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IGN.com - News Edit Unfollow Peacock Is Hiding a Famous Office Easter Egg by Logan Plant Mar 1, 2022 Every service you use has a lengthy user agreement, but who actually takes the time to read it? Well, NBC's Peacock user agreement has a fun easter egg from The Office hidden inside for anyone that scrolls through the whole thing. As posted by TikTok user @mckenziefloyd and reported by People, a couple was scrolling through the streaming service's terms of service when they came across a recipe for Kevin Malone's chili from The Office. "I'm trying to figure out why the chili from The Office, the recipe is on here in the terms of conditions with the instructions," Floyd said in the TikTok post. "Why was that necessary to put on here? And then it just goes back to the regular terms and conditions." If you watch the TikTok video, you can see the terms and conditions take a quick break to share Kevin's family recipe, from the ingredients to the steps to prepare it. If you're curious, here is the full recipe pulled from Peacock's website: Ingredients 4 dried ancho chiles 2 Tbs neutral oil (vegetable, canola, or grapeseed) 3 lbs ground beef (80/20 or 85/15 lean) 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic 1 large jalapeño, finely chopped 1 Tbs dried oregano 2 tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 2 Tbs tomato paste 2 12 oz. bottles of beer (lager or pale ale) 3 cans Pinto beans, drained and rinsed 3 cups beef stock 2 ½ cups chopped ripe tomatoes 2 Tbs kosher salt Chopped scallions, shredded Jack cheese, and sour cream for topping Directions Tear ancho chiles into pieces, discarding seeds and stems. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, toast chiles over medium-high, stirring occasionally until very fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer toasted ancho chiles to a food processor or spice mill and process until very finely ground. Set aside. Add oil to pot and heat over medium-high. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally to break beef into small pieces, until well browned (about 6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate and set aside. Add onion to the pot and cook briefly over medium-high until barely softened, about 2 minutes. The secret is to undercook the onions. Using a garlic press, press garlic directly into the pot, 1 clove at a time. Then stir in jalapeños, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and tomato paste. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add beer and continue to cook, stirring and scraping the pan, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, put beans in a large bowl and mash briefly with a potato masher until broken up but not fully mashed. Add mashed beans, stock, tomatoes, salt, and cooked beef to pot. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low to maintain simmer and cook 2 hours so everything gets to know each other in the pot. Remove from heat, uncover and let stand at least 1 hour (can also be refrigerated 8 hours or overnight). Reheat gently, taste and add more salt if necessary, and serve with your favorite toppings. We recommend chopped scallions, shredded Jack cheese, and sour cream. Kevin's chili appears in season 5, episode 26's cold open when the character gives a confessional all about his yearly tradition of bringing a pot of his famous chili to the office. Kevin says, "It's a recipe passed down by Malones for generations. It's probably the thing I do best." The cold open ends with Kevin dropping the pot, spilling chili all over the floor of the office. For more on The Office, check out a recently released never-before-seen cold open. Or, read about the one scene in The Office John Krasinski refused to shoot. Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant. Continue Reading Elden Ring's Game of Thrones Easter Egg Can Be Found Surprisingly Early by Matt Kim Mar 1, 2022 When Elden Ring was announced the developers announced it was a creative collaboration between Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. While Elden Ring is much closer to previous From Software RPGs than Martin's Game of Thrones, there is still a nice easter egg reference to Martin's famous series-turned-HBO mega-hit. Spoilers for Elden Ring boss and weapon below. George R.R. Martin wrote the lore for Elden Ring which served as the foundation for the game's story. While Elden Ring has no ties to Martin’s other works, the team at From Software did throw in a nice reference to Martin’s most famous work in the form of a weapon called the Grafted Blade Greatsword. This Greatsword is several smaller swords grafted together, and looking at the design it is a clear nod to the famed Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. Like the sword, the throne is made from different swords welded together. Even better, the sword is available early on in the game, though wielding it is another matter. The weapon requires players to have 40 Strength to use effectively. To acquire the sword players will need to travel to the Weeping Peninsula. One great thing about Elden Ring is how accessible it is early on. There are huge parts of the map that players can travel to almost immediately, including the Weeping Peninsula. There, players will come across Castle Morne. After fighting their way towards the back of the castle, players can fight a boss called Leonine Misbegotten and the reward for defeating him will be the Grafted Blade Greatsword. If you need help getting there and past the boss, IGN has a full Elden Ring guide including a section about the Weeping Peninsula. You can also check out our important starter tips. Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd. Continue Reading Why Genshin Impact Dev MiHoYo Is Investing In Fusion Energy by Kat Bailey Mar 1, 2022 MiHoYo is best-known as the studio behind the absurdly successful Genshin Impact, the free-to-play open world RPG that generates billions of dollars each year. But MiHoYo also has another goal: Science. As reported by Pandaily, MiHoYo is a major investor in Energy Singularity, a startup dedicated to exploring commercialized fusion technology. Founded by a body of experts from the world's top universities, the company was able to raise $63 million in its first round of funding. Other investors include NIO Capital, Sequoia China’s Seed Fund, and BlueRun Ventures. Energy Singularity is working on a tokamak reactor — a device that uses powerful magnets to confine plasma particles in order to achieve fusion. Tokamak reactors have existed for decades, but recent advancements in fusion technology have sparked hopes that a commercial reactor will soon be viable. Commercial fusion would have profound implications for the world's energy consumption, harnessing the power of the sun to provide what is effectively limitless clean energy. As we speak, a giant reactor called the ITER, or International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, is under construction in France, with the goal being to achieve the state of burning plasma that is crucial to sustained fusion. To give you an idea of the power of these reactors, ITER's Central Solenoid — the strongest of its magnets — can actually lift an American aircraft carrier out of the ocean. "Tech Otakus Save the World" So why is MiHoYo suddenly so interested in fusion energy? It's baked into the company's motto: "Tech Otakus Save the World." This ethos has driven investment in projects such as brain-computer interfaces as well as a major interest in the Metaverse. MiHoYo's interest in science should be no surprise given its roots. It was founded by Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao, who met as engineering postgraduates at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and started the studio out of a mutual love for anime. With seemingly little interest in making additional money — MiHoYo recently rejected a sizable investment from Tencent — the studio has directed its profits elsewhere. In the meantime, MiHoYo continues to enjoy great success with Genshin Impact. Earlier this month, Genshin Impact released version 2.5, featuring a new playable character in Yae Miko. We also nominated it as one of the best ongoing games of 2021. For more science info, check out this story about an artificial fish made of human heart cells, as well as NASA's plans for the International Space Station following its retirement in 2030. Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN Continue Reading Civilization Creator Sid Meier Says Games Shouldn't Focus on Monetization by George Yang Mar 1, 2022 Sid Meier, the creator of the Civilization franchise, says that video game companies could lose their audiences if they continue to heavily focus on different kinds of monetization tactics such as microtransactions and NFTs. In an interview with BBC, Meier explained, "People can assume that a game is going to be fun and what it needs for success are more cinematics or monetization or whatever - but if the core just is not there with good gameplay, then it won't work." The point is that games need to be fun, first and foremost. Gameplay is critical in order to keep players happy and engaged with the product. Over the years, games have shifted business models and now some rely on microtransactions as well as in-app purchases. Recently, some companies, such as Ubisoft, have embraced NFTs as a new way to make more money despite strong backlash from the gaming community. Meier said that figuring out gameplay is relatively cheap and doesn't require as many cooks in the kitchen compared to all of the aspects that go into creating a game. As a result, the importance of gameplay and game design themselves can be overlooked. He further explained, "I think we need to be sure that our games continue to be high quality and fun to play — there are so many forms of entertainment out there now." He also said that companies shouldn't expect continued growth all the time, noting that trends in the entertainment space constantly change. "There are lots of other ways that people can spend their leisure time... I think the way the internet works, once a shift starts to happen, then everybody runs to that side of the ship," said Meier. To him, the gameplay is what makes video games a unique medium for entertainment. Once companies start thinking that games are just investment vehicles for further monetization is when they lose sight of what really matters: making games fun. Meier's focus on fun seems to have worked as Civilization continues to be a popular video game franchise with a core gameplay that goes back to the very first game in the series. Read IGN's review of Civilization 6 here. George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey Continue Reading

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