The Fortnite Rippley vs. Sludge challenges are live, and one of the first tasks will be to earn Gold Scavenger Medals by searching chests, llamas, or supply drops. While the task itself may be simple, understanding the criteria can be a little confusing. These challenges went live a day earlier than normal, as part of the v11.40 update which added Sidearming into the game. Additionally, Epic also announced the new Icon Skin Series, which added a Ninja skin into Fortnite.

How to Earn Gold Scavenger Medals in Fortnite

Thankfully, this challenge will actually be rather simple. To earn a Gold Scavenger Medal in Fortnite, you’ll need to search 12 chests, llamas, or supply drops within a single game. Unfortunately, anything less will only earn players a silver or bronze medal. To complete this specific challenge, you'll need to do that three times. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-addictive-online-games&captions=true"] There are a handful of different locations you could visit to earn a Fortnite Gold Medal, but there are a few that stand out among the rest. To start, we would suggest visiting one of the Named Locations that are located far from the path of the Battle Bus. Once you've cleared out that area, work your way around the outskirts of the storm circle — if you head too far inside the circle, you're bound to meet some competition. If you follow this strategy, it will decrease your chance of getting killed while searching for chests, as well as meeting other players along the way. Further, you could also try to complete this Rippley vs. Sludge challenge in Team Rumble. Fortnite Chapter 2: Season 1 is currently set to end sometime in February, in the meantime, be sure to check out our Fortnite wiki page and our other Weekly Challenge guides. Further, you can also check out where to find the hidden gnome in the Rippley vs. Sludge challenges as well as where to destroy slurp trucks, barrels, and silos. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. He has been writing about Fortnite since Season 9 and is loving Chapter 2. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel series focused on the Targaryen dynasty, will likely premiere in 2022, according to HBO boss Casey Bloys. According to Variety, Bloys said “his best guess” is that House of the Dragon's release date will be sometime in 2022. Check out our explainer on when House of the Dragon takes place and some of the events we might see in the prequel. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/game-of-thrones-prequel-series-house-of-the-dragon-coming-to-hbo"] House of the Dragon was given a straight-to-series order back in October. The new show is co-created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal who will serve as co-showrunners, and counts Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik as an executive producer. Sapochnik is expected to direct the pilot and several other episodes in the show's freshman season. The series will air on both HBO and WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming service HBO Max. Bloys also gave Variety some insight into why HBO's other Game of Thrones spinoff from Jane Goldman (which was unofficially being referred to as "The Longest Night") ultimately didn't get picked up to series after a high-profile pilot starring Naomi Watts was filmed. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=game-of-thrones-every-major-characters-first-and-last-appearance&captions=true"] “Pilots – sometimes they come together, sometimes they don’t,” said Bloys. “And I would say that was very much the case here. There’s nothing I would point to and say ‘Oh, this was the problem.’” Bloys also noted that one of the hurdles for the Goldman project was the fact that it wasn't based on any existing source material. “That [prequel] was 8,000 years before the current show, so it required a lot more invention,” he said. “One of the benefits of ‘House of the Dragon’ is there was a text from George and there was a little bit more of a roadmap. [Goldman’s prequel] did have more challenges in terms of establishing a world, but I think she handled that beautifully… there wasn’t one glaring thing.” House of the Dragon is based on "Fire and Blood," Martin's history of the Targaryen family, published in 2018. Below, watch IGN's exclusive interview with Martin and Condal from 2016, in which the two talked at length about their sci-fi and fantasy passions and their friendship. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/02/24/george-rr-martin-and-colony-creator-on-the-golden-age-of-sci-fi-and-fantasy"]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has officially crossed $1 billion at the global box office as of Tuesday, January 14, 2020. As reported by Variety, The Rise of Skywalker earned $481 million at the domestic box office and garnered an additional $519 million internationally for a grand total of $1.001 billion. Episode IX was released in theaters on December 20, 2019, and it took the last film of the Skywalker Saga 28 days to achieve this milestone, which is actually longer than both The Force Awakens' 12 days and The Last Jedi's 19 days. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=46-movies-that-made-1-billion-at-the-box-office&captions=true"] Box office ticket sales for this newest trilogy have steadily declined since 2015's The Force Awakens brought in $936 million domestically and $1.1 billion internationally. 2017's The Last Jedi earned $620 million domestically and $712 million abroad. Even though The Rise of Skywalker didn't surpass its predecessors, it did help Disney cap off an incredible year that saw them releasing seven films that surpassed $1 billion worldwide. These successes and more helped lead the House of Mouse to $3.76 billion domestically, $7.35 billion internationally, and a whopping $11.12 billion worldwide. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the ninth film in 2019 to cross the $1 billion mark and is the 46th film of all time to join the billionaires club. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/15/star-wars-colin-trevorrows-episode-9-script-allegedly-leaks-ign-now"] For more on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, be sure to check out our review, our thoughts on what the true meaning of the Skywalker Saga is, and a full breakdown of an alleged leak of Colin Trevorrow's Episode IX script. [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 who can't wait and is so excited he just can't hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Calling all Pokemon fans: The Pokemon Company has released the first episode of Pokemon: Twilight Wings on the Pokemon YouTube channel and Pokemon TV. If you weren't already familiar, Pokemon: Twilight Wings is a seven-episode short animated series, and it's the first Pokemon show to take place in the Galar region from Pokemon Sword and Shield. New episodes will debut monthly. The show is separate from the usual Pokemon anime, and the official description says the series will show "the dreams of Galar's residents, the realities they face, the challenges they must overcome, and the conflicts they must resolve." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-new-gen-8-pokemon-in-sword-and-shield&captions=true"] As for Pokemon's next main television series, we got our first look at Ash and his new companion last year. Additionally, the next animated Pokemon movie is set to release this year. Fans got their first taste of the Galar region in Pokemon Sword and Shield, which are getting two major expansions with more Pokemon and new areas later this year. While you wait for the DLC, you can vote on which Pokemon you want to see join Sword and Shield's growing lineup. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/09/pokemon-sword-and-shield-expansion-announced"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Barbara Broccoli, the longtime producer of the James Bond films, has definitively stated the rules of casting James Bond. According to the longtime custodian of the James Bond franchise, the secret agent can be played by a person of color, but not a woman.

