Shares of Netflix hit an all-time high on April 15, boosting the company's value over that of rival Disney, which is deeply struggling amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As reported by Variety, Netflix's stock "closed up 3.2%, to $426.75 per share. That gives Netflix a current market capitalization of $187.3 billion, putting it just over Disney’s $186.6 billion." Netflix will report its first quarter 2020 earnings on April 21. With people worldwide quarantined at home due to COVID-19, streaming viewership is surging. U.S viewership alone is up 109% in March 2020 over the previous year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/new-to-netflix-for-april-2020"] While both Netflix and Disney+ are the beneficiaries of this increased stay-at-home viewership, Disney, as a company dependent on consumers being out in public, has suffered more revenue loss than Netflix due to the pandemic. With movie theaters, stores, cruise lines, and theme parks indefinitely closed, Disney is reportedly losing upwards of $30 million a day. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-plus-spotlight-april-2020&captions=true"][poilib element="accentDivider"] Disney, meanwhile, aims to rebound once bans on public gatherings are lifted and theme parks and movie theaters can reopen. In the meantime, Disney recently reshuffled their theatrical release slate, pushing several notable 2020 movies to next year.

Planet Entertainment, the publisher contracted to release the new Cooking Mama game at the center of a bizarre controversy, has fired back at allegations that it was not authorized to release the new Cooking Mama: Cookstar. The Japanese creators of the Cooking Mama series, Office Create, released a statement earlier today calling the new Switch game, Cooking Mama: Cookstar an “unauthorized” release citing that it had “rejected a wide range of deficiencies affecting the overall feel, quality and content of the game” produced by Planet Entertainment and developer 1st Playable. As such, Office Create seemingly requested the new Cooking Mama game to be pulled from digital retail. Hence why the title mysteriously disappeared from Nintendo eShop stores and some retailers.

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In a counter-statement released by Planet Entertainment, the company says that “Planet is fully within its rights to publish Cooking Mama Cookstar” and that “There is no active litigation or ruling that prevents pLanet from publishing the game.” Planet admits that there were some “creative differences” that arose towards the completion of Cooking Mama Cookstar that “were outside the scope of our agreement and the game design approved by Office Create,” but that it was still allowed to publish the game. At this time, Planet Entertainment is selling copies of Cooking Mama: Cookstar on its official website and used physical copies can be found online. However, the game is still not available on the Nintendo Switch eShop. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/cooking-mama-creator-says-cookstar-release-unauthorized-is-considering-legal-action"] Cooking Mama: Cookstar is a new game in the long-running Cooking Mama series. Earlier this month, around the time Cookstar was officially listed for release, the game mysteriously disappeared from retailers. While Planet Entertainment maintained the launch was still incoming, details came out that seemed to hint at some kind of dispute between Office Create and Planet. The dueling statements seem to confirm that, while there no legal case, there is some dissatisfaction between the two parties. IGN was able to obtain a copy of Cooking Mama: Cookstar and you can read our review here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Planet Entertainment, the publisher contracted to release the new Cooking Mama game at the center of a bizarre controversy, has fired back at allegations that it was not authorized to release the new Cooking Mama: Cookstar. The Japanese creators of the Cooking Mama series, Office Create, released a statement earlier today calling the new Switch game, Cooking Mama: Cookstar an “unauthorized” release citing that it had “rejected a wide range of deficiencies affecting the overall feel, quality and content of the game” produced by Planet Entertainment and developer 1st Playable. As such, Office Create seemingly requested the new Cooking Mama game to be pulled from digital retail. Hence why the title mysteriously disappeared from Nintendo eShop stores and some retailers.

