Square Enix has become the latest company to change plans for PAX East due to concerns over COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus), scaling back plans for Final Fantasy 14 at the show in particular. While not pulling out of the show entirely, the company's Japanese staff will no longer be attending, meaning a panel session, developer signings, developer photo opps and a fan gathering will no longer take place at the show. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/07/the-outer-worlds-switch-version-delayed-due-to-coronavirus"] On the Final Fantasy 14 blog, a spokesperson wrote: "As the community may be aware, COVID-19 (also known as “novel coronavirus”) is spreading within the East Asia region. Taking into consideration the current situation within the region, sadly SQUARE ENIX has decided to cancel the PAX East attendance of staff who would be travelling from the Japan offices. This difficult decision was based on our desire to prevent any potential spread of the virus and to prioritize the health and safety of our team and our fans." There will still be a booth for Final Fantasy 14 at the show, and experiences like the Ruby Weapon Challenge will still be taking place. Square Enix also has plans for Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Outriders at the show, which appear to be unaffected at time of writing. This is the latest in a slew of announcements centred around concerns over COVID-19. Sony has pulled out of PAX East and GDC, The Outer Worlds has been delayed on Switch, and Taipei Game Show was postponed entirely. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Siberian hunters stumbled across a frozen bird that scientists have discovered lived around 46,000 years ago, as reported by CNN. The bird was in such good condition, the hunters originally thought it had just recently died. It has been identified as a female horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), according to the Communications Biology journal, and scientists from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Nicolas Dussex and Love Dalén, used radiocarbon dating to reveal when the frozen bird was last alive. Dalén told CNN it's possible this bird is related to two subspecies of lark living in northern Russia and on the Mongolian steppe. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/12/new-tyrannosaur-species-discovered-dubbed-reaper-of-death"] Dussex said there may be more discoveries similar to this from the region, due to how well permafrost preserved this frozen bird. "The fact that such a small and fragile specimen was near intact also suggests that dirt/mud must have been deposited gradually, or at least that the ground was relatively stable so that the bird's carcass was preserved in a state very close to its time of death." Dussex and Dalén also noted the frozen horned lark was discovered at the same site as an 18,000-year-old frozen dog named Bogor that was found last November. Researcher, David Stanton, at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, told CNN they couldn't tell whether Bogor was a frozen dog or wolf. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "We have a lot of data from it already, and with that amount of data, you'd expect to tell if it was one or the other. The fact that we can't might suggest that it's from a population that was ancestral to both -- to dogs and wolves." For more science-related news, read about the new Reaper of Death tyrannosaur species or how scientists plan to deflect asteroids away from Earth. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Siberian hunters stumbled across a frozen bird that scientists have discovered lived around 46,000 years ago, as reported by CNN. The bird was in such good condition, the hunters originally thought it had just recently died. It has been identified as a female horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), according to the Communications Biology journal, and scientists from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Nicolas Dussex and Love Dalén, used radiocarbon dating to reveal when the frozen bird was last alive. Dalén told CNN it's possible this bird is related to two subspecies of lark living in northern Russia and on the Mongolian steppe. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/12/new-tyrannosaur-species-discovered-dubbed-reaper-of-death"] Dussex said there may be more discoveries similar to this from the region, due to how well permafrost preserved this frozen bird. "The fact that such a small and fragile specimen was near intact also suggests that dirt/mud must have been deposited gradually, or at least that the ground was relatively stable so that the bird's carcass was preserved in a state very close to its time of death." Dussex and Dalén also noted the frozen horned lark was discovered at the same site as an 18,000-year-old frozen dog named Bogor that was found last November. Researcher, David Stanton, at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, told CNN they couldn't tell whether Bogor was a frozen dog or wolf. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "We have a lot of data from it already, and with that amount of data, you'd expect to tell if it was one or the other. The fact that we can't might suggest that it's from a population that was ancestral to both -- to dogs and wolves." For more science-related news, read about the new Reaper of Death tyrannosaur species or how scientists plan to deflect asteroids away from Earth. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Rainbow Six Siege’s most problematic defender, Clash, has had to be temporarily removed from the game. This is the third time the operator has been deactivated in 10 months. Ubisoft announced the deactivation of Clash on both its Twitter feed and on Reddit. “We are deactivating Clash today,” the developer said. “We have become aware of an exploit, and have decided to deactivate Clash. As such, Clash will not be available for play until we have resolved the issue.