“He can be of any color, but he is male,” Broccoli told Variety. “I believe we should be creating new characters for women - strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/04/no-time-to-die-official-trailer"]

The article also divulges that Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, the two people who have the final say on everything James Bond, have been emboldened to shake up the Bond casting by Daniel Craig. They explained that when they cast Craig, they felt he could portray a more "realistic" Bond that reflected the issues of the 21st century.

“The world obviously had changed. We'd had 9/11, and the stakes were higher, and we felt we needed a more realistic Bond," she said. "He brought flesh and blood to the character. Bond in the novel is a silhouette. Daniel has given him depth and an inner life. We were looking for a 21st-century hero, and that’s what he delivered. He bleeds; he cries; he’s very contemporary.”

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No Time To Die is to be the last film in which Daniel Craig will portray Bond. We'll take that with a grain of salt, of course, as he did previously say that he wouldn’t do another one after Spectre, saying he’d rather “slash his wrists” than play Bond again.

There were rumors around that time that Idris Elba was going to be the next Bond, as Broccoli said that it was time for a non-white Bond, but that obviously didn’t happen. Elba has since also said that he’s not interested in playing Bond anyway.

No Time To Die hits theatres in April, 2020, and will have a soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer. It’s now also confirmed that Billie Eilish is the singer for the film’s title song.

