Ubisoft has announced its first foray into the world of blockchain technology and NFTs. Called Ubisoft Quartz, it will offer limited-edition cosmetic items for Ubisoft games that can then be re-sold on third-party marketplaces for cryptocurrency. It will launch in beta on December 9, starting with items for Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

The NFT items that Ubisoft Quartz offers are called Digits, and each is a limited edition, in-game cosmetic item. Every Digit is made ‘unique’ by a serial number that will be visible on the item. For example, a rifle may have its number on the magazine, or a helmet could be ‘engraved’ across the rim. Furthermore, embedded in the Digit’s metadata is your Ubisoft Connect username. As a Digit is sold to new owners, their usernames are added to the metadata, creating a history of ownership for the NFT. In addition to the in-game cosmetic item, a Digit also comes with a video file showing the item being used in-game.

When Ubisoft Quartz launches on December 9, three Digits will be available for Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s Ubisoft Connect PC version: a ‘Wolves’ skin for the M4A1 Tactical rifle, a helmet, and a pair of pants. These Digits will be provided for free, although must be claimed within a limited time window (drops will occur on December 9, 12, and 15). Additionally, players must fulfil certain criteria to be eligible to claim them: the rifle requires you to have reached XP level 5 in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, while the pants demand you’ve played at least 100 hours, and the helmet at least 600 hours. As Ubisoft’s Blockchain Business and Product Director, Baptiste Chardon, explains, “the idea is to focus on our most engaged players with this first batch.”

This approach aims to ensure Digits are obtained by genuine Ubisoft players and not those just looking to just trade with them on third-party marketplaces. Users are also limited to owning just one of each Digit, further reinforcing scarcity and denying the ability to farm collectibles.

Should all this be of interest, signing up for Ubisoft Quartz comes with a number of requirements. You will need to have a Ubisoft Connect account, open up a crypto-wallet with a third party system (either Kukai or Temple), and be over 18 years of age. The beta is also only available in select territories: Canada, USA, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Australia.

Ubisoft Quartz will launch in beta, and while there are plans for further Digits drops in 2022 (I was shown a collection of handguns, helmets, rifles, and even vehicles for Ghost Recon Breakpoint) it’s clear the system is very early in development and experimental in nature. That means, at least for now, the focus is on cosmetics rather than any kind of blockchain-based gameplay systems. “We’re really focused on cosmetics only,” says Chardon. “I doubt it will change an existing game. For what we’re doing now, there will be no impact on the gameplay.”

But why exactly does Ubisoft want to get into the blockchain and NFT business? The publishers’ Strategic Innovation Lab says that it's to do with making players “stakeholders”, and putting value into their hands.

“Our long-term efforts led us to understand how blockchain’s decentralized approach could genuinely make players stakeholders of our games, in a way that is also sustainable for our industry, placing back into their hands the value they generate through the time they spend, the items they buy or the content they create online,” said Nicolas Pouard, VP of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab, in a press release. “Ubisoft Quartz is the first building block in our ambitious vision for developing a true metaverse.”

From an outside perspective, it’s initially difficult to see what Ubisoft can gain from this. With the NFTs being given away for free, at least in this first drop, the publisher stands to make no direct money. However, the value for the company may come from beyond the NFTs themselves. Should future Digits also require hundreds of hours of gameplay to unlock, this could be a way to encourage a pro-NFT crowd to play huge amounts of Ubisoft games, which could in turn lead to the purchase of microtransaction items, DLC upgrades, and even other games (the decentralised nature of Digits means they could, theoretically, move from game to game).

An even more pressing question is that of Ubisoft Quartz’s environmental impact, although the publisher’s Strategic Lab assures us that it is doing its due diligence to make the system energy efficient. Quartz has been built on the Tezos blockchain network, which uses a ‘proof-of-stake’ system designed to be more energy efficient than the ‘proof-of-work’ systems used by blockchains such as the Bitcoin network. Ubisoft says that a Quartz transaction uses 1 million times less energy than a Bitcoin transaction; the system is comparable to 30 seconds of video streaming, rather than the one year of video streaming for Bitcoin.

