Scorn was one of the surprise hits of last week's Inside Xbox showcase, its blank storytelling and H.R. Giger-inspired aesthetic standing out from the rest of Series X's third-party slate. We've known about the game, as a PC title, for several years at this point, and it turns out the lure of Series X for developer Ebb Software was the fact that a console version could now match the vision it has always had for its PC project. "It was about bringing it in line with the PC version", says game director Ljubomir Peklar when I ask what the thinking was behind releasing Scorn for the new Xbox. "We don't want to make any compromises and Series X certainly enables us to do just that." I ask what, specifically, Series X offers the team that current-gen consoles couldn't: "It's mostly evolutionary improvements that are going to make the biggest difference. The most important one is elimination of the CPU bottleneck that exists in the current-gen consoles and much faster loading of assets thanks to the SSD. It's all about responsiveness and not having to wait on things." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=scorn-10-screenshots-of-the-series-x-and-pc-horror-game&captions=true"] For Scorn's developers, compromise seems to be out of the question, and Series X's power is a draw. Scorn is being built in Unreal Engine 4, and appears to be an exercise in pushing those tools as far as they'll go - Peklar doesn't say it outright, but Ebb appears to be aiming for high resolution and framerates as much as it is shiny (or should that be slimy?) new looks: "If developers decided to opt for lower resolutions and 30fps they could get more spectacular results, like in the new Unreal 5 showcase few days ago. What you have to remember is that responsiveness and motion clarity are also part of the overall presentation, so you would still be losing detail in a sense." The last direct gameplay we saw from Scorn came in 2017, and Peklar assures me that the game has changed significantly since then: "That pre-alpha level we showed is about 80% different right now. That demo was created to show backers we can develop a proper game and an overall potential of what the game could be. It wasn't supposed to be a final representation of the game." What remains less clear is whether Series X is the only console platform on which Scorn will arrive. When I ask if this is a Series X exclusive, or if it could hit PS5 sometime after launch, Peklar says he can't discuss that information. We still don't know if the game will come to Steam and Windows Store simultaneously with Xbox Series X, either. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/07/scorn-xbox-series-x-gameplay-reveal"] A slightly more interesting mystery is what story Scorn actually aims to tell. Ebb has been purposely mysterious about what Scorn is about, to the point where, when I innocently ask what the initial pitch for the game was (intending to mean the look and gameplay ideas), Peklar says it feels like I'm trying to be "clever" and get him to tell me what the story's about, and refuses to answer directly. "The initial pitch hasn't changed that much," he tells me, "but we will never disclose it." He will, at least, divulge what the gameplay will be made up of. The 2017 demo showed off exploration and puzzle-solving around one of Scorn's several promised nightmarish areas, and a touch of gunplay as the local, disgusting wildlife subsequently turned hostile. That mix will seemingly remain the case in the final product: "It's pretty much 50/50 when it comes to gunplay and puzzles," says Peklar, "all wrapped up in an atmosphere that will elevate it much further than the sum of its parts." Despite that early gameplay, most people watching Inside Xbox won't have seen Scorn before, and its sheer blankness of vision, and the team's unwillingness to give too much away, must have made this very public showing slightly nerve-wracking. Thankfully, Peklar and his team emerged pleased with the experience: "We were interested in seeing if people were reacting to the specific beats we expected them to. Failing to adequately realize and present the mood is always our biggest worry. Thankfully it all went as expected. The overall reaction was pretty good too." Scorn will be released for Xbox Series X during the console's "launch period". Windows Store and Steam versions are also planned, with no release date specified. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and Scorn makes him feel deliciously grim. Follow him on Twitter.

Control’s next DLC expansion, AWE, will further explore the game’s link to Alan Wake, and provide answers for players who “didn’t quite understand what happened”. Talking to Game Informer, Remedy's creative director and writer Sam Lake has said that we can expect to learn much more about the Federal Bureau of Control’s research into the Bright Falls incident when playing through AWE. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/26/control-review"] “We have this opportunity of looking back at what happened in Alan Wake and how does the Bureau see it,” said Lake. “Well, there was this otherworldly event that took place in Bright Falls and they suddenly have this terminology. We have people that say, ‘I loved Alan Wake but I didn't quite understand what happened, and now I played Control and I understand what happened in Alan Wake!’” Lake confirmed that AWE will definitely explore the events of Alan Wake. “I can say that you will find out more about the Bureau's research on what happened in Alan Wake and where they are with it today,” he added. Alan Wake, which released ten years ago, famously has an obscure conclusion. The two-part DLC story line - The Signal and The Writer - later helped clarify and extend certain plot elements, but to this day many players remain confused as to exactly what happened. Now that Remedy has built a shared universe for its games, the AWE expansion provides a new opportunity to clear up what happened in the strange town of Bright Falls. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=control-the-foundation-screenshots&captions=true"] AWE will be the second expansion to Control, following The Foundation, which our review explains is a wonderful return to the weird world of the Federal Bureau of Control. After that, Remedy is embarking on two more next-gen games set in the same franchise. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

