Microsoft has confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 has seen the biggest launch of any Xbox title in the history of the company, with 10 million players jumping into Playground Games' beautifully reimagined Mexican landscape within its first week.

In a tweet from the official Forza Horizon Twitter account (below), the company confirmed that it was the biggest launch for a game in Xbox history, obviously meaning it's broken those records for Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Studios games, too.

Thank you to the more than 10M #ForzaHorizon5 fans for the biggest first week in @Xbox history and @XboxGamePass EVER. GG! pic.twitter.com/WXZawEvBkO

— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) November 19, 2021

Prior to the announcement, Xbox boss Phil Spencer also recently revealed that the game had experienced the largest launch day of any Xbox Game Studios game ever. The open-world racing game amassed over 4.5 million players in its launch week where it also featured peak concurrent player count heights over three times the size of its predecessor Forza Horizon 4.

As with all Xbox Game Studios games, Forza Horizon 5 was released into Xbox's popular subscription service Xbox Game Pass, meaning that subscribers could gain access to the game at no additional cost from day one.

While some have questioned the financial viability of a service like Game Pass, Spencer recently explained that the platform is proving to be "very, very sustainable." That news will likely please those currently signed up to the service – especially if that proves to be the case in a year where Microsoft itself announced that subscriber growth has slowed down.

As Horizon 5 continues to break new records moving forward, Playground Games also recently announced that it is continuing to add elements into the game that will increase inclusivity and make the game more accessible to a wider range of players. On top of its base accessibility features that can currently be found within the racing sim, Horizon 5 is also set to add an on-screen sign language interpreter to the game in a future update.

IGN recently reviewed Forza Horizon 5 where we awarded it a rare score of 10/10 and dubbed it "the best open-world racing game available." For more from the series, make sure to check out our dedicated Forza Horizon 5 IGN page.

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

CD Projekt Red has clarified that the studio currently has no plans to bring the game to Xbox Game Pass, despite rumours suggesting that it might be on its way to the subscription service.

In response to speculation (as reported by VGC) that the game may be on its way to Game Pass, CD Projekt Red's Global PR Director, Radek Grabowksi confirmed that this isn't the case.

"I just thought I'll chime in to say that there are no Game Pass plans for Cyberpunk 2077," confirmed Grabowski on the social media platform.

I just thought I'll chime in to say that there are no Game Pass plans for Cyberpunk 2077.

— Radek (@gamebowski) November 19, 2021

Initial speculation that the game might be heading to Game Pass surfaced after a recent marketing video for Xbox Cloud Gaming on consoles appeared to show a brief snippet of the game. This led to people theorise that the game might be coming to the platform as players accessing Cloud Gaming on consoles are currently required to hold a Game Pass ultimate membership.

While Grabowski's comments may have ruled out any possibility of the studio bringing the game to the platform in the immediate future, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will never be available on the platform. Over the years, Microsoft has managed to successfully bring a number of third-party games to Game Pass, meaning that fans hoping for the arrival of Cyberpunk on the platform shouldn't give up all hope just yet.

As part of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Xbox, Microsoft's head of gaming ecosystems Sarah Bond recently delved into the origins of the company's popular subscription service and how it was originally set up to be a video game rental service codenamed Arches. In an interview, Bond explained that the company's decision to repurpose Arches into the subscription service we now know as Game Pass came in part due to the success of other companies adapting similar models such as Netflix and Spotify.

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

CD Projekt Red has clarified that the studio currently has no plans to bring the game to Xbox Game Pass, despite rumours suggesting that it might be on its way to the subscription service.

In response to speculation (as reported by VGC) that the game may be on its way to Game Pass, CD Projekt Red's Global PR Director, Radek Grabowksi confirmed that this isn't the case.

"I just thought I'll chime in to say that there are no Game Pass plans for Cyberpunk 2077," confirmed Grabowski on the social media platform.

I just thought I'll chime in to say that there are no Game Pass plans for Cyberpunk 2077.

— Radek (@gamebowski) November 19, 2021

Initial speculation that the game might be heading to Game Pass surfaced after a recent marketing video for Xbox Cloud Gaming on consoles appeared to show a brief snippet of the game. This led to people theorise that the game might be coming to the platform as players accessing Cloud Gaming on consoles are currently required to hold a Game Pass ultimate membership.

While Grabowski's comments may have ruled out any possibility of the studio bringing the game to the platform in the immediate future, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will never be available on the platform. Over the years, Microsoft has managed to successfully bring a number of third-party games to Game Pass, meaning that fans hoping for the arrival of Cyberpunk on the platform shouldn't give up all hope just yet.

