IGN.com - Daily Fix (Video)

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, Call of Duty has been a reliable annual franchise since its launch and this year is no different despite the impact of a global pandemic. As revealed today, Call of Duty: Vanguard will be released on November 5, 2021, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Developed by Sledgehammer, Call of Duty will return once more to World War 2. This time, Sledgehammer is aiming for a narrative-focused adventure centered on a fictional special-ops team comprising members from across all the Allied Nations. A remaster of the original Quake is coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch today. It's also launched into Xbox Game Pass, and will get enhanced native editions on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S "soon", as a free upgrade. It also comes with a brand new expansion, created by MachineGames. Skyblivion is a mod that's very easy to explain: it's aiming to bring the entirety of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion into the engine used by The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. But the reality isn't that the team of volunteers making it simply wants to upscale the 2006 game we already know - they want to make the dream version of the game that Bethesda's developers had in their heads back when they came up with Oblivion. Stella has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, There can be few games that have had as long, hard, and strange a road to release as the upcoming Abandoned. The game has been hit by conspiracy theories, its marketing plagued by technical issues, and Kahraman has made marketing decisions he now wishes he could take back. After a huge backlash to the game's latest mishap - where a much-touted 'Realtime Trailers' app went live after multiple delays without any new trailer content to show - the community around the game began looking deeper into Blue Box's history to try and work out exactly what the Dutch developer had been before all of this. During today's Pokémon Presents event, we got a more detailed look at Pokémon Legends: Arceus, including new Hisuian Pokemon like Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and Hisuian forms of Growlithe and Braviary, its updated battle system, story, and open-world details, and much more. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is still set to be released on January 28, 2022, and it will take place in the Hisui Region, which will eventually become the Sinnoh Region that Pokemon Diamond and Pearl take place in. Your adventure will begin in Jubilife Village, and players will work to become a member of the Galaxy Expedition Team, which includes different sub-groups like Medical Corps, Security Corps, and Survey Corps. Members of the development team for the highly successful indie game Among Us have taken to social media to call out Fortnite's new Impostor mode, which strongly resembles their game. The new game mode, which pits eight Agents against two Impostors in a battle of wits and espionage, shares an uncanny similarity to Among Us in terms of gameplay and design. After the announcement - which Innersloth confirmed to IGN was not a collaboration between the two games - individual members of the indie studio took to Twitter to share their feelings on the situation. Stella has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, Outriders developer People Can Fly says it doesn't know how many copies the game has sold, and hasn't earned any royalties from the game, suggesting it hasn't yet been profitable for publisher Square Enix. Announced on the developer's investor website, People Can Fly explained that the agreement with Square Enix meant it would receive any royalties for the game's first quarter on sale by August 16, 2021. No funds were transferred, which People Can Fly suggests means that, "according to the Publisher, the revenues from the sale of the game are lower than the total costs of its production (including Quality Assurance), distribution and promotion." Marvel's Avengers senior game designer Scott Walters has confirmed that Spider-Man is still on track to swing his way into the game for PlayStation players before the end of 2021. Speaking to Screen Rant, Walters said that Spidey was always scheduled for 2021 and that plan hasn't changed dramatically, even with challenges brought on by COVID-19 and otherwise. Xbox Game Pass in August is already looking incredibly exciting. For starters. IGN's Game of the Year for 2020, Hades, is coming out on August 13 for Xbox, PS4, and PS5, and will hit Xbox Game Pass for consoles and PC on the same day. Not only that, but we've also got Humankind (PC) on August 17, Twelve Minutes on August 19, and Psychonauts 2 on August 25, which has been receiving some tremendous feedback after the recent previews. There's also Skate, Curse of the Dead Gods, Starmancer (Game Preview), and whole a lot more coming to Game Pass in August so far. Check below for every single title hitting the game service this month, alongside the very best Game Pass deals. Stella has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, Bloodborne modders have created a new mod for the FromSoftware game which will allow players to tackle Yharnam's many foes in a fully-fledged first-person mode. As reported by Eurogamer, modder Garden of Eyes created the first-person mod, which could change the way that players will interact with the game's gothic settings. The mod itself works by adding a new headpiece named the Great One Hat, which can be found at the start of the game. Once sported, the hat enables the player to traverse through the game from a first-person perspective, complete with visible weapons as you'd expect from a traditional FPS. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has managed to get his hands on a Steam Deck early, and says that playing Xbox games such as Halo through Xbox Cloud Gaming feels good on the handheld. In a tweet, Spencer confirmed that he'd spent the best part of a week with the upcoming portable PC before congratulating the Steam Deck team. "After having mine most of the week I can say it's a really nice device," he said. "Games with me on the go, screen size, controls [are] all great. Playing Halo and Age feels good, xCloud works well. Congrats SD team." An Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra-based tabletop RPG has now become so successful that creator Magpie Games has (for the meantime) run out of stretch goals on its Kickstarter campaign. Announced on the game's official Kickstarter page, backers of Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game recently broke through the campaign's $5 million USD funding target, which left Magpie Games in the fortunate but slightly awkward position of having run out of stretch goals to offer. The company is currently working to create further funding milestones for the game and has updated fans on this process. Stella has all that in your Daily Fix!

