YouTube is beginning to roll out an update that will remove the number of dislikes a video has from public view in an effort to curb harassment and dislike brigading, the company announced Wednesday.

In a blog, YouTube detailed the methodology behind their research and ultimate decision to remove the dislike count on videos. Earlier this year, YouTube began experimenting with removing the dislike count, and says it found that users were less likely to target a video's dislike button to ramp up the count. YouTube added that dislike attacks also disproportionately impacted smaller content creators and channels that are just getting their start.

YouTube users will still be able to "dislike" a video, but now the number of dislikes typically displayed right next to the thumbs down symbol will only be viewable by the video's creator in their user dashboard, the YouTube Studio.

It's an internet tale as old as time. Give users a way to upvote or downvote content, and eventually someone will find themselves the targets of people who join in the pileup simply to either discourage the creator, reduce the number of users seeing that person's content, or flag the content for moderation in bad faith.

"Groups of viewers are targeting a video's dislike button to drive up the count, turning it into something like a game with a visible scoreboard. It's usually just because they don't like the creator or what they stand for," said YouTube creator liaison Matt Koval in a video accompanying the blog.

Koval jokingly referenced the infamous 2018 YouTube Rewind video, which currently holds the record for most dislikes at 19 million. Though saving public face might play a role in its decision, it's hard to argue against reducing ways to bully content creators, and as we all know, bullies tend to feel more confident when they know they're part of a larger group, so we might as well let them scream into the void.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

After hours fiddling around with the character creator, equipment menus, and wandering the vast, seamless open world of Lineage2M’s beta; this MMORPG has left quite the impression that left us yearning for more when the game launches globally December 2, 2021.

MIGHTY ON MOBILE

The Beta was only available on PC, which presented a perfect environment for PC players. However, Lineage2M will provide cross-play services after the official launch, making it so that you can enjoy the same great experience while playing on mobile.

COLORFUL AND CHANGEABLE CHARACTER CLASSES

Lineage2M offers a number of classes that shift according to the six types of weapons available in-game and character race. Also, you can transfer to a class with a completely different style while playing the game, so all those hours you invested in building up a high-level character will never go to waste allowing you to play around with everything the class system offers.

ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK

Lineage2M’s core gameplay loops cycles back and forth between PvE (player vs environment) action and PvP (player vs player) action. Incentivizing players to compete with one another during boss hunts scattered throughout the open world. But that doesn’t mean it's every person for themself! A solo player has no chance of taking a boss on themself, but working with other player characters to take down a common enemy means treasure, stat boosting skill books, and of course long-lasting bonds with new friends.

A CASE FOR CLAN

Speaking of friends, take advantage of Lineage2M’s optional Clan system. Join a clan to experience unique content like epic boss raids. Increase the prestige of your clan with questing contributions and facilitate membership growth to build out your Clan Hall and Clan Shop — allowing for bragging rights and bonds.

A PC PURPLE POWER PUNCH

PC PURPLE supports an ideal PC play environment, including high resolution and hotkey customization. As a cross-play title, Lineage2M delivers 4K resolution through its proprietary service PURPLE and the graphics quality stays on par with a PC game. ‘Seamless loading’ of new environments and minimal delay and lag in even the largest scale battles is what PURPLE is promising.

REJOICE FOR REDUCED REPETETIVENESS

A unique sub-quest system allows for players to pursue different paths to higher levels with a greater variety of experiences along the way. Sub-quest paths such as 'Oracle Quest’ and ‘Codex’ help you avoid the grind of hunting or farming for character progression that is common in other MMOs.

BOSSES BREED A COLLABORATIVE CULTURE

Boss monsters come in all sorts of lethal shapes and sizes, and lurk throughout the dungeons and fields. There’s no mistaking it when you run into one due to their size and powers. You’ll need to form groups with other players to take on boss monsters, while at the same time participate in faction battles to prevent other groups from hitting their target. Because of this, users in Lineage2M can experience a true MMORPG; where cooperation and competition take place simultaneously at any given time on a massive scale.

BETA BOSS MONSTER MAYHEM

During the beta period, we were able to join in the fun when taking down a boss monster known as Queen Ant, who inhabits, er, inhabited, the Ant Nest in the Gludio. Let’s just say she wasn’t marching after we and dozens of other beta players cut her down to size and snagged some loot.

Android and iPhone users can sign up now for Lineage2M through the Play Store and App Store.

Lineage2M is releases on iOS and Android worldwide on December 2, 2021.

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* Official Lineage2M YouTube

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* Official Lineage2M Facebook

The Game Awards 2021 ceremony will announce a "double digit" number of new games, says creator and host Geoff "The Game Awards" Keighley.

