QuakeCon will once again be a digital-only event in 2021. This is the second year in a row QuakeCon will be digital after Bethesda canceled the live convention in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. QuakeCon 2021 will take from August 19 to August 21 online. In a statement published on the official QuakeCon site Bethesda writes, "We can't wait to get back to Dallas with our QuakeCon family, but for the continued safety of our staff, the volunteers, and the community, this year's QuakeCon will once again be a digital-only event." "We'll have all the Peace, Love, and Rockets -- remotely -- August 19-21."

We can’t wait to get back to Dallas with our QuakeCon family, but for the continued safety of our staff, the volunteers, and the community, this year’s QuakeCon will once again be a digital-only event. We’ll have all the Peace, Love, and Rockets – remotely – August 19-21. pic.twitter.com/8EaM7EY5Sv

— QuakeCon (@QuakeCon) May 11, 2021

Bethesda's decision to keep QuakeCon digital this year out of safety concerns is admirable. Especially since Texas currently has fairly lax COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and loosened mask mandates (wearing a mask in gatherings is still strongly encouraged). Full details, streaming lineups, charity opportunities, and more will be announced at a later date, according to Bethesda. In 2020, QuakeCon was one of the many convention casualties of the pandemic. After announcing there would be no physical event in Texas that year, Bethesda pivoted to a digital-only event where the company announced updates for Doom Eternal, Elder Scrolls Online, and Fallout 76. Who knows what's in store for this year's digital event, especially after Microsoft acquired Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion. Since then Microsoft and ZeniMax's many studios, which include id Software, have kept quiet on their next plans. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] All we know is that Bethesda is still hard at work on Starfield, while Arkane and Tango Gameworks are working on Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, respectively. Other digital-only conferences this year include PAX, Comic-Con, E3, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

Fan remakes and other community passion projects can be a wonderful expression of communal fandom. Unfortunately, they tend to be shut down with depressing regularity. So it's refreshing to see Sega go to bat for fan games, even if that support comes with some caveats. In response to questions regarding fan games from the community, Sega social media manager Kate Chrzanowski wrote that "there is usually* no issue" with fan games as long as profit isn't involved. Chrzanowski added the asterisk with the caveat that for legal reasons she couldn't promise that all content was okay. "We can handle outliers case-by-case as we notice them, but our goal isn't to stifle everything," Chrzanowski wrote.

Hey Sonic fans - I appreciate you all reaching out with concerns over fan games and monetization!

So long as no profit is involved, there is usually* no issue with y'all using our blue boy to hone your art and dev skills. *((for legal reasons I can't promise all content is ok)) — Katie - MiniKitty (@KatieChrz) May 10, 2021

Asked if it was okay to accept fan donations, she admitted that it was a tricky grey areas, and suggested that it was "normally best to avoid if possible." Fan response was very positive overall, with many of them praising Sega for its stance. Sega has benefitted from working with fan artists in the past. Christian Whitehead, an artist and programmer who played a large part in the development of Sonic Mania, produced a proof-of-concept port of Sonic CD for iPhone. Sega responded by partnering with Whitehead to create an official version that was eventually released on iPhone, Android, and Xbox 360. Its stance comes in marked contrast to other companies. Nintendo is well-known for issuing cease-and-desist orders to popular fan projects. Other companies will also commonly shut down major projects, usually ports or fan tributes. They include Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes, a nifty piece of interactive fan-fiction that was shutdown just weeks before release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=sonic-the-hedgehog-a-visual-history-of-segas-mascot&captions=true"] It's nice that Sega is taking a soft stance toward fan games, since there haven't been many new Sonic games to fill the gap recently. More Sonic games are expected this year, with a Sonic Colors Remaster being leaked last month, but otherwise most of the Sonic news has surrounded the upcoming movie sequel. It is Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary, though, so expect more news soon.

The CW has announced it has ordered a Legends of the Hidden Temple reboot after it was originally announced to premiere on Quibi. The reboot of the Nickelodeon game show will keep the original ancient ruins theme including the Mayan Olmec head, Moat Crossings, Steps of Knowledge, and Temple Run but will star adult contestants rather than children. The reboot will also keep all the classic team names like Purple Parrots, Blue Barracudas, Orange Iguanas, Red Jaguars, Silver Snakes, and Green Monkeys. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/08/quibi-review-2020] The revival will scale up the sets with tougher challenges and bigger prizes given the new adult contestants. Five teams will compete with one another through challenges of strength and wits to enter the Olmec's temple. Legends of the Hidden Temple was originally a kid's game show hosted on Nickelodeon from 1993 to 1995. In 2019 Quibi announced an adult-led reboot would premiere on its streaming platform. However, Quibi failed to establish a foothold in the crowded streaming market and shut down after six months. Quibi boasted several original programs with big-name stars attached like Liam Hemsworth, and Chance the Rapper. But the 15-minute format of its shows and a mobile-focused streaming strategy could not compete with services like Netflix or Disney Plus. It was later announced that Roku acquired Quibi's produced shows, more than 75 programs in total. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-tv-show-and-movie-coming-to-quibi&captions=true"] Since Legends of the Hidden Temple wasn't produced, The CW appears to have taken it instead. This also brings the series back to its ViacomCBS roots which partly owns both The CW and Nickelodeon. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