Happy Friday! On today's IGN The Fix: Games, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD was the best-selling game of July 2021 in the United States, according to NDP Group. Additionally, PS5 led the console pack in terms of console sales last month. The sales figures mean The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has become the first Nintendo game to top the US spending chart since Super Mario 3D World in February 2021. Despite recent reports that the chip shortages affecting gaming hardware shortages could drag into 2023, Sony recently said that it has secured enough components to hit its goal of selling 22 million PS5s by the end of its current fiscal year. That could mean that PS5 continues to hold onto the highest dollar sales per month throughout the rest of the year. The original upload of this year's QuakeCon schedule appears to suggest that a 'revitalized edition' of id Software's classic FPS, Quake, could be announced at the convention this month.First spotted by Xbox Era, the schedule features a panel called 'Let's talk Quake', set to go live at 7:30am PT on Friday, August 20. When originally uploaded, the description of this panel stated "Quake is back, in this special stream John Linneman from Digital Foundry talks to Jerk Gustafsson of MachineGames about the title's iconic legacy and what it meant to both of them. Seth has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, A new report claims that a Grand Theft Auto remastered trilogy is on the way for multiple platforms, including the Nintendo Switch, and it's reportedly due out this Fall. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that it has learned from sources that Rockstar Games is remastering GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, and that each game will be remastered in Unreal Engine. They will feature a mix of "new and old graphics," the report reads. According to the report, Rockstar's Scottish branch, Rockstar Dundee, is leading the project and also working with the wider Rockstar company to develop the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S ports of GTA 5 scheduled for later this year. It looks like more details on the next installment have been leaked via the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War update. The news comes by the way of Charlie Intel, which says the leak - seemingly confirming the reported title of Call of Duty: Vanguard - was discovered in the latest Season 5 update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, including artwork, the game logo, and perhaps most interestingly for fans, mention of an Open Beta. Fans quickly discovered the leaked material through datamining the game files for the latest update. The leaks suggest the game will receive three editions, similar to those Black Ops Cold War received: Standard, Cross-Gen, and Ultimate. A screenshot detailing an Early Access Open Beta was also discovered, likely available for players that pre-order the game. The creative director of Spec Ops: The Line, Cory Davis, and Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck are co-founding a new game studio together called Eyes Out. The LA-based arthouse studio aims to focus on making "dark, atmospheric games with an emphasis on environmental storytelling." Eyes Out already has its first project: a single-player, immersive cosmic horror game with an emphasis on environmental storytelling. More news about the title is planned for the coming months. Brian has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, Nintendo held its latest Indie World Showcase today, and it highlighted a wide selection of indie games coming to the Nintendo Switch, and seven that were launching today, including the much-anticipated Axiom Verge 2. Other exciting games featured in the show include the innovative card-based RPG Loop Hero, Tetris Effect: Connected, Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon, and many more. After announcing yesterday that a "Realtime Experience" patch would be available universally starting at 12pm PT / 3pm ET time today, Blue Box Game Studios announced that a demo for its upcoming project Abandoned has been delayed due to technical issues. Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails are joining Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania as playable characters, free and unlockable on all platforms through normal gameplay at launch. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania launches on October 5, 2021, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Max has all that in your Daily Fix!