As part of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Xbox, Microsoft's head of gaming ecosystems Sarah Bond recently delved into the origins of the company's popular subscription service and how it was originally set up to be a video game rental service codenamed Arches. In an interview, Bond explained that the company's decision to repurpose Arches into the subscription service we now know as Game Pass came in part due to the success of other companies adapting similar models such as Netflix and Spotify.

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

Marvel Studios and Scarlett Johansson are working together on a mystery project that is said to be totally unrelated to her Black Widow character.

According to Deadline, Marvel boss Kevin Feige teased the studio's "top secret" project while he was paying tribute to Johansson in recognition of her being awarded the American Cinematheque Award on Thursday night. He noted that the next collaboration between the studio and the actress "has nothing to do with" her MCU character Natasha Romanoff.

A reporter from The Hollywood Reporter, who was also in attendance at the awards show, shared videos of the night's proceedings on Twitter, including one of Feige's speech in which he mentioned Marvel's secret project with Johansson. You can give it a watch below:

Kevin Feige confirms from the stage another project with Scarlett. “We are already working with Scarlett on another non-Black Widow related top secret Marvel Studios project with her as a producer. Scarlett is one of the most talented, versatile and beloved actors of our time.” pic.twitter.com/5dKQeR0Lr5

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) November 19, 2021

As to be expected, Feige kept almost all details about the project under wraps, other than to say that Johansson will be serving as a producer on the upcoming project in the wake of her role as executive producer on Black Widow, the first movie of Phase 4 of the MCU, released earlier this year. In his speech, Feige praised Johansson's "talent" and "vision."

"Scarlett has lent her talent and star power to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade. That she's chosen to play a key part in it for so many years, I am extremely grateful for," the MCU producer said at the annual awards show. "Working with [her] has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career."

The announcement of Marvel's team-up with Johansson is quite significant as it follows the lawsuit that the actress filed against Disney back in July over the alleged Black Widow contract breach due to the film releasing on Disney+ at the same time it was released in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter later confirmed that the two parties reached a settlement.

While Black Widow basically capped off Natasha's story by setting up her role in Infinity War, it was far more open-ended for the rest of her family. We saw Yelena, Alexei and Melina gathering up the surviving Widows and retreating to parts unknown before a post-credits scene saw Contessa approach Yelena with a new assignment to hunt down and kill Hawkeye.

The surprise scene directly set the stage for the upcoming Hawkeye series, which is scheduled to drop its first episode on Disney+ on November 24, just in time for Thanksgiving. New episodes will arrive every Wednesday thereafter. The series follows WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki in Marvel's live-action Disney+ TV show slate.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Marvel Studios and Scarlett Johansson are working together on a mystery project that is said to be totally unrelated to her Black Widow character.

According to Deadline, Marvel boss Kevin Feige teased the studio's "top secret" project while he was paying tribute to Johansson in recognition of her being awarded the American Cinematheque Award on Thursday night. He noted that the next collaboration between the studio and the actress "has nothing to do with" her MCU character Natasha Romanoff.

As to be expected, Feige kept almost all details about the project under wraps, other than to say that Johansson will be serving as a producer on the upcoming project in the wake of her role as executive producer on Black Widow, the first movie of Phase 4 of the MCU, released earlier this year. In his speech, Feige praised Johansson's "talent" and "vision."

"Scarlett has lent her talent and star power to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for over a decade. That she's chosen to play a key part in it for so many years, I am extremely grateful for," the MCU producer said at the annual awards show. "Working with [her] has truly been one of the most memorable and rewarding collaborations of my career."

The announcement of Marvel's team-up with Johansson is quite significant as it follows the lawsuit that the actress filed against Disney back in July over the alleged Black Widow contract breach due to the film releasing on Disney+ at the same time it was released in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter later confirmed that the two parties reached a settlement.

While Black Widow basically capped off Natasha's story by setting up her role in Infinity War, it was far more open-ended for the rest of her family. We saw Yelena, Alexei and Melina gathering up the surviving Widows and retreating to parts unknown before a post-credits scene saw Contessa approach Yelena with a new assignment to hunt down and kill Hawkeye.

The surprise scene directly set the stage for the upcoming Hawkeye series, which is scheduled to drop its first episode on Disney+ on November 24, just in time for Thanksgiving. New episodes will arrive every Wednesday thereafter. The series follows WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki in Marvel's live-action Disney+ TV show slate.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Superhero movies ask us to suspend our disbelief, but one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most iconic moments has been proven impossible for different reasons than you might expect.