Earlier this year Ubisoft announced its blockchain plans with the term “play-to-earn”, a concept we can see in action with Quartz’s demands for hundreds of hours played to unlock its Digits. While the company’s move into blockchain is the first in the AAA space, the games industry has already been toying with the idea. In response, Valve has stamped down on the concept, with Steam banning blockchain games that issue NFTs. Epic Games, meanwhile, is okay with blockchain games.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is about to develop a love for lasagna and a hatred of Mondays. IGN can exclusively reveal that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's first free DLC character will be Garfield, the memetic orange cat originally created by Jim Davis.

Developer Ludosity released a trailer this morning showing some of Garfield's moves, which include a brief cameo by his teddy bear, Pooky. It shows off some of his new moves as he bounds about and engages the rest of All-Star Brawl's cast, making the famously lazy orange cat seem far more energetic than usual.

Garfield joins a cast that includes Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob Squarepants, and other Nickelodeon mainstays. While Garfield began life in a comic strip, he's most famous for his appearance in various television shows and primetime specials in the 1980s. Nickelodeon parent company Viacom acquired the rights to Garfield in 2019.

Ludosity began teasing the reveal late last week. Many fans quickly guessed that it would be Garfield based on datamined info as well as tweets by developer Thaddeus Crews, who referenced a well-known Garfield meme in response to the announcement.

Ludosity previously revealed that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl would be adding two free DLC characters as well as several paid characters. This is on top of its existing roster of 20 playable characters. Last week, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl also released new costumes.

In IGN's review, we called Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl a "very respectable platform fighter," noting that the fights themselves are where it lands the hardest. "If you can look past its underwhelming audio and visuals to see the surprisingly nuanced fighter just beneath the fog of nostalgia, then you'll find some real treasure in this pineapple under the sea," reviewer Mitchell Saltzman wrote.

Garfield will be available free on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation on December 9. The Switch version of the character will be available later this month.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is about to develop a love for lasagna and a hatred of Mondays. IGN can exclusively reveal that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's first free DLC character will be Garfield, the memetic orange cat originally created by Jim Davis.

Developer Ludosity released a trailer this morning showing some of Garfield's moves, which include a brief cameo by his teddy bear, Pooky. It shows off some of his new moves as he bounds about and engages the rest of All-Star Brawl's cast, making the famously lazy orange cat seem far more energetic than usual.

Garfield joins a cast that includes Ren & Stimpy, Spongebob Squarepants, and other Nickelodeon mainstays. While Garfield began life in a comic strip, he's most famous for his appearance in various television shows and primetime specials in the 1980s. Nickelodeon parent company Viacom acquired the rights to Garfield in 2019.

Ludosity began teasing the reveal late last week. Many fans quickly guessed that it would be Garfield based on datamined info as well as tweets by developer Thaddeus Crews, who referenced a well-known Garfield meme in response to the announcement.

Ludosity previously revealed that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl would be adding two free DLC characters as well as several paid characters. This is on top of its existing roster of 20 playable characters. Last week, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl also released new costumes.

In IGN's review, we called Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl a "very respectable platform fighter," noting that the fights themselves are where it lands the hardest. "If you can look past its underwhelming audio and visuals to see the surprisingly nuanced fighter just beneath the fog of nostalgia, then you'll find some real treasure in this pineapple under the sea," reviewer Mitchell Saltzman wrote.

Garfield will be available free on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation on December 9. The Switch version of the character will be available later this month.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Ubisoft has acknowledged that its employees “lost trust” in the company’s processes when it came to dealing with recent harassment and misconduct allegations.

During an interview with Axiom, chief people officer Anika Grant addressed the recent allegations: “At the beginning of the crisis, we spent a lot of time making sure that we had the right process in place, that we were able to very quickly and efficiently run an investigation and get to some outcomes,” she said.

