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Rainbow Six Siege, which launched in December 2015, has been supported with new DLC operators and maps ever since, allowing the game to grow over time. Now, an industry analyst has pegged the game as an amazing example of the benefits of long-term success as it hits a new major milestone.

Benji-Sales, who analyzes trends within the industry, has discovered and announced that Rainbow Six: Siege recently had its best day ever for concurrent players on Steam, with 180,000 players logging into the game at the same time. That figure does not account for players on Uplay or consoles, which means that the actual figure of online players would have been much higher.

Steam itself puts the exact peak number at 180,463, which is the fifth highest peak concurrent count listed for the last 24 hours, as of this post. It’s behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (896,092), Dota 2 (647,060), PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (584,139), and Grand Theft Auto V (228,023).

Over time, including free play weekends, the game has attracted 50 million players. Ubisoft recently talked about how adding respawn mechanics might have grown the game further, but also would have made it worse; it seems that their current strategy is working well, though.

The game shows no signs of slowing down, either. Ubisoft is about to introduce its first major overhaul of a character, with Tachanka ditching his turret for a grenade launcher. The game will also be available on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 at console launch, with cross-generation play confirmed.

Another Rainbow Six game, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, is also in the works. A release date has not been set, but it’s coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

The developer of League of Legends has responded to the latest development in the ongoing lawsuit where the company is accused of gender discrimination and having a “bro culture.”

Recently, the group of former female employees of Riot Games hired a new legal team in an attempt to seek more damages. The new counsel withdrew the proposed settlement of $10 million, saying it was the result of “alleged mistakes and improprieties by prior class counsel.”

The new legal team is seeking a bigger payout for the group of former employees, following the announcement from California labor groups, including the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), that said they should be paid $390 million more, bringing the total to $400 million.

Riot has now responded to this latest development, saying in a statement that the original settlement of $10 million is “fair and adequate” given the circumstances. The company says it wants to do right by the group of former employees, but it takes issue with DFEH’s numbers.

Riot said DFEH’s numbers have “no basis in fact or reason,” and that the company plans to defend itself from “false narratives and unfair claims.” You can read Riot’s full statement below.

Genie Harrison, a women’s rights attorney representing the group of former Riot employees, said in a statement that she and her team will be working to ensure the plaintiffs receive fair compensation.

“These brave women spoke out against gender inequality and sexism, and I want to make sure they are fairly compensated,” Harrison said. “Our well-qualified statisticians are already analyzing pay data. We intend to recover the compensation due to the women of Riot Games and achieve institutional reform, in order to level the playing field for women.”

A 2018 Kotaku expose contained dramatic accusations about the “bro culture” within Riot. Among the details was that managers were said to have had lists where they ranked women by attractiveness. “The ‘bro culture’ there is so real,” a source told Kotaku. “It’s agonizingly real. It’s like working at a giant fraternity.”

Riot is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent. The free-to-play MOBA reportedly brings in billions of dollars in revenue every year.

Riot Games Statement:

“Throughout this process we’ve focused on reaching a resolution that’s fair to everyone involved, while continuing to demonstrate our commitment to the transformative journey we’ve been on for the past 18 months.We understand that the plaintiffs’ new counsel needs adequate time to review the proposed settlement agreement and we respect that.

“That said, the analysis and discussions which led to the earlier proposed settlement were comprehensive and thorough, and we believe that the proposal was fair and adequate under the circumstances. We’re committed to working collaboratively to reach a resolution that reflects our commitment to move forward together, but it needs to be one that is justified by the underlying facts.

“It has been our position from the beginning to do the right thing by the plaintiffs as well as Riot, and we will continue to do just that. With respect to the numbers posited by the DFEH, we’ll say again that there is no basis in fact or reason that would justify that level of exposure and we believe that any assertions to the contrary can simply not be made in good faith.

“While we have acknowledged that there is work that we needed to do to better live up to our values, we have also made clear to our employees that we will defend ourselves against false narratives and unfair claims that do nothing to remedy any hardships of actual class members.”

It was a neck and neck race this weekend at the box office between Sonic the Hedgehog and Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford and man’s best CGI friend.

In the end, Sonic edged out Call of the Wild, pulling in an estimated $26.3 million, which brings the video game adaptation to a grand total of $107 million domestically, per Variety.

