Firesprite, a UK-based game developer recently acquired by PlayStation, is hiring a writer for a new narrative adventure AAA title.

In a job listing posted on their website, Firesprite is looking for a writer “for the development of an ambitious unannounced AAA title[.]” The job will require the writer to “create compelling character and story” and an ideal candidate is somehow “who understands how to construct a branching narrative.”

Although Firesprite is best known for its PSVR work — having developed games like The Persistence and PlayStation The Playroom experience — Firesprite managing director Graeme Ankers told GamesIndustry.biz that it’s not a guarantee the firm will exclusively work on VR games now that it’s joined PlayStation.

“The philosophy that we have is to really innovate and create on any platform. Whether that’s VR or non-VR,” Ankers said.

However, Firesprite hasn’t necessarily ruled out VR either, and Sony confirmed that it’s working on a brand-new version of its popular PSVR headset to work alongside the PlayStation 5. Sony even revealed the new controllers that will go along with the headset, which is rumored to include a 4K display, eye tracking, and more.

Firesprite is the third studio PlayStation acquired this year alongside Returnal developers Housemarque, and Nixxes a Dutch studio that specializes in porting games to PC.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 8 brings with it another alien menace in the form of Marvel’s Carnage and Venom. These two symbiotes have recently crashed landed on the island and are ripe for the pickings.

What Are Symbiotes?

The Symbiotes (called Klyntar on their home planet) are extraterrestrial lifeforms that are able to bond to individuals, regardless of species, in order to form a new shared entity. They are parasitic in nature, though they don’t always harm their hosts; they often improve upon a host’s natural attributes while also granting powers like superhuman strength, healing, and the ability to form tendrils or tentacles out of their arms. For more about these parasitic creatures, check out how we ranked Marvel's most powerful symbiotes and learn more about Venom 2's Shriek.

In Fortnite, the symbiotes that formed Marvel’s most famous symbiotic characters, Venom and Carnage, were made into wearable Mythic weapons. Once found, the Venom and Carnage Mythic weapons will take up a slot in your inventory, allowing you to glide through the air and jump higher than normal. Activating the weapon sends out a tendril that attacks and pulls enemies, dealing 60 damage in the process. A seven-second cool down prevents constant use.

How to Find Symbiotes in Fortnite

Venom and Carnage’s symbiotes randomly spawn at various places on the island. Only two seem to spawn per match and once they are picked up by a player, they’re gone. At that point, the only way to get your hands on one is to take out whoever is currently using it. Because of this, it can be hard to find the symbiotes during a given match. Thankfully, the guide below will help your chances of bonding with one.

To successfully snag one of these symbiotes, you'll need to wait for them to spawn during the match. Keep in mind that they don’t spawn at the start of the match. Instead, Venom and Carnage only appear after the first storm circle is revealed. At that point, symbiote/spider-like symbols will show up on the in-game map. This is your cue to head over to those locations as quickly as possible.

Note: The general censuses online is that the symbiotes always spawn after the first storm circle. In my testing, this sometimes didn’t occur. Sometimes they wouldn’t spawn until the second or third storm cycle.

Venom and Carnage Symbiote Spawn Locations

While Venom and Carnage can spawn seemingly anywhere on the map, the two locations they appear in most frequently are the fields just southeast of Boney Burbs and north west of Corny Crops. The symbiotes will be floating in a canister. Just interact with it to grab either Venom or Carnage’s symbiote.

And that’s how you can get your very own symbiote in Fortnite. At least, until the Carnage skin is released with Season 8’s battle pass!

Kenneth Seward Jr. is a freelance writer, editor, and illustrator who covers games, movies, and more. Follow him @kennyufg and on Twitch.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

If you have ever cheated in Call of Duty: Warzone and were subsequently banned as a result, it looks like you won't be able to play the next Call of Duty game, Vanguard.

Spotted first by Eurogamer, several images have appeared online, including cheating Discord servers and forums, showing players who received either an account or hardware ban in Call of Duty: Warzone also being barred from playing the upcoming open beta for Vanguard. Call of Duty website, CharlieIntel confirmed those with an account or hardware ban in Warzone are banned from Vanguard.

If you are currently banned in Call of Duty: Warzone – including hardware or account banned – you are banned from playing Call of Duty: Vanguard.

For those in the cheats Discords/forums etc. asking why, I think it's pretty obvious why. But thought I'd let you know.

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) September 16, 2021

Unlike account bans, which impact an individual account, hardware bans are for serial cheaters, preventing these repeat offenders from creating a new account each time their previous account is banned. Activision confirmed in April that it issues these hardware bans to address the ongoing issue of cheating in Call of Duty: Warzone, which is one of many games that has a problem with players cutting corners to gain unfair advantages in-game.

Activision has also been cracking down on the influx of cheaters invading Warzone. Most notably, its subsidiary, Raven Software, confirmed in August that it had banned a substantial amount of Warzone accounts, with the studio banning more than 100,000 in a single day.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Here's a great deal for anyone without a current HBO Max subscription. If you sign up now for the monthly ad-free plan, you'll save 50% off for the first six months. That will get you through the year, giving you day-one streaming access to the rest of Warner Bros. slate of theatrical releases, including Dune, The Matrix Resurrections, and more. This is a tremendous deal that anyone eligible should seriously consider. It's only available between now and September 26, so don't wait too long.