During the first quarter of 2020, United States consumer spending on video game products reached the highest total in U.S. history, according to The NPD Group. The NPD Group calls this year's first quarter a record, driven by digital content spending across console, mobile and PC platforms - reaching $10.86 billion in total from January to March. This is an increase of 9% compared to the same period of time for last year, according to the report. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time&captions=true"] "Sales of video game content reached $9.58 billion in the first quarter, up 11% when compared to a year ago," The NPD Group reports. "Gains were seen across digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending, as well as across hardware and accessories categories." Games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which recently broke its own record after becoming the fastest-selling Switch game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, DOOM Eternal, and Grand Theft Auto V helped consumer spending break this record as they were all among the best-performing titles of this year's first quarter. Other notable titles on that list include Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Fortnite, Minecraft, MLB The Show 20, and NBA 2K20. "Video games have brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time," NPD Group video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella said. "As people have stayed home more, they've utilized gaming not only as a diversion and an escape, but also as a means of staying connected with family and friends. Whether it was on console or mobile, PC or virtual reality, gaming experienced play and sales growth during the first quarter." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/02/01/the-best-selling-game-thats-hard-to-go-back-to"] The challenging time Piscatella is referring to is, of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some ways to help and stay safe during the pandemic. The NPD Group reports that a strong growth in sales of Nintendo Switch hardware and software helped to offset the declines across other hardware platforms, "leading the overall video game hardware market to increase 2% in the quarter to $773 million." Video game accessories like gamepads, headsets, and cases also saw an increase in sales during this quarter with an increase of 1% in the first quarter. Those sales reached $503 million. You can read more about how March of this year was a record-breaking month for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo is attempting to boost Switch output to meed its growing demand after months like March too. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake's take on Nemesis is now available in Resident Evil Resistance, and Capcom has detailed its connection to Resident Evil 4. Posted as part of the announcement of Nemesis' inclusion in Resistance, a PlayStation blog post explains the newly-created connections between the Nemesis of Resident Evil 3 and Resistance with RE4. According to Capcom social media specialist Kellen Haney, the Nemesis' ability to infect zombies with parasites in Resistance was added to the game to tie into the Ganado enemies of RE4. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-resident-evil-bosses&captions=true"] "We inevitably decided on this final ability due to the presence of Ganado in Resident Evil 4," Haney said. "Ganado are humanoid enemies that are created through being infected with the Plagas parasite, the original basis for NE-α. When the Plagas activates, it spawns from the neck of its host in the form of a tentacle." Haney said NE-α was created to imitate this parasitic quality and Capcom wanted NE-α infected enemies to be "visually similar" to the Plagas-infected Ganados. This was done as a "means for fans to piece together how Nemesis fits within the whole Resident Evil franchise." As anyone who played RE3 knows, the Nemesis was able to infect zombies nearby using its parasitic arm. These newly-infected zombies would need to be taken down in a specific way different from the usual headshot to a standard zombie. The Nemesis' tentacle arm will return as an ability in Resistance that can be used to infect zombies. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/resident-evil-resistance-jill-valentine-gameplay"] This ability was also added in order to differentiate Nemesis from the Tyrant of Resident Evil 2. "We wanted Nemesis to come across as an even more formidable opponent, so we started considering alternate abilities aside from its heavy weapon artillery," Haney said. That's what led to the inclusion of Nemesis' infection ability. For more Resident Evil, check out this Dino Crisis mod for RE3 on PC. Read about this RE3 board game coming to Kickstarter too. We thought RE3 was amazing, giving the Resident Evil 3 remake a 9 out of 10. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/5-craziest-resident-evil-3-mods"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. He helped write the IGN guide for Resident Evil 3, which you can check out here. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Ubisoft's educational Discovery Tours for Assassin's Creed: Origins and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey are currently free to download and keep on PC. The educational expansions go beyond the mythological heights of the main games and let players explore the ancient history behind the worlds you may have explored as Alexios/Kassandra and Bayek. You can take part in guided tours curated by historians and learn more about Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece from the experts.

Take a historic journey from home with Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece & Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt FREE to download and keep  #PlayApartTogether

https://t.co/UVftq2CaBr — Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) May 14, 2020

Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt and Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece can be redeemed via this link, alongside a host of over Ubisoft games, including Rabbids Coding! and Might & Magic Chess Royale. This is part of Ubisoft's Play Your Part, Play at Home campaign, which is offering free games to fans in an effort to help keep people busy as they stay safe at home under quarantine. The promotion will run from today, May 15th until May 21, so head on over to Uplay to redeem it. We don't yet know if Assassin's Creed Valhalla will include a Discovery Tour mode, but we know 44 other details about the upcoming Viking-based entry in the series. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who wishes Ubisoft would hire him to make a discovery tour for Black Flag. Ask him about pirate archaeology on Twitter.