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/13/rainbow-six-siege-operation-grim-sky-clash-trailer"] Official details about the glitch have not been announced, but video evidence uploaded to YouTube shows that other team members can fire their weapons through Clash’s body-length shield. As Clash’s shield is impenetrable, it effectively turns a duo of Clash and another defender into a bulletproof turret. This isn’t the first time Clash has caused a problem in Siege. Back in May she had to be removed from the game due to a glitch that allowed Clash to fire through her fully extended shield with her primary weapon. This problem took a long time to resolve, with Clash finally returning to the game in July. A few months later in December, however, Clash was once again removed due to a bug that made it appear as if she had her shield extended when she actually had her primary weapon drawn. Clash was released in September 2018, meaning in just over a year she’s had three major issues. For anyone who spent money to acquire the operator, it has meant having to endure weeks of being unable to use her. Overall, Clash has been a source of frequent frustration to Siege players. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/20/17-minutes-of-rainbow-six-siege-clash-and-maverick-gameplay-gamescom-2018"] At this point, it does seem that Clash’s design may be fundamentally flawed. It’s hard to think of another operator that has caused such a headache to both the developers and players. It may be that Clash has to be reworked and given a different kit, akin to what is being done to Tachanka. At the recent Six Invitational, Jean-Baptiste Hallé, lead game designer for Rainbow Six Siege, explained that the development team does intend to rework operators over the next two years. “If you regularly look at our graphs when we release our notes, if you look at the operators who have the lowest pick rate and highest frustrations, you'll have a pretty good idea of who may be on our watch list,” Hallé told IGN. On an episode of the Rainbow Six-focused Hot Breach podcast from last year, Ubisoft showed off numerous graphs demonstrating player frustration with every operator. The defense graph clearly shows Clash as the most frustrating. Based on what Hallé explained at the Six Invitational, it seems there is a high chance that Clash will be reworked at some point during Year 5 or Year 6 of Siege. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Rainbow Six Siege’s most problematic defender, Clash, has had to be temporarily removed from the game. This is the third time the operator has been deactivated in 10 months. Ubisoft announced the deactivation of Clash on both its Twitter feed and on Reddit. “We are deactivating Clash today,” the developer said. “We have become aware of an exploit, and have decided to deactivate Clash. As such, Clash will not be available for play until we have resolved the issue.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/13/rainbow-six-siege-operation-grim-sky-clash-trailer"] Official details about the glitch have not been announced, but video evidence uploaded to YouTube shows that other team members can fire their weapons through Clash’s body-length shield. As Clash’s shield is impenetrable, it effectively turns a duo of Clash and another defender into a bulletproof turret. This isn’t the first time Clash has caused a problem in Siege. Back in May she had to be removed from the game due to a glitch that allowed Clash to fire through her fully extended shield with her primary weapon. This problem took a long time to resolve, with Clash finally returning to the game in July. A few months later in December, however, Clash was once again removed due to a bug that made it appear as if she had her shield extended when she actually had her primary weapon drawn. Clash was released in September 2018, meaning in just over a year she’s had three major issues. For anyone who spent money to acquire the operator, it has meant having to endure weeks of being unable to use her. Overall, Clash has been a source of frequent frustration to Siege players. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/20/17-minutes-of-rainbow-six-siege-clash-and-maverick-gameplay-gamescom-2018"] At this point, it does seem that Clash’s design may be fundamentally flawed. It’s hard to think of another operator that has caused such a headache to both the developers and players. It may be that Clash has to be reworked and given a different kit, akin to what is being done to Tachanka. At the recent Six Invitational, Jean-Baptiste Hallé, lead game designer for Rainbow Six Siege, explained that the development team does intend to rework operators over the next two years. “If you regularly look at our graphs when we release our notes, if you look at the operators who have the lowest pick rate and highest frustrations, you'll have a pretty good idea of who may be on our watch list,” Hallé told IGN. On an episode of the Rainbow Six-focused Hot Breach podcast from last year, Ubisoft showed off numerous graphs demonstrating player frustration with every operator. The defense graph clearly shows Clash as the most frustrating. Based on what Hallé explained at the Six Invitational, it seems there is a high chance that Clash will be reworked at some point during Year 5 or Year 6 of Siege. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons will include 383 villagers who can visit your new deserted island, but it's not clear if that's the full number. Confirmed in a tweet from Tom Nook himself (on the various Animal Crossing Twitter accounts), it will be the highest number of villagers included at the launch of an Animal Crossing game. But it's not yet clear if that's all of them.