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In a counter-statement released by Planet Entertainment, the company says that “Planet is fully within its rights to publish Cooking Mama Cookstar” and that “There is no active litigation or ruling that prevents pLanet from publishing the game.” Planet admits that there were some “creative differences” that arose towards the completion of Cooking Mama Cookstar that “were outside the scope of our agreement and the game design approved by Office Create,” but that it was still allowed to publish the game. At this time, Planet Entertainment is selling copies of Cooking Mama: Cookstar on its official website and used physical copies can be found online. However, the game is still not available on the Nintendo Switch eShop. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/cooking-mama-creator-says-cookstar-release-unauthorized-is-considering-legal-action"] Cooking Mama: Cookstar is a new game in the long-running Cooking Mama series. Earlier this month, around the time Cookstar was officially listed for release, the game mysteriously disappeared from retailers. While Planet Entertainment maintained the launch was still incoming, details came out that seemed to hint at some kind of dispute between Office Create and Planet. The dueling statements seem to confirm that, while there no legal case, there is some dissatisfaction between the two parties. IGN was able to obtain a copy of Cooking Mama: Cookstar and you can read our review here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

After raising the prospect last month, Mark Ruffalo has again confirmed he may appear on Marvel's She-Hulk, the upcoming Disney+ streaming series. However, the Hulk actor cautions that it's not set in stone and his future as the mighty monster remains uncertain. “There’s nothing completely at a place where it’s a done deal,” Ruffalo told Variety. “There’s some talk of having Banner/Hulk show up in She-Hulk. If we come up with something good, that would be really interesting. Right now that’s about it. That’s all there is on the table.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=she-hulk-through-the-years&captions=true"] Ruffalo would love to headline a Hulk solo movie, something he previously admitted would be very difficult given Universal has the rights to any Hulk solo films, hence why Ruffalo's Bruce Banner has only appeared as a supporting character in the Avengers films and Thor: Ragnarok. Ruffalo's idea for a Hulk solo film would explore Banner/Hulk's life when he's not alongside his fellow Avengers. “We’ve never really followed him into his life. He’s always kind of off on the side. He’s like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Avengers," Ruffalo explained, likening Hulk to those notable supporting players in Shakespeare's Hamlet. "It’d be interesting to fill in all the blanks about what happened to him in between all these movies.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/12/the-mcus-infinity-saga-ranked"] What's more, Ruffalo -- who told Variety he grew up reading X-Men comics -- has an even bigger, geekier idea for the green goliath's screen future: "Maybe Hulk and Wolverine could hook up." Given that Disney now has the rights to X-Men such a crossover isn't unthinkable. It's also quite appropriate given that Wolverine made his full debut back in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #181. For more on Marvel's She-Hulk, check our rundown of her origins and most famous storylines.

After raising the prospect last month, Mark Ruffalo has again confirmed he may appear on Marvel's She-Hulk, the upcoming Disney+ streaming series. However, the Hulk actor cautions that it's not set in stone and his future as the mighty monster remains uncertain. “There’s nothing completely at a place where it’s a done deal,” Ruffalo told Variety. “There’s some talk of having Banner/Hulk show up in She-Hulk. If we come up with something good, that would be really interesting. Right now that’s about it. That’s all there is on the table.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=she-hulk-through-the-years&captions=true"] Ruffalo would love to headline a Hulk solo movie, something he previously admitted would be very difficult given Universal has the rights to any Hulk solo films, hence why Ruffalo's Bruce Banner has only appeared as a supporting character in the Avengers films and Thor: Ragnarok. Ruffalo's idea for a Hulk solo film would explore Banner/Hulk's life when he's not alongside his fellow Avengers. “We’ve never really followed him into his life. He’s always kind of off on the side. He’s like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Avengers," Ruffalo explained, likening Hulk to those notable supporting players in Shakespeare's Hamlet. "It’d be interesting to fill in all the blanks about what happened to him in between all these movies.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/12/the-mcus-infinity-saga-ranked"] What's more, Ruffalo -- who told Variety he grew up reading X-Men comics -- has an even bigger, geekier idea for the green goliath's screen future: "Maybe Hulk and Wolverine could hook up." Given that Disney now has the rights to X-Men such a crossover isn't unthinkable. It's also quite appropriate given that Wolverine made his full debut back in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #181. For more on Marvel's She-Hulk, check our rundown of her origins and most famous storylines.

