Bithell Games (Thomas Was Alone, John Wick Hex) has announced its third Bithell Short, The Solitaire Conspiracy, which arrives on Steam on October 6. Announced on Twitter, The Solitaire Conspiracy will be a stylish take on the classic solo card game, complete with extra powers and effects, with time attack and skirmish modes and... a full story campaign. If you want it even more unique, that story campaign features full FMV cutscenes featuring IGN alum Greg Miller in the role of a spy agency analyst called Jim Ratio.

So... what if Solitaire, but extra, with powers and a full FMV storied campaign, time attack and skirmish modes!https://t.co/y2ajsbnNqL

The third Bithell Short: The Solitaire Conspiracy. Coming October 6th. Wishlist now, and help us make a splash on launch day. pic.twitter.com/P12191zW4I — Mike Bithell (@mikeBithell) September 22, 2020

According to the game's Steam page, you play games of solitaire to guide home the scattered agents of a compromised agency, Protego. "Guided by Protego’s only remaining analyst, Jim Ratio (Greg Miller)," reads the description, "you must master the unique powers of each crew in a game of tactical Solitaire like none you’ve ever played before. Guide your crews home in a tale of intrigue where nobody can be trusted. Keep your cool in a world of AI spies and cyber-enhanced operators." Bithell Shorts are smaller, experimental games released between Bithell's bigger projects. Bithell makes clear that this isn't connected to the last two Shorts, Subsurface Circular and Quarantine Circular. It's a brand new storyline, meaning no prior knowledge is required. Except maybe knowledge of playing endless Solitaire on Windows 95, that probably helps. [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.

If you purchase the Ultimate Edition of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales to get Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on the PS5, you won't be able to transfer a save from the PS4 version of the game. Marvel's Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games revealed the news on Twitter, as well as providing more details about how the remastered version of the 2018 game will work in a series of replies to fan queries. If you plan to continue from where you left off on the PS4, you're out of luck, as it looks like the two games will be separate entities, meaning your current-gen save won't be compatible. However, this does mean that Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered will offer a separate trophy list, which is great news if you're a Platinum hunter keen to replay the game on PS5.

Saves won’t transfer from the original game to the Remaster

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) September 20, 2020

Insomniac also confirmed that Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered won't receive a physical release, and will only be available as a download voucher or a digital download, depending on which version of the Ultimate Edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales you purchase. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a PS5 launch game, swinging into action on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and November 19 everywhere else. The game is also coming to PS4 with a 'next-gen upgrade path' for players who make the jump to next-gen later down the line. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/16/spider-man-miles-morales-gameplay-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.  

FIFA 21 will not receive a demo this year so that the game's developers can focus on "delivering the best full game experience." EA Sports took to Twitter to reveal the news, noting that players can still get early access to the game by subscribing to EA Play. FIFA's yearly demo is a long-standing tradition, which is why this news might be shocking to some fans of the veteran football series. "We've made the decision to focus our development team's time on delivering the best full game experience for current & next-gen consoles," EA's statement reads. If you still wish to check out the game ahead of launch, EA Play subscribers will be able to jump in and trial FIFA 21 for 10 hours from October 1, ahead of the game's official release date on October 9.

We aren't releasing a demo for FIFA 21.

Instead we've made the decision to focus our development team's time on delivering the best full game experience for current & next-gen consoles. We look forward to EA PLAY members jumping in 10 days from now and launching the game Oct 9. — EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) September 21, 2020

If you pre-order the FIFA 21 Ultimate or Champions edition, you'll also be able to access the game three days early on October 6. And if you pick up the current-gen version of FIFA 21, you'll be able to upgrade to the PS5 or Xbox Series X version at no extra cost due to EA's Dual Entitlement system. In other FIFA 21 news, check out our article covering the improvements headed to Career Mode this year. [poilib element="accentDivider" Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Action-FPS Bright Memory is "currently in development" for the launch of  Xbox Series X and S, with its already-announced follow-up, Bright Memory: Infinite to follow next year. Announced on the Playism Game Show stream, one-man developer FYQD announced that the game was in development and that he's "trying to do it at launch". Alongside that announcement, the developer also confirmed that the game's follow-up, Bright Memory: Infinite will come to PC and Xbox Series X in 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-first-18-minutes-of-bright-memory-pc-gameplay"] Bright Memory is a melee-and-ranged FPS developed in FYQD's spare time and released on Steam in 2019. The game combines a cyberpunk storyline with classic action game combat and environmental puzzles. Originally envisaged as the first episode in a series, FYQD has now decided to remake Bright Memory and significantly extend it, calling the new game Bright Memory: Infinite. Infinite was announced and shown off for Xbox Series X at an Inside Xbox showcase in May - we called it one of our favourite Series X games shown on the day. [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.