Thank goodness it's Friday, as they say! Yes, yes! We're busy sending information about the deserted island getaway package to all of our Nook's Homes customers. That's a whopping 383 letters... You can be sure we're pouring our heart and soul into each and every one! #ACNH pic.twitter.com/fHbF3rHHHN

— Tom Nook UK (@AC_Isabelle) February 21, 2020

The confusion on the total number stems from the wording of that tweet (and another from the Japanese version of the Twitter account). It specifically mentions getting in touch with customers of Nook's Homes, which was a shop in the last game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Some have interpreted this to mean that there will be 383 returning villagers, with brand new additions to the roster not included. New Leaf launched with 333 villagers, with that number expanding to 399 after the Welcome Amiibo update. Up until New Leaf, the series as a whole has comprised 472 villagers, with only 43 appearing in every game, including spin-offs. We don't know the full 383 as yet, but you can check out every new and returning villager we've spotted so far in the slideshow below, or in more detail on our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wiki. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-animal-crossing-new-horizons-villager&captions=true"] We've learned a lot more about New Horizons in the last few days. Yesterday's Animal Crossing Direct included a glut of new information, and our own Miranda Sanchez played the first 30 minutes of the game, saying it "doesn’t seem like it’ll be a major departure from what we know and love about Animal Crossing, but it sure does seem to have plenty of quality-of-life improvements and better customization options that’ll likely keep it as engaging as ever." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and he will be restarting the game repeatedly until he gets Axel in his village. Follow him on Twitter.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons will include 383 villagers who can visit your new deserted island, but it's not clear if that's the full number. Confirmed in a tweet from Tom Nook himself (on the various Animal Crossing Twitter accounts), it will be the highest number of villagers included at the launch of an Animal Crossing game. But it's not yet clear if that's all of them.

Thank goodness it's Friday, as they say! Yes, yes! We're busy sending information about the deserted island getaway package to all of our Nook's Homes customers. That's a whopping 383 letters... You can be sure we're pouring our heart and soul into each and every one! #ACNH pic.twitter.com/fHbF3rHHHN

— Tom Nook UK (@AC_Isabelle) February 21, 2020

The confusion on the total number stems from the wording of that tweet (and another from the Japanese version of the Twitter account). It specifically mentions getting in touch with customers of Nook's Homes, which was a shop in the last game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Some have interpreted this to mean that there will be 383 returning villagers, with brand new additions to the roster not included. New Leaf launched with 333 villagers, with that number expanding to 399 after the Welcome Amiibo update. Up until New Leaf, the series as a whole has comprised 472 villagers, with only 43 appearing in every game, including spin-offs. We don't know the full 383 as yet, but you can check out every new and returning villager we've spotted so far in the slideshow below, or in more detail on our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wiki. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-animal-crossing-new-horizons-villager&captions=true"] We've learned a lot more about New Horizons in the last few days. Yesterday's Animal Crossing Direct included a glut of new information, and our own Miranda Sanchez played the first 30 minutes of the game, saying it "doesn’t seem like it’ll be a major departure from what we know and love about Animal Crossing, but it sure does seem to have plenty of quality-of-life improvements and better customization options that’ll likely keep it as engaging as ever." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and he will be restarting the game repeatedly until he gets Axel in his village. Follow him on Twitter.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has accumulated over $50 million on Steam since October 1, 2018. Announced on Twitter Friday by CD Projekt Red, the third installment in the Witcher series has exceeded the threshold required to get 80% of the revenue gained from future Steam purchases of the game.

The accumulated revenue from sales of The Witcher 3 on @Steam platform for the period of time between October 1st 2018 and today has exceeded 50M USD. As a result, we are now getting 80% on any subsequent sales of TW3 on Steam. Thank you all for your support! pic.twitter.com/JgNgrrI5h0

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) February 20, 2020

Steam's revenue split gives most developers 70% of their sales with Valve, the company behind Steam, getting the rest. That's the case for revenue amounts under $10 million. When a game's revenue surpasses $10 million, the developers then receive 75% of the sales from that point forward. After passing the $50 million threshold like The Witcher 3, the developer then earns 80% of all future sales of the game on Steam. The boost in game sales is likely due to Netflix's new series that was released late last year, The Witcher, which is based on the books by Andrzej Sapkowsk that inspired the games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-the-witcher-cast-vs-video-game-characters&captions=true"] The show's first season was one of Netflix's most-viewed first seasons ever and it led to the highest player count in years for The Witcher 3 on Steam. Some of those numbers could be attributed to returning players who have already purchased the game before, but if CD Projekt Red's announcement is any indication, it's likely that some new players took their first steps in The Continent recently. The show's popularity has continued to remain stable since the first season's release, possibly in part due to viral sensations like 'Toss a Coin to Your Witcher' and the new Season 2 casting news that was announced Friday as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/20/the-witcher-game-vs-netflix-scene-comparison"] If you haven't checked out The Witcher 3 and are wondering if it's worth your time, you can read IGN's official review for the game, along with keeping up with our The Witcher 3 Wiki guide. You can also check out our review of Netflix's The Witcher, as well as the best reading order for the books – to fully immerse yourself in that world. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley is a freelance news writer and wiki maker for IGN who loves when coins are tossed his way. You can find him on Twitter at @LeBlancWes.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has accumulated over $50 million on Steam since October 1, 2018. Announced on Twitter Friday by CD Projekt Red, the third installment in the Witcher series has exceeded the threshold required to get 80% of the revenue gained from future Steam purchases of the game.