On today's IGN The Fix: Games, US politicians have written letters to a dozen game companies asking them to better protect young people from online risks and predatory game design. The letters, written by three members of Congress, implored executives to explain what changes they were making based upon new UK legislation that protects children online and if any, what effect this would have on their products within the US. Executives from Microsoft, Blizzard, Sony of America, and Take-Two Interactive were amongst several US-based companies who received letters. Nintendo has announced a new Indie World digital showcase for tomorrow, August 11. The showcase will be around 20 minutes long, and begins at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK (that's 2am AEST on August 12). No details have been given about whether new games will be revealed, but Indie World presentations usually come with at least one brand new announcement. The Amiga 500 is set to return as a mini-console, and it will feature a number of classics including Worms, Another World, The Chaos Engine, and more. In a press release, Retro Games has announced the creation of the A500 Mini, a licensed reimagining of the 16-bit Amiga 500 home computer. The original Commodore computer featured a 16/32-bit CPU and 512kb RAM was first on sale to consumers in 1987. The A500 mini is scheduled for release in early 2022. Daemon's got all that in your Daily Fix!

In today's Daily Fix, Microsoft has officially announced their Gamescom showcase that will be streaming on August 24th. That's just one day before the festivities kick off on Wednesday, August 25th. Microsoft has already made it clear they're focusing on in-depth looks at games that have already been announced, so don't expect any new game announcements. Still, that means there's still plenty to cover, considering all of the first- and third-party titles coming to Xbox Series X and S, PC, and Game Pass. Speaking of game announcements—or lack thereof—Saban, the company behind the Power Rangers, had at one point kicked around the idea of making a big-budget AAA open-world game starring everyone's favorite multi-colored teenagers with attitude. Jason Bischoff, formerly Saban's Director of Global Consumer Products revealed that the company was pitched a game tentatively titled Project Nomad. It would've taken inspiration from the Batman Arkham games, but with a Power Rangers spin. The project never got off the ground at Saban, and it was eventually shopped elsewhere with no luck. But never say never! Maybe a crowdfunded campaign could raise the funds needed to make this real. And finally, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice just got a next-gen optimization patch on Xbox Series X|S. Epect improved visuals with raytracing and three graphics settings: Performance, Resolution, and Enriched (the one with the raytracing). Best of all, the update is free! So if you own the game, get downloading! It's your Daily Fix!

In today's episode, Pokémon Go developer Niantic has heard the fan outcry over the rollback of changes made to the game. Those changes were made in 2020 to accommodate pandemic-era rules that required social distancing, closure of certain business, etc. One of those changes included increasing the interaction distance with Pokéstops from 40 meters to 80 meters, and fans really liked that. Now that much of the Western world has re-opened and people are out and about, Niantic has reverted many of those changes (like the interaction distance) back to pre-pandemic rules. Fans really did NOT like that. Niantic has promised to converse with the community and form a committee to address their issues. Hopefully they come come to a nice compromise, because Pokémon Go—despite what internet comments have been saying—is definitely NOT dead and the community is very active. In other news the long-awaited Left 4 Dead spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood is in closed beta right now, and we're gonna tell you how to get in! And you should definitely try to, because it's really fun. But, if you can't be bothered with all the steps, just wait a week and it'll be in open beta for everyone! But don't you want to get in early and say you were in there before it was cool? And speaking of games where you kill dead things, the Dead Space remake could be coming earlier than expected. EA Motive is eyeing a 2022 release date for the sci-fi horror remake, which is sooner than what's been previously reported—sometime in 2023. Start your weekend off with the Daily Fix!

In today's episode, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been making some major deals lately. On top of a $900-million-dollar deal with ViacomCBS to make more South Park seasons, and movies, and other stuff, they ALSO landed a $600-million-dollar line of credit with HPS Investment Partners, LLC. What are they going to do with all that money? Apparently make a documentary, invest in a weed company, and make a 3D video game set in the South Park universe. Could we get a sequel to The Fractured But Whole? Or maybe this is a 3D game a la South Park for the N64? No new South Park game has been formally announced, but given how well-received The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole were, it's likely Parker and Stone have thought about it. And in other gaming news, if you missed out on the recent Halo tech preview, fear not. 343 Industries has more planned and they aren't done giving away invites, so keep a look out! And finally, EA was pretty surprised that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition sold so well. EA has previously said they're focusing on live service games (like Apex Legends), but the Mass Effect remasters definitely show that there's an audience willing to pay up for a really good single-player game (hopefully a sequel to Jedi Fallen Order is coming soon). All eyes are on the Dead Space remake to see if the trend continues. It's your Daily Fix!