Call of the Wild, which is based on Jack London’s famous novel from 1903, brought in an estimated $24.8 million, which is more than analysts predicted but still small compared to the film’s giant $135 million budget. Our own review of Call of the Wild said the the movie was all bark and no bite due to an “over-reliance on CGI.”

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Sonic vs. Wild wasn’t the only close contest this weekend. Horror flick Brahms: The Boy II fizzled with critics and movie-goers, nabbing $5.9 million for the weekend – which was just barely enough to overtakeBad Boys for Life’s fourth place spot. A spinoff/sequel to 2016’s The Boy, the film stars Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, and Owain Yeoman.

North American Box Office Estimates

Birds of Prey was third this weekend, with $7 million, finishing the weekend with an estimated $72 million total domestic take to date. The rest of the Top 10 contained Oscar winners 1917 and Parasite, which continue to do well in the wake of the Academy Awards, as well as holiday juggernaut Jumanji: The Next Level, which has now a whopping $311 million domestic haul.

TruTV’s Impractical Jokers: The Movie, in limited release, landed in 11th place, with $2.3 million.

Here are the Top 10 North American box office estimates for the (2-day) weekend (via Box Office Mojo)

• 1. Sonic the Hedgehog $26,300,000
• 2. Call of the Wild $24,820,000
• 3. Birds of Prey $7,005,000
• 4. Brahms: The Boy II $5,900,000
• 5. Bad Boys for Life $5,860,000
• 6. 1917 $4,400,000
• 7. Fantasy Island $4,185,000
• 8. Parasite $3,121,000
• 9. Jumanji: The Next Level $3,000,000
• 10 The Photograph $2,800,000

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Even before Microsoft has properly unveiled Halo Infinite with any gameplay footage or firm details, the company’s merchandising partners have revealed new Halo Infinite action figures that contain some clues about the Xbox and PC game.

First off, the new figures from Wicked Cool Toys show new armor for Master Chief that appear to more closely line up with Bungie’s original armor designs. That is to say, these designs more closely resemble Master Chief’s armor in Halo 1-3 before Microsoft shifted things up for Halo 4 and Halo 5 when development on the franchise moved from Bungie to 343 Industries.

This is to be expected, as Microsoft has said Halo Infinite new art style is meant to hearken back to the original Halo game. Halo Infinite returns to the franchise’s roots, and is “bigger and bolder” than any previous Halo title, according to Microsoft.

The images also reveal that there will be new figures for Halo Infinite’s villains. Intriguingly, these have been left as “TBD,” so there is no word yet on who these villains might be. All of this suggests that Master Chief will be fighting new villains in Halo Infinite, which is of course to be expected given each entry in the Halo series has introduced new types of enemies.

The new villain designs are reportedly not final yet, as the images show that the villains are “pending licensor approval.” All of these images emerged out of the New York Toy Fair this weekend.

In addition to the new figures, Wicked Cool Toys has created a new Energy Sword that lights up and looks very rad. Check it out below.

Separately, Mega Bloks announced new Mega Construx sets for the Warthog, Pelican, and Mongoose.

Halo Infinite releases this holiday as a launch title for Xbox Series X. The game will also play on the standard Xbox One, as well as PC. More details on the game will be announced during the Xbox E3 2020 briefing, if not sooner.

Here at IGN we occasionally like to showcase something from geekdom’s rich history — a pop-culture Time Capsule, if you will, that gives us a peek in to the past, perhaps providing a new appreciation for previous projects.

If you’d like, check out last week’s Time Capsule, featuring a video documenting George Lucas’ first day writing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

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Let’s slingshot around the nearest star and travel back in time to investigate a mysterious ’90s anomaly known as UPN — a partially Viacom-owned TV network that lasted roughly a decade before Viacom split in two (like Captain Kirk in “The Enemy Within”) and then merged its UPN half with competitor The WB to create — ta da! — The CW in 2006.

UPN happened to be both the home of Star Trek: Voyager, which was the show used to launch the network in 1995, and WWE’s second primetime series, SmackDown — aka “The Rock’s Show” — which debuted in 1999. By 2000, the two worlds mightily merged as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson guest-starred on a Voyager episode called “Tsunkatse,” where the future biggest, and most beloved, box office star in the world would play a Pendari fighter who goes one on o.n.e. with Jeri Ryan’s former Borg drone Seven of Nine.