Get HBO Max Half Off for 6 Months

The normal monthly rate for a month of HBO Max's ad-free plan costs $14.99, but this deal cranks it down to $7.49 per month for the first six months. After that the price goes back up, but you can cancel any time.

Personally, if I could only keep one streaming service, I would choose HBO Max without question. From the vast selection of movies the service offers at any given time to the deep bench of iconic TV shows, it has something for everyone. It even has comedy specials, documentaries, and tons of programming for kids.

Here's a list of this year's same-day releases in theaters and on HBO Max. Each of these movies streams on HBO Max for 31 days and is available to all ad-free HBO Max subscribers at no additional cost (unlike Disney+'s Premier Access program).

Warner Bros. Same Day Premiers on HBO Max

• Reminiscence (streaming now through 9/19)
• Malignant (streaming now through 10/10)
• Cry Macho (streaming now through 10/17)
• The Many Saints of Newark – October 1
• Dune – October 22
• King Richard – November 19
• The Matrix Resurrections – December 22

Loads of other movies are on the service in addition to those. It has the Matrix trilogy. It has the majority of the DC cinematic universe films. It has Studio Ghibli animated features. There's a whole TCM collection that has many of the best movies ever made. It has Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, and Cartoon Network content as well.

And that's not even touching on the deep bench of HBO shows. The Sopranos. The Wire. Sex and the City. Curb Your Enthusiasm. True Blood. Game of Thrones. The Leftovers. Watchmen. Succession. White Lotus. Many of the best shows of the past few decades have been on HBO, and are available to stream right now on HBO Max.

If that sounds good, make sure you grab this deal before it goes away on September 26.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

THQ Nordic celebrated its 10th anniversary today with a livestream event with tons of new game announcements. THQ Nordic revealed eight new games currently in development at its many, many game development studios.

During the 30-minute show, THQ Nordic revealed multiple games ranging from remasters to surprise sequels. Some games, like Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed were leaked ahead of schedule, but there were still plenty of surprises left.

Check out all the games THQ Nordic announced below.

Destroy All Humans 2! Reprobed

A remake of the original Destroy All Humans 2 was leaked a bit early by accident, but THQ Nordic had a full reveal planned for its 10th anniversary. The developers are calling Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed a full remake, building the entire game back from scratch, though the title will retain the old voiceovers.

There’s also some new tech underneath the hood with a brand new destruction physics engine. So destroying buildings in a space shuttle will be even more dynamic. Developer Black Forest Games also announced split-screen co-op will be available in the sequel remake.

Outcast 2: A New Beginning

The 1999 cult open-world action-adventure game Outcast from developer Appeal is getting a sequel. Space marine Cutter Slade will star in a brand new adventure for the first time after two decades.

Outcast was one of the first true open-world games in the modern era and its sense of scale and exploration was ahead of anything else in its time. Outcast 2 will once again put players in a massive, alien open world for them to explore. Though there are certainly more open-world games today than there were in 1999.

To help retain the feeling of the original, the developers of Outcast 2 include 10 members from the original development team. Outcast 2 is also being developed exclusively for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Jagged Alliance 3

Jagged Alliance 3 is the first true sequel to the Jagged Alliance tactical RPG series since 1999’s Jagged Alliance 2. Developed by the Surviving Mars team at Haemimont Games, Jagged Alliance modernizes the turn-based tactics of the original.

Build a team of mercenaries and use the environment to tactically fight your way through the enemy camp and ultimately save the world from annihilation in this true, tactical sequel.

Expeditions Rome

Expeditions Rome is a tactical, turn-based RPG set in the ancient Roman Republic in the time of Julius Ceasar. Players will play a young Roman Legion commander who must win victories on the battlefield and work up the ranks to command the Roman armies against the Barbarian hordes.

As a true role-playing game, players will have to make choices throughout the game which will affect how the story unfolds. The developers say that even small decisions will have major impacts on the story.

MX vs ATV Legends

Race motocross bikes or ATVs in the next game in Rainbow's off-road series. The next MX vs ATV game will let players compete in extreme racing tournaments, challenges, as well as some non-racing side activities.

SuperPower 3

Electioneer your way to political victory in the next game in the SuperPower series. Become the head of state and develop your country's global standing while fighting political battles on your home turf.

In the past, players could lead any of the 193 nations recognized by the United Nations. You may build up your country and attempt to find world peace or world domination.

ELEX 2

2017's ELEX was an ambitious, sci-fi RPG that was released at the height of Europe's RPG gold rush. And while the story was clever and often engrossing, it was plagued with bugs and poor balance.

But the sequel is looking to build upon the first game and hopefully fix some of the core mechanical issues along the way with ELEX 2. THQ Nordic only released a cinematic trailer so time will tell how the gameplay shakes out, but we won't say no to second chances if it means a continuation of ELEX's main storyline.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a brand-new game for everyone's favorite undersea sponge. No gameplay footage was revealed, but the trailer for The Cosmic Shake was like a greatest hits of some of SpongeBob's best moments from the show, set to his famous "Sweet Victory" performance from The Bubble Bowl.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.