The accumulated revenue from sales of The Witcher 3 on @Steam platform for the period of time between October 1st 2018 and today has exceeded 50M USD. As a result, we are now getting 80% on any subsequent sales of TW3 on Steam. Thank you all for your support! pic.twitter.com/JgNgrrI5h0

— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) February 20, 2020

Steam's revenue split gives most developers 70% of their sales with Valve, the company behind Steam, getting the rest. That's the case for revenue amounts under $10 million. When a game's revenue surpasses $10 million, the developers then receive 75% of the sales from that point forward. After passing the $50 million threshold like The Witcher 3, the developer then earns 80% of all future sales of the game on Steam. The boost in game sales is likely due to Netflix's new series that was released late last year, The Witcher, which is based on the books by Andrzej Sapkowsk that inspired the games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-the-witcher-cast-vs-video-game-characters&captions=true"] The show's first season was one of Netflix's most-viewed first seasons ever and it led to the highest player count in years for The Witcher 3 on Steam. Some of those numbers could be attributed to returning players who have already purchased the game before, but if CD Projekt Red's announcement is any indication, it's likely that some new players took their first steps in The Continent recently. The show's popularity has continued to remain stable since the first season's release, possibly in part due to viral sensations like 'Toss a Coin to Your Witcher' and the new Season 2 casting news that was announced Friday as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/20/the-witcher-game-vs-netflix-scene-comparison"] If you haven't checked out The Witcher 3 and are wondering if it's worth your time, you can read IGN's official review for the game, along with keeping up with our The Witcher 3 Wiki guide. You can also check out our review of Netflix's The Witcher, as well as the best reading order for the books – to fully immerse yourself in that world. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley is a freelance news writer and wiki maker for IGN who loves when coins are tossed his way. You can find him on Twitter at @LeBlancWes.

According to id Software Executive Producer Marty Stratton, the canceled DOOM 4 project that preceded DOOM (2016) was abandoned because, although it was a good game, it was "more 'DOOM' in name than really anything." In this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, Ryan McCaffrey sat down with Stratton and DOOM Eternal Director Hugo Martin to talk about DOOM Eternal, DOOM 4, and a whole lot more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/doom-eternal-a-closer-look-at-weapon-mods-and-upgrades-ign-first"] According to Stratton, DOOM 4 originally channeled a bit of Call of Duty, with more cinematic moments in lieu of a more traditional DOOM "all-action" feel, but that isn't the only reason the project was scrapped. "You generally try not to work on something very long that you feel like is not going to work. I think it was more... thinking about modern players and how do you bring DOOM to them and... those ingredients Hugo just talked about? It wasn't taking enough of those. It was taking 'demons' and a bit of 'hell on Earth' but that was kind of where it ended, from a [perspective of] feel." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=doom-eternal-january-2019-screenshots&captions=true"] The ingredients Stratton referenced are the "core elements of the DOOM brand," such as the "metal element, the sense of irreverence, [and] power," which were elaborated on by Martin earlier in the interview. Determining those elements, and making sure every aspect of the game adhered to them, was a major focus during the development of DOOM Eternal. "How it made you feel... the 'heart' part that [Martin] talks about. I think that was the thing, it just wasn't quite in place. The thing is; it was still good. It was a good game. It was still a ways away from launching, so it had a ways to go," Stratton said. "We were multiple teams at a time... a lot of people were working on Rage and then we... refocused attention around [DOOM] and it just kind of lacked some of those fundamental DOOM things. It was more 'DOOM' in name than really anything." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/03/the-first-10-minutes-of-doom-eternal-gameplay-4k60fps-ign-first"] Scrapping a game, especially a good one that simply missed the thematic goal, is difficult for any developer. "It's a hard decision. A lot of people spent a lot of time on that and, again, it wasn't that it was bad, it was just not the right thing." Although decisions like this are difficult to make, Stratton expressed appreciation for Bethesda's support. "It was awesome that Bethesda supported us in making that shift because... it was a big shift." Although scrapping DOOM 4 meant the original Rage was the only game id shipped in a 12-year stretch, which is nearly an eternity by development standards, Stratton wasn't overly afraid of Bethesda closing id down. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/07/doom-eternal-45-brutal-glory-kills-in-2-minutes-ign-first"] "I would say I probably felt that [fear] a little bit, right before we rebooted what became DOOM 2016... in 2012, 2013... [and] certainly through no pressure from Bethesda whatsoever," Stratton said. "I've said this every interview, every opportunity since that time: I can't imagine a more supportive team than the Bethesda management team, all the way to [Zenimax CEO] Mr. [Robert A.] Altman." Catch up on every episode of IGN Unfiltered here to witness conversations with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Director Stig Asmussen, Remedy writer Sam Lake, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, Halo boss Bonnie Ross, and so many more!

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Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).