In an extensive interview with former Kotaku and Polygon co-founder Brian Crecente, shared on Epic Games' site, Keighley detailed what to expect from the show, which airs globally on December 9 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles at 8 PM ET.

Keighley shared that he expects the show to feature 40 to 50 games this year, "some way or another," including games that are expected to release in 2022 and 2023. Keighley noted that the show will be split about evenly between awards and game-related announcements and premieres. The Game Awards will also feature trailers for things that aren't games, including television shows or movies inspired by games.

That could point to a potential teaser trailer for one of the many video game adaptations currently in production in Hollywood such as Uncharted, The Last of Us for HBO, or something else entirely.

The Game Awards 2021 will also include a live orchestra performance and celebrity guest appearances. We can only hope for more Muppets since Keighley had a guest appearance in Muppets Haunted Mansion.

Despite the familiar setup, the show will still employ various COVID safety protocols. Audience capacity will be cut in half, be invite-only, vaccination will be required, and attendees will be required to wear masks.

The Game Awards has historically seen immense jumps in viewership numbers each year. Just last year, even as the event transitioned to a digital-only stream amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, The Game Awards jumped from 43 million to about 83 million viewers. Keighley was careful to keep expectations modest for this year.

“You know, maybe if we hit 100 million that would be something, but yeah, I mean, we're obviously not going to be doubling every year,” Keighley said. “That's not sustainable. But honestly, we don't really think that much about the numbers. We just make the best show we can.”

What Keighley is interested in exploring is how the hyped-up concept of a "metaverse" will impact how viewers watch the show. Rather than a simple livestream on their TV, Keighley imagines they might one day tune in via Fortnite.

"So it's early days with that stuff, but I do think in five years more people will watch our show or participate in our show from within a kind of real-time 3D environment than just watching a traditional video feed," Keighley said.

What about the increasingly divisive concept of NFTs, you may ask? "We're not doing any NFT stuff," Keighley said.

(Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Henry Cavill says he would love the opportunity to play Superman again in the future.

Speaking with THR, Cavill said there's more opportunity for him to grow with the Superman character saying, “There is still a lot of storytelling for me to do as a Superman, and I would absolutely love the opportunity."

At the end of 2013's Man of Steel, Superman kills Zod, the last remaining member of his species. Cavill says he wants more chances to explore Superman's growth after that decision.

"That’s the choice he made in that moment, and he’ll never do that again," Cavill said. "There’s an opportunity for growth after that, to explore the psyche of Superman as a deep, seemingly invulnerable god-like being but with real feeling on the inside. As I always say, ‘The cape is still in the closet.'”

Cavill has played Clark Kent/Superman in Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and both cuts of the Justice League movie, but there are currently no announced plans for him to reprise the role. However, there have been reports claiming Cavill was in talks to return as Superman in a future DC movie starring a different character.

Right now, the Man of Steel is part of Superman & Lois on the CW, and Michael B. Jordan is working on a Val-Zod project for HBO Max. Cavill says his desire to return to the role doesn't mean he's not on board with the other Superman projects in development.

“It’s exciting — Superman’s far more than skin color,” Cavill said. “Superman is an ideal. Superman’s an extraordinary thing that lives within our hearts. Why not have multiple Supermen going on? Joaquin Phoenix did a wonderful Joker movie; so what if it’s not tied to the rest of [the franchise]?"

While his future as Superman remains unclear, Cavill is the star of The Witcher Season 2, which is set to premiere on Netflix next month. For more on the plan for the DC Universe, check out every upcoming DC movie and TV show.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

SteamWorld Headhunter is the next installment in the cult SteamWorld series – and the first to move from 2D to 3D.

Announced during the Thunderful World event, Headhunter will be a "stylised and colourful, third-person co-op action adventure." While the announcement didn't reveal gameplay, a release date, or platforms, a teaser trailer gave us a hint of what to expect:

Thunderful says that the game feature's a "head-popping twist", and aside from the Old West-style duel in the trailer, we also see a detachable head flying towards the victorious Steambot, implying we may be able to swap bodies or survive mortal wounds in the game.

Thunderful isn't saying much about the game beyond what's shown in the trailer, but we do know that the game's follows directly from the events of SteamWorld Dig 2, so existing fans might be able to piece together what's going on here.

Headhunter will mark the sixth game in the series, which has repeatedly changed genre over the years. After a bow on Nintendo DS with SteamWorld Tower Defense, the series gained, er, steam with platformer SteamWorld Dig, followed by strategy shooter Heist, Dig 2, and RPG card battler Quest.

Headhunter is just one of multiple SteamWorld games in development, but we got no information on the others in the showcase.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].