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

Disintegration, the new first-person shooter from Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto will hold a closed multiplayer technical beta for the title at the end of January. V1 Interactive and publisher Private Division announced the closed beta for Disintegration will be held on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The closed beta will be hosted on Tuesday, January 28 from 8 am PT/11 am ET to 11:59 pm PT/2:59 am ET and Wednesday, January 29 from 8 am PT/11 am ET to 11:59 pm PT/2:59 am ET. A public beta will follow from January 31 to February 1 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC with Disintegration beta signups happening right now. Both the closed and public beta will feature two of the three multiplayer game loads that are coming to Disintegration at launch. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disintegration-45-new-behind-the-scenes-images-ign-first&captions=true"] The first game mode is called Retrieval, where one team attempts to deliver a payload while another team attempts to defend their zone. The second game mode is Control where two teams attempt to dominate the battlefield by capturing various points on the map. The beta test will have seven playable teams from the final release version. Disintegration is a hybrid FPS-RTS where players take control of a pilot who can maneuver freely around the map on a gravity bike while also shooting weapons in the first-person perspective. At the same time, players command ground units using point commands, and these units can help attack enemies or achieve objectives. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/disintegration-hands-on-preview-ign-first"] Disintegration also features a full single-player story mode set in a world where a deadly virus forced humanity to abandon their human bodies and transfer their consciousness into robot forms. One faction of humanity wants to return to their human forms, while other factions led by the likes of Black Shuck believe living in robot forms is the natural evolution. IGN has an extensive hands-on preview of Disintegration, including 32 minutes of a story mission. Check out this month’s IGN First for more exclusive looks at Disintegration. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

With the Skywalker Saga having just wrapped up and a new year dawning, we're looking ahead to the many new Star Wars projects 2020 will bring. Easily among the most intriguing new releases this year is a joint effort between Viz media and Lucasfilm dubbed Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker - The Manga. This new manga graphic novel is based on author Ken Liu's YA book Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker. Like the book, the manga is presented in the form of six short stories, each told by a different child narrator during a journey to the casino world of Canto Bight. Basically, picture this book as the Star Wars equivalent of the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Legends of the Dark Knight." None of the six stories are intended to be an entirely truthful account of Luke's life and adventures, but each offers insight into the legend of Luke Skywalker and how the story of a former moisture farmer-turned-Rebel hero and Jedi Knight has grown and evolved into myth. In addition to Liu, the manga's creative team includes Akira Fukaya and Takashi Kisaki (The Starship Graveyard), Akira Himekawa (The Legend of Zelda manga), Haruichi (I, Droid) and Subaru (The Tale of Lugubrious Mote). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-character-posters&captions=true"] Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker - The Manga is available now for a cover price of $14.99. Check back for a review of the manga in the near future. Marvel's new Star Wars series The Rise of Kylo Ren is also shedding more light on Luke's life post-Return of the Jedi. The latest issue showed us what happened when Luke fought the Knights of Ren. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/15/star-wars-colin-trevorrows-episode-9-script-allegedly-leaks-ign-now"] For more on the current state of Star Wars, see how The Rise of Skywalker compared to other big franchise finales in 2019, learn why everyone's talking about "The JJ Cut" and watch John Boyega clap back against online haters. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Update: The Fortnite Ninja skin officially went live in the Item Shop on January 17, a day later than expected. The skin will cost players 1,500 V-Bucks which comes out to around $15. You can see Ninja's reaction to his skin going live in the tweet below.

It finally happened.

Get the Ninja Set, available in the Item Shop now! pic.twitter.com/45N5gYh2mp — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) January 18, 2020

  Tyler "Ninja" Blevins announced on Twitter that he will be getting his very own Fortnite skin. Styled with blue hair and a blue outfit with his logo on it, Epic Games says the cosmetic is designed to bring the "artistic vision, personality, and attitude" of the popular streamer to Battle Royale. The skin was initially discovered by data miners minutes before the announcement took place. The encrypted files were uploaded as part of the new 11.4 patch and of course, data miners discovered the files were in fact skins themed after Ninja.

