Pacer is a futuristic, high-speed racing game that’ll be immediately familiar to fans of the classic 90’s Wipeout series. After launching on PS4 and PC late last year, the game is now available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
“The year is 2075. You’re a fresh pilot on the starting grid, ready to take on any and all challengers to make a name for yourself and become the Pacer world champion,” the official Xbox description reads. Normally priced at $40, Pacer is on sale at launch for $32 on the Xbox Store.
Pacer has been around in one form or another for a while now, first appearing as Formula Fusion in a 2015 Kickstarter campaign. The game released in early access that same year, before rebranding to Pacer in 2019 and finally seeing its full release in October 2020.
Just before it went public via a direct listing on Wednesday, Roblox announced that it had reached a milestone of $2.5 billion mobile revenue between the App Store and Google Play–with $1.2 billion of that earned solely in 2020.
It was only October last year when Roblox passed its previous milestone of $2 billion in mobile revenue, meaning Roblox players have spent $500 million on mobile in the last five months. The game is free to download, with all Roblox’s revenue coming from the sale of its in-game currency, Robux. While players can also spend on other platforms, more than half of Roblox’s sales go through either the App Store or Google Play, with players from the United States accounting for 65% of that mobile revenue.
After multiple delays to its public listing, Roblox finally went public via direct listing on March 10. The New York Stock Exchange set a reference price of $45 a share, but the stock was up almost 55% to $69.50 by market close, as reported by CNN. The listing means the company is now valued at over $45 billion, higher than other industry giants such as EA and Take-Two.
The idea of a spinoff from the Rocky series sounded silly before we saw the first film, but the Creed movies have become a showcase for actor Michael B. Jordan. That’s even moreso the case with Creed 3, where Jordan will be stepping behind the camera in addition to starring in the film. And now, we know when to expect the next chapter of the boxing saga–Creed 3 is set to release in Fall 2022.
MGM revealed today that Creed 3 will arrive just in time for Thanksgiving, hitting theaters on November 23, 2022. Creed 3 marks Jordan’s directorial debut. Keenan Coogler, brother to Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, is taking on writing duties for the film. Coogler also wrote the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy.
“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right,” Jordan said in an official statement. “Creed 3 is that moment–a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally, and learning from greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.”
The director of the “John Wick” series has set up his next action outing.
New Line Cinema has won an auction for Chad Stahelski’s action-thriller “Classified,” per Deadline. The film is based on a story by Paranomal Activity: The Ghost Dimension writers Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan. There’s currently no word on who will star in the picture.
The project was pitched as a cross between Die Hard and Indiana Jones. The film is set inside a secret government bunker like the one seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The facility contains artifacts recovered during World War II that prove to be dangerous. And then some Die Hard-style shenanigans proceed, presumably.
Stahelski made his name in Hollywood through stunts, serving as the stunt double for Keanu Reeves and a martial arts stunt coordinator for the original Matrix trilogy. Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut in 2014 with the Reeves’ vehicle John Wick.
Additionally, Stahelski is also set to helm a reboot of the cult fantasy film Highlander. He is also directing the fourth and fifth John Wick movies, which are currently in pre-production and set to be filmed back-to-back. John Wick: Chapter 4 will release on May 27, 2022.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.
EA is investigating allegations that an employee, or at least someone involved with EA FIFA, is selling rare FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items in exchange for real money through a kind of makeshift black market.
Earlier this week, reports began spreading on social media that claimed to have screenshots of a text exchange between an alleged EA employee and a FIFA 21 player trying to purchase FUT Icon and Team of the Year cards. In the text exchange, the seller was offering rare cards for over $1,000 USD.
Typically, the legitimate ways to acquire these cards require trades between players or by purchasing random loot packs, making these cards incredibly rare. And it should be noted that Icon and TOTY cards aren’t just rare because of the famous players on them, but because their competitive stats are also some of the best in the game.
The exchange has since been named EA Gate on social media. You can check out the alleged details in a tweet from @FutArcade below.
It’s unclear exactly how these transactions begin, but according to the chat screenshots, a person seeking rare FUT cards just needs to provide their PSN and EA ID, and the appropriate funds. When asked by the buyer if there’s a reason to worry about being banned, the seller says there’s “no risk” but can’t divulge why out of concern for security.
The alleged seller appears to offer a menu of items, including 3 Icon cards for 750 Euros (~$895) or 3 Icon cards and 2 Team of the Year cards for 1,000 Euros (~$1193).
In a statement published on the official EA Sports FIFA Twitter account, the company says it’s aware of the allegations and has started an investigation.
“A thorough investigation is underway, and if we identify improper conduct, we will take swift action,” says EA. “We want to be clear — this type of behavior is unacceptable, and we in no way condone what is alleged to have happened here.”
On this week’s episode of IGN’s PlayStation show Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and Lucy O’Brien to discuss what implications the Bethesda deal has on Sony’s current plans, how and what we think Sony can do to keep PlayStation Plus competitive and improve it, and our expectations for the future of PSVR and its successor.
In September last year, Blizzard asked World of Warcraft players to vote on a new mount that would be gifted for free to all players with Shadowlands active on their accounts. Players overwhelmingly voted for the Wandering Ancient–a big old walking tree you can ride on top of–and now it’s available in-game for eligible players.