It looks like the next Battlefield game is being planned for a holiday (or thereabouts) release this year, at least according to EA's financial plans. In a slide presentation accompanying its earnings results today, EA lays out its plans for releases for the rest of its fiscal year, placing Battlefield in Q3. This is a fiscal calendar, so for EA, that means Battlefield 6 (or whatever it ends up being called) is headed this way between October and December. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/04/battlefield-6-setting-potentially-revealed-in-leaked-screenshots-ign-daily-fix"] The calendar also has the rest of EA's known releases slotted in, with FIFA 22, F1 2021, and Madden NFL 22 all coming in the July through September window, NHL 22 coming around the same quarter as Battlefield, and EA Sports PGA Tour finishing off the year in the January through March 2022 window. This calendar does not include any unannounced titles, though it does note the already-announced next-gen upgrade for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Battlefield 6 hasn't yet been formally revealed, and its formal announcement was only very recently teased by EA for a June first look. Notably, no Battlefield game was released in 2020, breaking what had previously been an annual cycle. However, when it ultimately launches, EA has said it will take "full" advantage of next-gen platforms. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

In what might be a perfect alignment of actor and concept, Aubrey Plaza and Danny DeVito, along with DeVito's daughter, Lucy DeVito, will be voicing a new animated sitcom called Little Demon, Variety reports. It's a slice of comedy set in Delaware. It also features the Antichrist. The new show will feature Lucy DeVito as the Antichrist daughter of Plaza's character, where they deal with both the challenges of daily life and Satan. It will premiere first on FXX, the stream the following day on FX and Hulu. In addition to lending their voices to LIttle Demon, Plaza and both DeVitos will executive produce the show. It is being produced by FX Productions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/24/always-sunny-star-reveals-what-happened-to-his-minecraft-movie-ign-news"] Plaza, for her part, has been in the news a fair amount lately. She recently confirmed her marriage to Jeff Baena, and she is also set to team up with Alison Brie for Spin Me Round, a new indie comedy. DeVito is keeping busy as well, with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia being renewed for four more seasons back in December. There is no release date yet for Little Demon. Thumbnail Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

After the surprise re-release of the original Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance on consoles (PC and mobile to come later), it seems fan reaction has been strong enough that a re-release of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is “on the table,” according to developer Black Isle Studios.

Black Isle took the time to thank fans on Twitter and respond to additional comments and concerns.

“The sequel is on the table. Stay tuned!” Black Isle said.

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Dark Alliance 2 came out in 2004 on PS2 and Xbox, three years after the release of the original. The cult classic hack-and-slash RPG released to generally positive reviews, receiving an 8.4 out of 10 from IGN for its continuation of the original’s formula, moderately mixed up with the new necromancer class and workshop feature.

Just don’t expect a full remake. The first Dark Alliance re-release has 4K support, backwards compatibility, and two-player co-op, but new features aren’t really a draw here.

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If you’re a fan of the D&D realm, the upcoming Dark Alliance from Tuque Studios combines modern design with that old school combat feel, but we’ll find out for sure when that launches on June 22. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Drizzt fanboy for IGN.

Blizzard will show off two hours of Overwatch 2 gameplay on May 20, including a first look at changes to the game's PvP mode. Announced by new director Aaron Keller in a short development update, the livestream will begin on May 20 at 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern / 8pm UK (that's May 21 at 5am AEST). It will focus on PvP, and will include footage of changes coming to the mode – and will serve as our biggest public look at the game since it was announced. You'll be able to watch the stream with us on IGN. The livestream will feature Keller, lead hero designer Geoff Goodman, and associate art director Dion Rogers, and will be hosted by Matt “Mr. X” Morello and Mitch “Uber” Leslie (with appearances from Overwatch influencers Stylosa and Cuppcaake). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/overwatch-2-55-new-details"] Exactly what the livestream will introduce for PvP is unknown, but it will definitely affect both Overwatch 2 and the original Overwatch, with the two games sharing a single player-vs-player set-up. "From new maps to major gameplay updates," reads a press release, "we’re reinvigorating the core Overwatch experience." Those PvP changes could be fundamental, with Overwatch 2's BlizzCon panel explaining that the team was making experimental changes to the game, including adding passive abilities across hero roles, wildly altering how tank characters work, and potentially even removing the Assault mode type altogether. Now-departed game director Jeff Kaplan previously hinted to IGN that PvP changes would be evolutionary for the game: "We're trying to rethink maybe the way the game is played a little bit and redefine what PvP needs – go, 'Hey, we're not in Overwatch 1 anymore. We're in Overwatch 2 now. It's okay for it to be different. In fact, how many years are we going to play the same game before it's time to move on and experience something different and allow us to evolve?' Which I think is good." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/jeff-kaplan-blizzards-brilliant-innovator"] With no release date in sight, it's not clear how far along Overwatch 2 is in development, but Blizzard is aiming to update fans more regularly than it has done, so this may well be the first in a line-up of showcases for the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Edward Norton is joining the cast of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel, reports Deadline.