Yup, “It doesn’t matter what your name is!” was both a credo for The Rock and The Borg.

For those asking, the Pendari came from the planet Pendari, in the system of Pendari. They’re the Star Trek equivalent of the band Living in a Box having a single called “Living in a Box” off their album Living in a Box.

Anyhow, the following video is a fun behind-the-scenes look at The Rock’s action-packed cameo, featuring some lovely words from EP Rick Berman, visual effects supervisor Dan Curry, and — of course — “The Great One” himself.

Berman notes that they hadn’t seen Rock do any acting “other than playing The Rock” so it’s painfully obvious they never saw Johnson portray his own father, Rocky Johnson, on That ’70s Show or some jabroni named Brody (ja-brody?) on The Net, which was a TV series adapted from the Sandra Bullock movie about the wild and dangerous world of cyberspace. You know, the information superhighway? Earth backslash angelfire dot geocities?

Naturally, The Rock’s fight with Seven of Nine ends with a Rock Bottom, which was his wrestling finisher at the time. Sure, he’s the highest-paid actor in the world right now, and one of the most respected celebrities of all time, but the real way you know Dwayne Johnson’s made it big is that he, a former wrestler, no longer has to do his signature mat moves in action movies. That’s how you really know a wrestler’s broken through.

Also… get a load of how much Rocky puts over Jeri Ryan! That’s some serious shine right there. “She’s probably one of the toughest, if not, dare I say, the toughest The Rock has ever faced.”

She truly is the People’s Borg.

Ryan actually returned to the Trek universe recently, reprising her Seven of Nine role on Star Trek: Picard. You can read our review of her episode, “Stardust Rag City,” here, where we give it the highest score of the series to date.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

An impressive amount of images from the upcoming Resident Evil 3 remake appear to have leaked online. The images show off plenty of new looks at Nemesis, the iconic Resident Evil monster bred to hunt down S.T.A.R.S. members, plus a look at some different environments and at least one other major enemy. Check it out in the gallery below.

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Posted to an ongoing Resident Evil 3 Resetera thread by a moderator known as Dusk Golem, the images show off Nemesis looming over Jill Valentine, much like Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 remake. Nemesis also appears to be holding a massive flamethrower, brandishing it in front of Jill’s face at one point. Obviously, Capcom hasn’t confirmed any of these screenshots, so take it all with a grain of salt. The images themselves all have a watermark from the French gaming site, gamergen.com.

Another couple of images show two enemies: One that that could most likely be the amphibious Gamma Hunter, and another that might be the worm-like Grave Digger. Either way, they’re both definitely terrifying at close range.

The images also show off new looks at other playable characters from Resident Evil Resistance, the multiplayer component to the RE3 remake. We see Carlos Olivera and Becca Woolett traipsing around a casino club environment rife with zombies.

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The Resident Evil 3 remake is out on April 3, 2020.

Don’t forget to check out 23 more screenshots from Resident Evil 3 that dropped last month, and here’s everything that’s changing in Resident Evil 3, and everything that’s staying the same. Follow the rest of our Resident Evil 3 coverage for more updates and previews.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/biological weapon for IGN.

Today’s spotlight deals are on the awesome Mandalorian LEGO set and the awesome RTX 2060. The former is up for preorder while the latter is discounted by $50, a great amount of savings for a new GPU. A wide array of games have also been put on sale, and can be found towards the bottom of our daily article.

Amazon Exclusive: Preorder the LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Razor Crest 1,023-Piece Set

Amazon has exclusive rights to sell this impressive The Mandalorian’s Razor Crest ship. It boasts 1,023 bricks, measures 15″ long and 11″ wide, and includes five mini-figures: The Mandalorian, Greef Karga, IG-11, Scout Trooper, and (tiny) Baby Yoda.

• Preorder it on Amazon for $129.99

Grab the RTX 2060 XC Black Edition for $300 at Amazon

Graphics cards are rarely on sale for more than a few dollars, so this hefty $50 cut to the 2060 is a great buy. The 2060 is a solid card for 1080 and 1440p gaming, and will serve you well in the years to come should you buy it today.

• Get it at Amazon for $300

Get the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Companion Guide Book for $18 on Amazon

One of the biggest releases of March, now has it’s own personal companion book. If you want to make the most out of your world, this is the ideal item for you.