Players were tasked with choosing between five unique options: the Wandering Ancient, Soaring Spelltome, Nerubian Swarmer, Curious Caterpillar, and Gooey Slimesaber. The options were listed with a brief description but without any visual aids, meaning players had to imagine the potential of each would-be mount.
The Wandering Ancient overwhelmingly came out on top, and the Blizzard team got to work bringing it to life, creating a walking tree mount that marks the first rideable Ancient in WoW. Just like the pint-sized Blossoming Ancient pet, the Wandering Ancient’s foliage will change with the seasons.
As the investigation into Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won continues, the Overwatch League has issued a statement regarding the matter. Prior to playing Valorant esports, Won was a key member of the San Francisco Shock Overwatch team, where he was crowned MVP for the team’s winning 2019 season.
Furthermore, Overwatch will refund an Overwatch League skin for Zarya that was inspired by Won as part of his MVP win during his time in the league. The Overwatch League operates under a franchise system, and the San Francisco Shock is operated by a third-party company.
In a statement to IGN, an Overwatch League spokesperson says, “The Overwatch League is aware of allegations made against former player Jay “Sinatraa” Won. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and unequivocally support victims of abuse.”
Overwatch League also says it will offer refunds for the “Alien” Overwatch League skin, which was designed to commemorate Won’s MVP win. Anyone with the skin currently can refund the skin for 200 League Tokens (retail: $9.99 USD) and have the skin removed from their collection. The Overwatch Championship and MVP badges will also be removed from the Alien skin in a future patch.
An official blog post on the Overwatch League website for how Won helped inspire the Alien skin has already been taken down and now redirects to an error page.
Overwatch League ‘Alien’ skin for Zarya designed to commemorate Sinatraa’s MVP win. Source: Blizzard
Here is the Overwatch League’s full statement below:
“The Overwatch League is aware of allegations made against former player Jay “Sinatraa” Won. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and unequivocally support victims of abuse. The League is offering a refund of 200 League Tokens for the “Alien” Overwatch League MVP skin to players who request one, at which point the skin will be removed from their collection. We’ll share more information on how refunds will work soon. The Overwatch Championship and MVP badges will be removed from the “Alien” skin in a future patch.”
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Original Story: Professional Valorant player Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won has been suspended from the North American Valorant Champions Tour following allegations that he sexually abused a former partner.
Content Warning: details on sexual and emotional abuse follows.
In a statement yesterday, Cleo Hernandez provides a detailed, graphic account of her relationship with Won, saying Won pressured her into sex on numerous occasions without her consent, even after she repeatedly told him no or expressed that she was in pain. She also accused him of being emotionally abusive and manipulative while they were together.
The account includes an audio recording in which Hernandez can be heard saying “No” repeatedly while a male voice, said to be Won’s, insists on continuing.
Today, Riot issued a statement through its official Valorant Champions Tour NA account authored by global head of competitive operations and Valorant, Alex Francois:
“We are aware of the current situation regarding Jay Won (Sinatraa) and have launched an investigation. Per our existing competitive rules and investigative process, a decision has been made to suspend Won throughout the investigation and therefore he will not be able to compete this weekend.”
Won’s team, the Los Angeles Sentinels, has also suspended Won with a similar statement:
“We are aware of the current situation regarding Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won and have launched an investigation internally. While the investigation is pending, he is suspended from the team. We will provide a further update once the investigation has concluded.”
Won is a former competitive Overwatch player who used to play for the San Francisco Shock, before moving to the Sentinels and Valorant in 2020.
Won has yet to reply to these accusations. IGN has also reached out to the Overwatch League for comment as well.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
There’s a lot of great deals on games today. For the first time, Walmart has the AtGames Legends Ultimate Home Arcade in stock. Normally it’s only available at Sam’s Club with a membership and without free shipping. It’s a big step above the Arcade1Up cabinets that have been so popular lately in terms of build quality, versatility, and the number of games. The other big news is that today is Mario Day and there are several Nintendo Switch video games and eShop gift cards are on sale.
AtGames Legends Ultimate Home Arcade for $499 Shipped
The AtGames Legends Ultimate Home Arcade normally can only be purchased at Sam’s Club. That means you’d need a membership or pay the 10% surcharge fee. Shipping isn’t usually included, either. Now you can get it at Walmart for the same price, with no membership, and with free shipping. This is a full-sized cabinet that’s much more robust than your typical Arcade1Up cabinet. It features a generously sized high-definition 24″ LCD monitor and two player setup (each player gets a joystick, six action buttons, and a spinner). There’s also a trackball for precision gameplay like in Centipede. Speaking of which, the biggest draw are the 300 licensed arcade and console games that are preinstalled. That includes classics like Missile Command, Asteroid, Space Invaders, Burger Time, Fix It Felix, and much much more. If you have the technical know-how, you can also add in your own games with a USB flash drive. If you want our hands on impression, check out our IGN review for this arcade cabinet.
This popular Galaga mini-arcade is actually pretty hard to find at this price. It’s either sold out elsewhere or selling for over MSRP. Despite its diminutive size, it’s actually very playable with an 8″ hi-res display, speaker, and full sized joystick and control buttons. Both Galaga and Galaga ’88 come preinstalled.
Mario Day is officially day (Mar 10), and there are a bunch of Nintendo Switch games and eShop gift cards on sale today. If you’re still console-less, the limited Mario edition is in stock at Best Buy.
______________________________ Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.