An Arizona man recently made $6,000 by selling a vintage t-shirt from Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin. Corbin Smith, 27, sold the 28-year-old shirt on the Virtual Flea, a livestream for vendors to sell their used goods since most flea markets have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As chronicled by the Wall Street Journal, Smith was hoping to score $2,000 for the Aladdin shirt featuring Robin Williams' Genie. Smith, who goes by the handle @TheHeatBroker, bought the shirt for $500 back in December.

That “someone” would be me lol https://t.co/RY27LTkE20

— Corbin (@CorbinGMH) September 17, 2020

Smith saw the bids rise from $1 to, eventually, the winning sum of $6,000. “Before that moment happened, I’ve never had more than like $4,800 to my name,” Smith told the paper. “And I made more than that off one piece of cloth.” The Aladdin shirt was purchased by @ShirtCheck, whom the Journal describes as "a shadowy buyer with a growing reputation in the vintage tee community." ShirtCheck, aka Josh Adams, bought the Aladdin shirt as a long-term investment; he's reportedly spent $10,000 so far acquiring vintage movie and TV shirts. According to the Journal, "Adams believes he holds one of the world’s largest collection of movie and TV shirts and in the coming weeks he plans to open 'Varlago,' an online shop that will also offer guidance for upstart sellers and written content around his mammoth collection." The scarcity of product and nostalgia for particular films and shows drive the market for these vintage tees, with some shirts never being available in stores back in the 1990s. Indeed, many were shirts made solely for the production crews that worked on the movies. Now, these old shirts are highly sought after by scrutinous collectors and dealers in the vintage movie merch market. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-disney-animated-movies&captions=true"] If you're interested in buying movie and TV show t-shirts for a lot less than $6,000 then shop at the IGN Store. What's the most you would spend on a vintage shirt? And for which film or TV show? Let us know in the comments.

It turns out most Vikings weren't as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes. (Sorry, Chris Hemsworth and Travis Fimmel.) Nature's study sequencing the genomes of 442 Viking remains from Viking-inhabited areas like northern Europe, Italy, and Greenland -- human remains dated between 2400 B.C. to 1600 A.D. and which were buried with a variety of Viking artifacts -- reveals far more genetic diversity than previously thought about the people who came from the land of the ice and snow. The Vikings, after all, were a scattered group whose sea-faring for trade, exploration, and conquest saw them settle far and wide during the Viking Age that lasted from roughly 700 A.D. to 1100 A.D. Not only did many of the studied Vikings turn out to not be blond or blue-eyed, their genetic admixture shows they weren't a distinct ethnic group but rather a mix of various other groups, "with ancestry from hunter-gatherers, farmers, and populations from the Eurasian steppe." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/vikings-season-6-official-clip-comic-conhome-on-ign"] The study revealed which Scandinavian countries influenced outside regions the most. "The Danish Vikings went to England, while the Swedish Vikings went to the Baltic and the Norwegian Vikings went to Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland," according to the University of Copenhagen's Ashot Margaryan. Three particularly genetically diverse areas -- one in modern Denmark, and one apiece on the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland -- were likely key trading centers. The conclusions of this genetic analysis suggest the very idea of being a Viking was likely more a way of life or job. As Science Alert puts it:

"(The) results also reveal that during the Viking Age, being a Viking was as much a concept and a culture as it was question of genetic inheritance, with the team finding that two Viking skeletons buried in the Northern Isles of Scotland had what looks to be relatively pure Scottish and Irish heritage, with no Scandinavian influence, at least not genetically speaking, that is."

“These identities aren’t genetic or ethnic, they’re social,” archaeologist Cat Jarman informed Science magazine. “To have backup for that from DNA is powerful.” And as Science magazine also highlights, "several individuals in Norway were buried as Vikings, but their genes identified them as Saami, an Indigenous group genetically closer to East Asians and Siberians than to Europeans." Fascinatingly, the DNA study also revealed that two of the remains found hundreds of miles apart -- one in the U.K. and one in Denmark -- turned out to be a pair of cousins! For more Vikings coverage, discover what showrunner Michael Hirst recently revealed to us about what's in store for Vikings' final season and why the sequel series, Valhalla, will be on Netflix instead of the History Channel. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=movies-and-shows-to-prepare-you-for-valhalla&captions=true"]