• Get it at Amazon for $18

Grab a pair of the Anker Soundcore Life Q10 Bluetooth Headphones for $28 on Amazon

Anker has become a respected brand in the affordable audio market and this deal continues that trend. Their Soundcore line is well liked, and when they offer them at such a great discount, it’s hard to argue against them.

• Get them at Amazon for $28

Preorder Nintendo Switch Lite: Coral Edition

The newest color in the Nintendo Switch Lite lineup is available for preorder. It’s out on April 3. The Switch Lite is $100 less than the Switch and can play almost all of the same games.

• Preorder it on Amazon for $199.99
• Preorder it at Walmart
• Preorder it at Best Buy
• Preorder it at Gamestop

20% Off SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Headset (First Truly Wireless Headset for the Switch), Now $79.99

If you’re a Nintendo Switch gamer who’s been aching for a wireless audio solution for your gaming system, salvation is here. The Arctis 1 is compatible with practically any system, from your PS4 and Xbox One to your Switch and smartphone. We reviewed the Arctis 1 and called it out as the best wireless headphones under $100. Starting today it’s 20% off at Amazon.

• Get it on Amazon for $79.99

Pick Up the Roku + Streaming Device for $40 at Amazon

If you’re looking for a handy way to view content on a TV or device that’s not internet connected, look no further. The Roku + supports a wide array of formats, including 4K and HDR, and is now coming in at a very reasonable price.

• Get it at Amazon for $40

Preorder the Star Wars Baby Yoda Animatronic Edition at Walmart

This toy launched yesterday and has been insanely popular. It’s already sold out at many places including Amazon. This cute mascot from The Mandalorian features over 25 sound and motion combinations, including happy and excited, giggles and babbles, tired and sleeping, and Force effects sounds. Motorized movement includes a head that moves up and down, ears that move back and forth, eyes that open and close, and more.

• Preorder it at Walmart for $59.97 (Currently Out of Stock)

Grab the JBL Flip 4 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $60 on Amazon

Whether it’s for the beach or just for inside your bathroom, this handy speaker connects to virtually any Bluetooth device and is waterproof, ensuring no matter what chaos might occur, the speaker will keep on playing your favorite songs.

• Get it at Amazon for $60

Save Big on Udemy Courses, Now only $9.99

If you’re in the mood to learn something new, this is the perfect opportunity. PCMag Shop currently has a wide array of Udemy courses on sale for only $10. This includes stuff like Unreal Engine Developer Courses, Advanced Excel courses and much, much more.

• Check out the PCMag Store Udemy Course Deals

Xbox One X Bundles with 1 Free Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for Only $299 (or 3 Months for $309)

This deal is $50 cheaper than the one we saw on Black Friday plus you can get 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free or 3 months for $10. All three bundled games are highly rated on Amazon and deserve a spot in your Xbox library. The Gears 5 bundle actually includes every Gears game. Game Pass Ultimate is basically Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass combined into one membership.

Note that you can get a very similar deal on Amazon. Amazon has the same Xbox One X bundles for $299 but without the free month of Game Pass Ultimate. However, you can get 1 month of Game Pass Ultimate directly from Microsoft for only $1.

• Get the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle at Walmart for $299
• Get the NBA 2K20 Bundle at Walmart for $299
• Get the Gears 5 Bundle at Walmart for $299
• Get the same bundles on Amazon

Get 2 Free Months of Kindle Unlimited Membership (Was $9.99 Per Month)

You must be logged into your Amazon Prime membership account to see this deal. If you’re a regular digital ebook reader, this membership is highly recommended. Kindle Unlimited gives you access to over 1 million Kindle eBooks and over 20,000 digital comics. This deal is typically for new subscribers only, but there have been reports that it has worked for people who have previously subscribed but are not current members.

• Get 2 Free Months of Kindle Unlimited

Anker PowerCore Essential 20,000mAh USB PD Power Bank for the Nintendo Switch for $34.99

Clip $5 Coupon and Use Coupon Code: “A1281369”

This 20,000mAh power bank will work well with your Switch for these reasons:

• It supports USB-PD (Power Delivery) charging up to 18W, equal to the official charger
• Thanks to the full 18W of charging output, it can fully recharge a dead Switch in 3.5 hours
• The Switch has a battery capacity of about 4500mAh, so you could fully charge it 6 times
• USB-PD power banks can charge the Switch even while you’re playing a game

Anker also makes the only official power bank for the Nintendo Switch. This model is very similar to that power bank minus the Switch logo and only 1/3 the price.