Thanos' snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War led to half the population of the entire universe disappearing into thin air. While the supernatural part of that is clearly not realistic, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (via livescience) found that the act of Thanos snapping his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet was actually impossible to pull off.

According to the study, a finger snap is the "fastest acceleration of the human body ever measured", and the physics involved should have been impossible for Thanos while wearing the gauntlet.

Basically, the study says the acceleration of a finger while it's snapping is incredibly high — three times as fast as the acceleration of a professional baseball player's arm during a pitch. A snap only takes seven milliseconds, which is more than 20 times faster than the blink of an eye.

In order to pull off such a fast maneuver, the study says the most important component is friction. Researchers found that attempting to snap while wearing metal gloves doesn't generate enough friction.

"Our results suggest that Thanos could not have snapped because of his metal armored fingers," author Raghav Acharya said. "So, it's probably the Hollywood special effects, rather than actual physics, at play!"

Regardless of its feasibility, the MCU is still dealing with the aftermath of the Avengers' mission to reverse the impact of the snap. Up next, MCU fans are looking forward to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which releases next month. For more, check out five burning questions we have after the new Spider-Man trailer.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Michael Keaton, who has made a late-career return to superhero movies, revealed he will be filming new Vulture material this week.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on November 17, Keaton was asked about his upcoming return as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming Flash movie. But during this, Keaton also revealed that he’ll be reprising his role as Vulture.

“I’m shooting tomorrow — I’m shooting Vulture stuff,” Keaton shared. When asked to elaborate Keaton merely repeated “Vulture stuff.”

Keaton was explaining how because the nature of filming a superhero movie can be so secretive and out-of-order that he doesn’t bother to ask too many questions on set. This is why he didn’t ask WB if George Clooney or Val Kilmer will also be in the upcoming Flash movie.

Funny enough, Keaton isn’t the first Spider-Man villain to reveal their involvement in an upcoming Spider-Man movie through an interview. Alfred Molina freely talked about playing Doc Ock again in Spider-Man: No Way Home months before he was ever confirmed to return,

Keaton didn’t reveal why he’s filming additional Vulture scenes and didn’t reveal for which movie, either. While the chances are high it could be for Spider-Man: No Way Home, the interconnected MCU means Keaton could appear just about anywhere.

If he does appear in No Way Home it would make a lot of sense as the movie surprisingly seems focused on Spider-Man’s villains. Also, read IGN’s 5 burning questions we have after seeing the brand new trailer.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

In today's edition of "who asked for this?," Variety reports that an Earthworm Jim TV series is in the works at Interplay Entertainment, the current owners of the franchise.

Interplay released a 2-minute teaser trailer featuring Earthworm Jim in a tongue-in-cheek "Behind-the-Music" like interview describing his history as a spacefaring adventurer.

The series, titled "Earthworm Jim: Beyond the Groovy," reportedly follows Earthworm Jim's adventures fighting evil from planet to planet throughout the galaxy, with each planet featuring a different race of anthropomorphic animal-like aliens. Earthworm Jim's ultimate goal is to get back to his home planet, you guessed it, Earth.

Interplay is launching efforts to develop new TV series and films with a new division of the company. Interplay is working with Passion Pictures, which has produced various animated short films and commercials, such as two episodes of "Love, Death, and Robots," and several animated trailers for Apex Legends.

The teaser trailer indicates a slightly more mature tone for Earthworm Jim, with the character referring to a thermostat added to his suit to "keep my ass warm" and that he spent 25 years in rehab. The Earthworm Jim games (and even the shortlived 1990's animated series on Kids' WB) stuck relatively close to kid-friendly fare, but the original developers at Shiny Entertainment and creator Doug Tenaple (who also voiced Jim in the games) frequently skewered video game and film tropes, adding characters like "Princess What's-her-name" as a riff on Princess Peach and more generic damsels in distress.

It's unclear if creator Doug TenNaple or other members of the original development team are involved in the project. TenNaple has a history of anti-LGBTQ views, speaking out against marriage equality, and has misgendered a transgender journalist who criticized his work in 2017. IGN has reached out to Interplay to ask whether TenNaple has any involvement, but did not immediately recieve a reply.

“I remember loving ‘Earthworm Jim’ as a kid,” said Michael K. Parand, the director of Interplay's new film and TV division. “And there’s so much potential in this story universe: a galaxy full of animals battling for power.  Jim is an earthworm in a universe where Earth is nothing more than a myth. His struggle to find meaning is surreal and comical, but it’s also relatable.”