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is developing a new action figure of his most famous creation, and fans are clearly very excited. The Kickstarter campaign for the figure has already earned well over a million dollars. The campaign began in early April and almost immediately blew past its initial $100,000 pledge goal. As of publish, the campaign has earned over $1.4 million with more than three weeks remaining. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-original-spawn-action-figure-gets-an-amazing-remake&captions=true"] Why so much excitement over an action figure? For one thing, it's been quite a while since McFarlane has released a new series of Spawn toys. Apart from the figure based on Spawn's DLC appearance in Mortal Kombat 11, the company hasn't released a new Spawn figure since 2008. McFarlane Toys has instead focused on other properties like The Walking Dead, Fortnite and its recently launched DC Multiverse line. But even more significant is the fact that this figure is a remake of the very first Spawn toy released in 1995. Dubbed "Original Spawn Figure Remastered," this figure is directly based on that old design but upgraded with a larger, more detailed sculpt and improved articulation. The Kickstarter features three different variants - a classic Spawn costume, a modern costume, and a grayscale Artist's Proof edition. Each version costs $40 (or $80 with an added autograph), and fans can also purchase a bundle with all three versions for $160, an autograph and two additional head accessories. McFarlane has been revealing new stretch goals for the campaign in recent days, adding more accessories like interchangeable hands and real metal chains to each version of the figure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/17/unboxing-dc-multiverse-action-figures-from-mcfarlane-toys"] Even if you're not a toy collector, the massive success of this Kickstarter could be a positive sign for the long-awaited Spawn movie reboot. Back in December 2019, McFarlane vowed to get the reboot made with or without traditional studio support. Last we heard, Jamie Foxx was attached to star as Spawn/Al Simmons, with Jeremy Renner playing Detective Twitch Williams. McFarlane envisions the reboot as a hard-R-rated horror film rather than a superhero movie. Will you be picking up this incredible Spawn figure? Let us know in the comments below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is developing a new action figure of his most famous creation, and fans are clearly very excited. The Kickstarter campaign for the figure has already earned well over a million dollars. The campaign began in early April and almost immediately blew past its initial $100,000 pledge goal. As of publish, the campaign has earned over $1.4 million with more than three weeks remaining. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-original-spawn-action-figure-gets-an-amazing-remake&captions=true"] Why so much excitement over an action figure? For one thing, it's been quite a while since McFarlane has released a new series of Spawn toys. Apart from the figure based on Spawn's DLC appearance in Mortal Kombat 11, the company hasn't released a new Spawn figure since 2008. McFarlane Toys has instead focused on other properties like The Walking Dead, Fortnite and its recently launched DC Multiverse line. But even more significant is the fact that this figure is a remake of the very first Spawn toy released in 1995. Dubbed "Original Spawn Figure Remastered," this figure is directly based on that old design but upgraded with a larger, more detailed sculpt and improved articulation. The Kickstarter features three different variants - a classic Spawn costume, a modern costume, and a grayscale Artist's Proof edition. Each version costs $40 (or $80 with an added autograph), and fans can also purchase a bundle with all three versions for $160, an autograph and two additional head accessories. McFarlane has been revealing new stretch goals for the campaign in recent days, adding more accessories like interchangeable hands and real metal chains to each version of the figure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/17/unboxing-dc-multiverse-action-figures-from-mcfarlane-toys"] Even if you're not a toy collector, the massive success of this Kickstarter could be a positive sign for the long-awaited Spawn movie reboot. Back in December 2019, McFarlane vowed to get the reboot made with or without traditional studio support. Last we heard, Jamie Foxx was attached to star as Spawn/Al Simmons, with Jeremy Renner playing Detective Twitch Williams. McFarlane envisions the reboot as a hard-R-rated horror film rather than a superhero movie. Will you be picking up this incredible Spawn figure? Let us know in the comments below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Rockstar Games is working on a new Grand Theft Auto, but the next entry in the series is reportedly a long ways from release, and may take on a different scope due to alleged changes at the Red Dead and GTA studio. An anonymous source close to Rockstar Games has confirmed to IGN that the Red Dead Redemption 2 company is next working on a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, as first reported by Kotaku. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/09/what-gta-6-can-learn-from-red-dead-2"] Kotaku's report, which places a larger focus on workplace changes allegedly happening at Rockstar following the massive discussions on crunch in game development that centered around Red Dead Redemption 2, also notes, however, that the next GTA is "early in development." The report further goes on to explain that, due to the changing nature of conditions at Rockstar, the company is considering ways of altering production to avoid similar crunch issues. One such plan is to allegedly have the next GTA, whether it be called GTA 6 or some other title, be "a moderately sized release (which, by Rockstar’s standards, would still be a large game) that is then expanded with regular updates over time, which may help mitigate stress and crunch." Of course, given that the next Grand Theft Auto is early in development, it remains to be seen how the later parts of development could affect these plans to curb crunch, the process by which developers work frequent overtime in order to hit certain release dates and milestones. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=03b7bbce-81c1-414f-8e20-4e826165107a"] According to the new report, Rockstar has attempted to root out the causes of widespread crunch reported at the studio, including changes in leadership throughout many of its offices, outside management training, and plans to improve technology pipelines and scheduling for production on the next game. And while there's still concern at the studio, according to the report, many anonymous devs speaking to Kotaku were cautiously optimistic about the future. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-rockstar-game-review-ever&captions=true"] IGN has reached out to Rockstar for official comment on the alleged changes at the studio, as well as further comment on the next GTA, and will update this story should they respond. Conversation around Rockstar and the effects of crunch ignited after Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who has since left the company, commented about working 100-hour weeks on Red Dead 2. Though Houser later clarified his statement was about his specific writing team, discussion around crunch at the studio surged. Rockstar employees were speaking openly about their experiences at the studio, while reported surfaced that, in response to all of the discussion, Rockstar explicitly told employees overtime was not mandated. Crunch and its impact on developers has of course been a discussion before Red Dead 2's development, and one we've seen continue since, including a CD Projekt Red executive indicating crunch would be needed on Cyberpunk 2077. And recent reports suggested that The Last of Us Part 2's delay from February to May allegedly led to more sustained crunch, rather than alleviating it. GTA 6 has not officially been announced, and though we've seen plenty of attempts to fool us into believing GTA 6 has been announced for previous years, Rockstar has remained quiet about what will follow Red Dead 2, as well as its continued work on Red Dead Online and GTA Online.