If you’re planning on heading to a physical GameStop retailer to put down a pre-order for an Xbox Series X or S tomorrow, know that there will be limited consoles per store, with some locations getting as 2 Series S digital systems. IGN has learned from multiple GameStop sources that allotments for Xbox Series consoles will be limited at physical store locations. Numbers that range between six to twelve Xbox Series X and two to four Series S systems have been corroborated by our sources, who asked to remain anonymous. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-series-s-and-series-x-comparison-photos&captions=true"] This is just the allotment for pre-orders made at physical locations and has no bearing on what GameStop’s digital allotment will look like. One of our sources says next-gen Xbox systems will be more available online. However, across the board, it appears that physical stores may have as few as 10 Series X systems and even fewer Series S systems. In contrast, physical GameStop locations had bigger allotments of PS5 when those systems went up for preorder, though not by much. One store confirmed they had 14 PS5 systems with physical disc drives compared to about 10 Xbox Series X systems available for pre-order. Xbox has promised a smoother preorder experience for the Xbox Series X and S compared to the PlayStation 5. Xbox announced both time and date for preorders, compared to the PS5 which seemingly released preorders by surprise. Sony even apologized for how PS5 preorders were handled and promise more systems will be available at the end of the year. For preorder info on both systems, check out IGN’s Xbox Series preorder guide and PS5 preorder guide. [poilib element="accentDivider"]  

Microsoft dropped a bombshell announcement this morning when it announced Xbox will acquire ZeniMax Media, which includes hit studios like Bethesda, id, and Arkane. Some have wondered if this is a scenario similar to Disney acquiring Fox, but according to a legal expert, Xbox’s Bethesda acquisition is a fundamentally different kind of deal. Following the news of Xbox’s major studio acquisition, some commenters wondered if this deal would be subject to investigation from antitrust authorities. But whereas the Disney Fox merger was an example of horizontal integration, the Xbox Bethesda deal is a vertical integration, which is more complicated from an antitrust law perspective, and historically has not been an issue for antitrust investigators in the entertainment content space.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"]

Difference Between Horizontal and Vertical Integration

A horizontal merger — which is what the Disney/Fox deal was — is when two competitors within the same market are combined. In contrast, Xbox/ZeniMax’s vertical merger is an example of where a distributor of content (Xbox) purchases a content producer (ZeniMax). “Vertical mergers, which is what this is being referred to for the purpose of anti-trust laws, are historically less of a problem for anti-trust regulators,” says David Hoppe, Managing Partner at SF-based Media/Tech law firm Gamma Law. “[With vertical integration] you can still have concerns over consumer choice and monopoly pricing. But those concerns are going to be much diminished because you’re still going to have independent competitors.” Problems with vertical integrations have the potential to arise when these deals impact competition. Hoppe says there’s a hypothetical argument that console exclusives can negatively impact competition, “For example, if Microsoft buys every great game studio then people wouldn’t want to buy a PS5.” But console exclusivity has not been an issue for either the Justice Department or even other competitors within the video game industry. Hoppe also said it’s an interesting coincidence that the Zenimax acquisition comes a month after a New York federal judge terminated the “Paramount Rule” which is a long-standing film industry decree that prevented movie studios from holding on movie theater chains. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-series-s-and-series-x-comparison-photos&captions=true"] The end of the Paramount Decree cleared the way for vertical integration in the film industry, which Hoppe says is a “really similar situation to what you have here.” However, unless a console manufacturer purchases every significant independent video game studio, Hoppe says there’s not going to be an anti-trust concern. For more on today’s big Xbox Bethesda deal, check out IGN’s special episode of Unlocked, the 5 biggest takeaways from Xbox’s Bethesda deal, and whether Bethesda games will be exclusive to Xbox systems going forward. The news also arrives a day before the Xbox Series X and S are set to go on preorder. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Ron Cobb, a production designer known for designing Back to the Future’s time-traveling DeLorean, the Nostromo in Alien, and aspects of Conan the Barbarian, has died. He was 83.

[caption id="attachment_2410263" align="alignnone" width="720"] Ron Cobb (Photo by Gerrit Alan Fokkema/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).[/caption]

Robin Love, Cobb’s wife of 48 years, reported that Cobb died Monday of Lewy body dementia, according to THR.

Cobb was most known for his production design work on numerous sci-fi and action films. Besides the examples listed above, Cobb was also responsible for weapons and scenery design on 1982’s Conan the Barbarian.

Cobb began his career at age 17 as a Disney animator working on “inbetweener” frames of Sleeping Beauty. He later transitioned to creating editorial cartoons for the Los Angeles Free Press, with his work syndicated in more than 80 newspapers.

Cobb’s first production design job was John Carpenter’s debut film, 1974’s Dark Star.

While illustrator H.R. Giger is often referred to as the stylistic mind behind 1979’s Alien, Cobb submitted concept art for the interior and exterior of the infamous Nostromo ship that serves as the Ridley Scott film’s main setting. Cobb’s art helped define the Nostromo’s sci-fi aesthetic that would itself go on to influence countless other sci-fi entertainment properties, like Alien: Isolation. Cobb maintained a gallery of his concept art on his personal website.