Earthworm Jim's star power has faded since his height in the mid-to-late 90's. While the first two games were successes based on their gameplay and attractive 2D graphics, Earthworm Jim 3D and subsequent releases were critical and commercial failures, with the last game releasing in 1999.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/lowly worm for IGN.

Today is the Nintendo GameCube's 20th anniversary in North America, and we're learning the iconic purple color was highly debated within Nintendo ahead of its release.

Speaking to VGC, Nintendo's former VP of marketing and corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan said Nintendo of America was very concerned about bringing the purple color to store shelves.

“We actually suggested that the purple was not the best to start with and [Japan] said, ‘no, we’re going to use that’,” Kaplan said. “Then we pushed for black and silver, because I think in the US nobody had ever really done the purple colour before."

Kaplan added they worried they would get bad publicity because of the purple choice.

“It wasn’t that you couldn’t bring out hardware that was a different colour, it was just a very… ‘female’ looking color. It just didn’t feel masculine, I think. I remember us being very nervous at E3 that we were going to get bad press purely based on the color.”

At the time, the late Hiroshi Yamauchi was president of Nintendo, and Kaplan said he had a much different leadership style than his successor, Satoru Iwata. Kaplan said, "Under Yamauchi, we knew he was the boss," and it seems feedback from Nintendo of America was not heavily considered.

In North America, the GameCube ended up appearing in black, and silver variations in addition to purple, as Kaplan says Nintendo of America pushed for. Other regions saw white and orange versions, as well.

The GameCube ended up selling 22 million units in its lifetime, losing out to both the Xbox (24 million) and the runaway success of the PS2, which topped 155 million units. Still, the GameCube is fondly remembered by Nintendo fans to this day for games like Super Smash Bros. Melee, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, and more.

If you're feeling nostalgic for Nintendo's purple cube, check out our picks for the best GameCube games of all time.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Deathloop's second big update is here, and the patch notes indicate that it addresses some of players' biggest concerns. The update focuses on enemy AI, UI issues, audio, and other elements.

One of the biggest changes is that Julianna players will receive a win if a Colt player drops out of their game, a change that will surely make fans of Deathloop's multiplayer happy. Previously, a Colt player bouncing from a multiplayer session could mean a lot of wasted time for a Julianna player with little to no reward.

Colt players who try to wait out Julianna will also get a sort of slap on the wrist. If a Colt player hides in the tunnels that connect each area of Deathloop's map, they'll be automatically pinged and the tunnel doors will open, allowing a Julianna player to more easily eliminate them. The antenna that Colt must hack to escape also takes slightly longer to hack, and Bethesda says an AI-controlled Julianna will be "more reactive" to Colt's actions, though doesn't explain how.

Enemy NPC behavior has also been dramatically improved. NPCs will react to bullets whizzing by their heads, when another NPC is assassinated nearby, and can hear better and react faster to footsteps.

Accessibility changes include controller remapping being added, left/right stick inversion, larger UI buttons and text in menus and larger selectable menu areas.

You can find the full patch notes below.

• NPCs now react to bullets passing close by, such as headshots that miss
• NPCs now react when another is assassinated close by
• NPCs now hear better and react faster to nearby footfalls
• NPCs under fire no longer move to take cover if the player is too close
• NPCs can now deduce the direction from which a grenade was thrown
• NPCs no longer stop trying to kill Colt if Julianna uses Nexus to link him to them
• Interrupted aerial assassinations will no longer cause NPCs to become mostly invulnerable
• Numerous other small fixes and improvements to NPC behavior, reactions, pathing, and placement
• Charlie Montague no longer gets stuck in the floor or ground if he’s kicked while using Shift

QUALITY OF LIFE/ACCESSIBILITY

• Added controller remapping and left/right stick inversion
• UI buttons and text in options menu are now larger, as are their selectable areas
• [PS5] Added Field-of-View and motion-blur options. We continue to listen to community feedback and explore more quality of life and accessibility options for a future update.

INVASION

• Colt dropping the game now counts as a win for a player-controlled Julianna
• AI-controlled Julianna is now more reactive to Colt’s actions
• The antenna that Colt must hack to escape now takes slightly longer to hack
• AFK players are tagged
• Colt players who linger in Colt’s tunnels for too long are automatically tagged and that causes the tunnel doors to open
• Higher chance that you will invade players on your Friends list while they are playing in ‘Online mode’
• Strelak Sapper Charges thrown by NPCs that Julianna has attacked will no longer create false Colt tags for Julianna
• Players now properly hear audio reactions from the opposing player during melee
• Strelak Sapper Charges will now stick to Julianna as they do to other NPCs