In today's Daily Fix, Sony has secured enough components to meet a very lofty goal of more than 22 million PlayStation 5's sold by the end of the year. For all you gamers out there still trying to buy one, that means things may get a little easier for you as Sony ramps up production. It's still a scalper's market, though, but if you can hold off paying twice the retail price for a PS5, help is on the way. An upcoming Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC may bring back a fan-favorite AC Hero. No, we won't spoil that for you here (watch the video if you want the info), but although Valhalla takes place in a completely different time period than any other AC game, it's not outside of the series' lore that two characters from two different games can meet. And in other DLC news, Ghost of Tsushima's multiplayer-focused Legends DLC is getting spun off into its own game. If you don't own Ghost of Tsushima, but want to slice-and-dice samurai style with your Tsushima-owning buddies, you can purchase Legends separately for $19.99. The entry will come to both PS4 and PS5 and include (almost) all the content that was in the original release of Legends. Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut is coming August 20th and feature the brand-new Iki Island expansion. It's your Daily Fix!

In today's Daily Fix, Blizzard's president, J. Allen Brack, has left his post at the company following the lawsuit from the State of California, and a very cringey video from a World of Warcraft Q&A panel from 2010 that's been making the rounds on the Internet (which can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi5dQzZp3f0&t=264s). Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra will take over as "co-leads." And that's not all, employees of Activision Blizzard have formed a coalition and have reject CEO Bobby Kotick's pick for a law firm to conduct an independent review of the company. In completely different gaming news, Xbox Game Pass subscribers are getting quite a few games this month, including IGN's 2020 Game of the Year Hades, Lumines Remastered, Katamari Damacy Reroll, a couple of Skate games, and more! And finally, if you want to play your cool new Xbox Game Pass games on a shiny new Xbox controller, the company is releasing a brand new color: Aqua Shift Special Edition. It shimmers, very cool! It's your Daily Fix!

In today's Daily Fix, a datamine of the recent Halo Infinite Tech Preview has revealed a curious audio clip of Halo's announcer saying "Battle royale." 343 Industries has not confirmed a Battle Royale mode in Halo Infinite, and has even said in the past that they weren't interested in adding it. Of course, this could be nothing; maybe an old file leftover from a test that didn't get very far, but still. The fact that there's even an audio clip with the phrase Battle Royale being said has got to suggest Microsoft was thinking about it. In other shooter news, a fan-made remaster of Half-Life 2, titled the Remastered Collection, may actually hit Steam, and with Valve's blessing, no less. It's being made by the modding team that also did Half-Life 2: Update back in 2015, which added visual enhancements to HL2 and its two expansions. No word yet on what exactly is in the latest Half-Life 2 Remastered Collection and how it's different from Update. And finally, if you're looking for more color choices for the PS5 DualSense controller, McDonald's almost had another option. An internal image of a McDonald's-themed controller, with fries and a Big Mac on the handles (of course) got out to the press, leading some to think McDonald's and Sony have something going on. Well, they don't, and the image was made as a concept. McDonald's has not approached PlayStation for any collaboration on a controller (yet). Bummer. Not gonna lie, kinda dug that look. Anyway, it's your Daily Fix!

In today's Daily Fix, Sony is reportedly going to announce the delay of Horizon Forbidden West to 2022. Super bummer, especially if you own a PlayStation 5. But there's a silver lining: 2022 is going to be STACKED. Horizon Forbidden West. God of War 2. Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Starfield. Hopefully by then you'll be able to buy PS5's and Xbox Series X and Series S's easily enough. Last week we ran a story about all the video game music heard at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, you might have noticed a distinct omission in their music selection: NO NINTENDO. Turns out, they were going to be a significant partner in the Opening Ceremony, but pulled back at the last minute. Bummer. Would've been cool to see the rumored Lady Gaga appearance (she would've popped out of a green Mario pipe). And in handheld news, the Playdate, that weird gaming device with a hand crank and a black and white screen, sold really well. 20,000 pre-orders in 20 minutes! Congrats, weird handheld with the crank! It's your Daily Fix!