Norton is joining Daniel Craig’s gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc’, along with the recently cast Dave Bautista. Neither Norton nor Bautista's characters have been revealed.

Director Rian Johnson is returning to both direct and write the Knives Out sequel.

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The cast for the sequel is already stacking up, and considering the original Knives Out very much capitalized on a strong cast of well-known actors (including Captain America’s Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more), we may see some more well-known names join the cast in the future.

Just don’t expect any familiar faces to show up besides Craig’s Blanc. Director Rian Johnson confirmed any sequel will be centered around a new mystery and cast.

Netflix certainly spent the money to merit some strong casting, paying a record $450 million in March to acquire the rights to Johnson’s films, and ordering two sequels for the streaming service.

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Norton is best known for his breakout roles in the late 90’s Fight Club and American History X. He’s also appeared in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs. His latest work was seen in 2019’s Motherless Brooklyn, a neo-noir film where Norton plays a private investigator with Tourette syndrome attempting to solve the murder of his mentor. He also briefly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a turn as Bruce Banner in 2008's The Incredible Hulk before being replaced by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/donut for IGN.

Despite being a movie featuring countless zombies, including an undead tiger, one special effect in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead stands out for being particularly peculiar. In an interview with Vulture, actress, and comedian Tig Notaro explained how strange it was to completely digitally replace an actor in the upcoming Netflix action film, acting out almost her entire role by herself.

Moviegoers who’ve been paying attention to Snyder’s Army of the Dead may remember that Notaro’s role (a helicopter pilot who joins Dave Bautista’s heist crew) was originally given to comedian Chris D’Elia.

After D’Elia was accused of soliciting porn from underage teenagers (an accusation the actor still denies), the production crew behind Army of the Dead was left with a difficult question: How do they replace an actor when reshoots would be financially difficult and a pandemic makes it unsafe to gather actors back together?

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/13/army-of-the-dead-official-trailer"]

The answer was to bring on Notaro, in what was a pretty unusual role for the 50-year-old, and have her film her scenes entirely against greenscreen and receive weapons training over Zoom calls.

“I did firearm training over Zoom in my office while my children were playing Lego in the next room,” she says. “I hid it from them, not because they’d get hurt but because I didn’t want them to think I had a machine gun.”

Notaro is understandably very different physically from the taller D’Elia, which made framing the reshoots an interesting challenge.

“I had to do this incredibly technical experiment, re-creating every scene, shot for shot,” Snyder says. “My visual-effects supervisor, Marcus Taormina, did the work of taking Chris completely out of the movie so Tig could have freedom [to move] within the scenes.”

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The crew effectively recreated entire sets with Notaro’s character using greenscreen and green props. Notaro also had to match the pace and tone of her dialogue to what was originally recorded so other actors looked like they were reacting realistically.

“They’d line up a piece of tape on the ground and say, ‘Okay, you’ve fallen in line with a group of people. You’re walking into a building,’ ” Notaro said. “I’d be like, ‘Is it kind of a mosey? Okay, I’ll mosey.’ Then Zack might say, ‘That’s a little too fast with the moseying,’ and we’d start over again.”

One of the film’s most difficult shots involved Notaro flying a helicopter while Bautista fought a zombie right behind her, a scene he’d shot a year earlier.

“That’s where I’m like, ‘I am not a trained actor,’ ” she says. “I had to be yelling lines, I have a zombie in the back of my helicopter, I have to press the right buttons and flick the right switches. You’re sitting there with all these adults standing ten feet away while you’re alone, acting like you’re crashing. I thought, Oh my God, I feel like an idiot. Can we be done with this?”

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To acknowledge the awkwardness of the whole situation, and to recognize Notaro’s efforts in a difficult situation, Snyder presented Notaro with a fake Oscar award for “Best Out-of-Focus Actor.”

If you can’t wait for Snyder’s Army of the Dead, the good news is that starting on May 14, 250 Cinemark locations will play it a week before its May 21 Netflix launch date. This isn’t the first time Snyder has touched the zombie genre, but he told reporters during a set visit that he’s hoping to deconstruct the action genre in a way similar to his Dawn of the Dead remake. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

This week in RDO, claim Double XP for clearing out Gang Hideouts, 2X Role and Character XP in Trade Route Free Roam Events, and much more.