NEW NINJA SKIN!!! pic.twitter.com/UVBFTSpHRe

— HYPEX - Fortnite Leaks & News (@HYPEX) January 15, 2020

The Ninja Fortnite skin set includes:

• Ninja outfit
• Ninja's Edge Back Bling
• Ninja Emote: a victory dance called the 'Pon Pon'
• Dual Katanas Pickaxe

If you're wondering how you can grab this limited edition skin, check out our guide below.

How Do I Get the Ninja Skin in Fortnite?

To pick up the Ninja skin, you'll have to wait for the cosmetic to go live as it isn't currently available in the Item Shop. You'll be able to pick it up starting tomorrow, January 16 at the following times:

• 4pm PST
• 7pm EST
• 12am GMT

The Ninja skin is only available for a limited time, however, and availability will end once it's taken down. The Ninja skin will be removed from the Item Shop 3 days later on January 19 at the following times:

• 5pm PT
• 8pm ET
• 1am GMT

To get the skin, make sure to log in between those days and times and purchase it. Ninja also provided a code -- NINJA -- that players can use when they purchase it. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-addictive-online-games&captions=true"] The Ninja partnership is part of a new Icon series where Epic Games collaborates with musicians, artists, movies, fashion, and more to bring themed experiences to Fortnite. Past collaborations included Marshmello and Major Lazer. Epic Games also confirmed YouTube creators Loserfruit and The Grefg are future Icon series collaborations. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Half-Life: Alyx is arguably Valve Index's must-have game, but with its release date on the horizon, Valve's own VR set-up is sold out almost universally. According to site Road to VR, not only is the Valve Index sold-out in the US, UK, and Australia, it's also completely sold out in all but one of the regions where it's being offered: Japan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/21/half-life-alyx-reveal-trailer"] However, if you plan to try your hand at some import-shenanigans, you should know Japan only has the headset with controllers and headset configurations in-stock. The full kit, controllers without headset, and base-stations are gone. A representative told Road to VR Valve is "working hard to build more units" and plans to meet demand by the time Half-Life Alyx releases in March. If you haven't settled on a premium PC VR set up, it might be worth the wait. In our Valve Index review, we said its LCD screens produced the best VR image we've ever seen. However, if you don't want to wait for Index to come back into stock, and you're in the US, you can pick up the excellent HTC Vive or Vive Pro on sale in all sorts of different configurations. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is IGN's tech and commerce editor and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.  

Popular streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is getting a skin based on his likeness added to Fortnite.

Developer Epic Games announced the Ninja skin would be available in the Epic Games store beginning January 16, 2020 from 4pm PST / 7pm EST, or midnight on January 17 if you’re in the UK.

I've dreamt of having a skin in Fortnite since I started playing the game. Today, my dream becomes reality. Get the Ninja Fortnite Skin in the Epic store Thursday 6 p.m. CST-Sunday 7 p.m. Don't forget to use code NINJA! #NinjaSkin #EpicPartner pic.twitter.com/xTn9UlbkGI

— Ninja (@Ninja) January 15, 2020

The Ninja skin includes the Ninja Outfit, Edge Back Bling, a Ninja Style emote, and Dual Katanas. Ninja will be streaming himself playing Fortnite using his new skin before it becomes available to everyone.

The Ninja skin is part of the new Icon Series, which will bring the “artistic vision, personality, and attitude of top creators to Fortnite.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/27/ninja-responds-to-igns-rapid-fire-questions"]

The announcement teases that people from the worlds of gaming, music, film, and fashion may be included, such as Fortnite streamers Kathleen “Loserfruit” Belsten and David “TheGrefg” Martinez.

Ninja's rise to fame over the past couple of years has been meteoric. He became the first Twitch streamer to reach 10 million followers.

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However, in 2019 he left Twitch to stream exclusively on Microsoft's platform Mixer. He remains there and still pulls in millions of viewers while playing Fortnite with the likes of Mark Hamill.

Make sure to check out our guide on how to get the Fortnite Ninja skin.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.