USER INTERFACE

• The UI is now clearer regarding Residuum loss on death
• The appearance of weapons and other items is improved within the Loadout UI
• The UI HUD will now properly display updates made to key bindings and controls
• The game will now pause fully during the Game Over splash screen
• Melee will now be labeled correctly when in the weapon cycle on a controller (Y)
• When aiming down sights, crosshairs will no longer disappear while the player is close enough to an NPC to perform an assassination
• The Heritage Gun’s reticle will now indicate the increased scatter from the Scattergun perk
• [PC] Players will no longer be asked to confirm changes to visual settings if nothing was changed
• [PC] Fixed an issue in which mouse wheel sensitivity was overreduced when zooming in or out to view a weapon in the Loadout UI

MISC. GAMEPLAY

• Duplicate Slab upgrades are now converted to a harvestable Residuum object
• In Karl’s Bay, Harriet and her cultists can no longer shoot at Colt through the closed security door to her office
• Also in Karl’s Bay, a certain window in Hangar 2 has been restored to its intended functionality
• Strelak Sapper Charges can no longer be thrown in a way that enables the player to clip through doors or other surfaces
• Kicking a Strelak Sapper Charge while “cooking” it no longer causes the Charge to explode and no longer causes subsequent Charges to disappear when thrown
• Turret placement can no longer be used as a way to enable the player to clip through doors or other surfaces
• Hackable antennas now give clearer audiovisual feedback of their hacked status
• Fixed an issue that could result in Colt having 2 guns in the same hand or one gun in the left hand instead of the right hand after a reprise
• Fixed an issue that could prevent a weapon from being further reloaded if player switched to a same ammunition type while reloading then switched back to original weapon
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Hackamajig not to be automatically equipped to an empty hand when first picked up
• Fixed an issue that could lead to a player using the Shift Slab to reach a ledge, triggering the vaulting action, and getting stuck in the ledge instead of vaulting it
• Fixed a case in which 2-Bit interactions were not working as intended
• Fixed an issue that caused some hackable doors to become unopenable if kicked while hacking
• More than one turret can no longer occupy the same space
• Fixed an issue that could trap players if Fia’s large bunker doors close on them

GRAPHICS/AUDIO

• Fixed an issue in which the player could unequip the machete during an assassination animation
• Corrected some issues with FSR integration and improved overall implementation.
• Fixed in issue in which the player could unequip a jammed gun during the unjamming animation
• Fixed bugs, including some that could cause crashes, related to the DLSS and ray tracing graphics options
• Fixed numerous minor visual glitches, including some related to indirect lighting
• Fixed or improved numerous audio details and timings, including some improved voiceover lines
• Improved audio mixing across the board
• Fixed an issue that could cause graphical glitching when a door is opened at the same time a sensor closes it
• Turret indicator lights now no longer function if the turret’s battery is destroyed
• The hostile/friendly indicator lights on Field Nullifiers are now consistent with those on turrets
• Fixed an issue that caused deactivated turrets to sound as though they’re deployed when thrown or dropped
• Fixed an issue that rarely caused closed doors to appear as though they’re open

ACHIEVEMENTS/TROPHIES AND FEATS

• Fixed an issue that enabled Julianna to be rewarded with duplicate trinkets
• Fixed an issue that prevented the “Ensemble Tragedy” achievement from being rewarded properly
• Fixed an issue that prevented Julianna from earning the Double Vision feat if killing Colt via assassination while Masquerading as a Visionary
• Fixed an issue that enabled Julianna players to earn the Sorceress feat even if weapons were used
• Fixed an issue that counted Colt’s own deaths to Julianna’s gunfire toward the “Don’t Mind Me” achievement

STABILITY

• Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash while using the Strelak Verso
• Fixed an issue that could cause the game to crash if Colt dies just as a cinematic begins
• Fixed an issue that could rarely cause the game to become unresponsive on exiting the Journal
• [PC] Fixed an issue that could cause the game to become unresponsive while remapping controls from keyboard to controller or vice versa

CONNECTION-RELATED

• Fixed an issue that could cause the first weapon to be dropped when the Julianna player picks up multiple weapons at once
• Fixed an issue that could cause the mission results screen and progression to be skipped for the Julianna player if that player goes straight to Invasion matchmaking after successfully breaking the loop as Colt and watching the game credits
• Fixed an issue that could cause the “network connection to the server failed” message to remain on-screen after being resolved
• Fixed an issue that could cause Julianna to spawn above the ground, having to briefly fall before being able to move
• Fixed an issue that caused the visual effects of Karnesis, when used on an NPC, not to appear from Julianna’s point of view

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Mr. Kill for IGN.