IGN can exclusively reveal that Shuhei Uesugi has been cast as Kazuma Kuwabara in Netflix's live-action adaptation of the mega-popular Japanese manga Yu Yu Hakusho. This comes after IGN's exclusive reveal of the casting of Takumi Kitamura (Yusuke Urameshi) and Kanata Hongō (Hiei), adding more names to our slew of show protagonists.

Known by his last name as Kuwabara, Kazuma is one of the series' main protagonists — along with Yusuke Urameshi, Kurama, and Hiei. He is the younger brother of Shizuru Kuwabara, and he seeks to become Yukina's (Hiei's twin sister's) lover. Close friends with Urameshi, Kuwabara is the second-toughest kid and self-proclaimed punk at Sarayashiki Junior High School — always trying to usurp Yusuke Urameshi's position as the toughest but always falling short.

Uesugi is best-known for playing Kannonzaki in Netflix's 2018 teenage crime drama River's Edge. When talking about the announcement, he shared his excitement with IGN: "I’m so excited that the live-action adaptation of YuYu Hakusho, a series loved by people all over the world, will be available on Netflix where fans everywhere can discover it. I am confident that the series will be enjoyed by people no matter where they live and I hope fans will get a chance to check it out."

The series is based on the legendary Japanese manga of the same name, initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump (published by Shueisha as Jump Comics) starting in 1990. The manga is considered a fan favorite (we called its anime adaptation one of the best of all time) and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. The adaptation will present a new version of the 1990 manga in which a teenage boy, Yusuke, dies and begins a new afterlife as an underworld detective.

The adaptation is being helmed by director Shô Tsukikawa (You Shine in the Moonlight, My Teacher, My Love) with a screenplay written by Tatsuro Mishima. Already announced in the cast are Takumi Kitamura (Yusuke Urameshi), Kanata Hongō (Hiei) and Jun Shison, who'll play an unannounced role (online speculation points to Youko Kurama.)

The show's producer, Akira Morii, handled location management for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and produced 2020's hit Netflix thriller Alice in Borderland.

"I could barely contain my excitement when I realized that Netflix is bringing its Hollywood-level capabilities to this project," Morii told IGN. "I found that the traditional Japanese style of carefully filming only what is needed, keeping the finishing touches to a minimum, and the technological capabilities that far exceeded our own knowledge and experience fused together nicely on set. As a result, I think we will present the world with a Yu Yu Hakusho that far exceeds expectations."

Yu Yu Hakusho will be premiering worldwide and only on Netflix in December 2023. For more news about the adaption, stick to IGN.

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.

There's never been a better time to cast off normal reality for the virtual. I say scoop up some motion controllers, slap that fandangle bucket on your head and score (among others) Pavlov, Half-life Alyx and Boneworks. TV-based folk should look to invest in a cheap copy of Horizon Forbidden West, the underrated New Pokémon Snap and a sub-fiddy Spider-Man on PS4.

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Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He's @grizwords and games on YouTube.

Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is continuing apace. The streaming giant is currently asking customers in five more countries to pay up if they share their login information with people outside of their home.

First reported by Bloomberg, customers in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic are being asked to pay a fee for regularly using their account outside of their home. However, this will not affect the use of Netflix on mobile devices.

The price of adding a home to your account varies, but is no more than $2.99 USD in any of the affected countries. Netflix says more than 100 million households are using shared accounts, and that password sharing is particularly high in Latin America.

Netflix has been cracking down on password sharing for a while. In March, the company announced plans to test a similar system in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, where users would have to pay for viewers that don't live in the same household. Last year, Netflix introduced a verification system in some countries that came with a warning that said, "If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching."

It's been somewhat of a turbulent time for the streaming giant. The service is losing subscribers, leading to Netflix's shares plummeting to their lowest point since 2018. Following this, Netflix laid off around 150 employees. And, if you do eventually need to subscribe to your own account, it will be pricier than before, as Netflix implemented its sixth price hike since 2014 earlier this year.

However, Netflix is also experiencing some wins. Last year's hit Squid Game was the biggest series launch ever for Netflix, and Stranger Things recently surpassed a billion hours of watch time.

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

PlayStation is removing direct support via Twitter starting August 1st. Instead, those who need help will have to browse support websites in lieu of direct messaging on Twitter.

The announcement was made on the official @AskPlayStation Twitter account and included links to various support sites including the official PlayStation Support Youtube channel.

Contacting an actual human is still possible through the support websites, but Sony would rather you search for any existing solutions before contacting PlayStation Support directly. Also, some functions such as requesting a refund and resetting a password are mostly automated.

Sony didn't elaborate on why it was downsizing its Twitter support.

The PlayStation 5 has had its share of problems since launching in 2020, including system crashes, errors, and connectivity problems. Sony's customer support reduction will make it all the more difficult for players to find remedies in the case that their PS5 goes on the fritz.

Meanwhile, Sony has been plenty busy elsewhere, closing its deal to acquire Bungie while also making significant investments in the esports space. PlayStation's next big console exclusive is Stray, which we rewarded an 8 in our recent review.

David Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and gaming. He also strongly believes that sugar does not go in grits. Follow him on Twitter @packetstealer

Sony Interactive Entertainment is acquiring Repeat.gg, an esports technology platform as its amibitions in the space continue to grow.

Repeat.gg is one of biggest esports tournament platforms in the world and it helps users compete for cash prizes across online games. Furthermore, it organizes asynchronous esports tournaments that allow players to compete in games even if they aren't online at the same time.

The company can automatically keep track of players' in-game statistics and will award them based on their performance. Repeat.gg shared the news in a blog, saying it has always focused on "Esports for Everyone" and doesn't plan on stopping that mission anytime soon. So why did it agree to an acquisition?

"We will have access to more resources, game titles and technology, which will allow us to grow the team to push Repeat in directions that we had never thought would be possible," Repeat.gg's Jeff Shull wrote. "This will allow us to grow Repeat significantly over the next couple of years with plenty of new features, continuing our mission to become synonymous with esports by creating a home where everyone has a chance to compete and win."

Despite being acquired by PlayStation, Repeat.gg still plans to support "PC, mobile, and other consoles alongside PlayStation."

Since its founding, Repeat.gg has hosted over 100,000 tournaments with more than 2.3 million participants. PlayStation, clearly, is very excited about adding this experience to its team.

"At PlayStation, our vision for esports has always been about breaking down barriers for gamers to compete at all levels," Steven Roberts, vice president of global competitive gaming at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said to GamesIndustry.biz. "Together with the talented Repeat.gg team, we're excited to explore more ways for players to engage in competitive gaming and expand the breadth of our esports offerings. This is just the start of our journey and we look forward to sharing more updates with our community in the future."

This is another step forward into the esports game for PlayStation and follows its acquisition of the Evolution Championship Series, the world's largest fighting game tournament. It also follows the news that PlayStation's deal to acquire Destiny developer Bungie has been completed.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.