-rise-of-skywalker"] Ultimately, The Rise of Skywalker was met with mixed reviews from fans, with many wishing that the movie had been split into two separate episodes, however, the final chapter in the long-spanning Star Wars saga still managed to cross over $1 billion at the global box office. In our own review of Episode IX, we concluded that the movie had been "engineered to hit the viewer on multiple levels while struggling to settle 42 years' worth of story elements," which we suggested was "too much for any one film to handle." For more reactions, take a look at our round-up of IGN staff reviews for the final chapter, find out Episode IX's Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores, and discover how The Rise of Skywalker's opening weekend compared to other Star Wars entries. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Star Wars: Colin Trevorrow Confirms ‘Duel of the Fates’ Leak Is Real

Director Colin Trevorrow has seemingly confirmed that the Star Wars: Duel of the Fates script is legitimate after leaked concept art from his axed version of Episode IX surfaced online. The artwork, posted in a Twitter thread on Thursday, appeared to illustrate Episode IX's original script, as the highly-detailed images depicted everything from Force Ghost Luke Skywalker blocking Kylo Ren's lightsaber with his hand, Rey using a double-bladed lightsaber to battle Ren, C-3PO comforting his severely damaged sidekick R2-D2, and General Leia Organa delivering a message to BB-8 as a touching callback to A New Hope. Eager to uncover the truth, one fan took to Twitter to ask Trevorrow to verify a couple of the key plot points presented in the so-called leaked concept art. In response, the director tweeted to confirm that the images were, in fact, genuine sketched snapshots of Duel of the Fates, aka the rumored working title for his version of Episode IX. He said: "Yes, this is from Duel of the Fates. But I'd never kill R2... he just took a bad hit. Happens to all of us." As a result, some of the details from the alleged Duel of the Fates script have now been confirmed by the authenticated artwork, which can be viewed in full on Imgur. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/15/star-wars-colin-trevorrows-episode-9-script-allegedly-leaks-ign-now"] This comes shortly after another Twitter user uploaded various pictures from what appeared to be the non-English edition of The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker book. Fans spotted similarities between the artwork and the scrapped screenplay, as one drawing depicted an alien resembling Tor Valum, who was supposedly the mentor to Palpatine and was going to train Kylo Ren in the film. On this occasion, however, Trevorrow tweeted to clarify the images were not from his unused story for Episode 9. He wrote, "Some beautiful work in here from artists I was lucky enough to work with, but nothing from our story." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] According to director J.J. Abrams himself, his version of Star Wars: Episode IX is completely different from the one envisioned by Trevorrow. In fact, Abrams previously revealed he and co-writer Chris Terrio started from scratch when they took over the sequel and began writing what became The Rise of Skywalker. "We are both a little superstitious about starting with material that might lead us in a direction that's different than the one we might've gone in naturally," Terrio commented in an interview with TheWrap. "So we didn't begin with the previous script, there may have been certain elements that we used that had been in the original script and we weren't aware of it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/whats-next-for-star-wars-after-the-rise-of-skywalker"] Ultimately, The Rise of Skywalker was met with mixed reviews from fans, with many wishing that the movie had been split into two separate episodes, however, the final chapter in the long-spanning Star Wars saga still managed to cross over $1 billion at the global box office. In our own review of Episode IX, we concluded that the movie had been "engineered to hit the viewer on multiple levels while struggling to settle 42 years' worth of story elements," which we suggested was "too much for any one film to handle." For more reactions, take a look at our round-up of IGN staff reviews for the final chapter, find out Episode IX's Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores, and discover how The Rise of Skywalker's opening weekend compared to other Star Wars entries. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Everything Coming to Disney+ in February 2020

After news about the delay of the Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action series starring Ewan McGregor created a disturbance in the Force, we're anxiously awaiting more adventures set in a galaxy far, far away. Luckily, Disney+ has plenty more Star Wars content lined up for us in February: The streamer recently revealed the release date and a new trailer for Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the long-running series from beloved creator Dave Filoni. There's also the second and final season of Star Wars Resistance heading to the platform, and, if you're craving an adventure a little closer to home, Pixar's Toy Story 4, also arrives in February. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a spotlight of some of the most notable February Disney+ offerings, followed by the full list: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-spotlight-february-2020&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Saturday, February 1

  • Around The World In 80 Days
  • Big Business
  • The Sandlot
  • Wicked Tuna (Season 1-2)

Sunday, February 2

  • Descendants 3

Wednesday, February 5

  • Toy Story 4

Friday, February 7

  • Diary of a Future President: Episode 104 - “The National Mall”
  • Disney Family Sundays: Episode 114 - “Toy Story: Toy Bins”
  • Marvel’s Hero Project: Episode 114 - “Dynamic Danielle”
  • One Day At Disney: Episode 110 - “Grace Lee: Storybook Artist”
  • Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made

Sunday, February 9

  • Old Dogs

Friday, February 14

  • My Dog, The Thief
  • Splash
  • Because of Winn-Dixie
  • Diary of a Future President: Episode 105 - “Whistleblower”
  • Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings: Episode 201 - “Marching Down the Aisle”
  • Disney Family Sundays: Episode 115 - “Princess and the Frog: Lily Pads”
  • Marvel’s Hero Project: Episode 115 - “Roving Robbie”
  • One Day At Disney: Episode 111 - “Kristina Dewberry: Imagineering Construction Manager”

Sunday, February 16

  • Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United

Thursday, February 20

  • Marvel Rising: Operation Shuri
  • Marvel Rising: Playing with Fire

Friday, February 21

  • Diary of a Future President: Episode 106 - “Habeas Corpus”
  • Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings: Episode 202 - “Alaska to Marry Me”
  • Disney Family Sundays: Episode 116 - “Aristocats: Headbands”
  • Marvel’s Hero Project: Episode 116 - “Genesis The Amazing Animal Ally”
  • One Day At Disney: Episode 112 - “Vince Caro: Pixar Recording Engineer”
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode 701- “The Bad Batch”

Tuesday, February 25

  • Star Wars Resistance (Season 2)

Friday, February 28

  • I Captured the King of Leprechauns
  • Imagination Moves (Season 1-3)
  • Marvel’s Future Avengers (Season 1)
  • Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
  • Diary of a Future President: Episode 107 - “Foreign Relations”
  • Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings: Episode 203 - “A Flashy Proposal”
  • Disney Family Sundays: Episode 117 - “Lion King: Paint Pour Artwork”
  • Marvel’s Hero Project: Episode 117 - “Superior Salvador”
Check out the trailer for the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the video below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/22/star-wars-the-clone-wars-final-season-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.