• Clip $5 coupon and use code “A1281369” to get it on Amazon for $34.99

WD Elements 5TB Portable Hard Drive for $98.10

This portable hard drive is compatible as external storage for your PC, PS4, or Xbox One. Portable drives are physically much smaller than their desktop hard drive siblings. However, they are just as fast and require no additional power other than the USB port. The only tradeoff is the higher cost per GB, but that point is moot with today’s deal.

• Get it on Amazon for $98.10

Preorder Marvel’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Edition (Both PS4 and Xbox One Now on Amazon)

One of the most anticipated games of 2020 now has it’s most special edition up for preorder. Earth’s Mightiest Edition includes Marvel’s Avengers: Deluxe Edition with steelbook case, a full color 12” statue of Captain America, Hulk bobblehead, Mjolnir keychain, Black Widow’s belt buckle, Iron Man’s prototype armor blueprints, Kamala Khan’s honorary Avenger pin, and commemorative Avengers group photo. Pre-order to get 72-hour early access.

• Preorder it for Xbox One on Amazon for $199.99
• Preorder it for PS4 for $199.99

Preorder Star Wars The Skywalker Saga 9-Movie 18-Disc Blu-ray or 27-Disc 4K Collection

The 18-disc Blu-ray edition is up for preorder at Walmart and the 27-disc 4K edition is available at Best Buy. These are the first official sets that contain all nine of the Saga movies.

• Preorder the Blu-ray Edition at Walmart for $129.99
• Preorder the 4K Edition at Best Buy for $249.99

Preorder Cyberpunk 2077 Collector’s Edition

This one has been out of stock from nearly the beginning and bound to go out of stock again well before the September release date. This is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2019. The studio CD Projekt Red are the masterminds behind the incredible Witcher games and if you’re a huge fan like I am then you will most definitely be getting this game. The Collector’s Edition includes the game with steelbook case, 10″ statue of V in action, hardcover art book, metal pin set, metal keychain, patches, postcards, sticker set, DLC, and more.

• Preorder it for Xbox One at Walmart for $249.99

More Deals for Today:

• 65″ Vizio PX65-G 4K HDR QLED Smart HDTV for $899 at Sam’s Club
• Jackery Solar Power Station Explorer 500 $399.99 Amazon (code “JACKERY500“)
• Acer Nitro 24″1080p 1ms 75Hz FreeSync IPS Monitor for $109.99 on Amazon
• Anime Savings continue on Amazon
• iLife v3 Robotic Vacuum for $120 on Amazon
• Newest Apple AirPods 2 Wireless Earphones for $129 on Amazon
• Up to 20% off Mattress Toppers on Amazon

Nintendo Switch Video Game Deals:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons + $10 Best Buy Credit for $59.99
• Battle Chasers: Nightwar for $14.99 on Amazon
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for $19.99 at Gamestop
• Celeste for $6.79 at Nintendo eShop
• Death Squared for $1.49 at Nintendo eShop
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition for $39.99 at Gamestop
• God Eater 3 for $29.99 at Gamestop
• Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for $14.99 at Nintendo eShop
• Mutant Year Zero Deluxe Edition for $10 on Amazon
• Our World is Ended for $19.99 at Gamestop
• Pokemon Sword for $49.49 on Amazon
• Slay the Spire for $19.99 at Gamestop
• Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales for $19.99 at Nintendo eShop
• Unravel Two for $4.99 at Nintendo eShop
• Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition for $49.99 on Amazon

PS4 Video Game Deals:

• Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown for $29.82 on Amazon
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for $19.99 at Gamestop
• Borderlands 3 for $20 on Amazon
• Control for $29.99 at Gamestop
• Disgaea 4 Complete for $30 on Amazon
• Doom Eternal for $49.94 on Amazon
• Doom Slayers Collection for $20 on Amazon
• Judgement for $30 on Amazon
• Kingdom Hearts All-in-One Package for $29.99 at PlayStation Store
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III for $29.99 on Amazon
• Man of Medan for $19.89 on Amazon
• Mutant Year Zero Deluxe Edition for $10 on Amazon
• Nier Automata: GOTY Yorha Edition for $19.99 at PlayStation Store
• Resident Evil 3 for $49.94 on Amazon
• Sonic Mania for $9.99 at PlayStation Store
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for $39.99 on Amazon
• The Outer Worlds for $29.99 at PlayStation Store
• Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 for $5 at Gamestop
• Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition for $14.99 at PlayStation Store