However, it looks as though Ubisoft is ready to admit that it didn’t quite get things right.

“What I think we missed, though, is the employee experience through that,” she added. “I don't think we always communicated enough back to the people who had raised an issue in the first place about what we found as part of the investigations — the decisions that we made and the actions that we took. I think, unfortunately, people lost trust in that process.”

Back in June 2020, Ubisoft was at the centre of a wave of harassment and sexual misconduct allegations against Ubisoft team members.

“We are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action,” said Ubisoft at the time. However, Ubisoft employees later claimed that after a year of investigations, “nothing had changed”.

Ubisoft had previously committed to “major changes” following the scandal, including a series of investigations as well as an overhaul of their HR process.

Other key changes included three top executives stepping down following sexual misconduct and toxic work culture allegations, as well as the exit of Ashraf Ismail, creative director of Assassin’s Creed, following an internal investigation.

“Ubisoft will not tolerate workplace misconduct,” Ubisoft said I a statement following the resignation of vice president of editorial Maxime Béland. “[We] will continue taking disciplinary actions against anyone who engages in harassment, discrimination and other behaviors that infringe on our Code of Fair Conduct.”

Over the summer, more than 1,000 current and former Ubisoft employees criticised the company for its lack of progress in an open letter.

“[We] have seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders,” the letter stated. “We no longer trust your commitment to address these issues at their core. You need to do more.”

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

Ubisoft has acknowledged that its employees “lost trust” in the company’s processes when it came to dealing with recent harassment and misconduct allegations.

During an interview with Axiom, chief people officer Anika Grant addressed the recent allegations: “At the beginning of the crisis, we spent a lot of time making sure that we had the right process in place, that we were able to very quickly and efficiently run an investigation and get to some outcomes,” she said.

However, it looks as though Ubisoft is ready to admit that it didn’t quite get things right.

“What I think we missed, though, is the employee experience through that,” she added. “I don't think we always communicated enough back to the people who had raised an issue in the first place about what we found as part of the investigations — the decisions that we made and the actions that we took. I think, unfortunately, people lost trust in that process.”

Back in June 2020, Ubisoft was at the centre of a wave of harassment and sexual misconduct allegations against Ubisoft team members.

“We are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action,” said Ubisoft at the time. However, Ubisoft employees later claimed that after a year of investigations, “nothing had changed”.

Ubisoft had previously committed to “major changes” following the scandal, including a series of investigations as well as an overhaul of their HR process.

Other key changes included three top executives stepping down following sexual misconduct and toxic work culture allegations, as well as the exit of Ashraf Ismail, creative director of Assassin’s Creed, following an internal investigation.

“Ubisoft will not tolerate workplace misconduct,” Ubisoft said I a statement following the resignation of vice president of editorial Maxime Béland. “[We] will continue taking disciplinary actions against anyone who engages in harassment, discrimination and other behaviors that infringe on our Code of Fair Conduct.”

Over the summer, more than 1,000 current and former Ubisoft employees criticised the company for its lack of progress in an open letter.

“[We] have seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders,” the letter stated. “We no longer trust your commitment to address these issues at their core. You need to do more.”

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

Legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett will be sporting a new look based on his iconic armour in his upcoming Star Wars spin-off series.

Thanks to Hasbro (via The Hollywood Reporter) Star Wars fans can now get a glimpse of Boba’s new threads from The Book of Boba Fett.

The toy company unveiled two new Black Series Star Wars figures – giving us a closer look at both Boba Fett and his trusted aide, Fennec Shand as they appear in the upcoming series.

The six-inch Boba Fett figure retails at $31.49 and is given the “Throne Room” subtitle, suggesting that we’ll see him don this new look while at his new palace – the former home of Jabba the Hutt. It also comes with four accessories – the bounty hunter’s iconic helmet and rocket pack, as well as his signature BlasTech Industries EE-3 carbine rifle and Sacros K-11 blaster.