[caption id="attachment_2410270" align="alignnone" width="720"] Credit: Ron Cobb via RonCobb.net[/caption]

Cobb was also responsible for the idea of the titular Alien’s blood being corrosive, solving the narrative issue of just having the Nostromo crew shoot the alien to death. Cobb maintained a personal website where he wrote about how the production team brought his designs to life.

Cobb’s other notable production design credits include the interior of the Mothership and stranded tanker from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Omega Sector logo and H-bombs from True Lies, the helmets and breathing tanks from The Abyss, and the ships from The Last Starfighter.

[caption id="attachment_2410273" align="alignnone" width="499"] Concept art of the DeLorean from Back to the Future. Credit: Ron Cobb via RonCobb.net[/caption]

Cobb’s career was also marked by a close relationship with famed director Steven Spielberg. Cobb and Spielberg met while Cobb was working as a production designer on Conan, and Spielberg happened to be working down the hall at the Universal lot on the first Indiana Jones film. Cobb would later go on to design the Nazi Flying Wing, the plane that Indiana Jones fist-fights a considerably more muscular Nazi soldier under in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

"I would suggest [to Spielberg] angles, ideas, verbalize the act of directing — 'Let's do this and do that, and we could shoot over his shoulder and then a close-up of the shadow,' " Cobb said in a 1988 Los Angeles Times interview.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/24/9-facts-1-lie-ridley-scotts-alien"]

Spielberg liked Cobb so much that he suggested he direct Night Skies, an adaptation of an infamous story of a Kentucky family who claimed to have interacted with aliens. The project suffered its own series of production problems, including the threat of a lawsuit from the family the film was based on, and budgetary concerns. Night Skies was eventually shelved until Spielberg reformatted the narrative to be about a young boy defending an alien in what eventually became his own film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Cobb himself was featured in a cameo as a doctor in E.T., but reportedly didn’t enjoy Spielberg’s final product, calling it “sentimental and self-indulgent.”

On the subject of Conan, Cobb stated in past interviews that he wanted a production design that looked more grounded than previous fantasy films.

"I thought it would be very interesting to not bow to sort of a MGM fantasy-like set," Cobb said on an episode of The Director's Series, "but keep almost as a subtle gag this totally imaginary world looking as believable as possible. I thought it might be interesting to see if I could simulate reality….That's probably why the picture lacks a lot of sorcery because we wanted to keep it more naturalistic, more like a historical story, almost as though this is the true story of the real Conan."

[caption id="attachment_2410279" align="alignnone" width="720"] Ron Cobb's concept art of Conan the Barbarian's Wheel of Pain. Credit: Ron Cobb via RonCobb.net[/caption]

Cobb is survived by his wife and son.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer for IGN.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time introduces four Quantum Masks in Crash and Coco’s latest adventure. While developer Toys for Bob and Activision have previously detailed three of the masks, we now have a better look at what the fourth, 'Akano, does, and its power ties into one of Crash’s oldest skills — spinning a lot. Joining the other Quantum Masks (Lani-Loli, Kupuna-Wa, and Ika Ika if you haven’t been keeping track) is ‘Akano, the mask of dark matter. First revealed and explained by Game Informer, ‘Akano imbues Crash or Coco with a particularly powerful cyclone spin move. More powerful than their normal spins and seemingly even the death tornado spin in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, ‘Akano’s spin can be seen above in the new gameplay for Crash 4. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=crash-bandicoot-4-akano-screenshots&captions=true"] Imbuing Crash and Coco with a purple-colored aura and armor, players can use the lengthened spin to traverse long gaps or hover across bodies of water to avoid damage, even double jumping while mid-spin. ‘Akano’s power is NOT invincible, though. So while you will likely have to use this move to reach some pretty out-there crates, spinning into a TNT or Nitro crate will still cut your run short. Thankfully, the power can be used for combat purposes, as we see one example in the new gameplay of Crash bouncing an enemy projectile back at the foe. And, wonderfully, it doesn’t spin away Wumpa fruit. And according to Game Informer, the spin from ‘Akano can run indefinitely, but can also be cut short if needed. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time-demo-17-minutes-of-gameplay"] This power joins the other masks and the new abilities they offer Crash and Coco, including Lani-Loli’s ability to shift the player between phases or different versions of the same level; Kupuna-Wa’s power to slow down time; and Ika Ika’s gravity-defying skills. The four masks aren't the only new addition to the sequel — Crash 4 features flashback levels that offer punishing trials for players, N. Verted mode is Crash 4's unique take on mirror mode that changes up every level; and new playable characters like Neo Cortex, Dingodile, and Tawna join the lineup. Crash Bandicoot 4 is set for an October 2 launch on PS4 and Xbox One. For more ahead of its launch, check out our hands-on preview of Crash Bandicoot 4, read about why Crash 4 won't feature microtransactions, and stay tuned to IGN for more ahead of launch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.