Xbox One Video Game Deals:

• Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown for $29.95 on Amazon
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for $19.99 at Gamestop
• Borderlands 3 for $24 on Amazon
• Devil May Cry 5 for $20.49 on Amazon
• Doom Eternal for $49.94 on Amazon
• Doom Slayers Collection for $20 on Amazon
• Gears 5 for $24.99 on Amazon
• Injustice 2: Legendary Edition for $15.17 on Amazon
• Man of Medan for $17.99 on Amazon
• Sonic Mania for $9.99 at Microsoft
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for $39.99 on Amazon
• The Outer Worlds for $35 on Amazon
• Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 for $2.99 on Amazon

PC Video Game Deals:

• Up to 75% Off Iconic Games Sale at Ubisoft Store
• New Free PC Games with Twitch Prime Membership
• Doom Eternal for $49.94 on Amazon
• Train Simulator 2020 for $1 at Humble Bundle

It’s been less than a week since PlayStation announced it won’t be attending PAX East in Boston due to “increasing concerns” over COVID-19, otherwise known as the novel coronavirus. Now, the mayor of Boston has reached out to Sony to appeal to the company, urging them to make a decision based on “facts, not fear,” and urging PlayStation to not play into “harmful stereotypes” about Chinese people.

According to WCVB (via Eurogamer), Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has sent a letter to PlayStation CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, saying to the gaming company president that the risk of individuals contracting the COVID-19 in Boston and Massachusetts remains extremely low. Walsh also stated in the letter that anti-Chinese and anti-Asian sentiment and misinformation have played a role in the increasing fear of the COVID-19 in the United States.

“These fears reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle,” reads Walsh’s letter. “They trigger our worst impulses: to view entire groups of people with suspicion, to close ourselves off, and to miss out on the opportunities and connections our global city provides. Boston is united in our efforts to dispel these harmful and misguided fears.”

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Walsh specifically urged PlayStation to play a role in pushing back against these fears.

“As a large, international company, you have an opportunity to set a good example,” Walsh wrote. “As a leader in technology, you can show that you are motivated by facts, not fear. As a leader in gaming and culture, you can show that you believe in connection, not isolation.”

So far, only one Boston resident has been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. That resident, a man in his 20s who attends the University of Massachusetts and returned from recent trip to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak, has since been kept in isolation in his home where he is currently recovering.

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Since COVID-19 appeared in Boston, Walsh has started a social media campaign focused on easing the fears of the city’s Chinatown’s business.

PlayStation has yet to publicly respond to Walsh’s letter.

An increase in racist comments and attacks has been linked to increasing fear over COVID-19. A viral video recorded recently shows a man on an LA subway train ranting at an Asian woman, saying “every disease has ever came from China.” Similarly, another video recorded at a Super 8 in Plymouth, Indiana shows a man denying a room to two Hmong men over a similar fear. Other video footage shows a man attacking an Asian woman seemingly for wearing a face mask, a common accessory in Asian communities long before COVID-19 arose.

As of February 23, COVID-19 has killed approximately 2,442 people in China’s mainland, with a total of 76,936 reported infections, according to Aljazeera. According to CNN, United States health officials have confirmed 35 cases of COVID-19 in the country. The highest concentration of individuals with COVID-19 appears to be in California, with a confirmed eight cases.

PlayStation and Facebook (which owns the Oculus VR brand) similarly also pulled out of the 2020 Game Developers Conference, which is hosted in San Francisco’s downtown district from March 16 to March 20, citing the same concerns over the coronavirus.

“We have made the difficult decision to cancel our participation in Game Developers Conference due to increasing concerns related to COVID-19… We felt this was the best option as the situation related to the virus and global travel restrictions are changing daily,” Sony said in a statement. “We are disappointed to cancel our participation, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern. We look forward to participating in GDC in the future.”

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PlayStation not attending PAX East also means that a previously planned demo of The Last of Us Part II will not be available for the public.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has interrupted other gaming events as well. The Overwatch development team has announced it will temporarily relocate its Chinese teams to South Korea, and Nintendo confirmed the outbreak will impact Animal Crossing: New Horizons shipments in Japan.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.