Rockstar Games is working on a new Grand Theft Auto, but the next entry in the series is reportedly a long ways from release, and may take on a different scope due to alleged changes at the Red Dead and GTA studio. A source close to Rockstar Games has confirmed to IGN that the Red Dead Redemption 2 studio is next working on a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, as first reported by Kotaku. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/09/what-gta-6-can-learn-from-red-dead-2"] Kotaku's report, which places a larger focus on workplace changes allegedly happening at Rockstar following the massive discussions on crunch in game development that centered around Red Dead Redemption 2, also notes, however, that the next GTA is "early in development." The report further goes on to explain that, due to the changing nature of conditions at Rockstar, the company is considering ways of altering production to avoid similar crunch issues. One such plan is to allegedly have the next GTA, whether it be called GTA 6 or some other title, be "a moderately sized release (which, by Rockstar’s standards, would still be a large game) that is then expanded with regular updates over time, which may help mitigate stress and crunch." Of course, given that the next Grand Theft Auto is early in development, it remains to be seen how the later parts of development could affect these plans to curb crunch, the process by which developers work frequent overtime in order to hit certain release dates and milestones. According to the new report, Rockstar has attempted to root out the causes of widespread crunch reported at the studio, including changes in leadership throughout many of its offices, outside management training, and plans to improve technology pipelines and scheduling for production on the next game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-rockstar-game-review-ever&captions=true"] IGN has reached out to Rockstar for official comment on the alleged changes at the studio, as well as further comment on the next GTA, and will update this story should they respond. Conversation around Rockstar and the effects of crunch ignited after Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who has since left the company, commented about working 100-hour weeks on Red Dead 2. Though Houser later clarified his statement was about his specific writing team, discussion around crunch at the studio surged. Rockstar employees were speaking openly about their experiences at the studio, while reported surfaced that, in response to all of the discussion, Rockstar explicitly told employees overtime was not mandated. Crunch and its impact on developers has of course been a discussion before Red Dead 2's development, and one we've seen continue since, including a CD Projekt Red executive indicating crunch would be needed on Cyberpunk 2077. And recent reports suggested that The Last of Us Part 2's delay from February to May allegedly led to more sustained crunch, rather than alleviating it. GTA 6 has not officially been announced, and though we've seen plenty of attempts to fool us into believing GTA 6 has been announced for previous years, Rockstar has remained quiet about what will follow Red Dead 2, as well as its continued work on Red Dead Online and GTA Online.

Update: Gamescom announces 2020 event will be fully digital.