“Insiders say that the Boba Fett figure is considered a deluxe model, thanks to a new a sculpt and has more deco and accessories than the average Black Series figure,” said The Hollywood Reporter.

The six-inch Fennec Shand figure retails at $22.99 and is fully articulated with poseable head, arms, and legs as well as two accessories – her now-iconic helmet and modified MK sniper rifle.

The Fennec Shand figure will be released in spring 2022, with the Boba Fett figure to follow at major retailers from fall 2022.

Clearly, Boba Fett has been given a bit of a twist on his classic look. We got a murky look at the bounty hunter's costume in the teaser at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2 and a recent trailer, but both of these figures give us a somewhat more detailed view of the character's costumes.

Boba Fett originally appeared in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back following a brief debut in the infamous Star Wars: Holiday Special.

After recently returning in The Mandalorian, the legendary Star Wars character was given his very own spin-off, heading to Disney+ on December 29.

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

Legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett will be sporting a new look based on his iconic armour in his upcoming Star Wars spin-off series.

Thanks to Hasbro (via The Hollywood Reporter) Star Wars fans can now get a glimpse of Boba’s new threads from The Book of Boba Fett.

The toy company unveiled two new Black Series Star Wars figures – giving us a closer look at both Boba Fett and his trusted aide, Fennec Shand as they appear in the upcoming series.

The six-inch Boba Fett figure retails at $31.49 and is given the “Throne Room” subtitle, suggesting that we’ll see him don this new look while at his new palace – the former home of Jabba the Hutt. It also comes with four accessories – the bounty hunter’s iconic helmet and rocket pack, as well as his signature BlasTech Industries EE-3 carbine rifle and Sacros K-11 blaster.

“Insiders say that the Boba Fett figure is considered a deluxe model, thanks to a new a sculpt and has more deco and accessories than the average Black Series figure,” said The Hollywood Reporter.

The six-inch Fennec Shand figure retails at $22.99 and is fully articulated with poseable head, arms, and legs as well as two accessories – her now-iconic helmet and modified MK sniper rifle.

The Fennec Shand figure will be released in spring 2022, with the Boba Fett figure to follow at major retailers from fall 2022.

Clearly, Boba Fett has been given a bit of a twist on his classic look. We got a murky look at the bounty hunter's costume in the teaser at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2 and a recent trailer, but both of these figures give us a somewhat more detailed view of the character's costumes.

Boba Fett originally appeared in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back following a brief debut in the infamous Star Wars: Holiday Special.

After recently returning in The Mandalorian, the legendary Star Wars character was given his very own spin-off, heading to Disney+ on December 29.

Sony has announced that Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will launch for PlayStation 5 on January 28, 2022, and at a later date for PC on both Steam and Epic Games Store. The collection will include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will have a variety of graphical updates, including Fidelity Mode for those who want to play the game on a 4k display with a 30FPS target framerate. The high framerate patch from the PS4 versions of the game makes a return as well, which targets 60FPS. Players who have a compatible 120hz display will be able to play in Performance+ Mode, which targets 120fps at a 1080p resolution.

As for PS5 features, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will utilize the PS5 DualSense controller's Spatial 3D audio and adaptive triggers. Additionally, the load times are apparently near-instant.

The game will cost $50 digitally and physically. Players who purchased Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy or the digital bundle with both games have the option to pay $10 to upgrade to the Legacy of Thieves digital version.

However, there are some caveats to this collection. For starters, this release only features the single-player campaigns of both games, and the PS4 multiplayer mode is not included.

Owners of physical PS4 copies of these games must insert them into the PS5 every time they want to download or play the PS5 digital versions. Also, PS4 disc owners who have the PS5 Digital Edition, which doesn't have a disc drive, are not eligible to get the PS5 version for the discounted price. Furthermore, players who claimed Uncharted 4: A Thief's End via their PlayStation Plus subscription are also not eligible for the $10 digital upgrade.