Nintendo has announced that NES' Rygar and SNES' Wild Guns, Panel de Pon, and Operation Logic Bomb will be added to Nintendo Switch Online on May 20, 2020. These titles will bring the total NES and SNES titles on Nintendo Switch Online to 82, and are the first additions since Nintendo added Pop'n TwinBee, Smash Tennis, Shadow of the Ninja, and Eliminator Boat Duel in February. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/15/nintendo-switch-online-may-2020-game-updates"] Rygar was released on NES in 1986 and was originally an arcade game in Japan called Warrior of Argus. The official description from Nintendo is as follows;

An old legend proclaimed, “When the peaceful land is covered with evil spirits, a brave soldier will be brought to life from the dead.” Luckily, Rygar, the mythical hero from Argus, has arrived in order to defeat the evil king Ligar and his army of dangerous beasts. Join forces with Rygar for a hybrid action-adventure game with a distinct blend of platforming and role-playing elements!

Wild Guns arrived on the SNES in 1994 and infuses the Wild, Wild West with Sci-Fi for a unique shooting gallery experience. The official description from Nintendo is as follows;

The Kid gang and their army of robots have taken over! Blast your way through villainous outlaws,diabolical robots and towering, screen-filling bosses. Fortunately, you’ve got plenty of moves to help you survive the firepower headed your way. You’ll need a sharp eye and quick-on-the-draw reflexes to survive on your own. Or team up with a friend and go out blazing in two-player co-op.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-25-nintendo-switch-games&captions=true"] Panel de Pon was only ever released in Japan, but those in other regions of the world may know it as Tetris Attack. It was released in 1995 on the SNES and came to Game Boy a year later. The Tetris Attack/Panel de Pon legacy was continued with such titles as Pokemon Puzzle League for the N64. The official description from Nintendo is as follows:

As the stack of puzzle pieces rises, think fast to match panels and set off cascading chain reactions and combos. You’ll have to make strategic choices quickly to counteract the relentless competitor attacks from above. A selection of single-player and two-player modes and options provides escalating action and zippy fun. This title originally launched for the Super Famicom in 1995, but this is the first time this version of the game will be available in the U.S. Though this title was never translated into English, it may seem familiar!

Operation Logic Bomb: The Ultimate Search & Destroy was originally released on the SNES in 1993 and is an overhead action game that was a sequel to the Game Boy's Fortified Zone. The official description from Nintendo is as follows;

Agent Logan has been fitted with bioelectronic implants that grant him superior strength, reflexes and analytical abilities. He’s been charged with a mission to save the Subspace Particle Transfer Project. Now it’s up to him to infiltrate, neutralize the intruders and rescue the scientists in a top-down shooter with giant bosses and frenzied action that doesn’t let up.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/14/paper-mario-the-origami-king-announcement-trailer"] This news follows Nintendo's reveal of Paper Mario: The Origami King from earlier today, which arrives on the Switch on July 17, 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron revealed in a new interview that the 2002 video game adaptation Resident Evil is among his favorite "guilty pleasure" movies. Chatting with Empire, the Terminator and Aliens director said he's rewatched the Paul W.S. Anderson movie during the coronavirus quarantine. "One of my guilty-pleasure films that I actually think is quite beautifully made is Resident Evil,” the director of two of the highest-grossing movies of all time declared. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cinemascore-what-audiences-think-of-video-game-movies&captions=true"] Cameron went on to hail the performance of one Resident Evil actress in particular, someone who later co-starred in Cameron's Avatar: "Watching Michelle Rodriguez in that film, moving like this feral creature, is joyful.” Cameron was in the midst of making his billion-dollar Avatar sequels when the pandemic shut down production in New Zealand. So far, the Avatar sequels remain on track to hit their respective release dates through 2027.

Right now you can claim a brand new Shift Code which bestows three Golden Keys for Borderlands 3.

Luca Guadagnino, the director of Call Me By Your Name and the Suspiria remake, has reportedly been hired to direct Universal's reboot of the gangster classic Scarface. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest draft of the remake was penned by Joel and Ethan Coen. Guadagnino is the latest director attached to the project, following Training Day's Antoine Fuqua, Suicide Squad's David Ayer, Harry Potter's David Yates, and Jackie's Pablo Larrain. This would be the third film incarnation of Scarface, following the original 1932 classic and the 1983 remake starring Al Pacino. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/08/31/scarface-al-pacino-on-say-hello-to-my-little-friend"] This latest Scarface has been in development since 2011, and had Rogue One's Gabriel Luna reportedly in the mix to star back in 2017. The movie has been described in the past as a reboot, which will see a Mexican immigrant in L.A. rising to the top of the underworld.  

This week in GTA Online, score double rewards for Bunker Series and Gunrunning Sell Missions, claim GTA$500,000, and more.