There is also a promotional tie-in with the upcoming Uncharted: The Movie. Between now and February 3, 2022, players who purchase or upgrade to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection via PlayStation Store can receive a voucher code for one ticket to see the movie starting from its release on February 18, 2022. This offer is only applicable to residents in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

As we head into 2022, Sony will provide more details about the PC version of the collection, including its specs and release date. Sony has been proactively putting its older releases on PC now, with the company introducing a new PlayStation PC label.

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

Sony has announced that Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will launch for PlayStation 5 on January 28, 2022, and at a later date for PC on both Steam and Epic Games Store. The collection will include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will have a variety of graphical updates, including Fidelity Mode for those who want to play the game on a 4k display with a 30FPS target framerate. The high framerate patch from the PS4 versions of the game makes a return as well, which targets 60FPS. Players who have a compatible 120hz display will be able to play in Performance+ Mode, which targets 120fps at a 1080p resolution.

As for PS5 features, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will utilize the PS5 DualSense controller's Spatial 3D audio and adaptive triggers. Additionally, the load times are apparently near-instant.

The game will cost $50 digitally and physically. Players who purchased Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy or the digital bundle with both games have the option to pay $10 to upgrade to the Legacy of Thieves digital version.

However, there are some caveats to this collection. For starters, this release only features the single-player campaigns of both games, and the PS4 multiplayer mode is not included.

Owners of physical PS4 copies of these games must insert them into the PS5 every time they want to download or play the PS5 digital versions. Also, PS4 disc owners who have the PS5 Digital Edition, which doesn't have a disc drive, are not eligible to get the PS5 version for the discounted price. Furthermore, players who claimed Uncharted 4: A Thief's End via their PlayStation Plus subscription are also not eligible for the $10 digital upgrade.

There is also a promotional tie-in with the upcoming Uncharted: The Movie. Between now and February 3, 2022, players who purchase or upgrade to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection via PlayStation Store can receive a voucher code for one ticket to see the movie starting from its release on February 18, 2022. This offer is only applicable to residents in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

As we head into 2022, Sony will provide more details about the PC version of the collection, including its specs and release date. Sony has been proactively putting its older releases on PC now, with the company introducing a new PlayStation PC label.

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

In one of the more bizarre headlines of the day, Christina Aguilera's daughter has apparently played Pokémon Legends: Arceus early.

In an interview with Elle.com (as spotted by Nintendo Life), the American actress and singer told the outlet that her daughter had played Arceus during a day on set filming an advert for the Nintendo Switch. In the interview, Aguilera said, “[While shooting the campaign], my daughter was able to fall in love with a new game."

"We had a brief moment to [try out] Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It's so gorgeous, the graphics and the setting that you get to explore in, so she was loving that so much, she wouldn't give me a turn. But that was on set and yeah, it's just such a great way for your family to connect.”

The advert starring Aguilera can be seen above. During the commercial, the star can be seen playing alongside her family on a number of games including Super Mario 3D World, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and the Nintendo Switch version of Big Brain Academy. As part of her interview with Elle, the singer spoke about her longstanding relationship with Nintendo, describing herself as a diehard fan.

“I was playing the Nintendo NES, and I think that was the first one where you had your Marios, your Donkey Kongs," she says when speaking about her first memories of the company. "So I go way back, and honestly, to this day, you can still find some gaming systems. I literally have the arcade games too in my house, so that's what a diehard fan I am of Nintendo.”

Aguilera isn't the only star to have starred in recent adverts for the company. Aside from the actress and songwriter, Nintendo have shot further Switch commercials starring the likes of Jessica Alba and Neil Patrick Harris alongside their respective families.

As for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the game is due out January 28, 2022. For more from the game, make sure to check out this article detailing how Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl might tease Arceus... with a myth.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.